Hello knitalong friends! I am so incredibly thrilled to have you here, joining in on all the fun that is in store for our upcoming KAL. These knitalongs are what myself and our small team lives for and I think (increasingly!) the direction I plan to take with the business. In this blog post, I'd love to kick things off with some initial thoughts on community and setting some knitting (or self care!) goals. Please know, that our number one mission throughout this KAL is for you to be successful in what you make and for you to have fun. Please feel free at anytime to reach out to myself, Cheryl or Vanessa for help. 

 

If you watched the intro videos all about the KAL, then you know I’m a big believer in self care and taking time out of our crazy days to quiet down and do things that make us happy, like knitting...in community! Each week, there will be a theme here on the blog to accompany the technical tutorials and knitting you’ll be doing. I plan to dive into many topics surrounding these ideas: slowing down, being present, tapping into and leaning into your own creative spirit and gratitude. This is here for you if you feel moved to read it, if not, no biggie. The last thing I want is for this to feel preachy in any way. In fact, what excites me the most is learning from you and seeing what works for you!

 

So to kick things off – this week’s themes are Going First & Goals. I’m going to talk a little bit about the goals first. I like the idea of setting a not-too-daunting 6 week KAL long goal and if you feel moved, join in! I’m a huge believer in the idea that you actually do your best work when you slow down enough to take care of yourself first. Prioritizing the slow down and time out from our crazy busy lives is so hard but it always pays off for me. This KAL, I'm going to try to set a goal of making it to yoga 4x per week and of course, knitting, even if it's just a few rows of fun knitting each day. 2019 feels like the year yoga became a really big part of my life and during my busiest months of the year (Nov & Dec!) I want to make sure I don't loose this habit of practicing! I actually want to take it to the next level and make it there a little more. As I prepped for the KAL, my eating habits fell off the deep end. There were days in there where I ate plain bread and nuts only until dinner. So on my mind is figuring out a way to nourish myself and my family a little better when times are crazy. I am open to suggestions. For now, I'm going to try (one more time...ha!) to stick to the meal plan I lay out on Sunday night. 

 

The next idea I want to talk about is Going First. If you’ve done my KALs before, you know this one. I find I need constant reminders on this. This was first introduced to be Gabby Reece on the Tim Ferris Podcast (episode 89 for anyone interested) – the idea she mentions is the idea of going first – smile first –open up – take that first step. Not many people take this first step, especially in the busy hustle of our everyday life. But when you go first and smile or open up first, chances are the other person will too but it takes someone going first – why not you? I realize my mom set this example for me my entire life and now reaps tremendous benefits because of it. She’s friends with everyone, almost everywhere she goes. I recently went to a conference in Phoenix where I knew nobody and WHEW, it was so hard to go first. I realized how often I stay in my bubble and never meet new people. It took some courage but I tried my best to spark conversations with new people and left the weekend with a few new friends too. SOOOOO I say all this of course to encourage you to open up and introduce yourself in our KAL group. This a perfect safe space to get to know like-minded friends. How can we apply this idea to our community for the KAL – by introducing yourself – opening up in the groups, share first, cheerlead first. Let’s make it a place where we all feel comfortable to go first and support each other. I love this idea as small as it may be. The places to share are in our private FB group and on the KAL instagram page. Using the #knitcollageKAL is awesome too!

 

Lastly - I would love to hear your suggestions on what to listen to WHILE we knit! Podcasts and shows all welcome. I'll be posing these Qs in our groups this week too.

 

That is all I have for this week guys. Just one final note, if you see others finishing their projects super quickly, don't let it get you down. This happens with our KALs sometimes. Some participants have the time and the knowledge to race through it but the majority of us will take our time and knit the pieces over a 4-6 week time frame. Just know whatever your pace, it's all good. 

So much love - I am so grateful to you for joining in!

XOXO ~ Amy