Busy Busy Busy! What 2018 Actually Looks Like for Me

Good morning, Friends! Thank you so much for being so patient with me! Honestly, I tried making a blog post last month but there were complications with the site, so I unfortunately couldn’t.

Anyway, I thought I would take this time to update you all on what this year has been like for me. But first, I would like to share with you how my heart has been.

My Heart

My heart is doing really well! God has provided me with increasingly more joy in my job. Ever since I left my day job, I have been trying to figure out what God wants this job to look like. Now that I have been doing this job for more than six months (What???) I think I’m at a place where I feel like this is where God wants me and this is what He wants this business to look like. To knit for people, whether it’s through commissions or samples, brings so much joy to my heart, to know that I can use this gift to provide a handmade gift for people. Are there times of discouragement and panic? Absolutely! There are a lot of times when I don’t feel good about myself or what I’m doing. But I just keep getting up and working. This is honestly my favorite job I have ever had, and it suits me so well. I thank God for creating the absolutely perfect job for me! Another hat that I wear in my business is a knitting teacher for kids. It’s a small class for kids that are homeschooled in my church. I come in there once a week and teach six children ages 7-13 how to knit. The kids are so bright and talented! Every week, I’m always blown away at how much they have learned! In fact, half of the kids, I’m confident, are ready to tackle a knitting pattern!

Works in Progress

I have had a LOT of projects to work on. But before I get into that, I wanted to share with you my first Finished Object from this year: My Zweig! While I have had a couple more finished objects since this year, those were specifically for other people. The Zweig is SO AMAZING! As soon as I finished the project, it instantly became my favorite sweater. If any of you have seen me around, you know how true that is!

Now to Works in Progress! I recreated my 2018 Make Nine collage for a couple of reasons. In realization that business is picking up, I don’t think I’m going to have time to knit nine sweaters in the whole year. So I decided to add a couple shawls into the mix. Plus, I am joining a knit-along hosted by someone I follow on Instagram.

Top, Left to Right: Zweig Sweater, Ninilchik Swoncho, and Find Your Fade Shawl

Middle, Left to Right: Birkin Sweater, Time Trades Wrap, and Raam Sweater

Bottom, Left to Right: Weekender Sweater, Dotted Rays Shawl, Oscar Cardigan (for my nephew)

I already finished the top row of my Make Nine! Now it's on to the second row! I like doing things in order, but I may end up changing the last two rows a tiny bit. For example, I'm not sure if I'll start the Birkin first or the Raam Sweater. I'll figure it out though!

Currently, I’m working on a sample to knit for a local yarn dyer, Woolberry Fiber Co. If you have not looked up her company, do yourself a favor and marvel at all of the subtle speckles in her yarn! Pictured below is the sample I’m knitting for her, the Suburban Wrap, in two of her colors, “If I Only Had a Brain” and “Gram’s Garden”. Also, this shawl is really fun to knit because it switches from lace, to stripes, to eyelets and texture! It’s definitely not a boring piece! Along with this project, I have been knitting socks practically non-stop! I love knitting socks and it’s just the quick knit I need during long projects.

This is a picture I took knitting in our new car, driving on the way to my Grandma's house for Easter a couple days ago.

Looking Ahead

As mentioned before, business is picking up! Praise God! In fact, for these next roughly six months, I’m going to be really busy knitting samples! Starting in May, I will be knitting four samples for Blue Hills Fibers, a yarn dyer in Massachusetts. For two of her samples, I get to knit two-color brioche, a technique I have wanted to improve on, but never made time to. If you don't know what brioche is, don't worry, you'll find out soon! Now that I’m going to knit brioche projects for samples, it forces me to brush up on my brioche skills. And honestly, there are so many people who knit nothing BUT brioche. I’m looking forward to continuing to learn new techniques to grow in my knitting skills.

Prayer Requests

*Pray for peace for me. Sometimes I have panic attack moments, where I feel like I have a ton to do and not enough time to do any of it. I know that's not true but sometimes I still think this, and I start feeling anxious over time and money. To be clear, money is not a problem for us. I started this job knowing full well that I won't be making a lot of money to start with. However, I worry about it all still.

*Pray for my husband and I. We are going to start eating a lot healthier than we have been. For me personally, since I sit all day (as is the nature of knitting for a living), it means I am going to need to exercise more than I usally do and to stand while knitting instead of walking. Pray that we will commit to eating and living healthier.

I took the picture above yesterday while knitting and standing. I would love it if you all kept me accountable in this commitment! Also, I'm wearing my Zweig! I literally wear it just about every day or two! Ahhh, the power of wool... :)

Thank you again for your continued prayer support! I’m sorry that I haven’t posted in a while. I will try to be more consistent here because I really do love sharing what has been going on with me and my business!

To keep up with daily happenings with me and my life, feel free to follow me on Instagram @fawmknits. Thank you for your support!

In Christ's Love,

Amanda