For those of you who are new, a warm welcome! For those of you who noticed my long absence, welcome back!
Why relaunch?
In the previous iteration of this site, I was unhappy with the direction I took with my blog posts. I felt like I was treating my topics too shallowly and briefly, and that much of it was repetitive. The overall website also needed an overhaul that presented my patterns better and supported a gallery.
Because of these two issues, I started to let the site languish, as I couldn’t find time to really sit down and bash it out (this… is an issue I have with big tech projects). The languishing was exasperated by the fact that my computer is getting quite old (need to get a new one before New Year!), and I have a history of getting cross with website layouts if I don’t maintain them (what can I say? I like redecorating).
Most importantly, during my hiatus, I found that my artistic goals had started to shift. Which brings us to…
What’s new?
First, I’m planning to post (somewhat) regularly again! However, I’m aiming to write posts with depth and substance (or at least something more than “argh this pattern is killing me”), so they might be slightly more irregular than weekly.
Second, I now have a pattern page with links to my patterns on Ravelry! I have written several patterns over summer this year, so once they have finished testing I will add them as well.
Third, I have an actual gallery! It’s a little sparse right now, but I’m in the process of finishing a long-term project that will literally double the size. The gallery also leads me to the next part:
What’s changing?
Another issue with the previous iteration of the website was that I had set my focus narrowly. I was trying to make the blog similar to other knitting blogs out there, instead of letting it be what it wanted to be and giving myself the room to do what I wanted with it.
Therefore, one of the most significant changes is a wider, shifted focus. Instead of simply focusing on general knitting projects (“what’s on the needles” posts), I will be focusing on the artistic aspects of my work, whether it’s an art piece I’m working on, a new pattern I’m writing, or someone else’s pattern.
I’m also going to focus on the process over the results. Previously, I found I was getting hung up on the fact that I didn’t have a lot of finished items to show. My projects moved slowly because I had a lot of balls in the air (and I prefer working on multiple projects simultaneously). I felt bad that I was sharing the same work for months on end, which meant that I just didn’t post anything.
Another change is materials. I’m still working a lot in fiber art, and it’s still my primary focus, but in the process of refining my fiber work I have found that I am returning to traditional materials. I’ve returned to sketching, and I’ve even been participating in Inktober. I also have upcoming projects that require illustration and painting, and I’ve had a hankering to explore sculpture through more common and/or traditional materials.
In addition to these changes, I have been doing a lot more costuming. In fact, over the last year, I’ve dived headlong into the medieval reenactment scene, which lets me play with fiber arts and use my academic knowledge and learn more crafts. And I remembered how much I love handsewing! So expect posts from that part of my life as well, because the boundaries on my art are only the ones I impose.
So welcome to the new Unspun World.
Let’s make art.