We spent last weekend in a lush little oasis on the Big Island, surrounded by about a hundred owls. I kid you not! (Okay, so they weren't real, living owls. Now that would have been a whole 'nother adventure!)

The Storied Ground Opening Reception at Kahilu Theatre was on Saturday, and we stayed in a cute little Airbnb called the Owl Nest. There were owl decorations, owls painted on the furniture, owl print fabrics, and even a couple owl themed books and playing cards. You name it, if you could put an owl on it, they had it!

This trio greeted us upon our late evening arrival:

I wish I'd thought to take a picture of the inside of the cabin before we crashed with our stuff everywhere, but, alas, I did not.

I DID take lots of pictures at the art show, though!

What an amazing experience that was.

It already feels like a dream and it hasn't even been a week!

Little-girl-Connie wouldn't even have the words to describe having her artwork displayed alongside so many other meaningful, storied pieces by such amazing artists. In Hawaii, no less.

Grown-up-Connie has trouble with the words sometimes, too.

I did make a go of it, though!

You can read more about the show, see a few more pictures, and read my artist statements over on Patreon. (It's a public post so you can read it even if you haven't joined me as a member yet.)

Whew!

That's my fourth art show here in Hawaii, y'all. It's ... pretty amazing. And maybe a little bittersweet? It may well be my last one. At least for a time. We'll have to see what Georgia has to offer for fiber artists!

One thing I know for sure, though, is that I'm going to look for opportunities to connect with other creatives in the community and actively look for opportunities for not only my fiber artworks, but also teaching some classes.

I had a lovely chat with one of the other artists at the show and she was both fascinated by and totally intimidated by my work.

If only I could have sat down with her to show her how simple the stitch pattern is!

Apparently I need to start carrying a ball of yarn and a crochet hook in my bag to art shows, lol. Maybe a couple stools and a sign that says, "Sit and crochet with me!"

Think they'd kick me out for that?? 😆

Seriously, though, if you love these pieces, you can absolutely make your own.

First, check out this article from Spin Off. It shares a little bit more about my process and will link you to the Summer 2021 issue where I shared instructions for one of the very first tapestries I ever made, if you'd like to learn more.

Second, learn how to crochet with the linen stitch, if you're not already familiar with it.

Next, if you want to practice, try making a Specklewerk Cowl! It's one of my favorites. Great for stashbusting as well as mini skeins.

Here's my latest one, actually (which is also available for purchase on Etsy), using some of my own handspun yarn:

And now it's time for you to learn to spin your own yarn!

No, I'm just kidding. (Unless you want to, of course.)

You could easily create your own landscape inspired piece using leftover yarns from your stash or a seascape would be lovely with a set of ombre minis in a seafoam or teal colorway. Or heck, you could even just use different shades of your favorite color to create a simple colorscape that I can just about guarantee would make you smile every time you walked by it!

And, hear me out, I would actually love to see something like this done with leftover yarns from projects completed in a given year.

Like, save all your leftovers that are actually long enough to be worth crocheting with (keep your trimmed off ends in a separate space and send them off to Hedgehog Fibres for their recycling program or to use in your next stuffie) and at the end of the year sort them out into a color story and crochet them up into a little visual reminder of all the cool things you made!

I can just imagine a lovely wall of colorful strips of fiber stories, the display growing through the years...

Wouldn't that be cool!?

Well, I think it would be cool. Maybe a little eclectic, too!

Not that I've done it yet. I need to PLAN AHEAD for that to happen, lol. Wish me luck.

OR.

Here's an offer for you.

If I were to create a piece of fiber artwork especially for you, selecting colors and fibers to fit whatever sort of abstract landscape or color field would bring you the most joy and then spin it up into yarn to crochet into art for YOUR wall... what would that look like?

Would it be horizontal or vertical? Or square?

Would it be large or small?

Would it be a reinterpretation of a photo that you shared of a favorite place or memory?

Or would it be an exploration of your favorite color(s)?

Where would it live in your space?

If you're feeling generous, I'd really love it if you hit reply and shared your vision with me! In fact, may I be so bold as to dare you to tell me about it?? Or maybe I sparked an idea for your own making? I'd love to hear about that, too! I'm cool with questions, too, of course. Always. :)

Okay, that's enough of my rambling for one day. I get excited sometimes.

But seriously, do feel free to write back to me.

I'd kind of like to procrastinate on some video editing that I need to finish up. The program was having fits yesterday and spitting out corrupted files and other garbage that was really frustrating and makes me want to just go play Stardew Valley instead, you know?

But that doesn't help get patterns published, lol.

All right, I'm off! Thanks for hanging out with me today for a bit and entertaining my outlandish ideas and musings.

Cheers!

-Connie

P.S. I'm sending out three more moonflower postcards today! You can get one, too, by joining me on Patreon for as little as $2 a month.

P.P.S. Baby chicken update = these three aren't so much babies any more!