I was fully prepared to sit down with my coffee this morning and stare at my computer, hitting the refresh button until the results email came through for the Hawaiʻi Craftsmen Annual Statewide Exhibition, probably sometime in the late afternoon I was thinking.

Instead, they popped through right after I got home from school drop off as I was making my breakfast.

Of course, I stopped in the middle of that to fumble open my computer so I could actually see what I was looking at (as opposed to on my phone).

My name wasn't on the list.

Yeah, it's a bummer.

But it IS a hard show to get into.

There were over 600 entries across six different islands. Talk about a tough job narrowing that down to the 124 selected pieces!

I don't envy the juror.

And I do know four of the names on the list, which is pretty cool. Three of them I met during my residency on Molokai.

But I'm still bummed not to be joining them.

And that's okay.

I let myself feel my feels and instead of writing to you then, this morning, as I normally like to do, I put a few miles in on the treadmill while watching some Grimm.

Going for a walk outside in the neighborhood would have been nice, too, I'm sure, but I wanted to get out of my head, and going for quiet walks outside sometimes puts me even more inside my own head.

Which is great for sparking new ideas and reflecting! I have written a lot of poems while out on walks. Though not many here in Hawaii, surprisingly.

Vegging out watching some fantasy police drama (while still moving my body) was probably better for me this time.

And so it's time to let this door close and move on.

(With our next PCS move scheduled for summer 2026, I won't be eligible to apply for this show again. Unless, of course, we move back to Hawaii sometime in the future! Ha. I wish.)

I think I'll probably start doing that, moving on, that is, by finishing up this cowl today.

Yes, it's nearly done already! And yes, that's Mabel in the background, keeping me company along with her babies.

But I need to get my final counts for the pattern and get that ready to put into a pdf before I dive into my next exciting project, which will be a collaboration with indie dyer and knitwear designer Ethan Pyle of Refracted Light Fiber Arts.

I just got the yarn we'll both be using to design a pair of sister shawls for the spring. And they're all such lovely shades of green!

This will be just the thing to distract me, don't you think?

Maybe along with some more backyard crocheting with the chickens.

Sounds like a plan to me.

-Connie

P.S. Speaking of backyard chickens, here's a closer look at Mabel's four remaining babies:

This one I've decided will be named Attitudy Judy! 😆