Day 1 of the KNITSONIK Back to School Challenge and I want to talk about my chosen subjects for study this September! What are yours? Please pop them in the comments.
I am interested in lots of different subjects, AKA Special Interests.
Sometimes, when it comes to studying and learning, I get interested in too many things and can’t figure out where to start.
So I’m going to use the KNITSONIKbacktoschool challenge to focus on just a few key things I really want to learn/study this autumn.
1. Photography. My dear brother Ferg – who took all the photos for the KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook and Playbook – lent me the very camera he used for those projects, to try and help me take better photos of my own. It has so many functions and options, and I have an online lecture that I keep meaning to watch that will hopefully make me more familiar with its amazing possibilities. Hopefully by the end of September, I can show you some nice photos I took with this, and not with my phone.
2. Creative Recovery. The last few years have really hollowed out my creative joy. Seriously, I feel like a husk. One day I will write about this, but not today. Today, I’m focusing on how, a few years ago, I did The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. Though I didn’t love it all (and Morning Pages are a rubbish idea for anyone who has depression) there were some exercises that I found really helpful. This autumn I want to do it all again, with modifications to make it more Felix-friendly. I have both The Artist’s Way and The Artist’s Way Workbook; each of them are covered with some beautiful wrapping paper salvaged from LUSH gift boxes. I don’t know why, but covering books in cherished pretty paper feels particularly back-to-school-y, as this was one of my favourite things about the start of a new year. New books and textbooks always meant new ways to personalise them.
3. Smartphone usage Regulation. This seems weird to share online when you are probably reading this on your phone, but I really appreciate Catherine Price’s timely and important self-care programme How to Break up with your Phone and especially her 30 day recovery plan. It’s not about throwing your phone in the bin, but about developing a more intentional (and regulated) relationship with it. For the past few months, I have kept writing in my bullet journal that I want to work through the tasks… but then I’ve not managed to actually do it. I am using this challenge to make it happen!
4. Sound and Music. The last few years I’ve focused on KNIT more than SONIK, simply because there have been more paid opportunities in KNITTING than in SOUND. But I really, really miss working with sounds: listening and playing with sounds and music are the foundation of everything I want to do. A couple of years ago, I enrolled in a part-time course at Point Blank Music School to get back into producing my own music. This autumn I want to get back to it and see if I can’t do more SONIK. These are the tracks I made; I want to make more!
I could add more SUBJECTS FOR STUDY, but the plan here is not to overload myself.
Rather, I want to use the back to school feeling to focus on a few key areas. So here they are: photography, creative recovery, smartphone usage regulation, and sound and music. Who knows… maybe I’ll even be inspired again to pick up my knitting needles? Perhaps.
What subjects are you interested in learning more about, this autumn?
XF
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This is a really good opportunity for me to put in writing all the online courses I’ve planned for the autumn. After reading your plans my own don’t seem that overwhelming- or maybe both of ours are
1. Fun and creativity first – I plan to dive deeper into the spinning and drum carding rabbit hole, focusing on art batts and art yarn, playing with colours and structures.
2. Starting up my business I’ve enrolled in two courses, one for Instagram and one marketing course for online businesses. The reason I’m taking my business from a small on the side of retirement thing to something bigger is the wish to provide a job for my eldest son. He’s on the spectrum, high functioning but with no work experience, and haven’t been getting any help from the Unemployment agency. So here I am starting a new career at 64 – I’m thrilled and scared
3. Before I decided to go all in on my business I enrolled in a University online course on Italian for beginners as I wanted to level up from my Duolingo version. I really don’t know if I manage all of this and have decided that Italian has to go first if I don’t.
Morning papers and The Artist’s Way is a companion since early spring and I find it helps me focusing and easier doing all the small everyday tasks, leaving more time and energy for the more creative things.
I’m happy to be in this group! Good luck to you and everyone else!
So brilliant to hear all you’re starting – like I’ve said to myself, though, I’m going to say to you: be gentle if you can’t manage all of this in September! I’m the same with me.
The art batts and art yarn sound like gorgeous self-care/creativity/fun and play. Yes to prioritising this! I hear you on starting a new business as a way to provide a job for your son. Parents of ND kids end up doing THE MOST to support your children because of a lack of external support and the ableism of the job market and employment centres. I hope I’m not clumsy in how I’ve put that; all I’m trying to say is that I see you, and the extra work and labour you are doing, and there should be more support and – most of all – good luck! That sounds wise to know that if you can’t manage it all, the Italian course can wait. Very encouraging to hear you’ve been finding the artist’s way helpful x good luck with all you’re holding up and creating x
I am learning how to crochet. I selected a blanket pattern that has a variety of flowers that will ultimately need to be arranged. I’ve done a lot of disassembling, but I am really starting to make progress. I am also limiting my creative activities. I recently realized that online access to everything has made me the dabbler in many things, but never really mastering any. For the time being, I will focus on knitting and crocheting.
I’ve suffered a lot of creative disappointment this year so it would be good to begin to make some sort of a Creative Recovery. I like the idea behind The Artist’s Way, and I’m also in the tailor it for my needs camp.
This is a genius challenge, I’ve had to stop myself buying online courses as I have so many that I’ve never finished and several that I’ve never even started. I need to pick one and break it down into something I can work through.
Such a great initiative and a friendly ‘push’ to finally finish open projects (I started 2024 with so many ideas). I’m currently clearing my book shelves and found a notebook from university times wrapped in a small version of the Sherlock Holmes movie poster. And I wondered, why I don’t do this anymore. I will not aim for the prize, still I prepared my project list for the rest of the year: Colour at Play, two projects from KnitStars9, finish current KAL, pick up Norwegian language course, and make the trip to work and back my quality time (less phone, more reading). I read a comment from another knitter yesterday, who said she makes time to knit 15 minutes every day. I like the idea to break down my leisure time in short periods and hope that these 15 minutes will be the beginning of hours of productivity
Book covers! ( great idea!)
I am learning how to knit a steeked cardigan with slip stitch color work. My first steek project.
Practice watercolor painting! Try to schedule three times a week with focus on learning more about color mixing.
Watch a Knit Stars video for an hour each week for ideas on my next knitting project. Make notes!
I love your book covers, Felix! I too loved the first week of school because I’d love covering my text books – but I was much less colorful – I used brown paper grocery bags and doodled all over them, not very skillfully but I loved them. I’m glad you’re getting a handle on rejuvenation of your creative joy! I hope to regenerate my love of writing (but just for myself – the publishing world is way too complicated for me these days), get back into knitting (been in a knitting slump for months), practicing my drawing (again, for me) and applying myself more to maintaining my yard and spending more time there, and to maintaining my house plants – which, if they could talk, would be cautiously crying “Hooray, at last!”. I look forward to your posts about your progress!
I, too, can relate to feeling like a husk. My husband bought me The Artist’s Way and the Workbook for Mother’s Day. I’ve made myself a little cubby with those books, Wheesht by Kate Davies, and your Colour at Work. This “semester” I will work to reignite my light….
Solidarity to you. I hope your cubby and those books will blow a little life into your embers x