New year, new journey.

With a new year, comes a new journey.. or atleast some new endevours in our journey.

With that being said, I thought I'd give you all a little back story on Fiber Me Up. About ten years ago, after my daughter was born - I started to crochet. I learned when I was a kid, but never took it seriously. When my daughter came along, I started making her hats. I created all of my own designs. It was fun and helped keep me sane while being a stay-at-home mom for the first time. I stumbled on Etsy and decided to open a shop to try and make a little money on the side. I ran that shop for about 3 years. My patterns sold well and when I added hats - the shop kind of took off. My hands couldn't keep up. Before I knew it, I had a hook in my hand from the time I woke up 'til the time I fell asleep. It was such a wonderful feeling - to know that so many people loved my items. (Plus the fact that I could make decent money & support my family doing what I enjoyed.) But, eventually I started to resent all the repetitive making. I didn't have time for myself or my family. I got burned out. That's when I took my first break from crochet..

 

Six years ago, I stumbled on the world of fiber. Not just yarn, but the fiber that actually makes the yarn! I fell in love with the fact that I could blend fibers and colors and spin them to look however I wanted. (It might seem hard to believe - but back then, we didn't have all these amazing yarns!) So, I set out on a mission to create! I taught myself how to dye and spin ...and before I knew it, Fiber Me Up was created. I worked solely with unique & colorful fibers and handspun yarns. This was my way of not falling into that black hole of monotonous making again!

Then real-life took hold, I had to take a break from the fiber world when our small family business got unexpectedly busy. Having fun with yarn just wasn't in the cards. I waited for a break.. for a chance to create something.. but that chance didn't come for a few years. When it finally did, it was like culture shock - getting back into the fiber world.

About a year and a half ago, I randomly found some makers on Instagram and my outlook changed. I posted some of my yarns and projects. I got a few likes and never stopped. I don't have any real-life friends who crochet or knit.. so it's exciting for me - to be able to go on there any time and ask for opinions or feedback and have someone to talk to. It's also a nice feeling when you have someone to share your projects with! Not to sound silly, but I feel like I've found my place. Learning to dye and spin and design better patterns - have been some of the most satisfying parts of my journey thus far. Although a lot has changed, I haven't. I started to design again and I've realized that this is what I love. I've found something that makes me happy and I've pushed all of the negative things out of my life.

I have so many ideas for this small business of mine, and I'm going to do it all -- but at my pace. I have my new website up and running. I've started dyeing yarn again. This time I'm going to be focusing on what I love. I'm going to continue making my faux fur poms for you guys, because they are so much fun to make (and heck, I use them too)! I'm just gonna live more intentionally and be more present in life. No getting caught up in the numbers. I refuse to fall into the hustle. I'm going to do what makes me happy and only what makes me happy. I have so many design ideas in my mind that I need to get out on paper and create. That is what I'm going to focus on this year.

If you've read this far, I'm so glad you have you here following along on my fiber journey. I hope you stick around!
Here's to a happy, healthy and amazing 2018 for all of us!