Interactions and community #Loveyourblog Week 1

This recent project and blog series from A Playful Day couldn't have come at a better time for me. 

As you may have noticed my blogging has always been a little sporadic and recently it recently seems to have trailed off into a tumbleweed of good intentions and good old fashioned writers block.

I think that part of my problem is that I have become bogged down in what I want my blog to be about. Since starting to grow my own design portfolio I obviously want it to promote my designs and my own work but also I love many aspects of the creative world. I knit for myself, for others as well as for business and I'm wary of it becoming too one-dimensional.

With that in mind, I have decided to take inspiration from Sarah Knight's recent blog post over at Crafts from the Cwtch and just write from the heart. Just find my own voice and write about things that I love, things that inspire me and yes, from time to time that will involve socks.

This weeks focus on community and specifically the crafting community is perfect timing too. My aim for 2015 has been to hide a little less behind social media and meet real live people in the flesh. As a self confessed introvert, albeit one who can talk for hours about yarny-related pursuits I have found it all too easy to inhabit the social media world and stay firmly within my comfort zone. This year though, is all about emerging from my little woolly nest and meeting like-minded people. Forging new connections and deepening friendships initially started online.

Recently I met a small group of people from my Ravelry group on a short day trip to Brighton. I had been looking for an excuse to visit Brighton after missing out on going to Unwind last year and the opening of Kate's new bricks and mortar store - YAK - seemed like the perfect opportunity.

A sunny day by the seaside

I was pleasantly surprised at how quick the journey was from my corner of Essex and a very enjoyable morning was spent yarn shopping, drinking coffee and sampling a local cafe's excellent baked goods. Our initial reserve at meeting each other soon disappeared and before long we were chatting like old friends. The conversation flowed as we worked on our projects and I was genuinely disappointed that I had to leave so soon to catch my train and collect the boys from school.

Some of my new stash

Plans are already underway for another meet up in July - this time on a weekend to suit those with different domestic circumstances and I think it is fair to say that we are all looking forward to it immensely.

It is easy to forget that by being part of such a wide community of crafters - whether that be Ravelry, Instagram or Twitter (or indeed all of them) - when we meet we aren't just strangers meeting for the first time. We already know each other and by meeting in person we can only deepen and grow that connection.