A handwoven scarf named Aspen

I'll tell you right now, that I love the story of Aspen. I love when lots of little things suddenly all connect and work together to make something totally awesome. About two weeks ago, I started stringing tons of silver beads onto some yarn, because I felt like I needed to knit a tube with a lot of silver beads, but beyond that I really had no clue what I was making. I like to work on my artwork with my students, so I worked on this piece as they made jewelry. They kept asking what I was making, my response, I'm not really sure, I just know that I have to make it. At this repsonse they gave me a kind smile ( the kind where they're trying to be nice but they think that you might be a little bit crazy) and went back to their work.

From spring scarves 2012

From spring scarves 2012

Last week I had Friday off for winter break, so I was able to take two yoga classes that I don't normally take. And in the second one I met a lovely women, we'll call her D. As soon as I saw her, I felt like she would look awesome wearing one of my scarves. She was beautiful, had some awesome jewelry on, and just overall appeared confident, and full of style. At the end of class she told me that she loved my work, and wanted me to design a piece for her. She wanted something super soft, and in shades of grey with some aqua. I was so excited.

So I went home and started thinking and listening. And right away I knew, her scarf needed silver beads, it needed the beaded piece that I had created. A few minutes after I made this connection, I received a message from "D" saying that she was so excited for her scarf, and she was hoping that I could put some silver beads with it. I wish that you could have seen my smile. It appears that Aspen was talking to both of us, and seemed to have planned herself before either "D" or myself had thought about her.

From spring scarves 2012

PS: just a few days before all of this I purchased super soft silver and aqua yarn, for no real reason, othern that I felt like I had to. And it turns out that I did, Aspen needed the new yarn.

From spring scarves 2012

So here's what Aspen taught me, listen to yourself, and follow your heart. Don't question it, just go with it. You don't have to have all of the answers at the beginning. And it's pretty fun when you finally do get the answers and you see all of the dots connectiong. Don't worry if other people think that you're crazy because you don't have a plan, when they see where your nonplan got you, they'll wish that they didn't have a plan. And most of all, be open and listen. I think that we often sell ourselves short, making up excuses, saying that we can't do things, or not being willing to take the risk and see where it goes. While  I was sitting and stringing beads for hours, I was wondering what I was doing. But decided that it didn't matter, it would turn into something at some point.

Source: flickr.com via Amber on Pinterest

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