August Approaches!

WOW!  The years pass quicker the older you get.  Suddenly it's August, always a symbol of the end of summer to me.  Must be all those years of teaching in secondary schools, and then career counseling in higher ed.  The academic year begins soon.  As a teacher, that meant prepping my classroom, seeing my colleagues, and thinking about the year to come.  What will my new students be like? How will the class dynamics be in each of my classes?  As a career counselor, I've worked through the summer, but there is always that anticipation of a new academic year and new programs to prepare, promote, and present.

Now that I'm retired (9 years!) from the academic world, I don't feel that same sense of ending, beginning, and anticipation.  I've just recently gone from using an academic calendar to a true yearly one.

Now I think seasons!  August in the fashion world means the start of prepping for the Fall and Winter seasons.  For this fiber artist, that means developing styles for the upcoming cool and colder weather.  Here in North Carolina, summer continues and will most likely do so through September.  However, we are a tourist area, so many of our visitors come (thankfully!) from northern states, Canada, and many other parts of the world.  I LOVE making scarves, bags, and other wearable art in wool, blends, and natural fibers.  Pinterest is my friend!  It allows me to spread my wings and view designs that tweak my imagination.

Ideas in mind: variations of the vest in knit and crochet, felted everything!  Bags, brooches, scarves.  After three months of healing a herniated disc, I'm back to tennis....no reason why I can't get back to felting.  I'm ready to try it again!  Except for knitted felt, the other types (hand, nuno, needle) required much standing, bending over, and physicality.  But I think I'm ready to try it again!  YAY!!!