@kate recommended that I make an #introduction post so here go some bits about me, in no particular order~ (Disclaimer: I'm still picking up what the etiquettes are on Mastodon and on this server, so I might very well be under- or over-sharing oops.)
1. Hello! I'm a Vietnamese fibrecrafter, living on Dharawal land (Wollongong).
2. I'd been knitting and spinning for several years, but after a major life/career decision in early 2024, I dove even deeper into the world of fibrecrafts both to keep my brain from going to mush and to comfort myself. Against my more reversed nature, I put myself out there to connect with a wider community of crafters and makers, who have been so kind and generous with their skills and knowledge, and some of whom have become dear friends.
3. If there is such a thing as a calling in life, mine would probably be teaching. I so enjoyed tutoring back in uni; I loved helping students with writing. I'm now flexing that teaching and instructing muscle again as I run knitting workshops at Finzah Yarn Studio, my local yarn shop in Cringilla.
4. I'd call myself a multicraftual maker. For now, I'm deep in working with raw fleece and learning about the different breeds here in Australia. I spin on wheels and spindles, I switch between ten knitting WIPs intermittently, and I'm in a phase of obsession with overshot weaving.
5. I do have an Instagram still (I'm clumsy.feetsies on there), because of the visual nature of sharing about crafts. But I'm much more at home when I can write extensively, hence my blog at threadsinprogress.blog/.
6. I love the more medium to long wool breeds. Love me some tactile feedback when I'm combing and spinning.
7. I would choose a densely cabled knitting project over a plain Stocking stitch one in most situations.
8. One of the books that changed my world in the past year was "Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years" by the wonderful anthropologist Elizabeth Wayland Barber. I am so keen to ask questions and learn more about the way "women's work" has shaped history and our current times.
9. I love novels that are more quiet character studies and centering the perspective of women—I finished "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" on an 8-hour flight this year and fully intend to reread it every year. I welcome any recommendations :)
10. I have a menace of a cat. I will most likely inundate people here with photos of him.
11. I also have a husband who embraces my 1000-ideas-per-minute, scattering-craft-projects-around-the-apartment self to a ridiculous extent. I have my Craft Nook off to the side of the dining area, and he has his Carnivorous Plants Nook (a massive nylon greenhouse) out on the balcony. The cat owns the rest of the place. It's a win-win-win situation.
11. Aaaand I thrive in convos with people about their niche interests (hint: DM me about yours).
#handspinning #knitting #caturday #WomensWorkMatters #weaving #carnivorousplants
