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Your Daily Dose of Fiber

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Welcome to Rise and Twine and thank you for stopping by!

I've been an avid crocheter since I picked up my first hook and discovered the countless possibilities of creations. I've always had a desire and need to express my artistic side but found myself putting it on the back burner due to the ever expanding demands of life. Being a mom, I know that making time for myself can be a struggle which was why crocheting was the perfect medium for me. I love how adaptable and easy it is to work on a project, just toss it in your bag and go!

Rise and Twine was created with the hope of helping others find and nurture their inner artist. There is also such an amazing community of people out there who work with yarn that have influenced and encouraged me. I can honestly say that I wouldn't have had the courage to start this blog without them and I aspire to pass that on to others.

Looking forward to the many patterns and projects that have yet to be born. Lets wake up and create together!

Warm hugs,
Jessica

When life gives you lemons....make a bag to carry them in

A few months ago I accepted a part-time position working for a small business. As much as I was excited, motivated and learning a great deal, I was wary. Call it intuition or awareness, but I just couldn't shake it. You know that feeling in your stomach that is a cross between butterflies and knots? Yeah, I had that. And like most times, I ignored it and put it off as new job jitters.
Flash forward to 6 weeks later when I told my boss that I was looking forward to having my review and receiving some feedback on my performance so far. The answer I gathered wasn't what I was looking for and I felt passively dismissed.
The next week I got a phone call on my day off and was told unapologetically that I was being let go due to "lack of resources." I was so blindsided that the only thing I could say was "okay." I was then informed that this decision was effective immediately and I wouldn't have a job to go to the following Monday.
I would like to take a moment to humbly state that I had not received any negative feedback while working for this company which made the news even more shocking.
But wait. There is more. I was running late for an appointment when I got the phone call and had to jump in the car without having time to process the bad news. Holding back tears, I pulled into the busy parking lot and ran into the office. And then this happened. I tripped over a concrete median and bailed. Hard. The strangers around me whipped their heads around to witness a red-faced woman burst into tears and go running into the building. It wasn't a soft sob either, it was a full on, uncontrollable, ugly cry and there was no stopping it. The man in the elevator awkwardly held the door open for me as I waved him to go on and darted up the stairs.
When it rains it pours, and we all take our turns eating sh*t.
This story has a happy ending though, once I got home I decided that I had 3 options:
1) Post a rant on the companies website and complain about the lack of integrity, morals and overall compassion that I was treated with.
2) Find a mudain job in a factory screwing caps on tubes of toothpaste.
3) Decide to use the free time that I had to create a pattern for my newly born blog.
I'm not going to lie, option 1 and 2 seemed like they may have been the best ideas at the time. However, after some processing I determined that channeling my new found freedom into creating a pattern was the best choice for me.
So here it is in all its glory; the beach bag that was conceived out of a bad day, because I determined that with the lemons I was given, I needed a fashionable bag to carry them in. View Pattern Get PDF Version

How I became "hooked"

Here is the back story of my crochet journey:

About 5 years ago I was going through a terrible breakup from a highly dysfunctional relationship. You know when you are left thinking "What was the purpose of all this pain? What did I learn from this? How can I grow and create meaning to this part of my journey?"

Enter stage left, my friend Lucy; I met her through my ex boyfriend as the relationship was dissolving. Not only did she walk me through my heartache and distress, but she also put a crochet hook in my hand. At the time, she was working on her first blanket and expressed to me how relaxing and peaceful it was to morph yarn into a project.

She started out teaching me how to chain and then would lovingly make my first row for me. I can't even count the nights we spent drinking tea, eating chips and watching terrible movies on Netflix. It would take us 45 minutes to pick a show and then would end up chatting through the entire thing anyways.

Lucy was my saving grace during that difficult time. I had no idea how much of an impact the simple act of having a crochet hook placed in my hand was about to shape my world.

So here I am, 5 years later starting my own blog. Thank you so much, Lucy. This one is for you. View Pattern Get PDF Version

Pattern Procrastination

Have you ever created a new pattern thinking " I don't need to write this down, I will figure it out after and then post the instructions." Me neither. With the exception of this pattern and many other creations that were made on the fly. Thankfully, with this wrap it was fairly easy to go back and count the chains and rows.

I love grabbing a skein of yarn and playing around with it until I've found my inspiration and the direction I want to go. I just have a strong dislike for having to write out the steps as I move along. I have no idea why, maybe I'm a pattern rebel? Or maybe it's the fact that I have my PHD in procrastination.

Isn't there someone out there who would just like to donate their time following me around and writing down my pattern as I go? While they're at it, I actually have 2 weeks of recycling that needs to go out.

I hope you enjoy this pattern that turned into a make work project for myself. I'll get better at it, but I'm curious to see how many blogs from now I'll be confessing that I've done it again ;) View Pattern Get PDF Version

Springtime Slouchy Hat

I'm kind of obsessed with hats, especially toques (yes, I'm Canadian). I'll admit, I was known for rocking the toque no matter the season; in my defence I was going through my skater phase.
The thing I love about this hat is that I actually could wear it through the summer without repeating my previous fashion mistakes. When I made this, I was thinking about campfires and summer evenings by the ocean.
This only took me one and a half episodes of 'Evil Genius' on Netflix from start to finish, which is always so satisfying. Side note: if you haven't seen 'Evil Genius' I highly recommend it. I won't say too much because I don't want to spoil it, but it's a true crime documentary with plenty of twists and turns.
So there you have it, I basically just planned your evening for you, no need to thank me ;) View Pattern Get PDF Version

Easy Country Pillow

Crocheting pillows has quickly become one of my favorite things to make. Not only do they add flair to your living space, but they also provide instant gratification once you realize how fast they work up. I love this gorgeous design, the variegated yarn provides beautiful striping through out and the alternation stitches create texture. The soft tones remind me of a country sunset the way the relaxing shades melt into each other.
This project is perfect for beginners. It's simply made in once piece, folded in half and sewn together. Does it get much easier than that?! Grab some yarn and a hook and let's get started.
Bonus: The pattern is easy and repetitive enough that you can crochet AND watch Netflix without missing the plot ;) View Pattern Get PDF Version

Recommended Books (available on Amazon)

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