Self-Care for Makers, Crocheters, & Knitters | Podcast Episode #85

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When was the last time you did something that was just for you?

Self-care is one of the most important things you can incorporate into your day. When you do, you’re fueled with the energy to be your best self for everyone around you. Whether you’re a maker, designer, blogger, or hobby crocheter, we all have one thing in common – we’re all human.

When your fuel light comes on in your car, what do you do? You get to the gas station because you don’t want to be stranded. When the light bulb won’t turn on anymore, you change it. When your cell phone battery gets low, you charge it. Resources are finite and your care is no different. You can only run on fumes for so long!

Special Guest

I had the pleasure of connecting with Beth from FibreShare and Swift and Bloom for one of my favorite chats yet! Beth is a wealth of knowledge from pure experience. She tells her story beautifully and authentically and in the process fills us with motivation to prioritize personal care.

Episode Transcript

Brittany:
Hey there, and thank you for joining me in episode 85 of the BHooked podcast. I’m thrilled that you’re here. I’m so excited about the conversation that I had with my guest today about personal care and how that relates to us as makers, as designers, as just people in general.

Before we get into that, though, did you know that in two days, if you’re listening to this as it airs, in two days is I Love Yarn Day? I Love Yarn Day is something that the Craft Yarn Council started, and there may be some confusion around what is that? What do I do on I Love Yarn Day? I love yarn. I want to participate.

So I found a really cool article from redheart.com that tells you 10 different ways to celebrate I Love Yarn Day. I want to pull out my favorite three, and then I don’t want to spoil it too much. I want you to check out this post. There’s a lot of really great ideas.

So the first way that I would celebrate I Love Yarn Day is to teach a friend how to crochet or knit. Think about how much joy knitting and crochet brings to you and that you can actually give that gift to somebody else. So you can celebrate I Love Yarn Day by teaching somebody how to knit or how to crochet.

Another fun thing to do is to take your knit or crochet project on the go. Once again, these are found in Red Heart’s blog post about 10 ways you can celebrate I Love Yarn Day. Take your project on the go. I guarantee you that somebody will stop you and say, what is that you’re making or what is it you’re doing? And it starts that conversation and then you can potentially share this gift with that person, a complete stranger.

And then of course, my favorite way of celebrating I Love Yarn Day is to go yarn shopping. Now it is really fun to head out to your craft store or your local yarn store and just dive into all the squishiness that you see there. But personally, I don’t always have time to do that. I know you’re really busy as well. And so I like to do my I Love Yarn Day shopping online.

Now, you know, it’s no surprise that I love Red Heart Yarn. I love their products. There’s a few that I just really gravitate towards. You know, I love Unforgettable and I know you love it too. Well, I find it the easiest and the most convenient to shop at redheart.com because honestly, a lot of my local stores don’t carry Unforgettable, or if they do, they have one or two colorways. So I’ve spent all that time going to the store, and then I’m a little bit disappointed because I can’t get what I want. But if I go to redheart.com, I can order Unforgettable in any colorway I want, and that makes me happy.

So I will definitely link to that blog post so that you can be inspired by 10 ways to celebrate I Love Yarn Day. I hope you’ll celebrate that in some way, shape, or form. I’ll link to that on the show notes page. And once again, please check out redheart.com. They are a sponsor here of the show today, once again, and I’m super grateful for them. So be sure to check them out at redheart.com.

So a couple weeks ago, you may remember that I spoke with Ashley from Fibershare. She is one of the founders there. Well, this week, I had the pleasure of connecting with Beth. She’s the other person behind the scenes, more on the creative side. She does a lot with the website and that sort of thing. And so originally, I thought the conversation would go in that direction. But honestly, once I started chatting with Beth and I learned a little bit about her passions, we completely went in a different direction.

I found out that Beth really puts a priority on personal care and this resonated with me so much because I too am trying to put more focus on my personal care so that I can be my best self for everyone else. Well, we did take a fun twist to this because I know Beth is involved in the community aspect of Fibershare, and I thought it would be fun if we could find a parallel between her community and her passion for personal care.

To be honest, she did it. There really was a parallel for her between her community and her personal care, and that’s what we’re going to chat about today. So grab your project, my friend. Sit back and enjoy my chat with Beth from Fibershare and Swift & Bloom.

Well, Beth, hi. Welcome to the show.

Beth: 5:34
Hi. Thanks for having me.

Brittany: 5:35
It is my pleasure. I’m excited to hear a little bit more about you and your story and where you came from and what you have to offer this community. So first of all, tell me a little bit about yourself. How did you get into the world of fiber arts?

Beth: 5:44
Yeah. So, um, well currently I’m the creative director of Fiber Share and, um, I also have a blog called Swift and Bloom. Um, and both of those creative ventures are like an amalgamation of different passions of mine, which include writing, drawing, sharing, um, with the creative community and ultimately yarn and, um, just like cozy homey things with my blog and,

And I’ve always been really interested in yarn, but didn’t really expect for it to become a serious part of my life. And I’m delighted that it did. But it was a pretty windy path to get to where I am today.

It’s like a brief history. I live in Cincinnati, Ohio. I’m an artist, and now I’m a stay-at-home mom. I have a daughter who is 16 months old. And I’ve always loved yarn as a hobby. I learned to knit in high school from a friend’s mom. My friend didn’t even knit. I just found out his mom knitted and was like, oh, can I come over and you just teach me? And she did.

And I learned how to knit and she became this kind of like awkward little artsy indie girl walking around my high school, like wearing a half knitted scarf around my neck and going to my classes. And I guess yarn kind of continued in that fashion for me where it was just like this quirky little thing that I did. And I didn’t know anybody else who did it, but it was just always there in my lap like a hobby.

And it continued that way through college. I went to art school and I didn’t finish art school. I’m an art school dropout. But that’s okay because I actually dropped out for the right reasons that I just wasn’t quite sure that’s what I wanted to be doing, fine art.

And I kept drawing. Eventually, I went back to school for early childhood education. And I taught preschool for a little while. I was really excited about creating art curriculum for young children. And then I went through a phase where I took a break from teaching and I did a pet portrait business and just focused on drawing.

Yeah, this was before I had my daughter. So I would draw pet portraits. I was like totally in love with my little dog. She was my baby. I still have her. She’s just old now. She’s a little cranky old corgi mix.

I was still knitting and I learned to spin on my own, just for fun. I didn’t really know anybody who did knitting or spinning or anything, but a friend of mine owned a local like small craft shop, craft supply shop, and she was like, hey can I sell some of your hand spun yarn?

And I was like, oh, oh my god, no no no I don’t know what I’m doing like this isn’t my job. Like I’m not an expert at yarn. And she kept asking and finally I was like okay. So I had to put like a label on my yarn to sell it in her shop.

Yeah, so I called my yarn brand Ugly Hank, which is like a joke to myself and kind of like a warning to any prospective buyers being like this is an imperfect yarn. This girl does not know what she’s doing. So like, buy this pretty thing at your own risk.

Brittany: 9:40
Oh, and you teed that up perfectly too with your description. That’s why I’m giggling a little in the background. I love it.

Beth: 9:46
So, you know, like I did not expect it, but Ugly Hank became my thing. Like, I was so into spinning yarn after a few months of starting Ugly Hank and found my stride through selling on Etsy a little bit and also plugging in with other yarn people on Instagram that I just stopped even drawing pet portraits and I only did yarn. I got more into yarn and more into yarn.

Eventually in 2015, I participated in this tiny little yarn swap that was just an intimate, fun thing for friends put together by my acquaintance at the time, Ashley Thurman. And it became what is now Fibershare.

It was just like a really fun experience. And I remember sending her a private message and being a little awkward and really wanting to be her friend and saying like, Hey, um, I have design experience. And if you just ever want help drawing a logo or anything like that, I would love to help you. Cause this was really fun.

So thankfully she said to me like, um, do you want to just be my partner and like run Fibershare? And I was like taken aback with joy. And so, yeah, we have grown Fibershare together over the last few years. And it’s shocking to us, but it has just like grown into this amazing, joyful community.

And then I had my daughter, Violet, about a little over a year ago. She’s 16 months. And once I had her, I just realized that Ugly Hank was not fitting into my life anymore. So short story out of that, I basically dropped Ugly Hank because I really wanted to just focus on Violet and be present with her. And I wanted to spend my entrepreneurial energy on Fibershare because it was bringing me a lot of joy.

So I dropped Ugly Hank. I just focused on Fibershare and my daughter and my family. And then this summer, I started my blog called Swift and Bloom, which is like about just my life as a new mom and creative stuff that I happen to squeeze in during nap time. I’m still figuring all that out.

Brittany: 12:17
And that’s me. That brings you to today. Yeah. It’s such an interesting journey too. There are so many parallels there between community and what it means to you.

And another underlying message that I love there is that it’s okay to realize that something isn’t you anymore. It’s not speaking to you. And so I’m sure that was a difficult decision to let go of Ugly Hank. And I love that you did it because you knew it wasn’t serving you anymore. Yeah.

Beth: 12:47
Yeah, and it’s interesting. I feel like I’ve done that over and over where if you look at it negatively, you can consider it a false start. But if you look at it from the flip side, it’s like just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean it’s good for you or good for you for your whole life.

So it’s really okay to just embrace being a multifaceted, interesting woman artist. Women just… I feel like women in particular are just so amazing in all the different roles that they fill in their daily lives. Not just being a mom and being a creative person. There’s just so many dimensions to a woman artist.

And it’s taken me a long time to be comfortable with not having one thing that I’m known for that I’m a master of. But now, I feel like I’ve just found a community with all these yarn people and Fibershare in particular, and it’s really helped me find my stride.

Brittany: 13:46
Yeah, and so that’s a really great segue into what does this community mean to you and where you are in your life right now?

Beth: 13:57
Yeah, so it’s pretty huge for me in a few ways. Like, I guess the most obvious way for me is that I’m an introvert. Like, I can talk to you now because, you know, it’s just us. Yeah. But I’m really a homebody. And when I just worked on Ugly Hank or Pet Portraits or what have you, I was really happy to be home working in my apartment on art where it was quiet. And, you know, now it’s the same way where I am really happy to be a stay-at-home mom and,

However, sometimes that can get a little bit isolating, as a lot of moms know, or a lot of artists probably know. It just does get a little bit lonely when you’re working at home all day by yourself. Yeah. The yarn community in particular and social media has just been a really uplifting tool for me to connect with other like-minded people and other people who are a little farther along on their journey and they can give me tips and advice on how to take care of myself and basically just like—

We may have met because of yarn and sharing pictures of our yarn crafts, but the friendships really go beyond yarn crafts. And I feel like the yarn community is my home base.

Brittany: 15:20
Yeah. So do you feel like the yarn community that you had surrounded yourself with were part of the decisions that you made? Or maybe they helped you make those decisions to maybe let go of Ugly Hank or even start this new blog?

Beth: 15:39
Oh my gosh, yes. Which is funny because I actually was thinking I would talk about that in this story, like how this transformation came to be. Basically, let me gather my thoughts for a second.

Brittany: 15:54
Yeah, go for it.

Beth: 15:57
Okay, so basically, after I had Violet, my daughter, she was just… She’s like a very spirited baby. And I love her for that. And it was also hard on me because I don’t have a lot of mom friends in real life yet. I am one of the first of my local friends to have a baby.

I just remember getting a lot of advice from other people on social media and just about motherhood and acclimating to the life of being a mom, getting a lot of reassurance about what I was feeling was normal, when it’s going to get better, when I’m going to feel like myself again.

I remember this one day… It must have been when Violet was 10 or 11 months old. And my mom was babysitting for me. And I was in the parking lot in my car running errands around town. And I just all of a sudden, like, had it. And I whipped out my phone. And I just started pouring my soul out in these super embarrassing but awesome Instagram stories. Yeah. Yeah.

Where I was like, you guys, I don’t know what I want to do. I don’t want to sell yarn anymore. I don’t even know if I like yarn at this point. I’ve been obsessing over trying to fit it in during nap time. And I just can’t do it. And I don’t even want to do it. But I still have like this, this calling inside of me to, to put myself forth as an artist, you know?

Like, I’m really happy with life as a mom, I’m really happy with Fibershare. And I don’t want to change those things. But I just like need to tell my story. I don’t even know what my story is. Help, what should I do?

I felt like an idiot, but I just cannot believe how many people responded to me with long heartfelt messages saying, hey, what you’re feeling is normal. It’s okay to feel this way. You’re a new mom. This happened to me. There is a creative loss of identity that happens after you have a baby.

And you have to start taking care of yourself. And it’s okay to just have a period of time where it’s uncomfortable, but you step back and you just learn how to like center your world on you and your family. And I promise like the rest is going to fall into place.

So I mean, it was just so uplifting. And that was kind of a pivotal moment for me. It wasn’t like that was an aha moment. And then I was good to go. And I started a blog the next day. Took a lot of soul searching. And I really took everybody’s kind words to heart and thought, Yeah, you’re right.

Like I, what I’m doing, who I am is enough for now. I’ll always be an artist and I’m just going to like take a step back and trust that I’m going to find my path. So I have been focusing a lot instead of trying to sell yarn or make products. I enjoy Fibershare and my family.

And then in my free time to fill that creative kind of calling I talked about, I have started a new blog recently called Swift and Bloom. And that’s where I just like share very vulnerable feelings about like being a mom and how I’m making it through my days and like self-care tips that I’m learning along the way. And I also talk about yarn a little bit.

Brittany: 19:50
Yeah, well, I think yarn, it sounds like yarn will always be a part of you. And maybe you’ll go back and revisit that later on. But such an inspiring story. I love how you look at it.

Learned that being vulnerable tends to be that pivotal moment for a lot of us. When you put yourself out there, you didn’t know what the response was going to be. And because we have such an awesome community on Instagram and just in the fiber arts industry as a whole, the amount of just love that you received from that, I think of it as each one of those people took several minutes out of their very busy day.

They said yes to helping you and said no to other things as a result of that. And that is just so heartwarming to hear that the community rallied around you and helped you really discover probably what you already knew. Definitely.

Let’s shift gears a little bit. You’ve mentioned self-care several times, and this is something that I have really learned the value in this year. And I’m curious to get your thoughts on it. First of all, why is self-care so important to you?

Beth: 21:01
Yeah, so kind of like I touched on before, self-care became like a passion of necessity for me as a new mom. And now self-care is like—like I have these rituals that I do basically that are the skeleton of my day.

And I wasn’t a routine person before I had a baby. It was very like, just like fly by the seat of my pants. What am I gonna create today? What art am I gonna pump out? What’s gonna happen? So it’s taken a lot of work for me to like—not schedule my day rigidly, that doesn’t work for me—but to find kind of like these little landing points that are rituals that I do.

Some of them are things I do by myself and some of them are things that I do and like share in a story on Instagram pretty frequently. And so like I can give some examples of things like that are my self-care skeleton.

Brittany: 22:13
Oh yeah.

Beth: 22:14
So a really big thing for me is trying to wake up before my family in the morning, which is really, really hard for me.

Brittany: 22:13
Yes, I can relate. I try, man, but I fail.

Beth: 22:17
Yeah, it’s rough. But I find that even if I can get up 20 minutes before my daughter wakes up, I am like a different mom. I just can greet her with a different kind of enthusiasm and I’m more relaxed.

So I try to get up like at least a half hour before everyone else. And it really helps if I have coffee prepped the night before. My husband is so sweet and helpful with these self-care things, and he makes coffee every night and like helps me wrap up the house and make it so that when I wake up, it’s like a welcoming environment to greet the day.

So I usually have coffee and I try to journal for a few minutes. It doesn’t always happen. And I will oftentimes do like a quick little Instagram story where I just kind of like wave hello and it’s dark still outside and I’ll just say something like, hi, everybody. I’m awake. Hope you have a good day.

Yeah. It felt really silly at first, but I’ve had a lot of people respond to me and be like, hi, Beth, I was looking forward to seeing you today. It just cheers me up and it makes me feel almost like I’m being accountable to myself when I see these little Instagram stories stack up. I think, yeah, I am doing it. I’m doing self-care. I see the evidence here.

So the morning is a really big deal to me. And then throughout the day, I have little cheerful tricks that I’ve identified for myself—just things like opening the windows to let fresh air in, like playing cheerful music—lots of little things that I share on my blog.

Like, I have tips there about how to identify how you can create an environment of self-care for yourself through homemaking.

Brittany: 24:18
Yeah,

Beth: 24:19
That’s just something I’m really passionate about. And then like, I feel like I’m starting to talk for a long time now.

One of my most helpful routines that I have developed is before my daughter takes a nap, I have her do like five, 10 minutes of quiet playtime in her crib, in her room. And I run around my house and prepare the house as if a guest was coming over.

Just like a quick tidy up. Like sometimes it doesn’t look perfect, but I get like clutter off the surfaces, run around with some Clorox wipes, get a kettle of tea on the stove ready to heat up, and maybe like get my knitting out and queue up some Netflix, light a candle—stuff you can do in five minutes.

Yeah. And I just can’t even tell you how good it feels. After I put her down for a nap, we rock. I like leave her room and I exit to a house that is welcoming me for my quiet self-care time.

And I try not to work during nap if possible. If I have to work on Fibershare, then I often will set an alarm and I cut off work and I schedule downtime during part of the nap.

So, you know, even if you’re listening and you’re not a mom or, you know, you’re a mom, but you don’t have children who are napping—there has to be some part of the day, even 20 minutes, when you can intentionally set the scene for relaxing and welcome yourself as a guest into your space so that you can really feel at home.

Brittany: 26:08
I love that. That is such a cool piece of advice there, especially doing it a little bit before you know that you’re going down to have some quiet time or some you time. Yes. And being deliberate about scheduling that time. I know for me, I have been dabbling a lot with scheduling and productivity and trying to find the best way that I can produce the best results.

So for that day, and it may be completely different. One day, the win for the day might be, I need to crochet up to this point or I need to finish this project. On another day, it could be I need to finish filming for this one project. And so in order to do that, I like to take all of the guesswork, all of the thought out of it and just plan that day before it actually happens. So that way, when I wake up and I’m ready to start that day, I know exactly what I need to do and I don’t have to think about it.

And I love taking that approach to self-care too, because that’s just as important as fulfilling some of your duties in your job or in your role as a mom, whatever that may be, whatever your day may look like.

Beth: 27:26
Absolutely.

Brittany: 27:27
Yeah, I’ve learned that… The morning ritual is a big deal. It’s a big deal for me. Now, like I said, I’m still really struggling with getting up earlier. It’s hard. It is really difficult. I think I have come to the realization that part of my self-care is giving in when my alarm goes off and I say, nope, I need 10 more minutes.

Yep. And that’s okay. And I’m getting okay with that. I know that really– Part of the battle is just getting up, physically getting out of bed, because when I do that, it’s totally fine. I don’t feel like I need more sleep. I just love being cozy and comfy in my bed, and it’s still dark outside.

But once I do get out of bed, I get my husband taken care of, get him off to work, then that starts my time. And I read a book a couple years ago now, actually, called The Miracle Morning. And this is what really opened my eyes to the idea of the importance of a morning routine.

And he goes through a lot of really helpful tips. And I tried all of them. And I settled in on a routine that works really well for me. So my day starts with some yoga and some stretching and a little bit of—not like crazy core strength training or anything like that—but doing some sit-ups, some push-ups, that sort of thing. Just getting the blood flowing and getting me active.

And then I make it a priority to sit down and have a really good breakfast because I need that fuel to kind of get me through the day. And from there, I also make it a point to go into our bedroom and get ready for work as if I were leaving the house.

Beth:
Oh, that’s cool.

Brittany: 27:27 (cont.)
Yeah. Yeah. So I always did this. Basically, after I stopped working full time somewhere else and started working for myself, I was still in that habit. But I’ll be honest, I sort of got out of that habit little by little. I started to realize it’s a little more comfortable to work in yoga pants and jeans some days. And I embraced that.

And then it would get to the point where, well, I don’t really have to do my hair today or I don’t have to put on all the makeup today. I can just put some mascara on. And I felt bad on those days. I don’t know what it was. I just felt like I wasn’t my best self or wasn’t as prepared. I wasn’t as confident.

And so I just realized through that experience that those are silly things, but they matter to me and they make me my most productive self.

Beth: 30:11
Yeah. So it’s really interesting that you said that because I have something I want to share that was like a really pivotal tool for me in being intentional about self-care. It’s similar. Like I… Yeah. Yeah.

What if someday my daughter finds my journal stash after I’m gone and my journals are just totally uninspiring? Silly things that get in the way of sitting down to talk to yourself. And I have been working a lot on journaling in different ways over the year. It’s my number one tool that helps me feel emotionally healthy.

But my point was… The first journaling effort I made that clicked for me is something that I called my victory journal, where every night before turning out the light, I would write in this little notebook, a bullet point short list of everything I could remember that I did that day.

So in this time period, my daughter was still a young baby and my day would look like: washed bottles, cuddled with Violet, had a nap battle with Violet, got Violet up and cuddled, breastfed, washed bottles. That was my day that I wrote out.

But after I started, and then at the bottom of my victory journal each night, I would either draw an up arrow for a really good day, or I would draw a down arrow for a really bad day. Or sometimes I wouldn’t draw any arrow if it just felt like a meh day.

And over time, I looked through my little journal at the up arrow days and was able to identify very specific things—trends—that constituted an up arrow or a down arrow day. And like, it just became this self-care tool that happened without even really intending for it to happen.

And you know, if anybody’s listening out there and they’re kind of in a place where they feel like stuck, overwhelmed, out of control, like just not really sure what they’re doing with their day but they’re exhausted—like I’m basically describing a young mom’s day—I would just encourage you to try that or something similar as a tool to figure out what it is that helps you have an up arrow day.

Brittany: 33:09
I love that. That is so cool. I’m definitely going to try that.

Beth:
Oh, good.

Brittany: 33:09 (cont.)
I know I’m not a new mom or a mom at all yet, but I can see the parallels and how that will work with identifying things in your business that you like doing.

Beth: 33:29
Yes.

Brittany: 33:29
And like you said, if you get dressed, then that is going to help you have an up-air day.

Beth: 33:35
Yeah.

Brittany: 33:35
Now, and that just seems like a much easier way of identifying too. That’s one thing that I struggle with and I feel like a lot of people struggle with as well is just identifying those things or figuring out exactly what it was during that day that maybe gave you a down arrow.

And if you’re able to look at that list and make a connection, then like, boom, there’s your answer right there.

Beth: 34:02
And you just would be amazed at the tiny things that you’ll notice are adding up to make a good day. Like for me, I’m really not an outdoors person. And like that being said, almost every time I have an up arrow day, I got outside. So like maybe secretly I am an outdoors person.

But even if it was just like 10 minutes hanging out in the front yard with Violet picking flowers, like it made a difference. So I try to get outside just a little bit every day now.

Brittany: 34:34
Yeah, very cool. Like I said, I love that tip. I’ve dabbled with journaling as well. Now, that’s usually what happens after I put my work face on, we’ll call it. So after I put clothes on, fix my hair, do a little bit of makeup, and go into my office, the first thing I do is do some journaling.

Right now, I’m trying to find… the perfect journal. I have used so many of them. I started out with the Five-Minute Journal, and I love that. I still absolutely love it. I think it’s great for gratitude.

Beth:
Have you heard of that one?

Brittany: 34:34 (cont.)
No, I haven’t. Okay, so this one’s super easy. A Five-Minute Journal pretty much just takes five minutes. And you start out with the top three things that you’re grateful for. And then you write down the three things that would make today great—so like things that you could accomplish that would make the day great.

And then that’s sort of like your morning entry. And then on the same day in the evening, you ideally would write down three things that would have made today better. And then your top three wins. So you’re focusing a lot on the positive. So you’re focusing on gratitude and then what went really well. But it does give you the opportunity to reflect on your day and think about what could have gone a little bit better so you can like get it out of your mind.

So it feels more tangible that, okay, tomorrow I need to try to do this better. So that journal has worked really well for me.

I’ve recently started using Michael Hyatt’s Full Focus Journal. And I really love this one too. It’s about three pages or so, and it takes you through—I believe it’s 11 different questions. They’re the same questions every single week, but it gives you the opportunity to record things that happened, but not necessarily actual things.

Like, I wouldn’t be recording, I filmed a video today, I recorded a podcast interview, and I did this or this. It’s more like a thought experiment. What did you listen to today and what did you learn from that? I listen to podcasts a lot, so I might say, oh, well, I listened to such and such podcast and I learned this out of it. So it’s a little different and I love that too.

Beth: 36:57
That’s cool. I’m going to look that up because I have been really noticing that I need a little bit more structure with my journaling so that I look forward to like more like lighthearted aspects of journaling too—not just like working through issues that I need to talk to myself about, you know?

Brittany: 37:18
Yeah. I would definitely recommend the Full Focus Journal. Now there’s two—Michael Hyatt has the Full Focus Journal and the Full Focus Planner. And as luck would have it, I was trying to buy the Full Focus Planner because I’m really trying to get ahead of 2019 and I wanted just like a fresh new planner to set up to get me in that mode.

And I like to do a lot of my ordering on Amazon, you know, like Amazon Prime, two-day shipping. Yeah. Can’t really beat that. But the only thing I was able to find was the Full Focus Journal on Amazon Prime. So I didn’t know at the time that I ordered it that there were two different things until I received it.

And I was like, this isn’t a planner. What is this? So I looked into it and I learned that, oh, well, there’s two. And I figured, well, I’m not going to return it. I think this is pretty cool and I think it’ll help.

And I used it for several weeks and I’m still using it. Not every single day. I’m not great at it because usually in the evening, that’s probably the best time to record for this particular journal. And in the evening, I’m usually just sort of checked out by then or I’ll work until the last possible minute until my husband’s about to be home and I need to get dinner started and spend some time with him.

And I don’t always save time for the journaling. But I know that when I do, I have a better day. I feel better about myself. And it’s silly how that happens, but I’m not the only one who experiences it, I’m sure.

Beth: 38:52
No, you’re not. And I feel like for me, starting a blog was scary because, like I said, I wasn’t really a journal person in my life. So a blog is like a really big public journal. But… it’s actually been a really, really helpful tool. I journal and then I share things on my blog that come from my journal sometimes. And it’s just been amazing to get feedback from other creative people who are like, oh, I feel this way too. Thank you for saying it.

Brittany: 39:27
Yeah, it’s very cool. I would love to tie it all together now. We talked about community a little bit at the start and a lot about self-care. How did the two come together for you?

Beth: 39:37
Well, a lot of it is because of the people who are integral in my self-care transformation. Like I said, like just social media was a really big tool in that time of my life. And because I was really into yarn and I used to sell yarn and I do Fibershare, most of the people I talked to online are other fiber artists.

So naturally, when I opened up and started talking about personal things that didn’t really have to do with yarn, the people listening and who cared about me and took time to respond were other fiber artists. So now I just feel like I have this kind of nebulous, amazing community of female artists who have like rallied around me, and I can do the same for them by sharing authentically—like what it’s just like to be a female artist, what it’s like to work with yarn, what it’s like to be a new mom, all these different phases.

And I guess that’s pretty much it. They all do just join together.

Brittany: 40:51
Yeah, I love that. I have to admit, I was struggling a little bit as I was coming up with that part of our talk. Now, my audience knows I do a little bit of outline preparation beforehand just because it helps me to make sure that the topic is focused and that the listeners can get the absolute best out of their time that they’re spending here with us.

And I was struggling with that one because I thought, well, is there really a parallel between the two? And yeah, I think the answer is an astounding yes—that self-care and community, they’re really one and the same almost.

Beth: 41:29
Yeah. I mean, really, especially with social media, it’s such an amazing tool and way to connect with people who you wouldn’t otherwise have access to. And like at the end of the day, it’s just what you put into it is what you’re going to get out.

So I would just really encourage everybody to try to be a little bit more vulnerable and just be yourself, as cliché as that sounds, on social media. Because I just find that the more you open up and show your personality, even if you feel embarrassed, just start small. Just do something like share a really dumb joke.

Brittany: 42:14
Yeah.

Beth: 42:15
And don’t worry that you have a bad sense of humor. Just share it. And chances are other people are going to get a kick out of you. I mean, there’s just so many little ways that you can be yourself and not feel the pressure to hide behind a brand or feel like you have to really compete with others creatively.

And you can just be you. People are going to like it when you’re you.

Brittany: 42:39
Exactly. Yes, I agree with that 100%. So what is maybe one thing that someone can do today as an act of self-care?

Beth: 42:51
Well, I feel like my number one thing is what we talked about with journaling, with taking time to talk to yourself. And maybe like just find a journaling technique that feels comfortable for you.

Like if it’s not the bullet point kind of victory journal that I talked about, maybe it’s something as simple as at the end of the day, just think of what was the happiest point of my day that happened today and just jot it down in one sentence.

And you would just be amazed at how those kinds of small efforts stack up over time. And you’ll start to notice throughout your day like, oh, this is a great moment. And maybe this is the moment I’ll write at the end of my day. It just makes you a little bit more self-aware. And you can take small steps to help yourself be more accountable with self-care.

Brittany: 43:45
Yeah, and I can speak from personal experience for that. When I started the Five-Minute Journal, that one is definitely more of a gratitude journal.

Well, I found myself knowing that I was going to write in it the next day and actively thinking about, okay, I know I’m going to have to come up with three things that I’m grateful for. And as crazy as that sounds, that’s not like something we do naturally. That was something I had to teach myself how to do.

And so I was injecting positive thoughts into my day because I was thinking, okay, I know I’m gonna have to write the things that I’m grateful for tomorrow. But then I was also recognizing that I have to write the three things that made today great.

And so I was actively seeking for something to write down because I guess for whatever reason, I didn’t want to let myself down. I’m the only one who sees that journal. But I was holding myself accountable for it and actively trying to find things to write down.

And because of that, I saw just a huge shift in my perspective on life.

Beth: 44:56
That’s awesome. I want to look up that journal. I’m definitely going to. Will you put it in the show notes or something?

Brittany: 45:02
I will. I will, absolutely. I’ll put that one and the Full Focus Journal.

Beth: 45:06
And was a book you mentioned, like Morning Magic?

Brittany: 45:10
Oh, it’s called The Miracle Morning.

Beth: 45:12
Okay, yeah, I want to read it.

Brittany: 45:13
And that is by Hal Elrod. And I would love to mention another resource I read a couple months ago now. It’s called The Fringe Hours by Jessica Turner.

And that book is very much about self-care and learning how to prioritize yourself first so that you can be your best self for others. That was a big struggle of mine. I felt like I was being selfish if I was doing something that benefited me.

But what I realized is that always doing things for everybody else and putting everybody else before me—I just had nothing left. I just ran out of energy. And The Fringe Hours helped me to not only figure out how to work this in into my busy schedule, but also to recognize that that’s totally okay.

And that’s a normal thing—that you have to fill yourself up before you can give yourself away to everybody.

Beth: 46:16
Yep. If you were here, I’d totally give you a high five.

Brittany: 46:19
Oh, yeah. A virtual high five here. This has been such a really great chat.

So our action step for today is to incorporate some kind of journal into—whether it be your evening routine, your morning routine. You don’t have to go out and buy one of these journals. Honestly, if you order the Five-Minute Journal, it’s going to take a couple days to get there.

So we want you to start today. You can just get a piece of paper. Or a notebook, borrow your kid’s notebook from school—whatever you have to do to just write a few things down this evening.

Now, the last thing is how somebody can expand their community today. What is one just simple, quick little step that somebody can take to expand their community a little bit more?

Beth: 47:06
Well, I mean, obviously I would say you should participate in Fibershare. Actually, if you do yarn, you should participate in Fibershare because it’s so much fun.

It’s not just a transactional yarn experience. It’s really more about… It’s like plugging in with the whole community and playing fun games that my partner Ashley hosts all the time, like through social media. And we just have like a lot of fun stuff we do.

But beyond Fibershare, honestly, I would say like, just try really hard to be on social media with awareness and authenticity about why you’re posting what you’re posting.

Recently, I want to give this example. Somebody who has a great self-care blog—her blog is MerciChloe, I can give you the deets later—but anyway, she tagged me and was just like, “Beth, what are you doing for self-care today?” And she’s like, super cool.

And I was like, oh my god, what am I going to share that’s pretty enough that I’m doing for self-care? And I was like, why am I obsessing about this? This is the opposite of self-care.

So I just like snapped a picture really quick of what I was literally doing, which happened to be winding yarn like across the house. Like I was in my living room laying on the couch and my swift was set up in the dining room and there was a strand of yarn traveling across like two rooms of my house.

And I was slowly winding up this ball of yarn by hand. So I like just shot a picture of that, shared it and was like, this is literally my self-care today. Like not only lazily winding the yarn by not getting out my ball winder, but also laying down across the house while doing it.

So I was just talking about it and you know what? That post got literally the most interaction I think I ever got in a post. And it was just so much fun joking with people about it.

So you know what? Like, just check it when you post.

Brittany: 49:23
Be you. Yes. Very great note to end on. But thank you so much. It’s been such a joy connecting with you. I think I can see a friendship blossoming here. That’s amazing.

But before I let you go, I definitely want to give people a chance to connect with you. So where should they go to connect with you on social and your blog too? I’m sure a lot of us would love to read some of the self-care tips you have there.

Beth: 49:50
Oh, thank you. Yeah. So my blog is swiftandbloom.com. And you can also find me on Instagram at @swiftandbloom. And there’s no periods or underscores or anything, just Swift and Bloom.

Brittany: 50:04
Awesome. Okay, so I will have all of that in the show notes page. And thank you once again. It’s been so much fun today.

Beth: 50:13
Thank you. I really had a lot of fun.

Brittany: 50:14
Oh, man. I am even more excited as I’m listening to that for the second time as I go through and do these edits. I really hope that you will take action on one of those suggestions—whether it be to expand your community today or do one thing, just one little thing, an act of self-care so that you can be your best self.

Because once you get a little taste of how it feels to care for yourself and to realize that that is the shift that you need to be the best version of yourself, that’s priceless and I need you to experience that today.

So whether it’s journaling, whether it’s sitting down to do some yoga, whether it’s grabbing your favorite book or doing nothing at all, give yourself permission to do what you need to do so that you can be your best self.

I promise you won’t regret it, and your family will probably thank you too.

Now, don’t worry if you’re scrambling to try to figure out and remember all of those books that we mentioned throughout our chat. I’ll have all of those linked over in the show notes page. And by the way, anytime I recommend a book, it is a book that I have personally read or tried out myself. I don’t like to give recommendations if I don’t stand behind it.

And if you do go through the website and you click on one of those links, I’m an Amazon affiliate. And if you do decide to purchase after clicking through that link, I’ll get a bit. And if you do that, I’m super grateful.

So the show notes page for this episode is BHookedCrochet.com/session085.

Now, please don’t forget about I Love Yarn Day happening in two days. This Saturday, if you’re listening to this episode as it airs on a Thursday, October 13th is I Love Yarn Day in 2018. And I would encourage you to check out that blog post from Red Heart. Again, I’ll have that linked in the show notes page.

And just choose one of those ways that you can celebrate I Love Yarn Day.

So a big thanks to Red Heart for sponsoring today’s show is definitely in order. I really appreciate that blog post and the inspiration that it’s going to give you so that you can celebrate I Love Yarn Day and ultimately share the love of our craft with someone you know or a complete stranger.

That’ll do for today, my friend. Thank you so much for your time and attention and for you taking action on what you heard today. I’ll see you next week, same time, same place. Bye-bye.