Kim Piper Werker's Blog

So… I guess what happens when there’s a global pandemic and you lose all your work and you start a new business is that you don’t write a blog post for over two and a half years. Good to know!

Also good to know that some things don’t change, no matter what the universe throws at you.

Here I am, at the very end of 2022, looking ahead to make 2023 another Year of Making.

My creative habits need a tune-up. I could use a solid dose of getting out of my head, too. And honestly, I could use some time to connect with folks outside the realm of work.

(Sidebar: That business I started, in partnership with Kate Atherley, is a publishing company and it’s the best work I’ve ever done. I love it so much, and I love the community around the books and magazine we publish so much. I just need some creative fun that’s not related to work, you know?)

So. After a couple years’ hiatus, I’m going to do another Year of Making. And because it’s always more fun to do such a thing with others, I hope you’ll join in too!

What’s a Year of Making?

Glad you asked! A Year of Making is a commitment to spend at least a couple minutes making something every day for a year. Doesn’t matter what, and you get to decide how picky you’ll be (or not) about what counts.

That sounds like a lot of days. It does, but the great thing about days is that they only come one at a time. If you miss a day? Just come back the next day! This is not really about never missing a day. It’s about what we do when we inevitably do miss a day. We will get sick (hopefully not too sick). We will go on holiday or travel for work. It’ll happen, and we will miss a day or two, maybe more. It’s what comes next that matters: Do we give up and call it a failure? Or do we accept our own imperfection and keep going? Do you think it’ll really matter at the end of the year if we really only made stuff on 360 or 345 days? NO. That’s a huge number of days, y’all. THAT is what it’s about.

Updated Year of Making Ebook + Worksheets

Because I’m on holiday and had a couple hours to myself, I even updated the Year of Making Ebook. If you enjoy some tips and prompts and maybe some inspiration to set the stage for what this project is all about and what I hope you’ll get from it, grab a copy! It’s short and sweet, and there are worksheets! (If you have an older copy of the ebook, just ignore the dates and you already have everything that’s in the new version.) Also, yes. Buying the ebook helps to support me and the work I do. So thank you!

#YearOfMaking2023

While this is not at all (at all) a photography project, and it is 100% NOT about trying to make anything even remotely adjacent to perfect, it can be very helpful, motivating, and satisfying to connect with others who are also doing a Year of Making. Especially at the beginning of the year, as we are all establishing or refreshing our daily habit, this kind of connection can help to keep us on track. The more solidly we form the habit, the easier it’ll be for us to stick to it.

So please post about what you’re making! Use the hashtag #YearOfMaking2023 (note the camelcase—use caps at the beginning of each word in a hashtag to make them much easier to read).

I will try to post regularly on Instagram about what I make, but I will for sure not commit to keeping up with posts. I have a very love/hate with social media, and need to take a break sometimes. But when I’m there, I will be cheerleading you!

UPDATE 1 July 2020: Bluprint classes have been acquired by TN Marketing, which is an online platform for video classes. The announcement indicates that students will retain access to their classes, and I believe that instructors will continue to be compensated for their work. Details are forthcoming. For now, the key news is that though the Bluprint platform will be closing this summer, classes will be moved to a new platform and students will retain access. You are, of course, still more than welcome (indeed, encouraged!) to join me in my self-hosted crochet class, using the discount code, below. This code will remain until the end of July, 2020.

An email to instructors today, 1 July, from TN Marketing said: “For existing subscribers to Bluprint, and past buyers of individual classes from Bluprint/Craftsy, those customers will continue to have access to their content on the Bluprint site, at www.mybluprint.com. As noted above, this Bluprint site is expected to be open and accessible for past customers through August 2020. After that, the new TN Marketing site will migrate that customer access to our platform. Any classes they purchased, and their subscriber benefits, will be available into the future, through their online accounts.”

Last week, Bluprint announced that its parent company, NBCUniversal, will be closing down the crafty/foodie online learning platform beginning in late July. It’s very difficult news for the nearly 140 people who will be losing their jobs, and for the many hundreds of instructors who created outstanding classes and were paid royalties for every class sold or minute streamed.

I have four crochet classes on the platform, and each one of them was a joy to create and film with folks who really knew their stuff and put students at the heart of every production. I’m proud of these classes, which I created with the company starting in 2014, when it was called Craftsy, before NBCUniversal acquired it.

I will not be given these classes when the platform folds, and that is fair. It’s business. I own my own teaching approach, projects and skill, but I never owned the production of these classes. I’m disappointed to lose these incredible resources for students, but I am still able to teach and connect and help, and that is exactly what I’m doing.

Several weeks ago, I started to teach a crochet class on my own platform, in response to our collective experience and stress of spending far more time at home in these pandemic times. In answer to my own stress, I found I wanted to work on a project that is comforting, engaging and meaningful, and teaching crochet is all three. Making crochet is many of those things to crocheters, too.

Crochet for Challenging Times is starting out bare bones as far as class content goes, but over time it will grow into a compendium of all of my crochet knowledge. Every week or two I’m filming new lessons to add to the class. My home-based production isn’t as slick as when I filmed my Craftsy/Bluprint classes in a dedicated studio with professional hair and makeup, production, videographers and editors, but crochet needn’t be schmancy. I bring the same heart and approach to teaching when I film on my dining room table in fits and spurts around my son’s remote schooling as I do when I’m in a big studio.

Students who enroll in my class are invited to join a private class forum, where I answer questions and they can get to know each other and show off their creations. And in coming weeks I will begin to hold occasional live office hours by video chat, so I can offer help in a way I never could for my Craftsy or Bluprint students.

I would love to welcome all of my Craftsy/Bluprint students to join me in Crochet for Challenging Times, at a discounted one-time registration fee that includes everything I mentioned above, including all the new lessons I’ll be adding over time. Use the code STUDENTLOVE40 for 40% off when you sign up.

Learn More & Sign Up!

Yup, this is on the honour system; I have no good way to check that students using the code are also students of mine on Bluprint, and that’s okay. If folks who haven’t taken my classes before sign up with the discount, I’ll be just as happy to teach them and get to know them, so please do feel free to share this offer with friends and family, or on your own blog or social media.

Tech platforms come and go, but craft is forever. I hope to continue making things with you long into the future.

[image error]

Last week, Bluprint announced that its parent company, NBCUniversal, will be closing down the crafty/foodie online learning platform beginning in late July. It's very difficult news for the nearly 140 people who will be losing their jobs, and for the many hundreds of instructors who created outstanding classes and were paid royalties for every class sold or minute streamed.

I have four crochet classes on the platform, and each one of them was a joy to create and film with folks who really knew their stuff and put students at the heart of every production. I'm proud of these classes, which I created with the company starting in 2014, when it was called Craftsy, before NBCUniversal acquired it.

I will not be given these classes when the platform folds, and that is fair. It's business. I own my own teaching approach, projects and skill, but I never owned the production of these classes. I'm disappointed to lose these incredible resources for students, but I am still able to teach and connect and help, and that is exactly what I'm doing.

Several weeks ago, I started to teach a crochet class on my own platform, in response to our collective experience and stress of spending far more time at home in these pandemic times. In answer to my own stress, I found I wanted to work on a project that is comforting, engaging and meaningful, and teaching crochet is all three. Making crochet is many of those things to crocheters, too.

Crochet for Challenging Times is starting out bare bones as far as class content goes, but over time it will grow into a compendium of all of my crochet knowledge. Every week or two I'm filming new lessons to add to the class. My home-based production isn't as slick as when I filmed my Craftsy/Bluprint classes in a dedicated studio with professional hair and makeup, production, videographers and editors, but crochet needn't be schmancy. I bring the same heart and approach to teaching when I film on my dining room table in fits and spurts around my son's remote schooling as I do when I'm in a big studio.

Students who enroll in my class are invited to join a private class forum, where I answer questions and they can get to know each other and show off their creations. And in coming weeks I will begin to hold occasional live office hours by video chat, so I can offer help in a way I never could for my Craftsy or Bluprint students.

I would love to welcome all of my Craftsy/Bluprint students to join me in Crochet for Challenging Times, at a discounted one-time registration fee that includes everything I mentioned above, including all the new lessons I'll be adding over time. Use the code STUDENTLOVE40 for 40% off when you sign up.

Learn More & Sign Up!

Yup, this is on the honour system; I have no good way to check that students using the code are also students of mine on Bluprint, and that's okay. If folks who haven't taken my classes before sign up with the discount, I'll be just as happy to teach them and get to know them, so please do feel free to share this offer with friends and family, or on your own blog or social media.

Tech platforms come and go, but craft is forever. I hope to continue making things with you long into the future.

[image error]

I mentioned a couple of podcast episodes ago that in the aftermath of the ukulele-is-the-patriarchy incident, my husband and I decided in a moment of madness that we'd like to start a klezmer band in our living room, yeah?

Well this week I had my first fiddle lesson. And it was amazing. (The lesson was amazing; the sounds I am producing on the violin are not amazing.)

This whole musical adventure has me thinking about craft, and how my desire to play folk music rather than classical is completely in line with my fascination with craft – these are techniques and skills passed on from person to person over generations.

Sadly (ha!) I do not include a recording of my horrible scales in this episode. But have a listen, and let me know if you see any connections between your music and your handcrafts.

Support the podcast by joining our Community of Creative Adventurers!

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Soundcloud or search for it in whatever podcast app you love. And if you're enjoying it, share it with a friend and please rate it so more people can find it and get more in touch with their creativity.

I had seven minutes of relative quiet for recording, and I tried to make the most of it. Featuring: me, playing the violin, very badly. (And some crochet for challenging times.)

Here's the Podchaser link to the podcast. For every review (please leave one if you're enjoying the show!), they're making a donation to Meals on Wheels.

Support the podcast by joining our Community of Creative Adventurers.

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Soundcloud or search for it in whatever podcast app you love. And if you're enjoying it, share it with a friend and please rate it so more people can find it and get more in touch with their creativity.

[image error]

Wherein I learn to play Happy Birthday on the ukulele for a tuba duet and rekindle my commitment to dismantle the patriarchy.

Really, there are no show notes other than that. You… are gonna want to hear this one.

Support the podcast by joining our Community of Creative Adventurers.

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Soundcloud or search for it in whatever podcast app you love. And if you're enjoying it, share it with a friend and please rate it so more people can find it and get more in touch with their creativity.

[image error]

We're gonna be in this for a long while, dear listeners. We'll be experiencing waves of grief over a long time. So it's time to focus on tiny joys, and on how our creativity can help us create some of those joys for ourselves.

[image error]Supermoon over Vancouver, BC, Tuesday, April 7, 2020



Show Notes



That Discomfort You're Feeling Is GriefThe 100 Day ProjectDiscussion thread about our 100 Day ProjectsMy first wee granny squareI want to make next week's show like a call-in show and I need your help! Record a 1- to 2-minute clip including your name and location, what you've been making, and include a question if you have one! Email your voice memo to me at kim@kimwerker.com. If you're not able to record a voice memo but you want to participate, simply email me and I may read out what you wrote.

Find our weekly Zoom chat schedule and info on our video chat room over on our community site. It's free to join, and it's a super place to hang out with other creative folks.

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Soundcloud or search for it in whatever podcast app you love. And if you're enjoying it, share it with a friend and please rate it so more people can find it and get more in touch with their creativity.

[image error]

Time is so weird right now. It's movings so slowly, and so distantly, so fluidly. There are no good words for it, really, but I think we can all agree we're living in a Twilight Zone.

In “normal” life, I talk with folks a lot about finding and making time for creativity and creative projects in our daily lives.

But when time is all screwed up, and when we may feel inclined to think we have way more of it on our hands than we actually do, does the challenge of fitting in creative projects go away?

It sure doesn't.

Have a listen for some more on this, and for some ideas for fitting creativity into your quarantine time. (Hint: I'll be doing the 100 Day Project. Maybe you, too?)

[image error]

We're nine days into self-quarantine because the last person we saw before going into self-isolation last Monday called a few days later to tell us he'd been exposed. In many ways, this isn't any different an experience than what we'd been expecting, except we can't go shopping for groceries and the like. Which, at this point, actually seems like a massive difference. My kingdom for a change of scenery beyond what we get walking the dog.

I'm keeping the podcast going outside of my initial plan to release an eight-episode first season. I don't yet have a predictable schedule to work with for recording and editing, and my brain is half mush these days. So at the very least, what I'll send into your ears is what we have today: some musings on quarantine and updates on how I and our community are working to keep creative folks connected and making stuff, and maybe a bit of birdsong I recorded in the woods by my house a few days ago. It's a sound that brings peace to me, and maybe to you, too.

Find our weekly Zoom chat schedule and info on our video chat room over on our community site. It's free to join, and it's a super place to hang out with other creative folks.

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Soundcloud or search for it in whatever podcast app you love. And if you're enjoying it, share it with a friend and please rate it so more people can find it and get more in touch with their creativity.

[image error]

My friend Erin has been keeping me sane these last few days that have felt like centuries.

She's a new friend. We've only known each other for a few months. But meeting her felt like we were always meant to be friends, and we started texting each other daily pretty much from the start. So in these days when I'm thinking about all the folks whose friendships I've taken for granted and whom I haven't spoken with in ages, I'm also taking solace in the habit Erin and I made from the start of just checking in on each other every day.

When I had to miss posting a new episode of the pod last week, for reasons that aren't even worth going into now, seven days and three hundred years later, I knew that my next episode had to break form.

I needed to ask my new friend, who's a legit, bonafide psychiatrist, to come on the show and talk about how creativity is a tool that will serve us well in this overwhelming, mind-boggling time.

Dr. Erin Griffiths is a holistic psychiatrist whose practice is entirely online. Our conversation made me feel better. A whole lot better. I hope it'll help you feel better, too.

We talked about brain chemistry and how making things makes us feel better. We talked about how we need to be creative in more than what we make right now, but also in how we decided to live and stay connected. We talked about what to do if we're feeling so overwhelmed that we feel we can't do or make much of anything.

Find a video of our unedited conversation over in the Podcast forum; look for Episode 106. And hit reply to let me know what you want from this podcast in the coming weeks. My listening habits are already changing, and I suspect yours are or will soon, too. Let me know where you want Mighty Creative to fit in, if there are topics you want me to cover, if you prefer heavy stuff or light stuff or what.

Finally, this podcast and our online community are made possible by Supporting Members. A major perk these folks have enjoyed for over a year is regularly scheduled video chats with me by Zoom. We all decided this week that these chats should be something all community members can take advantage of, so as of next week, all members of our forums can find times each week to hang out face-to-face online with other folks who love to make stuff. I hope you'll join us.

Music: “I Dunno (Grapes of Wrath Mix)” by spinningmerkaba. 2017 – Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0).

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Soundcloud or search for it in whatever podcast app you love. And if you're enjoying it, please rate it so more people can find it and get more in touch with their creativity.