Spring Update

I have had a busy busy spring and it looks like the summer is off to a "busy" start. Because I still have a day job. For those of you who may not know I am a classic car dealer for a living. My husband and I own a shop in Venice, CA and we are a mom and pop shop. My husband is a master mechanic and I am the licensed car dealer. We deal in classic EnglishCars.com.

But my relaxation and hobby is my fiber arts. Knitting is my number one because I've done it for so long it's the most comfortable "comfort" zone. When I feel stressed I just sit down and start knitting, soon my brain goes in the "zone" and the world seems to calm down. I often refer to Mihaly Csikszentmihaly who coined the being in the "zone" or "flow".

......."the mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. Proposed by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, the positive psychology concept has been widely referenced across a variety of fields.

According to Csikszentmihalyi, flow is completely focused motivation. It is a single-minded immersion and represents perhaps the ultimate in harnessing the emotions in the service of performing and learning. In flow, the emotions are not just contained and channeled, but positive, energized, and aligned with the task at hand. To be caught in the ennui of depression or the agitation of anxiety is to be barred from flow. The hallmark of flow is a feeling of spontaneous joy, even rapture, while performing a task ........"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)

Not that I've been uptight although if truth be told I do get uptight at times but thank goodness I have my hobbies to relax by. I was thinking and meaning to update my blog to catch you up on my Dyeing as if the Earth Mattered. Such a great time on Shaw Island! Michelle was terrific and the ladies that I met were also so very interesting people. We stayed at a guest house because Shaw Island is a private island in the Pacific Northwest. Which means that there are no hotels, restaurants or stores.

There is one little general store at the ferry landing but that is it! Green lush and beautiful is how I would describe the island. And my favorite flower the lilac was in bloom everywhere! Here are a few pictures of the many I took. We used "Natural Dyes" and dyed wool, silk and cotton hanks. As you can see the colors were amazing.

Some of the ladies I met and here is a link to Marie's blog with pictures. Thanks Marie for the kind words and back at you! Had some wonderful conversations with Marie a very interesting and talented lady.

http://mzjohansen.blogspot.com/2012/05/agony-and-ecstasy-dyeing-as-if-earth.html

http://mzjohansen.blogspot.com/2012/05/dyeing-as-if-earth-mattered-with.html