I'm thinking of taking some classes in fashion design. It's been in the back of my mind for oh, about 25 years now. So I'm thinking it's maybe just about time to act on that wish, no? It's not that I consider myself a couturier by any stretch of the word, or even that fashionable, really.
 
I just really like being surrounded by fabric.
I love coming up from my basement studio with bits of thread in my hair.
And I love making something that I'm proud of.
 
One of the main values I have set out for myself (mainly business-related, but it also applies to me personally - and truly, aren't they really the same thing to some extent) is to deepen my knowledge of all things textile. I consider myself a tactile person (you've heard me oohing over the feel of linen ad nauseum, haven't you?) and I as begin to set my business up where I'll be teaching other people to not be afraid to jump in and make things for themselves, I want to deepen my own understanding and relationship with textiles. That means visiting textile and fashion museums, hanging out with crafty folk, delving into the history of textiles and fashion, upping my sewing skills, and getting into pattern-making. Some of that can come from just being around inspirational things and people. But part of that will have to come from committed learning.
 
Now, most of you probably know how crazy I get about learnin'... I'll take classes in anything just so I can pull out my freshly sharpened pencils and start note-taking on those crisp blank pages. But this desire, to take textile courses is something a bit deeper for me. It's the pull of something that's been inside for a very long time. It's the focus on creating and making and doing and showing. It's the stillness of the fashion section of London's Victoria and Albert Museum where I got a chill and prickly eyes just looking at the breathtaking pieces by designers now gone. It's the giddiness I felt the day I took a little one-day costume design workshop at the theatre I volunteer at.
 
What are your inner whispers? Is there a long-forgotten hobby you loved that still nudges you once in a while? Do you get a chill in certain spaces and places like I do? Do you keep wishing you could have more time for creative endeavours? How long will it take to listen to your inner wishes, and then how long will it take you to act on them?