I am very sorry my posts have been so sporadic, but as usual, life is moving way faster than I am capable of documenting.

My birthday was just a little over a week ago, and it was a big one (see title)! We only enter a new decade a max of 10 times or so in our lives, so definitely have to make each one memorable! But there are so many ways to make memories and only one 40th birthday, so our family spent quite a bit of time figuring out which memories to make. We spent a very lovely week staying on a certified organic farm (with donkeys, ducks, a horse, and a rooster) and visited a cave and spent many hours throughout the week hiking in a giant forest. But that all deserves a separate post which will be coming soon, complete with photos which I hope will make you feel as peaceful as I felt being there!

Here’s the thing about being 40 – you’re still young enough to go at the pace your kids are going at, but you’re old enough to have organized your priorities and developed the self-confidence to think for yourself and go after what you want. And what I want is to keep crocheting and knitting, to teach other people, and to keep on developing as a designer (new patterns coming soon!).

Those of you in the LA area may already be familiar with the Knerdy Knitters of the SFV. If not, you may want to check them out – they are a very active knitting guild. I joined their designer group, and am currently working on a book of designs with the other members in the group.

In the spring, I was asked to be on the Knerdy Knitters board. I didn’t realize knitting guilds even have boards. I usually think of boards as a corporate sort of thing, and I am not a corporate sort of woman. I spent 5 years working in a cubicle and less than a year into it, realized that was not the life for me. I have no business degrees, went to art school, and am a free spirit. But this is where my 40 year-old says yes, when my 30 year-old self would’ve lacked the confidence to jump in.

This is my first time being part of a knitting guild, and it has not disappointed. I am really honored to be on the board, and I can’t say enough good things about being surrounded by positive women. I had been part of a free meetup group before, but it all sort of fell apart when we all had different schedules and preferences about where to meet, etc.

For those of you not familiar with guilds, a few key points (based only on my limited experience in this one):
– There is an annual membership fee – ours is $25.
– There are bylaws and minutes (my job as secretary is to record the minutes)
– There are set meeting times and places, and events hosted by the guild are discussed and approved at the monthly business meeting

So far, my experience has been that even though monthly business meetings and bylaws seem more formal than random knitting/crocheting groups, they also keep everyone on the same page and allow the group to continue moving forward and being involved with fiber-related events around the city. For instance, we had a booth at the LA County Fair a few weeks ago. We have an annual holiday party complete with a fashion show and other fun. There are scheduled show and tell times, and it is an outlet for everyone in the group to share and get feedback.

Have you been part of a guild? Feel free to share your favorite and least favorite experiences being part of a guild, as we are always looking to make it better.