2024 Happiness Make-a-long Designer sub call

 

Submission Deadline: February 25, 2024

In 2024, our last year of this collection, let before and after guide what we collectively imagine in the now. This concept is not only a reflection of the goals of this collection, but also of my focus in this final year: the 2024 Paris summer Olympic Games! As a matter of history, this will be the third time Paris has hosted the Olympics – 1900 and 1924 being the previous two years.

So, while our current trends lean toward fringe, bows, romantic flowers, and sheer openwork stitches (we are definitely in a very feminine, post-Barbie-movie moment), what might 1900 and 1924 tell us about fashion? How might we update past looks to reflect not only the time we are in now, but perhaps the direction in which we might want to go? Just as recently announced that bits of the Eiffel Tower will be embedded into the medals awarded at the Games, how can we embed the history of both the former Paris-hosted Olympics as well as the collective worldwide goals of this project into our designs?

This year please think (mostly!) quick, fun summer makes – socks, hats as well as other head wear, jewelry (statement necklaces and/or bracelets), flirty neckware, oversized  statement bags and/or small purses with large personality, accessories for shoulders with drape. Stitch patterns with open work/elements are definitely the order of the day; additionally, don’t be afraid of the accessory with a strong, red colorway – a statement piece.

I am looking forward to what each of you conceive!

Progress, Hope & Happiness 2024: Before + After = Now

 

Deadline for indie yarn dyer submission materials to be received:

Saturday, January 28, 2024

In this, our last year in this series, I want to explore not only the place at which we started, but where we are now. Our first collection, in 2016, was conceived amid the backdrop of Brexit and Trump’s unbelievable presidential win. That year I asked, in relevant part: “Is progress a straight line, an even progression of color values? Is it variegated, a seemingly random and incoherent jumble of colors? Might it repeat cycles, and if so, in what length?”

Fast forward to 2024: we have experienced a world-wide pandemic, an insurrection here in the U.S., the end of war in Afghanistan and the beginning of new wars in Ukraine and Israel, the loss of women’s freedoms around the world, and a U.S. president who, despite all odds, continues to attempt to lead in a positive and empathetic manner. In the face of so much loss, this call and collection has managed to not only bring dyers and designers together, but has sustainably grown each year. 

I keep revisiting my initial questions about progress and colors, and I find this is a good year for me, personally, to end this collection. I keep wondering if we are on the precipice of repeating the events of where we started, or continuing in a transformative line forward. I have gone through many changes since 2021 and I want to end on the latter – an ending that looks forward with warmth and happiness and joy. The inspirational color palette chosen reflects that warmth and joy – as well as a critical mass of blue.

So, dyers – have at it! Either create some new colorways, or use what is already in your colorway library. I look forward to seeing what you submit!

Please email submission materials (colorway photos + swatches) 

by the ending date to the email associated with this blog.

2024 - Happy New Year!!!

 

The True Start To My Year

The Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend is usually the "start" to my year. The first two weeks in January are usually a time of reflection, as well as planning things for the upcoming year - and 2023 has been no different. 

Service has been an animating force in my life - the logo on that bag represented pretty much most of my 2022, including last year's MLK, Jr. service project with my VISTA team. While the logo may have "updated," the goal behind it remains the same - the eradication of poverty in the United States. 

As I have turned to a different type of civilian service, I find it relevant to look back at my previous blog posts on this service weekend. I am amazed at the consistency of purpose and how notions of social justice have animated my personal evolution. My design life is certainly a creative outlet (!), but it has changed in the face of my commitment to treating the environment with more mindfulness. My two moves in the last two years have shown me all that I carry (and it is clear, I have an awesome yarn problem), and how I can walk with a lighter footprint. The increased making of my own wardrobe and home textiles, as well as the re-use and re-imagination of what I already own remains an area of personal growth and change. Of course, I want to do this all well and with my own personal style - good, bad, or indifferent. Good or bad - well, on that I will let others decide, but I am indifferent to outside critics. I remain committed to following my own north star.

So on this long weekend in which everyone is urged to be "on" and not take the day off, serve justice according to your own conscience. For me, I have started a new pullover (using my own design as well my own hand-dyed yarn I have in stash), am communicating with friends, and strengthening my continued commitment to community in all its forms. Building community takes work and commitment in a world of skepticism, deep distrust, and constant motivational questioning. I hope, in the process, I am not misunderstood.

In these times of division, this seems incredibly appropriate.

For more information on the above call, head on over to my Ravelry group,
or check out the call's comments here on Instagram.

A New Year, a New Progress, Hope & Happiness Collection!!!

Deadline for dyer submission materials to be received:

 

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Call Inspiration:

In 2023, we are still living with this pandemic, although you’d never know it. A new normal indeed!

Last year continued my time of radical transformation. In late autumn 2022 I moved yet again across several states and two times zones to continue my commitment to public service . The new position continues to teach me things daily; the move … well, let’s just say it’s been a bumpy ride.

Nevertheless, 2022 was a year of amazing growth and transformation. But expansion has its limits – one cannot always exhale. So this year, I hope each of us will explore the tension between living in community and the need for authentic self-expression. How do we define and show up for ourselves in a real way while still tending to our community responsibilities (however you define them)? Around the globe, women have had long established rights taken from them; additionally, they have shown and continue to show amazing courage in the face of war and restriction. How does one express an authentic, autonomous self in the face of restriction and consistent emotional bludgeoning?

What colors from the above (if any) convey a sense of balance between self and community responsibility? Can we show up in an authentic way and not lose our voice in the face of constriction? What colors feel less about reaction and more about flowing from an authentic place of self-expression? What feels playfully audacious? Since this year’s collection will transition between late summer and early autumn, feel free to tailor your dye pots to the lighter or darker ends of the color spectrum above, depending on how you and the dyes show up for each other. 

Respond with colorway submissions anytime prior to the deadline at the Voie de Vie email address (yes, it's a gmail account). Additionally, for those of you who can still access Ravelry, I have this dedicated thread if you want to check it out there. 

I am looking forward to seeing what everyone creates!!!

On Deserved Comeuppance + its Ignorant Counterpart

 

                            "If someone is trying to shut you up, sing louder,

                                and if possible, better."

                                                                                Salman Rushdie

"It is difficult to hear the low voice of reason or see the clear little light of decency, but, of course, both endure and both remain perfectly safe guides."

                                                                        Dag Hammarskjöld, winter 1957

As I come to the end of my fourth year of service, I am grateful yet jaw-clenchingly pensive about the future. Not necessarily mine, but the world's in general. Somehow, Hammarskjöld's words are so relevant for this moment.

Happy New Year ... And The New PHH Indie Dyer Submission Call

Ok, everyone - it's 2022, and time for planning our next summer Progress, Hope, and Happiness collection. The indie dyers are up first!

While I have always viewed this collection as a designer and design incubator, it is no less so for dyers. If you are a small/start-up dyer and want to provide yarn support to proven designers for a summer collection with a solid track record, then I want (and indeed hope) to hear from you. 

The complete indie dyer deets are here in my Ravelry group. If you have issues accessing Ravelry, do feel free to send email and I will respond.

Thanks, and I look forward to seeing what the awesome indie dye pots whip up!!!

On The Ending of This Design Anniversary Year

It has been some time since I last blogged, and I cannot believe that we are all facing (thank goodness!) the end of 2021.

To say that the second half of this year was personally momentous would be an understatement. My life fairly exploded (in the best possible way): I made a major move to a different city to start another year-long service project in a team leader capacity. I left the majority of my life for the last 17 years back at my old living space, save what I could mail (and easily handled box sizes would allow), since COVID all but eliminated the ability to rent a vehicle of any sort and professional movers were budgetarily out of contemplation.

I do love this winter's snow!

Then there is the settling into a new place: getting to know things and having to initiate conversations with new people and explain one's life all over again. Since I am a fairly private person who values my autonomy, the latter is personally extremely difficult, despite the fact that everyone else has no problem talking to me about most anything, and which I take as an extreme compliment. Failures of language abound. Perspectives become, at minimum, skewed; at maximum, down right wrong. Relational minefields are unintentionally planted and weaponized. Getting to know the new position still seems like a piece of cake compared to everything else.

All this derailed, as you might expect, the best made plans for my 10 year design anniversary. While I still published new designs (most notably for this year's 5th (!) Progress, Hope, and Happiness summer collection), there were far fewer than I wanted. COVID, of course, also had a hand in that decreased creativity. 

This is going to be a cardi for me.
It is an oh-so-squishy
combination of my hand-dyed
bling base + baby alpaca silk.

I also had big plans for increasing the hand knit and crocheted portion of my wardrobe. That, too, fell by the wayside, although I am doing my level best to end the year on a hand-made-for-me note (after having made something for each of my team members - and almost all of them delivered on time, a true feat indeed). 

Of course, then there's the hand-dyed yarn portion of my business, which was active until the end of August. I am reassessing bases, given all of the COVID-related supply chain issues. if anyone wonders why the independent designer and hand-dyed yarn landscape is constantly in flux (and especially

This year's wee 
(but mighty) tree.

right now),well, it should really be no mystery.

In the end, no matter the scope of change in the second half of this year, it remains the simple pleasures that have brought me much joy. As I have previously blogged, this year's seasonal decorating was again its own sweet interlude, just as arranging my new space and simple, yet tasty, acts of cooking. Throw into the mix some memorable meals with old and new friends, as well as team members. There's little doubt that, despite the fact I am my own largest work in progress, this year has seen some fairly major changes, and it's all good. 

As in previous years, after January 1st I shall be stepping away from social media for a few weeks to contemplate and recharge. I wish everyone a very happy new year - pandemic life has robbed us of so much, so let us usher in 2022 with a renewed sense of hope.

A Memorial Day Wish

Watery reflections taken a few years ago
(c) Voie de Vie

Today is Memorial Day here in the United States - a time to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the country.

I have blogged a few times over the years regarding Memorial Day. This year - some 15 months into pandemic times - I am thinking about how things could and should be different going forward.

Of course the most obvious - an expansion of what it means to serve and sacrifice - and how should we recognize such service and sacrifice. This holiday was conceived to recognize military service, though many who have served (notably women and African Americans, although there are more) at various points have not received the recognition they deserve for either their service or their sacrifice. 

This Arlington National Cemetery
photos I snapped almost 2 decades
ago remains a favorites photo that
tugs at my soul. (c) Voie de Vie

Then, there is service to country beyond the military - governmental service, national civilian service, community service, international service, just to name a few others - how might we 

honor those who serve and sacrifice in these capacities?

More elementally, how might we honor black lives, and AAPI lives, and Native lives not only going forward, but pay more than mere lip service to all their respective peoples' legacies have lost at the hand of injustice and discrimination?

Finally, how might we, individually and collectively, move forward post-pandemic into a life of real meaning and justice? Where we value people and the planet above home delivery of all the things? Arundhati Roy's article on the pandemic as a portal has been oft-quoted since publication. Back in April, 2020, Roy was asking all the right questions, but it's unclear whether anyone was really paying attention:

        

        "The Covid crisis is still to come. Or not. We don’t know. If and when 

        it does, we can be sure it will be dealt with, with all the prevailing 

        prejudices of religion, caste and class completely in place." 

With almost 600,000 U.S. deaths, and an as-yet-unknown number dead in her own India in a second wave that has taken the world's breath away, Roy hit this nail squarely on its head with all the accurate writer's insight her years on this planet have given her. 

It can be different; we have the ability right now to walk through that portal into a different future. Will you? Will I? Will we? Only time and courage will tell. Let us hope for the very best, and do everything we can to manifest that different, very best future.

Find out more on Instagram about how to
win a skein of this indie dyer gorgeousness

 

A Seasonal Update

Hello my crafty friends - happy spring! There is so much new life and hope in the air - tulips are in bloom, vaccinations are occurring (at least in the U.S.) at an astounding pace, and we can start to see all the light at the end of the tunnel. I, for one, am here for every ray of it.

Lest you think I have been doing nothing but waiting for the tunnel roller coaster ride to come to an end, think again, please. I have been creating and making, creating and making. Keeping in mind my commitment to my own wardrobe this year, here's a snapshot of personal projects I've completed since the beginning of the year:

I posted about my main February make on Instagram in early March:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Voie de Vie (@denisevoiedevie)

This is the first of the six garment WIPs I have lying around chez Voie de Vie, so believe me I am super thrilled with its completion. 

March saw me completing a lovely spring cowl - this tender shoots-colored version of my Lush Looped Scarf at right. Using a combination of my own hand-dyed yarn (Impressionist Pie for the main body) mixed with some awesome ModeKnit Yarn Modewerk Sock for a green color contrast, finished off with a combination of two different laceweight mohair yarns held together for the out edging, it's my new favorite go-to cowl. 

I am now just about to complete my second long-standing garment WIP, my Knitty.com Swink (if you hit the link, scroll down to see the original Swink). As you'll see in the photo to the left, I am just about done that second sleeve, and then I just have a wee amount of finish work (ends, blocking, buttons) and I will be 1/3 of the way through my WIPs basket!!! This yarn is also my hand-dyed, but one of a kind - more like a mistake on the way to the colorways I really wanted. Additionally, it's on a DK-weight wool/silk base that I ultimately decided not to use in my yarn line, so I am using it up for wardrobe items for myself. The base itself is fine, I was just not consistently thrilled with how the colors dyed up.

I plan on treating myself to a new make or three ... we will see what time allows ... once this pullover is done.

Of course, I am still working on designs for several different projects, so the personal wardrobe making has been interspersed among the designing projects and pattern updates I've been sending out (also an anniversary year task), as well as the dyeing. 

Such is the life of a working hand-knit/crochet designer.

A friendly reminder: I link to things as a courtesy to readers. I never receive any compensation for doing so, nor does this blog ever take advertising dollars. The best, indeed only, way to support what you read here is to purchase Voie de Vie design + yarn and/or other products. Both my Payhip and Big Cartel online stores are linked to in this post, as well as on the blog, generally, along the right-hand side. Please consider purchasing anything you see you like, because the maximum amount of your purchase dollars goes directly to me, the designer.

I have a few things lined up for the blog, so I hope to see you back here very soon.

My Anniversary Year Celebration Commences

Having just issued 2021's first quarterly-ish newsletter (and you can sign up for it here if you have not already done so), I used it to build on my previous blog post announcing this 10 year anniversary celebration.

One of the things I revealed in the newsletter was one of my main focuses this year: my own wardrobe. This is the year I get real about making a far larger portion of my own clothing. 

For me, this will be no small feat, as I am still a working designer AND now a working hand-dyer. Nevertheless, it is about time I put me significantly into this mix. As I've written so many previous times, I'm a maker at heart. I have slowly, over the last three years, begun to increase the hand-made pieces of my wardrobe. Now, however, my goal is far heftier: to make at least one piece (either top or bottom) in any new outfits I plan to add to my wardrobe going forward, in perpetuity. 

This means a few things: (1) I plan on getting very intentional with what gets added to my wardrobe; and (2) I have seriously got to get my hooks and sticks flying! I have no less than six - yes, six! - cardigan and pullover WIPs, and that's where I plan on making an initial dent. Of course, I also have so many other wonderful designs in my queue (my own designs as well as other designers) that I have my eye on making this year, and since I already have yarn on hand for several of them, I have all the raw materials needed to get this wardrobe-making party started. I am hoping to finish at least one thing per month for the remainder of the year (and you'll see more posts on this on my Instagram feed).

I characterized this personal making goal as "selfish" in my newsletter, and I suppose to an extent it is. However, it has a lot more to do with my desire to have the clothes I really want in a way that fuels my own ethical stance. If I claim to care about the environment, then I must be willing to ditch fast fashion. Full stop. If everyone just made one thing for their wardrobe, they would have not only new-found respect for all garment workers, the vast majority of whom work in sub-standard and dangerous conditions for poverty wages, but they would be far less likely to throw away their clothes after only a few wearings.

Now, you know I always want maker company, so this goal also has a community maker component to it. In order to celebrate my designs and yarns this anniversary year, I have devised a wee, yet clever, anniversary yarn + design club. For the next 10 months (beginning in February), club members will receive either yarn or a Voie de Vie design download. There are two months in which members will receive yarn; the remaining 8 months a pre-determined pattern. There's more detailed information at the club sign-up in my online store, but this is a natural extension of several prizes I donated during the most recent Indie Design Gift-a-long and Fasten Off Yarn-a-long. Rest assured, there will also be fun surprises, not to mention quarterly prizes! So, for an average price of less than $9 a month, a maker can get all kinds of making gratification for almost the remainder of the year! Slots are limited, however, because everything I do here at chez Voie de Vie has a personal component to it, and that will not be sacrificed, but instead celebrated (!) along with my creative anniversary. (also, there is no shipping charge on any domestic U.S. participants who sign up between now and the end of February). 

There will be ongoing posts about all this not only in my Ravelry group, but also on my Instagram feed (because I want no maker to feel left out or ignored, the monthly festivities will be ongoing in both places). I hope to see you in the maker mix ... and wish me luck on my wardrobe-making goal. I am gonna need it.

A Year of Anniversaries

 

Voie de Vie anniversary original art, (c) 2021. 
Mixed media with digital elements.

It is, amazingly, a new year - 2021!!!! While I usually take the first few weeks off at the beginning of the year to recharge and renew, the beginning of this year has been slightly different. While I have had an only limited presence on social media, it has been a far cry from restful. 

Nevertheless, I am so excited to finally fill everyone in on this most momentous of years - 2021 marks ten years I've been creating! I am absolutely blown away by this, truth be told. 

While there will be much more to write about in connection with the anniversary, I must mention the blog - I've been writing consistently on it for the last decade. That is unbelievable. Fittingly, this 1/1/2011 post fairly sums things up - a painting, a book, and a shawl. While I may have fallen for cowls over shawls, more writing and less reading, and hand-painting/dyeing yarn to painting on canvas (although I still do that!), there has been a clear theme over the last 10 years - creativity and making. It's something I cherish and never take for granted.

This year also marks a different anniversary for me - it's also the fifth season I will be curating/coordinating a summer Progress, Hope, & Happiness collection, complete with, as always, a making event. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Voie de Vie (@denisevoiedevie) 

I still cannot believe how far I have traveled along this creative path - from my first designs in the 2011 VKLlive/Los Angeles fashion show, to starting my own line of hand-dyed yarns, with just shy of 150 designs and over 560 blog posts in between, it's been quite a ride. The handknit and crochet business has changed dramatically over the last decade (and so much over the last 2+ years as to be almost unrecognizable), and through it all I have weathered every twist and turn. I have learned a lot about the people in this industry and, equally, a lot about myself in the process. I am so proud of my ability to still be standing, with my own voice still firmly in tact, in this my 10th creative year. There is no doubt that there are more popular designers out there - but popularity for its own sake has never been my aim. To paraphrase Thoreau - we only hit what we aim for; in my case, that aim has been a small, authentically-me business of which I can be proud. 

I will have much more to write about and announce during this very special anniversary year, so I hope you will join me in this 12-month celebration. My maternal grandmere, a New England textile worker, is definitely smiling down on me with that smug I-told-you-so smile. Ok, meme, you had me pegged all along. 

Visit the Voie de Vie online yarn store

 

 

Please find all the light and joy this holiday season. Pause for a moment and let your heart find the renewing peace that has seemed so elusive in 2020. From my home to yours - may the stillness of the winter solstice show you all that will be possible.

'Tis the Very Best Season

It is, almost (finally), gift-making season! It's been every *other* season, for ... like ... ever, and none of them good. To have survived and made it to actually be able to make gifts - well, that alone feels like a supreme feat.

Yet, this is 2020, so things will not be quite the same this year as in previous years. I have, for the last seven years, been a participating designer in the Ravelry-based Indie Designer Gift-a-long, and this year will be the same, I am happy to announce. 

However, because Ravelry instituted its most bungled site update in June, virtually eliminating accessibility for a critical amount of its users, I will *also* be a participating designer in a brand new event - the Fasten Off Yarn-a-long (Fasten Off YAL 2020), created by a few Ravelry users that either cannot - or won't, in solidarity - have the ability to access Ravelry for this year's GAL. It will be a smaller event, to be certain, but will incorporate most of the same features as the GAL - a community of makers celebrating indie designs and making things for others, with the possibility of winning prizes and generally creating community.

I must admit, I am sorely bummed that Ravelry has put the maker community in this position. Its insufficient (and many would argue non-existent) response to the site upgrade, since June (!), has left a whole subsection of its former users feeling unappreciated, not listened to, and all but ignored. 

It, however, has exacerbated the position in which we now find ourselves. Because the Indie GAL is so entrenched (going on eight years), it feels that it needs to now differentiate itself from the new kid on the block. While not completely dissing the Fasten Off YAL, it's been made clear that all of us who actively promote the GAL must only use GAL hashtags in social media posts, and relegate the use of Fasten Off's hashtags in *separate* posts on social media. Oh, just le sigh. Haven't we learned anything from this separate but equal treatment? I hope that the need for a separate gift-making event might eventually go away (pie-in-the-sky hope that might be), but in the meantime, both events are virtually identical, just the forum that hosts discussion is different (Ravelry vs. Discord). Why not join forces, or at least allow both events' respective hashtags in the same social media post? 

I'm old enough to remember another GAL kerfuffle, which I posted about here in 2017. I am still advocating for cooperation over competition, and given the reasons behind the need for an alternate gift-making event, cooperation is far more in order than back in 2017. Hasn't the hand-knit and crochet industry's contraction and almost complete transformation in the last two years shown us that we compete at our peril? Hasn't the last nine months of extreme pandemic life, coupled with the current rampant spike in the virus, also shown us that we are all so incredibly interconnected? How come I feel like I keep banging my head against the same damn brick wall?

I am leaving you, my dear readers, with the look book from the current capsule collection I just released. A few of the designs, I am happy to report, highlight my new line of hand-painted and dyed yarns. I have a lot to be thankful for this year - my good health for the last nine months at the top of the list, along with the interactions I have had with my fellow indie designers via the GAL as well as the happiness make-a-longs during the past four summers. We are going to see the other side of all of this. Let's bring some color, light, and good spirit into the end of this year, ok?

2020 Capsule Collection look-book linky

 

It's Finally Here - My New Line of Hand-Dyed Yarns!

My crafty friends, it is finally the day. In the midst of pandemic life, on the anniversary of 9/11, in the face of all the racial inequity, and despite the fact that half of the West seems to literally be on fire, I am saying yes to hope - one glorious color at a time - and am ready to launch my new line of hand painted/dyed yarns!

This really started over the summer with the soft launch of 6 new colorways on two bases for our fourth year of the Progress, Hope, and Happiness collection and MAL (make-a-long for any new readers to this blog and yarny life generally). Those six colorways were well received by both makers and designers, several of which used some of the colorways in their own designs and projects.

Since then, I have been tinkering with colorways, bases, and all manner of combinations to arrive at what you see below and above.

I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to be able to reveal all this gorgeous color. Over these last few months I have learned a lot - not only about color and technique, but also about the bases I want to work with, the materials that are working for me and fit with my ethos and approach, and how these colorways can inspire and transform my own designing life (because you know I ain't giving that up, my making friends). 

Of course, bumps will still be occurring because of the pandemic (a base that I love is currently on deep back order, so I will be going to Plan B in the intervening weeks), and I am still developing a few more new colorways for later in the year - but that is par for the course. All I can do is look at all that color and grin from ear to ear - the sight fills me with so much flippin' joy!

I will have a small collection of designs of my own to reveal next week that will help to launch the Voie de Vie line of yarns - and I am also fairly excited about that, too. 

So, if you'd like to ooh and aah over the 15 colorways in the yarn line so far, or make a wee purchase, head on over to my Big Cartel shop. A word about the online shop: the yarn is organized by colorway, and bases that are currently available for each colorway are listed under each individual color. Big Cartel is a little quirky in that it shows the yarn price for the first base listed (or available) for each colorway. Not all colorways will be on all bases, and all bases are different prices. So, basically, read carefully about each base within each colorway.

Taking my 15 minutes of happy dance fun - those colors are ... like ... so wow!!! Take that, my quarantining friends.

On Unsung Veterans and Labor

Jacqueline Cochran portrait. Original mixed media art,
Denise Voie de Vie, (c) 2015, Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace.

I have only managed to mark the Labor Day holiday twice here on the blog. I expect it is a weekend during which I attempt to not labor. However, given the current disheartening conversations surrounding U.S. military veterans, combined with how we all are re-conceiving our notions of what constitutes essential labor in these pandemic times, I wanted to share some details of the life of one of our first females of flight, Jacqueline Cochran. This is excerpted and re-edited from two different chapters in my first self-published book, Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace.

Jacqueline Cochran: 1906 - 1980

For all her inconsistency, Jacqueline Cochran (born Bessie Pittman in the Florida panhandle) represents the rags-to-riches story that America just loves.

Jackie grew up poor, with no indoor running water or toilet, and knew she wanted more. She wed a young salesman in 1920, had a baby the next year, and then proceeded to leave the upbringing of her child to her parents as she left Florida to start her career.

Jackie eventually landed in New York and, over dinner one night in 1932, she not only met her second husband, but also found someone willing to bankroll her next business venture (cosmetics), as well as flying lessons. Soon she was flying for both sport and business.

A mere six years later, during which Jackie lived through the disappearance of Amelia Earhart (her best friend among female pilots of the day), she went on to win the Harmon Trophy for best female pilot after beating all the male pilots in a transcontinental race. In case anyone thought it a fluke, Jackie went on to win the Harmon trophy a second year in a row, thus solidifying her position as "first lady of the airlanes."

Soon after, WWII broke out, and Jackie went on to head the WASP program - the Women's Airforce Service Pilots. Conceived as a way to get male pilots to train on the B-29 bomber after one of Boeing's best test pilots died during the bomber's testing phase, the WASPs went on not only to train men, but to also fly every type of plane the military used during WWII. WASPs logged more than 60 million miles in the air, 38 women lost their lives flying planes during WWII, and despite Jackie's impassioned efforts to save the WASP program, it was shut down in 1944. These female pilots never received the military status they so rightly, and still do, deserve.

WASP portrait in front of a B-29. Original mixed media art,
Denise Voie de Vie, (c) 2015, Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace.

Jackie, however, went on to receive the Distinguished Service Medal for her WASP program efforts, was the first female to break the sound barrier, and ran for Congress in 1952. She won her party's primary, but lost in the general election to the first Asian-American congressman,Democrat Dalip Singh Saund. 

Her second husband's wealth has (as some commentators have noted) overshadowed Jackie's own business acumen, but she went on to be twice named Associated Press's "Woman of the Year in Business," based on her lucrative cosmetics industry career. Jackie fought hard on behalf of her fellow WASPs, many of which she personally recruited for the program. I expect if Jackie was around today, she would be labelled "ambitious." I also expect she herself would own that label. Ambition and ethics need not be mutually exclusive - Jackie gave selflessly to a program that has yet to be formally recognized by the military.

I initially ascribed "inconsistency" to Jackie's life, but it's more a commentary on American caste than anything else. There is no doubt that Jackie worked tirelessly to improve her station in life. She represents the promise of the American dream, yet many would criticize, in hindsight, her choices, precisely because of the tensions inherent in such a station change.

On this Labor Day weekend, I recognize Jacqueline Cochran, and all the WASPs of the second World War. Their unsung labor and effort (and let's be honest, sheer guts) helped shape the U.S. efforts in WWII. Grit and grace, indeed.

Getting Ready for a Collection Launch In This Most Amazing Time

I have been working since the beginning of the year on this year's Progress, Hope, & Happiness collection which will, all forces willing, launch June 26 - two Fridays from now. To say it has been a roller coaster of a ride would be an understatement; what has been my saving grace is coordinating and working alongside an impressive group of indie dyers and designers.

Of course we all know about COVID-19 and our world-wide lockdown. What many may not know is that the lockdown affected mail ... well, ok, at least I did not, until I and another dyer tried sending yarn support around the world. For both of us, packages either just flat-out did not arrive, or it took, literally, months for the designers to receive.

Then, one of our indie designers actually contracted the virus and in the whirlwind hospitalization and isolation, could not let any of us know. While I am so glad to report she is out of the hospital, out of home quarantine post-hospitalization, and now back with her family, she is still catching up on her designing schedule. To add insult to injury, that same designer also, in the last two weeks, had a major death in the family.

Of course, our initial focus - Tokyo - was chosen because of it's Olympic world stage. Yes, and we all know what happened to that.

And, since all roller coaster rides must rise after a death-defying drop, one of our indie dyers also gave birth to a beautiful baby girl!  Mom and child are doing fine, now.

Through all of this (and the behind the scenes logistics have been super busy this year), I have managed to start a new Instagram feed just for the Progress, Hope, & Happiness collection, complete with a spiffy new Linktree that contains links to all of the past collections (if you'd like to go down indie dyer + designer lane), coordinate designers and dyers from around the world, including two new-to-the-collections' designers (from New Zealand and Canada, respectively), start my own small indie dyer business (the soft opening of the yarns which can be viewed and purchased here in my online Big Cartel shop - it's soft because I will still be adding bases between now and collection launch, and then colorways are limited to my first six), all while working on my own knit and crochet designs for the collection, using both my yarns as well as one of my fellow indie dyer's yarns.

When I say that I can see the finish line and it feels incredible, I am not kidding! However, to work alongside such an incredible group of dyers and designers has truly been life-affirming. Since one of this year's designers also happens to be black, it has been my privilege to center her experiences and words (as well as other black designers and crafters) over the last few weeks. It goes without saying (and should be evident to anyone who has read and followed this blog for any length of time) that I stand with black lives - they have always mattered. Full stop.

In case anyone should doubt the ability of a group of women to come together and just slay a project, let me put that doubt permanently to rest. I am so grateful for this group of independent and creative minds who have provided critical and valuable input throughout this collection's process. I hope I have created an environment that lets them know that when they speak up, I listen and make adjustments accordingly. I have always tried to foster such an environment throughout all the previous collections, but this year it definitely seems to have solidified. 

View this post on Instagram

Alright my making friends, our first yarn prizes give-away has been announced in our #Ravelry group! If you look at the brand spanking new linktree in this insta feed bio, you will see the Ravelry group link (and you can stroll down past look books Lane and see some of the amazing yarns and designs from previous years). All the deets are on Ravelry, and you will need to be a Ravelry group member in order to be eligible to win. That, and clicking the Insta love buttons on any of this year's dyers" new colorways with our #happinessmakealong2020 hashtag, is all you need to do in order to be in on a great yarn prize! #crochetersaroundtheworld #knittersofravelry #knittersaroundtheworld #crochetinspiration #blackgirlscraft #blackgirlsknit #blackgirlscrochet

A post shared by Denise Voie de Vie (@progresshopehappiness) on Jun 10, 2020 at 5:36pm PDT

Right now we have a prize challenge going on Instagram - click through to the above post, start clicking some love for our dyers' yarns, and definitely make certain you follow the collection's feed as well as join our Ravelry group! I hope you will take these next two weeks and follow as our designers complete their behind-the-scenes efforts and our dyers' launch their amazing new colorways created specifically for this collection. 

In a world that is going through so much upheaval, loss, and grief, this creative endeavor, and these creative designers and dyers, have been a real bright spot for me, and I thank my lucky stars its been here.