27 Comments

The unbearable lightness of being

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Thank you kindly Charlotte! Hopefully we can all have coffee in person some day.

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Glad you remember that cause my 59 year old memory is shit! Lol. You needed the pep talk…

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Hi Cori, glad you did the intro, it gives a wonderful layer of authenticity.

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Thank you I appreciate that feedback. I love your work.

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Hi Cori! I'm Amy. Nice to "meet" you. Your hat is stunning!

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So nice to meet you too. Thank you. My friend Angela from Valley Purl made the hat. I’ve bought 4 of her hats because the colors and work and yarn (from Ireland) are beautiful. I don’t hand knit because I’ve moved onto manual looms and now use an Addi knitting machine and I crochet a lot. If you are interested in such craftsmanship I just published part 2 of a design-along series in which I am creating my first pattern from scratch to possibly sell. It’s an art blanket I literally dreamt of. Have a wonderful day!

Part 1 - https://coribren.substack.com/p/is-your-brain-abby-normal?r=2umm6v

Part 2 - https://coribren.substack.com/p/beguiled?r=2umm6v

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Thanks for the info about your hat! Angela is super talented!

And, I'm (mostly) with you on the hand knitting.

After I learned to machine knit, hand knitting seems far less exciting to me...except that space constraints made it impossible for me to keep my knitting machines.

In 2009, my husband and I moved aboard a sailboat, and then we went cruising. So before we set sail, we sold / donated / gave away pretty much everything we owned that didn't fit aboard the sailboat. It was bye bye knitting machines, and I never replaced them (because space constraints, still).

So I still hand some projects that lend themselves better to knitting than crochet, but I'm not gonna lie, I miss the knitting machines.

Looms are intriguing to me, but I'm still really new at those.

And, crochet is my first love. I'd rather mess around with crochet than anything else!

Thanks for sharing the links to your art blanket! I'll check it out momentarily.

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Thank you for taking a look. You’ve done a lot of interesting things. Disclaimer alert - unsolicited advice incoming - you should write about your cruising too

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Thanks for the suggestion, Cori! I appreciate it.

I've spent some time documenting our sailing adventures in scrapbooks. That's a never-ending project that could take the rest of my life, if I let it. Maybe I'll occasionally share pics of some of those pages here at my Substack, too.

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Cori, your vulnerability in posting your photo (I can SO relate) gives the rest of us permission to own our weak spots as well. I love that you said you're happy and many folks in your life would say the same...but there's the others who might think you've gone off the deep end! I'd say this puts you in a great position😀 Thanks for the lovely welcome.

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I appreciate your kind words more than I can say. Thank you.

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@Cori Bren ,It’s nice to meet the lovely face and person behind the beautiful inspiring words.✨💖💜

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I love that last sentence. Very important reminder for everyone, but especially those of us raising the next could generations.

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Thanks Lace!

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Love it! Writing is my jam, too, but so are a few other things. I am very nearly 54 and I also have two boys. So glad we connected. XO

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Uncanny I’m 59 also a cat herder IRL job and have two growing up young adult sons

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I work with elementary kids with special needs, am working on getting my teaching cert and masters in special education, and my boys are 14 and 19. XO

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Thanks for sharing…

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Nice to meet you too. It’s a pleasure to see the face behind the buzz 🐝

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Thank you Ken

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You are very welcome.

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Congratulations Cori, it's nice to be introduced to the beautiful face behind the incredible, heartfelt and encouraging articles. I’m so happy we are sharing our Substack journey together. I admire your bravery revealing something very private. Thank you for allowing a glimpse at that part of you. ✨🤗💜

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Thank you Charlotte. Warm welcomes like yours in the SubStack community are what led me to come out from behind my logo. 🫣

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I’m so happy for you! You look at lot a room mate I had in college. She’s a lovely lady 💞

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You made me believe in myself when you were my manager 10 years ago. I remember your words, “You belong at this table with the rest of the managers so act like it”. And you said it with compassion. Thank You!

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Glad you remember that cause my 59 year old memory is shit! Lol. You needed the pep talk…

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