Knitting...Oasis
You may have noticed something new around here...a new logo! I am so pleased with how it turned out. In the process of having it made, I told several people the source of the name KnitOasis. What I discovered in the course of these conversations was that no one (other than my family) knew how I had arrived at the moniker.
Much like the origins of knitting, the exact date of the origins of the name "KnitOasis" are shrouded in the mists of time. I remember playing around with different options, and settling on this one for several reasons:
- It's a play on my own name...."Tamara" means palm tree.
- Knitting can be like an oasis of calm in the stresses of life, a fact that I wanted to spread to people through my classes and blog posts.
- One theory of the origins of knitting is that it began in Arabia, in a beautiful desert oasis.
- I liked the short, catchy sound of it: Knit Oasis!
Discussing the birth of a company's name isn't usually a hot topic, I know. Even a marketing nerd like myself can understand that most folks aren't really all that interested.
I share all this with you today because I want you to know that what I do here means a lot to me. I have always wanted to bring worth and value to people's lives, and I believe that teaching them to knit is an important way to do that. Sharing my struggles with keeping knitting a priority, with finding my tribe, with wearing all the other hats I must wear in the course of a busy day, are all shared in hopes that you will find that common ground that somehow keeps us all sane. Here's a recent example of this: the other day I read that article floating around social media excerpted from Rob Lowe's book, about sending his son off to college. Of course I cried while I read it, but I came away with such a sense of reassurance. The feelings I am experiencing as I face my first born going out into the world are OK. They are more than OK, they are so natural that even ROB LOWE experienced them! I can't tell you how much this helped me feel less crazy.
Does that mean my aim in life is to help you feel less crazy? I think it does. Picture yourself comfortably reclining in a hammock stretched between two trees, overlooking the most picturesque pond you can imagine, a cool breeze ruffling your hair, your knitting in your lap and refreshing beverage at your side. Do you feel saner, even if only for a moment? I know I do. If you could see the length of my pattern design to-do list, the piles of papers on my desk, the menus that need planning, the trip preparations that need to be made for the above-mentioned first-born's summer ballet trip, and then look with me at the clock and see that the morning has mysteriously evaporated, you'll know how much I need that oasis, too. That calming breath that slows us down long enough to hear that voice in our head that says, "Hang in there. It'll all get done, even if you take a 15-minute knitting break."
Think of the shiny new logo as a renewal of my commitment to you, to continue to make this a home on the web for knitters looking for instruction, patterns, connections, resources, and hopefully, a lot of fun. An oasis, in fact.
Big thanks to Amy at absquaredesign.com for the amazing logo! I love it!