2026 Word for the Year

 Another New Year, another blog post, starting SO optimistically...

Last year's word was Acceptance - and the Universe decided to REALLY push back. Hard.

I lost a cousin (whose mother had passed only months before), a longtime friend and fellow Fibre Artist, and a local friend who'd just started his journey - all before the faintest hint of Spring. Nearly everyone I know also had losses that cut deeply.

My only completed projects for the year were a small bundle of whipcords, 1 metre of trim (made as a tourney prize to commemorate the young friend), and a scarf (because I needed a quick win).

I dropped a medication that wasn't working well for me, and started on several new ones, ALL of which carry a host of side-effects. (this is ongoing)

I started unpacking, from a move that was fraught with its own challenges. The responsibilities I had undertaken sorely tested my ability to 'accept' my chosen path...

...but I also found ways to accept help from others, and began working on doing so with more grace than comes easily to me. I travelled to more SCA events than I'd seen in years, and accepted the wisdom of a few amazing friends.

I accepted that my textile skills are a bit niche, and chose to withdraw my items from local Guild sales, and take them with me to share with SCA friends, instead - and to start curating the items I bring home, with an eye to whether they'll serve that audience.

This year, I've decided to build on that, the best way I can manage. This will be the year I

Refine

I know I have the foundation skills I need to create beautiful things. It's time to undertake some larger, possibly 'selfish' projects, and polish the rough edges from a few skills that I've allowed to languish.

So this year, I'm going to work to refine my SCA persona. Margoton was... a citizen of the SCA, tied only to the things I was drawn to when I joined. I've started gleaning some of the information I need to bring Drága into being - researching my paternal history, since the first persona was initially shaped by my mother's lineage.

I'll refine my spinning and weaving skills (and any related textile sidequests), so I can reproduce fabrics that will be suitable for new wardrobe pieces - and eventually, start making garments that will work for both sides of my life. Life's too short NOT to use the things I make. I'm taking part in the #Daedalus and #DreaReneeKnits #JauntySAL, to help refine my project planning and time management skills.

I'll refine my musical knowledge. I have avoided music for too long (for convoluted personal reasons). Losing the young friend made me realize I've missed learning new instruments, and my sight-reading skills are VERY rusty. I'll delve into Early Music - and maybe someday be part of a chorus or consort - after I refine my ability to play, and work toward finding instruments that fit my life, including my persona, travel plans, and physical limitations.

I'll work to refine some neglected language skills too. My spinning classes in Abby Franquemont's Discord are often multi-lingual, and I'd like to dust off some of the language apps I've used, to work on Spanish and French (my Duo account is set to french-language prompts for the Spanish track), Quechua (starting with textile terms and pattern names in Andean Weaving), and Hungarian.

There are so many areas of my life that have room for refinement... and no better time to start, than now.