The Shift” by Andrea Mowry.

I have to confess, I’ve been holding out a little on you.

By now you’ve seen that our theme for Knit Stars Season 9 is “Permission to Shine.” What I haven’t shared is the story behind the story of the theme.

And this week, when Gabi made this post in our new pop-up Facebook group for Season 9 Earlybirds…I realized it was time to open up.

So here’s the rest of the story…

Longtime readers know that a couple of years ago, I “frogged” some really big parts of my life and started over. Divorced from my husband and business partner of 27 years. Left Tulsa, the home I’d always known, to start a new life by the sea. Stopped playing competitive tennis and started walking and hot yoga. Fell in love with someone whose job required us to move continually at the drop of a hat.

Rip-it, rip-it, rip-it. 🐸

Begin again. And again and again.

And just keeping it real here…I was feeling both massively re-energized, and a little lost and overwhelmed when I met Erin Weed.

Erin’s the creator of something she calls The Dig – “a method for uncovering who you already are, so you can start doing what you’re meant to do.” I knew our connection (at a meeting of online entrepreneurs in Durango) was meant to be when she said, “I help people find their north star.” ✨

Over two days, Erin distilled what felt like an endless garbled mess of my life stories – and about 1,000 stickie notes – into what she called my operating system…

“You give other people permission to shine,” she said. “And your Dig Word is SHINE.”

“Ranunculus” by Midori Hirose in yarn from Tatiana Sarasa and Moondrake Co.

At first, this brought up all kinds of feelings of denial, embarrassment, and even shame – a feeling I’ve experienced my whole life when anyone gives me a compliment. I hide.

But then I thought about how much I love being behind the camera, helping tell the stories of our Stars, finding what makes them glow. How much I love snapping that perfect picture of someone wearing what they’ve made, seeing them light up inside…

And I was like HECK YEAH. I’m gonna dedicate this time in my life to giving people permission! 🌟

Then when I realized “nine” rhymes with “shine,” well it was a done deal LOL.

“Lizzie” by Georgie Nicolson.

Your shine challenge, should you choose to accept it…

In preparing this newsletter, I went back through my photos on my phone and found three photos where I felt really happy, really myself, and really shiny in something I had made.

Now I’d like to challenge you to do the same. Maybe even get them printed and hang them on your bathroom mirror – as a visual reminder of how amazing you are, how much you shine, and how you deserve to make time for yourself, your creativity, and your connection with other creatives.

And for extra credit, I’d love for you to hit reply on this email and send me your shiniest photo, along with a sentence or two about “your big Y…”

WHY is yarning and creative connection important to you? How does it fill your cup in a way that nothing else can?

We’ll share some of our favorite photos in an upcoming newsletter. ❤️

P.S. If you’d like to do your own “Dig” with Erin, unearth your truth and learn to express is in just ONE WORD…check out this link. It’s a really powerful experience.

As extra inspiration, here are some more photos from my phone of some other people I love, shining bright in their makes…

Gaye “GG” Glasspie shining in “Rhinebeck Sweater” by Cheryl Kubat. That smile! 🤩

Rose is wearing the “Scotchpine Pullover” she recently test knit for Alicia Plummer. “This sweater was my first attempt at stranding three colors in a row,” she said. “It was a challenge for sure…but so worth it! You can say the confidence I have gained from Knit Stars gave me permission to try something new and smiled brightly when I was able to do it!”

Charlotte wearing her first knit garment, made with Amano yarn.

Hoa wearing “Quartz Pullover” by Alexandra Tavel.

Mitzi is shining so bright in Paul Sweater by Moreca!

She said, “This has to be one of my all-time favorites. The feeling I get when I slip it on is accomplished, polished, and at peace. I made a promise to myself that the pieces I invest in going forward will be ones that I would purchase off the rack and wear!  This sweater meets those requirements and more because I MADE IT!”

Recipe and Image from Food Network courtesy of Gordon Ramsay.

Pan-Seared Scallops with Sweet Corn Purée

On my plane trip back from filming in Europe this past week, I discovered a series called “Selena + Chef.” I’ve always been a fan of Selena Gomez and how she bravely talks about her mental health. In the first two episodes I watched, she was cooking alongside a famous chef over zoom during the pandemic. But in the last episode, Gordon Ramsay showed up at her house in person and put her through the paces!

I love this scallop recipe because it lets the star of the dish really shine. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 4 to 6 ears fresh yellow corn, shucked
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed
• 3⁄4 tsp. kosher salt, divided
• 2 Tbsp. grapeseed oil
• 10 U10 scallops, dry packed, cut in half widthwise OR 12 U10 scallops, dry packed, whole
• 1⁄4 tsp. black pepper

Instructions:
For the sweet corn purée: 

1. Cut the corn kernels off the ears of corn. Discard the corn cobs. Put the corn kernels into a blender and blend until smooth. Strain the blended corn into a medium fine-mesh sieve set inside a large mixing bowl. Press the corn with a spoon or rubber spatula to push the corn juice through. Discard the corn pulp.
2. Pour the corn juice into a medium saucepan and cook over medium-low heat and reduce the juice until it is nappe (thick enough to coat the back of a spoon). Strain the thickened juice through a fine-mesh sieve into another saucepan set over low heat.
3. Whisk in the butter and season to taste. Reserve for plating. If making for future use, pour the puree into a food-safe container and chill in an ice bath before covering.

For the pan seared scallops: 

1. Heat the grapeseed oil in a large nonstick sauté pan over medium to medium-high heat. Pat dry the scallops and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
2. Add the scallops to the pan and sear on both sides until medium golden brown, about 60 seconds on each side for halved scallops and 1 1/2 minutes to 2 minutes for whole scallops.
3. Place your cooked scallops onto a small sheet tray with a resting rack or a large plate with paper towels to drain of excess fat.
4. Serve the scallops with the sweet corn purée.