Spinning a thread of a dream of a life.

I've thought about starting this blog for a while.  A long while, actually.  I've had other blogs on other subjects, but the real love of my life is fiber (other than my husband and son, of course.) And coffee.  I've gone several days without any interaction with either and I can tell you 100%, I'm a better person in this world with a good cup of coffee and a nice bit of knitting in my hand.

In my real life, I do insurance things.  I like insurance a lot, but if I close my eyes and imagine what I would like to do when I grow up, it's always the same thing.  A little shop in a kinda little town with a lot of pedestrian traffic.  There, I run a small coffee and yarn shop.  I wouldn't want to sell food, because I'd love a shop cat.  I'd spend my days hopefully creating new fiber addicts.  Introducing people to the basics.  You know- Cast on, knit, purl, the joys of a really delicious flat white.

I'd have a spinning wheel off in the corner.  In my free time, I'd spin up my own yarn, but maybe not for sale.  Truth is, I'm not that good at spinning. Yet.  I've put together several usable yarns, but I've got a lot to learn.

It would be eclectic in there, because I'm a little diverse.  I can see myself singing along to my favorite Pandora station, spinning, pausing to make someone a coffee,  pausing to pet the cat.
Pausing to work retail.

I'd love it to become  third place for knitters.  Because of this, in my mind, there's an ever present crafting corner.  A place where, if we're open, you're welcome to come in, knit, spin, chat. 

So that's what I want to do when I grow up.  I'm almost 43, so I have to start growing up fast.  Before I can even think about starting something like this, I have some work to do.

As an insurance nerd, I put a lot of stock in professional designations.  So I want to earn my master knitter designation. I also want to become a certified knitting and crocheting instructor.  I can crochet a bit, but I'd love to unravel some of the mystique about it all.  And I want to make it easier for people to become fiber addicts.

I need to become proficient in spinning.

I need to take some business classes.

I need to save a LOT of money.

I need to part time somewhere as a barista.

When I close my eyes and think about retirement, that's what it looks like for me.  How could someone grow old while doing what they love?