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Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

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A Farewell to the Studio Space, but Not Hands Occupied

November 18, 2022 Leave a Comment

A blond woman packing several boxes.
As I taped up the last of my studio boxes, I thought I’d be remiss not to document the end of a space where I shot so many photos, including my book. 👍🏻

Hi everyone! It’s been 3 months since my last post, but that’s okay. It’s been a season of a lot of unanticipated change. At a time when I’d been planning on releasing my first collection (more on that in a moment), my husband and I ended up buying and moving into our first home. Before mid-August we had no plans to do so. 😅 Things moved quickly, but we feel very lucky!

Two days before a truck was booked to move our stuff to our new house, I got a call from the landlord at my studio space for Hands Occupied. They informed me that the studio rental spaces weren’t working out as planned, and someone will be taking over Startwork Studios, as they’re called, soon. All tenants had to be out by December 1. Lucky again, I was already moving to a house with a room earmarked for my studio space. Unsurprisingly, few of my fellow renters were coincidentally moving their studios, and especially not during the holiday sales season. There was even an article in Block Club Chicago about the situation. 

For me, this means I’m going to go ahead and officially tap out on 2022 in terms of output for Hands Occupied. I was already struggling from having to move my studio back in February within the studio spaces – studio 1 to studio 6 after a recurring ceiling leak. These studio spaces were the only affordable place I could find in my part of Chicago, so I rolled the dice on a recently-vacated space that didn’t appear to have a history of leaks. I made do as makers do, and all I can do is shake my head and move on.

The Rest of 2022

Speaking of making do and moving on, I don’t plan on abandoning my collection or other projects I’ve got in the queue, but for the rest of 2022, I’m taking the space I need to decompress from the bizarre, discouraging experience that became the studio space. As I unpack my studio again, I’ll focus on the amazing times we had in the Hands Occupied Studio during weekly Craft Nights when that was still possible in 2019-2020, rather than the awkward ending of the space. 

Take a look inside the new Hands Occupied Studio in Chicago, learn about when it's open to the public, and share your ideas for workshops and events you'd like to see in the new space! #handsoccupiedstudio
Some of the smiling faces who came to the Hands Occupied Studio warming in February of 2019. ❤️

I want to spend this holiday season enjoying being a “regular maker.” I want to make felt Christmas stockings for my family to celebrate moving into our first house. I want to work on my cooking a little. I want to be able to catch up on knitting for me. So that’s what I’m going to do! I’ll keep up with comments and messages at least 1-2 times a week in case you’ve got holiday knitting questions, and I might share tidbits, particularly the stockings since they’re crafty. But this year I’m just going to let myself be in the moment during the holidays. Again, I’m lucky. 

Happy Holidays,

Heidi

Heidi at work in the first Hands Occupied Studio.
Working in Studio 1.
Heidi (Hands Occupied) answers the phone with skepticism.
One of the few shots I have from Studio 6.
Heidi shoots a picture of the Hands Occupied Studio window decal from the inside. You can see her reflection in the glass.
It will always be pretty cool that I had a studio window. :)

Filed Under: Hands Occupied Studio Tagged With: hands occupied studio, home studio, moving, studio

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

Previous Post: « Summer Reading for Makers
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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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handsoccupied

Craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé
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Weekend knitting design aftermath. Remember kids, Weekend knitting design aftermath. Remember kids, it’s always good to stop, swatch and block it. 🧶
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#stopswatchandblockit #handsoccupied
Learn how to do the magic loop method for knitting Learn how to do the magic loop method for knitting in the round in 90 seconds. / Using the magic loop allows knitters to work in the round with a single, long circular needle at a range of circumferences. 
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For a longer, full-width & more detailed overview of magic loop knitting, check out my u2be & b1og, the 🔗🔗 are where you’d think. 🧶
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#handsoccupied #magicloop #knitting #howtoknit #learntoknit #knitter #knittinginspiration #knittinginstagram #knittingintheround
Since it won’t be clean for long, swipe to see w Since it won’t be clean for long, swipe to see what my home studio looks like these days. Nothing will ever quite be like the old Hands Occupied Studio, but I’m pretty pleased with how I shoehorned everything in this space. Function over form + a layer of yarn cuteness-meets-chaos is how I’d describe my creative space needs. 😆 When I was still renting the studio, those needs included “doesn’t rain suspicious brown water from a crack in the ceiling for a year,” so this is an improvement! 😆
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For a time lapse of the studio organizing and tszuj-ing process, scroll down a couple posts on my feed. (There’s also a video or two featuring the old studio if you’re curious.) Happy June, friends! 
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#handsoccupied #handsoccupiedstudio #knitdesigner #craftdesign #yarncrafts #latchhook #makerlife #heidigustad #chicagocrafter
Who doesn’t love magic loop knitting? Who doesn’t know what it is? How about when circular needles were invented?
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In todays new bl0g post + video tutorial, you’ll learn about the magic loop method for knitting in the round, how to do it and why to use it, and when it came to be. The 🔗 is in my b1o. 🧶 
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#handsoccupied #magicloop #knitting #howtoknit #knittinginspiration #knittingintheround
Finally organizing & putting the finishing touches Finally organizing & putting the finishing touches on my home studio. After losing my studio space last fall, it’s feels really great to *occupy* this new space all the way. 😉
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I started by removing general clutter & returning straggler supplies from various WIPs, videos & design deadlines to their homes. Next, I hung a third peg board in the space - this one is mostly for display and less for organizing tools or projects. For the first time ever, I’m displaying projects from my book, plus a couple other faves. (The best thing about designing more yarn crafts besides knit & crochet is that I have some really fun -and delightfully pettable 😆- samples around.) I finished by adding a square dowel to my small supply storage tower to keep it from tipping over, plus re-arranging and de-cluttering the closet. 
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This cleaner space already has me feeling so much more creative and less overwhelmed. Now to find a safe spot in the basement for the tower of project samples in Rubbermaid tubs I liberated from my WIPs closet. Also why are there five?! 
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Here’s to keeping it clean for a few weeks! 🧶 
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#handsocupied #handsoccupiedstudio #craftroom #craftroomorganization #craftroomstorage #yarncraft #knitter #crocheter #latchhook #latchhookbook
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