pre-order the book! official release date is september 1, 2023.

hey witchy sweet pea, are you feeling overwhelmed these days?

make your own sanctuary

and reconnect with your self-care magic ✨

join a private community of fellow sweet peas (the queer, the witchy, and the knitty) and get exclusive access to:

🎞 behind-the-scenes content

🍯 recipes

🧶 knitting and sewing projects

🛍 small batch limited edition products

💗 and more while you support the creation of the latest book from ash alberg of sunflower knit and samson learn of samson photography! OPEN NOW!

when was the last time you felt truly connected to your physical and emotional selves?

living under the kyriarchy is exhausting. living under the kyriarchy through a global pandemic and in the midst of wars waged on the large and small scale can feel almost impossible. increasingly we find ourselves more and more divided, losing loved ones, and feeling like we can barely catch a breath before the next thing takes it (and our basic human rights) away again. meanwhile, we’re spoonfed toxic positivity and told that “it’s not that bad” and “just work harder.” it’s your fault if you feel like you’re losing your grasp on, well, everything - you didn’t manifest that cosmic energy enough. and also, it’s everyone else’s fault. you have no control over your existence, you’re just here for the (really shitty) ride.

ahem. i call bullshit.

being queer - in particular, being a non-binary queer femme in a patriarchal and femme-phobic society - has taught me two very important things in life:

the world is seriously fucked up.
the world is also deeply beautiful and awe-inspiring.

it has also taught me that humans mirror those two facts on a daily basis. more often than not, we live in a “yes, and” world rather than a “no, just no” world. the world is fucked up and it is deeply beautiful. humans cause extensive damage and are capable of incredible acts of kindness. and when we allow ourselves to come together in community, those acts of kindness are able to land with more frequency and more compassion.

we should be celebrating those moments more:

prioritizing joy in our daily lives, no matter how small…

embracing (consenting) physical touch as a core love language…

fighting the patriarchal lies that anything deemed “indulgent” or “pretty” is frivolous and unnecessary (ever notice how that always seems to be the case for anything that’s been gendered as “feminine” rather than “masculine”?) 💐

that may not make any of the hard things disappear, or stop a war, or fix broken systems that maybe aren’t broken and were just highly flawed from the get-go. but taking up space together in a world that doesn’t prioritize us is one of the biggest “fuck you”s that i’ve ever seen in action, and refusing to let them steal our joy is another.

there is deep magic in selfies, in sending and receiving care packages, in reading romance because it has to have a happy ending, in literally stopping to smell the roses.

after the first few weeks of shutdown life…

my sagittarius heart came roaring to the front. i desperately missed physical touch and my dear ones, and with no clear end in sight, i focused on what i could control - i began hunting for happy endings. i grew a whole new appreciation for the romance genre, i devoured smart comedies like schitt’s creek, and i made a point of connecting via technology and snail mail. if i couldn’t be with my loved ones physically, i would be with them in spirit (and on facetime).
i started the **creative coven community** in response to my audience’s desires for more centralized resources and connection *and* because virtual knit nights with fellow knit witches felt like a perfect addition to my months (i was right).
i was also in the process of writing my third book of patterns, *cwtch*, and as is common for me, i got wholly distracted by a surge of inspiration that also came from my sagittarius heart. namely, i dreamed of a book of patterns and recipes and diy tutorials centred around spending quality time with my dear ones. a queer love bubble of delicious food and beautiful we-made clothing and rich, warm colours and florals everywhere.

the first seeds of sanctuary were planted, and my personal “fuck you” to covid took root 🌱🌱🌱

introducing

the sanctuary hub

come with me behind-the-scenes through all the stages of creating this new book, and make your very own sanctuary with its help ✨

sanctuary follows in cwtch’s footsteps by combining knitting patterns with herbal remedies and recipes, and we’ve taken things a step further with sewing patterns and other projects to create your own personal sanctuary. thanks to samson learn’s keen eye and lens, we’re taking you on a multi-sensual experience of communal queer love at its finest and an opulent environment through the pages of our newest collaboration. and yes, this darling is bound to be a hardcover heirloom (get it? bound? book binding?).

by supporting the creation of sanctuary with your monthly or yearly donation, you also get the chance to connect with fellow supporters and fibre witches in the creative coven community. you’ll get 24/7 access to a rich library of book recommendations, recipes, easy rituals for celebration throughout the year, a monthly zoom craft night, exclusive shops, and more.

what supporting sanctuary means for us and you

go behind-the-scenes with me with my 4th book, sanctuary! the hub is your all-in-one space for access to everything from:

my creation process for patterns and layouts
recipes and diy tutorials including ones that don’t end up in the final book
my favourite self-care resources
an exclusive shop devoted to all things sanctuary

you also get ongoing access to the creative coven community! inside there, you’ll find:

🧶 monthly knit/craft nights via zoom

🥳 extra events like make-a-longs, live rounds of the creative coven challenge, & more

24/7 ACCESS TO:

📚 my virtual bookshelf with topics like:

community reads (your recommendations!)
decolonization
fibreshed
how to be a person
natural dyeing
plants & herbalism
witchcraft

🌈 colour journal - my digital natural dye colour journal, an ever-growing resource of colour results, recipes, dye facts, historical references, other uses, and extra resources for further dye study - an invaluable resource of both popular natural dyes and local-to-pembina-fibreshed dye sources for fellow natural dyers!

🧶 creative coven challenge - the swatching challenge that will get your ideas out of your head and onto your knitting needles!

✨ everyday magic - simple recipes, tarot spreads, and rituals for the wheel of the year

🎁 fibre directory - some of my favourite fibre witch-owned businesses & resources

🍽 from the kitchen - recipes for humans and fur babies for treats, cocktails, herbal remedies, & more

🪡 sea-to-sea-to-sea make-a-long bonuses - bonus instructional videos added every quarter as part of the free annual sea-to-sea-to-sea make-a-long

🐶 willow’s treats - extra goodies from the goodness of willow’s heart! downloadable guides, pdfs, checklists, and whatever else wags her tail

🔵 bingo! - curated bingo cards! they even come with prizes…

our expected timeline

UPDATE: we’re officially going to print in summer 2023 and the book’s official release date is september 1, 2023!

this isn’t our first rodeo - sanctuary will be the 4th book that samson and i create together. after delays due to schedules, overly long printing turnarounds due to worldwide paper shortages, and steadily plugging away at the individuals projects within the book in between other deadlines, we’ve finally completed the photoshoot, have our test knitting underway, and are getting ready to head to print this summer.

after covid so dramatically interrupted our original plans for cwtch, we’ve learned to keep a good dose of flexibility built into our plans. our original timeline for this baby shifted many times, often due to finances (the realities of printing a book are no joke, especially if you’re not independently wealthy) and logistics, but we’ve finally been able to confirm reasonable turnarounds with the print house. so, we’ll be running a crowdfunding campaign for the final big push ($13k alone for our printing costs of the smallest feasible run) in may, finishing up test knits and final drafts in june, and heading to print before july to have books in hand by late summer.

the printer we used for cwtch, who is also handling sanctuary, is a long-established player about an hour south of my home. when we were initially looking into printing, they were experiencing supply chain issues that changed the old timeline for getting a book through the final draft and printing phase from about 6 weeks to at least 6 months long. our method of offering pre-orders for the books to cover printing expenses under those conditions made me incredibly uncomfortable (that’s a long time to make people wait without absolute guarantee on an end date), and was the impetus for me creating this hub. the work on this book began first in 2020, with real time devoted starting in 2021, and the hours gone into the projects for the book in 2022 and the first few months of 2023 were the equivalent of a normal person’s full-time 9-5 job.

while printing turnarounds have mostly gone back to normal, there was something really beautiful and exciting about being able to offer people a much deeper behind-the-scenes experience with sanctuary, and we’ll be creating these hubs in the community for our big projects moving forward!

if you’re looking for…

💗 a way to support the work that goes into creating a new book from scratch

💗 exclusive access to recipes and diy projects centred around self-love and luxury

💗 resources that help you lean into that delicious venutian/empress/taurus energy…

the sanctuary hub is for you.

meet your hub host and the author

hi, i’m ash!

i’m a queer femme and hedgewitch with a double dose of sagittarius and a venus in pisces, aka i have all the feels all the time. i’m a knitwear designer and natural dyer by trade, dog parent and growing herbalist by life. travelling is one of my biggest pleasures. food is another. deep belly laughs with dear ones while we pet each other’s faces is one too.

i first met samson when i was eighteen. we were on the number 1 bus in halifax. he was wearing red shoes. he’s been capturing my eye crinkles with his camera ever since. i calculate my age by counting the addition of eye crinkles from one adventure to the next. despite living half a continent apart, we make a point of finding excuses for working together - usually, it’s deciding on a place we want to visit, and then building a book around that. efficient? hell no. absolutely delightful? fuck yes.

i am perpetually drawing up plans and casting on swatches for two books past our current project, and plan to spend the rest of our lives doing precisely that. knowing me, my ghost will continue the tradition too.

my high school english teacher told me once that i should be an author when i grow up. i’m not sure if this was what either of us expected, mr. burr, but i’m doing it. thanks for the encouragement.

FAQ

i’m not sure if i want a copy of the book. can i still support your work and join the community anyway?

absolutely! you’re under no obligation at any point to purchase a copy of sanctuary or any of its related products or patterns. we appreciate you supporting the many hours of work and up-front expenses involved in its creation regardless.

do i have to participate in the community to support the new book?

nope! you’re more than welcome to join the community as a monthly or annual supporter for sanctuary and then never ever sign into your account. it’s totally your call how you engage with the community and its resources.

can i cancel my ongoing contribution anytime?

yes. you can control your membership 24/7 by logging into your account and navigating to your dashboard.

do i get a refund if i leave part way through my renewal period?

no (to be honest, that kinda defeats the purpose of supporting the book in this way). you’re charged automatically on the same date every month/year from when you joined, and while you can leave at any time, there are no refunds provided, pro-rated or otherwise. if you’re thinking of leaving, feel free to double check your calendar to time your cancellation with the day or two before your renewal is scheduled.

does supporting the hub mean i get a free copy of the book?

no, but you’ll be able to access exclusive content as well as an exclusive shop devoted to all things sanctuary.

my budget is pretty tight right now. can i support the book another way?

absolutely! you can make a one-time donation of any amount here. sharing this with your friends is a huge help - word-of-mouth for passion projects like this will forever be the greatest way to show non-financial support. if you’re a small biz creative who has skills and/or products that would lend themselves well to similar projects as we continue moving forward with new sparks of inspiration (herbalists, florists, textile artists, hedgewitches…), feel free to get in touch and chat with ways we might be able to collaborate.

can i sign into the community from my phone or tablet?

yuppers! you can access your content from any device connected to the internet. if you’re having issues accessing your account, give us a shout at hello.sunflowerknit@gmail.com.

i’m actually interested in supporting the book (and/or another project) in a more substantial way. is there a way to sponsor it at a higher rate?

heck yes! please send us an email about how you’d like to help and we’ll get that dialogue going. you can also set up your own one-time or monthly donation of any amount here (please get in touch with us if you would also like to access the hub).

why join the hub?

by supporting the book with a monthly or annual contribution, you help us to ensure samson and i get paid for our labour and get exclusive behind-the-scenes access months before the actual book will be in our hands. within the hub, you’ll find:
**💗 my creation process** for patterns and layouts
**💗 recipes and diy tutorials** including ones that don’t end up in the final book
💗 my favourite **self-care resources**
💗 an **exclusive shop** devoted to all things *sanctuary*
you also get the opportunity to connect with fellow supporters in the creative coven community! within the community, you’ll find:
**🧶 monthly knit/craft nights** via zoom
**🥳 extra events** like **make-a-longs**, live rounds of the **creative coven challenge**, & more
**24/7 access to:**
**📚 resources to help you learn more** like my virtual bookshelf, natural dye colour journal, and a directory of some of my favourite fellow fibre witches and their shops
**🧶 the creative coven challenge**
**✨ recipes, diy tutorials, downloadable worksheets,** and other goodies/potions to try from the comfort of your own home!
**🪡 sea-to-sea-to-sea make-a-long** **bonuses**
**and coming soon:**
**🔵 bingo!** with prizes!

is the hub actually a sanctuary for you?

it’s a yes if:

💐 you think queer joy is a fucking magical and holy thing in this world

💐 you believe in supporting working artists while they’re still alive

💐 you’re excited about seeing how a book of creative projects comes together - how cool!

💐 you would LOVE to have some reliable resources on topics like sustainability and sexual wellness, underwear sewing patterns for all bodies, and herbal aphrodisiacs sans the whole gendered language bullshit

💐 you want to make ALL the delicious herbal goodies and can’t wait to use your own dear ones as guinea pigs as you test out the recipes in the hub…

💐 you like dancing to curated playlists

maybe not so much if:

🚫 you think queers should just keep their glitter to themselves

🚫 you think artists should just go get a real job like everyone else

🚫 you don’t give a shit about this whole behind-the-scenes thing - what’s so exciting about watching someone else work?

🚫 uh, did you just say “sex” and “aphrodisiacs” in the same sentence? and underwear? what is wrong with you??

🚫 you have zero interest in making any sort of herbal anything. if you need something, you’ll just buy it from walmart, duh.

🚫 you think dancing should be outlawed

i hear you thinking to yourself…