My Knitting Journey

Anyone ready for an essay? I decided to update my Ravelry bio, and thought I'd share some of it here too. I put a short little blurb about myself at the top and then the long story, if anyone has the courage to brave through it. Welcome to the long of it...

I learned to crochet at seven or eight, taking lessons with my two older brothers from a lady who went to our church. My grandma had been crocheting baby blankets for my siblings ever since I could remember, so the craft was fairly familiar to me. I enjoyed crocheting a lot and for my ninth birthday my grandparents bought me some yarn and a book called Knitted Babes. (Link leads to Ravelry, please exercise caution!) I had seen a book for crocheted dolls once, but they couldn’t find it and thought this one was the next best thing. And am I glad they did! I saw the dolls and knew I had to learn how to knit so I could make them.

At nine and a half, I mastered the knit stitch and a few months later I had purling down too. My first real project was a Knitted Babes doll, not something normal like a scarf. And though I had some issues and put the project in time-out for a few weeks, I found a way, finished the doll, and I’ve been knitting ever since. Over half my life by now!!

I spent my preteen years knitting and crocheting dolls and selling the occasional one to friends-and in rare situations, strangers. I also made multitudes of hats, scarves, mittens, and socks for my parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and great-grandparents every Christmas. There were a few shawls, baby blankets, throws, and sweaters in the mix, too.

Ravelry introduced me to the world of independent designers and after months of research (i.e. reading through hundreds of helpful posts on the forums), I self-published my first pattern at fourteen.

Since then, I’ve published several patterns, a few with the support of indie dyers and yarn companies, which were awesome experiences. I’ve also submitted work to various publications, though my proposals haven’t quite “fit the bill”…yet. I’m thankful to have had the experience, to be able to say, ”I’ve submitted to magazines!”, and to not be stymied (nerd alert!) by the “rejections”.

I’ve really enjoyed sharing my work, seeing what others create with it, and being a part of the wonderful designers’ and knitters’ community here on Ravelry. I look forward to designing more in the future!

But I do love the freedom of being able to decide when I want to design. Sometimes, I’d just rather work on personal projects, be it socks or a sweater or a gift for a friend. I think knitting should be fun, and I try to let it be that way for me as much as possible!

Knitting Thoughts

Back in March, I picked up a shawl I started in September 2014, probably my oldest WIP ever. I knit several repeats, and I thought I'd share a recent-ish picture, though I've moved on to some other things...

In the beginning of April I wove in the ends of my Cubs sweater so I could wear it on opening day. And I took a decent picture of it-well, my brother took it for me. I'm going to a night game at Wrigley in a few weeks and I'm really looking forward to wearing my sweater there!! I also have plans for a hat made from the leftovers, but I'm sure you'll hear about that soon enough. :)

After hearing about Shannon Cook's Tops, Tanks, and Tees Knit-a-long, I searched through my stash and library, looking to see if I could join in with anything. I landed on the Dowlas Tee (link leads to Ravelry, please exercise caution!) from the spring 2014 issue of Knitscene. I ripped out a vest I knit in Madelinetosh Pashmina a few years ago (that I never wore) and swatched, all in one day. I usually plan ahead more, but I'm happy with the spontaneity of this one. I have a few tops in my wardrobe that are a similar style, so I'm hoping I'll get a lot of use out of it. By now, I've split for the back and front. Here's an older picture.

I know it's springtime and summer is just around the corner, but I've actually worn my sweaters more these past few days than I usually do. I'm terrible at wearing my knits in general, so I'm pretty proud of myself.

First off, is my True sweater. I wore it on Sunday evening after a walk in the pouring rain. With pajamas and wool socks. :D

And today (or rather, yesterday, since I'm writing this late) I was out shopping with one of my best friends. I found a super cute dress, and when I came home, I looked through my closet to see what I could wear with it. I pulled out a lace-weight blue cardi I made a few years ago, and I've been wearing it with the dress for several hours now. Because I'm super excited about my dress, and I don't want to take it off. :)

Fundraiser for Elena Nodel

Elena Nodel provided me with yarn support a few times which was a blessing to me as a young, fledgling designer. When I heard that she had cancer and was asking for financial help, I wanted to bless her in return.

So I’m having a 20% off sale on all of my patterns (link leads to Ravelry, please exercise caution!) to raise money for Elena Nodel’s cancer relief fund. The sale runs from April 22 to April 30 (Central Time) and all proceeds will be donated to Elena (everything after PayPal and any Ravelry fees).

Whether you can help by buying my patterns, donating directly to her fund (follow the link above!), and/or upholding her and her family in your prayers, I'd really appreciate it, and I'm sure Elena would as well. Thank you!!

A Myriad of FOs

Happy 2017!! It's been a while, but I always say that... And since it's been so long, I have a few finished projects to show you!

The first is a pair of mittens I finished almost a year ago. They were a present for a friend and I didn't want to spoil the surprise. My friend Khyrstyn loves butterflies and as soon as I saw Underwing (link leads to Ravelry, please exercise caution!) from Twist Collective, I knew I had to make them for her. It took me a few years to buy the yarn and finish them, but I'm super happy with how they turned out.

I did finish the dark green shawl I mentioned last time, but I haven't blocked it or taken decent pictures yet.

Now for some Christmas presents...

A cabled hat for my lovely friend Mabs. She sent me a great picture of her wearing it.

And a beret for my friend Sharyssa. Here's a terrible picture of me modeling it.

Now introducing my awesome Chicago Cubs sweater!!!! I finished it on the last day of 2016. I need to weave in the ends so I can wear it on opening day in a few weeks.

And last of all, a pair of socks for my little brother. This project was part of Jenn Emerson's One Week Sock Challenge. (Link leads to Ravelry, please exercise caution!) I made it! Next time, I'm going to try socks for me. :)