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!
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