For the Love of Yarn

Hi guys! It's been awhile! Life has taken some unexpected turns, and I've stopped broadcasting my knitting podcast (at least for now). Sometimes I try to do ALL THE THINGS, but in the end, I just can't keep up. I do want to continue this blog though... so here I am... Back again...
I'm still designing knitting patterns, so I plan to start sharing them here as well as whatever else I'm working on.
Here's a little introduction, for new readers, to reintroduce myself. I hope to get back to posting more regularly again... so stay tuned and read on...

YARN... Yarn... and more yarn. Who doesn’t like the soft, squishy, coziness of a good yarn? For many, yarn may bring to mind images of grandma sitting in her rocking chair, needles clicking as she knits the day away. But knitting is not what it used to be, and it hasn’t been for a long time. There are so many different kinds of yarns today and so many different fibers. There are big box yarn companies and indie dyers. There’s wool, alpaca, silk, merino, bison, buffalo, bamboo, cotton, acrylic, mohair, cashmere, angora, hemp and the list goes on. I’d have to say that my all time favorite fiber is alpaca and I love the animal just as much, if not more, than I love their wool.

I myself took up knitting just after my son was born about 12 years ago. The local library back in Aurora, IL, where I lived at the time, was offering a free basic knitting class. They gave each student a pair of big fat plastic needles. They must have been size US 11 or 13. They also provided us with bulky yarn. Mine was a lemongrass green color. The vibrance of it still vivid in my mind. By the time I left the class, I had a garter stitch scarf in progress. I couldn’t wait to finish it and gift it to my daughter who was then only 2 or 3 years old. That scarf was the beginning of a passion I’ve never outgrown.

Since then my love of yarn and all things knitting has become more than just a hobby. For years I called it my knitting therapy. It provided comfort and an escape from the worries of the day. I didn’t leave home without a knitting bag filled with yarn and my current WIPs (works in progress). I knit in the car, whether it was a road trip or just a short drive to the grocery store. No, I didn’t knit and drive, I was the passenger. But I might have tried if it were safe and legal. I knit at restaurants while waiting for my food and I knit in parking lots while waiting to pick my kids up from school. You name it, and I've probably knit there.

After a few years, my knitting progressed into designing knitting patterns for several yarn companies and knitting magazines. But I’ll save that story for another post. Until then, I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment below and let me know how long you’ve been knitting and what your favorite type of yarn is! And most of all... happy knitting!