I guess the easiest way to do this is to just come right out with it.
I knit.
There it is.
I do not have grandchildren for whom I make sweaters with intarsia animals. I am not a punk rocker who makes black knitted skirts and wrist warmers; nor am I a Norwegian sailor who makes complicated fair isle mittens in my spare time.
I am a 24-year-old newspaper designer who happens to have a crafty streak.
Newspaper designer is a tricky job title. People outside our business don’t tend to know what that means. Here’s how the conversation goes:
New Acquaintance: “Oh you’re a DESIGNER, do you make clothes?”
Me: “No, I work for a newspaper.”
NA: “OH! What kind of stories do you write?”
Me: “I don’t write stories, I put the Sports section together.”
NA: “Oh how nice! I’ll look for your byline!”
Me: “I don’t have a byline.”
NA: — blank stare —
Me (hopefully): “I knit?”
NA (relieved): “That’s great! I have an aunt/sister/cousin/neighbor/optometrist who knits! What are you making??”
So in a way, I define myself more as a knitter than as anything else in my life.
Here’s where that definition gets contradictory. I live in Tucson, Arizona. It is a place where the cappuccinos are always iced, people go to the movies in July for the air-conditioning and sometimes — when you go outside at noon — the air looks all wobbly. My craft is worth it. I am sacrificing for my art by working with wool when it is 117 degrees outside.
Here is how I survive:
A. I make layering items.
This is the ubiquitous Clapotis of Knitty fame. Knit it, you’ll love it. I made
mine out of Cascade 220. It was on sale at Purl’s (one of my local yarn stores).
B. I work in a building where the temperature is a balmy 14 degrees Fahrenheit all year round.
I need protection from the cold on a daily basis.
This is a generic hat pattern made from Noro Silk Garden. I loved knitting
this hat because of the way the Silk Garden striped. It was lovely.
C. I don’t knit giant, chunky, long-sleeved sweaters.
Ok, I don’t knit giant, chunky, long-sleeved sweaters ANY MORE. This one is a
Debbie Bliss pattern called Katy, made of Mission Falls cotton. It is a giant rectangle.
It makes me look like a giant rectangle. This was before I discovered “shaping.”
D. I knit for others.
A gift for my nephew, this is another Debbie Bliss pattern using Elann’s Highland
Wool. It was also the first sweater I ever attempted and the first zipper I ever put in.
Here is what I’m knitting now:
SOCKS! I am sock-obsessed at the moment.
This might be a good time to admit (to myself) that I don’t actually WEAR socks. I will though. I will totally wear socks when my feet get cold and I decide to trade in my flip flops. So probably never. I love making them though, I wish I had more friends who lived in Michigan. I hear it’s cold there.
Now I know what a blog is!! I hear it all the time.
Do I see socks in my Christmas future?? Pink?? or navy??
Seriously I am impressed with your knitting. Think you could sell some of this somewhere!!
— Colleen mcKisson 09/08/2006 06:49 AM #
Congrats on your blog … I loved the conversation prelude … I get that a lot, made me laugh! Good luck on your blog … Happy blogging and I’ll be tuning in :)
— Jeanette M. Wah-Duffy 09/08/2006 07:50 AM #
Great blog! Love the prose, the photos, and the objects. You knit way better than I do. Nice featuring of the moose basket.
— Nicole Branton 09/08/2006 08:06 AM #
Great Intro! Can’t wait to see the raw silk from Pike Street Mkt come to life.
— gail fischler 09/08/2006 10:17 AM #
Hi, I just read your comment over at Grumperina’s and thought I would take a shot-I have scraps of Koigu and skeins, possibly the color of your stalled socks? Worth a try, email me and let me know. I am sure my scraps don’t have color numbers left, but if it is close and will be in a shoe…..
— Teresa C 09/08/2006 10:56 AM #
Also here from your comment in Gumperina’s blog. Checked out your sock, but don’t have any Koigu in the stash in that colorway. Is the sock pictured the one that you’re short on? (just to double check).
Great start on the blog. As a fellow graphic designer (corporate logos, books, etc.) I totally relate! (“Layout? Huh??”)
Your knitting is beautiful; your writing style engaging. I’ll be back.
— Purl in the Rough 09/08/2006 07:41 PM #
That was a really good read. I thought you always said you couldn’t write? It was funny and creative, and I really liked the pictures (along with the cutlines). We both have really similar writing styles.
— Ellen Fischler 09/09/2006 12:44 PM #
Wonderful post. Your photos are really lovely. Congratulations on your new blog.
Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting. When you finish the socks, I’d love to see your funky shoe-sock combo. (Even if it is the only time you wear the socks!)
— Kirsten 09/10/2006 04:34 AM #
Great post. Beautiful knits. I’m glad I stumbled upon your blog – I’ll be back!
— Nora 09/10/2006 06:09 AM #
What a clever girl. Very funny stuff, and some nice items, too. When are you opening a store?
And it’s hotter than blazes in the newsroom now. So quit the whining.
— Derek Jeter 09/10/2006 11:30 AM #
welcome to the wide world of knittingbloggers. Found you through your comments on Black Dog Knits. well done… a good read AND some pretty nice knitting too
cheers from OZtralia
— catsmum 09/11/2006 12:44 AM #
I LOVE the picture (of you?) in the hat – like girl with a pearl earring, except re-named the (very satisfied) girl in self-knitted hat. Also love the nephew sweater and the sock. And, of course, the attitude about your knitting.
— Rose Red 09/11/2006 01:43 AM #
Came to see your blog after seeing your orangutan on Crafster.org.
Nice start. You knit beautifully.
By the way, I am in Ohio if you ever want to have in mind someone in a cold climate who loves to wear socks.
That was a joke..mostly.
— rebecca lopez 09/22/2006 07:16 AM #
I want to see the orangutan on Crafster.org-is it the beautiful one you knit my daughter?
— Carrie Ord 09/24/2006 01:41 AM #
Checked you out from Yarnival! Love the Clapotis- that’s a superb color and the photograph is perfect. Makes me want to knit another one. That would be five.
— JulieFrick 10/02/2006 11:27 AM #
It IS delightfully cold in Michigan – the first nip in the air and I had 3 more pairs of socks on the needles – who knew this was some kind of bonus ;)
Great post and your work is beautiful!
— FeelingTangerine 10/02/2006 07:04 PM #
I love the picture of you in the noro hat—you look like Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earing” Beautiful!
— Vickery 11/01/2006 07:33 PM #
Do I see socks in my Christmas future?? Pink?? or navy??
Seriously I am impressed with your knitting. Think you could sell some of this somewhere!!
— Colleen mcKisson 09/08/2006 06:49 AM #
— Jeanette M. Wah-Duffy 09/08/2006 07:50 AM #
— Nicole Branton 09/08/2006 08:06 AM #
— gail fischler 09/08/2006 10:17 AM #
— Teresa C 09/08/2006 10:56 AM #
Good luck on the hunt.
— Karla (threadbndr) 09/08/2006 04:42 PM #
Your knitting is beautiful; your writing style engaging. I’ll be back.
— Purl in the Rough 09/08/2006 07:41 PM #
— Ellen Fischler 09/09/2006 12:44 PM #
Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting. When you finish the socks, I’d love to see your funky shoe-sock combo. (Even if it is the only time you wear the socks!)
— Kirsten 09/10/2006 04:34 AM #
— Nora 09/10/2006 06:09 AM #
And it’s hotter than blazes in the newsroom now. So quit the whining.
— Derek Jeter 09/10/2006 11:30 AM #
cheers from OZtralia
— catsmum 09/11/2006 12:44 AM #
— Rose Red 09/11/2006 01:43 AM #
Nice start. You knit beautifully.
By the way, I am in Ohio if you ever want to have in mind someone in a cold climate who loves to wear socks.
That was a joke..mostly.
— rebecca lopez 09/22/2006 07:16 AM #
— Carrie Ord 09/24/2006 01:41 AM #
— JulieFrick 10/02/2006 11:27 AM #
Great post and your work is beautiful!
— FeelingTangerine 10/02/2006 07:04 PM #
— Vickery 11/01/2006 07:33 PM #