Creativebug Where do you live?
In Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley.
Do you have any adorable pets/kids/life partners we need to know about?
Well, I’ve been married for almost 30 years. *grins*
I have two almost-grown-up children. Oh! And a very sweet dog who’s old and deaf. His name is Tyler and he’s my “people.”
How (and when) did you get into knitting?
My grandmother taught me when I was very young — about 6 — but I didn’t get serious about knitting until I was in my 20s. And at that time, I was the only young-ish person knitting. It was an older, more traditional craft then.
What’s the toughest part of knitting?
Actually finishing the projects. You see, when I’m designing and swatching, the project is complete in my head.
But it turns out that if you want other people to be interested in the project, or understand it, you have to make the thing.
What advice would you give beginning knitters?
You can do anything you want; don’t listen to someone who tells you a projects is too hard or too complicated. It may take a little time, but you can do it.
Don’t get discouraged.
Find good instructions.
Where do you go for inspiration?
I like to start with the yarn — a lot of the time, the yarn will inspire the work. I’m a very tactile person.
But I also enjoy looking at other designs and patterns. I’m always taking pictures in museums and on trips of patterns I love. In fact, the bathroom in Balboa Park in San Diego has really beautiful tiles. I went to bathroom, came out, and asked my husband for the camera. He was a little confused as to why I needed to take the camera back inside the bathroom, but those tiles were gorgeous.
How do you make time to do all this knitting?
Well, there isn’t time to do all the projects but since this is my full time job, I do quite a lot of it. That being said, there are many things I don’t do in order to make time for knitting. Things like vacuuming, or cooking, or exercising enough.
What are your favorite materials or tools to work with?
Yarn, obviously, but I really love working with wool. However, it depends on the project. Some may need linen, or cotton, or polyester.
But yes. I really love wool.
What is your most favorite thing you’ve ever made?
I’ve knitted and crocheted so many things that it’s hard to pick just one. One project that stands out is the very first thing I ever knitted — it was a scarf for my dad I made when I was six. It’s about twelve inches long and I don’t think it even fit around his neck.
I still have it too.
Be honest – how much fun is it to film these Creativebug classes…or at least getting to hang out in SF for a little while?
It’s wonderful! I’m enjoying the heat (ed. note: Edie was with us for an extremely rare San Francisco heatwave. Lucky.) and everything feels very relaxed.
Am I being too relaxed? Should I worry more about these classes?
Best and worst/hardest parts of filming a class:
Do you like being in front of the camera?
I do! I’ve been teaching for years and I’ve done some video work previously. You just have to know the material and understand how to speak to an audience.
And prepare ahead of time. Think about the problems and concerns new students will have and be sure to address them.