About

My name is Stacey and I love yarn.

I love knitting it, spinning it, weaving it, wearing it, sniffing it, petting it, and purchasing it.

I’m a self-taught knitter, learning first from a book in May 2002, and then learning “for real” (as in, I finally understood what I was doing and how to do it in a way that felt right) from online videos in September 2005 (the video tutorials I learned from can be found at KnittingHelp). I consider the fall of 2005 to be my real start as a knitter. I’ve had the needles in my hands pretty much every day since then. The act of moving sticks and string through space to create something lovely grounds me. When I knit, I feel connected to the earth, connected to the sheep, connected to my ancestors, and connected to every other person on the planet who creates. I feel like it knits me together with them all.

I tried to become a self-taught spinner, but it didn’t work out for me the way the knitting did. In 2009, after a few failed attempts at learning to spindle spin, I bought a wheel and took classes at The Spinning Loft from Beth Smith. I found the learning curve for spinning to be steeper than that for knitting, but once my body “got” it, I was hooked. I love the full-body meditation aspect of spinning, how it is both calming and energizing at the same time, and how I can be completely focused or totally zoned out, whichever one my mind needs at the time.

In September 2010, I published my first design, specifically for use with handspun yarn. I won a design contest with that pattern, and that affirmation led me to believe for the first time that I really could do something I’d been dreaming of doing – release some of my knitting ideas out of my head and into the world.

In addition to knitting, spinning, and designing, I like to sew, weave, cross-stitch, write, bake, cook, and take pictures. Basically, I like to make stuff. I have twin ten year-old boys, and, to my great joy, they like to make stuff, too.

I started this blog in January 2006, as a very new knitter. At the time, knitblogging was the best way I knew to connect with other knitters. Since then, Ravelry, flickr, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have all become forums for that kind of community. I still find value in blogging – as a way to chart my own course, to keep track of my creative dreams, challenges, and accomplishments, and to connect more personally with you, my readers, my co-creators, my community. I’m so glad you’re here.