Catching Up...

Well HEY THERE. It has been quite some time since my last post. There have been so many changes here. We moved an hour north; I took a new job; and I have REALLY expanded my hobbies. I still knit often - my go-tos are socks and tiny baby knits, which are mostly for gifts.

But it's not all tiny knitting...

The new place has a lot more land, so I've also been into gardening quite a bit....

Which led me to figure out how to preserve my harvest, so I took up canning....

The new property also meant that I could finally get all the chickens I have always wanted. We couldn't have them before due to a town ordinance. Now we have plenty, and we can have roosters. We also starting raising our own meat birds. As much as I hate processing day, I have to say that it very satisfying to know exactly the type of life my birds led before ending up on our plates...one with sunshine, grass, bugs to forage, and in general, birds get to live their best chicken lives here. That goes for the layers as well. We enjoy fresh eggs from spoiled hens. All laying hens get a full retirement plan here; once they are done laying, their jobs shift to bug management and flock leaders.

Of course, having an excess of laying birds has encouraged us to open an egg stand...which doesn't sell very many eggs since we live on such a quiet street in a remote area. This means I give away an insane amount of eggs between about February through September. Given all the gardening and eggs, I have been saving up my money, and I recently ordered a Harvest Right freeze dryer. As of now, I am anxiously awaiting for the shipping date. I hope it will arrive before Christmas, so I can whip up some treats for our holiday celebration.

Covid happened, of course, which caused me to dust off the old sewing machine to mass produce face masks back when you couldn't buy them. This led to me trying other projects, like knitting project bags and eventually, totes, backpacks, leather wallets, etc.

As busy as I have been with all this, my job(s) for the last few years have been - as jobs often are - sometimes overly consuming of both time and mental bandwidth. Over the last several months, things have become much more manageable, which makes me believe that I can pick up this little project again. Oh...I also started a YouTube channel. I talk about chickens a lot, and sewing and knitting as well. You can check it out here: www.youtube.com/@WorldOnAString

Indie Gift-A-Long Blog Interview

As you may already know, I am a participating designer in the Indie Gift-A-Long on ravelry this year. It's been a ton of fun, and I'm so glad that I was able to take part this year. For those who aren't familiar, the GAL involved a period in November when designers offered patterns for 25% off, then knitters participate in knit-a-longs or crochet-a-longs, which involve lots of prizes. It also includes games on ravelry, which of course also included lots of prizes. It offers a great chance for knitters and crocheters to plan their holiday gifting (or their selfish knitting) and knit and crochet together for fun and prizes (or just pick up some great patterns at a discount and work on them later).

Today, you are in for a treat, because now that the bustle of the holidays has (mostly) passed, I have a blog interview of another designer to share with you. I was very excited to discover Lily Go's work, because it is amazing! I instantly fell in love with several of her shawl patterns. You can find Lily's blog here and her ravelry patterns here.

Here is what Lily had to say when I interviewed her:

How did you first learn to knit?

I was a crocheter first (learned to crochet when I was 5 years old). I only attempted to knit when I was a teenager but somehow I didn’t enjoy it as much as crochet (my tension was not consistent, and always dropped my stitch) so I stopped. Until one day about 8 years ago I learned about continental knitting. Never stopped knitting since.

What inspired you to start designing?

In 2006 stumbled upon a knitting blog where she offers her knitting patterns for sale. This idea fascinated me and motivated me to do the same. I managed to publish my first pattern, Sage Cardigan, in February 25, 2007.

What is your favorite yarn(s)?

I have no favorite brand, as long as it is natural fiber.

Which of your patterns make for really great gift knitting?

Most of my patterns are accessories, and I think accessories is perfect for gift because you don’t have to worry about the fit.

Do you tend to have several unfinished items on your needles, or do you prefer to have only one project in the works at a time (or something in between)?

I tend to work one project at a time.

Which one of your designs is your favorite?

For crochet, it is Gathering Leaves.

For knit, it is a tough choice between Dandelion on a Meadow,

Fox and The Grapes

and When The Flowers Bloom.

I would like to comment here with my favorite design of Lily's, which is the Heart on Fire shawl.

Do you get to do any “selfish knitting?”

Oh yes!! I am a very selfish knitter. Most of the time I knit for myself.

What gives you the feeling that you got your money’s worth out of a pattern?

I haven’t bought knit pattern before. However, for crochet pattern, I only bought fully charted pattern.

What do you most enjoy about knitting or crochet?

I love that I can multitasking while I am knitting or crocheting. I love the process of knitting/crocheting, and if I have a gorgeous FO, that is a bonus. I also like the idea that even you don’t like the result, I can always frog and redo.