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Blog about someone in the fibre crafts who truly inspires you. There are not too many guidelines for this, it's really about introducing your readers to someone who they might not know who is an inspiration to you. It might be a family member or friend, a specific designer or writer, indie dyer or another blogger. If you are writing about a knitting designer and you have knitted some of their designs, don't forget to show them off. Remember to get permission from the owner if you wish to use another person's pictures.Your Knitting Or Crochet Hero - This is a really really tough one for me. I find it so hard to narrow down my hero to one or two people who really challenge and inspire me. There are so many incredibly creative people out there, and so many of them make me want to knit and crochet better.
One of my first knitting crushes was on Jared Flood aka Brooklyn Tweed. When I first found his blog I fell in love with his clean and elegant photography style and the designs that were inspired by the tradition of centuries of knitting history, but with a contemporary edge. The first knitting pattern I ever downloaded was Porom.
Aw bless, I was such a naive, young knitter then, this photo was taken on 1st January 2009. This hat design started my own designing. I wanted a scarf to go with this hat and I couldn't find one that would work, so I designed the Romberry Scarf, which was released in May of that year.
I was so worried about using the stitch pattern from the hat, in my scarf pattern, that I emailed Jared to ask for his permission. He kindly replied and told me that it wasn't his stitch pattern and it had been around for many years and he got it from a stitch dictionary. He also wished me luck. I was like a star struck teenager for days afterwards.
Since then, I recently knitted the Leaves of Grass Shawl. You can read all about that project here, if you are interested.
I feel that I should also include another knitting hero of mine. Someone who is a hero of mine for different reasons, Woolly Wormhead. This designer is someone who is open about her mental health and some of the difficulties that it creates. She is someone who mainly self publishes her designs so that she can control her work pressures with a lilttle less difficulty. I love her designs and the way she can take a simple hat and make it wonderful and fun and unusual.
The above hat is Quynn and the project details are here on my Ravelry page. Woolly Wormhead has taught me the beauty of the hat. I love how a good hat pattern can teach you so many new techniques in a quick and portable project, which results in a useful item.
Hats are a great way to try out things like lace, in a double knit or aran weight wool. You can find out whether you enjoy that kind of knitting or not.
Ivydene, was a project I knitted in July 2010 and it took all of 24 hours! I gave this hat away for Christmas to my sister-in-law. I loved that hat, I must knit it again for myself and keep it this time!
Essentially one of the reasons Woolly Wormhead is my hero is that she is an incredibly talented designer who writes great patterns and tutorials that are clear and informative. Just as important, to me, is that she is a designer who doesn't pretend to have a pretty and easy life. She works really hard to provide for her family without pushing her health too far. I want to work like her. I dream of the days when I could sell enough patterns to, at the very least, support my crafting habit. I know I'll never have the output of a healthy person who is able to go out teaching and write books and magazine articles, but self publishing is a way that I can make a tiny piece of money to contribute towards my crafting spending. I will never be able to earn enough to support myself, because I can't work that hard, but I can make a contribution through self-publishing. This is why Woolly Wormhead is one of my knitting heroes, she does what I dream of, and makes me believe that one day it might be possible.
There are so many more knitters and crocheters that I would love to list here, but I haven't got the space. Nearly everyone who crafts online, on blogs, Ravelry, and Craftsy, or people I meet at knitting groups or yarn stores or see in magazines, these are my heroes. They are the people who craft every day whether they are in the limelight or not, whether they make a living from their craft or not, they do it because they love it. They do it because they want each project to be better than their last. They do it because yarn makes them happy and wrapping that yarn around people they love makes them even more happy. So, if you are reading this, know that you too are my hero. Keep crafting!
