The Sweatshop of Love Blog

A very happy day 1 of Knit and Crochet Blog Week to you! All week knit and crochet bloggers are going to be blogging answers to the same yarn-y art related questions. And I’ll be doing my best.

DAY 1!

Today we’re talking yarn:

Q: Part of any fibre enthusiast’s hobby is an appreciation of yarn. Choose two yarns that you have either used, are in your stash or which you yearn after and capture what it is you love or loathe about them.

And right off the bat I’ve got a problem with the question. I’m not a fibre, or, God forbid, FIBER, enthusiast.

I’m a knitting enthusiast.

A lot of knitters get caught up in the yarn and never even get to the knitting. A question I get a lot is, ‘Why would I spend $100 on yarn for a sweater to knit when I could just buy a sweater for $50?’ And that is a damn good point. I wouldn’t. I never will.

But that doesn’t mean I love knitting less because I use commercial yarn or Knit Picks is my 6th most visited site.

Sale at Knit Picks?! Holla!

I mean, Knit Picks is my 6th most visited site! I love yarn! Nothing is better than getting a huge box of yarn in the mail, or using that 25% off your entire purchase at JoAnn coupon.

I started The Sweatshop of Love as a way to make knitting more accessible to knitters in my age group. Now I’m trying to make knitting more accessible to everyone! We spend a lot of time in my Sweater Club class talking about yarn substitutions, and I almost always use commercial yarn and Knit Picks in my patterns. They’re accessible, and knitters who want to use hand-spun and specialty yarns are more likely to know about them, making substituting UP much easier than substituting DOWN.

… I told you I was bad at this.

I’m the Designer of March over on Worsted Knitt and have a fun interview for you to check out!

And a huge thank you to everyone that donated to Perennial Plate’s road trip last week. Winners have been emailed, but get over there and help if you can!

So, I don’t know if you could tell yesterday by my rant about sewing cute dresses and sewing pattern searching, but I’m kinda over Knit and Crochet Blog Week. I love the idea of all these crafty bloggers answering the same questions across the internet, but. Well. These questions aren’t soliciting very interesting responses.

For instance, today’s question is where do you like to knit?

Where do I like to knit? Naturally everyone’s answer to this question will be, ‘EVERYWHERE! I love knitting so I love to do it whenever I get a chance! I drive peoplecrazywithmyknittingevenwhenimatthedentistlolol.

It’s just boring. And maybe it’s because I’m at work right now, inside, and it’s 80 degrees out and beautiful. But maybe it’s because that isn’t an interesting question.

So, Knit and Crochet Blog Week, it’s been fun. Kinda.

Knit and Crochet Blog Week continues with a question about patterns:

Blog about a pattern or project which you aspire to. Whether it happens to be because the skills needed are ones which you have not yet acquired, or just because it seems like a huge undertaking of time and dedication, most people feel they still have something to aspire to in their craft. If you don’t feel like you have any left of the mountain of learning yet to climb, say so!

Here at The Sweatshop of Love there is no such thing as a pattern that cannot be knit. We take a tough love approach to people saying they can’t knit something. And by tough love I mean slapping and yelling have been used. But it always gets knit!

Y’all are better knitters for it, right?!

That being said, no, there isn’t a pattern that I’m waiting for the skills to knit. I always say learn by doing. I’m not a swatcher. I don’t practice skills before starting a project. I just jump in and hope it works out! And that is how I teach.

#05 Fair Isle Cardigan Vogue Knitting Magazing

There is, however, this sweater. I possess the skills necessary to knit this cardigan. I do not possess the patience. Color-work makes me nuts. That intense color-work would drive me to my grave. It’s LACE WEIGHT, for god’s sake, and size 3 needles.

There is a reason that of the 19 active projects on it’s ravelry project page not one person finished the pattern as written.

So while I don’t aspire to knitting this project, I can’t get it out of my brain. We even brought it up in class this weekend again as a project that would drive someone to alcoholism. And I’m just too young to be a knitting-induced alcoholic.

I’m loving all the posts I’ve been reading so far for Knit and Crochet Blog Week. The idea is for all the knitters and crocheters out there with blogs to answer the same questions for a week. Fun, right? I’m learning so much already about the bloggers I read.

So, naturally, I want to participate, too!

DAY ONE:  How and when did you begin knitting/crocheting?

I learned my senior year of high school. My English (and everything else cool, like drama and humanities) teacher, Mrs Reniche, taught knitting on the side and knit and designed these amazing intarsia sweaters that she sold for hundreds and hundreds of dollars. My friend Theresa and I thought it was the coolest thing ever and the three of us got together after school and Mrs Reniche taught us to knit. Every week more and more people came, and we had the best time hiding in Mrs Reniche’s room, talking and knitting. And I haven’t stopped since!

Most people assume that it’s your mom or grandmother that teach you to knit, but I actually taught my mom to knit, and every time my grandma sees me knitting she says, ‘Allyson, you are going to give yourself arthritis.’

I started teaching knitting four years ago when I was graduating from college and I love every second I get to spend knitting, with knitters, and talking about knitting. And, luckily for me, that is pretty often!