An Illustrated History of My Knitting.

When I was a little girl, probably about 8, my Grandma taught me how to knit. She didn't teach me how to purl, or cast on or off or anything else, just how to knit. So knit I did, on and off, for 10 years. In November of 2010 I taught myself to cast off using this video from videojug. Expert knitter Rachel Ong helped me to complete this scarf, the work of a decade.

It's about 3.5 metres long, contains 5 or 6 different kinds of wool and is twice as wide at the finished end than at the starting end. I love it dearly and wear it often.

With the help of expert knitter Rachel Ong, I made scarves as Christmas presents for all my friends and family. At first they were all garter stitch with tassles, then as an extra special present for my Grandma I learned to alternate stocking stitch and reverse stocking in different coloured wools.

Unsatisfied by this, I obtained a very simple hat pattern, which I then altered to make an easy ribbed hat, like so.

It still wasn't challenging enough! I bought chunky circular needles and crafted an extra hipster-ish yellow loopy scarf.

It was lovely, and so fun to knit, but no one wanted to buy my work. I had to create something that people wanted to buy! While I considered my options, I trawled the internet, finding both Ravelry and the V&A Museum Website to fuel my knitting fire. I knitted my most complicated hat yet.

Please excuse my bad skin in that photo. My friend Viv's birthday approached...it was the end of January 2011. I found the perfect gloves for her birthday! I thoroughly recommend this pattern

After posting this picture on Facebook, I finally got my very first commision, a pair of gloves for a cold young man.

I have since started an experiment in beading, and I am also knitting a cardigan on the side. I really want to make some money from my knitting, I know that my designs are, if not unique, then certainly unusual and exciting to wear. I have an odd personal aesthetic, and hence I'm struggling between knitting things I would want to wear and knitting things I can easily sell. There has to be someone else out there who loves primary colours and looking like a beautiful beetle as much as I do!
This is not an exhaustive anthology of my knitting, just a few highlights. I tend to knit a large number of smaller objects, ie hats and gloves, as opposed to a smaller number of large objects like jumpers. I am desperate to get people wearing my work! I may finally have a chance this Thursday, as I will have a stall at my college in Kensington from 6.30. Please leave a comment for more details, or for commisions and purchases!