My name is Sarah. I currently live and knit in Portland, Oregon. I learned to knit first when I was about 4; my mom used to knit a lot and was patient enough to teach me. However, I was not patient enough to keep at it for more than a few days. During the summer before I started college, I stumbled upon one of my mom's Martha Stewart Living magazines with a "Learn to Knit" article in it, and taught myself again. Although I taught my roommate to knit while in college, I really didn't do it that often until a friend of a friend told me about Knitty (and buying yarn on eBay and Elann.com) in 2004. I haven't put down the needles since then.Like a lot of knitters, knitting is somewhat of a nervous habit for me. While fairly calm on the outside, I'm always picking at, chewing on, pulling out, fidgeting with, or being just generally anxious about something - hence the squirrelly in Squirrelly Knits - so knitting is a way to keep my hands and mind busy. I have knitting to thank for not being totally bald.
I also happen to like squirrels (and chipmunks and small rodents of all kinds) a lot. Actually, who am I kidding, I like all animals. But squirrels are number one. Closely followed by otters. The quote below the blog title is from Beatrix Potter's Squirrel Nutkin, the best kids' book of all time.
My Ravelry username is SneakySquirrel.
10 Knitting-related Things About Me
(I don’t have the patience to come up with 100)
1. I have owned US size 1 bamboo straight needles for over 4 years, but I have never used them. I am afraid they will break like toothpicks.
2. I own bamboo straight needles in every size from 1 to 11. I rarely use them since I got Denise Interchangable cirlculars.
3. I’m a “product knitter.” I need to be able to wear or use (and love) what I knit.
4. I have never knit a skirt, and I probably never will (see number 3 above). Same for bikinis and lingerie.
5. My stash is almost entirely leftovers from other projects or odd ball. I have a hard time rationalizing yarn purchases if I don't have a plan for the yarn.
6. The first sweater I ever started was made out of a chunky tweed yarn. It wasn’t knit very well because I didn’t know much about knitting and I wasn’t following a pattern; I was just making it up as I went. And then I ran out of yarn about the time I hit the sleeves. It was a lucky break, really.
7. The first sweater I ever finished was the striped sweater at the end of Stitch n’ Bitch. I made the rookie mistake not swatching. And I made the other rookie mistake of using cotton (Paton’s Grace), which was called for by the pattern, but which sagged and drooped and pilled in very unsightly ways after only a few washes. That sweater did not stay around long. Lesson learned.
8. I crochet too, but I have yet to crochet an adult-sized garment. Crochet still looks kinda granny to me.
9. My first knitting book was (and I still have it) a Harmony Guide to Knitting. The patterns are outdated and heinous, but it is a wonderful resource and I still refer to it when I need help with a technique.
10. I’m a continental knitter and I purl somewhat strangely – by pinching the yarn between left thumb and forefinger (with the yarn wrapped around my first two fingers, as for knitting). It came about because of the trickiness of purling and I’ve never been able to get rid of it. In fact, I’ve stopped trying, because I think the tightness it creates in the purl stitches it’s the reason that my gauge is so even when working flat.
