Welcome!

I wanted to start off with a short blog post to welcome you all to Notions In Wool and introduce myself properly. My name is Katie and I first learnt knitting from my Mum as a child, I think I was around 9 or 10 years old. It's something that I enjoy as a hobby, but it also provides a therapeutic and meditative process that has helped me a lot in recent years.

I love designing and creating my own patterns and for a long time that was just for my own personal use. Here on Notions In Wool, I will be sharing my patterns and helping others to learn knitting with tutorials, resources and product reviews.

Alongside knitting, I have a broad love of fiber arts in general. Over the years I have taught myself new crafts and added to my long list of hobbies so that I can now say I am highly proficient in knitting, crochet, sewing and embroidery. I have moderate skills in tatting, English paper piercing and macrame, and I have dabbled in spinning, yarn dyeing and weaving.

I think it's important to share my current skill level as I consider myself an experienced knitter with many years under my belt but my journey is still ongoing with other hobbies.

About me:

As I write this welcome post, I am 30-something and a Mum to one lovely little daughter. She is currently under 1 years old and has been the muse to many of my knitted items recently. My current works in progress (wips) are majority for her upcoming first birthday. A few of them are my own pattern drafts and I do plan to share patterns designed for babies and children as our family grows.

Before starting Notions In Wool I ran my own retail business. It was a small but well-loved shop that I owned and managed for almost 5 years. I found a lovely community through this and I had hoped I would run my little shop until I retired. Sadly, it couldn't withstand the challenges facing business, particularly in-person retail, in our current economic times.

After a painful closure that coincided with the early stages of motherhood, I found a deep solace in knitting and returning to crafts that I hadn't given any time to as a busy shopkeeper. Now, I am a busy Mum with a vibrant and lively daughter! I probably have less time to craft now, but I do manage to knit a little while she naps or in the evenings.

I expect each pattern I create to be a very slow burning process. But, this is exactly what I need right now. A slow, methodic creative outlet.

5 things that I love:

1. Socks. I am an avid sock knitter so you'll likely find me talking about, or sharing patterns and tutorials for socks quite regularly. I love working toe-up socks with a german short row heel and I usually work them two at a time on a long circular needle. I do occasionally work a cuff-down with a flap-and-gusset heel but it's not my favourite construction.

   
   

2. Circular needles. I almost exclusively knit on circular needles, even if I'm working rows and not a round. I find them more comfortable to hold and large jumpers and blankets are more manageable. Also, I love my interchangeable set so that I can be minimal will the amount of craft supplies I have. Being able to swap needles out and put stoppers on wips that I'm not working on rather than own lots of the same size is satisfying to me.

   
   

3. Fine weight yarn. I often look at chunky knit patterns and think how comfy and warm they must be, but I just don't enjoy working with much thicker than Aran weight yarn. As a result, you'll find most of my patterns use yarn that's 4ply or DK weight and I buy a lot of sock yarn for how fine but strong it is, with a high superwash wool content. Sock yarn isn't just for socks!

   
   

4. Seamless raglans. Most of the jumper and cardigan patterns that I gravitate towards use a top-down, seamless and raglan sleeve construction. I don't mind sewing seams, I love hand-stitching so this isn't the issue. I just enjoy the magic of seeing it take shape and I find I'm more inclined to finish a project if I'm working it all at once!

   
   

5. Textures and colours. Cables, slip stitches, lace, moss, seed or ribbing, I don't mind so long as there is something in the pattern that adds a little charm. I also enjoy bright or bold colours, rather than a muted or neutral palette.

Thank you for taking the time to read to the end. I'm sure I'll share more here about my knitting, business and blogging journey. I appreciate your company along the way.

Now, let's get back to knitting..

Katie