My ETSY Shop & How it All Began...

I remember when I first learned how to knit it was in high school. I had just moved to Vancouver Island and I met a girl in my history class named Rachel. She knitted all through class and I would watch her make these amazing socks. One day I got up the courage to ask her if she would teach me how to knit. I had not experience with knitting. I had never bought knitting needles or even a skein of yarn. She was very kind and patient with me and she taught me how to knit socks while we sat in History class. Our teacher, he was a great teacher, was okay with it for the most part, he would sometimes call on me because, I am sure, I wasn't paying enough attention to class, I was having to much fun. His rule was, as long as I (we) got all our work done he would let us do it. So Rachel & I went down to the yarn shop in the town and she helped me pick out needles and yarn. As I walked into the store, I felt such joy. The yarn was stacked from floor to ceiling. It was overwhelming and amazing and it just felt so welcoming and accepting in there, I loved it. To this day it is still a very clear memory to me. I picked out a skein of yarn that was 100 % wool. It had been made locally and still had some vegetation in it, which just made it feel even more special to me. I was like I could see the individual who made it with care and her own hands. I think that was the first time I experience the thrill of going into a yarn shop and seeing the possibilities that laid inside. I fell in love with it immediately. Rachel was a much better student then I and it didn't last very long for me in class. But I did learn to knit socks and the first thing I made was a pair of wool socks for my dad for Christmas.

I stopped knitting after that last year of high school. Life got a bit busier and I got married. Many years later, almost 15 years I had a daughter after having 3 sons. Something woke inside me and I wanted to make something special for her, that was just from me. I couldn't remember how to knit, it had been so long. I still had my knitting needles but I didn't know where they were and what I would even make with them.  So I started looking around on the Internet for ideas and instruction and I discovered YouTube and all it possibilities. When I finally found something I wanted to make, I sat there in front of my computer and watched and followed that video until I got them right. I am sure I took it them apart many times, that 20 minute video lasted over 2 hours by the time I was done, but I learned to crochet and I made her a pair of crochet shoes. 

I started crocheting a the time. I made lots of hats and learned so much. When my daughter was around 8 months  old my sister had started an ETSY shop. She was really enjoying it and doing well. So I thought to myself... I can chance $.20¢ and list an item and that's how it all started. My first listing was an Owl Hat that I had made for my daughter.  She was so much fun to dress up and take pictures of and this hat was made with just hat in mind.  I made it without a pattern and just went with what felt fun and cute and it turned out great. That first winter I sold 23 of those hats. It was fun and I learned so much! 
 
Now  I am 5 years into my ETSY Shop and that is so hard to believe. Time has just flown by. I have picked up my knitting again and found that I love it just as much as I did all those years ago in high school. At first it bothered me, it was slower and took longer to make something, but now... I love it. I love how different yarn looks when knitted vs crochet and its so fun to try things out and change what I am doing based on the look of the yarn. Since opening up my shop I have added yet another skill to my repertoire, I am now a spinner. I bought a lady bug spinning wheel a few years back and have really, really enjoy that. 
It is just something that lights me up inside and feeds my soul. I love that I can make something from scratch and give it new life. I am grateful to be able to learn how to do it. 

Here's an example of yarn I have dyed and spun up with my Lady Bug Spinning Wheel.