I want to introduce myself and showcase some of what this blog will be focusing on. My name is Ángel and I work in comics for a living. Fiber arts are my hobby, and I especially enjoy knitting. I learned how to knit when I was around 10 from a book called "Kids Knit!" by Sarah Bradberry along with some guidance from my mom who taught me how to knit continental style. I learned how to crochet when I was 20 using youtube tutorials, as many other people my age have done. I don't have any photos of my first knit projects but I do have some of my first crochet project, which was a small duck amigurumi made out of embroidery thread:
I have to give myself credit for taking on a project like this with such limited knowledge. It would seem sometimes the overconfidence of youth has its upsides. Shortly after this I went off to college, then after college I got myself an office job. Both these things took up a lot of my time and I stopped doing much in the way of fiber arts, save for the occassional small embroidery, until recent years. Once my main hobby (drawing) became my job, I found myself craving a creative outlet that wasn't tied to my income and I returned to knitting and crochet. I'll now be showing you some finished objects from the last few years:
pattern is eco-friendly tote by Yarnspirations (free). I did this around September of 2022.
This daisy bag was self drafted but heavily inspired by one of the bags in Mola Mill's book "Crochet Crush" which I unfortunately do not own yet.
October of that same year I made my first pair of socks and really fell in love with sock knitting and knitting with small yarn weights. The pattern was the recipe for a basic sock from Kate Atherley's "Custom Socks" which I borrowed from my local library. It's a wonderful resource I would like to eventually own for myself. I enjoyed knitting these socks so much, I eventually knit up a pair for my sister and for my partner:
The final item I'm showing is not my most recent finished object--the grey socks are--but it is my first sweater:
It's technically not finished because I haven't woven in the ends or blocked it. It was somewhat of an adventurous choice for a first sweater since it was knit in panels and with a very large gauge intended to result with a mesh effect. I'm hoping the mesh will be more visible when I eventually get to blocking it. This pattern was taken from Ann Budd's "The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns". I think a better choice for a first sweater might have been a top down raglan but I'm not regretful.
To round off this post, I'd like to talk about what's to come. My plans for this blog are to have a page for showcasing my finished objects, an about me, and perhaps even a showcase of creators whose work I enjoy. The current template is also temporary and I hope to grow my limited experience with HTML and CSS as this blog evolves. I've recently binged on the podcast Wool, Needles, Hands on youtube and I quite enjoy Taylor's weekly roundups of her projects and how they're going. I'd like to update this blog daily--or at least multiple times a week--as a way to motivate myself to make progress often and hopefully as a vehicle to meet other crafters and build community.
I've really enjoyed talking about my work today and I hope to keep enjoying it for as long as this blog lasts.