A blog. Wow. This is some serious stuff.
I have had blogs in the past as a young teen where I typed away about my troubles and wrote short stories and such, but never have I done anything like this. I am committing to this. I am determined to make this work.
All my life I have been creative. I am pretty sure I learned how to draw and colour before I was able to speak. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the best at drawing and painting, so I ventured out to discover different hobbies that required some creativity. During my search I stumbled across baking, knitting, and crocheting.
My grandmother kindly taught me how to knit when I was about 6 years old. I knit a scarf for my Barbie doll and promptly put my needles away. I picked it up again when I was about 10 years old and made a few ugly scarves for my family which they kindly wore for me, regardless of how much they itched due to the cheap dollar store yarn. I didn’t really get into knitting until I was about 15 and I started knitting gifts for my friends. These were a little nicer than the “dollar store chic” beauties I made when I was younger.
Eventually my friends and family convinced me to start my own little business featuring the scarves and other fashion accessories I was knitting. This stayed pretty small for a year or two as I figured out the logistics of running a business while still trying to go to high school, attend clubs, go to dance practice, etc. Priorities!
I am a self-taught crocheter, which I think is pretty cool. I found learning how to crochet extremely difficult. Everyone crochets differently! This was so hard for me to wrap my head around as I watched countless hours of YouTube tutorials on basic stitches and still could not figure them out. Eventually I caved and took a few lessons from my local Michaels which straightened out most of my issues. I love writing my own patterns and creating new things. I almost prefer crocheting to knitting. It seems so much more versatile.
I have always loved baking, but was also afraid of baking. I thought that if I screwed up anything in the recipe that the entire thing would be ruined. It took a few accidents that turned out not to be accidents to realize that baking really isn’t that scary. Now I bake so much that my family gets mad at me. Who would have guessed?
Baking turned into cake decorating, which turned into more “from-scratch-creating-my-own-recipe-trust-me-its-delicious” baking, which turned into cooking. Don’t ask me how it happened, but it did. I’m pretty sure it had to do with me getting older. I suddenly was in the position that required me to make my own meals and had no idea how to make anything other than scrambled eggs (which at the time, were not nearly as delicious as what I can make now. A post will come soon about scrambled eggs). I love cooking and trying new recipes, as well as creating my own. Sometimes all it takes is a little bravery and a risk here and there, and you can create something amazing.
So I had all of these hobbies and things that I felt I was pretty good at. My friends and family loved my hobbies because it got them cuddly scarves and cupcakes, but I didn’t know what to do with my knowledge. You can only knit randomly for so long. One of the questions I get asked the most is, “How do you do it?” I usually just bashfully shrug and titter. I felt embarrassed to be so young and better at being a homemaker than some middle-aged women. It took me a long time to realize that what I know is actually useful, and I have decided it’s time to share.
This is a big step for me, but I am finally going to answer the question. This is how I do it.
STRINGS & THINGS 