Hi, I'm Paula!

Thanks for stopping by The Crafty Thread!

I started knitting at a very young age for 4-H. While I grew up in a creative family that included sewing, crochet, needlepoint, and drawing arts, there weren’t a lot of knitters. I suspect I chose knitting just to be different. 

My very first 4-H project was a pair of slippers knitted in hot pink acrylic yarn with a handmade hot pink pompom on the toe of each slipper. I totally loved those slippers.

My next project was a pair of hot pants (remember those) made out of a sage green, sparkly acrylic yarn. The 4-H judge was totally confused by my choice of project. Why on earth would anyone knit a pair of super short shorts? It just defied logic in the mind of the judge and she absolutely didn’t like the project. I remember being proud that I knitted them fairly evenly and the fabric looked nice. I also remember the shorts had a row that was knitted differently to make the hem turn up easily and look very finished. I thought the hot pants were so cool. The judge completely disagreed. 

I didn’t knit a lot after that experience until I was in my 30s and I picked up knitting again, only this time, I taught myself to knit continental, carrying the yarn in my left hand, whereas my 4-H instructor had me carry the yarn in my right hand. I also had my first experience using high quality wool yarn and completely fell in love with the wonderful world of natural fibers and wools. I find the many vivid colors of fiber, the feel of buttery soft high quality yarn to be an addiction and I sadly have a yarn stash that would rival most local yarn shops. 

Today I knit because it is calming and peaceful and produces mostly useful things. I also like to make silly videos and take goofy photos for no other reason than to not take life too seriously. Life really is too short to spend it doing only things we dislike.