Have you ever fallen in love with a blog just after hearing it’s name? I have! But, in the interest of not having my mouth washed out with soap, I’m leaving out the last few letters. Classy as F***, otherwise known as CAF, is a crafter after my own heart. Not only does she needle felt squids onto things, she’s known to skip checking her gauge, and we share a love of special pens.
One Project You Are Particularly Proud Of
1: Well, I’ve knit a lot of things that I like… but just to mix it up, I’ll say the needle-felted squid beret I made for my sister a few years ago. I don’t even think she wears the darn thing… but it’s pretty much the only thing I’ve needle felted (besides a slightly less impressive octopus hat, later.)
Two Mistakes You’ve Made in the Past
1: I did college all wrong. Flitted from school to school, changed majors, wasn’t social enough… I graduated with a degree that I find really interesting but certainly don’t use (psych.) I should’ve taken more time to figure out what I wanted to do before going to school, I think.
2: Quitting drinking. I know that sounds odd… but I quit drinking a few years ago because I was having some anxiety issues and as a result, my tolerance has tanked and I can’t even have a drink with friends or wine with dinner anymore :-(
Three Things That Make Your Work Unique
1: I knit almost every hat on 16″ size 7 needles.
2: I only make stuff that I want to wear. And then I DO wear it, which is bad form, since it ruins it and I can’t use it for trunk shows or re-shoots. How terribly unprofessional!
3: I will tell you my dirty secret: I barely ever check gauge ahead of time. For most of my projects, it either doesn’t matter much (shawls) or I’ve made the basic shape so many times with so many yarns and needles that I can just guess pretty effectively (hats). Now that I’m trying to make sweaters I actually have to be diligent about gauge and it’s kind of a drag.
Four Tools You Love to Use
1: Addi Turbos. Yes yes.
2: Schoolhouse Press knitter’s graph paper. It’s specially proportioned to mimic stockinette stitch, so you get a more accurate image when you’re mapping out colorwork.
3: Soft merino, kettle-dyed, worsted-weight yarns – Malabrigo and Madelinetosh come to mind.
4: Pilot Varsity pens. It drives my husband nuts, he hates using them, but I LOVE them. They’re basically disposable fountain pens.
Five Inspirations
1: The internet. It sure has a lot of stuff on it.
2: Texture
3: Shape and form- specifically, making a particular shape in an unusual way.
4: Colors! And the combination thereof. I spend a lot of time tossing my stash around looking for combos I like. I also am sort of neurotic about putting things in rainbow order.
5: Totally overwrought magazine spreads.
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