MMtM 2020 Day 31: FAQs!
Thanks so much for joining me this month in sharing a bit about myself and what I make. I hope you learned some things and would love to know what questions you have for me! Feel free to ask me anything about knitting, crochet, yarn, quilting, sewing, fabric, 3D printing, designing, mental health, or anything at all! New yarn from @owool
MMtM 2020 Day 29: Self-promotion
A program I started that is near and dear to my heart is called #hugsyoucanwear. If someone you love is in need of a hug, please reach out to me and I can send out a special shawl that will help them feel warm and safe and loved.
Especially in these strange times, we all need a little extra love and support, and a shawl can definitely help.
MMtM 2020 Day 28: Planning
I use Trello to organize my various projects, from idea phase to completion. It's a lightweight project management too that lets me drag my items from column to column as I work on them, as well as add notes, attachments, and links. Here you can get a sneak peek as to what's in the pipeline.
MMtM 2020 Day 27: Future Goals
On the left is my list of short term goals and the right side has some longer term goals. I don't really have a good vision for where I want Loops of Gray to go, but getting things written down is a good start. A shaded square indicates in progress and a solid square means complete.
MMtM 2020 Day 24: Personal Touch
I will always stand by my products, so I offer a lifetime repair option for everything I make. I want the recipient to use what I've made and not just have it sit on a shelf or hang in a closet.
MMtM 2020 Day 23: Photography
I take all of my photos with my Google Pixel 2 phone (with the exception of this one! lol) and do almost no editing. Generally I leave it alone or do the "Auto" correction option in Google Photos. In extreme situations, I download the photo to my computer and open Picasa (a long-abandoned Google product) to use the "neutral color picker" to get the right color balance.
MMtM 2020 Day 22: Tools & Materials
Today I decided to show off my favorite tools that I use all the time, whether it be for knitting, sewing, or 3D printing.
MMtM 2020 Day 21: Change
What a week for change indeed! We finally moved to our new house and I've got most of my new office set up. I love the huge windows for natural light and how much space I have.
MMtM 2020 Day 17: Proud of
I think the project I'm most proud of is this Blues quilt I made for myself and my husband Brian in 2016. I designed the pattern myself. I matched the fabric colors to the Blues jerseys. It's the biggest quilt I've ever made (king size!!!). And I did it all on my dinky domestic sewing machine.
MMtM 2020 Day 16: Self Care
OMG, self care is so important. It's often hard to think about taking care of yourself when there is so much going on and so much to do. I always have a long list of projects I am working on for other people. Making things for people brings me a lot of joy, but it's just as important to make things for myself.
MMtM 2020 Day 15: Help
I've built up a lot of knowledge about knitting, but I'm always learning new things about crochet. And when I need help with a stitch, I look it up on Google. There are so many helpful tutorials and YouTube videos, it makes it super easy to find one that explains it in a way I understand. I love how much people are willing to share their knowledge and talents with the world!
MMtM 2020 Day 14: Current Project
Sorry for the vague photo, but my current project is a gift that I can't fully share yet. Normally I work on 2-3 things at a time to mix it up between boring and complicated projects, but since all of my stuff is packed up for the move, I've been focused on only this one for the past 3 weeks. I'll be so happy to work on something else later this week!
MMtM 2020 Day 12: Learning Curve
A couple years ago, Angela Walters hosted a #fmqchallenge and I tried a bunch of quilting designs for the first time. You can easily see at the bottom of the block how much I struggled with the arches, but by the top of the block I was getting the hang of it.
It was a lot of fun to see my progression and be able to add some more tricks up my quilting sleeves.
MMtM 2020 Day 10: Authentic Space
Guys, this is my real workspace right now. We are in the middle of moving and all of my things are packed up. My sewing machine, fabric, and yarn has been packed up for months. It has pained me to see so few of things that bring me joy. I have had to postpone projects until we move and I have my new space set up.
MMtM 2020 Day 9: Rough/Mock up
I start most of my designs on graph paper, either plain squares for quilting or special knitting graph paper (knitting stitches aren't square!).
MMtM 2020 Day 8: Love to Make
It is no secret that I love to make shawls. They are gorgeous, versatile, interesting, and functional. You can wear a bulky one when it's cold, you can wear a lightweight one when it's warmer. They can be challenging to make with lace and cables, or they can be simpler and mindless to make while watching a show.
MMtM 2020 Day 7: Me!
Loops of Gray is a one-woman show with the occasional help from my husband and mother-in-law. I am based out of St. Louis, MO and my full-time job is in IT.
MMtM 2020 Day 5: Closeup
Just one of over 70 medallions in this shawl, each with over 70 stitches. Amazing how each small stitch adds up to a beautiful finished item.
MMtM 2020 Day 4: Branding
When designing my logo, I incorporated aspects of both knitting (the yarn) and quilting (the pebble design), which are my main 2 focuses for my making. Both crafts use loops of various sorts, which is where that part of the name came from.
MMtM 2020 Day 3: Time
People often ask how I have the time to make so many things. The simple answer is that I don't! I can only dream of having enough time to make half of the projects on my radar.