I'll start with talking about how the SoD is doing now. It has 40 projects on Ravelry, at least 30 of them are really projects (not just crazy jokes.). 307 people have favourite the Shawl of Doom. 1878 people have downloaded it. There are nearly 200 people in our SoD group. These are the stats for SoD 2.0. I don't know what most of the stats are for the original because it was deleted from the database.
The Shawl of Doom has been a real eye opener for me, a lot of crazy and stressful things happened because of it. The great thing is that it ended well, and I am extremely happy with how things worked out! I have some plans for future pattern hilarity, I don't want to give anything away so just know that you haven't seen the last of my doomish designs!
Moving on to another subject that comes up fairly regularly for me-the look of the knitter. What does a knitter look like? When you imagine a knitter, what do you imagine? Do you have a preconceived notion of the appearance of the average knitter? I ask because I am often told that I don't look like a knitter. I've been told many times that by looking at me, the last thing that is expected is that I co-own a knitting store. It's something that comes up quite often in my little world, and it's been at the forefront of my mind a lot lately. What's really interesting, is that most people who mention this to me, say the exact same thing. I mean EXACTLY THE SAME. Word for word. "No offence, but you don't look like a knitter." It's the "No offence" that puts me on guard, generally those two words precede something potentially offensive. Should I be offended that they don't think I look like a knitter? Do knitters look offensive? What do knitter's look like? Do I look like someone who is generally occupied by criminal activities and therefore has no time for the fibre arts?
Here is a little bit about me.
I'm a regular performer at the Kamloops Burlesque Monthly showcase and recently have taken on the role of Co-Producer. My stage name is Lizzie Borden. As a solo performer I mostly sing, I also perform as the secondary role in other acts-this means I get to do a lot of fun stuff and I usually lean towards the comedy side of burlesque. I do not do what is known in the burlseque world as "Full Reveal", there are no tassels in my future.
I'm a knitting designer. The Shawl of Doom being the most famous, but I also do regular stuff too.
.jpg)
I'm a strength competitor. This is a recent development. I did Femsport this year and it was so much fun. More recently I competed in the Highland Games and I LOVED IT! Eventually I would like to work my way up to Strong Woman competitions.
I love playing softball. I didn't really play sports outside of Gym class growing up and have discovered I really like team sports and athletics. I'm not the best ball player, but I have a darn good swing.
I'm co-owner of a local yarn store with my Mumsy as my business partner.
I'm a Mom.
I'm an artist.
I love to cook.
I have lots of tattoos.
I love to knit.
I have strong opinions and am not afraid to voice them. I stand up (very vocally) for what/who I believe in. I have this terrible habit of shooting down people with big egos in a very obvious and public way (albeit accompanied by hilarity.) I have a university degree. I love to read science fiction and fantasy novels. My television/movie viewing very definitely leans towards the geek.
Apparently all of these things add up to "you don't look like you knit." I do understand the initial reaction, I really do. The slight level of disbelief at the socks I pull out of purse and start knitting doesn't really phase me. What I don't understand is the continued surprise, the insistence that I don't look like a knitter, the continued questions and conversations as if it's all a sham and I don't actually knit, I'm just trying to trick everyone. Sometimes it gets to the point of "But why? Why would you knit?!"
It's simple. Knitting makes me happy. It makes me feel productive. It's something that I have a real understanding for. It gives me something to do so I don't go crazy. It eliminates social awkwardness, if I'm around people I don't know (or don't want to know) I focus on my knitting. I can take it everywhere with me. The challenges never end, no matter how many techniques I learn, there are more to learn!
When people ask me why I knit, I tell them:
"I knit so I don't kill people."
