#natureknits

Sitting in my new little #knitting nook that my husband and I made, waiting for the fireflies to come out 😘 Isn't it lovely? 😄 #natureknits #knittersofinstagram #birdandbutterflygarden #pollinatorgarden #beebalmphotobomb #knitstagram #knittingnook #cinderblockbench #tinygarden https://www.instagram.com/p/BkbhPOfAR7z/?igshid=10wa65e3aq7tw

Why do you craft?⠀ ⠀ I craft to allow my creative side freedom. I craft to express myself. I craft to make, create, share, and show love and appreciation. ⠀ ⠀ My designs often emulate patterns found in nature. I find the outdoors very inspiring - there is so much beauty in a leaf, a flower, a feather, even a mushroom! ⠀ ⠀ My process starts with hiking or trail riding. I'm not good at just going along a trail...I'm stopping every few minutes to look at a cool plant or lichen or rock and checking my ID guides, taking pictures, and generally making the trip take twice as long. Those colors & textures influence my fiber choices - choosing a primarily wool blend for a shawl mimicking a barn owl, as I wanted it to look equally soft and fluffy, or choosing a silk blend for a shawl mimicking a flower, as I wanted it to have a beautiful brightness and shine for the petals. I choose colors this way as well - my Seacoast Wrap was chosen to have bright, summery blues and golds, as it was designed off of long sand beaches on an ocean shore. ⠀ ⠀ I tend to pick stitch texture and shape of the item near the end - I'll have a vague idea, but this is the part that changes the most. My sketch notebook is full to the brim of quick sketch-outs of shawls and softies and blankets! A shawl idea might start out as an asymmetric triangle and morph into a diamond or a half circle - it's all part of the process. ⠀ ⠀ Expressing yourself is similar - you don't have to express yourself in any one particular way all the time. I bounce between knitting and beadwork. I like to make stitch marker sets that match my projects, or using one of a kind beads found in farmers markets. ⠀ ⠀ Tell me - how do you express yourself through crafting? ⠀ ⠀ Photo is of a scrunched laceweight shawl in black and white. You'll see more of her later! ⠀ ⠀ #knittersofinstagram #knitstagram #knitting #fiberarts #natureknits #handknit #etsyshop #etsysellersofinstagram #customknit #kixkatdesigns ⠀ ⠀ @lovecraftscom https://www.instagram.com/p/CBlQFtMDIYv/?igshid=12ouq6i4aehzw