Hello again : )

I just wanted to share a bit about the designer, that let us use her Cabled Hat pattern for our last Mystery KAL. She is a wonderful designer, and her name is Meg White. She offers several designs on Ravelry.com. This designer spotlight is more of an interview.

You can find Meg White on Ravelry as Turbo. She also has a blog http://www.thekninja.blogspot.com/

Me: When did you start knitting?

Meg: My mother tried to teach me when I was very young, and a roommate in college showed me a hat she was working on, but it just didn’t stick with me. I didn’t quite get it, or maybe I wasn’t interested then. I think, really, it was a little knit bikini in “Bust” magazine that suck in my head.

One day, walking through a flea market, I picked up a ball of yarn and needles for $3. Why? I didn’t have any real intention of ever knitting at the time. That was a Sunday. On Tuesday I broke my leg. Lying on the couch, wondering what to do, I picked up the needles and yarn and started knitting. Yes, I just started knitting – and purling. Bizarre, huh? Somehow this latent knowledge had stuck in my brain along the way and came to me unexpectedly when I needed it most.
I bought more yarn and the “Stich’n Bitch” book, coincidently by Debbie Stoller also, clearly the godmother of my knitting. My first project was a scarf with random stripes and my second a baby blanket that turned out larger than expected. After the big blanket I figured I might as well go for a sweater and knit up a cabled pullover on the fly with some crappy acrylic, which ended up fitting my roommate better than me.
After the broken leg healed I found myself laid up again with a back injury. Well, rugby’s a heck of a sport. I’ve knit pretty much all day everyday since I started. Who would have known that it would become so important to my life?
I’ve made relatively few projects from patterns, although I like to read them and incorporate ideas and techniques from others’ work. Only recently have I started to record my work and offer it to others. I’ve actually written several sweater patterns that I don’t feel confident sharing yet. Does anyone want to test knit?

Me: How long have you been designing?

Meg: I’ve been designing since I started knitting, but I only began sharing my designs about a year ago.

Me: Do you have other hobbies?

Meg: I’ve practiced many textile techniques at some point, including sewing, quilting, weaving, embroidery, batik, and macramé. I crochet nearly as much as I knit now. I love to be outdoors hiking, playing Gaelic football, or working in my garden.

Me: Is there anything special you would like to share with my followers?

Meg: I’ve just finished reading “No Logo” by Naomi Klein. It’s about the invasion of corporations into the public realm, both aesthetically and politically, and the travesty of sweatshop factories in developing countries.
While reading it I felt a bit smug about being a hand knitter. To me knitting represents a lifestyle choice. I’m proud to be a knitter, to be developing a skill to extricate my life from mass consumerism, and to be able to share this ability with the people around me. I love being a part of our knitting community – meeting people who are similar to me or different, learning constantly, and admiring the art of all of our hands.