I was born like a piece of tangled yarn. The job is trying to untangle it, and I'll probably go on doing it for the rest of my life.

- Karen Allen

Growing up, my sister was always the artsy one. She drew and painted and had all this natural talent that made me feel like a failure because maybe one art piece out of 30 came out well for me. I have since acquainted myself with the idea that making art is for expression not for perfection, but I also discovered fiber arts and other hands-on crafts that made me feel warm and fuzzy inside (and outside once I finished making a million scarves and hats!).

I started knitting first with a little help from my grandmother and some library books. I was about 12, made a super long scarf out of terribly scratchy rainbow gradient acrylic yarn, and then cried my eyes out when a younger sibling slipped it off the needles when I was out of the room and unravel a huge chunk in the middle almost back to the beginning. I was also knitting with so much tension that my wrists ached after just a few minutes.

Then I tried crochet and liked it better (once my cousin showed me how to go from making a chain long enough to lasso the moon and actually start working back and forth in rows. Now I do both, as well as harboring a not-so-secret aspiration to start spinning my own yarn and weaving fabric on a loom like a dedicated peasant in the Middle Ages. I love sharing it with new people and making things that can be worn! Shawls and sweaters are my favorites but when I just need something super quick as a gift or so I can feel accomplished, soft chunky beanies are my go-to.

After experiencing the dopamine-hit-inducing app Tiktok during quarantine in the summer of 2020, I also got emotionally invested in bookmaking. (My original dream was to bind all my favorite Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings fanfics. We still hold out hope for this but also try to keep reasonable expectations for ourselves.) I started with printer paper and colored cardstock making pamphlet books out of standard 8.5 x 11 paper. Then I remembered that smaller = cuter, so I started cutting those sheets in half and learned the coptic binding method, and recently started working on fabric hard cover coptic binding with multimedia artist's paper. I like to use these quarter size journals for junk journals, tarot notes, book reviews, shopping lists, sketches, literally anything! After getting more comfortable with fabric hardcover binding, my next goal is recycled paper making and leather-bound hardcovers. I love having an excuse to make more books so if you'd like one in a particular size or color, shoot me a message and I'm happy to discuss commissions!