Welcome!

Loops & Threads - Cozy Wool.

Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog. Glad to see you and I hope you stick around to keep up with the posts and photography I post over the coming year. I started a version of this blog late last year, but felt it didn't really have a focus. So since it's the new year, I decided that it was time to revamp the whole thing and focus on the new hobby I've taken up, knitting. 

I've always been in search of a hobby to stick to. Since moving back home, I'd taken up cross stitching again (I've never been far from a needlework project), baking cupcakes, painting/drawing and endless time spent reading. While I enjoy all of these things, I never really stuck to either. A cross stitch project could take months to finish, I'd bake cupcakes then they'd disappear the next day, and anything I drew was quickly hid behind the cover of my sketch book. I needed something tangible, with a product I could get use of. Why waste my time making something I won't do anything with when it's finished -  baking aside! Knitting seems to be the answer. 

With no specific resolution to pick up a new hobby, I found myself pulling the wool basket out of my mother's closet, organizing her needles, signing up for ravelry.com and casting on. I'm not entirely new to knitting though. I didn't pick up a set of needles last week for the first time. My mother had taught me the fundamentals of knitting when I was in high school, but knowing it wasn't considered "cool", I never did anything with the knowledge. But for a substitute teacher living in rural Newfoundland, Canada, I now have plenty of time and no concern for the opinions of high school kids (in relation to my personal life at least!). Since the beginning of the year, I've recently finished my first ever project, a cable knit buttoned cowl and two hats. I felt very inspired when I casted off that last stitch and had a scarf in my hands that I had made with my own two hands. And proud! Was I ever proud. 

On The Rural Knitter, I hope to not only share my creations, but post patterns that I find, stitches and techniques I've learned and a few photos along the way. And of course, there will be other posts: bands I just heard of and need to share, cupcake recipes and the like. Stay tuned!