i'm published!!!! (in the newspaper :-D)

ok, i know i've been MIA (again) for a while, but i am working frantically on getting the last designs in for the book. today was the deadline and i missed it, but thankfully i have a wonderful and supportive editor and someone else is running behind so i have one last shot to get them in, so i will be MIA yet again for another few days, but wanted to post that i was published in the newspaper! it's not really copy-and-paste-able and i couldn't find a way to link it either, so i did the best i can. if you want to see the original, go here and on the right, scroll down the table of contents to TO51 (Knitting? That's a man's game) and you can see it there too.

It was super fun, although I was really nervous, but both the reporter, Dalia, and the Times photographer, Luis, were both super nice and I had a great time. Dalia is also scheduled for some knitting classes at Jo-Ann! WOOT! :) a big thanks to Chris at ThreeDogKnits for hooking me up with the opportunity! xoxoxox

Knitting? That’s a man’s game


By Dalia Colón
dcolon@tampabay.com






Higgins


“Extreme knitting” sounds like an oxymoron, but next week more than 1,000 crafters world­wide will cast on in a life-or-death frenzy.

Saturday is the deadline to sign up for third annual Sock Wars, a game in which knitters “kill” their targets by mailing them a pair of handmade socks. A Belfast, Northern Ireland, woman organizes the contest, which starts May 9 and continues until one knitter remains “alive.” Everyone ends up with socks from a stranger, and the winner gets $500 worth of yarn from South West Trading Company. Sign up for $2 at sock-wars.com.

Although knitting is still predominantly associated with chicks like Julia Roberts and your grandmother, books such as The Knitting Man(ual) and Knitting with Balls make the craft accessible to guys. Sean Higgins participated in the 2006 Sock Wars and is gear­ing up for this year’s competition. Higgins, 30, of Seminole, teaches at Needles and Knobs on Cen­tral Avenue in St. Pete and has a knitting blog, boyforpele13.blogspot.com. He chatted with tbt*.

What about knitting can appeal to a guy?

It’s funny you say that, because it gives me an opportunity to tell people it was our craft first. You (women) kinda took it from us. In the 1400s, the very first knitting guild was actually created by men, and women weren’t allowed. ... I love making gifts for people, and everybody appreci­ates handmade gifts. It’s just relaxing.

What are some Florida-friendly knitting projects?
Everybody I know gets clogs. Even though they are wool, I wear them year-round. You have the air conditioning on nine months out of the year. You could really use them. And they’re great on tile floors.

Is there a difference in knitting personalities between men and women?
I’ve actually read some articles about that. They feel that men are more mathematical about it. They say a lot of male knitters are often engineers.

I dragged my husband to the craft store the other day. The check-out lady said, “Real men knit.”
You can knit while watching football. It’s a perfect thing to do, really. Keeps your hands busy. ... And it’s a turn-on for women, too. A hand-knit gift from your boyfriend? C’mon, it doesn’t get any better than that.