 Happy New Year! 2014? Hard to type that number at the moment but I'm sure I will be used to it by the end of the month. Happy New Year to each of you :) I wanted to take this time to go over the many great experiences I had this past year and my plans for 2014.
 I taught several classes a month at Cindy-Rellas and met a lot of great people who I see have continued with the skill they learned from me. I was glad to see many of them share a passion for fibre and were truly interested in learning all they could about the subject at hand. Its fun to share my love for fibre and especially when I make friends along the way. I am currently working on my class schedule for this year and it will be listed on the site in my Classes & Workshops section shortly. As always, if there is a class you are interested in or would like private lessons or assistance in anyway you can always contact me at susie@knitnatural.com and I will be happy to help. I'd love for you to come to relax in my studio and knit/crochet or spin with me :)  I had started to play with the idea of designing. I know what I like, I see what I like and I like to make what I like. I love how wool is so versatile and how handspun yarn can make a project really one of a kind. I had knit a couple designs this past year (both free) and they have really taken off. Bankhead has been my most popular design so far with over 235 hats knit on Ravelry and in over 180 queues with hundreds of downloads a month and a 4.5/5 star rating. It fulfills one niche that is sometimes hard to find with knitting in that its a favourite among men. With it being comprised of ribbing, it fits a wide variety of head sizes and is easily customizable. A couple testimonials from Ravelry: "This is my favorite hat I’ve ever made. Ever." "This turned out so well I’m tempted to tell the birthday person I have no present to give" "Super easy pattern. Quick, satisfying knit" "A wonderful pattern. In fact I am going to knit another one" "Simple, quick, and manly" "This is going to be my go-to hat pattern from now on" "One of my favorite patterns!!!"
I have made a few more designs which I just need to type up "Speargrass", "Wally", "Network" Pisces Shawl and my sock design class socks (which obviously don't have a name yet and I wrote the pattern 2 years ago) need to be tested again and will be available soon. SO much more to come. I also have a crocheted hat pattern for sale at Cindy-Rellas called "Hatkuna Matata". My mind has been racing with ideas that I need to put on paper and create with fibre, so you will have lots to look forward to from Knit Natural this year. I'm 100% focusing on showcasing handspun and designs with handspun in mind, designs with wool in mind and how to take advantage of the many benefits and special powers of wool and other natural fibres. This will be an exciting year :) Feb-May was busy for me as I spent every moment I had knitting a couple sweaters for fashion designer Riley Lawson's Fall Collection. She showed me pictures of her designs and we discussed what sorts of details she wanted included. I went off her wonderful ideas and knit her a pullover and a cardigan which were featured on the runway at Sask Fashion Week AND she won the Emerging Designer award that weekend. I also knit her a pair of knee high socks in 6 days that were a nice accessory paired with a gorgeous wool jacket. The pullover was featured on Global News and both items are available for purchase (I will be writing a post on this experience in the next week or so).
I attended 3 wool shows in 2013 in all 3 prairie provinces and judged/scribed at each one. I love wool judging more than I expected. I'm always interested in learning as much as I can about fibre and wool in general and with all the breeds out there and all the cross breeds, wool judging lets me continue to learn with each fleece and I can literally immerse myself in greasy wool and breathe in all it has to offer. I am hoping to continue judging for as long as I can and I am going to really try hard this year with my Sheep Study on my site here. I have many samples washed and I had fallen behind in 2013.
 My website stats hit an all time high this past year with over 26,500 page views and my facebook page went from 30 to 111 likes. My Etsy shop with almost 2000 views, and items included in several treasuries has started to take off. I even sold the original Bankhead hat from there last month. I am going to try and post more blog updates this year. I have a lot going on in real life and my mind that I want to share but finding the time proved difficult. I also plan on listing MANY more skeins of handspun in my shop on this site. Weebly has made it even easier to list items for sale and I'm going to have to re-organize that section a little bit. I was a featured artist on the Handmade Sask website and was also included in one of the giveaway's offered
When Kim from The Wacky Windmill came for a Trunk Show this October I really saw how crazy... I mean, how awesome the fibre community in Regina is. I think every member of the Regina Weavers and Spinners attended and many new faces who were likely as overwhelmed as I at the wonderful selection of hand-dyed fibre, yarns, notions and more Kim brought with her. It was also exciting to host this all in my brand new house! To finally invite people over and surround myself in good friends, my favourite dyer, fibre galore and food. I was able to open my studio (which has since been moved but more on that later) and not look some kind of weird hoarder of animal hair (well at least they didn't think so). These memories only scratch the surface of all that went on in 2013. I hope that you will continue to follow me as I share and write my experiences, designs, challenges, travels, reviews, giveaways & contests, sales etc in 2014. Thank YOU for helping me get here <3   OH and (for Jeremy) the Riders won the Grey Cup :D
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