Test Knitter of the Month - February

Each month I’ll be featuring a test knitter from one of my designs.

My hope for a part of this blog is to feature the knitters who spend their time helping me execute a hand knitting pattern. Test knitting, especially garments, are a critical part of the design process and I wouldn’t be able to do it without their valuable feedback.

It’s been important for me to connect with knitters, and people in general, on a human level. My hope is that these introductions will help us connect to others that are more than what we see on the surface.

Test Knitter of the Month - February Feature: Stephanie

How do you identify? she/her, Taiwanese American

How many years have you been knitting? What’s your knitting origin story?

I was taught how to knit, crochet, and sew by my Mama when I was little, grade-school maybe? Fiber arts and being creative has always been part of my life. I still have the first crochet hooks and knitting needles she bought me at a garage sale decades ago. I remember making little squares and circles and lopsided triangles or maybe those triangles were supposed to be squares! I took off with crocheting more initially and then took up knitting again in the last 7 years or so! My first adult colorwork knit sweater I made in January 2019 and I learned how to knit socks in August 2019. Previous to that I mostly knit and crochet hats,  accessories, and baby clothes. There's this one granny square blanket I still have that really should be "blanket" in quotes because it's still in individual granny square form and I have zero desire to put it together! I started it over 10 years ago and now those colorful squares are coasters, pizzas, pies, plates, etc. in the play kitchen, being much more useful in the imagination of my children!

Which pattern did you test knit? What size, if garment, and yarns did you use?

I tested the Golden Horizon sweater, summer 2019 in size 2 using Berroco Ultra Wool DK and Malabrigo Mechita.

What is your favorite thing about test knitting or why do you test knit?

Test knitting for designers I admire gives me an opportunity to engage in not only the development of a pattern but also engage in community-building. When a community of test knitters come together, a synergy some times blossoms in the most beautiful of ways. We are together as works in progress, working on works in progress one stitch at a time inspiring one another.

What other making superpowers do you have? 

I love to sew. Pedal to the metal. That whir of the sewing machine. Those snips with heavy metal scissors. The steam from the iron pressing the fabric. I get it from my Mama and my Ah-Mah ("grandmother" in Taiwanese) - both are excellent sewists. In addition to knitting, crocheting, and sewing, I love to paint and draw. Though a sketchbook is portable, canvases and tubes of paints aren't so portable (compared to sock knitting!). But as my kids are becoming more independent, I have more time for me and I look forward to regularly painting once more! I'm also a musician and took a break you could say when the kids were born but I've been dusting off the piano keys and violin strings and slowly getting my rusty fingers back into shape. 

Where can readers find your makes?

IG:  @edible.thoughts.makes  
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/EdibleThoughtsMakes
Ravelry: username - EdibleToughts
Blog:  https://ediblethoughts-stephanie.blogspot.com/

What other aspects of life are you passionate about besides making?

My undergraduate major and minor was in biology and painting respectively. My professional background is in public health and nutrition. I am a Registered Dietitian with interests in food access/insecurity, in the relationship between culture and food, in decreasing food waste, in being creative with available resources, and in enjoying food!