Of Knitting and Claying

I started playing around with polymer clay roughly 8 years ago–and that is only because I started playing around with yarn some 20 years before that. My first forays into clay were to create pins to go with the things I knitted, and to this day, the two crafts are still woven together for me (a fiber pun for you!) I still make pins to go with almost everything I knit. I guess it is because I stare at knitting projects for so long in my lap—my brain can’t help but to wander to all the clay stuff I could make to match once I finish. Knitting takes patience and can drag on; clay is more immediately gratifying.

Clay and knitting are two passions of mine that are always fresh. Every new clay project involves learning something new—whether it’s about the subject I’m sculpting, or a technique I need to master. Knitting is like that, too. There’s always some new cast-on method to learn, or a different stitch pattern to memorize.

I bought this green variegated yarn at a local knit shop when I was last in Utah teaching for Curious Mondo. I spent an hour inside chatting with the owner, while she proudly showed me around, pointing out all the local yarns. (This yarn is not from Utah—it’s Malabrigo from Uruguay, but the designer of the pattern IS. You can find the cowl here: https:www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/linnea-cowl ) That is another thing that knitting and claying have in common: meet another enthusiast and you are instant friends. You can sit around and talk for hours about all the stuff you like to make.

This green yarn called for a frog pin, so I made one yesterday. What I love most about it is the spotted pattern on the skin. I used a texture stamp from Lucy Clay that I bought at Royal Polymer Week. I snapped it up on impulse (you can justify all sorts of stuff when you tell yourself you are saving on international shipping), but discovered yesterday that one of the stamps is perfect for frog and lizard skin. Score!