She/her Just a 22-year-old from the Netherlands doing whatever it is that makes her happy. ❤️
My name is Lisa, I grew up in a small town in the Netherlands and right now I live in Amsterdam in a tiny studio apartment. With my videos I try to make the world a better place and honestly, make myself a better person as well. Sending out so much love and positivity to all, we are all together in this journey!
Missed your videos, they were so lovely and always so nice to revisit if I need something cosy and familiar to unwind with at the end of the day. It was a lot of fun packing my yarn while listening to this and the other two organisation videos! All the best in what you do and take care!💕
With the knit vs crochet thing I think I am more troubled when it's someone close to me, like a parent or a friend or a partner, who keeps using the wrong word despite me having talked to them about the hobby I enjoy many times. For a stranger, I do not care if they know the difference.
Do you ever knit something for someone in your life and then you realize it would look great on you too so you knit yourself the same thing? That's me rn with a hat I made for my dad lol
I am rewatching this podcast after a year? at least, and it still makes me feel comfortable and cozy. (I still hope you will return on RU-vid one day, but in any case, it's up to you, no pressure) I also had some time-out from the yarn, and now I'm probably back again) And yeah, I also had an Erasmus+ mobility this semester, so I completely understand you, Lisa) I just want you to know, that even after a long time your podcasts still give people a lot of warm feelings and nostalgia❤
I think I have a frustration with you tube crafting videos in general. It’s more that there’s a glut of beginner videos all doing similar things, but intermediate and advanced techniques are less well covered. Then for me there is validity in traditional and non traditional methods, but if you don’t fully understand a traditional method, don’t try and teach it. If you have your own version or you’ve improved it in some way, share your method and explain how you arrived at it, but be clear what it is. It’s a shame that some of the really talented traditional method crafters are just not as skilled at content creation as the new content creator crafters, and what we need is more colabs, new but talented content creators, sharing space with traditional craft experts would massively benefit everyone, and shine a spotlight on people who have so much to share whilst also building a wonderful community that works together rather than competes.
I learned to knit when I was a child and have been for the past 40+ years. Gatekeeping knitting is just so bizarre to me, so I’ll share my thoughts (which obviously can be completely ignored). 1. Knit in the style that makes you comfortable. You’re not doing it “wrong” unless it’s causing pain or you’re not coming out with the intended fabric. 2. I think anything you want to knit is a great beginner project. More complex things will take longer to finish simply because you will be learning multiple new skills as you go. We are so fortunate to have a seemingly endless library of videos to access when we hit a new technique. 3. People who have recently mastered a skill are often the best teachers. They are still thinking through the steps. 4. Rude staff seems to be a long-standing tradition of the LYS, like surly waitstaff in NYC delis. Try not to take it personally. 5. Learn to grade a pattern. This is a huge gatekeeping area that really doesn’t need to exist. I know there are lovely people out there who have shared grading spreadsheets and tutorials. I don’t mean to absolve pattern designers from including a range of sizes. It’s a very useful tool for people who find themselves outside of size ranges, between sizes but want to stay true to the intended ease, or want to improvise their own garments to their measurements. (Also, ChatGPT seems to do a decent job here, but I don’t know if I’d recommend it to a knitter very new to the specific garment, e.g. first sweater.) Happy knitting to all!
Lisa, your journey's truly inspiring! It's so important to find what makes your content unique, especially in crowded spaces like knitting. I've been using boost app social to help me craft unique bios and captions quickly. It’s been a game changer for standing out.
Reason I want to start designing my own patterns is because (I apologize for how this is going to come out) most patterns I find are “ugly” (v subjective) I just can never find a piece that I would 100% wear and keep for a long time. I have a specific body type so there’s a few popular styles that look horrible on me. I just want to cute crochet outfits that flatter me and that I would love and treasure❤
I started knitting with worsted weight yarn. Then worked my way down. However, I knit the easiest socks. Toe up, two at a time. I use Turkish cast on. Yarnover increases, peasant heel. They fit me fine. Also, self striped yarn. Everyone thinks I'm so smart, but the yarn does all the work.
Thank you for this video! I will be visiting Amsterdam in April and am wanting to crochet this vest to bring on the trip. This is giving me the motivation I need to start <3
❤For the ones who don't like acrylic, I highly recommend trying Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn. It's the softest I've worked with. Also, every other week, all their yarn is 30% off. Next week is one of the weeks ❤
I have been crocheting for 3 ish years and was gifted knitting needles for Christmas and learned shortly after how to knit. I like it when I see newer knitters sharing tips/tutorials because then it's not as scary. In my mind it's like if they can do it then so can I type thing. Also I feel like if you are able to pick it up (understand what you're doing/make it) fairly easily then it is "at your level" even if you only started knitting/crocheting last week.
I just found this. I was listing to the part about people telling you to knit or crochet at your level. I have ADHD and I tried knitting and crochet starting the usual way. Basic stitches and scarfs and hated it and failed time and time again. I started with outside beginner patterns and loved it and finally learned it quickly. So many people have given up because of it. I don’t understand the continental vs English knitting debate. Who cares as long as people are knitting. I struggled to knit for ages because a lot of the how to books and videos I was coming across in English style and I just didn’t get it found crochet finally then found continental knitting by accident and it clicked. The main thing knitting is for everyone and I have taught my students finger and French knitting and the calm and focus even my most hyperactive kids sit for as long as I let them.
Weirdly as someone who has been knitting for a couple of years I still feel ‘new’ and when I see questions I am worried about posting an answer invade the way I do it is not the established ‘normal’ way 😊
I plan to start crochet and have been watching videos ....I think there are enough of beginners,intermediate ,and advanced videos and websites to spread the wealth. No room for snobbery. Someone treats you badly, don't return to their website or storefront. People in general seem to feel it's easier to criticize rather than finding a compliment
Going back to the acrylic yarn debate: there are plenty of people who prefer acrylic for various reasons- from veganism to skin sensitivity. Personally, I cannot work with wool and other animal products due to allergies. This also means that I cannot wear said products. Does that mean I should never get into knitting because the "good stuff" is inaccessible to me? This is also one of the main reasons why I crochet over knit- there seems to be less judgement for using acrylics
I’m 40 and I’ve learned never to join “communities” for hobbies. They all end up the same, gatekeeping, drama and bitchiness. Just do your hobby and love it.
I have been knitting and crocheting off and on for almost 60 years. I enjoy the diverse voices and perspectives that are currently available. Not all techniques or patterns appeal to me, but I do enjoy the creativity that is expressed. Keep it fresh, exciting and relevant to the times we live in.
I started with acrylic and used it almost exclusively for years, because I started at 13 and didn’t exactly have much allowance money to buy yarn, and then I was a broke college student so I didn’t exactly have a lot of money to buy yarn lol. And then I just. Had my brands I liked. It honestly wasn’t until I started making cat toys to donate to the local rescue that I branched out to cotton and hemp yarn because I wanted to make sure the toys were safe (in case the cats chewed on the toys and accidentally ingested some of the fibers, acrylic yarn won’t break down in the digestive tract and could cause an intestinal blockage).
I think yarn hoarding is a big issue. I’m guilty of it, but lately i’ve been giving my friends who want to start my extra yarn to experiment with! They’ve made some fun stuff so far 😊
This is a great topic and I think everyone feels this to some extent. I have been knitting for years and years, and there will always be those that are critical of a myriad of things, and they get stuck in their way of doing things where everyone else must be 'wrong'. I am loving the explosion of knitting machines like Sentro because it's breaking down the old snobby attitudes of "Machine knitters are not real knitters" Well I knit, crochet, spin my own yarn (on a spindle, tradition wheel, and electric wheels!), process my own wool, and I also weave. I own vintage sock machines, vintage flatbeds, and also proudly use my Addi and Sentro machines. So if I can make copious easy stockinette items (esp as gifts) and focus on my other crafts I am all for it. I also firmly believe that they make knitting more accessible, and look at all the new people who have been introduced to this amazing craft? Who cares if I am a "process knitter" or a "product knitter" I am both. I also just like making stuff I can wear or use or gift. Period. I just remind myself that people who gatekeep also miss out on all the other great things in life they must be gatekeeping as well lol.
Excellent video! I’m a couple months late to the party but wanted to give my own 2 cents about the “not being skilled enough to be a test knitter/crocheted” thing. I think something people often don’t realise is that the best people you can have to test something, whether it’s a pattern or even a website or app that’s being created, are people who are not super experienced. People who aren’t as confident are more likely to pick up on areas that can be improved on for better user experience that someone who is also an expert might completely overlook without realising. The wider range of experiences and types of people who test you product can only help to make it better 😊
Interestingly, when I first started knitting, I kind of thought "why would anyone need a pattern?" bc I had a very specific idea in my head of the things I wanted to knit and I was more intimidated by learning to read patterns - by all the abbreviations and charts etc - than by the idea of just figuring it out myself! But then in the process of figuring out how to knit myself a cardigan, I realised it was more complicated than I'd imagined (literally just thought I could knit rectangles and sew them together, which, sure, I totally could've, but it wouldn't have resulted in the look I wanted!) and ended up learning to read patterns anyway to research the different ways other people do it 😅 I hadn't discovered Ravelry yet and was only looking at free patterns, and I didn't like the look of any of them! Compared to now, when I have like 50 patterns just in my queue (and I'm a relatively slow knitter so I have no clue when I think I'll get round to knitting them all, especially with so many beautiful ones being released all the time 😂) and over a thousand favourited, and yet I still have the desire to design my own niggling in the back of my brain! And maybe I'll do a better job than I did with that first cardigan, now I have several years of knitting experience 😅 Also, on the paying test knitters discussion, I just finished my test knit and while the designer will be compensating us with something small, as she is a new indie designer and can't afford to pay fully, I personally signed up to the test knit with the understanding that while I am working for free, I do also get an early, free copy of the pattern, and that for me is my main reason for doing it, as well as getting a bit of an insight into the design process! The free stitch markers or voucher for a free future pattern that the designer is offering her testers is, imo, a nice little added extra. Then again, the test knit was for socks, maybe I'd feel differently if I'd spent 3 months knitting a sweater for a test knit (then again, I just wouldn't sign up to a sweater test knit bc I just can't knit a sweater that fast, not if I have work and other knitting projects and hobbies I want to work on simultaneously, which I most certainly do 😂)
