Our Newest Co-op Member, Kristen!

 Each day when Kristen goes to put her socks on, she cannot help but look at her colorful sock drawer with a sense of pride. Each and every pair are handmade masterpieces that she has created, and more than likely discussed on her popular Youtube Channel DoSoKnits.

"Oh, I only wear handmade socks," she says with a smile. "I am pretty proud of my sock drawer." 

What started out as a hobby turned into a real passion, one she wanted to talk about more and more. As a military spouse, Kristen and her husband Shane were stationed in Germany two years ago. She started her channel as a way to talk about her knitting with people that knew what she was talking about. "He will listen but it's just all the same," she said. "To him, it just seems like magic."

Once they were stationed in Colorado, Kristen joined the Fancy Tiger Crafts team and knew immediately she would be joining the co-op when she was eligible. 

"I've always been the type of person that likes to help make decisions and implement systems for organization and streamlining processes," said Kristen. "Being in the co-op helps me make and do those things. Also, the idea of owning a business is something that I never thought I would do and this gave me the opportunity to do it in a lower-risk way. You know, versus starting a brand new entrepreneurial thing." 

Kristen has already helped to keep things organized behind the scenes, has introduced and continues to work on creating new knitting classes for our classroom and is helping to finalize classes that will be launching online later this year. 

"I am trying to do more knitting classes with a mix of beginner and technique classes," said Kristen. "I am starting to do some new technique-focused classes, the magic loop class, and a short rows class. I feel like if you don't know it exists, it is hard to find it and short rows are intimidating, and it is something that you will encounter in a pattern often. Understanding in a smaller way can help build up confidence to do it in projects." 

The class she is most excited to share with crafters is, of course, her Sock Knitting 101 class. 

"Knitting socks is a great project because one, they are small and portable," said Kristen. "Two, if it's a vanilla sock, I can take it places with me and just knit without having to think. Three, you only need one skein of yarn. If you ever go vacation yarn shopping and just buy one skein and have no plan for it, it can become a pair of socks! For me, it is popcorn knitting. I don't have to think about it, but I can keep my hands busy." 

Kristen says her biggest goals now that she has joined the co-op is to look over some new yarns and bases that fall within the store's goals for sustainability and to help in the yarn decision process to identify yarns that customers would be excited about. 

Join Kristen in the classroom where you can learn more about her love of knitting, and sock knitting specifically. 

Welcome to the co-op Kristen!