I am Pat, and I am a Maker, although I didn’t always know that. I would make one of whatever craft my mom was into at the time. In high school, my mom showed me the afghan stitch, so I made an afghan using only that stitch. In college, my roommate showed me how to make a granny square, so I made an afghan of granny squares that took 5 years to finish. In 1990, my aunt gave me an afghan kit that she decided not to do. I didn’t start it until 2000, but then I was hooked. I taught myself how to crochet from books. I didn’t understand what I was reading, so I made a lot of stuff up. I believe some afghans I gave as gifts may have fallen apart.

I spent hours crocheting and made many afghans over the years. It helped me decompress. I had little desire to keep what I made. I just needed to make. I gave away most of what I made.

Suddenly I was done with afghans and wanted to try something new. I tried hats, mittens and scarves, then realized I did not like to make clothing. Next up was amigurumi. I struggled so much trying to sew the pieces together, which didn’t feel much like crocheting, so I stopped.

In 2016 I discovered June Gilbank’s (PlanetJune) book, “Idiot’s Guide to Amigurumi”. Finally things started making sense. Then I saw she had a YouTube channel with video tutorials. Not only did I learn so many tips and tricks for amigurumi, I also re-learned how to crochet properly. Crochet became fun again. That’s when I realized I was a Maker. I am always making something.

Over the last 3 years, I have tried new things. I made large wooden carts to store my yarn and also got hooked on building miniatures, which you can see in my gallery.

I am currently learning how to sew, would like to learn how to knit and make things out of polymer clay. There’s time to do it all, right? Well, I am ready to try.