Knitting and the knitting community have long provided me with good friends and a craft which always seems to challenge my basic skills. I just love to knit; and, better yet, I love to knit with friends.

Every so often, I would see something that I liked and think, "I could make that myself". For example, I needed some buttons for my B-4 (Bobbles, beads, bumps and buttons!) handbag. So, I dusted off some polymer clay and started to play. I made buttons for a friend’s bag, and then another friend’s ... Maybe there was something to be said about custom decorative buttons. Hmmm…

When I was learning to knit lace, someone told me that I needed stitch markers. I thought, well, I can make some with all of my jewelry findings and beads. I made a set of stitch markers for a friend who showed them to a shop owner. The owner said to make some of them up and she would put them in her store. So, I did. Hmmm...

A friend from our Tuesday knitting group was moving out of the area; so, our group decided to make her a friendship quilt where each person knits a 10” square. Well, I thought, I want something really special for my square; so, I carved a cute little sheep from polymer clay. I liked it so much that I made myself a mold of the sheep from my rubber stamping goodies. Hmmm…

Do you see where I am going? One friend would ask, “Do you know what would be a cute idea?” And I would make it. Then, along the way, another friend said, “have you come up with any shawl pin ideas, yet?”