Up next in our Blog Hop, we have Rodger from Over Abundance. He works at the yarn shop Abundant Yarn and Dyeworks. He is currently doing secret knitting that he hopes Interweave likes. The only exchange Rodger and I have had was when he asked about My Blue Moon Bling sweater. He told me, “It’s hot!” Rodger does not get to hang out with us PDX bloggers much since he is gainefully employed. Maybe we should drop by work and catch up with him there. I did that one time and he was not there. Oh well another time.

1) What is your dream job? If not fiber related, how does fiber play a part?

I already work at a really awesome yarn shop, so I guess my dream job would be to keep working there and also find enough time to seriously design the things I’d like to design

2) What most influences your knitting?

Elizabeth Zimmermann’s innovativeness, my own desire for flattering garments for all, and Ooo, the pretty pretty yarn. Oh yes, papa likes his yarn, yes he does.

3) What is the most interesting thing you have done with a knitting needle?

Broke into a house I was staying at with some friends. They had forgotten to give me a key, so I used a US 3 circular to pop the screen out of a window so I could climb in, unlock the door, and
unload my car.

- Rodger

I have not officially met Melissa. She was at the Blogger gathering in July but let me tell you it was one packed room. She was on one side and I was on the other. Maybe next time I will get to know her personally. Her Blog Days of Tea and Knitting has recently been all about the spinning of colors. She has great color sense and creates great yarns to knit with. I can’t wait to see what she does with the autumn colored yarn. She also knits for Knitpicks.

On to the interview:

1) What is your dream job? If not fiber related, how does fiber play a part?

Colorist for a yarn manufacturer. I used to be a colorist in the printed textile industry and that was really different, but what I imagine MIGHT be a job in the yarn industry would be following color trends and choosing new colors for each new season. I LOVE color.

2) What most influences your knitting?

As I’ve said on my blog, nature. Textiles in general draw a great deal from motifs found in nature. Most people find patterns in nature to be interesting and soothing.In knitting, I like to take it one step further as so many of the yarns I like are tweedy. I like things that look somewhat organic. Sure, a bright pink modern sweater is great fun, but mostly I’m drawn to muted colors and lots of texture.

3) What is the most interesting thing you have done with a knitting needle?

I think I used one as a gardening tool once. You know, an old, bright orange aluminum one in size 11 from the 60’s that lose it’s match…

We met at Knit/Purl in July. It was hot but a great time of camaraderie.

Now we want to share ourselves with our readers and let you know about the awesomeness that is the PDX Bloggers. We are having a Blog Hop this week. This is the first of many. A few brave agreed to show the rest the ropes.

This week you will meet : Rodger from Over Abundance, Duffy from FiberQat and Melissa from Days of Tea and Knitting. We each have questions that we will be asking each other. Look forward to these lively interviews on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

I will answer my questions today. Enjoy.

1) What is your dream job? If not fiber related, how does fiber play apart?

Well my dream in college was to get married, have kids and stay at home and do crafts (aka knitting) all day. Who doesn’t! Well I was not really interested in the kid thing and still not too sure about it, and marriage was not really the top of my list. I determined that I needed to go to art school. Yes that would make my dream real. As I completed my art program nearing graduation, some students asked about why sub par artists are accepted to our school. The teacher responded that good students would excel and be heard from in the future. Students that were not very good would never get off the ground and thus not sully the schools name. I was feeling rather low at the point and thought that maybe I was just destine to craft away in secret never to get past making family Christmas presents. My first two attempt to sell my work failed – maybe it was because I was sewing and my true calling was in another medium. I had always knit. I had even been excited about being one of those designers. You know the ones. The ones in magazines. The ones in books. That dream had fallen flat until this Winter when I ran into a random stranger (later to be known at the yarn harlot) who told me to go talk to Tina of Blue Moon Fiber Arts. Ummm Blue Moon. Nahh they are too big they don’t need me. Then again when I entered a yarn shop in Portland, I was told to apply for a job with Tina. Ummm…Ok. Well now I have my dream job I am designing for Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I am at home knitting all day. Some days its fun others I want to hurl something. My friends occasionally call me to make sure none of my DPNs have turned on me. I don’t own straights. The useless little buggers.

2) What most influences your knitting?

The Yarn. I also like something that challenges me. I can’t abide simple knitted things without shaping. Many scarves have been abandoned on the road of life – none longer than 4 inches. I think that the human body should be shown off to its best advantage – in a classy way.

3) What is the most interesting thing you have done with a knitting needle?

It was volunteered as an Abelskever (those German donut hole things) turner this last weekend. I refused to allow one of the trusty Bamboo DPNs. They have been through many trials, but I tossed over a metal DPN that refuses to vacate my needle case. I guess it is too comfy in there. Hmmm….how to make a nice Organized Knitter needle case uncomfortable? Well the lucky little dude survived and was returned to me after a thorough bath.

Also last summer my trusty but old and cracked 2.0mm DPN volunteered itself for headlight changing duty when both my headlights went out on the roads of Montana after dark. My brights worked but the regular headlights did not. The poor abused little DPN could not get the job done, but I tell good try old chap. Right now she is standing at attention near my ball winder and swift to undo knots in the skeins that I receive. Sometimes they can get so tight but her little pointy tip does it every time.

I also have a circular that had some adventures. After 9/11, I had to fly home. Home meaning my parent’s house in Saudi Arabia. Not exactly most college student’s Christmas destination. Well I knew knitting was off limits, but let me tell you. The only way I can survive 36 hours in transit via car, train and plane is to knit. I wanted to knit. I grabbed the most unoffensive scissors in my collection (plastic kids scissors with a metal strip) threw those in my bag, and some yarn went in also. I was not willing to let my needles to go in and be taken, so I wrapped my long hair up into a bun and wrapped the circular around my hair and stabbed the needles through the bun. It just looked like those fancy hair chopsticks. I got everything onto the plane only to sleep the whole way after an exhausting exam week. I don’t take those trips any more but I still can’t get up the courage to knit on planes anymore. Whenever I ask an airline company, I get growled at that they are not allowed, but I hear about so many of you that knit and fly. Am I asking the wrong people?