Friday, January 23, 2015

What Knitting Means to Me

Hello knitters and friends! I'm Brittany (Bunker) Wells, your newest Brown Sheep Co. blogger. After you read this post, I would love to hear what knitting/crocheting/weaving/needlepoint means to YOU!
Knitting for me has been a solace, a way to bond with the people in my life, and. . . oh yeah, I met my soulmate because of knitting.
I was initiated into the world of knitting my freshman year of college, taught by my friend in the dorms. Although I struggled through my first not-so-pretty scarf, I was hook, line, and sinker-ed by my second scarf.  Before long, some friends had decided to start a student organization for knitting and crocheting called United by Yarn.  The girls in this group were sweet and smart, girls who would rather talk about books and bicycles than gossip.  I felt like I had found my tribe.  These lifelong friends would go on to be my roommates and bridesmaids.  It's truly amazing how getting together in a circle to play with yarn every week can form such bonds.
Of course, I had to share my new-found love of knitting with my mom over Christmas break.  Like me, it didn't take long for her to become a yarn addict. We would knit together for hours when I was home from college, and would constantly text each other pictures of our current projects. Mom and I began an annual trip to Chicago to visit my older brother and to check out the Vogue Knitting Live convention.
Curling up on the couch with knitting was one of my greatest comforts after a bicycle accident that left me with a fractured foot. On cold winter days, a hand-knit scaft was the closest thing to a warm hug from my mother or my good friend.  I wanted to share this feeling with everyone I loved--to wrap them in the warmth of something knit with my love. So I knit scarves and hats and mittens to show the people in my life how much I cared about them.
Now we get to the cutesy, romantic part of What Knitting Means to Me.  Mom and I traveled to the Scottsbluff Valley Fiber Arts Fair, expecting to buy some nice yarn and take a tour of the Brown Sheep Company wool mill.  The very last thing I expected was to meet the handsome, well-spoken young man who would become my husband there.  This young man, who was our tour guide through the mill, talked about yarn with such enthusiasm (if you are already a yarn fanatic, you will understand why this caught my attention!), and the more he talked about backpacking, biking, and adventures, it seemed that we had the same passions in common.  To make a long story short, after much teasing from my mom (who could tell I had a crush on him), I got in touch with this young man. A year and a half later we were married.
So, my journey with knitting has brought me here to Brown Sheep Company.  Stay tuned to our blog for pictures of the yarn-themed wedding. :)
I might be enjoying this job, just a little bit

3 comments:

  1. What a beautiful love story. I first heard it from your Mom at Prairie Hand Knits. We were always ready to hear thie latest on this love story. Comgratulations to you and Andrew.

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  2. Brittany, I will never tire of your beautiful love story! :) What an awesome first post!

    Lori :D

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  3. Hi Brittany! I absolutely love your blog! And I love your "meant-to-be" love story! I did not know any of this story before your wedding day, and it is all amazing to me! I have actually purchased some wool yarn from the Brown Sheep company...heck, I thought I was buying a Nebraska made product, not yarn from Brittany's future husband's family!
    As you know, I love to knit and crochet. I probably crochet more than I knit, as it seems to go by quickly. I belong to a prayer shawl ministry in my church. It's a neat feeling to pray and crochet at the same time. I also love hand-making things....there is just something extra special about giving or receiving a gift that is handmade.
    Thank you so much for inviting my family to share in your special day! I hope everything is going fantastic for you and Andrew! If I come to Scottsbluff, will you give me a tour of the Brown Sheep Company? Hugs!

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