"Man enough to knit...strong enough to purl" is the logo for GARsticksandstring.etsy.com. Gar, as he is referred to, is, are you ready....a 14 year old young man who knits and sells his awesome handmade items online.
But let's not focus on his age. Yes, it is unique to find a teenage boy knitting, let alone using the word "purl"..(which, by the way, caused this blog author to bust out the dictionary.) Apparently, purl means, "An inversion of stitches in knitting, which gives to the work a ribbed or waved appearance." And Gar can do it well! His amazing creations include lambs, hedgehogs (the favorite of a few BHR staff), scarves, hats, baskets and more!
Gar is homeschooled and attributes his love of knitting to several people, including Ms. Kelda, a teacher who helped get him started with knitting. He also owes much to his mom, who Gar says, "brings me through the rough and applauds through the success"...and she buys the supplies of course! Gar lives with his parents, and slightly older sister (just 13 months!) in Louisiana. Gar is ALWAYS having a wool craving, he says, and if he is unable to knit for a few days, feels bad!
When asked if he had a wishlist of purchases, he replied that he would like "patches and a bumper sticker for the business",and earrings for sister and, of course, more wool. Besides his shop on Etsy, Gar also has a shop on Ravelry, www.garstickandstring.ravelry.com.
It is refreshing to see a young man with goals..and Gar has goals indeed! If he had no time or money restraints he'd love to create cable mittens, Easter eggs, baskets, and pottery. He loves to create custom orders, and would probably knit 24 hours in the day if he could!
Gar is also "member/moderator/(co)creator of a group called Minor Effect! Minor Effect is a group for teens (ages 13-19) on Etsy to get together and share ideas. There are 3 other leaders helping out: CrochetRUs (member/moderator/(co)creator), peasantsoup (admin/adult supervisor), and WorksInProgress (admin/adult supervisor)!!" Although they are not an acutal street team, they provide each other with support, encouragement, and share ideas and life has a young handmade artisan on their blog.
One of the things that makes this shop and artist unique is that some of the items are felted, which Gar explains, "for those of you who don't know what that {felted} means I knit my projects with 100% wool and then I agitate them in BOILING hot water for about an hour and the fibers in the wool come together so my projects come out felted!" Now THAT is handmade!
We anticipate many great things for Gar, and a happy life full of wool,sales, and overall handmade awesomeness!
Be sure to check out Gar's shop as he is gearing up for Spring and Easter!
GARsticksandstring.etsy.com
But let's not focus on his age. Yes, it is unique to find a teenage boy knitting, let alone using the word "purl"..(which, by the way, caused this blog author to bust out the dictionary.) Apparently, purl means, "An inversion of stitches in knitting, which gives to the work a ribbed or waved appearance." And Gar can do it well! His amazing creations include lambs, hedgehogs (the favorite of a few BHR staff), scarves, hats, baskets and more!
Gar is homeschooled and attributes his love of knitting to several people, including Ms. Kelda, a teacher who helped get him started with knitting. He also owes much to his mom, who Gar says, "brings me through the rough and applauds through the success"...and she buys the supplies of course! Gar lives with his parents, and slightly older sister (just 13 months!) in Louisiana. Gar is ALWAYS having a wool craving, he says, and if he is unable to knit for a few days, feels bad!
When asked if he had a wishlist of purchases, he replied that he would like "patches and a bumper sticker for the business",and earrings for sister and, of course, more wool. Besides his shop on Etsy, Gar also has a shop on Ravelry, www.garstickandstring.ravelry.com.
It is refreshing to see a young man with goals..and Gar has goals indeed! If he had no time or money restraints he'd love to create cable mittens, Easter eggs, baskets, and pottery. He loves to create custom orders, and would probably knit 24 hours in the day if he could!
Gar is also "member/moderator/(co)creator of a group called Minor Effect! Minor Effect is a group for teens (ages 13-19) on Etsy to get together and share ideas. There are 3 other leaders helping out: CrochetRUs (member/moderator/(co)creator), peasantsoup (admin/adult supervisor), and WorksInProgress (admin/adult supervisor)!!" Although they are not an acutal street team, they provide each other with support, encouragement, and share ideas and life has a young handmade artisan on their blog.
One of the things that makes this shop and artist unique is that some of the items are felted, which Gar explains, "for those of you who don't know what that {felted} means I knit my projects with 100% wool and then I agitate them in BOILING hot water for about an hour and the fibers in the wool come together so my projects come out felted!" Now THAT is handmade!
We anticipate many great things for Gar, and a happy life full of wool,sales, and overall handmade awesomeness!
Be sure to check out Gar's shop as he is gearing up for Spring and Easter!
GARsticksandstring.etsy.com
