Jill has been with Knotions since 2019! I can’t believe it took us this long to do a Designer Focus on her.

Jill designed this month’s The Game Is Afoot Socks, as well as many others.

Tell us a bit more about yourself. Where do you live? Who do you live with? How did you end up there? Where are you from originally?

When people ask me where I am from, I always want to say—it depends on what you mean by that. My Dad was in the Air Force, so we moved a lot. I don’t have the deep roots that many people have. I identify myself as being from Maine, because that is where we moved when my Dad retired and where I spent my adolescence.

Now I live in the greater Cincinnati area with my husband and two Scottie dogs. We moved to the area when my husband retired from the Army and began to teach law. It’s strange to think I’ve lived in the Cincinnati metro region for 17 years—longer, by far, than anywhere else I have lived. We did move recently from Kentucky to Ohio (hence my repeated use of the term “area.”)

Who taught you to knit? And when did you start?

I learned to knit in just about the worst setting possible: a home ec class. The class was big, and it was hard for the teacher to monitor all the students. I remember she wouldn’t let me knit until I had mastered the slingshot method of long tail cast on, and that was very discouraging. But my knitting grandma came to visit during that time, and she was great. It also helped that my Mom bought me beautiful wool to knit with. I was thirteen, and very, very stubborn. I kept at it till I “got it.” We had to repeat the process with crochet, but eventually I “got it” too. It was the knitting I loved, though.

What about your kids? Do any of them knit?

I did teach my son to knit, and he was quick to pick it up. He hasn’t kept up with it, though. My daughter, on the other hand, is a terrific knitter and crocheter. And during the pandemic, my daughter and I taught my husband to crochet.

What made you want to do knitting design?

I was working at a yarn shop and running a very successful sock club. As a gift to my beloved sock clubbers, I designed my first sock as a Mystery Sock. Then I did it a few more times. Eventually I started designing whenever an idea struck.

Do you design full-time or part-time?

Oh, definitely part time. I’m not a quick designer, usually. A few of my designs HAVE been very quick, like my cowl “Parting the Seas.”

What are your favorite things:

1. Color: I tend towards the cooler colors.  I love purples, reds, and blues especially. And I adore grey.
2. Yarn weights: I use a lot of Fingering, because I make a lot of socks. I tend to use a lot of DK and Worsted weight as well.
3. Fibers: By far my favorite fiber is wool, though I also enjoy alpaca and linen, and occasionally cotton.
4. Types of objects (e.g., shawls, hats, etc.) I knit a lot of socks, but I’ve knit a ton of cowls and shawls, and sometimes hats and mittens. Recently, I’ve rediscovered that I enjoy sweater knitting.

Do you have a design that you think people should give a little love?

Hmm. Maybe “Mina Harker,” which is one of two designs I did based on “Dracula.” I think it is a fun knit.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

If you look at my designer page on Ravelry, you’ll probably notice that an awful lot of my designs are history based—especially the history of women. Others are based on literature, or on popular culture.

Can you tell us about your signature style?

That’s a tough one for me to answer, because I am not sure! I aim to make pretty things with something interesting in the construction.

Do you have a favorite type of knitting?

Cables and lace. I do love these so much!

What is your nemesis? The thing that makes you want to run and hide when you think about it.

I’m guessing you mean in knitting terms. I don’t really have a nemesis. There are things I actively don’t enjoy doing in knitting, such as double knitting. I’m not afraid of it—I just don’t want to do it.

If you meant nemesis in a more general way—I’d say book banning and calculus.

What does your typical Jill-day entail?

I go for long walks almost every day. If my husband can come with me, we walk together. Otherwise, I listen to audiobooks as I walk. I knit. I sew when I can, and I read.

Other than knitting and designing, do you have any other creative endeavors?

Yes. I do a little bit of quilting, and a small bit of crocheting, weaving, and spinning. I also do genealogy.

Do you have a stash? Or, once you buy it you make it up pretty quickly?

Oh, boy. Yes, I have a stash. It’s what happens when you work at a yarn store for years. Though I have to say, I am still adding to the stash even though the yarn store I worked at closed. I try to buy with a purpose now, not just because it is pretty.

And, most importantly – where can we find you? (Note – this could be your web site, any social media, email as well as any others that you prefer).

The easiest way to find me is on Ravelry. My user name is Nobleknitwit. I use the same user name on Instagram too.