Welcome! Allow me to introduce myself...

Hello and welcome! I'm Sarah, and I'm a knitting tech editor and a business consultant for fiber arts business owners. I've been knitting for almost 10 years and trained as a tech editor in 2022.

I'll be using this blog to share my adventures as a tech editor and business consultant and what I learn along the way. If you are a pattern designer or a fiber arts business owner, my hope is that you'll be able to get a feel for what it's like to work with me.

Please consider joining me both here and in my newsletter. I look forward to connecting!

A bit more about me...

I've been knitting since 2014 when a friend taught me the basics over our lunch break. For several years I was happy to knit chunky seed stitch cowls and call it a day, until I discovered linen stitch (a radical change from seed stitch, I know 🙄) and, for whatever reason, I was off to the races. I knit my first sweater, and then the next, and then a bath mitt, and then socks, and then a summer top, and so on and so on.

Fun facts about my knitting:

• I learned how to knit English style (working yarn held in right hand) but eventually taught myself how to knit continental style (yarn in left hand).
• I also learned how to do combination knitting for ribbing and seed stitch, and Portuguese knitting which I use when I need to purl for long stretches at a time (can you tell I really don't love purling in continental style?)
• I still love linen stitch, and cowls. Two of my most worn hand knits are linen stitch cowls.
• One of my proudest knits to date is the Lunae shawl:

...And my professional journey

My professional background is in nonprofit management, focused on developing young leaders in global health. Throughout my career I found myself drawn to projects that focused on user experience, process improvement, systems building, and layout design.

At the time I couldn't imagine ever finding a job that let me combine all those things into one role, but more on that later.

In 2019, I moved from New York City to Western Colorado, and left my nonprofit career to work on a small organic farm and figure out what I wanted to do next. I was still mulling over that question when the pandemic hit, and the need for courageous leadership in public health became more pressing than ever. I went back to my previous job but this time doing fundraising and grant writing, making the case that investing in these leaders is our best bet at successfully navigating a global health crisis.

Slowing down, shifting gears

With time, I was forced to listen to the quiet but incessant voice in my heart letting me know that I needed a break, and needed to slow down to catch my breath. I left my job and took some time off to do just that.

I was still knitting all the time, and at some point during that period I learned about technical editing for knitwear patterns. The more I learned the more it clicked. Here was a way to combine my eclectic interests and skill sets, especially user experience and layout design. I've always had a knack for noticing small details, and the further I got in my own knitting journey the more I started to understand pattern construction.

In 2022 I made the leap and invested in the Learn to Tech Edit course from the Tech Editor Hub, and haven't looked back since. While I honored my need to slow down and move at my own pace, I'm still amazed that I went from not knowing that tech editing even existed to completing the course and working with my first client in under six months.

I'll write more in upcoming posts about my specific approach to tech editing and the consulting services I offer to fiber arts business owners. In the meantime, please drop a hello in the comments and let me know where you are on your fiber arts journey.

Until next time,

Sarah