Wullenstudio

1. What is your website?
knitswithsticks.com

2. Your Ravelry username?
SheilaR

Two Ravelry Groups: Sheila Rovelstad Designs and Knitting Behind Bars



3. What do you make?
Hand-dyed sock yarns, sterling silver and semi-precious stone stitch markers.

4. How did you get into making stuff?
I have always done it for myself, I went into business when I retired and started dying sock yarn to keep myself in interesting sock yarns, but kept selling it to my friends before I could knit it up!



5. What is your favorite thing about the local fiber community?
I am always so pleased at the generosity of the local fiber community. The community keeps our "Knitting Behind Bars" program at the Men's prison in Jessup in yarn and knitting needles. They come through whenever we are in need of supplies. They also have come through with over 3,000 books, including a full law library for the inmates. It blows me away! We teach our guys to "pay it forward" when it comes to knitting. We use what the knitting community is doing for them as an example!

6. How does what you do/make influence the rest of your life, and vice versa?
First, making what I want stirs my creativity. But I also listen to my customers. They let me know what colors they are dreaming about, and I love to come up with the yarns to paint their dreams.

Then , I love the serenity knitting brings to my life. My friend Lynn and I take that love of knitting and the resulting serenity, to teach self control, sharing and creativity to the inmates we teach in our program. After a year and a half we still get a great deal of satisfaction from this program.



7. Any funny stories, words of wisdom, something else to share about you or your business?
Do what you love, love what you do!. I knit, therefore, I rock!