Forums » Smalltalk » AMA: Knitter for 10+ years, including for charity!

I'm kind of a jack of all trades, master of none, so knitting and my charity work for knitting will be at the center of my post. Feel free to ask away!

However, I'm also someone who's good at and knowledgeable about other things, so I invite everyone to ask questions about a few of my other interests and skills as desired if knitting doesn't strike your fancy.

AMA about:

• Knitting (preferred)
• Web development/programming
• VR oil painting
• Diabetes

Sanne!

I think is so admirable you knit for charity. So, I'll start with that. What motivated you to start knitting for charity? What kinds of things do you knit? Is there something about knitting you don't know how to do but would like to learn?

What got you started in Web Development and Programming? Got any tips for someone interested in that? What are the best tools to use for that kind of thing?

What got you interested in VR oil pointing? Isn't that stuff expensive to buy? Do you sell your work?

What is the most challenging thing about living with Diabetes?

Knight!!!

Thank you kindly! So I knit breast prostheses for people who had to get a single or double mastectomy due to breast cancer. I discovered the pattern for it completely randomly on a knitting pattern website. I made a pair to try it out and then decided to start offering it to folks, after discovering that a former employee of my therapy group had issues with the silicone inserts and the (ridiculously expensive bras). I made a pair for her and she loved them so much she started just giving them away to fellow survivors! Asking me to make her more. She also passed my contact information around and I've knit a few dozen knockers at this point.

My most recent request was for a friend's friend in Alaska. I don't charge for them but I do allow people to send me some money if they can spare it so I can continue purchasing and knitting more for others.

I do this for trans/non-binary folks who want to present feminine but are unable (or unwilling) to undergo HRT to have their own too!

Probably the coolest thing about this is that I also stream on Twitch sometimes and I did a charity stream once. I raised $750 for the Knitted Knockers charity who provide the patterns and finished knockers to anyone in need in the US.

Cancer is one of the most evil diseases out there, it takes so much away from people. It's really fulfilling and amazing to be able to give people a piece of their identity back that was stolen from them with something that takes only a day of my time to create and a few bucks worth of yarn and stuffing. The silicone inserts can be heavy, sweaty, uncomfortable and irritate scarring too, while also requiring very expensive specialty bras. These can be worn in any bra that fits, even in bathing suits!

If anyone is in need or knows someone in need, they can request knockers from the website or reach out directly to me if they'd prefer that.


Neopets did! Wayyyy back when, before Neopets became huge and international, I'd found the website and fell in love with having digital pets. Neopets happen(ed?) to have a single HTML page that you could customize for things like roleplaying, showcasing your art and more. That's what first got me into making websites and subsequently programming as I dove deeper into creating functionality from scratch.

My main tips for anyone interested is to start with the basics. I work as a full stack web dev professionally now and have had a couple of interns to teach them the ropes, and one thing that holds most people back is being too dependent on software to write relatively simple code for them so they don't have to. It's a convenience for experienced developers, but if you're just starting you're more likely to get stuck and make mistakes that impact how effective a website runs. Knowing the basics is how I've managed to make some really neat custom projects for our clients that would have been a headache to accomplish with the ready-to-use tools.

There aren't specific tools I'd recommend. At the core, a website can be made fully functional with HTML and CSS and require nothing other than Notepad to put together (plus a host and domain to make it go live). I do recommend people interested in it to pursue free courses online, such as on W3Schools and Udemy, to get started. My biggest tip? You need to enjoy the process of learning to get good at it. While fixing mistakes can be frustrating, the learning experience and general process should feel very rewarding and interesting. Programming is at its core problem solving/puzzling. If it doesn't bring you joy and you just want to get to the end product as quickly as possible, then coding and/or programming is unlikely to be for you.


I've been an artist for as long as I've been making websites. When I got a VR headset a few years ago I discovered an oil painting simulator and I dove right in. I never had the means to do oil painting in my own home due to limited financial means and no real space, especially with my cats, so this was interesting and fun! I've gotten pretty good at it too. I don't really sell my work but I'm willing to do commissions if people want a painting.


The unexpected sudden emergencies and the people around me. A few months ago I'd taken my long-acting insulin (the kind that works 24 hours because your body releases glucose all day to keep your energized between meals, and you need insulin for your body to be able to use the glucose for fuel) and then took my vehicle to a mechanic for a routine checkup 10 minutes later. In the store I felt poorly, checked my glucose sensor and saw my sugar was dropping rapidly. Apparently I'd accidentally injected into a vein and you're not supposed to. Insulin should go between the fat cells under the skin where the body absorbs it over a period of time. I also didn't have anything sugary on me because I'd forgotten to switch the supplies between my bags.

Thankfully there was a store just a 2 minute walk away from the mechanic's but inside the store my vision was going dark and I almost passed out before finding some juice and Haribo's. It was very scary and I had to walk back home on top of that, which was not a great combination! These incidents can be life threatening on the short term so when they happen, they're serious and that's probably the most difficult part for me. I've been diabetic for a long time now so the routine is there and not a big deal, fortunately!

Other people not understanding and giving what they think is helpful advice and recommendations is another tough one. I appreciate the thoughtfulness, but there are only so many times I can deal with people offering misinformation before it becomes exhausting to have to educate people when I don't have the spoons to!

1: What is the biggest knitting project you've worked on? Size-wise?
2: Is there a specific color you like when knitting?
3: What has been your favorite web design project?

Probably the king size blanket I'm knitting right now. I aimed for a blanket at least six feet tall and big enough to cover a king size bed in width. I'm also knitting it in what is considered size 4/5 yarn, so DK/Worsted (Worsted is also called Aran). Here is an image showing the different yarn thicknesses. The thicker the yarn is, the fewer stitches per inch you have on your needles. So the thinner the yarn is, the more stitches you need to get the same length of fabric.

Not really actually! I tend to avoid white because of how quickly it stains, and black because of how difficult it is to see stitches in black yarn. Other than that I love the whole rainbow array of colors!

I don't really have one, I think? Web design and web development are technically two different things. Web design focuses primarily on the way a website looks but doesn't require building the website, while web development encompasses everything to do with building and maintaining a website. At my workplace, a coworker of mine handles most of the design aspects. We also hire designers to create designs for us, which I end up building for our clients.

While I do enjoy designing websites, it's not my focus. I think I've designed more for RPR styles than I ever have designed sites professionally outside of the RPR.

In terms of my favorite web development project however, I'd have to say a local healthcare business that does vaccinations was my favorite one to create. I created an easy to use platform where visitors can select a country destination and it will pull up a complete list of necessary, recommended and optional vaccines. It can be expanded by selecting multiple countries at once and it will put together a comprehensive list in one overview. Considering this was for every single country out there, it was a big undertaking, but it was a lot of fun to build the logic and programming to make it happen!

Is it possible to have enough yarn?

Yes and no. You run out of storage eventually!

I actually endured a moth infestation not that long ago. While most of my yarn is synthetic, it's taught me that limiting your stash so you can properly care for it and prevent pests if you have (a lot of) organic fibers is a must. Less is, unfortunately, more.

I try to buy yarn only for projects I plan for in advance now and don't buy yarn to 'see what I'll make with it later' anymore lol.

Oh my gosh! How does one properly care for yarn?

If they contain natural fibers, and you're storing your yarn for extended periods of time, you want to seal your yarn or knitted garments in an airtight container, preferably with a natural moth remedy such as lavender or cedar wood balls. Eucalyptus leaves and essential oil works too. Pests are less likely to get into airtight containers but if they do manage to find a way, the natural repellants will ensure they don't consider your storage a nice place to reproduce.

Moths prefer to lay eggs in fibers that are in the dark and undisturbed, so if you keep yarn and knitted garments in a brightly lit area and dust/shake it often it's less likely to get infested and you don't need to keep it stored away like the above.

Fun fact: cedar wood chests were specifically designed for storing clothes because the scent of cedarwood repels moths and other pests. If you find one it's perfect for heirloom knits!

Moth-infestation-solidarity. I only lost a single shawl in mine, thankfully - everything else, raw yarn and completed projects both were stored such that they didn’t get into them, but it was still a harrowing year while we tried to get them under control. Did the little jerks eat any of your completed projects?