Blogstar Spotlight Helen Kurtz

Thursday 18th June 2020

Tags: Blogstars, Knit, MAL/CAL/KAL

This month we have something for the knitters among you with a spotlight on Helen Kurtz whose blog is called The Knitting exploits of Josie Kitten.  You may remember Helen’s wonderful Good Striations blanket that was such a hit last year, but Helen is also the most talented sock designer.

Tell us a bit about you?

I was a very happily married primary school teacher when life threw a couple of curveballs my way. My husband died very suddenly in 2016 and then two years ago I became unwell with an autoimmune disease called myositis which has forced me to stop working. I live in rural Norfolk with my cat Florence and am gradually adjusting to a new, much slower pace of life.

What inspires you?

I love colour and patterns. I might see something in nature - either an interesting texture or combination of colours that starts my mind whirling. You can find inspiration in most things if you look carefully enough!

When did you start blogging?

I started blogging back in 2008, more for myself than for others and I used it to keep a record of my knitting.

Good Striations Blanket

What kind of things does your blog cover?

Mostly my various crafting activities - as well as knitting, I enjoy crochet, spinning, sewing and free motion stitching. I also chat a bit about my daily life including my health, travel and of course the things that Flo gets up to! I am passionate about raising money to help fund research into myositis, so I share my fundraising efforts on my blog too.

As well as your blog, which other social media can people find you on?

I'm pretty active on Instagram and I also have a page on Facebook. I also have a fundraising page on Instagram where I hold weekly yarn raffles called Fibre 4 Fibres, although these are currently on hold during the COVID epidemic.

Mermaid's Playtime socks

What have you got coming up?

I've got several sock patterns in the pipeline - they are my favourite thing to design and knit. I love that they are such a portable project and there's very little finishing off to be done! As well as that, I have a couple of blanket designs that I'm working on and also a shawl pattern.

Which Stylecraft yarn is your favourite?

I love the colour range in Special DK, but am also very much enjoying the beautiful colours in the new Naturals Bamboo+Cotton yarn.

Tiptoe socks

DPNs or Magic Loop

Magic Loop

What are you watching or reading?

I'm currently reading The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Helen has a new sock pattern launching on 9th  July, which will feature in our Makealong group.  If you join now you will also get a 10% discount on Helen’s pattern when it launches.

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