This Guild year we have been thrilled to welcome a new Newsletter Editor to our board! Joanna tells us about her favourite knitting project to date, what has surprised her the most about joining the board, and what it has been like living in New Zealand during the pandemic.
Tell us a little bit about yourself – what do you do when you are not knitting or being the Newsletter Editor for the Guild?
I work as a freelance technical editor of knitting patterns and provide pattern support for a yarn company. I also volunteer at a local hospice here in New Zealand that provides end-of-life care for patients.
When did you first join the Guild, and what made you decide to do so? What made you decide to join the board?
I’ve been a member of the guild for probably 5 or 6 years now. The first meeting I went to was one where Indigodragonfly was the vendor of the month – I attended as a guest and enjoyed the meeting enough that I went up to the front at the end of the meeting and asked to convert to a membership. I’ve been a member ever since. I decided to join the board because I have the time now and TKG was looking for a “newsletter editor”, and I felt my tech editing skills and attention to detail would be a good fit for that role.
What is one thing about your history with knitting that might surprise people?
The whole reason I learned how to knit was so that I could knit a Dalek from Doctor Who. ☺
Tell us a little bit about your knitting journey. When/how did you learn, and what led you from that point to where you are now?
I was first taught to knit as a little girl by my grandmother, but I had no patience for it as it took too long to make anything and so I gave up very quickly. I re-taught myself to knit in 2007 when a Dalek knitting pattern came out. Then, in 2010, I was in a bizarre work situation where I was required to go to work every day but wasn’t allowed to do any actual work due to a lack of funding, so I started knitting as a way to fill the 8 hours that I had to spend at my desk. Ever since then, knitting has been an important part of my life – many of my best friends I’ve made through knitting, and now I work in tech editing, thanks to the encouragement, mentorship and support of some of my knitting friends.
I know that you are currently living in Auckland, New Zealand! Tell us a bit about how you came to live there, and what that experience has been like.
We moved to Auckland for my partner’s job. It’s been a little bit of a surreal experience moving to New Zealand in the middle of the pandemic. When we got out of our 2 weeks of mandatory quarantine in a state-run hotel, we were all of a sudden in a country that had zero cases of Covid. No one wore masks or social distanced – there were massive festivals and concerts that we went to that were packed with people. The culture shock was huge. Covid has finally caught up with New Zealand, so now things here are much more like what they were when we left Toronto, but we had 9 months Covid-free before then. Auckland’s a fantastic city; it’s got great food and culture, and some really fabulous LYSs run by great people. It’s got mountains and beaches and parks with sheep in them right in the middle of the city! It’s pretty awesome. We definitely miss our friends and family back home, though – making new friends as an adult is hard.
What is your favourite cast on?
My favourite knit ever would have to be my Nerwin monster (Nerwin & Batmeanie pattern by Joey’s House). He’s brought so much joy to our lives and travels everywhere with us – he’s much more photogenic than I am, so most of my travel pics include Nerwin rather than me. I love making new outfits for him – a monster-sized sweater knits up so much faster than a sweater for me. 😉 He’s a big sports fan, so he has TFC, Toronto Maple Leafs and Raptors jerseys as well as a curling sweater, and last year he was invited to his first wedding, so now he also has a little black tie outfit, complete with cufflinks made by a friend who makes beaded jewellery.
What has surprised you the most about being Newsletter Editor? Is there anything about the job you think our Members would be interested to know?
I think I was most surprised by how welcoming and friendly and supportive everyone on the Board is. I used to be on the Board of a different not-for-profit society, and in that one everyone had their own role and there was very little support or advice or interaction between the various people except at meetings. I’ve found the TKG to be a much more collaborative experience, which has been great.
Tell us about your knitting dreams – what’s on your list to knit over the coming months?
I’ve just cast on a Progression Trios shawl by HEK of a Knit using a kit from The Blue Brick which I can’t wait to finish. Other projects in my queue include the Build Your Own Barnyard Skirt by Owl Croft Designs, Lilli Pilli by Ambah O’Brien, and Laurelie by Lisa Hannes. I’m also looking forward to Imagined Landscapes’ 8th gnome MKAL this December, and I still need to find a pattern to knit up the advent kit that I ordered from one of my favourite newfound Kiwi dyers – Happy Go Knitty.
What are you most looking forward to now that things are starting to open up again?
Being able to travel again – to be able to visit friends and family in Canada and elsewhere, and to be able to have friends and family come visit us here in New Zealand.
