Ginger's Influence Into Wander Knot Studio
Wander Knot Studio actually started with macramé.
I picked it up as a hobby because I loved being able to sit down with some cord and create something with my hands. Somewhere along the way, that little hobby turned into something I wanted to share with other people, and Wander Knot Studio was born.
And almost every time I sat down to work on something, Ginger was there.
She was my cat, my little shadow, and very rarely interested in respecting the fact that the cords I was working with were, in fact, not toys. She would paw at them, lay on them, get in the middle of whatever I was doing, and generally make herself part of the process. At the time, it was just Ginger being Ginger.
Looking back, those are some of the memories I treasure most.
Quilting didn't come until later.
When Ginger was diagnosed with oral cancer, I knew the time I had left with her wasn't going to be nearly long enough. I wanted to make something for her. Something soft and comfortable that she could curl up on and enjoy while she was still here, but also something that would still be here when she wasn't.
So I decided I wanted to make her a quilt.
I didn't know how to quilt. I'd never made one before. I just knew I wanted to make something for her with my own two hands. After practicing with making a couple other quilts, I made one just for her and she loved it for her last few months.
After she was gone, it became one of the things I cherished most. It was something tangible I could hold onto that reminded me of her and of how deeply she was loved.
And somewhere in the process of making it, I fell in love with quilting too.
So I kept going.
Now Wander Knot Studio has become a mixture of the craft that started it all and the craft I found because I loved a cat enough to teach myself something completely new for her.
Ginger may not be sitting beside me anymore, swatting at my macramé cords or sleeping in my lap while I'm trying to work, but she'll always be woven into the story of this little shop.
And I think that's why making things by hand means so much to me.
Sometimes they're more than things.
Sometimes they're memories we get to keep.