About
Once a maker, always a maker
I live on a small island, twenty minutes by ferry from the island of Newfoundland. I have been crafty my whole life, but in more recent years have developed a passion for knitting with wire and fine yarn, creating beautiful, timeless designs from simple stitches.
In 2018, a severe health crisis changed my life and my former business, The Purple Raven Boutique, was forced to close. And I lost an integral piece of myself.
While my health continues to be a challenge, once a maker, always a maker! The Knitted Raven was born in early 2021 as an attempt to reclaim a piece of myself. I make what I can, as my health permits.
Over the past several years, I've worked to create a small library of how-to videos on YouTube to share what I've learned about wire knitting, both Viking style wire knitting as well as another approach. You can find the blogpost outlining how to get started in Viking wire knitting here. I hope to get back at my channel in 2023, to add more wire working tutorials as well as some other content.
I've also developed an interest in making knitting patterns. To date, what I've published can be found under the Free Knitting Patterns heading here on my blog. I will add to these from time to time so please check back. And be sure to scroll past the first picture to get the full list of patterns.
You can find me on Ravelry under the user name "Ketdryn".
Making is a part of who I am and as long as my health permits, I intend to continue. I hope you will join me.
The picture above is of a sculpture I made for an exhibit a few years ago. I named it "What Do You See?" Because it's constructed of knitted wire, you can choose to see it or the view beyond. I felt it was a great visual metaphor about perception, and how our choices impact our experience of reality.
It currently lives in my living room where I can enjoy it everyday.
The Knitted Raven is my second chance. For me, the magic of knitting is how simple manipulations of a continuous strand of material create beautiful, functional things, or everyday luxuries. Inspiration can be found almost everywhere - in the materials, in the world around me, in history.
But to bring a concept to life, requires a communion of sorts. I pick up my tools and materials, the left hemisphere of my brain goes quiet, and I lose myself in my craft. The passage of time changes, my awareness of my own body shifts. It is physically, emotionally and mentally demanding.
And it is priceless to me, now more than ever.
