If you were lucky enough to receive our Learn to Knit Club Level 1: Dishcloth Kit for Christmas, please don’t forget that there is a great online tutorial ready to show you every step of making your first dishcloth. Whether you’re new to knitting or not, we thought you might want to get to know Alison, the Director of Knit Picks and teacher of the class, a bit better. So I asked her some questions, and was surprised to hear some of the answers, below!

What is your favorite thing to knit?

My favorite projects to knit are probably stuffies and toys.  I used to knit a lot of garments, but since I had kids I’ve been turning to faster projects in general.  Also, I think it’s a case of “Know Your Audience” – a knit sweater will get a polite “thank you” out of my son, but a stuffed turtle or giant octopus just sends him over the moon.

What are you knitting right now?

I’m currently working on a huge knit cactus!  When Tuff Puff arrived at the office, the Macaw green skeins were just screaming to be an overstuffed cactus in a big terra cotta pot.  I’m finishing up now, I think it needs a huge pom pon in Pucker for the top.

Side note: She finished it. It’s glorious. You can see it right here.

Do you do any other crafty activities?

I enjoy sewing, although I feel like my projects are always piling up and I’m not working through them as fast as I can think of them.  I also really enjoy spinning yarn, it’s such a gentle, meditative process and puts me in a great head space (with the added bonus of Even More Yarn!).

What is your favorite Knit Picks yarn, and why?

It’s hard to choose, but I think my favorite Knit Picks yarn is Hawthorne.  I find myself coming back to it again and again, mostly for kids’ sweaters but also for baby items, afghans, adult sweaters, and even (gasp!) socks.  I think the combination of the painterly color effect and the hard-wearing no-nonsense attitude of the base yarn can’t be beat, and my projects make it through some less-than-careful laundering still looking great.