Hi Y’all! Welcome to Knitting Tipsy!

My name is Chelsea and I'll be your cruise director here.  If you don't enjoy reading about boozy adventures, unhealthy obsessions with palm trees, and all things knit and crochet, you might be in the wrong place.  If you don't care for coarse language, ribald humor, or the not-so-occasional, risqué knitting photo, may I suggest finding another blog?  However, if sipping and WIPping is your jam, then bottoms up, Buttercup! I’m your people.

Still here? Cool! A bit about ME-  I’m originally from Pittsburgh (The BEAV to be exact), but the husband and I moved to Orlando about 4 years ago. Many people rag on Florida, and to be fair, some crazy shit happens here (#floridaman), but to me, Florida is sunshine and beautiful sandy beaches, friendly people, DISNEY!, and of course, palm trees. It’s one of my favorite places and if you stick around, you’ll hear all about my love of Florida and many other tropical locales I travel to and visit.

I’ve been a knitter and crocheter since I was very little thanks to my amazing Great-Grammy Kay. She is the OG craftswoman having taught herself to spin, weave, knit, and crochet many years ago. She still keeps it up to this day at 98 years young, too! I kind of fell out with the craft in high school and college, but about 7 years ago, I rediscovered my hooks and needles in an attempt to fight my anxiety and depression. I’m not going to say that knitting and crochet have cured me as I still struggle with panic attacks and depressive bouts, but I’m a much happier, calmer, braver, and more creative person since becoming a maker. If you want to read more about how knitting and crochet have helped my mental health, click here.

Most people associate knitting and crochet with big, thick sweaters, warm wooly blankets, and adorable ski bunny hats. Yea… not quite my style. Don’t get me wrong! Those things are awesome, but I’m a Florida girl and warm weather makes are what I’m passionate about. Because of this, I’ve created some designs for those makers with more tropical leanings. Think airy, light, and beach-vacation-approved. If you want to check out some of my knit and crochet designs, head over to my Ravelry page or the shop here. Do you really like my style, but can’t knit/crochet? Many of patterns and creations are available to purchase as finished objects here in the shop.

Outside of the yarn life, I have been an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher for the past 7 years or so and currently teach English to tiny humans across the pond in China through the miracle of the interwebz.  I'm married to my best friend and the most understanding, patient, and handy man in the world. We are fur parents to the best-bad-dog ever, Rudy, and we are living that DINK life (Dual Income No Kids). Don’t get us wrong, kids are wonderful, but we are quite content to raise our pupperz and be the cool aunt and uncle to our amazing nieces and nephews.

Oh!  I should probably mention that I also really like drinking!  Champagne and bourbon give me the warm fuzzies, but I pretty much enjoy all boozy beverages. I’m not often at a social gathering without booze in hand (thanks social anxiety!) and tipsy adventures tend to occur often in my life. I love mixing up new cocktail concoctions and have started to experiment behind the bar. If you’re ever in the mood to get your drink on and craft with me in real time, I host Whiskey and WIPs Wednesday LIVES on Instagram at 8pm each week. You might think that boozing and crafting can’t work together, but my philosophy is #knitdrunkfrogsober (If you’re new to knit/crochet, “frogging” is what happens when you make a mistake and need to “rip it, rip it, rip it” out"). I hope to see you there!

Anywho, that's me!  I'd love to know if we have anything in common, so feel free to drop a comment or reach out!  If you feel like connecting on social media, you can find me on Instagram @knittingtipsy .  Let’s grab a drink soon! (virtually, of course).