March Maker: Sweet Darlin' Shoppe

Amber Frid
Mar 1, 2018
4 min read

This maker feature is a big one for me. Heather has been a dear friend of mine for almost a decade. I have fond memories of hanging out with her in late high school (early college for her). We would watch TV and she would sit and crochet. She almost always had a needle in her hand. She is the main reason I learned how to crochet and knit myself.

And for years I thought I hated chocolate cake (I know, I know), but she makes the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted in my life. It proved to me that I do not, in fact, hate chocolate cake. I just had never had a good chocolate cake. My kids and I are so lucky to have some many items that Heather has made for us throughout the years. They both have baby blankets, hats, toys, and so many other items she has made for us. It doesn't matter that I can make those things myself. She made them FOR us, and that is incredible! How did you discover your love of knitting? I learned to crochet when I was 9 years old, but all my friends were knitters as an adult. I had a friend bait me into learning to knit with a Peter pan collar pattern. I picked up an old knitting book from the 70's and made my first garter square. The next week I picked up a copy of The Knitters Handbook by Debbie Stoller. I learned to read patterns, know tools and yarn weights from Stoller's book. It wasn't long before I was nonstop milling out diagonal dishcloths. When I finished my first scarf it had turned into an obsession and passion. Seeing something there that I created that wasn't there before, keeping my hands busy, my mind clear where it was once fuzzy, the satisfaction of completion. I was hooked.

What is your favorite item that you've ever knit?

Not long after I learned to knit I discovered that a yarn shop had opened downtown. I walked in tentatively and met the owner Susan (who became such a great friend). I found out about the classes she was offering and signed up to learn to make cabin socks. I was so new to yarn outside of 'cheap' yarn, new to the language, to how to even hold my needles, but being surrounded by women all connected by this craft of knitting. I wasn't alone. Learning to make those socks made me feel like I was becoming a real knitter.

What are your long term goals as a maker?

To further my skills as a knitter, push myself to learn new stiches, patterns and styles. And in that being able to grow my shop off line and do more makers markets.

Do you have anything particular that you love to knit?

Hats. I love the quick satisfaction of good hat. And the options are endless. Cables? Stripes? Folded brim? Pom? Ribbed? Worsted? Dk? Super bulky? It can be as easy and quick as I need it to be or complicated and stimulating. How do you plan on fusing nerdy and chic together to create your own unique style?

Most of my personal style choices are probably easily influenced by fictional characters. Is this a Buffy jacket? Molly Weasley sweater? Strikingly Starbuck boots? And in knitting I feel like there are so many references and influences that get us little closer to our favorite characters and worlds. Nothing can take you to Hogwarts like a good house scarf. Or feel like a true Southside Serpent with your Jughead hat. Hiding in the shadows snapping your sudder like Jessica Jones in her grey oversized scarf. We see ourselves in those characters. Who we are, who we want to be, where we want to escape too. I want to create pieces that can transport people to those magical places where their favorite characters live and breathe.

YOU ALSO BAKE?! How did you discover your love of baking?

I've been baking since I could stand on a chair at the counter and hold onto the mixer. I grew up box baking beside my momma, but something about watching Alton Brown Good Eats made me want to break everything down and do it from scratch. By my late teens I was whipping up four layer cakes, fruit compotes, dark chocolate sea salted cookies, homemade whipped creams and anything else I could try my hand at.

What is your all-time favorite sweet treat?

A warm gooey chocolate chip cookie. Something so absolutely satisfying about the crusty edges, the warm soft center, melty chocolate and a sprinkle of coarse sea salt. Not to mention the whole house smelling like baked perfection.

Who or what are some of your influencers?

While I like to imagine myself as Molly Weasley making sweaters for my child, scarves and hats for my husband and fashioning my own clothes, I don't have magic on my side. Harry Potter has been a major influence on my life since I was young. I want to make things with my own hands and pour a bit of myself into each piece that I make. I want each individual piece to be unique, real, personal and comforting. I've been so encouraged by watching so many badass babes build their business and add so much to the community of knitters. Nicole of Nikkichicki and Chantal of Knitatude, Noshitbiztips and Makers Strong (get it girl!) have been a huge influence on me creatively. Anything else you feel should be added:

Knitting for me isn't just a hobby, creative outlet or a way to be a part of community (and it has been all of those things), but it became my therapy in a time in my life when I really needed a focus and a calm in my life. Even with forgotten projects, failed start-ups, months without holding needles in my hands - I always pick it back up and find that comfort.