Mandy Sieja

Jamie Lomax took up knitting in 2020 as a COVID hobby. She was working as a senior project manager for a large retail and food service company in Seattle at the time. “We all got sent home, and I was on Teams calls all day every day. I have ADHD so I was struggling to…

Happy Sunday, beautiful reader! Do you ever have those moments like I do, when you’re scrolling social media, and an image makes you stop and audibly gasp – causing anyone else in your household to run in and see if you’re ok? This past week I had one of those moments, and (after assuring said…

TW: This week’s newsletter includes sensitive mental health topics. Sending all of our love our beautiful readers, family and friends ❤️.  “I had two options. I could either let it wreck me and disrupt my life, or I could inspire myself and others, share my story, and use it to help raise awareness.” These are the wise words of…

Hello dear reader, How’s it going in your creative world? These past few weeks have been even more whirlwind-y than usual for me, as Knit Stars Season 9 filming has kicked into high gear. I made a commitment to go to all the filmings this year, which means I’m up in the air, upside down,…

Toto, we’re not at the beach house anymore. We’re near the ‘beech house” in Cork, Ireland! I snapped a pic of this charming home with a spectacular garden, just up the road from Knit Stars Season 9 Star Carol Feller’s house in Cork, Ireland. Every Knit Stars Season is a wonderful adventure, and this year…

Are you a sticky notes knitter? A highlighter hooker? Or maybe you’re a washi-tape wonder? 🤩 At various points in my 4 decades as a Yarnie, I’ve been all of the above. As I’ve progressed (and my eyesight has regressed) I find myself using all kinds of tricks to keep my place and track the…

This week I invite you to ponder a simple question: What’s your Big Y? I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I know that yarn, creativity, and connection are important to me. Some days, it feels more important than food or even air. But WHY? And how does that intersect with other people’s big…

Tan and Tipsy Top” by Knitting Tipsy Y’all know I’ve always been a fan of summer knitting. First to get through the scorching Oklahoma summers, and in the beachy Florida scene year-round! 🌞 So when I saw that Season 8 Knit Star Chelsea (@knittingtipsy) and Bri (@thelittlewolfknits) were starting up their popular Hot Stitch Makealong…

The Shift” by Andrea Mowry. I have to confess, I’ve been holding out a little on you. By now you’ve seen that our theme for Knit Stars Season 9 is “Permission to Shine.” What I haven’t shared is the story behind the story of the theme. And this week, when Gabi made this post in…

You know the old Irish blessing, right? “May the road rise up to meet you…” Well when you’re traveling and filming for Knit Stars, sometimes the road does rise up to meet you. Other times, it roars up and rears back like a giant hissing snake and bites you in the butt. And that, my…

What’s almost as exciting as learning who your Stars will be for an upcoming Knit Stars Season Premiere? (Well okay, maybe even more exciting?) It’s finding out which amazing makers our Stars have chosen to partner with, and the exclusive yarns, kits, and bags (yes I said bags, PLURAL 👜👜💃🏽🎉) that our Earlybird enrollees get…

Did you catch it, ? That subtle shift in the energy of the yarn world… …the sun breaking through the clouds… …the stars shining a little more brightly in the sky…? You guessed it! The Stars of our upcoming Knit Stars Premiere Season have announced they’re teaching in Season 9: Permission to Shine! 💫🎉💃🏽🕺🧶 This…

I have a confession… I’m a little obsessed with stickers. 🤓 Ever since I saw Gaye “GG” Glasspie posting about how she collects stickers and uses them in her journal each day…I thought, what a fun way to jazz up my planner! And yet somehow, I’ve resisted buying stickers for myself. It may sound silly,…

I hope you’re having a fabulous week and making some time just for you – to make, to watch Knit Stars videos, or simply to relax. 😌 This week I have a special treat for you. I caught up with Joji Locatelli. ❤️ She and I had been going back and forth, doing some secret…

They say when opportunity knocks, you should always answer. But what if, right when that knock comes, you get knocked down by a tragedy you never saw coming? That’s what happened to Knit Star Jeanette Sloan right after filming her Beaded Colorwork masterclass for Season 6. I caught up with Jeanette this past week, on…

This last week I celebrated my 56th trip around the sun. Part of my gift was that my cake had the wrong year…so I’m officially aging backwards! In celebration of the occasion and our upcoming 9th Premiere Season of Knit Stars, I thought it would be fun to share 9 notables with you…nine things I’m…

Every one of Åsa Söderman’s personal emails have the same closing… Knit with abandon. If you’ve been lucky enough to take an in-person class with Åsa, you know she exudes this philosophy. Fearlessness. Adventure. Abandon. “When I do workshops I find so many people don’t trust themselves. They often follow the pattern too closely. I…

I first met Mitzi when she would come into our second location in South Tulsa, back in 2015. I remember what first struck me most about her was a) her bright smile, b) her cheerful energy, and c) the chip on her shoulder. 😜 You see, today Mitzi is one of the most prolific textile…

Happy first week of March, ! It’s my birthday month and everyone’s been asking what I want. I know this is kind of a mom answer but when I say “nothing” I really mean it. I have my health. Lord knows I have plenty of yarn (hello, S.A.B.L.E.!) And best of all, I am so…

Just when I think I’ve started to make a real dent in my travel bucket list… My friend Bronnie a.k.a. Casapinka sends me a text… from Antarctica. 🤯 It just goes to show, there’s always somewhere new to explore, and always more to learn. That’s what we love so much about being Yarnies, right?! We…