Yarn Heroes: Cassie May!

Giving back and being a “do-gooder” – an interview with Cassie May of Little Red Window

Happy Thanksgiving, fiber fans! This giving season, we are very thankful to the untold thousands (millions?) of charity crafters across the country making comforting items for those in need. We’re especially thankful that Yarn Heroes has helped us find and reach some of those people, as well as give us a chance to show off our favorite bloggers! This Thursday, we’re talking to Cassie May of Little Red Window. Cassie is best known for her unbelievably creative baby hats! So when it came time to “suit up” as a Yarn Hero, Cassie let her daughter “Super V!” have the spotlight. Have you ever seen a more adorable super hero?

LB: Cassie – you design possibly the cutest baby hats on planet Earth. We were SO grateful that you decided to join Yarn Heroes and use your influence and creativity to make a more giving world. Can you tell us a little bit about why you got involved?

Little Red Window: I think the wonderful thing about knitters is that we all do it because we love it and I really believe you can feel that love in each stitch. Sure, we could buy hats or scarves or mittens and donate them to people in need, but I think that the people who receive our donations appreciate handmade items. They can feel the love we put in and they understand the time and attention that went into making something by hand. And they know that someone really cares about them.

LB: So Baby V as “Super V”… I think you might have won the “heroic adorableness” prize on that one- and she looks so great in the “Do-Gooder” hat you designed for Yarn Heroes. We understand that this is your first knitted project you are giving to charity?

LRW: I guess so! My readers frequently email me that they use my “fun” patterns to make hats to donate. I wanted them to also have a simple pattern using bulky yarn so they could make more hats more quickly!

LB: What issues facing the world keep you up at night? (note: no politics! Hehe)

LRW: I’m a vegetarian who feels strongly about our responsibility to take care of the environment for ourselves and our children!

LB: You are one heck of a stitcher. How did you learn?

LRW: I decided I wanted to learn in high school and bought an illustrated pamphlet at the craft store and taught myself to knit and crochet from the diagrams…because craft tutorials on the internet didn’t really exist yet. And now I feel old, ha!

LB: What was your first yarn project? The first project you were really proud of?

LRW: I have NO idea, but I’m going to guess it was a scarf. Isn’t everyone’s first project a scarf? The first project I was really proud of was probably a blanket I made for my grandma to have when she moved into a nursing home (and it was made with LB Homespun!).

LB: We are so thankful that you have opened your Little Red Window – it’s a window into a dimension of fun, creativity, and unbelievable joy. What inspired you to make it?

LRW: I have a Masters Degree in Architecture and Historic Preservation and had been working at a firm doing architectural animation and rendering when the recession started. Long story short, I ended up at home with a baby and no job. I started Little Red Window in the spring of 2013 and it was originally meant to be a place to promote an Etsy shop selling printable artwork. But I realized that I am a maker at heart and the site quickly evolved into a place for crafts, DIYs and knitting tutorials!

LB: What do you consider your greatest strength as a yarn blogger to be?

LRW: Hmmm, I’d have to say either my creativity, or a stubborn belief that there’s nothing I can’t figure out if I keep trying. My best projects are always the ones where my husband says, “I don’t think that’s going to work…”

LB: When did you first realize “hmm, I’m really pretty good at this?”

LRW: I knew my site was going to be successful when I first published the recycled cardboard sewing machine I made for my son. It went crazy and I knew that I had ideas that were actually original and that people liked. In terms of knitting, I realized I was on to something when I first published the Knit Baby Bow Hat Knitting Pattern at the beginning of this year. It has been incredibly popular since the day it came out and I realized that people are interested in a new, modern, young kind of knitting pattern that they just weren’t finding anywhere. Yarn isn’t just for grandmas anymore!

LB: What areas of yarn craft do you still need to work on? Any particularly hilarious stories of a yarn project failure? 😉

LRW: I used to crochet a lot but haven’t done it in a long time. I would love to get back to it and learn to write crochet patterns as well. I also have never knit a sock.

LB: You’ve never knit a sock??

LRW: I know!!

LB: Well, I know I’d love to see crochet ala Little Red Window, but I’m also very glad that you are mostly knitting. There is a surprising overabundance of crochet blogs, but in my humble opinion, not nearly enough for knitters! Thanks for bringing balance to the force 🙂

Other than finally knitting a sock, is there an aspect of blogging you want to develop?

LRW: Since I’m no longer a newbie blogger, at this point, I’m primarily just working on continuing to grow my site and strengthen my brand. I’m also loving working with brands directly on projects that we’re both passionate about!

LB: With Super V blowing up all over the internet, I’m really hoping to get the green light for a Yarn Heroes 2 next year. Do you have any ideas for what you’d do next giving season?

LRW: We have a beloved family member going through cancer treatment, I recently sent her a care package with a bunch of hats I made for her and I would love to do a pattern (or series of patterns) of hats for chemo patients including recommendations of which yarns work best for them.

LB: Would you mind giving us a sneak preview of what’s next for your blog?

LRW: I have a whole lineup of fun baby hats coming, lots of cute animals to look forward to as well as some more sophisticated “normal” patterns for babies AND adults!  I’m also working on creating some video knitting tutorials to show my readers how to do some of the more complicated stitches I use. I want Little Red Window to be a one-stop kind of site that has all the info you need to make just about anything and helps people live creatively every day!

[Moogly] [Mama In A Stitch] [All About Ami] [One Dog Woof] [Sewrella] [Delia Creates]

[Underground Crafter] [Sh*t That I Knit] [Kristy Glass] [Two of Wands] [Twinky Chan]

[Make & Do Crew] [A Crocheted Simplicity] [Little Red Window]  [B-Hooked Crochet]