Meet Your Shawl Club Fiber Friend: Aimée Hansen

 

As we begin the new year, we are thrilled to introduce Aimée Hansen, a member of the Jimmy Beans Wool team and also our Clubs Community Manager. 

Aimée will be your fiber friend and stitch tutorial teacher for the much-awaited 2024 Shawl Club! She will be guiding you through various stitches, textures, and crafting experiences throughout the year! 

Aimée at a Glance: 

Aimée Hansen is more than just the Jimmy Beans Wool Clubs Community Manager - she's a dedicated yarn enthusiast since 1999, who seamlessly navigates between crochet and knitting, and has mastered various stitches for both crafts. With years of experience and a passion for helping others learn knitting and crocheting, Aimee brings kindness and fun to every project!

Tutorial Focus:

Q: What types of tutorials can we expect for the upcoming Shawl and Blanket Clubs?

This year’s Shawl Club patterns are full of adventure! In our tutorials, we’ll work through both the colorwork techniques needed as well as how to achieve the unique shaping both the crochet and knit shawls have.

Q: Are there specific techniques or stitches you're excited to teach?

I am totally smitten with the shape of these shawls! I can’t wait to teach everyone how to work the stitches to create these fun, angular shapes (I promise…it’s much easier than it may look!).

Club Favorites:

Q: As a maker, what do you both love most about the Shawl Club?

One of my favorite things about the Shawl Club is how each month is just a bite-size piece of the entire

project. Each month, we receive 2 - 90 yd. mini skeins of the amazing Oh So Fine by Hedgehog Fibres to stitch with, and all we have to complete is this little bit of the larger project. It’s just the right amount for a little stitching me-time!

Q: What are you most excited about in the upcoming Clubs?

A new yarn base from a most fabulous dyer PLUS fun patterns from Melissa Leapman and Deanne Ramsay?! There is absolutely everything to be excited about!! Plus, we’re doing something a little different this time and working the shawl up over 6 months instead of 12 months, so we’ll be finished in time to throw these shawls over our shoulders this summer.

Yarn Selection:

Q: Can you give us a glimpse into the kind of yarn we can expect in the upcoming projects?

We are going to be crocheting and knitting with a brand-new base from Hedgehog Fibres: Oh So Fine! This luscious and super soft yarn is 100% merino wool, 2-ply, and a light fingering weight that’s perfect for making shawls. Our friends at Hedgehog Fibres have dyed up some of our favourite colorways along with a few exclusive colors just for our Shawl Club!

What can members look forward to?

With this year’s shawl club, I’ll be guiding members along the way with video tutorials that cover how to work through the stitch patterns, especially the ones that benefit from a demonstration. Together, we’ll work through the colorwork and shaping techniques through our video tutorials as well as cheer one another on through our Facebook and Ravelry groups. We’ll all be stitching together!

Aimée's Tips for Success: 

(1) If you need a little extra help or support along the way, just ask! That’s what our community groups on Facebook and Ravelry are for, and you can always ping me directly if you need an extra hand.

(2) Stitch markers are always our friends! If there are stitch repeats you need help remembering or need help finding the first and last stitches of a row, have a few different colored stitch markers on hand.

(3) Take your time and enjoy every stitch! If you have a busy month or two where you’re not caught up by the time the next skeins arrive, don’t sweat it. Your yarn will be there when you’re ready to dive back in, and our community will have your back along the way!