Interview with Katharine of Woolly Wotnots

Everyone, say hello to Katharine! She's a busy gal with lot of projects and ventures on her crafting table. Visit her amazing site
Woolly Wotnots, her blog and her flickr for pictures of awesome knitted items, and get your own nifty knitted items at her shop. Let's meet her now!
SwapDex: Tell us a bit about you.

Katharine: Hello, I’m Katharine – a crafty knitter creating handcrafted collectables. I live in Northamptonshire, UK. I’m 32 and live with my Partner. We hope to get married in the next year or so and then start a family.

I am an avid knitter in my spare time; raising money for charity; and also enjoy many other crafts and I am always experimenting. I share my latest creations and ideas on my blog. I first started knitting at the age of six and had my first exhibition of knitted collectables at the age of ten. I have been supplying craft shops and fairs since 1997. I love all the varying yarn textures and colours and experimenting with various designs.

When I’m not knitting or crafting I’m running my own UK based management consultancy and training company called Skillkick and run my craft business called Woollywotnots.
I work with children and with adults – schools, groups and organisations. I like the buzz of heads together making something amazing. Crafting is a great way to spend a day whatever your age. Woolly Wotnots’ workshops ensure everyone rolls up their sleeves, relaxes and let themselves dive into a world of creativity. You don’t have to know exactly what you want as I can help you to make a decision.
I’m also a Lecturer for the Open University and am a non-stop student currently working towards my sixth degree. I’ve also written a book which you can purchase from Lulu.
Other hobbies include travelling both home and abroad; swimming; reading; gardening; lifelong learning; cooking; personal development and jigsaw puzzles.

SD: How long have you been swapping? How did you first learn about
swapping, and what made you decide to start? Do you remember your first one?

K: I’ve only recently discovered and started swapping. I found out about it through doing a search online. My first swap was in April 2009 and since then I’ve completed six swaps, including one I hosted myself. You can see the blog buttons on the left hand side of my blog for all the swaps that I’ve been involved in.

SD: What is your range of swapping? Do you stick to swaps hosted by people you know or are you likely to swap with anyone, anytime?

K: My range of swapping is wide, thanks to Swapdex. It opens up a whole world of swaps, so you don’t need to just stick to people you know.

SD: Do you swap with any organized groups like yahoo groups, flickr, groups on swap-bot, other message boards, etc? Why or why not?

K: No, I wasn’t aware of these, I’ll have to investigate!

SD: What's your favorite swap you've ever been in or hosted?

K: I’ve enjoyed all the swaps I’ve been involved in. This is because new friendships have emerged as a result of the swap. I think that is what is so lovely about swaps and exchanging creative ideas.

SD: What do you do to make your packages special?

K: I try to do as much as I can to make my packages special, by asking my swap partner about themselves, so that I find out about things they like and are interested in. I always read all their blog to get to know more about them. I exchange emails and look at where they are online, eg photos on Flickr. I like to have a mix of handmade and purchased goodies for my swap partner and I always wrap them in lovely packaging and add a special treat. I also like to add little notes and instructions etc to make it a little bit more fun. Here’s an example: http://woollywotnots.wordpress.com/2009/07/02/cosy-swap-sent/

SD: What do you think is the most challenging part of hosting a swap? Any advice for someone who is thinking about hosting a swap?

K: Be organised, be clear on what the swap is about and what is required and also where you are hosting the swap and whether international readers can be involved. Stick to dates and ensure you meet your responsibilities of matching swappers up together. Communicate your swap. Set up a flickr group so that photos can be shared. Be around on your blog to respond to any queries. Have fun!

SD: Any exciting plans for the near future?

K: I’ve just launched a craft book club over on my website with a forum to chat about craft books. Hope you’ll join in!
I’m always up to a new project or making a new product. You can keep up-to-date via my blog.

SD: Fantastic! Let's all go visit Katharine and show her some comment love!