That was my first quiet time moment in 2006 or so. It made me believe, and the good lord gave me confirmation, that I was here on this earth for a reason, and He was here to show up, help me weather my storms, and straight up bless my life. I felt it heavy on my soul as I sat in my dorm room for hours praying and teaching myself how to knit a garter stitch scarf. In that very moment, I knew my calling was connected to that yarn. And then, I went to my first knit night in college and learned how to cast on 40 stitches. I was ambitious and biblically knowledgeable, but found little purpose in my life. I felt as if I was on a life sprint to nowhere. I grew up poor, my parents divorced when I was 5, and for a long time I felt worthless. Some would say that I gave into the popular idea of finding Christ, but I believe it was just the opposite – Christ found me. Knitting and journaling, and just being in my own thoughts to pray, and to ask for Heavenly guidance forever changed my life. It is why I love my own knitting shop and business, NorthKnits, and even on the nights when I get less than 4 hours of sleep balancing it all, I stop and think of our heartbeats. And as we’ve grown over the last two years, featuring thousands of makers and their shops, and meeting up with hundreds across the world (New York to Canada, and now this year Chicago) we keep in mind that the maker life is not solely about quotes for numbers and profits, as much as it is about passionate heartbeats. We were in this together, and as we brought the Our Maker Life organization to life, we kept that as our focus and center. We believed there were so many others, so many strong businessmen and women, an entire community of wives and mothers, and students making with a heartbeat of intense passion and love. We found joy in knitting and crochet, and we were good at it, with thriving businesses and social media followings of our own and we knew there were others who were like us. It just sounded right, and more importantly it felt right. Our Maker Life, a movement for makers by makers. We simply had a passion and an authentic belief to do something that felt connected to our own heartbeats. We had no hashtag or event or sponsors or pretty features and highlighted stories to share. In fact, I had been making for more than ten years when I felt a desire to reach out to four wonderful fellow makers (and now my lifelong friends) to begin Our Maker Life.

Our Maker Life by Jewell Washington