Get to know me!

So, who the heck is Dorielle? Let me tell you; I am a middle aged white woman living in Kirkland. *WAIT* don't run away quite yet. I know this sounds awful vanilla, but I can almost guarantee I'll surprise you a little.

I chose the name "DorielleDesigns" because of a poster I saw at school. The poster showed a woman next to a scrolls saw, and in big bold letters it said "Women work", and in much smaller font, "in the industry". I would alway walk past this poster and imagine a young working woman with hand on her hip, and saying with a tone of attitude "Women work!". So this is my version. I hope from now on, whenever you see "DorielleDesigns" you think of me, hand on hip, saying "Dorielle Designs!".

Up until recently I was working full time and going to school full time. I was a Technical Designer for a local space company, and I was pursuing my Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering at the only college to offer an online version of this degree that I could find.

Then 2020 hit.

This is when I really started to use my work and school as my escape. At this time, my partner, who had recently completed an Electrical Engineering Degree during the first few years of our relationship, was now finishing his Bachelor's in Computer Science. He is my inspiration; he is so smart and talented, and is always making something, or reading an article about some obscure mammal he was curious about.

So he started talking about his classes, and what he was learning. Since he had worked as a technician for many years, he was quick to point out that Software Engineering is just like the other Engineering disciplines except you don't have to wait for parts, or reach into dark places where there are sharp bits for you to cut up your hands on.

The more he showed me, the more I wanted to try it out myself; so I did! I took a few classes for the Computer Science AA, and I loved it! My whole life I've spent my time creating things from physical objects. Now I was creating amazing things from a few lines of code. WAY COOL! Not going to lie - I think it is still pretty difficult, and I think my technical writing class helped prepare me slightly - you basically have to break down every step, and write out a process to get what you want. Hrm…did anyone follow that? Kinda hard to explain - but its basically the same concept as when you write out the steps for making a PB&J sandwich as if leaving instructions for someone who had never made one before; if you start to write it out explicitly, including removing the jar from the cupboard, then you end up with a million steps and it is much more complicated than you originally imagined. With programming, you are writing instructions to your computer, and you have to lay out each step you want it to do.

I think some people are a little intimidated by the way that programming looks. For me, it didn't look too crazy when I first saw it, but maybe that is because I've seen a lot of knitting and crochet patterns in my life! Seriously! You can compare coding to abbreviated patterns and see what I mean. (Ex: ROW 1: *K2TOG, P2, M1R, repeat to last, K4 - Verses - System.out.prtln("Hello World"); )

During all of this, I was knitting and crocheting. I think by now you must be imagining a little vibrating energizer bunny who doesn't sleep, eat, or rest. Oh no my friend, do not fear, I get my food and rest in as well. I'll probably add a blog here or there on some of the foods I like to make, or about camping trips I take with my friends.

I do stay busy though. I've found that if I have down time I tend to settle in for the long haul, and while the week after finals is the week that Michael and I will be doing pretty much nothing but eating and playing video games, there is a strict end point for that, then its back into the fray.

I do want to also point out that I do not have children. This gives me 24 hours more than parents have in a day. My children are the three bunnies that I own, and I can lock them up in a 8x6 foot area, and they will contentedly sleep the day away and quietly much on grass. But I love them so freaking much, and fair warning, I will probably bring them up and provide pictures any chance I get. Did I mention they have an Instagram account? You can look up "TheBungaards" if you are interested. My parents call them their "grandbunnies" HA! OK, OK, back on track here.

During my online lectures, I would knit or crochet. On one of my long review days I made a beautiful sweater topper. As soon as I've made a few more, I'll put them on Etsy to sell. This design I made specifically because I knew it would be simple. The topper was one of the larger projects I did; mostly I've focused on cowls as they were quick, small projects that I could practice combinations of stitches and colors to see how they looked without investing a lot of time or energy. I made SO MANY COWLS. And I still am! I made matching ones for my friends and I; we wear them while out camping. They are perfect for sitting around the fire after the sun has gone down, and if it is a particularly cold night, I'll wear it to bed as well to keep my ears warm.

I've always been annoyed with women's clothing. It is rarely practical or easy to wear, or so thin it can barely be called a covering. It also usually takes an awful lot of fussing with to make it look good, then keep it looking good. Most of the time I give up in frustration! This is exactly why I strive to make practical and beautiful items. So now here I am, diving into the "fiber arts". As of now, the most practical item I've made is probably the cowls, but I have aspirations for more. I started selling these on Etsy. As of the writing of this blog, I've had zero sales - will you be my first customer?

So, that is a little about me. If you are still reading this, then thank you for your time! I hope it was enjoyable to read and get to know me a little better.

Stay tuned for all of my crazy adventures as I dive into spinninng, dying and creating yarn from sustainable fibers, learning how to make crochet hooks on the lathe, and a knitting app, and anything else I might get excited about along the way.

Craft on,

Dorielle