Hi, I’m Mallorie!

I’ve spent most of my life believing that I didn’t have the attention span, the ability or the wherewithal to try new hobbies. I’d start something and inevitably lose interest in it and this was often met with shaming remarks like “you never see things through”. I lived most of my young life believing I was just bad at a lot of things and only good at one singular thing (which became my career). I felt limited, lonely, and really bored.

We all need hobbies, now more than ever. I was sitting at my cousin’s dinner table talking about how inspired and enthralled I was at his husband’s new hobby of stained glass. I mentioned offhandedly something along the lines of “I could never do that because I’m bad at finishing things” and Rob just looked at me and said “it’s just play - you’re just playing. Like when you’re little you don’t finish your games or play with the same toys everyday”. I felt like I had received a shock to the soul. When had I lost the joy that was being allowed to flit back and forth between interests? When did that go from being a normal and adorable part of life to this shameful trait that had to mean something about me?

I felt renewed. If I could see my hobbies, my interests, as just play then it suddenly became okay if I took long breaks from them or never picked them up again. When I tell you this changed my life, I mean it changed my life.

Shortly after I started a True Crime podcast called Crossing Tape (you can still find it on most podcast platforms!) because I wanted to see if I liked making podcasts. I loved it, and also after about a year of it I needed something else. I then tried my hand at running. I had always been told I wasn’t athletic and just “not good” at sports. I wondered if I could take up an active hobby through the lens of play. I discovered a true love, one that I am still engaging after many miles and races today.

What else could I discover about myself through play? I started writing a novel, actually a few novels. They aren’t finished, and I haven’t touched them in awhile, but I think of them daily and know that it’s okay that I haven’t worked on them for months. They will be there when I’m ready.

June of last year I discovered the deep love of my life by happy accident. One girls weekend away I was watching my two friends knit + crochet and chat while we all drank coffee. I felt curious — could I do that? Turns out I really, really could. Knitting has really changed everything for me. I found not only play and joy and peace in knitting but a real sense of talent and accomplishment. I realized early on that knitting was not just play for me, it was purpose.

Knitting opened up a whole new world of exploration — sewing, quilting and needlepointing are all stitch crafts that I now deeply love. Along with reading, knitting has become a daily meditative practice, keeping me grounded and regulated after my (sometimes challenging) job and in moments of global stress and fear.

I created The Novel Stitch for two purposes — to give myself an outlet to share the things I love most (stitching and reading) and to also invite others to join me in remembering what it feels like to play — to not take yourself so seriously and to let curiosity exists just for its own sake.

You can find me on all major sites although I try to engage with social media mindfully and minimally. You can check out my blog here for knitting pattern round ups + reviews, bookish things as well as sewing related inspiration.

Thanks for being here <3