Archive for the ‘An Interview With…’ Category

An Interview with: Thea Colman of BabyCocktails {+ a Contest!}

Saturday, January 14th, 2012

Thea Colman of BabyCocktails, recently published a beautiful sweater, Drambuie, out of Canopy Worsted in Yerba Mate. If you don’t know Thea’s blog or designs already, they are most definitely worth a look! In honor of the release of the pattern, we asked her to participate in a little interview. Enjoy!

thea-colman5

Kelbourne Woolens: Your blog is called BabyCocktails and the vast majority of your knitting patterns are named after delicious mixed drinks. In addition to posting your knitting projects and other life happenings on your blog, you also share unique cocktail recipes as well. When and how did this mix of yarn and drink happen and where does the name “BabyCocktails” come from? (and, might we add, we’re a little jealous we didn’t think of mixing knitting with mixed drinks more often first!)

Thea Colman: Ha! I’ve always knit, and I do have a thing for cocktails, so that mix of yarn and drink has been around forever. But, the BabyCocktails name and the business being attached unintentionally evolved over time.

The name: When my kids were smaller, and the afternoons got loooooong, I had a few good friends on my street. We’d get together in the late afternoons for a drink or two before dinner for a little sanity check, and we called those drinks “babycocktails” – since the cranky babies were the excuse for the cocktails. Which makes sense, right? For a business idea with one of the other women, I reserved the blogger page. The business never materialized, but I had the domain, had begun trolling other blogs, and when I decided to give blogging a go in 2005, I used it. Since I was already knitting and making drinks, the combination was there, and the name made sense, but it was purely editorial and I had no intention of doing much more with it.

Then I started designing little things. I loved it, but I thought each of my first few patterns would probably be my last and I’d be going back to work. However, the sweaters started selling and I started to think about designing as a potential part time career. From a marketing perspective, the name made total sense to keep – it was easy to remember AND had a theme built right into it. Starting with White Russian, I decided to tie the pattern names to actual drinks and create a more tightly woven identity around BabyCocktails. In the last few years, it’s panned out well. It’s a great conversation starter, a never-ending pool of pattern titles, AND a tax deductible way to go to the liquor store.

thea-colman4

KW: You mention that you used to “have a career and all the trimmings” but now you focus on your kids and your growing design business. Knowing how much time it takes to put out quality knitting patterns, do you find that your new career is just as time consuming as the last? (except with this one, you can have a drink while you work, which was most likely frowned upon at your last place of employment).

TC: Well, my old life was in advertising, so the hours and the drinking might be about the same! However, this is more predictable – and I set the pace, which is important. I avoid a lot of hard deadlines, so that when I need to, I can put a project down. With one daughter in elementary school, another in middle school, and a husband that travels and works late, it’s key for me. As the girls get older, that will probably change, but for now it’s great to have flexibility to arrange my time.

I work on the business part of BabyCocktails 3-4 days a week, during school hours. That’s around 20-24 hours of real “work”. However, so much of this career is social, and more than a few of my friends come over to knit or to “help” with the cocktails, so a lot of my BabyCocktails work can happen with a house full of kids or friends around me. Plus the knitting is done almost all the time, everywhere I go. With that in mind, I’d be hard pressed to guess the amount of time in a week that’s work-related, and what’s just a blend of life and work. So, it’s probably more time spent, but most of it doesn’t feel like a job.

thea-colman3

KW: It seems as if you started out designing accessories but jumped right into sweaters pretty quickly. A lot of your patterns in the last year have been sweaters in all different shapes with a wide variety of style inspirations. Is there a particular type of sweater that appeals to you the most, or are you more of an “equal opportunity” knitter when it comes to your designs?

TC: I am absolutely an “equal opportunity” knitter. I don’t always know what is going to stick, and my taste is definitely varied. I usually start with something I want to wear, or a single element I like, or a particular style I want to play with. Occasionally, it’s a sweater in a store that I think could have been nice IF ONLY it had {fill in the blank} and I play with the IF ONLY. And sometimes it’s a yarn I need to knit with. So, for each sweater, something does appeal to me, and it’s fun to let it dictate the rest of the project as it evolves. But the thing that appeals to me? It changes every time!

thea-colman2

KW: From your other designs, it is clear you pay attention to yarn properties – gauge, construction and fiber content – when selecting them for your patterns. For your latest design, Drambuie, you used Canopy Worsted, a 3-ply worsted weight blend of alpaca, merino and viscose from bamboo. Why did you chose Canopy for this particular sweater? What in particular made Canopy a good choice for the end result you were looking for in the design?

TC: I actually chose Canopy without a sweater in mind. A friend of mine was making a cardigan out of the Ipe, and once I saw and felt it in person, I couldn’t get it out of my mind. So, in this case, the pattern was designed around the yarn. I really wanted to showcase the softness of the fiber and the burgundy/green color in the Yerba Mate. I started with a fitted cardigan idea, which didn’t feel delicate enough for Canopy. That design eventually turned into Mint Julep, and it was a swatch of the offset cable that eventually led to Drambuie. The motif was soft and distinct and elegant, which is what I think of the yarn itself. Coupled with reverse stockinette and a few columns of ribbing, the design was both simple and elegant enough to match the yarn. After that, it seemed natural to work in the fit and shape of the pullover, which is perfect for the amount of drape in the bamboo/alpaca/merino mix.

thea-colman1

KW: What’s next for BabyCocktails?

TC: More of the same – a mix of styles and fibers. I would love to do another dress or try a skirt before the year is up. I’ve also made my first triangle scarf recently and think one of those might be in the lineup. We will see. My goal is to do at least a pattern a month in 2012, of which I have three so far. After a distracting year in 2011 (we sold our house and moved – I couldn’t even FIND my yarn for a while!), I am looking forward to doing a LOT more knitting and having about the same amount of drinks. (More of those are not a good idea.)

*********

Thanks so much, Thea for participating in this interview with us! For you, our dear readers, we have an extra bonus for you! Leave a comment on this post telling us either your favorite cocktail {or mocktail!} to pair with your knitting/crocheting. Comments will be open until 12 noon EST on January 21st. We have combined forces with Thea, and she has generously agreed to donate a copy of the pattern to us, so one lucky commenter will be chosen randomly to receive a sweater’s worth of Canopy Worsted + the Drambuie pattern!

*Comments are now closed, and we will announce the winner on Sunday. Thanks so much to everyone who entered!*

Posted in An Interview With..., contest! | 215 Comments »

Coastal Knits blog tour + Interview!

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

costal-knits-cover

When Hannah Fettig and Alana Dakos, the authors of the wildly popular new book, Coastal Knits {web link} {rav link}, approached us to be a part of their blog tour commemorating the release of the book, we jumped at the chance! Hannah used one of our yarns, Organik, for the Rocky Coast Cardigan, and Kate is busily knitting away on a version for herself (just..one..more..sleeve) as part of a Knit-A-Long that they are hosting on Ravelry – you, too, can join here!

Since we tend to collaborate quite a bit on our designs and work – Vintage Modern Knits was a pure 50/50 collaboration, and no design of Kate’s is complete without feedback from Courtney, and vice versa, we were very intrigued about Hannah and Alana’s experience working together and thought it might be nice for you to hear a little bit about the process they went through in self-publishing such a gorgeous book.

* * * * * * *

Kelbourne Woolens: You both have a lot of experience self-publishing designs as part of your individual pattern collections, Knitbot and Never Not Knitting. Hannah, you also have a lot of designs that have been published in knitting magazines as well as your book, Closely Knit, while Alana has built her following mainly from a wide variety of self-published designs. With your slightly diverse backgrounds in pattern publishing, what made you want to do a self-published book in lieu of going the more “traditional” route and working with a publisher?

Alana Dakos: I for one am a complete control freak. Just ask Hannah…actually on second thought…maybe you shouldn’t. It would have been difficult for me to hand over the reigns to a publisher. I enjoyed overseeing every aspect of the book production. In the end I think we both ended up with a book that we genuinely like and that turned out exactly the way we had hoped it would. I don’t think that we would have had such a hands-on experience going with a publisher. Self publishing is definitely more work, but in the end, I really enjoyed the entire process and hope to do more in the future.

Hannah Fettig: I agree. A few years back I had actually canceled a contract with a publishing house to take it in more of a self published direction. Being able to have control over your content is a wonderful thing. I’ve been able to do that successfully with Knitbot with individual patterns, so when Alana approached me about a self published book, it was very appealing. It was A LOT of work to build this from the ground up. But in the end it is as we wanted it, which is very satisfying.

panoramic-stole
Panoramic Stole by Hannah Fettig

KW: Since the book is entirely self-published – from start to finish, you were responsible for the designs, getting the samples knit, finding models, tech editors, photographers, graphic designers, a printer, the list goes on! – what was the most difficult part of the process and what was the easiest? Was there anything about the process that surprised you in its ease or difficulty?

AD: I think that since we both self publish our own pattern lines, having to take on these responsibilities for the book did not pose a big adjustment for us. This project was just bigger and more work than anything we have done in the past on our own.

In my opinion, finding the people to work with was the easiest part since we already had those connections in place, the hardest part, which I think we both can agree on, was the editing phase of the project. Not only is pattern and text editing extremely tedious, but we had to make everything consistent between our patterns. We both have very different styles of pattern writing, so this step was a difficult one. Many long hours were spent looking for un-capitalized words, abbreviations and stray commas. What a nightmare!

HF: Yes, editing was tough. I thought the easiest, and my most favorite part, was designing my five pieces and having them photographed. What’s so amazing is that we designed pretty independently, and had separate photographers. And yet in the end the collection is very cohesive and the photographic styles very complimentary. Amazing!

gnarled-oak
Gnarled Oak Cardigan by Alana Dakos

KW: Alana, which one of Hannah’s designs is your favorite and why and Hannah, which one of Alana’s designs in the book is your favorite and why?

AD: I love Hannah’s Rocky Coast Cardigan! It’s such a beautiful sweater and I think it’s such a nice modern twist on a traditional New England look. I’m knitting the cardigan in The Fibre Company Terra right now and its so amazing! I can’t wait to finish and wear it!

HF: Alana’s Gnarled Oak Cardigan is really nice. When I saw it in person I fell in love with it even more!

KW: Not only did you use your respective coasts as design inspiration for the projects in the book, but you both also made the conscious choice to feature yarns that are local to you, many of which are produced and sold by small companies. Why was this important to you when planning your projects for the book?

rocky-coast1
Rocky Coast Cardigan by Hannah Fettig

AD: Because Coastal Knits is a collection of knits inspired by our individual coastlines, we felt that choosing these local yarns to design with fit into the concept of our book very well. In many cases, there is an amazing tie-in between the project and the yarn it was knit from. For example, my Rustling Leaves Beret pattern was inspired by a local eucalyptus grove. The yarn I chose for this design was a Tactile Fiber Arts yarn actually dyed from California eucalyptus leaves! It couldn’t have been a more perfect match!

HF: Yeah, it just adds another layer to allow these yarn companies to talk about how they are inspired by their surroundings in their work. I featured String Theory Hand Dyed Yarns and Swans Island and there is a definite connection between their yarns and the Maine Coast.

rustling-leaves

Rustling Leaves by Alana Dakos

KW: Since the theme of the book is “A Collaboration between Friends on Opposite Shores”, you (obviously) live across the country from one another. How did being so far apart affect the process of writing the book? Did you each have certain tasks or was it a more organic process as you worked through all of the steps of publication?

AD: It was definitely challenging! We both agree that our distance and time zone difference slowed down the process quite a bit, but in the end I feel that Coastal Knits came about rather organically. Except for our individual patterns, we pretty much worked together on every aspect of book production. We made all of the decisions together as we went along.

HF: Yes, people have to understand, we were NEVER in the same room during this entire project. Most of this came about over e-mail. What a world we live in, huh? I agree, this was really challenging at times, but we did it!

morro-bay
Morro Bay, California

KW: The book includes a really wonderful section called “set yourself up to succeed” and includes information on gauge, yarn choice, charts and finishing techniques. (It is, admittedly, one of our most favorite parts of the book! The paragraphs on checking gauge and yarn properties are worth the book price alone!) Why was it important for you to include these notes in Coastal Knits?

AD: We are really happy with the patterns in Coastal Knits and really want those knitting from our instructions to end up with successful pieces that they will love as much as we do. Planning ahead for a project really helps to ensure that the knitter will end up with a garment that they are happy with and will love to wear. In addition we provided some very detailed schematics for each piece so that the one making the item can really make an informed decision about which size to choose and how to adjust for the best fit for their body.

The information we included is basic, but so important. After all, we all know what happens when we don’t do a gauge swatch…

HF: I’m glad you guys like this section! We wanted to include this basic information, but make it interesting to read.  We inserted some of what we each do, for instance we each talk specifically about how we block.  I hope this section really does set knitters up to succeed!

* * * * * * *
We hope you all enjoyed this little interview! For more information about the Coastal Knits blog tour and to see who is the next stop, check out Hannah’s post here!

Tags: , ,
Posted in An Interview With..., independent designer feature | 3 Comments »

An Interview with: Miriam Felton

Monday, August 8th, 2011

Miriam Felton is a designer who has been working independently and publishing in magazines both in print and online since 2006. Her most recent design collection, the Chevron Collection, features a gorgeous sweater designed using Savannah DK in a new color, Denim. In honor of the release of the collection, we thought we would take a few minutes to ask her some questions about her knitting, design process and plans for the future.

- – - – - – - – - – - -

Kelbourne Woolens: Let’s start in the beginning. On your website, you mention learning how to knit after finding yourself limited by what crochet had to offer, and once you knew how, designing followed soon after. What about knitting made you want to design?

Miriam Felton: Back in the olden days, before Ravelry’s amazing pattern search feature, I felt really limited by what I found in knitting books from the 80′s and the random smattering of free patterns I could find online. When I found a simple worsted weight sock pattern that could be adapted I started playing around with swapping cables for the ribbing and doing knit/purl patterns on the cuffs. Once I found some lace (thanks to Interweave Knits), I really took off in that direction. Variations on a theme work really well for me.

furrowsshawl4
Furrows Shawl, Chevron Collection {rav link}

KW: From your portfolio, it is clear you love to design shawls and wraps and you don’t limit yourself to one particular shape or construction. What about this accessory appeals to you, and which “type” do you prefer best?

MF: I love how versatile a shawl can be. You don’t have to know your bust size to knit yourself a shawl. You can wear it as a scarf, you can wear it as a wrap, you can wear it with jeans, or you can wear it with an evening gown. You can knit one for your friend or your mother without having to take measurements. It’s sort of a universal garment.

As to my favorite type, it really varies, but right now I’m madly in love with the crescent shape. I did a couple variations on a crescent shape in the Chevron Collection (Rill and the Furrows Shawl) and I’m quite pleased with how they hang on the shoulders.

icarus1

Icarus Shawl, Interweave Knits Summer 2006 {rav link}

KW: Recently, you have been publishing designs in collections – each with a cohesive theme, inspiration and/or color story. What motivated you to switch to this method of publishing?

MF: After working on the projects in Twist & Knit {rav link}, I realized how well I worked with a bit of focus. Having a theme to what I was designing helped me be really productive and it was very fulfilling.  With that in mind, I’d been watching a lot of Project Runway and I thought “Why can’t a knitting design business be run more like a fashion design business?” So I came up with a color story and a theme for the Chevron Collection {rav link} and started sourcing yarns. It’s really nice because I don’t have that moment of “What do I knit next?” By the time I’m done with one collection I’ve already started thinking about the next one.

chevronmosaic1
Chevron Collection L to R: Tributary Gloves, Rill Scarf, Gully Socks / Rivel Cardigan, Furrows Shawl, Furrows Cowl

KW: How do you feel the experience of publishing in a collection differs from that of publishing individual patterns?

MF:It’s been an adjustment, for sure. I was popping out a pattern every month before, which kept interest high and blog traffic up, and now I feel like I lose some of the momentum only releasing twice a year. With that in mind, I’ve decided that next year I’ll do 3 smaller collections instead of 2 big ones, just to space it out a bit more.

It’s hard sending everything out at once, and going through layout for 6 patterns at a time instead of 1. I have to be extra vigilant for mistakes, but it’s also nice to be able to give each design a little distance before it’s final going over.  When I was doing one pattern at a time, I’d finish the pattern, proof it, send it for tech editing, then give it a final once over and send it out, but now I usually have a few months between when I finish a pattern and when I give it a final going over. I find myself more in love with the patterns as a result.

rillscarf6
Rill Scarf, Chevron Collection {rav link}

KW:Do you have a design that you are particularly proud of? Which one and why?

MF:I tend to love my designs intensely, and then move on to the next thing.  So right now I really love Rivel {rav link} and Rill {rav link} from the new collection. They are the pieces I would wear everyday if it weren’t so blastedly hot. I’m actually planning to knit myself a Rivel in a handspun 3 ply yarn I spun from a fleece I bought a few years ago. It’s the #1 priority on my Bucket List – to spin, design, and knit a sweater for myself. Some of my older designs still have a special place in my heart though. Nefertiti {rav link} still boggles my mind every time I look at it, and I can’t re-block my Icarus Shawl {rav link} without a swell of pride every time.

rivelcardi2
Rivel Cardigan, The Chevron Collection, featuring Savannah DK. {rav link}

KW: With The Chevron Collection, you created 6 original designs that explore the creation of chevrons in knitted fabric. The collection includes a sweater, the Rivel Cardigan, knit out of Savannah. The Rivel cardigan is your first published sweater design but it is clear you are very experienced with knitted sweater construction from the many details incorporated into the design. What caused you to expand your portfolio to include sweaters and what do you see as the most exciting part of designing garments (versus a shawl or other accessory)?

MF: Honestly, I’ve been wanting to design sweaters for YEARS, but I’ve been scared. I was frightened by size grading and nervous about the customer service emails that I would get about people not getting the fit they wanted.  But I think we’ve reached a critical mass of “how to fit your sweater” knowledge that I couldn’t really put it off anymore. Most knitters I come across nowadays are savvy enough to say “oh, this sweater is 15″ from hem to armhole I would much prefer a 17″ sweater, so I’m going to lengthen the body” and have enough experience with sweater construction to do that.

Also, most of the details you’re referring to in Rivel came more from historical fashion and costuming design than from any experience designing sweaters. There’s a lot of crossover between a well tailored shirt and a well tailored sweater in terms of the details. I spent a lot of time researching sleeve cap construction and sweater proportions before I really sat down to write Rivel.

rivelcardi5

Rivel Cardigan (back)

KW: What is next for Miriam Felton and Mimknits?

MF: I’m working on a new collection that explores clustering techniques, like Bramble Stitch and smocking. This collection will have two sized garments in it, one vest-type garment and a more traditional sweater, a pair of socks, fingerless mitts, a shawl, and legwarmers. I’m also thinking about another book, but that’s still in the very early stages. For now I’m enjoying collections.

- – - – - – - – -

In conjunction with Miriam, we’re delighted to offer a great giveaway for you! one lucky winner will receive a signed copy of Miriam’s book, Twist & Knit, and a coupon code to download the .pdfs in the Chevron Collection as well as enough yarn to knit the Rivel Cardigan out of Savannah in one of the color choices shown below.

savannahcolors

To win, just leave a comment on this post answering the following question {one comment per person please!}:

What inspires your next knitting project – are you most motivated by shape, color, construction technique, type, or something entirely different?

The contest will be open from today, August 8th until Midnight, EST, Monday August 15th. A random winner will be chosen from the comments and we will choose a winner on Tuesday August 16th. Good luck!

*The contest is now closed. Thanks to everyone who entered. We will be announcing the winner shortly!*

*All photographs courtesy of and © Miriam Felton and used with permission.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in An Interview With..., contest! | 102 Comments »

An Interview With: Gudrun Johnston

Saturday, December 4th, 2010

It has been too long since we have posted one of our designer interviews!  We are excited to jump back into this feature with Gudrun Johnston, the force behind  The Shetland Trader.  Gudrun recently self-published a book, available in both hard copy and electronic form, aptly named The Shetland Trader – Book One. (website link) + (ravelry link).

As many of you know, Gudrun published the stunning Kerrera pattern featuring Organik in Magma, so we were delighted when she wanted to use The Fibre Company yarns, this time Canopy Fingering and Savannah, for three of the ten projects in the book.  In conjunction with the official release of the book, she graciously agreed to participate in an interview with us. Enjoy!

COVER_MOCK-UPS_2

Kelbourne Woolens: Let’s get back to basics.  When did you start knitting and what led you to start designing?

Gudrun Johnston: I first learned to knit around the age of 10 but only long enough to make a rather unattractive vest, which, thankfully I did not feel the need to keep!  Knitting really began in earnest for me about 6 years ago when I moved to the States and my daughter needed a replacement for a much treasured blanket that we had misplaced in the airport during our move.  I would say I fairly instantly became obsessed with knitting and found myself making modifications to patterns to suit my needs.  However it wasn’t until I took a “top down raglan” class that I fully realized the possibilities of designing my own garments and things took off from there.

gudrun2

Plivver, Featuring Canopy Fingering in Yerba Mate*

KW: What is the significance of the name “Shetland Trader”?

GJ: This was the name used by my mother for the knitwear business that she ran back in the 70’s in Shetland.  I thought it would be nice to revive it for my own designing.

gudrun1

Plivver, Featuring Canopy Fingering in Yerba Mate*

KW: You publish all types of designs — sweaters, shawls, scarves, hats, etc — while still managing to maintain a very cohesive overall aesthetic. Do you consciously have an overarching theme in your designs, or do you tend to just design whatever appeals to you at the time?

GJ: Mostly I like to design using seamless construction methods and find that I’m continually exploring the possibilities within these parameters. I have also been very influenced by Shetland lace patterns and some of the techniques used for traditional Shetland shawl construction. All of these things have formed the basis of my designing thus far.

gudrun6

Teetik, Featuring Canopy Fingering in Acai*

KW: The Shetland Trader, Book 1 is a really gorgeous collection of designs inspired by the Shetland Islands. We know that it is where you are from so it is an understandable point of inspiration, but for those not well versed in the history and aesthetics of the area, what specifically about the Islands inspired you?

GJ: I would say that the strong history of lace that Shetland is famous for is the biggest contributing factor for this particular collection.  All the patterns use some element of a traditional lace pattern but in a more contemporary context. The beauty of the landscape was also significant to me in that I pictured all the designs with Shetland as the canvas in which they would be photographed.

gudrun5

Teetik, Featuring Canopy Fingering in Acai*

KW: We’re delighted that you used Canopy Fingering and Savannah in the Shetland Trader book and Organik for your gorgeous hoodie, Kerrera. What were the qualities of the yarns that appealed to you and why did you think they were the perfect yarns for the projects?

GJ: All the yarns have a homey/organic quality to them that appeals to me.  They are not only wonderfully soft but also durable. The more muted colours of these yarns also spoke to me as being perfect for the designs I had in mind.

img_2964

Kerrera, Featuring Organik in Magma

KW: Let’s talk about your design process.  For the Norie, Teetik, Plivver and Kerrera, did you have a project in mind and then choose our yarns, or did you first swatch and then design a project specific to the yarn’s properties?  Do you find that your methods change depending on the project or do you have one way you always work?

GJ: I find it goes both ways when I’m designing; sometimes the yarn comes first then the design and vice versa. For Plivver I knew I wanted something with a nice soft hand that would have some drape to it and Canopy came to mind as a perfect match. In the case of Norie it was the yarn that came first, telling me what it wanted to be!

gudrun4

Norie, Featuring Savannah in Seafoam*

KW: For each project, you picked different colors from the Fibre Co palette.  With the vast resources available to knitters, you must have many many options to choose from.  How does color inform your design process or do you just pick based off of what colors you like on that particular day?

GJ: I’m particularly influenced by colour when it comes to yarn and more often than not I go with more natural or slightly muted looking shades. For this reason I adore all the colours in the Fibre Co range. I found myself returning often to your booth at TNNA just to enjoy the calming colours on display!

gudrun3

Norie, Featuring Savannah in Seafoam*

KW: It seems you published your first few patterns in free online magazines, and then quickly jumped right into self-publishing.  What is your favorite aspect of the self publishing process, and what do you struggle with most.  Are there things about the process that surprised you?

GJ: I love that I have total control over the whole design process.  I can pick the yarn, the colour, the size range and how it should be styled.  I can change my mind about any element of the design along the way if I want.  I also have direct access to alerting my customers of changes in patterns and I can help them out with the pattern should they need it.  There really aren’t too many downsides to self-publishing.  The most challenging aspect is perhaps that you have to be pretty self-motivated to get it all done!

KW: Whats next for the Shetland Trader?

GJ: The Shetland Trader Book Two of course!

***

We are delighted to also offer a contest in conjunction with this interview.  One lucky reader will win a copy of The Shetland Trader – Book 1, and enough Savannah and Canopy Fingering to knit both the Norie and Teetik hats!

Just leave a comment telling us your favorite sweater construction – knit in pieces, set in sleeves, raglan, top down, seamless, yoke, what have you – and we’ll randomly pick a winner next Saturday December 11th.  Good Luck!**

Comments are now closed for this post! Look for the winner soon! Thanks for all of your entries and good luck!

**{One comment per person, please!}

*Photograph by Jared Flood and used with permission by Gudrun Johnston.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in An Interview With... | 47 Comments »

An Interview with: Anne Kuo Lukito

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

This post is a long time coming, and we’re so glad to have found the time to finally put it up!

We met Anne, of Crafty Diversions and the Handicraft Cafe at our first TNNA in January of 2009.  She has always been a huge fan and supporter of the Fibre Company and our yarns.  Last fall, she contacted us about using Canopy Fingering in a new and exciting project she was working on, her Liberation pattern collection of six hats.  Since we love hats — and the idea in general, read more about it here — we were delighted to provide yarn support for not one, but two, of her designs.

The first design, Septima Clark, features Canopy Fingering in Yerba Mate.

anne-septima-clarkphotograph courtesy of Anne Kuo Lukito

The second, Alice Paul, features Canopy Fingering in Paw Paw (pictured below) and Cat’s Claw

alicepaul-1479photograph courtesy of Anne Kuo Lukito

We were lucky enough to have both hats in our both at TNNA in January, and everyone who saw them — including us! — was really impressed with the attention to detail and craftsmanship in design.  Both hats have been on our “must knit” list for some time.

Okay, onto the interview!

Kelbourne Woolens: Let’s get back to basics.  When did you start knitting and what led you to open both the Crafty Diversions pattern shop and Handicraft Cafe yarn store?  What came first the patterns or the store?

Anne Kuo Lukito: Good question! I think the patterns came first, but I didn’t think to do it seriously at first and Crafty Diversions just started out as a blog to show off my stuff since at that time, I didn’t know anyone else that knit.  I only started knitting about 5 years ago and taught myself first from a terrible book that told me that left-handed people can knit like left-handed crocheters by using a mirror. I quickly found out the limitations of that method!

The store came later. I always had a dream of opening some sort of artsy-fartsy boutique / hippie coffeehouse. So, I began thinking more seriously about it and decided to try it.  Well, we were slow getting started but now we have and sell through our website. However, the economy, as you know, has not been very good and we’ve postponed opening a brick and mortar store for now. Once the economy is in a more stable upswing, plans to open a physical store is something that we’ll definitely be re-visiting.

KW: You have a large variety of techniques covered in your knitting patterns, and all types of designs — accessories, sweaters, home decor, etc.  Do you have a particular item you like designing best, or technique that you are most drawn to, or are you a more “equal opportunity” designer?

AKL: I do love accessory projects because they are so versatile and can be worn almost any time of the year, especially hats.  With sweaters and garments, I personally tend to gravitate towards a more fitted look that may have 1-2 key elements without being too fussy. As far as techniques that I’m drawn to…that’s a harder question. Generally, I am really drawn to alternative construction and techniques and I also like to challenge myself into doing things that I wouldn’t normally think to do, if that makes any sense.

KW: We’re so happy you use the Canopy Fingering for 2 of the hats in your Liberation collection.  What about the yarns do you think made them great for knitting your hats?

AKL: What’s not to love about Canopy?!? Seriously, Canopy Fingering was one of the first yarns I thought of to include. The colors are fantastic and it’s one of those yarns that I’d like to sleep with everyday. (Road to China ranks pretty high on my sleeping list too.)

KW: Let’s talk about your design process. For these two designs, Alice Paul and Septima Clark, did you have a project in mind and then choose our yarns, or did you first swatch and then design a project specific to the yarn’s properties? Do you find that your methods change depending on the project or do you have one way you always work? If the design came first, what made you chose our yarns for each design? If the yarn came first, in what way did the yarn “inform” the designs?  More specifically, what about the fiber content, gauge, drape, or colors helped you in your design process?

AKL: My design process started with 2 rough sketches: Amelia Earhart and Septima Clark. The moment I envisioned Septima Clark, I knew that I wanted to use Canopy Fingering (CF)  – it was a very easy decision for me and I did not even swatch ahead of time to see if it’d work, because I really didn’t need to. I had been fondling the CF in the shop for some time and had been dying to use it for a project. I knew that the sheen, texture and drape of the merino/alpaca blend in CF would lend itself beautifully to a beret, especially knit at a slightly looser gauge. The hardest part of choosing the yarn for Septima Clark was choosing the color! I wanted a deeper, earthy color and finally settled on Yerba Mate for the subtle melange colors.

The design and yarn decision for Alice Paul was a little more challenging. Alice Paul was one of the last designs in the collection. I sketched out the idea, but I hemmed and hawed for some time because I was not sure how it would work. What I did know was that for it to really work, selecting just the right yarn was imperative. Initially, I thought that I would also use CF for Eleanor Roosevelt, a slouchy hat with 2 shirred panels and a visor. While that would have worked out well, I really did not want to use CF for the 2 slouchy beret-type hats in the Liberation Collection. I then thought about Alice Paul again and how structured and rigid the hat itself could appear, which was not what I wanted. I wanted the hat to have a sense of structure with a nice balance of softness, so I turned to CF. My main concern with the hat’s construction was to make sure that the visor added additional interest without looking hard and busy, so I swatched and worked a prototype test piece of the visor with CF. The result was more amazing than I had hoped or imagined! The fiber content of CF gives any fabric created from the yarn a nice soft drape and a light halo, which was exactly what Alice Paul needed to juxtapose the more structured look of the shirred panel and shirred visor.

KW: You have been a stockist of the Fibre Company yarns for a long time.  What about The Fibre Co yarns appeal to you and how do you think they contribute to your designs?

AKL: What attracted me to The Fibre Company initially was how refreshing, earthy and colorful all the yarns within each line seemed. After I met and talked to Daphne and got a sense of her wonderful character and passion for her company (which was fairly new at the time), I fell in love with the company even more.

Shortly after stocking the Fibre Company yarns, Savannah DK and Bulky quickly became one of my favorites. (Canopy was not out yet at the time).  At that same time, I was starting to submit designs to publications. I used Savannah in 2 designs that I submitted, and to my delightful surprise, both were selected for publication. One was Morgan, which uses Savannah DK and was published in Knitty, Fall 2008. The second was Mermaid, which uses Savannah Bulky and was published in 101 Luxury One-Skein Wonders.

KW: For each project, you picked different colors from the Fibre Co palette.  With a yarn shop full of beautiful yarn, you must have many many options to choose from.  How does color inform your design process or do you just pick based off of what colors you like on that particular day?   More specifically, why did you choose the Cat’s Claw (buttery orangey/greeny yellow) and yerba mate (deep rich greeny-brown) for the hats?


AKL: As I mentioned earlier, choosing the yarn was easier than choosing the color! No kidding, I really love all the Canopy colors. Generally when choosing colors for samples, I cannot always choose my favorite colors, because first of all, that means many of my patterns will all have the same colors. Another consideration in choosing colors for the samples is making sure that the colors will photograph well. As much as I love deep, dark colors, like chocolate brown, burgundy and red, those colors do not photograph well, especially with finer and more intricate details.

I chose Yerba Mate for it’s depth and richness and for the fact that the color would lend a nice sophistication to Septima Clark, but it was very hard to photograph. Even though the details of Septima Clark as less intricate than that of Alice Paul, I spent twice as much time photographing the hat. For Alice Paul, I really wanted a lighter color so that the textures of the hat would photograph well relatively easily. So for Alice Paul, I chose to work samples in both Paw-Paw and Cat’s Claw.  I wasn’t going for an animal theme – that was pure coincidence.

If photography was not an issue, I may have chosen some of the darker colors in the collection. Honestly, if I find some time later, I would love to work another sample of Alice Paul or Septima Clark in Macaw or Acai for myself.  I almost chose Macaw for Alice Paul, but I was afraid the darker blue would not photograph well enough to show all the details, but in person, I know that it would be fantastic.

KW: Is there anything else you would like to add?

AKL: I think I’ve said enough already and may have been to verbose! Thank you so much for your support of my work and my designs!

Again, thanks so much Anne, for taking the time to do this little interview with us and sharing a little about your design process!

***
Are you a LYSO, LYSW or designer – new or veteran – who has knit a project or designed something using Fibre Company Yarns? If so, shoot us an email at info {at} kelbournewoolens {dot} com and we would love to feature you on our blog!

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in An Interview With..., info, patterns | No Comments »