Wednesday Woolgatherings + Pattern Giveaway Winners

Welcome to my new post category, Wednesday Woolgatherings, a collection of odds and ends, news and details that don't seem to fit into any other specific category.

It's amazing how quickly a week goes by, especially when I'm frantically digging out from under mountains of laundry and unpacking from my recent New Mexico trip, helping my husband transition to a new job, and catching up on work and communications among many other things! 

I've read that we should 'live in the moment' to help time go by more slowly, but honestly, I'm not sure I want some moments to linger. Perhaps I can perform my main full-time job, squeak in some knitting and knit designing, and still maintain a little time for those lingering moments of joy too, but it just seems some weeks are busier than others and I'm glad when they are over. I do, however, feel pretty good about that pile of clean laundry, and have celebrated by pouring myself a cup of tea.

While traveling, I was able to knit like crazy on projects for my next few pattern releases (including the one in the Wednesday Woolgatherings photo), more details on those soon...

But now, I want to announce the winners for the Amethiste shawlette free pattern giveaway. 

I am thrilled to give free patterns to these winners (who all answered my question about what knitters wished designers would change/ improve/ include in every pattern), chosen at random by the random number generator:

1. Slmiller8 who wished for schematics with clear and understandable details.
2. Russty who wished for large charts with an accompanying key.
3. Hanna who wished for clear charts & instructions for non-native English speakers.

The winners have until the end of the month to contact me here or via Ravelry with their information so I can send them the prize pattern.

Thanks to all my readers for the wonderful, insightful answers to my question; it's so interesting to read your input, especially where it contrasts with others' input (and thank you also for the kind comments on Amethiste, they really made my day). 

I've removed and saved all the comments to a special file and look forward to writing about them here in a future post.

I wish to send a big thank you to Kate of the Hello Knitty blog. 

Kate kindly asked if she could interview me for her readers; my answers to her questions can be found here.

I've been editing photos like crazy, including the yarn photo at the top of the post (taken at the Wool Festival at Taos). Many of the photos are from my trip and other recent events, and I'll have much to post about soon. Until then, thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!


 
Tea photo: http://pinterest.com/pin/198510296045553325/

Designer Guest Post

I've just returned after a long day of travel from a wonderful visit to see family in New Mexico, tired, but happy to be home. 

Some time ago I was thrilled to receive a request from Kathreen of the Whipup blog to write a guest post about my knitting design process. 

The post, discussing a few of my patterns (including my Bosc Hat shown above), is now up and you can read it on her blog here. Readers who post a comment are entered to win a free copy of my Brandywine Falls wrap pattern. Thanks so much to Kathreen for the kind invitation!

I'll soon be posting more photos from my trip including a visit to the Wool Festival at Taos and I'll also be announcing the winner of the free Amethiste shawl patterns contest!

Interview With Madam Butterfly

One of my favorite things about blogging has been all the lovely people I've 'met' online. I thought it would be nice to introduce you to some of the terrific e-pals I've made, including my fellow knitting designer and friend, Lidia Tsymbal. 

I sometimes joke with Lidia that we must be long-lost cousins since we share a lot of similar ideas in knitting, yarn, stitches and more. You may know her beautiful designs on her blog Atelier Madam Butterfly. 

Lidia was kind enough to ask if she could interview me for her blog, and wrote up a lovely profile. Today is my chance to turn the tables and share a little about her through the answers she gave to my questions. 

 

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You write part of your blog posts in Russian, did you move to the US from Russia or another country? How and when did you come to the US?

I came to the US some 20 years ago. I came from the country that doesn’t exist any more, the Soviet Union. I’ve lived in its different parts for many years, then it was time to either move to Germany or immigrate somewhere else. I chose to move to the United States and never regretted it. When I moved to the US I stopped knitting, because I could not afford a good quality yarn and there were very few yarn shops around. I was a big yarn snob and couldn’t bring myself to knit with acrylic yarn. I didn’t knit for about 15 years. A few years ago I was inspired to get back to knitting by one of the Russian knitting sites. I write my posts in Russian so friends that I’ve made on that site could understand what I am talking about.

How long have you been knitting and how did you learn?

My sister taught me some basics of knitting when I was about 11 years old. I knitted a lot when I was young and never followed patterns. I’ve learned clothing contraction from my mom, who was a sewing, design and clothing construction teacher. She had her own studio and the high society clientele. My mom always made me make a live size pattern (like one for sewing) of my design (sweater, cardigan, etc.) and then after swatching I made my own calculation for my garment. She insisted that if I wanted my clothes to fit well, I should do the blue print first. I’ve learned knitting and finishing techniques from the books. I was about 13 years old when I knitted my first garment.

Do you have a favorite knitting technique?

When I was young the fair isle knitting was my favorite one. Since I came back to knitting, I haven’t had time to revisit this technique. I do hope to make something with fair isle technique in a year or so.

What is your favorite type of thing to knit – shawls, sweaters?

It is hard to say… I love lace, but I do enjoy cable and texture stitches. One day I want to design something intricate and airy, the other day I am in the mood for stockinette stitch and a minimalist sweater. I am trying to balance out my knitting, by alternating lacy shawls with other garments.

Why did you decide to design patterns?

It seems that even if I follow someone’s pattern I always have to recalculate and customize a pattern to my liking. This was one of the motivations to write my own patterns. I want to create patterns that will look equally beautiful on a curvy lady and on a skinny girl.

Also, in 2010 ShibuiKnits asked me to design a couple of items for them. While my patterns for ShibuiKnits were in the process, I decided to start writing down and publishing instructions for my designs on ravelry.com. I’ve received positive feedback from other knitters and never looked back. I have lots of ideas and it is hard to keep up with them. Sometimes I wish that I had a couple more arms and 48 hours in a day.

What was the biggest surprise about being a designer?

I don’t know if I can say it was a surprise. It is rewarding to see that other people can use my knowledge and produce something that they like by following my instructions.

You mention in your profile that you are a small business owner. Does this involve knitting?

Our bread winning business is in a very different world. It has to do with freight and transportation. Well, with recent developments in my knitting/designing/teaching I had to register my Atelier Madam Butterfly as a business in Portland, OR. Will it be a one year fling, or will I be in the knitting world for a long haul? It remains to be seen, but I have a hunch that knitting will take over.

What’s new on the knitting horizon for you? Do you have anything coming up that you’d like to share with my readers?

Next month one of my patterns will be published in one of the magazines by Interweave Knits. Also I have a few patterns in the process for ShibuiKnits and Bahh! Yarn. I’ll keep you posted on this developments on my blog. 

Thank you very much again! It is an honor to appear on your blog. I wish you and your readers lots of happy hours with their yarn and needles.

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Thank you Lidia, for your friendship and generosity of spirit. It is a pleasure to share your work here and I wish you much success in your design journey!

And many thanks to all of my readers for stopping by today, I wish you much peace, many blessings and happy stitching!

Interview!

I was thrilled to be asked recently to do an interview for the blog Atelier Madam Butterfly by another knitwear designer, Lidia Tsymbal. 

Lidia makes beautiful things, and her blog is lovely, so it was a big honor to be asked. I always enjoy reading Lidia's blog when I can, so if you'd like to check it out just click the link on her blog title above.

Also, watch this blog for an interview with Lidia soon!

PS - the photo is a gratuitous pretty yarn shot just because I like posts with pictures. :)

Designer Alley - A Caithness Craft Collective Podcast Interview

It's no secret that I enjoy a good crafting podcast, especially one focused on knitting and fiber, and a favorite is the Caithness Craft Collective, hosted by the lovely Louise Hunt of Caithness, Scotland. 

When I first 'met' Louise on Twitter, I had to look up her location, and discovered that the County of Caithness is located in the far north of Scotland.

From photos I found on the internet, it seems that Caithness is a coastal, windswept and ruggedly beautiful place.

The area boasts a lovely castle and garden. 

Louise provides a lot of listening enjoyment as she discusses her knitting and spinning projects, designers, patterns and yarn she is interested in, and various random topics such as men in kilts (rawr...). 

Louise's son Sandy introduces the program's segments in his darling voice, her little girl Daisy has an infectious giggle that never fails to put a smile on my face, and Louise and her husband have been ending the show lately with a review of Scottish whiskeys, quite an interesting topic that gives the show a local twist. 

I was thrilled when Louise asked me if I would be willing to be interviewed for a new program segment called Designer Alley, and since her format includes responding to written questions, I readily agreed (I'm a bit shy about live interviews, lol). 

Her questions covered things like how I started designing, where I get my inspiration from, and what my pretend fiber shop along her imaginary 'alley' would be like. 

Although I know it's terribly out of context, I imagined a pretty, cobbled mews with adorable shops fronted by sunny windows and flower boxes (like the photo, of an English mews, at the top of the post - fiber tourist heaven in other words!

To hear my answers, listen to the podcast here.  

I think you will enjoy Louise's podcast, she herself is utterly charming and her show offers interesting topics in a well-produced way, plus, her accent is delightful!

Caithness map:wikipedia

Caithness photos: http://www.visitourscotland.co.uk/castle-of-mey/

Mews photo: http://pinterest.com/pin/198510296045237299/