inspiration

Day 7, Looking Forward: 4KCBWDAY7

Here we are at the end of Knitting and Crochet Blog Week already! Feels like it went by really quickly this year. Guess I must be getting used to this blogging thing. :-)

Today’s prompt asks us to look forward. What new skills, projects and experiences do we hope we might have conquered or tried?

I have three skills I’d like to have incorporated into my designs by the time Knitting and Crochet Blog Week 2014 rolls around.

First, short rows. They are a special kind of knitting magic. You can use them to shape shawl collars, as I did in this little Baby Sophisticate I knit for a friend:

You can use them for bust shaping, which is nice for those of us who are well-endowed but prefer to avoid the giant-sack look. The Shapely Tank by Joan McGowan-Michael is a great example of this:

And you can also use short rows to knit top-down, set-in sleeves in the round, which I think is especially cool. You can see an example here in the FlyAway Hoodie pattern by the phenomenally talented Joji Locatelli:

The next thing I want to incorporate into a design in the next year is steeking. I’ve never done any steeking before, but the idea both terrifies and intrigues me!

And finally, I’d really like to try out the contiguous method of top-down sweater knitting, as developed by Susie Meyers (SusieM on Ravelry). If you’re not familiar with this method, do check it out! It’s an ingenious way to knit a set-in type of sleeve in one piece with the body of a sweater. Here’s an example, Papillon by Svetlana Volkova:

Keep an eye on my blog to see if I manage to incorporate any of these design elements into upcoming patterns!

Thank you all for making Knitting and Crochet Blog Week so much fun. I found several new blogs to follow and have really enjoyed reading all your nice comments. :-)

Day 5, Something Different: 4KCBWDAY5

For today’s prompt (something different from your usual style of blogging), I decided to show you some of the non-yarny pictures I’ve taken that live in my inspiration file. Time will tell if any of these elements ever make it into one of my designs!

(Some of these photos were taken on trips–see if you can spot scenes from Venice, Florence, and San Francisco! Er… but no points for Venice. That one’s easy.)

Design Process Part 1: Inspiration

I got such a nice response to the post about my design process for Lavandula that I thought I’d try an experiment! A new design idea bit me hard a few days ago, so I thought it might be fun to do a series of posts detailing its creation, from first idea to pattern release. (Thanks to the lovely Becky of Sugar Tree Designs for the idea!)

First up: the inspiration.

The initial spark of an idea comes, more often than not, from some hole in my wardrobe.

I only wish I meant this kind of hole.

I’m not doing much dressing up these days, so I’m feeling a lack of casual, comfy, cozy pullovers. You know, the kind you’d wear to curl up in a big chair in front of a fireplace.

So that’s the basic concept out of the way. But what about the details?

I save lots of pictures from catalogs, email mailings, and random internet searches for features I like. I also take pictures of sweaters A LOT. In clothing stores, out walking around, in lines at the grocery store… I know some designers prefer to look at fashion magazines or runway collections, but to me there’s nothing like seeing the way a collar drapes, color does/does not flatter, etc. in person.

I’ve perfected my “take a surreptitious picture with my iPhone, without freaking out the subject” technique.

Well, almost perfected. I think this lady might have been on to me.

Every so often, I go through my photos and see if inspiration strikes.

I saved this picture because I liked how far down the v-neck came (very flattering to larger busts):

I like the width of the ribbing on this next one (although I’m not really a fan of the lace pattern in the rest of the sweater or the airy-ness of the yarn used, and I don’t think I’d put a v-neck in the back as well as the front):

Big, floppy collars just scream cozy to me–plus I like when it looks like there’s a hood from the front, but there’s not all the extra fabric of a full hood, just a rectangle of fabric partway down the back. Actually, I have no idea what to call this. Is it a shawl collar, just without the short-rows? I can’t find a picture of what I’m talking about by searching for shawl collar, so maybe not. Anyone know what its official name is?

I also like front pockets, and they’re definitely cozy… but I’m a little iffy on whether I want to include one in this design or not–it’s hard to pull off without making the sweater seem too casual. But I’m putting the decision off until later, when I have a better idea about yarn choices and the overall look of the piece.

Cute sweater, but a little too teenage for my tastes.

Cute sweater, but maybe a little too teenage for my tastes.

With those criteria in mind, I can start brainstorming in earnest. Next step: sketching!

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week: Your Knitting Hero 3KCBWDAY3

Today’s topic requests that I blog about someone in the fiber arts who really inspires me. I knew right away that I’d want to talk about one of the designers I admire–after all, looking at them is what made me think, “Hey, I might be able to do this design thing!” in the first place.

But who to choose? There are so many talented and awesome designers out there right now, and thanks to Ravelry, I can ~~stalk~~ follow their every designing move. I especially love Ysolda Teague’s modern and simple style, Marnie MacLean’s romantic, textural designs and willingness to help upcoming designers, and Romy Hill’s beautiful shawls (if I actually, you know, KNIT shawls, I’d be all over that).

But the designer I decided to focus on today is Wendy Bernard, who blogs at knitandtonic.net. She designs modern, figure-flattering garments that pretty much always appeal to me. And although she lives in southern California too, she doesn’t shy away from my beloved wool!

A look through my Ravelry projects tells me she was a good choice (these are all projects from before I started designing, of course).

Here’s Jordan (all pattern links go to Ravelry pages):

A striped Tomato in-progress (I did finish it, promise, but for some reason never got pics!):

And Dream Swatch Head Wrap:

Look at my short blond hair–yikes!

I’ve also made Sizzle, which was gifted to a friend before pictures could be taken, and Something Red, which turned out a little too small (totally user error) and then had to be frogged to make something else due to lack of yarn.

Now, five FOs from the same designer may not sound like much, but that’s BY FAR the most I’ve knit of anyone’s patterns in my almost 10 years of knitting. And even though I can’t really justify knitting anything that isn’t my own design right now, I still am dying to make these sweaters from Wendy’s wonderful Custom Knits book:

Slinky Ribs:

Favorite Cardigan:

Also Opulent Raglan, which I actually BOUGHT YARN FOR right before I started designing and then ended up destashing so it would stop taunting me.

I haven’t bought Custom Knits 2, because I have a feeling I’ll fall in love with sweaters in there too and it’ll just make me sad. But I will continue to admire Wendy’s design aesthetic and prolific output (Custom Knits: Accessories comes out next week!). I will also continue reading her blog, where she shares interesting and often moving stories about the business of designing, knitting, and life in general.

So thank you, Wendy, for being such an inspiration to this newbie designer :-)