Kim Haesemeyer is the delightful designer of Bowden Cable Socks in Interweave’s most current issue of Sockupied. Kim is a pretty prolific designer, and has a variety of her patterns available at her Ravelry page. She most graciously agreed to answer some questions for me about her socks, and what inspires her. Without further ado, here is Kim:
How did you come up with the cable pattern?
Simple cables are some of my favorite stitch patterns to knit because with very little effort you have a wonderful new fabric. I wanted the cuff ribbing to naturally flow into the main cable pattern, so I just played with combinations until I found what I thought worked well. Plus, cabling is truly just another fancy ribbing since the pull-in of the stitches creates wonderful stretch to fit your foot nicely. This is also an ideal pattern to practice cabling without a cable needle.
How do you come up for names for your pattern?
Interweave chose the name for me and I love it! Classic with a bit of zing.
What is inspiring you right now? Do you have pictures, patterns or motifs?
I always have fun finding a particular part of a garment like the silhouette or stitch pattern and wonder how I can rework it for my purposes. What makes this garment work? What do I like about it? Would that stitch pattern a fun body pattern? Or just a hint of excitement along a neck or cuff edge? Would that work for a hat or mitten?
Why do you like to design socks?
Socks are a great way to try stitch patterns without having to commit to a huge garment. Plus, colors that may be too crazy for you to wear in other ways is the perfect amount of excitement in a pair of socks. Slightly zany socks absolutely brighten my day and even if the world cannot see them, I know they are there. If I am feeling more adventurous, I have seen the clear boots advertised in knitting magazines and thought they would be a fun way to showcase socks.
What do you hope to design in the future?
The exciting (and often overwhelming!) part of knitting design is how there are so many possibilities. I look forward to learning different sweaters and as well as other types of heels and toes in sock knitting.
What is your favorite item to knit?
I enjoy accessories because you can splurge on fancy yarn a bit if there isn’t too much yardage. I love to knit socks for the same reason — often just one hank makes the perfect pair and they travel well without taking up much space. Vests are my other favorite because they are so fast to knit seamlessly and they are the perfect layering piece to enjoy nearly year round.
Is there a favorite time of day you prefer to knit?
I like to process my day with my knitting so I have to knit at least for a bit in the evening. I have recently combined my two favorite things, knitting and reading, by listening to audio books. Why it took me so long to figure this out, I don’t know. Before I could only do one or the other, but now I can do both all day long!
Quick, your an animal! What are you? Why?
The ocean is my favorite and I always thought it would be amazing to explore the seas being a dolphin. Imagine how much they have seen that we know nothing about!
If you would like to learn more about Kim, visit her at her website, bigskyyarnsandcrafts.com.
To read yesterday’s interview with Claire on my blog visit here.
