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On the Stands Now: My Interview with Inside Crochet

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Inside Crochet Cover
Just a quick note from me this Friday afternoon, as I attempt to beat back my email inbox.

CaptureIf you live in the UK, or happen to get Inside Crochet Magazine, you should go take a gander at the issue.  I’ve got an interview with the Deputy Editor, Rhian Drinkwater, in a feature titled “Crochet Entrepreneurs!

We talk about a number of my upcoming patterns, a few of my role models, and how I got my start!

I also talk about something that really made me feel vulnerable, but I think talking about it is important: making mistakes.

You can pick up an online copy here, or buy it wherever the magazine is sold.  And if you’re in the UK, take a picture of it if you come across it and send it to me!  It’s my first international publication I’ve been in!

Week of Interviews – Alice Yu and Deuce

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Alice Yu has an impressive knitting resume.  She is the owner of Socktopus, and creator of the popular Knit Love Yarn Club.  You my recognize her work by the popular pattern, Shur’tugal or by her book, published in 2011, Socktopus: 17 Pairs of Socks to Knit and Show Off.  Alice has kindly managed to carve out time in her schedule to answer some of my questions.

Alice, tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m an expat Canadian living in Hong Kong by way of London England.  I used to be a lawyer, then sort of fell into knitting, like falling down the rabbit hole. Ever since then my life has been an adventure in knitting, designing and dyeing yarns. 
Deuce has such a fascinating stitch pattern.  Loving working with stranded yarns and slipped stitches, I’m curious how you came up with the pattern.  Did you need to swatch for it very much?

I played around with slipped stitches with my design De Stijl, and thought that it had potential.  Deuce is a follow on from that design, using the same technique.  I played around with alot of different combinations but settled on one that was relatively easy to remember.  
How did you come up with the names for your pattern?
Names for patterns are often inspired by my life at the time of designing, or if the pattern reminds me of something (like Fiori di Zucca that reminded me of zucchini  flowers).
Why do you like to design socks?
I love socks because they are the ultimate portable project. A small microcosm where you can play with all manner of knitting techniques – short rows, slipped stitches, texture, cables, etc.  A great canvas but not overly involved – I have  short attention span so socks are the perfect thing for me.
Are there any things you are hoping to design in the future?
I would like to design some kid’s wear – having a little one has opened up a lot of possibilities and things I would like to see her in but can’t find.
Is there a favorite time of day you prefer to knit?
I love knitting in the afternoon – a nice calm time when I’m not too tired. 
If you were making your own trail mix, what would you put in it, and why?
My own trail mix would have: raisins, a nice 54% chocolate chip, roasted almonds, granola clusters, Brazil nuts (love those), dried cranberries, some cocao nibs, and roasted hazelnuts. 
Having said that, I do love Chex mix.
Thank you Alice for taking the time to stop and chat  with us today.  If you are interested in more about Alice, visit her website at http://www.socktopus.co.uk/blog/.
If you would like to track back to the other interviews they are as follows:

A Week of Interviews Claire Ellen and Uloborus

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Welcome to a week of interviews!  This week I have a special treat for you… I’ll be featuring interviews from various designers from the latest issue of Sockupied.

Today, Tuesday, we have an interview with Claire Ellen, who created the truly stunning Uloborus Socks.  Claire is currently in Hungary in Karcag, and writes very eloquently about her experiences abroad.  And without further ado, I’ll let Claire tell you about her Uloborus Socks, and the process they went through before they became what you see in Sockupied today.

One of the things I love most about designing socks– any socks, all socks, all the time!– is that each element of the knitting can have a different motif or idea. A sock has so many different planes and angles, and each one can host a different pattern or the same pattern or a combination of different ideas. I love that the foot can be different than the ankle; the gusset can host a pattern or be plain; etc. The possibilities are endless. 

I was an English major in school, and an English professor once I graduated, and I love finding connections in novels and poetry. When I began playing with yarn, it was a simple process to include literary connections– they’re the two things I love most. Sometimes the connections only make sense in my brain, but it’s as though I can see a knit pattern that embodies some theme or character from the literature. It began when I saw a yarn at The Swift Stitch (my LYS in Santa Cruz) that just screamed Gimli, from the Lord of the Rings. That began my designing whirlwind, and it just keeps getting better! I’d never have dreamed that this silly little hobby of mine combined with an obsession with literature would result in such a degree of fame and fortune. Ha! But seriously, this was all really unexpected. 

As far as the Uloborus socks go, well, they’re really a continuation of the Lord of the Rings series of socks that I thought I had finished. I don’t know if it makes any sense to anybody else, but the collections of patterns are broken into groups of characters I thought went well together– The Fellowship of the Nine was an obvious starting place. Then came what I think of as the “Other Heroes” then “The Ladies,” and finally, a small (but hopefully growing soon) collection from The Hobbit. People were pressuring me to do a “Villains” group, but I’d had enough. I just don’t like the villains. Because, you know, they’re villains. Besides, I thought, how much black yarn can a person knit with? Anyway, I’d thought the collection was finished, and I wanted to knit other things. 

But Shelob (Tolkien’s big spider monster) got under my skin. Scary thought, that! I’d seen several spider-themed socks on Ravelry, and they’re beautiful! But none of them really captured the creepy-ick factor of Shelob in my mind. So I started swatching. And reswatching, and playing around with cables, then with lace, and then bam. It just happened. I was looking through a stitch dictionary, and there it was. Perfect! Just the right amount of Creepy-ick, with some beauty and some delicacy thrown in for good measure. The pattern needed a bit of fiddling, and I needed some additional stitches to fill out the sock, but I just knew this was it. 

Sockupied contacted me the day that I finally got the ankle swatch to work the way I wanted it. They were looking for submissions with a short deadline; I was playing with a stitch pattern, but also planning a move from California to Budapest! It’s a good thing these socks practically knit themselves, and the staff of Sockupied were so helpful, or they’d never have gotten finished up. As for the name, someone at Sockupied came up with “Uloborus” which is a super icky tropical spider of some sort. Good, eh? 

Working on these socks has left me wondering if I might not just return to Tolkien as a source of inspiration and do some villain socks after all. The Mouth of Sauron has a certain horrible charm to him that might translate well to a sock. Right now, though, I’m working like crazy trying to adapt to a new country, new language, sparsity of sock yarn, and a whole host of other issues. I’ve also got Shakespeare on the brain of late, and several socks published, in process, and being tested that borrow from the “Sweet Swan of Avon” for inspiration. 

I began designing socks on a lark. It was something to do with my evenings while my family watched basketball finals or CSI reruns. How could I have guessed that I’d love it the way I do. I’d rather knit socks than just about anything else. I’d do it whether anybody else ever knit my designs or not, and I’ll keep on doing it till it’s not fun anymore. 

Students Report In!

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One of my favorite things about being a knit and crochet designer and teacher is that I get to live vicariously through my students.  Because most of the projects I crochet are original designs, I rarely get to try out the beautiful other patterns other designers produce.

Elizabeth was one of my students a couple of months ago.  She came into The Yarn Spot for some private lessons, and simply took to crochet like water.  Next thing I know she’s taking some of my intermediate classes and showing me pictures like the ones to the side.  In a few short weeks she had made ENTIRE AFGHANS.  Do you know in the many years I’ve been crocheting how many afghans I’ve made?  One.  And I stopped early because I got bored.  It ended up being a lap blanket.

So in order to get in the head of someone so incredibly motivated and excited about her new hobby, I “invited” (really demanded, but she’s accommodating) Elizabeth to answer a few questions about herself.

Look how large this blanket is.
Why did you want to learn to crochet?
Two of my favorite things in my home are a blanket made by my Aunt Connie for me when I was little and a housewarming gift made by one of my best high school friends. Both are chevron crocheted blankets. I have always felt loved cuddling up in them and being able to make those for other people in my life is what made me want to learn to crochet. 
What would you like to learn to do in the future?
I’ve just started making stuffed animals, and I think, at some point, lace might be fun. But really I have no idea 🙂
Quick! Your’re an animal, what are you?
Penguin.
What type of projects are you looking at doing next?
I am working on a stuffed dinosaur and a blanket for my husband. I think, after that, I would like to try a project involving granny squares. 
What words of encouragement would you say to other crocheters or knitters who are just starting out?
Keep at it! It’s fun and relaxing all at the same time, and the feeling of finishing up your first gift is amazing. 

This one is pretty big too – and the stitches came out beautiful and regular.

Thank you Elizabeth for stopping by and showing off your hard work.  Keep at it!

Are you a student that’s taken one of my classes or a private lesson?  Have you ever worked one of my patterns?  I’d love to hear about you and your projects!

Interview with Lee Wittenstein and Walk the Dog

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Today we’ve got an interview for you in two
parts to celebrate Lee Wittenstein’s release of a new pattern – Walk the Dog.  One part is here, the other part is at TheYarn Spot’s blog.  I can claim both on
behalf of myself and The Yarn Spot that we’re so proud of Lee, and are looking
forward to seeing more of her patterns published by herself and others in the
future.
A little bit about Lee:  I first met Lee at The Yarn Spot, where I was
working my normal shift.  I had heard
about the talented Lee, but had never met her as our shifts and schedules
rarely overlapped.  She came into the
store that day to pick up some yarn, and I remember her big smile, her cheerful
personality and her incredible knowledge about knitting.  I told her as she was leaving we would have
to get together more often, as it was already clear that I wanted to get to
know her more.  Lee is really a member of
the “fiber tribe” having been taught knitting by her grandmother and being
raised in a “fiber friendly” household. 
Her mother co-runs the popular Yarns International, and Lee has been
working at or with yarn stores since 1987.
So
Lee, tell me a little bit about the Inspiration you had for “Walk the Dog?”
Lee: My friend the dog walker wanted a hat
for her “big head.” She is outside all winter long and needed to be
warm.  She also wanted it to match her coat and be machine washable. 
One of my go-to-yarns for machine-washable is Spud and Chloe Sweater. 
There was a great match for her coat and so the first version was born. 
Once that was knit I gave it to her, of course, and then set out to make a
second one for my pattern.
What
was the Yarn you used for the second one?
For the second one I wanted something more
luxurious.  Cascade’s Venezia Worsted fit that bill and is available at my
LYS, The Yarn Spot.
What
is your design process like?  Do you
sketch or swatch?
I don’t sketch because I can’t draw.  In
fact, for a long time I thought that I couldn’t be a creative, artistic type if
I couldn’t draw.  Now I know that is so not true but I still can’t
draw.  I always swatch.  To get a feel for the yarn, to decide what
needle size will give the effect I want, to check gauge. That said, I don’t always
fully block the swatch. (Bad designer) I design on the needles so I use my
finished piece to determine final gauge.
What
kind of questions or problems do you try to solve as a designer?
I like that question.  I think my
best designs have come out of trying to fill a need for someone
specific.  Like Walk the Dog.  And a secret design
that will be revealed in a few months. (Did I pique your interest?)
Other design inspirations are visual – a pattern I see on a blanket and want to
try to make work on a hat.  Or a mosaic tile pattern that would
look great on a cowl.  One of the things I love about being a
designer is that everywhere I go there is fodder for my
designing.

I
know I have designers in the industry I look up to – either because of their
business model or because they’re doing something really cool that I wish I had
thought of.  Who are your favorite
designers right now – the people you would like to emulate?
There are a lot of people doing really
interesting things. It is hard to mention only a few.  But I
will.  I admire people who think outside the box–Norah Gaughan springs to
mind.  Ann Weaver‘s use of color and her sources of inspiration are
amazing.  Kate Davies is an inspiring designer who has a modern take on
traditional knitting. 
How
do you envision your business in the next five years?
I hope I am still here, still doing designs
that I love and that lots of other people love too.  I don’t have a formal
five-year plan or anything like that.  The designing business has come out
of my real love for knitting, yarn and the knitting world.  I hope to
still be a productive, creative part of it all in five years (or more!)
What
are some of the projects we can look forward to from you in the future?
I have three projects that are just a wee bit
away from being ready to publish.  One is a cowl with easy lace and fun
colors.  Another is a mitered squares cowl which would be a good first
pattern for this technique.  I’m working up a class with that one. 
Finally, a scarf-ette in lace and garter stitch which would be a great holiday
gift.  Other things I am playing with are a cabled hat, traveling stitches
mitts and a child’s cardigan.
Lee, thank you very much
for taking the time to answer my questions. 
Check out the rest of the interview over at The Yarn Spot, Lee’s website
at http://harperandfigg.com/, and her pattern
at http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/walk-the-dog.

An Interview with Ellie

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So Ellie, we’re both sitting here and I think you should let me interview you.

Ellie:  Okay.  You can write I’m fascinating if you like.  Let them know that I”m not a concieted ***hole…. don’t write ***hole.

Jen: Okay.  I can do that.  All right, most important question:  The first five cookies you think are the best.  The true cookies, if you may.

E: Let’s see… like, brand name cookies, or cookies I make?

J: Cookies, you make.

E: You really are transcribing everything?

J: Yes, I type fast enough.

E: Peanut butter cookies.  How vulgar can I be?  Do people with children read this?

J: Probably not now.

E: Okay.  *laughs*  I sorta think peanut butter cookies are right next to orgasm.  Umm… please don’t type  my umms.

J: Okay.  I can do that.

E: Lemon cookies.

J: What?

E: You don’t eat lemon cookies?  I made them for you once for your birthday.

J: Oh, those.  They were delicious.

E: Chocolate chip cookies.

J: Naturally

E: Grasshopper cookies.

J: Grasshopper?

E: They’re made with mint choclate.  Though I’d probably eat cookies with grasshoppers in them also.

J: I would too.

E: Oatmeal… not with raisins though.  Raisins are the boogers of the fruit world.

J: Really?

E: When I was a little kid, I’d used to call them weewees.  And one thime my mom got me a cinamon rasins buns with the frosting on top and I said to her, mommy there are weewees sleeping in my cake.  And refused to eat it.

J: I would too.  Though I like raisins, weewees would be just unnerving in cake.  I assume that means you don’t like rum cake with rasins in them, right?

E: By the time you put enough rum in it, you don’t notice the raisins.

J: I love you.

E: *Laughter.*  I love you too.

J: And that’s why I love Ellie.

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