Spring 2015 Archives - Tinking Turtle

5 Questions for Rachel Coopey

February 20, 2015 by Jennifer Raymond

Welcome to the last day of or week of 5: 5 designers, 5 interviews, 5 designs, all to celebrate the newest issue of Sockupied, now out in an easy-to-download PDF. If you’ve missed the previous days, let me catch you up: Monday was Amy Palmer, Tuesday Kate Atherley, Wednesday M.K. Nance, and Thursday Mone Drager. A point of housekeeping: the contest will run through the weekend, with winners announced next week.

Today we have Rachel Coopey, author of three books: Toasty, Socks, Socks Vol. 2, and A Knitted Sock Society. If you think Kate Atherley designed a lot of socks, think again: of Rachel’s 195 published designs, 148 of them are sock patterns – a whopping 75%. Rachel’s socks are serious business: she favors the Heel Flap over any other heel style. This isn’t the first time Rachel and I have been in Sockupied together – we were in last year’s Spring Sockupied too! I interviewed her then – almost exactly a year ago! This year in Sockupied, Rachel’s Laith Socks feature a stitch pattern that moves from one foot to the other – creating a fun set of fraternal twin socks.

If you were to describe your socks as an animal, what would it be? Why?
Rachel: Something warm, maybe a bear? Something that symbolises how much we need hand-knitted socks in the current freezing weather!

You’ve created a lot of sock patterns. Do you ever come up with an idea, or sketch out a theme just to realize that you’ve already created something similar? How do you keep your designs fresh?
Rachel: No, I don’t think so. I mean socks are similar in that they are mostly the same shape but there’s an endless combination of stitches and fabric techniques. When I do think I can’t design anything new I suppose I’ll stop but I don’t think that will be soon!

All of the designers were working on socks during the Summer of 2014. What else were you working on or thinking of as you created your pattern?
Rachel: I was pretty busy working on my new book, Coop Knits Socks Volume 2, I was knitting samples and writing patterns, we had lovely weather this summer so I mostly worked in the garden, it was pretty nice! I also attend a lot of Fibre events and shows and last summer was particularly hectic, I was at Woolfest, Unwind Brighton and Fibre East in the space of 4 weeks so that was fun but exhausting!

Did you run into any problems or challenges when you were working on designing the socks or writing the pattern? What was your favorite part of creating Laith?
Rachel: They flew off the needles with no problems, I love working with Opal yarn, it’s one of my absolute all-time favourite sock yarns and the colour was great. I love designing non-identcal socks, ones that don’t exactly match across the pair but are strongly related – sometimes called fraternal socks. I think it really helps with second-sock-syndrome and keeps things interesting.

What are 3-5 things you are loving lately?
Rachel: The Robert Galbrath books – I love a good mystery and these didn’t disappoint me.

The new Bjork album and TV series Fortitude – are intensifying my already intense desire to visit Iceland. (Fortitude is set in Svalbard but filmed in Iceland). I have a husband who is all but allergic to the cold weather so I suspect my adventure there may be alone.

The new Arne & Carlos Regia sock yarns – these are great self patterning yarns in interesting colours, they are selling out everywhere though so if you see them you should snap them up before they disappear!

This week’s just a week of interviews for Rachel – in addition to Laith Socks, Rachel has an interview in Sockupied by Rachel Atkinson! Learn Rachel’s favorite shoes, her favorite knitting drinks,
knitting tips and more!

Rachel’s socks are done in Zwerger Garn’s Opal Uni Solid. As part of the contest, Opal’s distributor in the US, Unicorn Books & Crafts has generously offered up a skein of Opal Uni to go with our issue of Sockupied!

To enter the contest, use the Rafflecopter widget below! You can enter the contest multiple times by doing different things – so have fun with it. We will have three winners to the drawing, be sure to scroll through and see all the great prizes!

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5 Questions for Mone Dräger & Contest

February 19, 2015 by Jennifer Raymond

Welcome to the 4th day in our week of 5: 5 designers, 5 socks, 5 interviews, all to highlight Sockupied Spring 2015, published last week in a new PDF format. On Monday I interviewed Amy Palmer, editor of Sockupied. On Tuesday we featured Kate Atherly, and on Wednesday MK Nance.

Today we have Mone Dräger, who (like many of us) was also taught to knit by her grandma. Mone is located in Germany, and many of her patterns are both in English and German! I’m simply in love with Mone’s socks, which were featured in Sockupied’s “One Sock, Two Ways”.

If you were to describe your socks as an animal, what would it be?

Mone: An animal? Well, that one got me thinking, but I’d say that a chameleon fits best. My Chains Socks were designed for the ‘one sock, two ways’ category and they indeed work with all kinds of colourways, though the style changes depending on what yarn you choose. They can look classy and elegant in a solid, neutral colour, they add just a pop of colour to your wardrobe in a semi-solid in a bright and saturated colour, but they can also look crazy and fun in a wildly variegated yarn. So a chameleon fits.

You speak English as well as German. Do you find that influences the way you approach designing or writing patterns?

Mone: German is my native language, so I learned to knit from German patterns and if I like a certain

German pattern I still knit from it nowadays. I admit that I prefer English knitting patterns, simply because I like that there is an English ‘knitting language’. There are lots of abbreviations like ‘ssk’ or ‘k tbl’ – very short and commonly used and they mean the same for all knitters. In German many things have to be described with lots of words – don’t even ask me for a short form of ssk – and in addition there are no common abbreviations. Different publications use different ways to express the same thing.

When I work on a new pattern my notes are usually in ‘denglish’, a mix of German and English where I use German to explain certain design features but use English terms for all the instructions. I write all my patterns in English first, and then translate them back to German. Even though it should be easy for a native speaker I often run into trouble because I’m much more familiar with English terms.

All the designers were working on our socks during the Summer of 2014. What else were you working on or thinking of as you created your pattern?

Mone: Well, I worked on my socks during our summer holidays, so the Chains pattern will always remind me of the terrific time we had. DH [dear husband] and I travelled along the Pacific Coast Highway from San Diego to Seattle and from there we took a trip to Canada. Not only did we enjoy the scenery, but along the way we met with some of my ‘virtual’ friends I met through the Ravelry forum. It was so fun to finally meet in person and put faces to people who have felt like friends forever. Best holiday trip ever and I hope to go on another ‘turn virtual friends into real friends’ trip soon.

Did you run into any problems or challenges when you were working on designing the socks or writing the pattern? What did you do to overcome it or problem solve it?

Mone: In previous Sockupied issues I’ve always loved the ‘one sock, two ways’ category, so when I was pondering on a design to submit I always wondered about a pattern that would work in both, semi-solid and variegated yarns. Now, I’m not the biggest fan of knitting with variegated yarns because often the stitch pattern kind of ‘gets lost’ in the colours of the yarn, so that was a real challenge. And I admit that I had my share of ripping back to do before I came up with Chains; in the end it was all the bridges and the intriguing constructions that inspired me.

What are 3-5 things you are loving lately?

Mone: Things that make me happy? Ah, there are so many and I could have come up with so many different things that it’s hard to make a choice. Here are some in no particular order:

Snowdrops. Funnily enough, even though I knit a lot of warm and winterish things, I’m a summer loving person and I’m always a happy camper when the often grey and wet German winter is over, so to see the snowdrops coming out for sure puts a smile on my face. Tells me that spring is not too far away and warmer weather should be here soon.

Ponderosa Wolle: I went to a crafts fair two weeks ago and had the chance to see all her beautiful yarns in person. And ahem, I might have bought some. A lot. And most of them variegated yarns. Nothing better than colours as a cure for grey and dull days.

Hannover 96: My local soccer team and we’ve got season’s tickets and go to the stadium to watch them play every second weekend. It’s always a blast with all those people in the stadium, singing, clapping and cheering them on and well, if they even win it’s perfect entertainment.

Ravelry and my friends there: I often say that my knitting friends know me better than my family and although that’s an exaggeration, it’s wonderful getting to know and chat with people who share the same hobby. Isn’t it terrific how small the world became thanks to the internet?

Holidays abroad. We are just planning our summer holidays and it’s very likely we’ll go to England and Ireland again. We’ve done that before and usually we go by car and just stay wherever we like it. This time we plan to go end of June, so maybe I’ll even go to Woolfest? Not to forget that I’ve got Ravelry friends in the UK too, who I hope to meet.

Mone Dräger’s Socks are titled Chains Socks, so titled because of the distinctive slip-stitch pattern. Mone was inspired by the bridges of the West Coast on her summer holiday in the US – can you see the lines of the bridges in the socks?

The green version of Mone’s socks are worked in Huckleberry Knits Willow in the colorway titled
North Fork, the variegated socks are in Mercado. I love how the two yarns create such distinctive effects – both completely different but just as stunning. Huckleberry Knits has generously offered up a skein of Willow to the winners of one of the prizes!

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5 Questions for M.K. Nance & Continuing Contest!

February 18, 2015 by Jennifer Raymond

Welcome to day three of my weeklong series of interviews with the designers of Sockupied! This is the week of 5’s: 5 interviews, 5 socks, 5 yarns… all to celebrate the new format of Sockupied. On Monday we spoke to Sockupied’s editor Amy Palmer, on Tuesday, Kate Atherly. Today we have M.K. Nance.

M.K. Nance is the creator of Mill Ends Socks, named for the smallest park in Portland, Oregon. This isn’t the first time Nance and I have been together in a Sockupied Issue. The last issue was Sockupied Fall 2013, when my socks were on the cover. She had created Tryon Creek Socks, which were also named after a park in Portland. Nance has been knitting for 21 years, and is a proud 5th generation knitter!

So let’s get down to the questions:

If you were to describe your socks as an animal, what would it be? Why?
Nance: I would have to say that the socks remind me of my current dog. He is a lab/border collie/something else mix and he has a curly tail with white knee socks.

Your other two pairs of socks are also named after parks. How do you decide which parks?
Nance: My connection is simple, I mostly grew up in Portland and I currently live there. Most of the time I design the socks first and then pick the name which somehow mirrors the pattern. As there are almost 300 city parks and even more if one includes the suburbs, I doubt I’ll run out of names anytime soon.

All the designers were working on our socks during the Summer of 2014. What else were you working on or thinking of as you created your pattern?
Nance: I was knitting a
different pair of socks for a swap which was similar to Mill Ends out of yarn I
dyed with icing dyes (sadly, they are light sensitive).

Did you run into any problems or challenges when you were working on designing the socks or writing the pattern? What did you do to overcome it or problem solve it?
Nance: The pair for the
swap, I encountered several issues which I knew would happen with these
socks. The biasing around the leg made them much less elastic and so I
included a note about changing the needle size on the leg. Also getting
the cuffs to match in all the sizes caused a slight headache.

What are 3-5 things you are loving lately?
Nance: I’ve been listening
to a lot of music by Zoe Keating and Kaki King while
knitting lately.

One Geek to Craft Them All makes my favorite stitch
markers.

Tea is also essential for knitting/my design process and I’ve been drinking a
lot of Amaretto Spice.

Nance’s Mill Ends Socks are knit in Fibernymph Dye Work’s Bounce in North Sea. The socks feature a distinctive bias on the leg to imitate the swirl of traffic that surrounds the sock’s namesake.

You can get the Mill Ends socks in Sockupied – check it out!

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5 Questions for Kate Atherley, and Continuing Contest

February 17, 2015 by Jennifer Raymond

As I mentioned yesterday, this is the week of 5’s: 5 Interviews with 5 Designers, each asked 5 questions! This is in honor of Sockupied Spring 2015 – to highlight the Designers, Patterns and Yarns involved in getting this issue together.

Today we’re talking with Kate Atherley, author of Pattern Writing for Knit Designers, tech-editor for Knitty, and sock-sizing expert. She’s so good at socks, she’s got a new book coming out this year, Custom Socks Knit to Fit Your Feet. I worked with Kate when I had my Octopodes socks in Knitty, and I can tell you she’s detail-oriented, meticulous, and knows her stuff. Kate was taught to knit as a child by her grandmother, Hilda Lowe. Family legend says that Hilda used to earn a penny turning the heel of socks for knitters in her neighborhood. I can only imagine that Kate has come by her love of socks naturally!

Kate’s socks in Sockupied Spring 2015 are the lovely Washington State Knee Socks, knit in Lorna’s Laces Sportmate, which I’ll talk about in a bit. But let me just give you peek:

Washington State Knee Socks by Kate Atherley lime green Sportmate

But enough background, let’s get to the questions:

If you were to describe your socks as an animal, what would it be? Why?
Kate: Socks are like a beloved Labrador Retriever: they go anywhere with you, they keep you warm, and they’re all about love. Giving someone a pair of handknit socks shows a lot of love!

You’ve published over 209 designs, including 69 pairs of socks (33% of your designs have to do with feet!). What draws you back to socks?
Kate: I love the portability of socks, and I love the mathematical nature of sock design. It’s all about proportions and formulas and thinking about it makes me very happy. I also have very cold feet – I suffer from a neurological issue called Raynaud’s Phenomenon, wherein my extremities get very very cold. Hand knit socks help with that a lot, on a practical level. I do tend to prefer working top-down: it’s easier to design that way. I figure the patterning first on the leg, and then sort out how to divide it for the foot. And I like the Dutch/band heel, as the math is easiest for that.

All the designers were working on our socks during the Summer of 2014. What else were you working on or thinking of as you created your pattern?
Kate: I’d actually just finished submitted the final samples and patterns for my upcoming Custom-Fit Socks book – being published by Interweave this summer. I’d said that I needed a break from sock knitting – and yet the first design submission I sent into a publication was for a pair of socks. And knee socks, at that. Sometimes I wonder about my sanity!

Did you run into any problems or challenges when you were working on designing the socks or writing the pattern? What did you do to overcome it or problem solve it?
Kate: Because I’d just finished up the book, sock knitting and sock designing and sock pattern writing were at top of mind. I think the problem might have been in trying to do anything else…

What are 3-5 things you are loving lately?
Kate: I was given an Aeropress coffee maker as a gift this past Christmas, and it’s changed my life. It makes absolutely fantastic coffee. I love coffee dearly, and it makes a damn fine cup of coffee.

Music is an important part of my life and my workday, and I adore the new Decemberists’ album.

Speaking of sock knitting, I recently got my hands on some Little Gidding Farm Suri Alpaca sock yarn, and it is absolutely wonderful stuff. So warm, and the colors are amazing. Love it.

As I mentioned before, Kate Atherley’s socks in Sockupied are titled Washington State Knee Socks, Sportmate. Knee socks are great transeasonal socks – perfect to wear under pants or boots on cold days, or to wear out for everyone to see with a cute skirt!

Washington State Knee Socks by Kate Atherley

knit in Lorna’s Laces

Because the socks are knit with Sportmate, they are not the marathon that knee socks can sometimes be! Kate has an article in Sockupied explaining how to customize the fit of knee socks legs.

Today’s blog post is sponsored by Lorna’s Laces, who contributed 2 skeins of Sportmate for the drawing. Kate Atherley has also donated a copy of her book, Knit Accessories.

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