Intervju med Heidi Kirrmaier

Här följer originalintervjun med Heidi Kirrmaier! Om ni vill höra den svenska översättningen så finns den i avsnitt 9. Om ni vill läsa fler intervjuer så hittar ni dem under etiketten "Intervjuer".

Stort tack till Heidi Kirrmaier för att hon ställde upp och missa inte att anmäla er till utlottningen! Mer info hittar ni i Show Notes:en för avsnitt 9.

Vi drar vinnaren på torsdag kl 18!

1. Are you an engineer by day by any chance? Your patterns are written in such a way. And if so, what do you think the reason is for so many knitters being engineers?

Yes, I am trained as an electrical engineer. I suppose it takes one to know one ☺. Knitting (and especially designing) often involves a lot of math as well as the ability to visualize shapes in 3 dimensions, which I believe are traits that also make good engineers. So it seems quite logical that people who are attracted to engineering are also attracted to knitting.

2. Who taught you how to knit and how old were you?

My mother taught my sisters and me to knit when we were very young, maybe around 5 years old.

Your garments always have unique construction and well designed features.
3. What is your favourite design element or feature?

What I like best is to embrace the unique attributes that the method of knitting has to offer. This is why I like seamless designs. Since each stitch is effectively just a “point”, it is possible to create an infinite number of shapes, one stitch at a time, all depending on how you choose to position the next one relative to the last. This is in contrast to sewing, for example, where you are starting with 2-dimensional fabric and necessarily have to cut into it and seam it in order to create a 3-dimensional shape. Not so with knitting! I also don’t like to hide the shaping, but rather feature it in the finished object - for example, the eyelet increases I used for Vitamin D, or the decreases running along the tops of the sleeves in Thunderbolt and Pipit.

4. Tell me a little bit about how you approach designing. Where do you find inspiration, and what is your process?

I generally begin with a shape, or an idea of how I want the lines of a garment to come together. These ideas are generated from a variety of sources, often from clothes I see people wearing or in photos online or in magazines (I like to say current), but sometimes also from things around me that are completely unrelated to clothing. Then I think of the best way to construct that shape or create those lines through the process of knitting. I don’t personally like a lot of decoration on the clothes I wear, so this tends to be reflected in my designs as well.

I then do my best to translate it all as clearly as possible into a set of instructions across a range of sizes, in hopes that knitters will have a positive knitting experience as well as a stylish and properly fitting garment in the end. And while I often approach the construction in an unusual way, I don’t typically use overly complicated techniques as I believe you can do a lot with the basics.

3. Do you knit others designs as well and in that cast, who is you favourite designer?

Yes, I really enjoy knitting others’ designs. It gives me a different perspective on pattern writing styles, but also of course because there are so many lovely designs available. Norah Gaughan has always been a designer I admire. There are so many others as well, I can hardly begin to name them all!

4. What advise would you give to an aspiring knitting designer who wants to start designing his/her own patterns?

I think it’s important to be true to yourself. This way you will always love doing it and naturally generate new ideas. But you should also be aware that there is a lot to the process, starting with the design concept, the calculations, writing and laying out the pattern, photographing the finished piece, and then last but not least pattern support, during which you might receive negative feedback! It’s important to be open to that and view it as helpful, especially in this day and age of social media and transparency.


Ha det fint!

Intervju med Katie aka Hilltopcloud

1. When did you start dyeing wool and who taught you?

Around 3 years ago, I started out with natural dyes, mostly using foraged material from around my home, but then diversified in to acid dyes. I picked up the basics from an excellent Interweave download, and the rest I taught myself. I used to be a science teacher, and mixing dyes is very like science.

2. What dye do you use and where do you prefer to by you wool from?

I mostly use acid dyes now, I started out with natural dyes, but would have foraged the countryside bare by now if I carried on. Acid dyes aren't as environmentally unfriendly as people might imagine, done correctly all the dye powder should end up stuck to the wool, so there's no wastage. I buy my wool from a variety of UK sources, I enjoy tracking down the sightly more unusual things on offer, and buy from a number of small family run firms.

3. Do you have a favourite sort of wool to dye and what sort do you prefer to spin, from roving or batt?

That's a really hard question. I love the depth of colours I can get on silk and camel/silk blends, but getting the fibre evenly dyed is very hard as the silk sucks up the dye very quickly.
I love the effect I've been getting from a BFL Ramie blend, the BFL sucks up the dye, and the Ramie, being a plant fibre, doesn't so you get beautiful variation. I enjoy dyeing coloured wools most, you get such beautiful depth of shade, it makes for a very interesting yarn.
As to what I prefer to spin, it depends on the yarn I was after. When I first learnt to spin I thought I didn't like batts, but I now realise I had the misfortune to buy some really bad ones. My most relaxed spinning is probably from my handblended roving that I diz off the drum carder, it's effortless to spin.

4. Where do you find to inspiration for your colorfull rovings?

I take a lot of my inspiration from nature and the world around us. I run workshops here in the UK about the colour theory I use, and helping people to create blends that they enjoy wearing. The very bright clashing fibres look lovely in the braid, but are tricky to spin in to nice looking yarn, and often aren't in colours we wear. Many of us have quite muted wardrobes so I try to create blends that will go with the clothes people like to wear, and will make them look good.

5. Do you have a studio to work in when you dye?

Most of my blending work is done in my home, I have an office space in the corner of my bedroom, and do my carding in the corner of my living room. I do my dyeing in a caravan in our garden though, it's great because dyeing is messy, and this way I can close the door and not worry about the mess I've made.

6. And last - for our listeners who are interested to learn how to dye their own wool or yarn, what is your best suggestion how to go about it?

Food colouring or Kool Aid are a great way to try out dyeing in your own kitchen, there are some great Ravelry groups focusing on this method of dyeing. Natural dyeing is also a good way to try out dyeing, it can be a bit smelly though. Jenny Dean's book "Wild Colour" is an excellent starting point. Use a fibre that's resistant to felting, superwash treated wool is good while you're learning, that way you won't have to worry too much about felting.

Intervju med Kirsten Kapur

Här följer intervjun vi hade med Kirsten Kapur. Om ni vill höra den svenska versionen så finns den i avsnitt 6. Om ni vill läsa fler av våra intervjuer så hittar ni de under etiketten "Intervjuer". Missa inte heller att hon ger 20% rabatt på alla sina mönster! Mer info finns i Avsnitt 6.

-When did you learn how to knit? Who taught you?

-I don't remember actually learning to knit, so I'm not sure if I taught myself or if someone else did. I grew up in a family of very creative people. Making things was a part of daily life. Picking up the needles and knitting just happened naturally.

-When did you start designing/publishing your own patterns?

-Many, many years ago, before I had children I worked as an apparel designer and then textile designer. I left the garment industry after my kids were born, but continued to sew, knit, and paint.  Then about 7 years ago I discovered the wonderful online community of knitters so I started blogging as a way to meet like-minded people and have a way to chronicle my knitting projects. At the time I seldom worked from patterns, and mostly made things up as I knit. Eventually I started writing things down and sharing the patterns. The online community was very supportive so I continued and I've been at it ever since.

-You have a very unique style of mixing colorwork with lace. Where do you find your inspiration?

-Since I live in New York City there is inspiration everywhere - in the people, the buildings, shop windows, museums. My daughters also inspire me. They love art and design so we often talk about and share ideas. Some of my designs have come out of things that my kids have asked me to make for them. Finally, I love color, and texture so the combination of colorwork and lace really appeals to me.

-Tell us about your design process!

-I'm usually thinking about the next design as I knit my current project. As I sit knitting I rethink and refine ideas until they become something that's ready for the needles. Occasionally I'll sketch the idea, but most often I turn to my stitch dictionaries and make swatches to see what works best with the yarn I'm using. Once I cast on the actual piece I do most of my designing on the needles. I'll have a basic plan, but will make adjustments as I work. My computer sits by my side - usually with an Excel spread sheet opened. I take notes, make calculations, and write the pattern as I go.

-Do you work as a full time designer? If not, what do you do when not designing?

-Yes, designing is my full time job these days.

-Do you have any advise for our listeners on how to start designing/ publishing their own patterns?

-Do it because you love it. It's not a great way to get rich, but it is a lot of fun and you'll meet many, many nice people along the way.

-Do you photograph your own garments? The photos are always so lovely!

-Thanks for the compliment on my photos. I do take them myself and use my twin daughters as models. It has gotten much more difficult finding the time to take the photos now that they are in college.

Intervju med Stephen West

Who taught you to knit and how old were you? 

Some friends in high school taught me to knit when I was 16. I learned backstage during rehearsals for a musical and it was very dark so I couldn’t see well and it was big mess, but that was my first attempt. I later taught myself more with the internet and books.

Would you like to describe your path from publishing your first design to when you became a fulltime knitwear designer?
My first design was the Boneyard shawl and I offered it as a free pattern on Ravelry. Several knitters made it while I published a few more for sale patterns and those first patterns quickly became very popular. Seeing everyone’s interest in my first designs like the Botanic Hat, Daybreak, Herbivore, and AKimbo prompted me to make even more patterns and I soon had a shawl pattern called Colonnade Shawl in a fall issue of Knitty.com which brought a lot of attention to my patterns as well. After all of that I quickly made more and more patterns and then wanted to do my own pattern book inspired by the work of Ysolda and Jared Flood. Now I have Westknits Book 5 out on Ravelry along with other knit alongs and pattern collections and I have my books and patterns distributed to yarn shops worldwide. It’s gotten pretty crazy! 

What are you working on right now? 
I am releasing the last update this Friday for the Westy’s Besties KAL. It was a collection of garments and accessories I designed last summer with Jared Flood’s Brooklyn Tweed yarn.

I’m working on a new pattern collection with Quince & Co. using their yarns and I’m working on a few other individual designs for various publications and events.
I’ll be traveling to the U.S. next month to teach in New York, Washington D.C., Denver, and Minneapolis with my friend Ragga from knittingiceland.is so I’m gearing up for those classes and teaching events.

Many consider your designs to be unique, were to you find the inspiration to your designs? 

A lot of my designs are variations of one another so often one design will lead to several other ideas. I knit a lot and constantly make things so I usually start with a yarn and color combination that I love and figure out how to best display it with lines or texture. I like walking around Amsterdam taking photos of inspiring color combinations and I browse shops and markets a lot keeping my eyes open for interesting shapes and fabrics. Most of my inspiration though comes from doing. There’s only so much you can plan and control, but a design doesn’t really exist for me until it’s an actual knitted fabric.

Can you tell us a little bit about you latest book? Is there any particular reason that you shot the pictures for your book on Iceland, beside the marvelas scenery?
Iceland is my favorite place and I always get so much inspiration and creative space when I’m there. After my first visit to Iceland, I knew I wanted to go back and photograph a collection there so I photographed two collections there last summer. :) Jared Flood came to take photos of all the designs that are in the Westy’s Besties KAL. We traveled to Hofsós in the north of Iceland to spend a weekend taking those photos. Ysolda Teague was later in Reykjavik and she took photos of Westknits Book 5: Midgard which is a collaboration between myself and my friend Cirilia Rose who works with Skacel in Seattle. Skacel distributes Addi Turbo needles and several German yarn labels to the United States. Cirilia and I were teaching with Knitting Iceland so we took advantage of our time together to plan and create a collection to photograph in the Reykjavik.

Do you have any tips for knitters who want to design and publish their own first creation but who are not quite sure how to go about it?
I learned so much by following other patterns and making modifications to them. Once I became familiar with different pattern writing methods, I gained confidence and comfortability writing my own patterns with my preferred language and style. The first few patterns took several weeks to create or write, but with practice it became easier. Knitty.com is a great outlet for designers because they reach such a large audience and they always curate and fun and creative selection of patterns that knitters can access for free.

Intervjun med Kirsten Jensen

I Avsnitt 2 intervuade vi designern Kirsten Jensen. Här kommer den i text. Se avsnitt 2's show notes för att hitta länkarna.

How come you started knitting?

I started knitting when I was about 11 or 12. My mom (Kanute on Rav) is a fantastic textile artist and taught me how. I always wanted to learn, but was equally encouraged because it was the preppie era and I wanted lots of fair isle sweaters, which were in style, but we didn’t have the money for them. “If you make them, I will buy the yarn” was my mom’s answer to that (it was also how I learned how to sew). So I started knitting--little did she know that I would gravitate toward expensive yarn! LOL. My first sweater was a horrid, puffy, pure-1980s maroon & white striped pull-over from French Elle. I knit my first Lopi colorwork sweater my freshman year in college.

When did you take the step starting to designing patterns of your own?

I’ve always altered patterns to customize fit, or to use a method that made more sense technically or aesthetically to me. I don’t think I’ve ever knitted a pattern following the directions completely. I’ve frequently taken a pattern that has a shape I like, and just knit it up in colorwork, or adding/subtracting cables. Once I had kids I was quickly disgusted by how large the patterns were--wide and short--and I wanted to make heirlooms that actually fit and which my kids could keep forever. I didn’t really start designing for others until Ravelry, and I joined that right about the same time I was pregnant with my son. His “Old School” sweater was my first pattern.

Just like me you seem to have a passion for colorwork. What is your favorite project ever?

I love color and color knitting. Straight stockinette bores the hell out of me and actually takes me longer to knit. I’m an art historian, so I love color theory, geometry and symmetry, and my designs tend to go in that direction.

My favorite project ever I guess would have to be “Snow Falling on Cedars”--the original design for what became Kyllene (although I’m tired of it now, having knit it four times!!). I knit it in Jaggerspun Zephyr and it was such a joy to feel and watch come off my needles. Sadly, I made the upper arms a bit tight, so I don’t wear it too often.

Tell me about your designing process?

I don’t really have a process, which is likely why I am so slow at turning things out (I also have a full-time day job!). Generally I see a pattern or chart (I have some from the 15th century) that I like and I imagine it in a shape, and then I see what I have in terms of yarn. I really do just create as I go--it’s a very organic process and I often forget to take notes, which kicks me in the pants when I decide to release it publicly.

What do you do when you are not designing?

As I mentioned, I’m a museum curator and art historian. I write about American art and design, but am also interested in 19th and early 20th century Scandinavian art.

Would you like to work full time as a designer?

I’m not sure I’d like to be a designer full-time. The process of making something that would appeal to enough people to actually make a living at it is not all that compelling for me. I find that I get really stressed out about writing up the patterns and that detracts from my enjoyment of knitting. I like the freedom of being an “amateur.”

Your name sounds scandinavian.. do you have that in heritage?

I’m Danish-American! I have Danish families on both sides, on my mom’s a ggg-grandfather & grandmother Knudsen came from Funen in the 1870s and moved to Colorado; on my father’s side, a grandfather Jensen came from Jylland to Brooklyn--which had a Danish section at the time!--in 1913. I keep in touch with some of the Jensens when we visit each year. My partner, Lars, is Danish. My grandmother was happy about that ;].

What advice would you give to our listeners that would like to start publish pattern on their own?

You really have to think about your audience. In many ways that does affect the design process. Ravelry and places like Pintrest actually offer a lot in terms of doing research about what people knit. I’m more of an iconoclast--I knit for myself and my family, and if I get enough “likes” I’ll think about taking the time to write it up. Professional technical editors are wonderful helpers--you have to pay them, of course, but in my case that alleviates somewhat the technical side of designing and leaves me to focus on the vision! And never under-estimate the power of a free pattern!

Laura Chau - intervjun

Igår gick vid över hela 1000 lyssnare av vårt första avnsitt.

Tusen och åter tusen tack till alla er som lyssnat!

I detta inlägget kan ni läsa hela intervjun med Laura Chau som vi pratade om i första avsnittet!

1. Who taught you to knit and how old were you?

A close cousin taught me, in the car on a road trip when I was 12. I
learned the long-tail cast on and then the knit stitch, and I knit a
huge garter stitch scarf after that. I put it down for a long time
after that, but when I was starting university I saw a girl on the bus
knitting and thought, I should do that again! I went to a local craft
shop and bought some yarn, pulled out a needlecraft book from my shelf
and worked on re-learning how to knit, and how to purl for the first
time. I soon discovered the world of knitting on the internet, and I
learned lots of things very quickly.


2. Would you like to describe your path from publishing your first
design to when you became a fulltime knitwear designer?

My first design, Lucy in the Sky, came about while I was working in a
yarn shop. I'd started there not very long after I got back into it,
and I learned a ton of stuff on the job, such as how to fix mistakes,
reading your knitting, and not taking it too seriously! I'd knitted
quite a few sweaters from patterns before I decided to design one, so
I felt pretty comfortable with the basic construction of a sweater.
We'd gotten in a new yarn at the shop that I really loved, and I was
looking for a pattern to use it for but didn't find anything that fit
the idea in my head, so I decided to try making my own. Downloadable
patterns were pretty new, but I'd bought some others before, so I
decided to put mine up for sale as well. I used to email back each
person who bought it with the file!

Around the same time, Amy Singer asked if I would like to publish
something in Knitty - of course I was delighted. Serrano was the first
thing I put out that wasn't self-published, and I've had several other
pieces in Knitty as well over the years. Mostly I used knitting to
keep me sane while in university - I kept knitting up new things,
blogging about what I was working on, and it turned out some other
people wanted to make what I was making too! I kept up the
self-publishing and eventually I had a nice little library of
patterns. I taught myself to use spreadsheets for grading, and how to
lay out patterns.

Working at Lettuce Knit really helped me feel comfortable about my
knitting ideas and creativity, and there were lots of people to bounce
ideas off of (and of course, lots of beautiful and inspiring yarns).
When I finished school, I was fortunate enough to work with Wiley to
release my book, Teach Yourself Visually Sock Knitting. I told myself
that if I needed more money, I could always look for a "grown-up" job
and put knitting on the back burner. So far, that hasn't happened. I
recently left the yarn shop after many years, and I'm really enjoying
the freedom to work on my own ideas on my own time. Of course Ravelry
has changed the knitting landscape tons, and I probably wouldn't still
be doing this if it wasn't for them! The website makes it really easy
to connect with knitters, make new customers, and handle the technical
side of things. I certainly couldn't have kept up with emailing each
person who ordered a pattern!


3. What are you working on right now?

I'm still working on catching up with self-publishing pieces that I've
knit over the last while but never had time to finish up properly. I
have a few sweaters nearly ready to go and lots of ideas flowing! I
usually have pieces in every stage of development at once - sketches,
swatches, knitted things in progress, finished patterns that just need
photos, all kinds of things. I haven't submitted much to print
magazines, but I'm hoping to change that this year.


4. We love your book the Afternoon Tea Lookbook, where did you find
the inspiration to do this book and do you have any plans for a
followup?

Thank you! I love designing and knitting sweaters, and I love tea! I
had quite a pile of sweater patterns nearly ready to go, but I wanted
to do something a bit different with my self-publishing - hiring other
people. A good friend is an art director, Jasmine Cirjanic, who helped
put everything together - the photographer and makeup artist were her
friends, and the model was her sister. I really enjoyed the process of
styling, having a photographer - I was able to step back a bit and
take a look at the collection as a whole, and decide the type of feel
and look that I wanted it to have. Working with other people towards a
complete collection was also really good for encouraging me to focus
my energy towards a single goal. Right now I'm mostly focusing on
single patterns and don't have any concrete plans for a new
collection, but you never know - I loved working with everyone and I'd
definitely do it again.


5. Do you have any tips for knitters who want to design and publish
their own first creation but who are not quite sure how to go about
it?

Ravelry has really changed the way designers and creators interact
with knitting consumers - it's so easy now to self-publish with very
low risk. However, on the flip side there are also so many people
publishing that it can be difficult to get noticed. My general advice
is to go for things and not be too afraid! Experiment, educate
yourself, and don't be afraid to ask for help or advice.