Designs by KN blog

This post is for Day 7 (and last day) of

3KCBWDAY7

Assignment: Crafting Balance Are you a knitter or a crocheter, or are you a bit of both? If you are monogamous in your yarn-based crafting, is it because you do not enjoy the other craft or have you simply never given yourself the push to learn it? Is it because the items that you best enjoy crafting are more suited to the needles or the hook? Do you plan on ever trying to take up and fully learn the other craft? If you are equally comfortable knitting as you are crocheting, how do you balance both crafts? Do you always have projects of each on the go, or do you go through periods of favouring one over the other? How did you come to learn and love your craft(s)?

When I’m knitting, I wish I was crocheting (for the speed.)  When I’m crocheting, I wish I was knitting (for the soothing rhythm.)  Since I go between both crafts on a regular basis and love what each has to offer, I am, like dishcloths, as wishy-washy as they come.

Wedgy-Edgy Dishcloth

That about sums it up!

Thank you for joining me on this blog week journey. It’s been great fun to write about the crafts I enjoy the most and to share a behind-the-scenes look at the heritage, history and evolution of a fervent knit/crochet practitioner and designer.

Stitch on.

This post is for Day 6 of

3KCBWDAY6

Assignment:  Improving Your Skillset How far down the road to learning your craft do you believe yourself to be? Are you comfortable with what you know or are you always striving to learn new skills and add to your knowledge base? Take a look at a few knitting or crochet books and have a look at some of the skills mentioned in the patterns. Can you start your amigurumi pieces with a magic circle, have you ever tried double knitting, how’s your intarsia? If you are feeling brave, make a list of some of the skills which you have not yet tried but would like to have a go at, and perhaps even set yourself a deadline of when you’d like to have tried them by.

It seems that I have come a long way …

… from the 1970s when I first taught myself to crochet, sitting on the bed in my college dorm room with hook, yarn, a vintage instruction booklet and a very puzzling afghan pattern in hand.  (For my first project, did I have to pick the intricate one splashed on the cover of the latest magazine, which turned out to be the most difficult, multi-piece, one-of-a-kind pattern?)  Both pattern and afghan are long gone, and I’ve never seen one like it since.  Sadly, there is no photographic record of that challenging project (unfortunately there was no Ravelry way back then!)  Perhaps in 1970 I should have started with a simple granny square blanket like the one I made when DD was born ten years later.

… to the 1980s when I taught myself to knit, practicing slowly and clumsily through my first charitable-cause knitting project for Christmas-at-Sea (the basic garter stitch cap & scarf set)

Oliver’s Cap (knit) and Mariners Scarf (crochet)

… to the 1990s when my skills in both crafts had advanced enough to garner attention from “customers” who commissioned me to make sweaters, baby sets and Christmas stockings

Feather & Fan Baby Sweater from Lion Brand (slightly modified) with DBKN‘s Lacy Baby Hat & Scalloped Lace Baby Socks 

… to the current decade where I added new skills (designing and pattern writing) in order to share my ideas with others.

Men’s Fingerless Mitts

At this point, I would consider myself a fairly advanced crocheter and knitter, and yet there is always something new to learn.  Take, for instance, the current work-in-progress.  DD and SIL just moved into a brand-new house, so I had the crazy notion to make an afghan for them as a housewarming gift.  Earlier this week we met at a store so she could choose the colors to match their decor, and ended up with a soft green and white, which will fit in with one of the rooms that has been painted gray with green accents (sounds odd, but actually looks good in reality.)  I asked her to choose a pattern from the Berroco book ”Comfort Knitting & Crochet: Afghans.”

As the sayings go “like mother, like daughter” and “history repeats itself” she chose one of the most difficult, multi-piece, one-of-a-kind patterns in the book (see 1970s paragraph above.)  When she said “I really like this one! Can you make it?” I immediately answered “Is it crocheted? (that being my strong suit, after all)  Yes, I can make that!”

Eager to get started, I merrily dove into the task of following the written instructions in the book to create the first of twenty squares needed for the afghan. The entire thing is worked in single crochet (you have to like single crochet a lot, which I do) so at least that part was already in my skillset. The next challenge was, of all things, following someone else’s written pattern!  Ever since 2004 when I began designing my own projects and writing my own patterns, it’s been a rare occurrence to use another designer’s pattern.  I persevered through this one, scratching my head several times and uttering “huh?” quite a lot.  Even though the directions are thorough and the layout for the squares is clearly mapped out, it still requires a bit of an old test-taking skill. Remember those spatial relationship tests where you have to envision fitting this piece one way and another piece that way and figure out which goes where?  This afghan project is giving my brain a similar boost, just as that first puzzling afghan pattern did way back in the 1970s.

Thankfully, each square is getting easier and quicker to complete.  I finally caught on to how this unique design is constructed, and it’s quite amazing when you see the result.  I am at the stage of assembling the first few rows of this spiral-in-a-square design, using a skill learned from sewing up many knitting projects (mattress stitch) to piece the squares together.

Spiral by Norah Gaughan

It’s going to be one awesome afghan when completed, and this time there will be photographs to record the challenge.

In the world of knitting and crochet, there’s always something new to learn.  Isn’t it a good thing that you can teach an old dog (or crocheter, or knitter) new tricks?

This post is for Day 5 of

3KCBWDAY5

Assignment:  Something A Bit Different  This is an experimental blogging day to try and push your creativity in blogging to the same level that you perhaps push your creativity in the items you create.There are no rules of a topic to blog about but this post should look at a different way to present content on your blog.

Supply line

Chow line

Bee line

Hot line

Life line

Feline

Love line

Pattern line

This post is for Day 4 of

3KCBWDAY4

Assignment: A Knitter or Crocheter For All Seasons? As spring is in the air in the northern hemisphere and those in the southern hemisphere start setting their sights for the arrival of winter, a lot of crocheters and knitters find that their crafting changes along with their wardrobe. Have a look through your finished projects and explain the seasonality of your craft to your readers. Do you make warm woollens the whole year through in preparation for the colder months, or do you live somewhere that never feels the chill and so invest your time in beautiful homewares and delicate lace items. How does your local seasonal weather affect your craft?

My family is used to it by now.  They know that if there is a moment of free time in the day, chances are I will be knitting or crocheting, or reading or writing about knitting or crocheting, or dreaming about knitting or crocheting.  For me, the seasons don’t matter —  I adjust my projects accordingly and just keep on stitching.

Here’s the funny thing. We lived in southern California for many years and during that time I knit a variety of sweaters for myself, family and friends.  In the early 1980′s, I was fortunate to help out part-time in a small needlework shop.  At that time, cross-stitching and needlepoint were the popular crafts of the day, so the knitting yarns were relegated to a few shelves in a dark corner in the back of the store. But I remember the excitement in the shop in 1982 when we learned that Vogue Knitting was resuming publication.  It was from those early issues that I improved my knitting skills by producing even more sweaters, some of which I still have in my closet today.

Perry Ellis #12 Queen of Hearts sweater, Vogue Knitting, Spring/Summer 1985

Perry Ellis #27 Theater Sweater, Vogue Knitting, Fall/Winter 1985

Calvin Klein #35 Cabled Pullover, Vogue Knitting, Fall/Winter 1986

So there I was, living and working in southern California, knitting sweaters and wearing them whenever the weather cooperated, always wishing I lived in a colder climate so I could knit and wear even more sweaters!  Fast forward to 1990.

We moved to Colorado, where the spectacular Rocky Mountains greeted us along with climatic changes that were, to say the least, “interesting.” There were freezing cold days (to wear all those sweaters I brought with me from southern California!) as well as windy, dry, hot days where tank tops and shorts were the most comfortable attire.  During the first few seasons in our new state, I knit a couple more sweaters but gradually project choices changed to smaller accessories that were easier and quicker to complete.  In 2002, I found myself helping out and teaching part-time in a shop again.  This time it was the local LYS where yarn took center stage, along with supplies for spinners and weavers (not a cross-stitch or needlepoint kit to be found!)  Did I knit any sweaters?  No, the new “rage” was scarves. I was asked to knit and design countless scarves, to showcase the plethora of new novelty yarns on the market.

15-15 Novelty Scarf

Stunning Sampler Scarf

Year-Round Neck Scarf

Sugar & Spice Shoulder Scarf

No matter the season, I knitted and crocheted like the wind to fill the demand for new samples and patterns, which eventually led to the launch of Designs by KN in September 2004.

So despite changes in seasons, styles, or weather, one thing is likely to stay the same.  I plan to be knitting or crocheting, or reading or writing about knitting or crocheting, or dreaming about knitting or crocheting … always.

I am a knitter and crocheter for all seasons.

This post is for Day 3 of

3KCBWDAY3

Assignment:  Your Knitting Or Crochet Hero Blog about someone in the fibre crafts who truly inspires you. There are not too many guidelines for this, it’s really about introducing your readers to someone who they might not know who is an inspiration to you. It might be a family member or friend, a specific designer or writer, indie dyer or another blogger.

If there’s such a thing as a craft-loving gene, I must have inherited it.  The love of creating with thread, fabric and yarn somehow made its way down the family tree.  Grandma S. raised ten children on a farm and with such a hard life did not have time or money for crafting other than basic necessities. I remember visiting once during a quilting bee (the best part for me was hiding under the quilt stand as the women stitched overhead!)  In later years, after we moved west to California, Grandma S. ventured far from her home in the midwest to pay us a visit.  While there, she knitted two pairs of slippers for my brother and me (turquoise/white and red/white double-stranded slippers in the vintage style with fluffy pompoms on top.)  Little did I know then that years later, when I began creating patterns of my own, I would be “hounded” for directions on how to make that style of slipper. Today My Grandmother’s Slippers pattern is one of the most popular in the Designs by KN line.  Thanks for the memories, Grandma S.!

Grandma H., on the other hand, was a crocheter.  An expert in thread, her home was positively dripping in crocheted tablecloths, antimacassars, pillows, table runners and doilies, two of which I inherited and still treasure today.  Grandma H. was exceedingly resourceful, not only wielding a steel crochet hook with skill but also baking fresh bread to sell to neighbors, tending to a kitchen garden, canning,  growing a grape arbor and caring for cages full of singing canaries!  It was her passion for crochet, though, that must have transferred to me, as that has been my preferred craft ever since I taught myself in college (a peek at my Ravelry designer page offers a glimpse of how a grandmother’s love for crochet has influenced her granddaughter.)  Thanks, Grandma H.!

Vintage Wheel Squares in thread

Crafting genes?  It must be true.  You see, neither of the grandmothers nor my mother, mother-in-law, aunts, neighbors, teachers or friends ever taught me how to crochet or knit! (well, someone did try to teach knitting but it didn’t sink in until years later).  I did take a sewing class in high school and made my own wardrobe then, but the crafts of knitting and crocheting were self-taught.  At one point my mom gave me a vintage needlework instruction booklet so I give credit to the classic “Coats & Clark Learn-How Book” for my yarncraft education.  Thanks, Mom, and thanks Coats & Clark!

To me, the needleworking heroes in my life will always be my maternal and paternal grandmothers.  I am in awe of the intricate pieces they created with the vintage tools and limited materials of their day.  Thank you, dear ones, for passing along the love-of-craft gene.  I intend to carry on the tradition as long as possible, and it does my heart good to know that my own daughter is carrying on as well in her chosen medium, cross-stitch.

We are grateful for the heritage.

Granddaughter and great-granddaughter in vintage thread dress crocheted by Grandma H.

This post is for Day 2 of

 3KCBWDAY2

Assignment:  Photography Challenge Day! Today challenges you to be creative with your photography. Taking interesting photographs in this instance isn’t about flashy cameras or a great deal of technical know-how, it’s about setting up a story or scene in a photograph and capturing something imaginative. Your photograph(s) should feature something related to your craft, so that might be either a knitted or crocheted item, yarn, or one of your craft tools.

Road trip checklist:

Got bag …

Provence Summer String Bag

Got yarn …

Got tools …

Got car …

Got maps …

Got time …

Got knitting …

And at the end of travels …

Got socks!

C.O.O.S. (Choice of Options Socks)  …  on the road

This post is for Day 1 of

3KCBWDAY1

Assignment: Colour Lovers
Colour is one of our greatest expressions of ourselves when we choose to knit or crochet, so how do you choose what colours you buy and crochet or knit with. Have a look through your stash and see if there is a predominance of one colour. Do the same with your finished projects – do they match? Do you love a rainbow of bright hues, or more subdued tones. How much attention do you pay to the original colour that a garment is knit in when you see a pattern? Tell readers about your love or confusion over colour.

For those of us who are Colorado Rockies fans, 2012 has been designated the Year of the Fan and today is Purple Monday.  I’m all set for the occasion with my purple Rockies jersey:

If the weather turns cold again (after all, it is springtime in the Rockies and anything is possible) this recently-completed hat and scarf set, in baseball team colors,  is ready for wear:

Better Late Than Never Beanie and Chunky Stripe Scarf

Because I’m a Rockies fan, purple has become one of my favorite colors, but basically I’ve always been a “natural” person, much of the time gravitating toward the non-colors beige, off-white and cream.  Our home for the past twenty years still retains its original “white walls, beige carpet” decor which I find comforting and peaceful.  With sunlight streaming in and a view of the natural Colorado landscape outside our windows, it’s the perfect backdrop to more colorful spaces around the house, such as this “yarn corner” in a spare bedroom:

As a child I loved the color yellow.  When I grew older I chose to wear a lot of cream-colored clothing.  Eventually I developed a fondness for the blue-green range (probably to match my eyes, which seem to change from blue to green depending on the shade worn.)  However, when knitting and crocheting or planning new projects, I work with a rainbow of colors, as evidenced by these charitable cause projects donated recently to the Ravelry group “For the Children of Pine Ridge”:

Currently I’m in a scrap-happy phase, creating hats, scarves, shawls and baby things in yarns from stash, recycling and repurposing the accumulation of years that is tucked in cubbies, drawers, shelves and closets upstairs (the latest “discovery” is described in my previous post.)  One of my favorite color-riot projects is this shawl, made with leftover sock yarn scraps:

Easy-Crochet Shawl

For me, colors of choice might be yellow, or cream, or beige, or aqua, or green, or … pink!  Yes, pink.  I like pink, and it’s a good thing since there is always a request for baby gifts.  As a result, I have made a “ton” of these Lacy Baby Hats:

Lacy Baby Hat with Scalloped Lace Baby Socks

When I first began submitting design ideas to publications, I discovered an odd thing:  pink gets attention!  My very first submission, which ended up being reworked in a fabulous green bulky alpaca for the cover of Knit Simple, Fall 2007, started out as a design submission in hot pink. Here is the hat that started it all …

… and its final form as a cover hat (#13 Tasseled Earflap Hat)

Photo by Paul Amato, copyright Knit Simple/SoHo Publishing

(For many other “think pink” projects from Designs by KN, feel free to take a visual stroll through my Ravelry designer page.)

But I still prefer beige.

Just as spring dandelions are multiplying like rabbits in the yard, my yarn stash continues to surprise by reproducing all over the house. A couple days ago I opened the drawers of a small nightstand to discover it was packed with leftover scraps of cotton yarns.  There was yet another “yarn octopus” lurking in one drawer, along with partial balls of cotton sock yarn, fashion crochet thread & scads of kitchen cotton oddments.  I spent a pleasant hour sorting out the mess and detangling the octopus.

Once the scraps were rewound into tidy little balls, I grabbed a size H crochet hook and started to crochet.  The first project was one of my personal favorites, the Shell Point Chenille Facecloth.  This cloth is versatile.  Depending on yarn choice and hook size, the finished result can serve as a doily, table center, coaster, dishcloth and, yes, a facecloth or spa cloth if made in a soft yarn.  I started with scraps of Lily Sugar’n Cream for the first cloth but just like potato chips, you can’t stop with just one!  Before I knew it I had a whole spring-blooming garden of cloths (as posted on the Designs by KN Facebook page “Whether cooking or crafting, don’t you just love using up leftovers?”)

Once this cloth garden was complete I switched to a size G hook to work with some of the thinner cottons found in the nightstand drawer:  remainders of Aunt Lydia’s Fashion Crochet (size 3) that were so pretty together I decided to create a colorblocked version of the Liquid Gold Chain Mesh Scarf:

Before using all the leftovers of this particular cotton, it was actually long enough (measures 4″ wide by 60″ long) so the last two colors (red & black) were set aside for another project.  Here’s the finished scrappy scarf:

Since the household yarn stash keeps reproducing, ”yarn paintboxes” like this appear from time to time.

That’s o.k., they keep me busy and activate the Designs by KN brain cells to create new ideas and patterns that will be enjoyed by others.

Next week will be time to participate in the 3rd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, organized by Eskimimi Makes.  Should be even more fun than detangling a yarn octopus!

My mom and I often remark on the principle of giving and receiving. Sometimes it seems that the act of giving is followed by receiving something unexpectedly.  We don’t consciously think about it when giving voluntarily but occasionally we marvel about events that transpire later on.

This week’s giving project involves turning more stash yarn into baby, teen and adult hats to be donated to a charitable cause, such as Pine Ridge Reservation and the Ravelry group that supplies them (For the Children of Pine Ridge.)  Here are a few completed so far:

Rib-look Newborn Baby Hats

Knit Hat (for anyone!)

Crochet Hat

This will be the third batch of items sent to For the Children of Pine Ridge, which has a collection point in a town not far from here, making it easy to give.  I was so surprised to receive a hand-written thank-you note (a rarity these days) from One Nation Walking Together so will continue to contribute to their cause.

Unexpected news received this week was a “check in the mail” (always fun!) as well as the announcement of the winners and contents of the Crochet 2013 Day-to-Day Calendar and the Knitting 2013 Day-to-Day Calendar.  Although I wasn’t one of the top winners this time, five Designs by KN patterns will be included in the calendars (to be released later this summer but available for pre-order now.)

I also worked on several design submissions and sent them off (now the wait begins.)  As I focused intently, three of my cats decided to “help.”  Bill settled into the chair in the sun, Patches crawled into the basket of yarn, and Andrew made himself comfortable on a blanket I was consulting:

One more surprise was received by many of us along the Front Range of Colorado: a spring snowstorm!

Six inches of new spring snow was a welcome event, helping to combat the severely dry conditions of the past month.  A few days after the snowstorm, we attended our first Colorado Rockies game of the season. Unfortunately it was cold, windy and rainy so we dressed accordingly, in layers, with extra socks, gloves, parkas and lap quilt in tow.  I intended to wear the ”baseball beanie” made a few weeks ago but discovered there was not a single purple, black, white or silver scarf in my wardrobe to match!  Since it was early morning on game day, there was time to quickly crochet a chunky scarf.  By game time, this hat and scarf set was ready for use:

Better Late Than Never Beanie

Chunky Stripe Scarf

It came in handy in the miserable weather conditions (we left early when a rain delay was called in the 4th inning.)

Until next time, keep on giving of the work of your hands.  You never know what surprises may come your way in return!

FO Friday has arrived again, springing upon me much too quickly.  As I said in the last post, where does the time go?

Seasons are changing, as evidenced by our Spring Snow Crabapple trees bursting into bloom this week. Not only are they spectacular to view against the blue, blue Colorado sky, but the fragrance is heavenly.

Another sign of spring was the first surprise thunderstorm (wind, intense rain, hail, lightning & thunder at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday) as well as a funnel cloud sighting well east of here earlier that afternoon, which prompted tornado sirens to sound. Fortunately no damage, but behind that first storm front lurks more bizarre spring weather on the way, including rain, cold, and yes … spring snow!

If the weather turns frightful, I am prepared.  My FO for the week is a new pair of soft and cozy Twist’n Stripe Socks.  Some time ago, my design for these socks was published in Debbie Macomber Blossom Street Collection, Book 3.  I was digging in my yarn stash the other day and discovered some unused hanks of Plymouth Yarns “Happy Feet” sock yarn, so decided to use it for a two-color version.  If a spring snowstorm hits, at least my feet will be happy and warm in their new socks!

Along with sharing project ideas and FOs on the Designs by KN Facebook page, I’ve been recommending favorite knit/crochet book titles enjoyed over the years.  Also, the Designs by KN website has been updated with news on the home page and two additional pages: Projects & Photos and Book Recommendations. Check them out if you’re interested.

Funny story:

Spring cleaning has its rewards. Despite the grungy work, happy surprises may await you.  I was vacuuming the living room and decided to give the furniture a once-over too.  I moved one of the couch pillows and discovered …  a long-lost size H crochet hook!  Some would think it weird, but knitters & crocheters will appreciate my joy at being reunited with one of my favorite tools.

Stitch on.