Blog — design

There comes a time in likely every creator’s life when they will feel uninspired and, arguably, there will be many times. I recently have felt this way - tired and uninspired. Instead of focusing on the why, I want to talk about how I’ve been working through it. I used to think that I had to feel inspired or motivated, or have the right kind of environment to produce creative works. I would spend so much time either waiting for inspiration to kick in or adjusting my space to see if that would help me feel more motivated: none of...

Having just published my first fall collection, Wooloween 2021, I’d like to reflect on the process, hurdles, and lessons I learned.I started the process for this collection hoping to produce more patterns; I quickly realized that if I tried to over-create, I wouldn’t produce patterns that I’d be happy with. So, I instead focused my efforts on two patterns (with a surprise one especially for Halloween). At first, it was hard to accept that I wasn’t going to be able to keep up with my original goal, but I’m glad I changed the focus.I got married a few weeks ago....

I (and maybe you too) love seeing perfect swatches. They could be in your LYS (local yarn store) or on Instagram, but they’re always pleasing to look at. It would follow then that we, as crafters, strive to make the perfect swatch…anytime we do swatch. A perfect square that represents what the project will be, which of course will also be perfect.But let’s be real. That’s not how it works - nor should it.I recently thought I made a mistake in a swatch for the upcoming fall collection. It’s a colorwork design and I was following my sketches to make...

I love planning. Bringing together ideas, organization, and highlighters to make plans is something I find really exciting. But there’s only so far you can get with planning. You can prepare, think of all sorts of outcomes and scenarios, but if you don’t actually take the first steps…well, nothing happens. I sometimes fall into the trap of planning, where I feel like I’m making headway on a goal simply because I’m planning for the goal. When I find myself going in circles, it helps to stop and just take the first step. Even if this is something small.With autumn right...

There are a lot of steps to designing, but one of the first for me is picking out what kind of yarn I’m going to use. In tandem with picking out yarn is deciding on the type of item I’m designing, and often times, the final decision rests on a feeling. Let’s say I want to design a cowl, pretty simple. Now there’s no rulebook that says cowls have to be made with a particular type of yarn, so I have to decide what I’ll use. Looking through my yarn stash, I have enough of DK, bulky, and fingering to...