Blog — learning

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...

If you’ve ever watched knitters (or listened if they have metal needles), you’ll notice their knitting is very rhythmic. It can be quite mesmerizing. It’s the same with crocheters - the flash of the hook and movement of the yarn are fascinating to watch. But how do you find that kind of rhythm?The short answer: practice, practice, practice. The more you knit (or crochet) the more you will discover your own rhythm. However, I believe that there is another important factor - experimentation. As I am more experienced in knitting, I’ll speak to that craft.There are many ways to knit....

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...

Figuring out your process, in any creative endeavor, can be frustrating. Especially when it feels like it works…but just not quite how you want. Maybe it’s slower than you’d like or it seems disjointed or you feel that you have to go backwards in order to keep moving forward. I had the same issue with my design process. It took me a few months to finally figure out, but I have learned (not too painfully, but slightly begrudgingly) that I do, in fact, need to swatch before starting a design or pattern.I had been hitting…process blocks recently. Work flow just...