Wednesday, December 3, 2014

I finished things!

Just a drive by blogging to say that I've actually finished several knitted items recently and a couple are darn close to being done.

I'm just waiting for a cowl to finish drying, and then some decent daylight for photos. Then I'll be able to share pictures of what I've been up to, including a couple of FO's from Andi Smith's e-book Synchronicity, which I blogged about recently.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Interview with Eloewien

Spring's Beginning Scarf
For my final Q&A as part of the Indie Design Gift-a-long (which runs until December 31st) I found out more about Laura, a designer who publishes as Dragonwing Arts.




How would you describe your design style? 
I tend to favor more traditionally-inspired lacework, but I’m starting to work on easier patterns for newer knitters.
What prompted you to start designing? 
I really wanted a scarf to match a yarn I had purchased from a local Indie dyer, and I couldn’t find a pattern that fit what I wanted. I wanted something that used different leafy lace patterns. This ended up as my Spring’s Beginning scarf, and my first pattern.
Do you find your design style has evolved over the 7 years you’ve been releasing patterns? 
I’ve realized that my patterns may be too complex for some knitters, so I’m trying to design some simpler patterns that appeal to a wider range knitters.

Jack Frost Scarf 
Who is your knitting audience? Who are your designs targeted at? 
I’m not really sure how to answer this one… But my best guess would be people who enjoy more detailed, charted patterns.
What are your favorite techniques or types of things to knit? 
I love lacework. The more complex, the better I tend to enjoy it.
What is your greatest challenge throughout the design process? 
Coming up with ideas. I got pretty busy for a while and just wasn’t finding inspiration, then I saw an amazing window at the Fine Arts Center they built at Virginia Tech, and I was up and running again. That window happened to inspire a cabled scarf pattern I’m working on now. A picture of the window is up on my website athttp://www.dragonwingarts.com
Braided Cable Cowl
What do you have planned for 2015 design-wise? 
The only two projects I have in the works right now are the cabled scarf and a cabled bag from Cascade Sunseeker yarn that I feel in love with. When Outlander comes back on Starz in the spring, I plan on watching it closely for more ideas. I might try to make a set of mitts I saw on a background character in the current episodes, but I haven’t been able to make the gauge work with any of my current yarns so far. I hope to continue with my Outlander inspired patterns that I’ve been working on recently.