This month I’m talking to Sue McCain, the designer behind Vermont Fiber Designs, Sue’s original knitwear line and Basix, which focuses exclusively on patterns that are top-down set-in-sleeve sweaters are worked in Stockinette stitch. These monthly features of other creative businesses are a way for all of us to get to know these wonderful makers;…
designs
The last GAL Designer list post!
This is the last GAL designer list post. I hope you are ready for this. So many good, yummy, interesting, and beautiful things in this year’s GAL, befitting a fifth anniversary. I am always overwhelmed by all the goodies made available at 25% off, the prizes offered, the participating designers, the organizers, it is a…
Part 3 GAL 2017 Designers
Time for Part 3 GAL 2017 Designers. Today there are 15 designers in my Part 3 GAL list. This is getting hard–there are so many interesting things to look at, that I only have time to give a cursory glance now. I’m seeing plenty of GAL designers that I want to take a slightly more…
List Three of Indie Designers GiftALong
I am giving you list three of Indie Designers GiftALong. You should definitely get busy because there is a lot of interesting design to see in this 2017, fifth anniversary, of the Indie Designers GAL. Yesterday I put up the second list and the first was in my newsletter that went out on Tuesday. I’m up…
Second Quick List of Indie Designers GAL 2017
This is the Second list of Indie Designers GAL 2017 to go out. The first was in my newsletter that went out yesterday (on a Tuesday?!) Last year I missed it, but I’m on top of it this year. Once I get signed up I like to go through the participating designers and make lists…
Carmen Nuland of A Simple Homestead
This month I’m talking to Carmen Nuland of A Simple Homestead, a crochet and knitwear designer, homesteader, crafter, maker, and all around DIY enthusiast. These monthly features of other creative businesses are a way for all of us to get to know these wonderful makers; it has been a long-time interest of mine to explore…
Tiptoe Through Filament No. 2
I said I would review this, sight unseen. I so loved the debut issue of Filament, that it seemed a sure bet and something knitters would want to see. I don’t think that this issue hits the high bar set by Filament #1, I also recommend that you get this issue. Read on to find…
Filament: The Bulb Burns!
This month I am introducing you to Kathleen Dames and Anne Podelesak, knitwear designers and Editors of Filament. These monthly features of other creative businesses are a way for all of us to get to know these wonderful businesses; It has been a long-time interest of mine to explore how other creative people make their way as…
Beauty, Grace, Utility
Beauty and grace in utility run through the designs presented in Filament No. 1. The design offerings well capture the decade which inspired the designers. When I think of the 1930s, utility is a key word–there wasn’t much to spare so everything needed to be useful–but beauty wasn’t absent. The designs show the grace within wonderfully practical…
Revealing Past Work
I am clearing out and in the process, I am revealing past work for my own scrutiny. I can be brutal when I need to get rid of stuff. I know I shouldn’t take a trip down memory lane because it has all kinds of rabbit holes, so I was just going to open my portfolio…
Shaping: Obstacles in Knitting
If you write garment patterns as I do, shaping is just part of the deal. I have a hard time visualizing “reverse shaping for the other side”, so I have to write it out for both sides. Plus, I like to mirror things, which sometimes makes the two sides slightly different. When I started writing…
A (funny) Knitting Story
I’ve been taking some deep looks at what I do here at Jill Wolcott Knits lately. This is hardly odd because I am an observer of myself and others at all times. I’ve been working at looking deeply into things I am not always happy looking at–in this case, my financials. Don’t worry, this isn’t…
