Designs by KN blog

Somehow I lost a day this week. Yesterday I thought it was Wednesday and was looking forward to two more days before the weekend. When DH came home and told me the next day was Friday, I answered “Huh?”  Sure enough, after consulting watches, cell phones and the calendar, he was right.  But I do have excuses for losing my mind.

Thursday I sprained my ankle while doing yard work. Stepped on a rock in our dry creekbed, shoe went sideways, ankle went “sproing” and that was that. Since then I have been doing the RICE treatment (rest, ice, compression, elevation). Bit by bit it improves, however, I’ve never had a more colorful foot!

Monday there was a backup in the shower and tub drains upstairs, so after plunging sessions (my ribs are complaining after that exercise) and a dose of liquid drain cleaner with no success in lowering the water level, I had to call a plumber.  The cats were certainly upset by a stranger in the house and noise from the drain-cleaning equipment! Eventually I heard water flowing again which signaled the clog was cleared and that was that.

Wednesday (the real Wednesday) I spent a couple hours making travel arrangements for a trip out west to attend a niece’s wedding in June.  It took time to coordinate with three other family members, but eventually flights/hotel/rental car were booked and that was that.

The shock of the sprained ankle contributed to a temporary loss of interest in designing, knitting, crocheting and writing.  Instead I have spent time with my foot up, iced, in front of the laptop and PC going through an assortment of digital photos, selecting my favorites and the best-of-the-best in my collection.  My last post was a photoblog showing how colors in nature inspire and coordinate with various Designs by KN projects, so that rekindled an interest in looking through photos.  Coincidentally, there was an announcement in our local paper requesting entries in a flower photo contest. What started as one flower photo entry has quickly grown into an 11-page gallery on my Denver Post community neighbors forum page.  Besides gardening I discovered other categories to post photos in, such as travel, animals, birds, dogs, cats and signs (yes, signs, as in “Welcome to Idaho.”)  I hope you’ll enjoy browsing through as an armchair traveler!

Fortunately interest in needlecrafts was not altogether lost, because today is FO Friday again (since I lost a day this week it came around sooner!)  I received a request for more pairs of Cheery Cotton Baby Shoes, as well as some Starlight Bracelet Bags.  So far I’ve completed this pair, with more to come:

I also decided to give the Spiral afghan a finishing touch by adding a single crochet border to it, not only to make it longer and wider but also to give it a “frame.” It’s now finished, so can be laundered, blocked and gifted to the recipients (DD and her fiance for their new home):

(Spiral was designed by Norah Gaughan and the pattern is in the Berroco book “Comfort Knitting & Crochet: Afghans“)

I have not lost time preparing for a design acceptance assignment, however. Just waiting for final details to produce the sample. It will be a wait but worth it when published later this year.

So all is not lost — there are more bags and booties to crochet and more photos to post.

And hopefully next week I won’t lose a day (or my mind)!

Today’s post is a photoblog of nature’s color inspiration paired with knit/crochet projects from DBKN  …

“Go Green” Lacy Shells Bag

Twist Mitts

Persian Carpet Bucket Hat

Touch o’Ruffle Table Mat or Dishcloth

Red-Hot Headband

Bell-ruffle Toddler Hat

Easy-Knit Shawl

Pretty Little Baby Hat

Provence Summer String Bag

I could go on and on …

Enjoy stitching with the colors of nature.  Inspiration is everywhere.

I’m beginning to sound like a broken record. When FO Friday* comes around, I keep exclaiming “Where does the time go?”

Since the end of the 3rd Annual Knitting & Crochet Blog Week (thanks again, Eskimimi Makes, for organizing such a fun event!) I haven’t spent much time at the computer, but rather stitching my fingers to the bone on various projects, completing three this week.

FOs to report include:

The amazing Spiral afghan, designed by Norah Gaughan, from the Berroco book “Comfort Knitting & Crochet: Afghans“.  Still need to block it properly but at least it’s all together!

Since I love cotton socks for summer, finished a pair of Cotton Stripe C.O.O.S. in leftovers of Fortissima Cotton from stash:

Dispatched to a well-known yarn company a completed  “mystery project” not to be revealed until later this summer.  Let me just say it’s something fun!

Also put together two baskets of miscellaneous Designs by KN items to be offered at an upcoming spring mini craft fair (nothing big, just a low-key corner setup for coworkers to enjoy in a small office setting.)  I was requested to send in some of my popular dishcloths but also gathered some  hats, kerchiefs, market bags and threw in a funny sheep just to see if he will find a new home.

Not to be outdone, the garden is abloom with FOs galore.  The stunning white perennial candytuft is competing for attention with the showy purple creeping phlox and lilac bushes.

What a beautiful time of year.  Time to get outside and enjoy it!

*FO Friday is one of the thread topics in the The Blog Hub group on Ravelry.

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.