Today, we’re bringing you a chat with South African-based designer Noma Ndlovu, the creative mind behind this month’s Confident Knitting pattern the Lustrous Shawl! Noma, who designs under the label Bigger Than Life Knits, is a real powerhouse designer: she’s been bringing out exciting designs for garments and accessories, with a keen eye for texture and colour, at an astonishing rate! She was kind enough to take a break from her busy schedule to chat about knitting in Johannesburg, intriguing side projects and how she fits it all in! Come join us for a chat….
Read moreLive Chat with Lily Kate France
Lots of people dream of being knitwear designers. But few people think of it — let alone realise it! — as young as Lily Kate France. Lily published her first knitting patterns when she was just 12! Now, at 23, she’s a powerhouse of a knitting designer, creating really beautiful and fun knitting patterns with a keen eye for detail and modern silhouettes. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Lily since she first started out and was absolutely thrilled when she came on board for Confident Knitting!
Read morePins galore! A chat with Channypeascorner.
I’m so excited to welcome Chanelle aka Channy, the creative mind behind Channypeascorner, to the blog today! Channy creates playful, fibre-focused enamel pins and we are delighted to become her newest stockists. Jen and I couldn’t stop admiring these lovelies when they arrived (we might have kept one or two for ourselves). I really enjoyed learning more about Channy, her creative life, and how she came to pin designing. So grab something to nice to drink and settle in, and maybe start thinking about what jacket or knitting bag needs embellishing with some flair!
Read moreLambing Life with Designer Janette Budge
Let’s end the week with a real treat, shall we? Confident Knitting designer Janette Budge was kind enough to take the time to answer some questions about lambing and life on a Shetland croft! Janette’s lived on Shetland her whole life and is a woman who has worn many (handknit) hats, from helping out on the family farm, to working in IT, to a career in Clinical Aromatherapy, as well as being a knitwear designer and tutor. So grab a cuppa and settle in for a great read!
Read moreAn Interview with Natalie Warner
We are so looking forward to diving into Something To Knit Together, Winter Edition with you in just over a week’s time, and we hope you are too! To whet your whistle while we wait (try saying that three times fast), today, we’re bringing you an interview with Something To Knit Together, Winter Edition designer Natalie Warner. Natalie was kind enough to answer some questions by email for me last week, and I really enjoyed hearing about her path into designing and her design process. You can catch up with Natalie on Instagram where she is natalieinstitches, on her website natalieinstitches.com, and see her designs on Ravelry.
Read moreMaz's Knitting Story
Over the summer, Jen shared an awesome Ama Sweater on Instagram that friend and customer Marian Alsbury aka Maz had knitted for her daughter. I think it’s fair to say, was a very big hit! Maz was kind enough to answer some questions for me about her incredible knitting journey, and has shared some of the stunning projects she’s made. So pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join us for a little chat!
Read moreA chat with Sarah Hatton
Sarah Hatton is the design whizz behind the Something to Knit Together collection. When we started our Something to Knit Together knitalong, lots of A-C Knitwear knitters went off to check how many of Sarah’s patterns were in their pattern libraries and found they had well over 100; to say Sarah is a prolific designer is a huge understatement! She has well over 1000 patterns on Ravelry, and her work has appeared in some of the most recognisable publications in the knitting biz, including the Knitter, Simply Knitting, Vogue Knitting and Knitty (and that’s just in the last year!) She was also a contributor to both A Year of Techniques and Boost Your Knitting! I’ve really enjoyed getting to hear more about her career and design process during the Something to Knit Together Zoom calls and am happy today to share a short chat with her for blog readers!
Read moreAn Interview with Ella Austin
The final Boost Your Knitting design comes to us from Ella Austin. Ella’s design, Brunny the Bunny, showcases how to properly finish knitted toys. Ella has numerous gorgeous toy designs under her belt, as well as a wider portfolio that celebrates color and texture — her book, the Beginner’s Guide to Colourwork Knitting, was released last spring. A few months ago, Ella was kind enough to answer a few questions about her design process and share some great tips for finishing knitted toys (hint: even she has to occasionally try, try again!)
Read moreA chat with Wendy D. Johnson
Today, we bring you an interview with Boost Your Knitting designer Wendy D. Johnson. Wendy is a prolific knitter and designer who has a penchant for toe up socks — she’s written two books on the subject, Socks From the Toe Up and Toe-Up Socks for Everybody. Her Boost Your Knitting design, the Alcedo Socks, are a highly wearable and quick to knit pair of toe-up socks that teach this month’s featured technique, toe up sock gussets! Wendy was kind enough to answer some questions a few months ago about her design and what she loves about sock knitting!
Read moreA chat with Tori Seierstad about her passion for colourwork
Tori Seierstad is a knitwear designer based in Lillehammer, Norway who can’t get enough of colourwork knitting. Her patterns feature bold motifs with lots of colour changes — perfect for practising this month’s featured technique, joining in new yarns. The Marangoni Hat, Tori’s contribution to Boost Your Knitting, features both stripes and bubble-like circles, making it ideal for learning multiple joining techniques. Tori was kind enough to have a chat with me a few weeks ago about her fab hat design, her lifelong love of knitting, and even share some of her colour inspiration!
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