Giftalong Designer Interview: Karen Burnett Designs

Today we have the first of 2 interviews with designers participating in the Ravelry GAL - giftalong2014.

Karen Burnett Designs: GAL Bundle 2014

I asked Kaz of Karen Burnett designs about her work as a designer:

What is the thing you enjoy most about being a designer?
I mainly enjoy the fun of bringing an idea from my head to a finished item, the sense of achievement of turning crazy ideas in my head into something that actually works.

Where does your inspiration come from?
I get a lot of inspiration from the world around me, in designing items that I would love to wear. My cables inspiration come from my Scottish roots and the Celtic designs I love to look at.

What is the one thing you wish you had known when you started out designing?
 I wish I had known that 24hrs in the day is not enough and that WIPS and deadlines have a habit of creeping up on you. Also that designing is certainly not as straight forward as a lot of people think.

Which is your favourite design and why?
My Pilkington Cardigan is my favourite design, it was my first garment design and I love the simplicity of the top down seamless body that’s transformed when you do the cabled band.

If you could invite 3 designers to dinner, who would you choose?
Ohhhh that’s hard just to choose 3 as I would love to be in a room with s big table of loads of designers. I think my top 3 would be Ruth(Rockandpurl) , Liz Lovick (NorthernLace) and WoolyWormHead. But would love to spend a weekend or a full week at a designers retreat getting to know other designers from around the world.

Knitwear is always right

As ever, those clever Mason Dixon ladies have hit the nail on the head:

Knitwear will solve everything

Credit: Mason Dixon Knitting Graphics Department (Kirsten Stone)

A passion for British wool

If you have some spare time this weekend I can highly recommend this interview for a fun and informative read.

Karie Westerman (aka Karie Bookish) interviews the wonderful and highly knowledgable Louise Scolley of Knit British fame.

Louise is a passionate advocate of British wool and her interview is a fascinating insight into the modern day British wool industry and the work being done to champion our amazing heritage.

The 2014 Giftalong has begun

It's finally here.

After weeks and months in the planning the 2nd Ravelry giftalong has started. In actual fact it started in the wee small hours (at 8pm EST, American time) but this morning certainly marks my official start.

Some amazing background work by the organisers has brought together 293 designers from 21 countries in a 2 month event

Check out this amazing graphic by the very talented 80skeins for lots of geeky GAL facts:

Amazing Giftalong Infographic by 80skeins

It gave me a real buzz to see that the UK is so well represented. There are many well known and not so well known designers taking part and it is a great opportunity to showcase our work to the knitting world.

The support on the various chat threads on Ravelry has been overwhelmingly positive too, with eager folk chatting, planning and generally having a great fibre-y time.

Louise Tilbrook Designs Giftalong (GAL) Patterns #giftalong2014

Here is a summary of my patterns which are available through the GAL and click here to see the full list of all participating designers and their patterns. There is also some wonderful eye candy here on Pinterest, although I'm not responsible for the effect that browsing this may have on your queue.

The all important details:

The GAL runs from Nov 14th-21st and use of the coupon code "giftalong2014" will give you 25% off each designers selected patterns. There are over 11,000 patterns in total to choose from so you won't be lacking in choice.

Nov 14th also sees the start of a 2 month KAL/CAL where you can knit your chosen patterns to your hearts content and join in the various chatter threads relating to your projects. The "Foot and Legshttp://www.ravelry.com/discuss/indie-design-gift-a-long/3067893/1-25" thread is particularly fun - but then, I would say that ;)

Competitions, prizes, chatter and more mean that this should be a fabulous event for all concerned. I do hope to see you over there.

How would you choose...?

...Your 300th Ravelry project

After rediscovering knitting some 7 years ago, and joining Ravelry shortly afterwards I am approaching a significant milestone: The addition of my 300th project.

Not that this means I have 300 completed projects under my belt you understand. A fair number fell by the wayside - victim to the inumerable ways that our knitting life can bite us on the bum: poor gauge, poor yarn choice, yarn/pattern mismatch, general muppetry (mine, of course) - you get the idea.

Once I've made the decision to get rid of a project I sometimes mark it as frogged but more often than not I choose to wipe it out of existance (often in a fit of pique) and delete it from my Ravelry page - hence the reason why there are less than 300 projects proudly proclaiming themselves.

A selection of recent Ravelry knitting projects

Over the years a quick project count reveals 22 projects that declare themselves to be frogged and a roughly equal number which are Hibernating - a polite way of saying they are unlikely to ever see the light of day.

As my thoughts turn to adding my 300th project however I can't help but feel as though this one should be a bit special, something out of the ordinary. Maybe even an epic project. A Magnum Opus as Brenda Dayne of the now, sadly retired, Cast-On podcast once said.

But for now I'd like to turn the question over to you - what would you do? Or, if you have already reached these dizzying heights - what did you do - to celebrate your 300th project?

Wovember 2014

Following on from the excitement of Socktober we are plunging headlong into the sheepy fun which is Wovember - a month long celebration of all things British and woolly.

Wovember logo

Britain has a long standing love affair with wool of which we are rightly proud and this is a great opportunity to showcase our rich and varied wool history.

The Wovember organisation has a wonderful programe of events, competitions, writing and more throughout the month. Even if you are a dyed-in-the-wool enthusiast (sorry - I couldn't resist) you are sure to come across interesting facts and snippets to pique your interest. Join the Facebook group or follow on Twitter and you will receive lots of great information to brighten up your day.

Naturally, no good event worth it's salt can be without a KAL, but this of course is a WAL (wool-along) and any wool-related activity can be included whether it be spinning, weaving, crochet, knitting, felting, wool embroidery - you get the idea.

The only stipulation is that you must use 100% British wool for your project. Other than that you can let your imagination roam free. All the details are here  along with lots of fun chat and links.

Naturally, I can never resist an "along" so I will of course be diving into the stash for some suitable yarn. I am in desperate need of a winter hat and mittens so this project will be ideal. it will also give me the opportunity to "double dip" with the GAL (Gift-a-along) - more on this later in the week.

I was slightly shocked to realise how little 100% British wool I have in my stash - a situation which surely requires some attention. Although in my defence much of my stash is sock yarn with a little added nylon or something extra. 

West Yorkshire Spinners dk yarn - Photo from Ginger Twist Studios

I do have several skeins of wonderful West Yorkshire Spinners dk yarn though in the natural light brown colour which is just crying out to be made into a hat...for me..naturally.

Sock Design Challenge: A final vote

Apologies for the delay but I am pleased to be able to show you the sample for this challenge sock and also to ask you to vote one final time on a name for the pattern.

The names currently up for debate are:

1. Copper Mine
2. Bracken Wood
3. Rosthwaite
4. An other?

As you can tell, my name choices are skewed by my recent trip to the Lake District. The yarn colour really reminds me of barley sugar sweets but that name is already used :)

Seriously, please do vote and let me know what you think or feel free to suggest one of your own - in the true spirit of this challenge.