Knitscene Summer

Yesterday Measure and I stopped by Purlescence, where I needed to pick up some needles (how is it that I have more than half a dozen 5mm Addis, but none of them are smaller than 32"?), and I found out that they'd already sold out of Knitscene Summer! Amazing, considering the magazine is not technically due out until the 19th of this month, but I guess a lot of shops got it in early and it has just flown out the door. I'm really proud to be part of this issue -- Knitscene just seems to go from strength to strength, and I particularly love how this issue was styled and shot. I can't wait until they start offering a subscription!

Here's one of my designs from the issue, the Loon Island Shawl (all images copyright Knitscene Summer 2011):

I actually have three designs in this issue, and I think it's funny to look at them side-by-side; you can see how much of a jack-of-all-trades I am as a designer. You know how some designers have a really coherent line? When you see something new from someone like Cookie A., or Stephen West, or Kim Hargreaves, you recognize it clearly as representing their particular aesthetic. I don't feel like I have that sort of distinctive aesthetic in my own work.

Here's another design, the Mie Pullover:

There are some common threads, I suppose -- I gravitate towards fairly simple stitches, and I try to make all of my designs "knitter-friendly." Since I have a toddler and can't devote a lot of intense focus to a project, at least not for any great length of time, I try to keep stitches easily memorizable, I try to make finishing fairly simple, and the overall design fairly intuitive. But I can do these things with cables, with lace, with texture stitches, with socks, with shawls, with pullovers, with hats...you get the idea. So I do.

Here's the Mayville Cardigan:

I suspect my lack of an obvious point of view makes me less marketable as a designer; it's certainly hard for me to conceive of what theme or element might unite a book-length collection of my designs. But to be honest, I'm not sure I care. Becoming a Super Famous Designer would be pretty sweet, but it's not really my goal. As long as I'm enjoying the process, and putting out work that (at least a few) other people enjoy too, then it's all good.

Comments

[Rebecca]

Congratulations Sarah! Absolutely gorgeous designs. Let's try to get together soon. We miss you!!!