Celtica

I've always been intrigued by Celtic patterns - the wonderful interlacing knots found in the borders of illuminated manuscripts such as the Book of Kells, or on stone crosses. One step on from "taking a line for a walk," they use plaits and braids with soft lines and curves, strictly ordered geometrics with a sense of spontaneity and vibrancy, and they seamlessly integrate strange animals, birds and letterforms into a background of pattern and endless threads.

My Celtica headband design, published this month in Knit Now magazine, was inspired by the pattern above. Look carefully and you will soon be able to unravel its constituent parts - 4 quite separate strands are woven together in a strictly over-and-under sequence. As soon as I had decided to try to recreate this pattern in knitting I knew I would be working with i-cords, but the challenges were firstly to get the separate lengths right in relation to each other, so that the knot was neither too tight, nor too loose and floppy, and then to expand the knitting out from the centre panel into bands to fit around the head. 


So here it is - the Celtica headband (I love this photo!) Knitted in Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed Aran, it could of course be knitted in any aran weight yarn, and only takes about 50g.

photo by Tim Bradley for Practical Publishing

Celtic art is laced with symbolism  - for instance, the Celts thought that the intricate knotwork designs would protect against the evil eye! I can't verify that claim, of course ... but do you really want to risk it by not making yourself a Celtica headband? :D


You can find out more information on Ravelry, here:- http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/celtica 


Knit Now magazine issue 9 is out in shops on May 31st, or can be ordered direct from the publisher, here:-
http://www.practicalpublishing.co.uk/knitnow/

Mugs and more!

DH is such a sweetie, buying me this lovely sheepy mug while we were out today. He certainly knows what I like. 

           

We were visiting The Cheap Shop, in Tiptree, Essex, which is NOT cheap (if anyone knows how it got its name please let me know), but is a fantastic little yarn, fabric, haberdashery and art supplies store. Quite an Aladdin's cave.


In the end I didn't buy anything, what with being spoilt for choice and DH's claustrophobia (as I said, it is LITTLE), but will certainly be going back for the Debbie Bliss Rialto Lace, and more. I was impressed to see some Texere yarn and inspiration packs nestling away in a corner - when I lived in Yorkshire, the Texere mill was within lunchtime walking distance of where I worked, and another Aladdin's cave, only BIGGER, stocking more fibres and yarns a textile mug like me could ever dream of. Texere, how I miss you, so I've photographed a ball of your to-dye-for Airedale Aran pretending to be the froth in my coffee!

Strands

Sometimes I am amazed that I have been fairly successful at doing something I love - knitting. I've been really lucky in that I only ever made one decision about my career - I wrote a spec letter at just the right time - and the rest has just flowed on from there, like a strand running through my life. I graduated in the 80's with a degree in textiles, after creating yarns for my final show. My first job out of college was at Wendy Wools in Yorkshire (the company that received the letter) where I joined a team of designers as a trainee. It was boomtime in the knitting industry - fashion items included mohair jackets for winter and drop stitch cotton tops for summer. We produced 40 designs each season, and baby outfits and specials in between. 


What a brilliant job it was. I was involved in choosing yarns and shade ranges, writing design briefs, creating and commissioning designs, writing and checking instructions, liaising with printers and arranging photoshoots. And what a lot I learnt about how to create a design that knitters wanted to knit. How to write clear instructions. How to choose the right yarn for the design.


I've been a knit designer for so long that some of my rookie designs have since come back into fashion! Batwings, entrelac, snoods? I was there the first time around. 


Since then I have freelanced for various yarn companies, usually under the company name, so if you have knitted from a Tivoli, Wendy, Jarol, King Cole or Cygnet pattern, there is a chance that it is one of mine. I have copies of all my patterns of course, and one day aim to create a digital record, for posterity. In the meantime, here is just a small selection:-

And more recently I have been designing for UK knitting magazines. You will find my stuff in Yarn Forward, Knit, Knit Today, Knitting and the brilliant new publication, Knit Now. My Mum is a proud collector of these, although she is struggling to differentiate between all the "knit" magazine titles. My latest design is on the front cover of Knit - so cool!

I've also started to upload patterns to  Ravelry, which is a wonderful world-wide knitting community. I'm fascinated by why certain designs are more popular than others - my Preppie scarf, for instance, has been downloaded by at least one person in the world (and some days by lots of people) every day for the last 18 months. I'm not really surprised by its success though - it's easy to knit, a bit quirky, and it's free!


Things have changed a lot over the years. When I first started designing there wasn't a computer in the department, but now I use my computer all the time - it is an essential tool for a knit designer in the 21st century. I can create charts and diagrams (in Illustrator), organise and manipulate digital photographs (in Photoshop), design the layout of my patterns (in InDesign or even in Word) and publish them online within seconds where potentially the whole world could see them. How exciting is that? 

But I still sketch my ideas with a pencil, on paper! And of course, I still love to knit in the traditional way, with needles - I've never really got to grips with knitting machines. The craft of knitting is my relaxation, and creativity is my life. 


Occasionally I wonder if all these experiences might make me an expert but mostly I am amazed at how much I still have to learn about knitting. Every yarn, every stitch, every garment shape adds a new dimension to the creative process and a new problem to solve. I begin each new design with a fresh eye, or a fresh sense of wonder at the infinite possibilities of a strand of yarn. 


Anni X

Hold the front page!

Ooh, such exciting news - my latest design might make it to the front page of a magazine this month! I can't wait to see it, and I'll be adding pics here as soon as it is released. :D

Casting on

Ha! I've spent a whole morning getting my new blog to look good (colours, fonts, a banner, a photo of me - yuk!) and now I can't think of anything cool to write. So instead, here's a list of the sort of stuff you might find here in the future:-

• inspiration - what's currently exciting me, interesting things I have discovered
• my projects, WIPs and insights into the design process
• my hints and tips, and help with your projects
• free stuff to make
• newly published designs and where to find them
• and finally, quite possibly, opinionated rants on the trials of being a freelance designer! (Not that it isn't the bestest job in the whole world, cos it is!)