How I Got Started Designing
Hiya Folks! It’s me, Jill! I’m an avid knitter, reader, shopper, traveler, dog-lover! I just started designing knitwear patterns this year (2020 – what a year, right?!).
I’m here to introduce myself and start this blog in hopes of providing regular updates on my designs and the overall design process.
How I got started:
I moved to Salem in October of 2014 and loved walking around all the cobblestones and bricks that we don’t have much of in the midwest or where I grew up in Kentucky. I noticed on one of my evening walks in 2015 that there was a quaint little knitting shop down at the wharf with people sitting around laughing and chatting and knitting. I knew right then that I wanted to be part of that group. A few months later I decided to ask for a knitting intro class for my birthday. From then on, I have been knitting ever since ~ about 4 years.
I don’t think I have stopped knitting since… or that many days have gone by that I haven’t knit on a project of some kind.
How I came around to designing:
Last summer I got the opportunity to go to Squam – an art/knitting/crafting retreat in New Hampshire – with so many fabulous designers, yarn shop owners, and general creatives. It was super inspiring (though at the time I know I said out loud to at least one person… “I would never want to design knitwear”) and where I got the spark, but not yet the confidence to design.
A few months later, I decided to try my hand at designing on our trip to Scotland. Aaron needed a new winter hat and I decided, hey why not… it can’t be that hard… This is how Picket came to be. The hat I made for Aaron on that trip was not quite the Picket that I finalized. My process was super haphazard. But everything is a learning experience and this one taught me a lot. Like, take better notes. How to grade for different sizes.
Where I am now:
It will be almost a year of working on my designs, in November. Time really has flown. I have grown. I am much more confident (I’m not knitting 5 versions of the same hat to “get it right” anymore…yikes!). I have a better process. But I know I still have things to work on. Lots of growing to do in my future.
Overall, I love that I have learned something new that I’m passionate about that incorporates something that I love. It’s been lots of fun learning something completely new to me.
So now, let me know what you would like to see more of! What types of designs are you most inspired by?
I have a new sweater in the works, a couple shawl designs written but not knit, two hats that need to be tested, another that needs to be re-written, and a cowl that I am working on right now!
