Today is very special because I have guests! I was quite flattered when Faina Goberstein and Dawn Leeseman asked me to be part of the blog tour for their new book called "Casual, Elegant Knits". Faina and Dawn are here today to talk with me about the book and some of the designs you'll find inside.
FG: Hi, Marie Grace. It is so nice of you to have us over and let us introduce some of the projects from our book.
MGS: I wanted to ask you both a few questions. Here is one. What drives you to design rather that just knit?
FG: That is a very interesting question. I do not stop to think about it. You see, even when I am just knitting, I am designing since I almost never use someone’s pattern. If I try to follow a pattern from a magazine or a book, I end up changing something. I do know what you are asking. The difference between designing for myself and for a publication is the difference in work behind it. As you design a pattern that other people have to follow, you must put every little trick you use on paper, figure all numbers of rows and stitches for many sizes. There are so many of behind-the-scene tasks that go into design process. You would never know about it, if you did not design. This work can be tedious and tiring, if you did not enjoy it. When I knit for myself, I still design the garment, but I am not calculating for 7 sizes, just for me. To me this is relaxing. So, why do I publish my designs? I love to figure it all out and go from a swatch and a sketch to a real garment. It is a very creative process and it has an element of a mystery to it. Although your original idea was interesting, it might not work when you start knitting it. On the other hand, you might come up with some elements that you did not see coming at first, but they bring your creation to a different level. I am curious how it is for Dawn.
DL: I had to think about that question for a little while. I kept asking myself why do I design? I would have to say that it is the challenge and is a way of expressing myself in an artistic way.
It is much like inventing, which starts with an idea and then begins the process of making that idea come to life! Most of the time it starts with the yarn, then I need to do a little research in the reference books to see what stitch pattern will flatter the yarn. I then work up a swatch. After the swatch is complete I gaze at the one that is most pleasing to work with and then to look at. Next I start thinking of the silhouette that would fit into the stitch pattern, that is where sketching comes into play. From there comes the real challenge: will I be able to actually make something that will look like my sketch.
MGS: Do you tend to design things you yourself would wear?
DL: I definitely design garments that I would wear myself. What about you, Faina?
FG: For me it is not always the case. Mostly yes, I bring my fashion vision and taste of colors and clothes styles to my designs. Sometimes, though, I love a challenge of using colors and texture or even style that would not be flattering for me personally, but I can see the type of person who would look just great in such design.
MGS: As I understand you used brioche stitches for some projects in your book. Can you tell me a little bit about it?
FG: Sure. As you know, there is a whole family of brioche stitches. There is a very nice website which is done by Nancy Marchant. It is called The Brioche Stitch. I recommend your readers to check it out. I love these stitches. They actually are easy stitch patterns and they produce a beautiful fabric. I made many different projects in my life using brioche stitches. In the book I have four designs in brioche. Red Ripple-Effect scarf and Black and Gray Mélange scarf have different stitches. As wonderful as they are, brioche stitches have some challenging qualities. Your scarf can have one side looser than the other and the scarf may look crooked. I had to come up with the way to stabilize the sides.
MGS: The two other projects are hats. Is the Buttoned-Up Beanie one of them?
FG: That’s right. The second one is the Red Waves Beret. Brioche is a good choice for hats, because it produces fluffy and bulky fabric for the hat to hold its shape better.
MGS: What is different in knitting brioche in the round?
FG: Usually, brioche stitch is written for knitting in rows. To tell you the truth, I have never seen these stitches written for knitting in the round. I am not stating that there are no written instructions for it. I just do not know of them. I had to figure out how to do it on my own. It was very interesting. I also needed to have a smooth transition at the beginning of round. That was more difficult. The most challenging part was on the crown decreases of the beret. The Buttoned-Up Beanie was also fun to make because of construction. I think people who live in the cold climate will appreciate bringing the brim down and maybe even buttoning the hat.
MGS: I think so, too. Its a very clever design and I think its my favorite from the book. I'm fascinated with the idea of knitting brioche in the round so I'll need to try it myself!
Thank you both for stopping by.
FG: Thank you, Marie Grace for having us here today. I hope we gave some people ideas for projects. So, tell us what are you designing these days? I love your designs. They are so gentle.
MGS: I'm currently looking ahead to the cooler weather and working on some warm and toasty knits for kids. Lots of texture, lots of color, and of course a wide range in sizes so there's stuff for the little kids and the big kids.
DL: Marie Grace, we really appreciate the opportunity to talk to you. Please let your readers know bout our next fun stop at Susan Lawrence of I am Knitting As Fast As I Can. She had a contest and tomorrow she will be giving away a copy of our book.
