I’m so excited to tell you about one of our customers, Katie Long from the UK.  Katie came to us through the online shop to order some glow in the dark yarn – , one of our online favorites!  After processing the order, I emailed Katie to connect about her order and that’s when Katie told me her story and we embarked on a pen pal relationship as her projects evolved.

Katie was finishing her degree at University and was working on her final collection — a group of designs for children using fibers and dyes with low impact and a design sense to help combat a child’s fear of the dark.  Enter Seed Stitch and our glow in the dark yarn!

Katie told us a bit about what inspired her collection.  Here’s what she had to say:

“I am fascinated by progressive and innovative textiles and design. In my opinion there is great potential for knitted textiles in interiors and they can equally rival the position of woven textiles. For me, knit should be visually exciting and tactile with a well considered colour palette. As opposed to buying pre-dyed yarns, I have created a soft and calming colour palette by hand dying all my yarn with homemade natural dyes. Because of my very keen interest in textiles, I like to embellish my work with hand and machine stitch, so creating very tactile surface qualities in my work. I have exploited these qualities of knitted objects to appeal to a wide range of markets. I have also found a way of providing a soft alternative to the traditional night light by using glow in the dark yarn to combat a child’s fear of the dark.”

Another lovely design from Katie. Don’t you love the mix of traditional knit coupled with embellishments and sewing?

I think Katie has a very bright future and we were quite excited to have been part of it’s start, even if from afar.

Add Comments (3)

We are so lucky to have so many amazing designers visit Seed Stitch and the fun’s not over.  Stephen West of WestKnits will be visiting us for a workshop and trunkshow on Saturday May 29th.

Stephen is one of today most promising young knitwear designers. He has a rapidly growing and loyal Ravelry following, with many of his designs having over 700 completed Ravelry projects. One hallmark of Stephen’s design is his ability to showcase the full potential of the yarn by combining simple stitch patterns with clever, functional, and versatile shaping.

Stephen will showcase his original designs to discuss construction, shape, increases, bind offs, and blocking. The skills discussed in this session will be highly transferable to other types of projects and designs and is a great workshop for knitters looking to learn shaping techniques and move past the basics. The class will highlight some knitting fundamental skills such as M1R/M1L (make 1 right, make 1 left) increases, yarn overs, Stephen’s favorite cast ons, bind offs, and blocking tips.

Add Comment (0)

There are so many fabulous designers in the knit world and many of them spend some portion of their career at Rowan, an obvious giant in the hand knitting and crochet yarns. We had the opportunity to talk to one of the newest additions to the team, Grace Melville, about what it means to her to be a part of the Rowan team, her style, and her inspiration.

Grace, you just recently joined Rowan in September of 2009. Can you talk a little bit about how you came to join the team?

I graduated from Kingston University with a BA in fashion design in June, where I specialised in knitwear. I then was very fortunate in finding the Rowan Junior Design role online and applied straight away. I am a huge Rowan fan as my mother introduced me to the magazines from an early age. I have been very lucky to find myself in such a great position for my first job!

What does it mean to you as a designer to work with Rowan, which has promoted so many big named in the knit world?

It means a huge deal to me as a designer to work for Rowan especially for my first proper job in the fashion industry. I am learning an enormous amount in so many areas of the brand. I really feel my designing has developed greatly in the time I have been here. The design room at Rowan work very much as a team, so you get to see and be part of every stage of the design process from initial concept ideas to the proof reading.

Can you talk a little bit your first collection with Rowan Studio? How would you describe the collection? Your style?
Studio is a reflection of what is happening in fashion at the moment. So my first studio captured what was happening at that time. The trend then was slouchy, loose shapes and subtle pattern and fazed stripes. Obviously as a designer your own style is reflected in your designs. I think you can see my style in the silhouette of the pieces in studio 18.

What excites you these days from a design stand point? What do you think it going to be coming up next on the knit wear scene?
Everything around me has an influence on my designing. I love starting a new Studio and researching into current trends. There is a lot of lightweight layers and lace in the next Studio ready for spring.

Any sneak peak for your next collection or where your design style might take us knitters?
The next Studio is very feminine in fine yarns, I’m really happy and excited about this next Studio!

Quick Facts:
On your iPod right now: Poalo Nutini’s new album Sunny Side Up.
If you were a yarn what yarn would you be? That’s a toughy, hmmm I love the felted tweed family because of the lovely colours and how nice it is to knit with.
Favorite place to knit: With my mum on the sofa whilst having a movie marathon.
Current project on the needles: Swatches for up and coming projects.
Who taught you to knit? My lovely mum taught me to knit at the age of 6, she is still the best knitter I know!

Stay tuned for more designer interviews from A Yarn Tale that will bring you inspiration and ideas!

Add Comment (0)

You may remember hearing about a fabulous workshop we had before the holidays with Sharon Brant of Rowan.  I learned so much from this session and I know all who attended did as well.  For those of you who weren’t able to attend, we wanted to share a bit of our wonderful experience with Sharon here with you.

Our customers are very familiar with Rowan and was are tremendous fans at the shop, but can you give us your perspective on what makes Rowan such a special force within our industry and maybe tell us something we might not know about Rowan?

Everybody that works on the design and marketing are just as passionate as the consumers. We often wonder why, I think it was born as a very personal company and we have been lucky enough that Coats have allowed us to keep the ethos of the company even though we are part of a huge global company. I also think it is the detail of styling and briefs that make the seasonal stories so special.

Rowan has always been know for being on the cutting edge of the industry and birthing new fabulous designers. Can you tell us about some of the new and exciting developments at Rowan and any of the new designers that are on your watch list?

We work very closely with the universities and their tutors to make sure we find the new fresh talent. We also have key consultants in the industry that make sure the young designers make themselves known to us.

Your new book “The Ultimate Knitting Bible” has become one of my new favorite go too books.  Can you give readers a bit of insight as to what makes this book different and what you were hoping to achieve with this publication?

This was a reaction to all the workshops I do around the world. I have been asked so many times, “Do I have all of my tips written down somewhere?” Can you come home with me?” This is for those people. I have tried to keep it clear and simple to follow. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did for putting it together.

The workshop you just ran at the shop “How to suit a garment to you” was so fantastic and I learned a lot about how I should approach a project for myself.  What would be the one or two purls of wisdom you might give readers when they approach creating a garment for themselves?

Take time to get the tension right and make samples so you know you are going to like the finished piece. Be brave and try something new prepared that you may have to do it again with all the things you learn form not getting quite right the first time.

Also, it was so exciting to hear about some of the work you’ve done outside of Rowan for film knitwear costume design.  Can you give A Yarn Tale readers a bit of insight as to what your experience has been like in creating knitwear for some films?

Working with the films is so much fun but also quite demanding due to the timings. Working on Phantom of the Opera was my absolute favourite as it linked History and knitting. the detail they go down to is amazing and when you watch the film you wonder why? but it is all those fine details that make wonderful historical stories.

Working on the designs are fun and exciting but the challenge comes once you have produced some obscure piece and they say they love it and then need 6 identical pieces! Have a look at Luna’s jacket in Harry Potter and think of my poor mother who had to copy every single fringe in the same colour pattern as the original I made. (She loves me!!!)

Purchase Sharon’s latest book, The Ultimate Knitting Bible, here.

Add Comment (0)

I’m always interested in new up and coming designers, simple style, interesting stories, and those folks to watch for their future impact on fiber arts.  Some of you may already know Stephen West, but if you don’t he’s one to watch.  He’s a young designer who has a great blog, showcasing his designs and is quickly rising in popularity on Ravelry.  We caught up with Stephen to talk a little about his background, his work, and what’s next for him.  Check it out and check out his work!

Can you tell us a little bit about how you got started knitting and designing?

I started knitting in high school after a couple friends taught me, but my knitting looked as awkward as I felt doing it. Despite this rough first attempt, I was still interested, so I got a knitting book and learned all the basics. My first projects were acrylic scarves and hats until I went to college and found my LYS, Klose Knit in Urbana, IL. I discovered wool, alpaca, and other wonderful fibers and then there was no looking back. I brought projects with me everywhere and worked almost strictly from patterns for about a year. During that time I would often modify patterns to fit my taste and my 6’2 height. After modifying more and more patterns, it wasn’t too long before I started designing my own. By designing my own patterns, I can get exactly what I want or I end up with something completely different and weird, which may spark another design idea.

Shawls, shawls, and more shawls. They seem to be on everyone’s mind and you have some amazing shawl patterns in your line up. What is it about shawls that inspires your creative juices?

I love making them as much as I love wearing them. I particularly love smaller shawls that can be worn as scarves around the neck because they are easy to wear and they also look fun and stylish. Shawls as scarves or neck pieces are also quicker to make, often taking just one skein of sock yarn. Fingering weight yarn is one of my favorites because it drapes beautifully and the colors can be breath-taking. I don’t knit socks much, so shawls are another wonderful use for sock yarn. Shawls also have multiple functions. They can be wrapped around your neck, positioned several different ways, or draped over your shoulders. There are many different ways of constructing shawls. Most of mine start at the neck edge with just a few stitches and then gradually increase outwards. I love this method of construction because you quickly see progress and by the time rows become painfully long, you’re almost done. I am humbled by responses I receive from knitters who love my shawl designs. So, it is easy for me to develop shawl patterns when there is so much interest in them.

Where does your inspiration come from? Are their any designers out there today that are really inspiring you or you feel are on the cutting edge?

Sometimes my inspiration comes from images I come across or structures and objects in my environment, but mostly I am inspired by yarn, color, and the act of knitting. So, my designs often utilize simple stockinette and garter stitch, showcasing beautiful yarns. Simple, clear lines mixed with some interesting detail or shape appeal to me. I am always inspired by what other designers like Jared Flood, Ysolda Teague, Gudrun Johnston, and Kirsten Kapur come up with. I can tell that they are all passionate about knitting and I think their work has the ability to evoke a strong mood or emotion. All of them also take gorgeous photos, which is something I’d like to learn more about.

What’s up next for you?
A lot, actually. I am going to start working on a website soon and hopefully get my blog updated and going again. I’ve taught a few classes in my local area, but I am interested in expanding my class repertoire and traveling to different shops this year. I have been designing a lot of new patterns recently, which I am very excited about. Some of these new patterns will be part of a Westknits pattern collection that I’m planning to release later this year. I just started working with Deep South Fibers, who now distributes my patterns wholesale to yarn stores, which frees up more time for me to play with new design ideas. I’m also working on some knit art installations with Chicago-based fashion designer, Katrin Schnabl, These installations will be presented in Chicago and New York this spring.

Quick Facts:

On your iPod right now: Spring Awakening soundtrack. I can’t stop listening to it.

If you were a yarn what yarn would you be? Right now, I would be Malabrigo Twist because I can’t stop knitting with it.

Favorite place to knit: Outside in the shade

Current project on the needles: Farmer’s Market Cardigan by Connie Chang Chinchio, Chevalier Mittens by Mari Muinonen, Expedition by Todd Gocken, a new sweater design and scarf design.

Add Comment (0)

Before I left for vacation, we were so lucky to host Sharon Brant from Rowan for an amazing workshop on how to “Suit a Garment to You”. It was a fabulous experience for all who were able to attend.

Sharon started us off with a discussion about how we should approach a pattern and think about how it might fit around areas of “focus” for each one of us.

Sharon then helped each one of us create our own custom template to use to modify any pattern to our own individual shape.  We figured out how to look at the width of our shoulders, length of our torso, etc and tweak the pattern measurements to best fit each frame.  It was fantastic!

Seed Stitch was a busy place that Tuesday night.  We not only hosted Sharon, but we had two of our regular session classes running, beginning knit with Cindy and My First Sweater with Sumner.  So we were all a bit squeezed but it made for a fun, festive, and inspiring night.

After a fantastic workshop, but one filled with quite a bit of math as we measured and modified, we ended the night with a celebratory sip of champagne!

Also check out Sharon’s project journal from her trip to Seed Stitch on KnitRowan.com

Add Comment (0)

We are blessed in so many ways at Seed Stitch and are always looking for ways to give back whether it’s plans for our holiday giving project for this year, our participation in the 3/50 project where we committed to support other locally owned businesses wherever possible, or in this latest endeavor.  A customer recently brought in a new publication out of the UK called The Knitter Magazine.  It’s an amazing magazine geared toward the more experienced knitter, with phenomenal patterns, great articles, and nifty product spotlights.  Seed Stitch will be carrying this magazine as of the next issue due out and we’re working to get back issues (especially issue & with that fab Zauberball sock pattern).  So stay tuned for that.

I was super excited to read about a how The Knitter Magazine has teamed up with Rowan and Macmillan Cancer Support for this event called the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning to be held on September 25th.  The event is designed to help improve the lives of patients suffering from cancer.  Not only is this a great cause because we all have someone in our lives affected by cancer, but they’ve also given us an excuse to knit!

Rowan and The Knitter have asked some of the amazing designers that we know and love to design afghan squares, which are so beautiful. So here’s the deal. We thought that at Seed Stitch we could knit a square or two. We’d also like you to join us on Friday morning September 25th if you’re available. Stop by our fantastic neighbor’s Front Street Cafe to pick up your cup of coffee (or tea, I’m a tea drinker), thus supporting a great local business along the way, bring your knitting and we’ll work on a square or two together — a very informal gathering. We all know how our knitting projects can linger, so best to put a deadline on ourselves and shoot for getting our collective squares done by October 25th. We should be able to do that right? A square each in a month. Download square patterns here.

For those of you that are not local to Salem, we encourage you to pick up your needles as well and feel free to send us your square and we’ll add it in, or start up your own group, share a cup of coffee together, and find a local cancer charity to which you could donate your lovely work.

Just some of the beautiful afghan squares are shown below.

Also as a reminder, later that evening on the 25th, Seed Stitch will be hosting a free lecture with Leslie Scanlon of Mac & Me. Pre-registration is required so please give us a ring or let us know on your next visit.

Add Comment (0)

We all know just what knitting is capable of.  It can create a cozy and homey blanket for snuggling on the couch, a treasured and well worn sweater for a new baby, or an amazingly shaped and intricately stitched garment for your night out on the town.  However, much of society still sees knitting as an “old bitty’s” craft and imagines scratchy lanolin heavy wools knit in poorly lit rooms sitting in a rocking chair.  Now don’t get me wrong, there is most definitely a place for lanolin heavy wools and I’ve been known to sit in the rocking chair to knit a stitch or two, but knitting is evolving.  We know it and Lexie Barnes, notable accessories and knitting bag designer, is working to elevate knitting presence in the fashion world.

Fashion Week is upon us this week, hosted by Mercedes Benz in NYC.  Lexie is hosting comfort lounge outside of Fashion Week in Bryant Park to offer a bit of relaxation to Fashion Week participants but also showcase just how amazing knitting can be.  She’ll also be offering mini knitting lessons so folks can be exposed to this amazing art and craft that we all love.  We all have an opportunity to help Lexie Barnes host this event as she’s holding a donation drive to help offset the cost of this great event.

Seed Stitch contributed and I can’t wait to see what comes out of this event for Lexie Barnes and for our entire knitting community.  I’ll be looking to see what comes out of Fashion Week in terms of knitted garments and how that might inspire what we do at Seed Stitch.

Add Comment (0)

Every issue at the beginning of the Debbie Bliss Magazine, Debbie give us little snip its of inspiration.  In the fall issue she showcased some vintage end papers from knitting books of the 20s, 30s, and 40s.  Well we got so excited.  Michele, one of our very own Seed Stitchers, has been collecting books from this era and Odhams Press Ltd. and had many of the same end papers featured in the magazine.  I can’t tell you how amazing it is to leaf through these old books and see the fashions, read the funny nuances of the text, laugh at some, and think “oh that one I could really make”.

My imagination is alive with the possibilities of how we might be able to leverage these end papers at Seed Stitch.

However the inspiration does stop there!  We loved these old patterns so much we’ve decided to create a vintage knit along from these oldies but goodies.  We are going to be working out the logisitcs of the knit along over the next few weeks and will chat with you all about it as Fall gets rolling.  Ooooohhhhh so exciting!

Add Comments (2)

Veronik Avery is a fantastic designer who has been inspired by classic fashion trends. She’s teamed up with Classic Elite to launch her first yarn line and it’s due into to Seed Stitch in a matter of days.  The new line is called Nordique by St. Denis and is 100% wool, knits at 24–28 sts/4 inches on a U.S. size 2.5 -6, making it a fingering to sport weight, with 150 yards per ball.  This yarn has a wonderful luster and hand-feel and I think it destined to become a classic.  Veronik was kind enough to give us a little insight into the product, her design inspiration, and what we might expect next.

How does it feel to launch your own yarn line?

Frightening and exciting at the same time – I have been working on this for over a year now and while I love having creative control over every aspect of the line, I’m also terrified about what kind of reception it will have.

I think we’re all becoming more and more conscious about where our products are manufactured. Can you talk about your decision to have your line produced in North America?

It just doesn’t make sense to me to have products manufactured abroad when we have the raw materials and the ability to do so right here. It’s also often difficult to know where exactly our products come from even when they are clearly labeled – for instance, it is perfectly legal to say that a product is produced in a particular country even if only the last step in manufacturing was completed there. It could have been spun in China from fleece imported from New Zealand, but the label will simply say ‘made in Italy as it was plied and balled there. Not to mention that a product with that much mileage should be more expensive – the fact that it isn’t adds another concern to the equation.

Can you give readers a little synopsis of the magazine to accompany your yarn?

The magazine’s goal is to inspire and educate as well as present patterns. I think many of us have heard references to being either a product knitter or a process knitter – well, I think many of us are a bit of both. So, while the yarn line is intended to be a real knitter’s material – durable, crisp yet soft enough to be worn next to the skin – the magazine aims to showcase what we love about this craft.

How have your designs evolved since you started designing?

That’s difficult to say because of the way that I work – I studied visual arts through my teenage years and for a while in university and that has had quite an impact on how I approach design. It isn’t so much an evolution, as each collection and each piece within that collection is treated as an unit rather than part of a whole. I don’t love one silhouette, technique or construction method above all others – it all boils down to what I’m doing at the moment.

What designers have inspired your work?

Pam Allen, Marc Jacobs, Stanley Kubrick , Claire McCardell, Janet Morton, Issey Miyake, Paul Smith, Sonya Rykiel, Meg Swansen, Vivienne Westwood, Frank Lloyd Wright, Elizabeth Zimmermann (to name a few).

What’s up next?

I’m working on the second issue right now and waiting for the spring yarn samples to arrive. I’m also working on fall of 2010 – since my yarn is spun to my specifications rather than picked from a selection, I have to determine what kind of fleece will be used and how it will be spun and that needs to happen far enough in advance so as to have samples in time to knit with.

QUICK FACTS:

On your iPod right now:
The The

Item from your yarn stash you’re dying to use:
CEY silky alpaca lace

If you were a yarn, which yarn would you be?
Nordique!

Favorite place to knit:
anywhere but in the sun.

Current project on the needles:
Many swatches for book 2!

The yarn and the magazine will be in the store within a matter of days and I can’t wait to get my hands on them. I’m looking for your feedback as well, but I’m guessing it will be positive.

Add Comment (0)