Once a week I post interviews with interesting people about their insights on their experience of working in the Knitting industry. I’ve noticed that every one of these individuals makes their living in a slightly different manner bringing their own unique presence to the knitting world.
You can find Patricia here on Ravelry, on Instagram here and on Facebook here.
Where do you find inspiration?
I’m
open to finding inspiration almost anywhere! Something just catches my
eye and sparks an idea I'll build on. Or sometimes there’s a certain
yarn that inspires me and I'll suddenly see the finished piece made from
it in my mind. But often it’s just my own real desire for something
specific that will inspire me to design exactly what I want, which seems
faster and easier than trying to find a pattern for it. (That probably
stems from being a knitter long before there was the ease of searching
for patterns on Ravelry!)
What is your favourite knitting technique?
Even
after knitting for most of my life, I still feel like ANY knitting
(even garter stitch) has a wondrous quality about it — that yarn can be
turned into something beautiful using knitting needles — it just amazes
me! But of all the techniques that I teach, my favourite is mattress
stitch seaming. Whenever I demonstrate it, the class reacts with gasps
and sometimes even applause, as if they’ve just seen a magic trick! For
any garment requiring seaming, this technique takes it to a whole other
level.
Do you look at other designers’ work or are you afraid that you will be influenced by their designs?
I
love looking at other designers’ work! I find it exciting and
motivating to see all that creativity! It can be distracting though too;
so many incredible designs tempting me away from what I should be focusing on.
How many sample/test knitters do you have working for you or do you do it all yourself?
During
the design process, I knit everything from start to finish myself,
making adjustments as I go. It’s not until I consider the pattern
completed that it goes to the testers. I also knit most of my samples
myself; it gives me another opportunity to check the final pattern
again.
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http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/avoca-hat
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Did you do a formal business plan?
My
knitwear patterns evolved out of designing things for myself which were
getting a great response and requests for the patterns, so I just began
doing them. I haven’t done any formal plan in terms of my business, but
I'd say the plan for my patterns and classes is that they inspire
creativity, and make it fun for knitters to create beautiful things
which make them happy.
Do you have a mentor?
No, but I could see how invaluable that would be and I wish I did!
Do you use a tech editor?
I
haven’t used a tech editor yet. My years as a graphic designer have
made me very detail oriented and meticulous, and the feedback has been
that my instructions are clear and easy to follow, which is what I aim
for. My patterns so far haven’t been too complex, but I would
definitely consider working with a tech editor for a more complicated
design.
How do you maintain your life/work balance?
Being
self employed, I don’t feel a real separation between work and life. I
seem to be working on or thinking about knitting all the time anyway!
But I’m happy with the balance I have between the relative freedom of
working at home, and the structure of scheduled knitting classes I teach
regularly on evenings/weekends. And the solitude of working alone is
balanced nicely by being among my group of student knitters in the
classroom.
How do you deal with criticism?
Almost
all feedback I’ve had has been positive, but if someone doesn’t
understand my instructions, I’m easily contacted and happy to address
concerns personally. It’s actually helpful for me to find out if a
pattern needs changing to clarify something, and then I can improve it.
What’s next for you?
I’m
really excited about some new design ideas I’m working on. I’ll also
continue to offer my classes and workshops; after almost 15 years of
teaching, I still love helping people learn how to knit!
