Category Archives: Independent Designer Partnership

Interview with Pam Daley

Pam Daley is one of our most prolific IDP crochet designers - she has 5 so far in the program with several more on the way.  And all are super cute!  We enjoy getting the samples of her designs & ooing and ahing over them - oh and putting them the KP babies! (that's baby Ella, the newest member of the KP team, wearing Pam's Sweet-Heart Hat)

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Interview with Lauren Osborne

One of my favorite things about working with the Independent Designers is finding new projects for myself!  So when we started up the Crochet Along, I immediatly choose Lauren Osborne's beautiful Adva for my project, as I've been eying it since we recieved it.  Lauren has many beautiful patterns, both knit & crochet and I am so thrilled she is in IDP. 

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Interview with Kim Guzman

Kim Guzman is an amazing knit & crochet designer - she's been featured in magazines such as Crochet World, Interweave Crochet and Creative Knitting and in many booklets - including her new one Learn to Do Tunisian Lace Stitches.  She also won 3 awards at the Crochet Awards! So really it's not a surprise that two of her designs are our top selling crochet patterns (that would be Solaris Lace Crochet Shawl and Dreams Lace Crochet Shawl)  We are so thrilled to have her part of of IDP!

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These are a few of my favorite things… for spring!

If you live anywhere near the northwestern United States, you know that spring has come later than normal this year.  Fortunately, over the past couple of weeks, the sun has decided to shine a little bit and the flowers have (hesitantly) started to bloom.  In honor of these little breaks from the dreary gray skies, I have decided to share a few spring pattern ideas with you that will brighten up any day - sunny or not! The Rachel's Bag pattern by Cassidy Clark definitely tops my list of fun, fashionable must-haves this spring.  The bag is fashionable, practical, and adds a certain flair to any outfit.  In other words, it's the perfect accessory!

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An IDP Milestone!

As of today we have 250 knitting & crochet patterns in the Independent Designer Program! Our lucky #250? The new adorable pattern by Yvonne Boucher that she created especially for us! The Knitting Knit Picks Mice! How cute are they! It's the perfect little pattern for any knitter in your life!

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500!

When entering the IDP patterns for this week, I was shocked to realize that we are at number 500! WOW!  It feels just like yesterday that I started my position here as the IDP Coordinator and going over our first batch of patterns, getting really excited to let the world know about our great program.  Since we started in December 2009, we have had 34,000 sales, all of which goes directly to our 230 designers! I feel like the luckiest person in the world, getting to work with all these talented designers! And what pattern was lucky 500?   Why it's the one of lovely & talented Kalurah Hudson's newest patterns - Indian Summer!

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Another IDP Milestone

Working on the IDP program has been such a great experience.  I get to work with all these fantastic designers - some I've been a fan of for years, some I only just met & am excited to see more from - and then best of all, I get to share them with all of you!  And we hit a major milestone this week. We have sold 50,000 patterns since December !!!! I couldn't believe it when that number came up!  WOW!  I'm so happy that this program has been as popular with all of you as it is for me & the designers - remember, the designers keep 100% of all their pattern sales.  We now have over 260 designers and just under 600 knitting and crochet patterns and it grows every week - I put up 10-20 patterns every week in the IDP catagory. In fact,  have you seen our new pattern catagory redesign?  Now it's even easier to find your favorite IDP patterns! Since I like lists (yes, I'm a nerd), how about our top sellers overall?  These 5 patterns do have a little advantage as they went up when we first started - but they do cover the wide range of patterns available!

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Summer Sweaters!

This has been my year of sweaters - I've finished 3 so far and have yarn and patterns picked out for at least 5 more.  (My sock knitting has seriously suffering during this obsession with sweaters - I have not finished one pair yet this year!)  Now that it's finally getting warmer here in the Pacific Northwest, what's a sweater knitter to do?  I still want to make them but having a lap full of wool or alpaca doesn't sound appealing. My IDP designers came through for me! Brittany Tyler's recently released a second pattern with us (her first, the Embossed Argyle Sweater Vest is one of my sweaters I already have yarn picked out for) Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 and I absolutly adore it.  And it's in Simply Cotton Worsted - perfect! Her April Cardigan!  I really love the back detail

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Interview with Meghan Jones

  Meghan Jones designs such fun bright styles for kids (and adults!) it's hard to resist not getting every single pattern by her, even though I have no children to knit for! And her adorable daughters modeling them doesn't hurt in the least. She is such a talented designer & we are so pleased to have some her patterns in the IDP program!

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Meeting Snowden Becker!

A few months ago, Snowden Becker emailed me, saying that she was going to be in our area and would love to meet us.  Of course we jumped at the chance - Snowden has been an important part of the IDP program (her gorgeous pattern Agatha Cardigan) is now our number 1 seller!)  Even though it was a cold grey rainy May day, she made the drive down & went to lunch with Alison and me

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