As the coordinator for the Independent Designer Partnership program, I’ve seen so many fantastic patterns & met so many wonderful people that I’m so happy to share with the knitting world! As an ongoing series, I’m going to be posting interviews with many of the designers, to get to know them & see what motivates them in their designing.

First up is Talitha Kuomi. You’ve probably seen her adorable patterns already – Loved, the super cute crown; Shines, the cheery City Tweed pillow; and her new pattern released this week, the ultra soft & cuddly Line Upon Line. To me, her designs are so whimsical & unique and I am so happy to have her be part of the program

How long have you been knitting?
Since I was 12. I sat down one afternoon and taught myself to knit from my ‘Pioneer Girl’s Manual’. I learned to crochet …

I launched my Mitten Tutorial KAL last week and, after reading the posts, I realized that it is a perfect forum for any knitter who has been hesitant to join a KAL before. Number OneThe lesson and project is small and simple. It’s all about learning as opposed to finishing a project. You can participate without knitting at all! Just follow the lessons, maybe write down a few notes and then chat with all of the members.
Number TwoI am thrilled to see that a couple of our most engaging members, like Cheryl and KnitterGirl39 have joined the group. Lots of encouragement and knowledge to share.
Number ThreeWe just started last week and the accompanying video was a simple review of mitten basics. You can join right now and not feel like you have to do a whole bunch of catching up.
No matter how busy …

If you want flowers that won’t wilt, leaves that won’t turn brown, and bugs that won’t eat your veggie plants, then the Backyard Garden Kit is just the thing!

There are 15 patterns for small accessories in this kit, and plenty of Palette to knit all of them and then some. You could easily knit a whole bouquet of Calla Lilies, or make a swarm of Monarch Butterflies. They’re small enough that you could easily make even the most complicated pieces in an afternoon or two, so they’re great for last-minute gifts, decorations, or stash-busting.

The kit does use a few interesting techniques. There is stranded knitting:

Short Rows:

Little bits of Intarsia (or duplicate stitch):

And lots of neat shaping:

With all those techniques, this can be a fun learning …

Knitters who attended our yarn tasting a few weeks ago heard me talk about my ill-fated idea for a hat–It was going to be really cute, shaped like a beehive with little needle felted bees adorning it. And it was ill-fated because when I pitched the idea to Alison, thinking that it would make a great KP design, she very politely informed me that the pattern already exists–only in one of the most popular knitting books of the last decade. Knitting designer FAIL!
There are 2 kinds of pattern ideas that I get–some of them are patterns that I think will be fun to write, but probably wouldn’t choose to knit for myself (I have 10 years of stash at my current knitting rate so I need to be a little choosy to avoid getting buried in yarn!) and some are ones that I really, really want to make for myself. …

Introducing….

The New Traditions Baby Blanket!
I come from a very crafty family–Every new baby could be sure to be welcomed into the world with a hand-pieced quilt, a knitted wardrobe, a handmade dollhouse with tiny hooked rugs, needlepoint crib bumpers, the works. Some of the quilters and knitters were so prolific that they did not limit them selves to babies in the family either–coworkers, in laws, friends of friends would all receive a little quilt or sweater set when a new person was on the way.

I remember the quilts the best; I’m one of the youngest members of my generation in this family, but I remember the birth of a cousin on my mom’s side when I was 6 years old. No-one on my mom’s side is very crafty, but I remember my Dad’s sister making a beautiful quilt, all in lilacs, pinks, …