Great Little Gifts to Knit by Jean Moss – Interview and Giveaway

Great little Gifts to knit

I am delighted to be part of Jean Moss’ blog tour for the newly published Great Little Gifts to Knit (GLGTK) and was given the chance of previewing the book as well as interviewing her. As if that was not enough, you have the chance to win a copy of her book merely by commenting on this post, and I will draw a winner on Saturday 5th November who will be e-mailed. For those of you who do not know Jean Moss, she is one of Britain’s leading knitwear designers. I know her amazing designs from my Rowan Yarn days, and love her exquisite work. Do check out her blog: More yarn will do the trick: jeanmosshandknits.

What inspires you?

I’m a very visual person, I always have my camera to hand and snap things that delight me all the time. This could be as simple as light playing on water or tracery through the leaves of a tree, lichen on stones, sculpture in the landscape, vegetables in the garden etc – nature provides a constant masterclass in colour, texture and form.

I’ve used all sorts of sources for my collections over the years –  music for In The Mood , travel in Sweet Shawlettes, architecture  in Sculptured Knits, and ceramics in Knits for all Seasons.  The Welcome Toran in GLGTK is inspired by a beautiful one from Rajasthan we’ve had hanging at home for years. We’re surrounded by awesome inspiration every day of our lives  –  the trick is to make sure your eyes are open to it.

toran

Welcome Touran

But I also love street fashion and random mundane objects that spark my imagination – like a quirky coffee cup, a sleek piece of technology, junk shop finds and of course, lots and lots of yarn. William Morris says it all in Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.

Wensleydale_tea_cozy

Wensleydale Tea Cozy

Being synesthetic and a musician is helpful too. I have the most common form of synesthesia in that I see all letters as different hues making up the overall colour of every word. Playing the guitar and songwriting is another passion, it can take me somewhere else when I’m struggling with a pattern and I often find when I come back to it the original problem is gone.

My life is a work in progress – I’m still filling my memory with things I love, ready to draw on and use when the right moment comes.

Do you give away knitted gifts yourself? And if so do you use your own patterns?

Yes I do, to both questions. I always knit a few things for family and friends at Christmas, usually scarves, fingerless mittens or hats. Sweet Shawlettes was a wonderful source for my festive knitting last year. One year I did knit necklaces  and bracelets using someone else’s pattern. I have to admit I customized it as I went along, but this is a fun part of the creative process – I always encourage knitters to play with my patterns to create pieces that are unique to them.

Fiesta-Gloves

Fiesta Fingerless Gloves

You mention lightbulb moments in your book, when you talk about the Fiesta Fingerless Gloves. Do you often have those when you design, and do they lead to unexpected turns at times?

Always. I get completely carried away with the design on my needles at any given moment. It often occurs to me that the concept could probably inspire a whole collection, so I’m always keen to travel as far as I can with it. That’s the reason many of the projects in Gift Knits have two styles, multiple colourways and some even different yarn weights.

Can you recall a very memorable question from your ”Ask Jean” advice column in the UK magazine Knitting?
The most memorable question was Is it OK to knit after sex?

You have so many passions: gardening, music and vegetarian food. As well as hosting knitting and gardening tours to beautiful locations. How do you find enough time to design?
I share the organization of the tours with my partner, Philip, who does much of the day-to-day admin and planning, whilst I do the web work, promotion and teaching. We both enjoy the enviable job of checking out all the lovely places we stay in and visit. The tours are a fabulous way of connecting with kindred spirits and we have a wonderful time with a good mix of returners and newcomers, so each tour feels something like an extended house party.

I always have a knitted project on the go, but as far as commercial designing is concerned, I have to have a book, commissions or a specific project in mind. I enjoy variety and it keeps me fresh to do different things in between. So when I’ve had a long stint of pattern-writing, say, for a book, it’s good to have some time off when I can just knit for myself, play my guitar, write some songs, play in the kitchen or plan some new feature for our garden in Wales.

Fiesta-Shrug

Fiesta Shrug

Can you reveal any design tips or techniques or methods from your time at Polo Ralph Lauren, Laura Ashley, and Benetton that has been elementary for your further designs?

Not really design tips, but it’s very important that you believe in yourself.  At the start of my career I learnt on the job, my mantra was yes I can do it, then found a way of doing it later. Working with Ralph Lauren was an exciting but exacting time when sometimes I’d be writing three patterns in a day. Samples would be couriered back and forth over the Atlantic almost daily and any amendments had to be made and samples reknit constantly. I learnt the hard lesson that meeting production deadlines was paramount. If you miss them, the order is cancelled. Working with Laura Ashley and Benetton was different. Laura Ashley was my intro into UK volume production, when most of the factories were happy to poodle along making argyle socks. I remember receiving my first order for 25,000 garments in a season and having to go out and try to source them. No pressure! With Benetton I was employed in a purely design capacity – I have great memories of trips to the factory in Italy and staying in Venice.  What a perk!

This is your 11th book, is the next one already in the planning or what is next on your knitting agenda?
I’m constantly wearing my designer hat, although my output has been seriously curtailed since I broke my wrist a couple of months ago, teaching my grand-daughters how (not) to ride a unicycle! As it’s my right wrist, even now the cast is off I still can’t write, knit or play guitar for long, so life has been very boring and frustrating recently. I’ve decided to use the enforced sabbatical as cooking time for future projects and already have a list of ideas I’d like to pursue.

Jubilee_jacket_n_hat

Jubilee Jacket and Hat

My first ever KAL was a lot of fun so I’ve been trying to organize another one. I’d like it to be the Welcome Toran, as it’s such a joyous piece and knitters can customize it to suit their style, skill sets and lives. As well as the KAL, what I’d really like is to co-ordinate an installation, where knitters contribute to one massive Toran, which could eventually be festooned across a major bridge or urban gateway (Bootham Bar or Scarborough Bridge in York would be perfect), which in the true spirit of the original Hindu and Buddhist doorhangings, would bless all who go beneath it with an abundance of love, prosperity, health and happiness.

Thank you Jean, for answering all my questions with so much consideration! All the cute and beautiful projects in the book can be viewed here: GLGTK-project-gallery. I love the Fiesta Shrug and the matching Fingerless Gloves, while the Welcome Touran puts a smile on my face with its happy colours. You will find the book at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk and in Norway from: Tanum. I recommend you study her complete collection of books, marvel, get inspired and enjoy!

The winner of the draw, picked by Random.org, is Pauline Hornsby who I will contact for her mailing address. Thank you to all who participated.

Blog Tour Itinerary
Mon 2 Sep       Wendy Knits Wendy Johnson
Wed 4 Sep       WEBS    Kathy Elkins
Fri 6 Sep          Getting Stitched on the Farm Kristin Nicholas
Mon 9 Sep       Stolen Stitches Carol Feller
Tues 10 Sep     Knittedbliss Julie Crawford
Wed 11 Sep     Black Bunny Fibers Carol Sulcoski
Thur 12 Sep     Rhythm of the Needles Joanne Conklin
Fri 13 Sep        Tiny Owl Knits Stephanie Dosen
Mon 16 Sep     Just Call Me Ruby Susan Crawford
Tues 17 Sep     Zeneedle Margene Smith
Wed 18 Sep     RedshirtKnitting Erika Barcott
Thur 19 Sep     A Friend to Knit With Leslie Friend
Fri 20 Sep        Craft Sanity Jennifer Ackerman Haywood
Mon 23 Sep     Connieleneknits Connie Lene
Tues 24 Sep     Knitsofacto Annie Cholewa
Wed 25 Sep     Ulla Bella Anita Tormoen
Thur 26 Sep     A Really Good Yarn Julie Schilthuis
Fri 27 Sep        Urban Yarns  Alexa Ludeman
Sat 28 Sep       Linda Marveng  Linda Marveng
Mon 30 Sep     Yarnings Jen
Tues 1 Oct       Tentenknits  Margaux Hufnagel
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DUODU Norsk Strikkedesign/Norwegian Knitting Design

This marvelous Norwegian book sums up 15 years as artists and designers for the two women behind the brand DUODU; Rita Nylander and Anne Grut Sørum, excellently written by Art Historian Eva Furseth, designed by Bodil Mostad Olsen (see more!) and published by Forlaget Schrøder, see forlagetschroder. DUODU works in the span between haute couture and limited series production, in the very intersection between art, handcraft and design. Their motto from the very beginning was fun, simple and elegant. Brilliantly illustrated in the book, just take a look at the photo below. A small selection of their garments can be described as body jewelry or body decoration as the book cover illustrates and are exhibition pieces. Knits in wool is their main material, why is answered in their introduction: “What could be more beautiful than a yarn storage filled with spools in all the colors of the rainbow? With yarn we make creations with different expressions, sizes and shapes. There is enormous satisfaction, in seeing our ideas materialized. We are often asked what inspires us; where do the ideas come from? Often, just a spur of the moment, is enough to start the creative process.” See more photos from one of their exhibitions: bymuseet. I discovered this inspiring book at Tanum and their limited edition clothes range at Norwaydesigns.

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Shades of Winter

Shades of Winter, Knitting with Natural Wool, is a gorgeous book by Swedish designer Ingalill Johansson, photographed by Ewa K. Andinsson and published by Interweave. There are more than 35 wearable projects separated into 3 natural shades: Natural White, Gray and Beige and they have intriguing textures and shapes. But equally enchanting is the exotic setting, The Icehotel in the Sami village of Jukkasjärvi in Northern Sweden, see icehotel. “It is the world’s biggest ice hotel at 5,500 square meters and is built totally of snow and ice. During each winter season, about 50,000 people visit the hotel, mostly from abroad. The Icehotel has the Torne River as its source, and the hotel exists in harmony with the world around it. After every summer, artists from all around the world create and rebuild the hotel from scratch. It is a unique concept, created entirely from the perspective of being environmentally friendly.” Snow and ice were Ingalill’s first sources of inspiration and it shows in her equisite designs. The book captures the Nordic winter and inspires, I discovered it at Tanum in Oslo (also available in Swedish), see tanum or at Amazon (also available in German and Danish), see amazon.

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Lekre masker og lekne sting

Gorgeous stitches and playful stitching is the title of Designer Sidsel J. Høivik’s new book, stunningly photographed by Anne Helene Gjelstad and recently published in Norwegian by Gyldendal. The book is like a treasure trove filled with inspiration, it is made with the intention not only to knit but also to simply enjoy each garment and each photo. “What makes knitting fantastic is that you make everything from scratch; out of one single thread. It is the closest you can come to magic!”, a great introduction to this spellbinding book. Sidsel learned to knit as a four year old and has never stopped since. Indeed, after completing a four year degree at Accademia di Costume e di Moda in Rome, Sidsel designed even more beautiful garments for yarn companies and magazines – see sidsel-j-hoivik, on Facebook: sidselhoivikcom and on Ravelry. But this is her first book and Photographer Anne Helene Gjelstad herself a former designer with a unique vision – see annehelenegjelstad – was Sidsel’s choice. And what a team they make!

Above is one of Sidsel’s favorites a poncho with set in sleeves, knitted in a pure alpaca; Inca by Rauma with a thin mohair; Plum and fashion yarns; Beo and Concorde for the bubble/popcorn crocheted edges. The collar is attached at the neck but could easily be made into a cowl and worn on its own together with the hat.

I adore this cropped Bolero with a long top underneath in a delicate beige wool Finull by Rauma held together with a fine kid mohair; Plum, knitted in cables and rows of eyelets on a stocking stitch background, edged by garter stitch.

The cover photo is a popular design based on the traditional Fana pattern given a modern remake by Sidsel; Fritt etter Fana/Freely after Fana, worn with one of several crocheted necklaces, made of flowers delicately attached by mother of pearl buttons to a chiffon ribbon.

The book contains 50 patterns including accessories, a few matching patterns for girls and babies, great sketches, advices and tips; covering  an amazing 254 pages. No wonder it has hit the best seller lists! Who would not, want to be inspired?

The book is available in most bookstores in Norway, and can be ordered from Gyldendal, their information in English pages will add the book details, this summer: Agency.

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A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns

This book, written by Barbara G. Walker – an influential knitting expert, author and feminist – was first published in 1970 by Schoolhouse Press and has been in demand ever since. It is part of a series of four encyclopedic reference books, and it is my favorite of the series – which I just had to buy after flicking through one. Available at schoolhousepressamazon and at norli. It is fittingly dedicated “To the further enrichment of a beloved craft”. In her introduction she writes, “Some of the patterns in the this book are contemporary originals…Other patterns are traditional…I have resurrected these from old, forgotten books and translated them into modern terminology…Still other patterns have come from other areas of the world…Like music, knitting truly is a universal language.”

To give you an idea of the tremendous asset it is I will list the chapters: Knit-Purl Combinations, Slip-Stitch Pattern, Slip-Stitch Color Patterns, Mosaic Patterns, Fancy Color Patterns, Fancy Texture Patterns, Twist-Stitch Patterns, Cables, Cable-Stitch Patterns, Yarn-Over Patterns, Eyelets, Lace, Lace Panels and Insertions, Borders and Edgings. 700 different stitch patterns to chose from, presented with black and white photos with written instructions, whether you design or want ideas to make your own sampler – testing out the different stitch patterns – whether it is going to be a scarf, baby blanket or bed spread.

You do not need to be an experienced knitter to enjoy and use it. An ideal way of learning to knit different stitch patterns and how to read patterns. The book contains a detailed description of terms and abbreviations, how to adapt patterns for circular knitting and a handy index. Each pattern will tell you how many to cast on to make 1 pattern repeat as well as it multiples so you can calculate to your own size. My copy is so full of post-it notes that I have now started using yarns in different color to mark my selection of patterns to test and use. I think Barbara G. Walker will approve.

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