Designing: books and software resources

Yesterday, I went up to a local Catholic school and talked for a full 45-minutes (which was NOT enough time) about knitting and bending/breaking the "rules" and designing your own. I brought some of my "library" with me, but thought I'd do a full post about all the great resources out there for hand-knits design.

Software:
I didn't mention this in class ... but I should have. Software is not a necessity but a really great "nice to have".  I like that the software does much of the number-crunching/drudge type stuff so I have more time to knit -- always a good thing.  There is a company called Knitting Software which has some of the best, easiest to use, most versatile design software out there. Carole Wulster (and now her family, too) started this company back in 1990 ... a computer programmer and knitter, she created the first version of Sweater Wizard (now in Version 3)... than went on to create other software tools for knitters. I was blessed to be able to help beta-test some of these software programs over the years and have used them extensively in my own design work for the past 15 years or so. Here are all the software available to help knitters design so we can spend our time KNITTING!

• Stitch and Motif Maker -- to chart textured or colored stitch patterns (some books STILL don't chart these and it is so much easier for us visual folks to see what the stitch should look like rather than trying to follow the words (or worse, abbreviations and symbols!) 
• Sock Wizard -- to design socks that fit! You can input foot length, ankle diameter, leg length, whatever to get a sock pattern that really fits 
• Knitting Math Wizard -- for quickly "doing the math" of placing even decreases or increases, getting the appropriate angle for sleeves, etc 
• Print-a-Grid -- for printing out graph-paper blanks that is exactly what your gauge is -- the right sts and rows to the inch so you can really see what the pattern will look like (especially great when graphing intarsia or picture knitting) 
• Swatch Wizard and Mitten Glove Wizard -- these are two new programs that I haven't used yet but look great. Swatch Wizard keeps a database of swatches so you can "remember" exactly what you got with which needles and which yarn; Mitten Wizard allows you to design mittens with directions "written" for 4 or 5 dpns, 2 or 1 circulars knitting!

Books -- Here are the books I really like for designing ...

• Bliss, Debbie -- Design it, Knit it: Secrets from the Designer's Studio
• Budd, Ann -- The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns and The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns.
• Ellen, Alison – Hand Knitting: New Directions
• Epstein, Nicky – Knitting on the Edge, Knitting Over the Edge, Nicky Epstein’s Knitted Embellishments, and her Nicky Epstein’s Knitted Flowers
• Fanderl, Lisl -- Bauerliches Stricken 1 , Bauerliches Stricken 2, Bauerliches Stricken 3 
• Newton, Deborah -- Designing Knitwear
• Vogue Editors -- The Best of Vogue Knitting Magazine: 25 Years of Articles, Techniques, and Expert Advice

Many of these books should be at the public library, so you can check them out (literally!) before buying.  The Fanderl books, although in German, have the stitch patterns charted so it doesn't matter if you read German or not!  There are many other great stitch-ionaries out there and Ethnic/folklore pattern books are great for inspiration.  I particularly like the new Interweave book by Marianne Isager, Inca Knits: Designs Inspired by South American Traditions, packed with beautiful designs inspired by the clothes, textiles and pottery of South America.

Other supplies you might like to have: 

• sets of knitting needles in all different sizes; I've used this Boye set for more than 20years.  The Boye set is similar to the Denise Set or the Options Set from Knit Picks.
• graph paper
• calculator

The above should get any novice designer a great start ... post a comment or email me (bhwh.mary at gmail.com) if you have questions or would like other suggestions for books, materials, and yarn!

Books: the book I'd have written ...

... if I wrote a book on one of my favorite subjects: ethnic knitting!

Well, it seems Donna Druchunas wrote my book -- Ethnic Knitting Discovery: The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and the Andes -- and did an excellent job, too! For the "get go", I like this book ... it's written on recycled paper (so it has a matte finish rather than the glossy paper everyone wants to use that is SO HARD to read unless you're at just the right angle with the light ....), the books assumes knitting knowledge and the idea that ANYONE can design their own given the proper tools.

She gives her "directions" in three ways -- the first (and my preferred way) by just giving the basic numbers and letting the knitter figure out all else, the second is for the perfectionists who want all the numbers and definite schematic before starting, and the third, a tep-by-step guide to knitting each type of sweater.

This is a great designer book -- a good overview of the history of knitting in the area, a brief bit about the usual colors or stitches used, something about how the knitting is done (special cast ons, yarn-holding, etc), and than a couple of sample sweaters.

A fabulous read on a fascinating subject ... especially useful for those who want to try designing. ENJOY!

In the Spirit of Design: A Knitting Retreat

This past weekend I spent up near the Wyoming border at the Benedictine Abbey of St. Walburga. I was leading a knitting retreat and it was SO MUCH FUN! A wonderful group of 17 ladies (including my dear SIL) came to the beautiful valley in Virginia Dale where the Benedictines have created a haven of peace only two hours from Denver.

We all arrived around 4:30 pm on Friday and knitted and talked and participated in the sisters' prayer-life and just generally had a superlative time. So great, in fact, that the ladies have asked to "do it again" next year!

I gave talks on the history of knitting, the design process (where do ideas come from; getting those ideas from your head to your needles; tools of the trade), ethnic influences, fiber choices and "hand" of the fabric, color theory, stitches for textures, the "pros" (famous and not so famous hand-knit designers), and outlets for creativity (charity knitting). Over the next few days, I'll be posting the text of my talks so that those who couldn't join us will get an idea of what we covered.

Additionally, Sr. Genevieve Glen, who edits the Magnificat, gave a fabulous talk on the spirituality of creativity and the link to God's ordering from chaos as shown in Genesis 1. As soon as she posts her thoughts on her own blog, I'll link to the talk as it really was wonderful.

Intermixed with talks and prayer time, we had LOTS of time to sit and knit and chat and really get to know each other.

I can't wait for next year's retreat!