First up is Carol Feller, the designer of Stolen Stitches. Carol’s pattern range includes both self-published collections and single patterns, as well as designs that have been featured in major publications such as Twist Collective and Interweave. Her patterns for men, women and children are also widely published in books, including Knitting in the Sun, More Knitting in the Sun, and her own book, Contemporary Irish Knits.
Carol’s background as both an artist and structural engineer seems to have helped her develop a keen understanding of construction and flattering shapes. Carol will be teaching two classes on Saturday, 12th July 2014: Fearless Cables in the morning and Short Rows Demystified in the afternoon.
I asked Carol to answer a few questions and share some of her crafting experiences with us...
What was your first knitting/spinning/crochet project?
I learned to knit when I was at school and I’m not totally certain what my very first project was. The very first one I was conscious of though was a pair of lemon acrylic fingerless gloves. I was probably only 7 or 8 when I made them and I just remember the double pointed needles….
Do you have any other crafty hobbies?
I really wish I had time for other craft hobbies. I’ve got 4 sons (from 7 to 15) and they are really busy. Working from home means that my knitting workday gets squeezed in around their lives. Every spare minute I get is spent on knitting or knitwear design. I do dream about having time to learn how to crochet though and I’d love to get myself a new sewing machine and learn how to sew again.
What’s your favourite thing to knit?
I love knitting garments. I actually like the fact that they’re longer as I find it more relaxing to knit them! Rather than starting and stopping (and planning) for several smaller projects I can just dig in and enjoy the knitting.
Do you have a favourite knitting tip to share with us?
I don’t know if this is a tip as such, but when starting a new project you really need to have faith that it will work out. The first few hours of knitting can often look like nothing much and it takes a lot to not get discouraged! This is especially true when you’re designing, you have a picture in your head of what you want it to look like but it takes quite a while before your knitting begins to take shape!
Would you say you are a process or product knitter?
I’m actually both! I love getting a project finished and the end result but if the process of getting there isn’t enjoyable it all seems a bit pointless, right?
If you had to pick just one kind of yarn to knit with for the rest of your life what would it be?
How cruel to be stuck with just one choice! However my favourite yarns tend to be light DK/Sport weight, generally merino or close to 100% wool. For some reason I find this weight yarn really fast to work with, I love the weight of the fabric and I find it easy on my hands.
What are you working on right now?
A few months ago I started on a very large book project (it won’t be out until Autumn of 2015!) so planning that project and all the knitting involved is taking up much of my knitting time. More specifically I’ve got about 3 different projects in various states of finish; a linen sweater that is almost at the sleeves, some soon to be felted slippers as a gift for one of my sons and a shawl that just needs me to finish the crochet bind off.
A big thank you to Carol Feller for taking the time to share some insight into her knitting world. You can find Carol’s latest self-published book, Among Stones, in both print and pdf format at Carol’s website Carol is also currently producing patterns for the Irish Yarn Club, which is still available for the pattern only option.
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| ‘Among Stones’, © Joseph Feller |
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