How about a little Knit and Tonic......

This week I am happy to bring to you all Wendy from Knit and Tonic. I know we ALLLLLLLL love Wendy. I know I do lol. So sit back and enjoy!!!!

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN KNITTING? - I learned when I was about 8 years old but didn't really knit until about five or six years ago, more than three decades later.

WHO TAUGHT YOU TO KNIT? My grandmother; my mom's mom. My mom had no interest in the craft, but to this day, my grandmother, who is 92, by the way, still has the urge to knit, although she can't any longer because she has lost her sight.

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO START BLOGGING? I had been in the corporate world for years in marketing/advertising and decided that I wanted to stay home with my newly born daughter. I was bored out of my mind and had just started knitting (again) and found a couple knitting blogs online. I thought, "Wow, what a fun idea," and next thing I knew, I had Knit and Tonic.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH YOUR BLOG NAME? Heh. Gin and Tonic is my favorite cocktail and as far as I'm concerned, knitting something fabulous is just as good as a decent gin and tonic.

DOES BLOGGING HELP KEEP YOU ACCOUNTABLE WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR KNITTING PROJECTS? At first it did, because I wasn't as busy on the designing side of things and readers would sometimes remind me that I hadn't been working on something or other, but like me, they are relaxing a bit. It could be that they know I'm busy, so no one bugs me about an unfinished such and such. Now, if it's sitting on the needles or mysteriously disappears from my "On the Needles" sidebar, no one seems to notice or remind me. Still, I have a nagging feeling, but I know there are priorities and if something shouldn't be finished or should be frogged, then so it shall be. I've finally come to the conclusion that if you're knitting your way to doom, you might as well frog it and call it a day.

WHEN DID YOU START DESIGNING PATTERNS? Just a few years ago, I think.

DO YOU HAVE A  BACKGROUND IN DESIGN? Nope.

WHAT IS YOUR DESIGN PROCESS? Usually, I just draw a sketch based on a color palette or maybe an inspirational garment or shape I see in a magazine. From that, I choose yarn, do a huge swatch and sit and think a lot. Then, I launch Excel, decide on some factors like ease and drape and come up with some raw numbers for at least seven sizes. After that, I cast on and write everything down, and calculate the next steps as I go. The drawback to this process is that if you are interrupted, you lose your train of thought and it's difficult to get yourself going again if you put it down and pick it up days later. The old pros write the pattern down before the sample is knit. Me? I'm still stuck in the knit and write-it-down mode.

WHAT IS YOUR VERY FIRST KNITTED DESIGN
Probably the Girlfriend Shrug.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DESIGN? That's tough, because I'm really hard on myself. I could easily tell you what my least favorite design is, actually! As far as a favorite, it would have to be one of the sweaters in my upcoming book (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, Summer 2008). I like a little cardigan called "Cameo." And as far as my online patterns are concerned, I really love the Girlfriend Swing Coat Sweater.

WHAT IS YOUR MOST POPULAR DESIGN? I think that the Somewhat Cowl has done well, and Sizzle, too. Tomato, the one that appeared in "No Sheep For You," seems to be popular, too.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE YARN TO WORK WITH? I love the Koigu, I really, really do. Thing is, I can't see myself knitting anything but socks, hats or mittens from it. Other than that, I love Blue Sky Alpacas (anything they do) and Tahki Cotton Classic. Linen and hemp are also some of my favorites and I have to confess I don't know why people complain that it is hard on their hands. I like to knit for the end product and linen and hemp really give you a great pay off (not to mention, the fibers are great for the climate here in Southern California.)

IS THERE A YARN THAT YOU JUST DO NOT LIKE? The eyelash stuff. Or the railroad track stuff. Or anything stinky.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE NEEDLES? Oh, anything that works. I'll knit with anything! Today I was knitting with some plastic double pointed needles (I think they are called "Pony?") and they have little weights in them. Very cool. Other than that, I almost exclusively use circulars and I do prefer the Addis, but bamboo is great, too. I guess it comes down to the fiber and how it behaves with the needles. I have to say that I prefer to knit with around size 5 or 6 needles. I don't enjoy working with anything larger than, say, 8 or 9.

HOW HAS RAVELRY CHANGED YOUR LIFE? LOL Confession Time: I do enjoy Ravelry, but I haven't had the time to really get into it. I try to limit my time online and although I pour through the forums a LOT I just have to stay focused on being productive. I have maybe three hours of time during each day that I can focus on knitting/design/blogging, and if I could, shoot, I'd spend hours and hours with Ravelry. It's a great community and I know the knitters are loving it.

Thanks for taking time out to have your brain picked! LOL, I really appreciate it.

This week's blog spotlight goes to:

NOVAMADE

Go check it out!!! Great stuff!!!!

Can I tell you guys, that I have been purging and cleaning!?!? OMG. I have thrown out, given away, labeled, cleaned up, wiped off, folded up, put back....lol. ORGANIZATION IS A WAY OF LIFE!!!! LOL. I can not WAIT to show you guys my new area, but it's not complete....YET!!! lol

That is it for today guys!!! See ya tomorrow! :-)

That is IT you guys!!!! Have a great day!!! Oh, and it still doesn't feel like Christmas but I'm enjoying the music! LOL

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Comments

[erica b.]

Great interview! Wendy and her knits are awesome!

[Lisa]

can't wait to see the new space!

[Lynne Nelson-Berg]

Thanks for the link to wendy's blog. It looks really good.

And i am a defiante fan of Novamade - I love her blog and her goodies.

[Lynne Nelson-Berg]

Thanks for the link to wendy's blog. It looks really good.

And i am a definate fan of Novamade - I love her blog and her goodies.

[gold]

Great interview.Love all the project she have done and Novamade had some great stuff too.
I need to clean and organized some things myself before the Christmas Holiday.
Have a great day!

[Isolde]

I really should start knitting again. I haven't knitted since I finished my poncho. Thanks for commenting on my blog. Hugs, Isolde

[Stacey_CrimsonPurl]

I loved how she said why knit to your doom, and stay focused on being productive.
I REALLY need to move towards that...I have been "wanting" and "saying" I am going to do that...but my computer time has GOT to be cut down so I can do what I enjoy why I even got into blog world..KNIT!

EXCELLENT interview!!

[Michelle]

Great Interview!! I love Wendy!!

[robin]

Love the interview!! And I totally agree - organization has to be a way of life in order to keep things that way!

[Christina]

I agree! Organizing has to be done. I don't always do it, but I love the end result when I get it done. Can't wait to see your new area.

[soo]

Great interview!! And I love the finished sweater in the previous post. You are far too talented! :)

[Tawnya]

I wish I could find a cute shrug for my daughter! Geesh! A how much would you charge me to knit one of those for my dd??

[Tracey]

Thanks for another great interview. I adore the socks shown at the featured site. Thanks again.

[Tany]

Great interview! My grandmother (on my mother's side) was a great knitter too! Too bad she passes away when I was only six... There was much to learn from her. An I too didn't get the time to really get into Ravelry... Though I love it.
Hugs to you from Portugal and Kudos to Wendy!!!

[Sheila]

Enjoyed the interview and love checking out Knit & Tonic she is so full of laughs.

[anna]

oh, i *heart* wendy. this is a fantastic interview!!!