Today is the release date for my first test knitted and tech
edited clothing / accessory pattern, the Balsam Range lace
cowl. I’m a knitwear designer! (If you know me personally, then you know
that I’m totally squealing right now, precisely like a gaggle of little girls.
A whole gaggle.)
In recent years, I turned back to knitting for comfort. Then
a new friend encouraged me to join the Smoky
Mountain Knitting Guild. In the guild, I met people involved in every
imaginable aspect of the fiber world…and I began to dream. I’ve explored yarn
dying, spinning yarn, and rigid heddle weaving. But designing was something
that had always been whispering in my ear, since I learned to knit over ten
years ago. This past spring, Francoise Danoy
of Aroha Knits conducted the Initiate Knit Design Challenge to power
would-be designers from idea to pattern draft in five days.
It worked. I finished the week with a drafted design and a
better sense of the creative process that worked best for me. It took almost
two more months to polish the Balsam Range cowl into shape, but it is done.
(Did I mention that I’m as excited as a mass of Justin Bieber fans hopped up on
Dr. Pepper and too much Halloween candy?)
Now I’m plagued by visions. Visions of knitwear collections,
thematically curated and presented in print books introduced by lovingly
researched essays, modeled after Kate
Davies’ fantastic publications. Dreams of clever constructions in the vein
of Norah Gaughan and Bristol Ivy. Plans…oh, I could go on. And
I hope I really will. I hope I don’t just chalk these visions up to
over-reaching my abilities or over-estimating my talent. None of us are one-hit
wonders. It just takes dedication. Or maybe I’ll decide that I like spinning
fiber more. Or under-water BB stacking.
Whatever happens next can only happen if I continue forward. There are no gates guarding
frontiers. They have been open. All that is required is the courage to step
forward.
And have I told you about Scotland, yet? Oh, boy. Talk about
adventures!
Until I come back and fill in those
details, you can check out my new web site here: www.kristybryson.com. But I'll continue to blog here.
