I admired Lotta Lundin, Knitting-Lotta on Ravelry’s mittens, and asked her to help me re-start the motif challenge series.
Do you make choices about the poses of your subjects to make it easier to knit the object or grade the pattern?
Yes, it has to fit and it also has to match the other things in size, I try to fill up the mitten as much as it is possible to avoid big areas of the same color. It’s like building a puzzle. I think it’s easier to knit if there are so many things in the pattern as possible. Some of my pattern, especially the Game of thrones mittens includes big areas of the same color and that is not the best, but I couldn’t fill it up with things because it would have destroyed the pattern.
Does most of your inspiration come from literature and current events?
Yes, I always try to look around me were ever I go to find inspiration. I’m listening around me to what people are talking about and come up with ideas all the time. I know that people love cats and dogs, that’s not my favorite object and there is so many nice patterns with the motif already. I try to find things that are not so common.
I love how your motifs relate to the finished object, the proportions are harmonious. Does this make it hard to grade?
Thank you! I don’t know what you mean with hard to grade? But I think I have a lot of experience from my work as a graphic designer of magazines. I work with proportions all days along so it’s just in my back. I just take my work in to doing patterns.
How do you choose colors?
I just go by feeling. One thing I learned is that every time I try with colors I think people would like it goes wrong, it’s so difficult to do something I don’t feel for. For me it’s just a feeling. Colors are extremely important for me, for example if I come to a place with wrong (in my taste) colors, or wallpapers, I cannot relax, it’s like my whole body is restless. An other example is my kitchen, I have repainted it five times before I now love it, the color has perfect tone and every time I come in in the kitchen I feel calm.
How do you know if you have sufficient contrast, or blending?
The same here, it’s just a feeling and if I go on the feeling it often goes well, but many things I do I through away or start over with again.
Do you ever get surprised as you are swatching that the colors that looked right as skeins sitting together aren’t working as stitches?
Not so often. I try to choose very wisely and I love matching colors in the same tint (is that the right word?) and then take in bone white, it’s harmony 🙂 So many times I think I do the same choice over and over again and when I look at other people object I thinks they choose so nice and different colors and when I try to choose something like they do it goes wrong for me, over and over again. Actually today is one of these days. I have two new patterns I have tried to knit some times but it goes wrong, so today I throw both of them away and took a glass of wine instead 🙂
Any tips on float control?
I try to have the thread of the color that I’m knitting the most of on the edge of the finger. For example if I should knit 13 stitches of white I have white thread at the end of the finger and the other color further down the finger. I knit 4-6 stitches before I twist and try to have the thread quite loose. I never twist the thread on the same place two rows after each other and never where I switch stitches.
Do you often find that the finished object looks just like your chart?
Yes, I think nearly almost every time it looks as my chart, but I work quite hard with the chart before knitting and I change the chart if I find that something isn’t good while I’m knitting.
I enjoy your flat lay photographs, did it take a while to come up with a style?
Thanks! In my daily work I work a lot with photographers and order photo shoots all the time, so this is a part of my daily work. It is just to do the same but with a iPhone. The cameras and the programs are so amazingly good this days so you don’t have to have a really camera. I have work with retouching pictures for 20 years so photos is a part of my life. I’m not a photographer but I know a lot about it.
Thank you Lotta!
2 Responses
Stunning motifs!
It’s amazing what she can fit on a hand. Did you see her Mother of Dragons one?