Indie Designer: Aphaia

As part of the Indie Design Gift-a-Long I had a chance to Interview a designer from Scotland. She has beautiful collection of fair isle accesories patterns in addition to other beautiful stuff for perfect gifting. Read the interview below.

1.       Your business Name and/or Designer name: K.M.Bedigan / Aphaia

2.       RavelryName: Aphaia

3.       Link to your Ravelry designer page: http://www.ravelry.com/designers/km-bedigan

4.       Blog: http://aphaia.org/blog/

5.       Facebook-page: N/A

6.       Twitter: @athenaaphaia

7.       Instagram: athenaaphaia     

8.       Pinterest: aphaiaknits

9.       Who are you? Tell me about yourself? I’m called Kirsten, originally from the North East of England but have lived for the last decade or so in Scotland (first in Glasgow, currently Edinburgh). I originally trained as an ancient historian and archaeologist, but for the last couple of years I have been freelancing in the arts and design field.

10.   How and when did you learn to knit/crochet? I can remember my Grandmother knitting when I was very little, and she taught me to knit. I think I finished one tiny scarf and promptly stopped. I began knitting again when I was at University and haven’t stopped since.

11.   What was your first design? My first design was actually one of my largest projects – the Kentigern Blanket – a big, steeked, colourwork blanket directly inspired by the patron saint of Glasgow.

12.   Your favorite material in yarn, your favorite yarn? I have a serious weakness for Jamieson & Smith 2 Ply Jumperweight – it is just so woolly and squishy, and perfect for colourwork. I also adore working with silk / wool blends.

13.   What inspires you, how do you find your inspiration? I tend to keep an eye out for patterns and interesting colour combinations, so those are a big influence. Sometimes the yarn will just tell me what it wants to be! My most recent shawl pattern, Tesserae, was a direct result of yarn inspiration! I saw the two colours together, loved the combination and the whole pattern was worked from there.

14.   Who is your idol in designing? I love Kate Davies' work, her colourwork combinations are so elegant.

15.   Describe your designing process? I tend to do a lot of working out in my head – I do use moodboards, sketches and swatches though if necessary. I can usually visualize a design pretty well, and then work out the details on how to actually make it. I’ll then usually make a sketch and notes and start swatching and knitting. If it doesn’t go the way I want it to, it gets frogged, reworked and I continue on.

16.   How difficult are your designs to knit? Are they for beginners, intermediate or for advanced knitters? I have a mix of patterns, some are more complex than others but I have several colourwork designs which are designed with beginners in mind.

17.   What makes you design more and more? Actually the more designs I have, the more I want to. I seem to have a backlog of pattern ideas but haven’t managed to get them down on paper or in the yarn yet!

18.   What is the best thing in designing? Seeing other knitter’s finished versions of my patterns. I love seeing the different colour combinations, yarn choices and styling options.

19.   What is the worst/the most difficult thing in designing? Not having enough time to knit!

20.   What is your own favorite from your own designs? Current favourite is Tesserae, though that is probably connected to the fact that both of the samples are only recently finished. I wear the two versions of Oculus I knit an awful lot.