Making a living as a knitwear designer 1/2

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Like every personal post, dealing with subjects difficult to talk about, this one took me a while to mature and to finally write it…

Let’s dive in ! As a knitwear designer, it is really hard to make a living out of it. Everyone knows the names of some famous knitwear designers (Ysolda Teague, Stephen West, Jared Flood, Andrea Moory, Joji Locatelli…)which are well-known and whom we think sell a lot of patterns (right- or wrongfully, I don’t know). In fact, this is not the case for most knitwear designers…

As forme, I decided right when I begun (in 2013) that I would diversify my activity by proposing you knitting accessories besides my knitting pattern because I knew I couldn’t make a living with only the knitting patterns. That diversity is what has allowed my activity to cover itself for the last 3 years. My earnings cover my business expenses (insurance, website, yarn, axposing at some yarn events), which is already not that bas, I know it, but I’m not paying myself !

I’m lucky to have a husband who supports me, but I’d like to bring back some money home too, more regurlarly… Moreover, I have so many more ideas I’d love to develop for Instants de Louise, but I can’t do so if my activity doesn’t bring more earnings… I have benn thinking a lot about it, for a while (over 1 year) and I decided to implement 2 solutions to get there. Today, I’m going to talk about the first one : raising my knitting pattern prices and I’m going to explain you why.

Why raise the prices of my knitting patterns ?

This deicision has been on my mind for a long time, as I was seeing other knitwear designers do so. I was decided to do it, but I couldn’t bring myself to set a date for it. I also wanted to explain you why, which implied to write a post, and it seems I couldn’t put words on it, until I saw a article posted recently by Thread and Ladle. This was the impulsion I needed to finally attack the subject, write this article and assume the price raise.

Some might scream that my pattern prices are already expensive, that for the same price, they could buy a magazine with multiple patterns in it… Yes ! True, but those magazine have a big teams, big communication team, big diffusion services (ans we don’t know how the pay the designers). Me, I’m alone behind Instants de Louise and I’m trying my best here. Let me show you.

What is necessary to make an Instants de Louise knitting pattern ?

At first, there is an idea, a small sketch in a note book, a yarn that stroke my inspiration or a stitch being I really want to use… The inspirations behind a knitting pattern may be pultiples !

From this general idea, I then need to knit a sample. Usually, I buy the yarn I need. From time to time, I’m lucky to create a pattern in partnership with a yarnstore who offers me the yarn, but it is not everytime (far from it). Once I have the yarn in my hands, I swatch and do some maths (sometimes quite complex, sometimes not, depending on the project). Then I can dive in the most fun part, knitting ! This when I can trully realise if the idea I had in my head works, if it is as nice as I had imagined it… Sometimes it works, some other times, it doesn’t and  I have to frog it and startd all over again… This can take a lot of time !

While I knit my sample, I also take some notes about what I’m doing : the different steps, some numbers, without getting into details. It is very far from the final file, but they are really important for me : some time can pass between the sample knitting and the actual writting… They help me remember what I have actually done when I finally write the pattern.

Next, it’s really time for me to sit down in front of the computer for a while. When necessary, I do all the gradation maths. I have big spreadshits, with lots of calculation, for all the sizes… Some designer doesn’t like this step. I kinda enjoy it : I love maths ! I fond it stimulating ! While I calculate all the stitches and rows numbers, I also estimate the yardage for each size.

When all the math is done comes the time to actually write the pattern. This is when the few notes I took while sample knitting really hemp me. Writing a pattern is an important work, as I write the pattern in French and in English. Twice as much work ! When I write the pattern, I try to make the explanations as simple and clear as possible. It is important to me that they are complete, clear and understandable for a large amount of people : it means happier knitters and (potentielly) less pattern support afterwards.

I stay on the computer to do all the schematics and the charts (when necessary) on specific softwares.

Simultaneously, once my sample is finished, I plan a photo shoot to take all the pictures to present you the pattern on Ravelry, my website, social medias… My models are from my close circle : some friends, but mostly my sisters and my children. I’m usually behind the camera because I know exactly what type of pictures I want and, also, because I am not really comfortable in front of a camera…

When I think the pattern is ready and after proofreading it several times, I send the files to tech editing. My two tech-editors (one for the French file, one for the English one) bring fresh eyes to my work and their job is to control everything : the maths, the counts, the spellings, the extra spaces, the inconsistencies. They point out what needs more explanations. They check the measurements… They do a thorough proofreading of the pattern so that I can offer you the best pattern possible.

Then it’s time to have the pattern test knitted. If they want to participate, my test knitters have to knit the pattern during the allocated time and report to me every questions, comments and errors they could meet during their knitting time. Like the tech editing, the test knit brings fresh eyes onto my work to control everything is ok. My test knitters don’t have any obligation toadvertise about my pattern when I publish it. If they do, I appreciate it, but I don’t impose it on them ! when their project is done, they can do whatever they want with it, it is theirs. When I publish the pattern, I also send it to my test-knitters.

When the tech editing and the test knitting are over, that I made all the necessary corrections and modifications to the files, that I took all the pictures I need, I can now publish the pattern. For me, that mean adding it on my Ravelrr shop and Makerist, adding it to my portfolio on my website, writing a post to present it on my blog and advertising it on my different social media. For that last point, I know I can do better…

Once the pattern is published, I receive from time to time some questions regarding the pattern, asking for help. I then try to answer it the more clearly (and the more faster) than I can so that you can continue to knit on your project. This pattern support is variable during time and different from one pattern to another…

What are the costs of creating one knitting pattern ?

To begin with, let’s have a look at all the expenses I have for creating a pattern (material and services) and for running my business.

First, there are expenses directly connected to the pattern I create : the yarn, the tech editing in Franch and in English, copyright deposit

Then, there are all my expenses to run my business : bank, professionnal insurance, website, communication(business card…), from timt to time, I also need some new needles or haberdashery and some documentation. those fees are up to 1200€ per year, to distribute on all the knitting patterns I publish in one year.

Now, let’s have a look at some examples…

Example 1 : shawl pattern

For a ‘traditionnal’ shawl pattern, we need to count :

  • 2 skeins of yarn (~ 40 €),
  • the tech editing in Franch and English (~ 50 €)
  • the copyright deposit (11€)

Example 2 : adult garnment pattern

For a ‘simple’ adult garnment pattern, we need to count :

  • 3 to 4 skeins of yarn (between 60 and 100 €)
  • the tech editing in Franch and English (between 100 and 150 €)
  • the copyright deposit (11€)

Let’s consider that I publish one knitting pattern a month. My annual business expenses are divided between the 12 patterns, up to 100€ per pattern.

So, the expenses for a pattern are  ~200€ for a shawl and between 270 and 360 € for an adult garnment. This doesn’t count at all all the time I spend working on the pattern…

How much pattern do I need to sell to cover the costs ?

You need to know that the expenses I presented you above are not the only ones. For every sale, I have to deduce different fees : Ravelry, Paypal and my social and welfare costs.

That means that, when I sell a pattern 5 €, ~3.5 € remain after deducing those fees ; 4 € remain for a pattern I sell 6 €.

Example 1 : shawl pattern

If we look back at our shawl pattern example above, when I sell a shawl pattern 5 €, I need to sell 57 to cover the costs, without paying me for the time spent creating the pattern.

Example 2 : adult garnment pattern

For an adult garnment pattern sold at 6 €, I need to sell 68 to 90 to cover my costs before thinking to pay myself.

 

I can tell you that not all my patterns sell up to thoses numbers, or really slowly (while the expenses are quite close in time).

what if I count the time I spend creating a knitting pattern ?

Above, I listed you everything I do when I create a knitting pattern, fro sketches, smaple knitting to publishing. Every step in that process takes time, some more than others, and sometimes it is quite difficult to count, but let’s try…

Un peu plus haut, je vous détaillais tout ce qu’il y a derrière la création d’un patron de tricot. Chacune de ces étapes demande du temps, certaines plus que d’autres, et elles sont parfois assez difficiles à estimer, mais nous allons essayer…

We will get back to the examples we saw earlier and we will consider that I paie myself the French minimum hourly wage (7.61 €/hour). I would love to earn more than that, but the minimum wage would already be a good starting point…

Example 1 : shawl pattern

For a ‘traditionnal’ shawl pattern, we need to count approx. :

  • 20 to 30 hours for sample knitting
  • 0.5 hour for maths and gradation
  • 3 to 4 hours for writing in both language (French and English)
  • 0.5 to 1 hour for shcematics and charts
  • 1 hour for the tech editing corrections
  • 1 hour for the photo shoot
  • 2 hours for the test knit follow-up, divided in small chunk durinf the whole duration of the test
  • 1 hour to publish it on Ravelry, Makerist and my portfolio
  • 1 hour to write an blog post
  • for all the communication job and the pattern support, I don’t have any numbers, but they take me time…

That makes a total of 30 to 41.5 hours to create a shawl knitting pattern.

That means I need to sell 66 to 91 additional patterns, bringing the total to 134 to 181 5€ patterns to cover my costs and pay myself at the minimum hourly wage.

Example 2 : adult garnment pattern

For a ‘simple’ adult garnment pattern, we need to count approx. :

  • 40 to 50 hours for sample knitting
  • 2 to 4 hours for maths and gradations
  • 8 to 10 hours for writing in both language (French and English)
  • 1 hour for shcematics and charts
  • 1 to 2 hours for the tech editing corrections
  • 1 hour for the photo shoot
  • 2 to 4 hours for the test knit follow-up, divided in small chunk durinf the whole duration of the test
  • 1 hour to publish it on Ravelry, Makerist and my portfolio
  • 1 hour to write an blog post
  • for all the communication job and the pattern support, I don’t have any numbers, but they take me time…

That makes a total of 57 to 74 hours of work to create a simple adult garnment pattern.

That means I need to sell 109 to 141 additional patterns, bringing the total to 177 to 231 6€ patterns sold to cover my costs and pay myself at the minimum hourly wage.

What price raise ?

After all those observations, I decided to raise a little bit my patterns prices to take in better account everything that goes into creating a knitting pattern. that doesn’t mean the prices will double, far from it ! But a small increase of all my prices and some standardization between my patterns would allow me to cover my cost a little bit faster and so to be able to pay myslef a little bit faster too !

On June, 1st 2018, my knitting patterns will be priced as follow :

  • small accessories (cowl, mittens, hat) : 5 €
  • shawl : 6 €
  • children garnment : 6 e
  • adult garnment : 7 €

 

New knitting pattern : Rosalaine

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Sophie (@sophie.kamalaine on Instagram)is a fiber friend. She is passionate about yarn, wool, their origin, how they are processed, natural dyeing. One day, she decided to go for it.

Last Fall, she came to a yarn festival where I had a booth and she handed me 2 skeins of HER yarn, offering me to create a pattern with it… I couldn’t resist !

Sophie’s yarn, Kamalaine KL16 Fine, is the first yarn she made (she has other ones too, now). She collected multiple various fleeces from the North-East of France : Bleu du Maine, Clun Forest, Ouessant, Shetland, Solognots, Charollais et Suffolk, and had them blended with a hint of linen (just because…).

The fleeces were washed, carded and woven in France and Sophie is dyeing them herself, in her kitchen, with natural pigments.

The yarn resulting is rustic and a bit dry to work with : it’s not cashemire nor merinos. BUT it blooms beautifully and soften once washed. I find it perfect for fair-isle projects !

I loved working with it and I am already planning other projects !

On the first touch, the yarn felt very rustic and I couldn’t picture myself wearing it next to skin (but that’s only my feelings). Actually, after washing it, it is softer, not butter-soft, but a nice dry soft).

After a while, I decided to create a kind of shoulder-warmer shrug, between a cowl (but covering the shoulder and not the neck) and a cape (but shorter, and leaving the arms free to move). The idea was to have a nice little project perfect for hugging my shoulders and warding off the chill of those cool spring days.

I wanted something simple in form :  a circular knit, with very few decreases rounds to form the yoke and some short rows to raise the neckline on the back, but with a lovely fair-isle pattern at the bottom. Indeed, when I first got the skeins in my hands, they screamed at me they wanted to be turned into fair-isle and I diligently obliged !

I was first imaginating a complex fair-isle pattern, which would follow the evolution of floral buds to blooming flowers, but I couldn’t make it work… So I drew a more simple graphic floral pattern a,d I love it.

To finish this project, I couldn’t pass on using one of my very own raku buttons to mark the fold at the collar…

 

Family holidays in Vercors

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When we booked that week of holidays in last november, we didn’t know how much we would need it…

Winter has been especially harsh on us. Since christmas, we’ve been harassed by germs, taking turns not to leave us any resting time… Add to that the return of Madeleine’s waking up every night… We were exhausted and we all really need to breathe !

We left for a week in West Vercors, for a forest house in an almost uninhabited hamlet, by the side of a state forest. The house was big, full of light and cosy, even if a bit rustic and not always practical for some aspects (the kitchen…). Bordered by a state forest, we enjoyed the land, the view, the forest and fresh air. And all of us could rest a lot… And that was exactly what we needed !

A hat for a knife

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I met Lilian and Marjolaine through Angèle (from Madlaine) during Spring 2017. They are fonding members of the association Une Figue dans le Poirier and supports really beautiful values. As luck would have it, this encounter was the perfect thing for me, at the perfect time, and it seemed like the obvious thing for me.

Since then, we have set up and are working on multiple projects together, but not only. A true, real friendship has developped between us and I am proud to have count them as close friends… I think I will tell you more about them and their association (with an interview maybe ?), because it is a project I really like and support, but that is not the subject today.

In December, during a meeting at their place, I discovered the firsts knives forged by Lilian, in his forge he had just installed in their place. I loved instantly this high-quality hand-crafted work and I told myself I would someday buy one of his knives. That’s when Lilian offered me a deal : he would forge me a knife if I knitted him a hat ! As you can tell, I accepted !

In February, my new knife joined our household and I can’t tell you enough how delighted I am ! It is a (japanese style) kitchen knife, with a just-long-enough blade, sharp, with stilla fex spots of forging left, a very beautiful and smooth wood handle. It is perfect !

Then, Lilian told me his requirements. He wanted a BaaBleHat, in wool (of course), but not scartchy (for his very sensitive skin), in natural colours mostly, with a larger head perimeter than the one offered in the knitting pattern.

I made him squish differents yanrs from my stash so that he could test the conatct and quality of them. We spoke a lot about coulour choice and colour combo. And we landed on De Rerum Natura Gilliatt, in colourways Poivre, Poivre et Sel, Fusain and Doré. At the beginning, Lilian wanted white sheeps, but there was no more Sel or poivre Blanc in stock. So, finally, doré is perfect and the yellow little sheeps brighten the hat.

To adapt the pattern to the measurements required by Lilian, I added a group of 3 little sheeps and (so) adapted the CO stitches in consequence, and it was just what the hat needed to fit him perfectly. I also added 4 cm of ribbing to deepen the hat. I had to juggle a little bit with the decrease at the crown, but nothing really complicated.

Gilliatt was still a bit scratshy for Lilian, so I decided to line the hat with a organic coton jersey from Les Trouvailles d’Amandine (col. Driftwood).

I cut a rectangle at the final measuements of the hat, including sewing marges and, serged the 4 sides. I sewed the small sides together to create the head perimeter. for the crown of the lining, I simply gathered one long side and hand stitched it the gathers to the inside of the crown of the hat. For the bottom, I han-stitched the hem, keepeing as much as possible the elasticity of the ribbing.

I delivered the hat in early march and I was told Lilien is always wearing it…

In my point of view, this exchange is a complete succes : I received a outstanding knife, made with patience, passion and a lot of care and Lilian is really really happy of his hat !

Experimenting is the key

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2018 has started for a while now. This blog post has been on my mind since the beginning of January, but I delayed its writing for quite a long time… procrastination, a little bit… fear, most of all… It’s always hard to announce changes, but, some times, you just have to dive in…

 

For the last 3 years, I set myself some goals (personal and professionnal). This year was now exception, but I also decided to choose one key word (well, actually, two, one personal, one profesional, but let’s talk about my pro one).This key word emphasize my profesionnal goals and will guide me in my reflections and choices through the year… Like a lighthouse ! It is a way for me to keep in mind, as the monthes will pass by, the essential…

For 2018, I choose EXPERIMENT ! Why ?

To stop being fearfull

I have zero education linked to knitting or other fiber crafts. By education, I am a forest engineer, nothing connected to yarn and fiber. I self-taught everything I know about yarn, knitting, sewing, fiber arts… Since I created my small entreprise (in 2013), I have that little voice in my head telling me I’m a fraud, that I don’t know everything, that I have no diploma, that I have no right to create, share, sell… Have you ever heard about the imposter phenomenon ? I think I can say I’m right in the middle of it…

To stop hearing that voice (or at least not caring anymore about it), to stop fearing it and the possible judgement of people, I decided to dive in deep : to learn, you have to do it, work it, try it… And that’s what I’m going to do ! We will see what will come out of it !

To try new crafts, new techniques…

I want to continue to explore fiber crafts, without restricting myself to knitting only. Don’t fear it, I love knitting and it is my favorite activity, but I need and want to vary my crafts, to explore new techniques and see where they bring me… I want to spin, weave, embroider, knit always (but maybe in another way ?)… Yarn, fibers will still be the heart of my activity, but I want to push my boundaries and try new things…

Some ideas might not work, some might stay hobbies for my holidays, but others might inspire me to go further, fulfill myself… Who knows ?

To create new products

There will be new knitting patterns this year. I have some ideas, scribbled in my notebooks and some might already have jumped on my needles… I hope you will like them !

But, keeping with the previous point, if I try new techniques and crafts, maybe some new products will appear in my shop ?

I have a lot of ideas : small series of weavings for the home, new project bags, shawl pins, wooly jewelry… some of those ideas will be realised by myslef. For some others, I want to create partnership with cratfmen I know and appreciate…

I don’t know what I will be able to achieve this year, but I’m trying to keep in mind that I don’t have to limit myself, that I can try everything !

To meet and share with others

Workshops to teach and share

This is something really new for me. This year, I overcome my shyness and imposter syptom : I teach workshops !!!

For now, I already begun to teach weaving and macrame to kids in a community youth club, for a really great project about yarn crafts, supported by the association Une Figue dans le Poirier. We will realise a collective work that we will present for the World wide knitting in public day !!! I will tell you more about it, I promise.

On top of that, I taught a weaving workshop for adults n january, and I think I can say the people there liked it. As for myself, I sure really appreciated to exchange about a craft I really like ! I have another weaving workshop soon, for families, and I’m really looking forward to it !

Yarn festivals to meet you

When you work alone, from home, and you sell on the internet, it feels so great to go to an event and meet people just as passionnate as you are about yarn and fibers…

This year, I will expose my work at 2 new yarn festivals :

Cette année, je participerai aussi à deux nouveaux festivals autour de la laine : Channel threads (Le Fil de la Manche), on April 28th-29th, in Normandy and Les Estivales de la Laine, on Jjuly 14th-15th, in the Alpes de Hautes-Provence…

If you go to one of them, don’t hesitate to come and say hi, I will be really pleased to discuss with you !

To work my online profile

For some times now, I have been feeling unsatisfied with how (or what) I share with you only. I don’t really know what is bothering me, but I know I need to change a few things. I don’t know what exactly will change, but I am considering diffrent leads…

My website

My website is the only place on the whole internet that I control entirely, where I can do exactly what I want, how i want it… I really want to give it the central piece in how I share with you, to take more time for it, with quality content…

This year, I will go through a big clean up in my archives, but I will also continue to update it (more frequantly hopefully), with my knittings and other fiber projects, but not only… I also want to share with you other aspects of our life and other things : interviews, rituels, inspiring moments, our everyday life, the renovation of our home, how we transform our garden in a permanent cultural system, new tutorials…

I have ideas, the most difficult parts will be to defeat my fear of the keyboard and to be able to put the words online !

Social networks

I am not really using my Facebook page. I should change that, but I don’t know how… Should i use it jsut to share other contents (blog and instagram posts ? Should i sahre specific content ?

On the other hand, Instagram is my most used social media, but I have mixed feelings… It is time consuming some days, and those algorythms, publicities and suggested accounts spoil the fun… Clearly, I want to continue to share with you on Instagram, but I also feel a need to change a few things.

One can use Instagram two different ways : to share snapshots of life, captured live, but you can also use it for inspiration, by creating beautiful pictures and one-of-a-kins world… For myself, in the first case, considering the quality of my phone camera, it gives not so ggod pictures and often, I don’t quite like the result. On the other hand, I don’t want to present you a perfect grid, with only perfectly set up images…

I am divided between me wanting to share my everyday life (with pictures not so great and not so inspiring) and me wanting to present you an inspiring grid with nice pictures of better quality… Let’s be honest ! We don’t share everything on Instagram. It doesn’t mean I want you to fantasize about my perfect life (because it is not perfect) but I prefer to share beautiful and inspiring pictures of good instants of our life rather than porr pictures showing the mess, the screams and every other small troubles from life…

I will need to find a balance between everyday life and inspiring grid, and I know it will not be easy to achieve… Maybe the stories will help me a little ???

my year of colour 2017

Other leads

I am also thinking about other ways to share things with you : newsletter, podcast, videos… I am questionning myslef a lot about what I could provide you with, waht might inspire you, help you, make you excited, give you the push to try a new thing… I am reflecting a lot about it, and I don’t know exactly what I will do, but when I will know, I will tell you all about it !

 

What about you ? Do you have goals for 2018 ? Do you choose key word(s) ?

Have you any suggestions about the content I could offer you ? What brings you here ?

 

2017 outlooks

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Inspired by Murielle (@vue_sur sur Instagram), I wanted to show you some the Instagram accounts I loved following in 2017 : they inspired me, made me want to try, go further or just gave me peace…

I couldn’t post them before the end of the year, so I intended to post it reigh after the New Year, but some family events made me postponed writing and publishing it, until now… As I really want to share those accounts with you, even if I’m really late, let’s say it is a way to start 2018 in a good way !

Only problem, I couldn’t limitate myself to only 9 accounts… So, here are 3 x 9 accounts !!! 🙂

 

hellohydrangea On this account, you will see lots of beautiful weavings, with a lot of texture. I really like what she does ! She also offer some weaving class that I might take one day…

eritml so really gorgeous knitting projects, with beautiful pictures to highlight them. That blue sweater : I want it ! I don’t know if it woulf fit me well, but I have to try to know… no ?

moonstitches nice arrangements in her pictures. I like a lot the japanese spirit in  them (I don’t know if that is a thing, but let’s pretend it is, cause I have no other words…)

papillonnage A poetic account, with wonderful drawings, sweet words and Sylphide like videos…

estellelbphotography Estelle has a really big heart and art in her fingers : photos, writings, drawings… She knows how to catch the light, what it beautiful and how to highlight it. I’m lucky ti have one of her Odette drawing in my craftroom and I can’t get tired of looking at it.

vicky.alvarez.art nice drawings, sweet and peaceful, around maternity, family, community. They resonate in me.

jesussauvage beautiful pictures, really beautiful projects and, abovve all, Marin, sweet sweet Marin (I fell in love…)

etdieucrea 3 gorgeous and really funny kids, travels, life… Her world makes me dream !

aplayfulday what to say ?I like the way she looks at life, her daughter, her commitment, hes pretty pictures and her podcast.

cocon.etc some really poetic objects made of fabrics. I’m really fan of my Jade Plant in my craftroom

ourwholeconcept A soft and naturel world. I like their pictures and their colours.

thefiberstudio It can go well or wrong, but, sometimes, I see some really inspiring fiber art treasures

vue_sur Murielle, I love the way she looks at life, hes pictures, her tree, and I particularly love her thoughts on yoga she is offering us right now. It’s really inspiring for the really beginner that I am.

froufrouetcapucine beautiful yarns, a soft eye for colors, a garden I’d love to have here at my place and Pirouette… Isn’t he cute ?

allthebeautilfulthingdblog Some accounts are natural, not staged. I wouldn’t say that about this one, because it is clear for me that all their pictures are staged and well prepared, but, all the same, it’s a really peaceful, quiet and calm… Like a dream life in the countryside…

julieknitsinparis Julie is whirlwind madness on Insatgram : she makes delirious videos around yarn and knitting and we all love her at home ! #sillysundaysong

labienaimee Yarn and colours… And what colour !!! I’d want to dive in them and have them all at my place… Unfortunately, that’s not possible 🙁

lafabutineuse stamps, prints… Her creations are pretty and I makes me itchy to try it…

jonnahoo fabulous photographies, with a nordic, natural spirit… And she is part of Laine Magazine redaction !

sand_meije Sandrine makes beautiful pictures and knitting projects. Whenever she post a picture, I know it’s her !

tilleulblanc For the fond of food that I am, this account is a gold mine…

bmandarines Mélody is a knitwear designer. Her world is soft and pastel, calm and relaxing

byannieclaire her socks blanks makes me dream and a lot of other stuff too…

unpeusauvage Giulia describes herself as a calmfluencer and that’s what she is : her photographies are peaceful and invite us to calm and relax…

herminevandijk Beautiful weavings, with a great sense of colours combo. I hope to be able to produce such beautiful pieces one day

irenedkw A refined home, fantastic paintings… Dreamy !

maillodesign Fabulous colours !!!

Freestyle sashiko

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Since September, I have felt overwhelmed, tired, with too many things to do with so little time, being underwater all the time. At some point, I had to take a step back, look at all the pros and personal goals I had set for myselfs and admit something wasn’t feeling right : I was putting too much pressure on myself and close to burn out.

So, I step down, took some time for myself, for thinking… the important was me and my family. My kids don’t care at all if the house is clean or not, as long as they have a calm, serene mum… for everything else, it will come later (or not at all) !

I decided to forgot every goal I had set for myself. I made a few things (but not so much), taking my time, without pressure nor deadlines, to breathe, refocuse on myself and find some peaceof mind. And it felt so good !

That is how I picked up 2 pieces of fabrics that I had dyed with indigo during the 2016 Cap laine Week-end. I had started to embroider them during Spring but had to put them aside to work on more urgent projects.

This time, I took my time to work on them, slowly and steadily, stitch by stitch, without goals or design in minds, letting my hands decide for me. That freestyle sashiko embroidery was really peacefull and meditative. It was good to work on those two pieces. I sewed them to undyed pieces to make 2 small pillows that bring me so much joy…

I think there will be more freestyle sashiko embroidery in my future projects !

 

Memories of summer

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I have lots of memories of Britany. when I was a child, we would go on holidays there every 2 to 3 years and I have in my minds lots of happy memories of those times : feeling the smell of the ocean before even seeing it, being the first to see it when we were arriving, picking shells, looking for tiny crabs in the ponds and the rocks at low tide, swimming in the cold water and the waves, the salty smell in the air and the salty skin, sand between our toes, sunsets over the ocean and looking for the lighthouses in the night, fish and crustaceans… I could go on like that !

I wanted to share those memories and create new ones  with our kids. So, this summer, we went to Finistère ! We weren’t by the sea (the 1st beach were half an hour drive away), but the kids are still small and they didn’t ask to go to the beach everyday… Not thet I mind, I love the sea and the salt ! When they will be older, we will search for closer-to-the-beach house.

Like this one… We must be very well there, no ?

We never drove that much in 15 days. We went to see and discover so many things… I think they will remember thiose holidays  !

As for myself (but i think Pilou thinks the same), I’ve fallen in love all over again with Britany : the salty air, the immensity and fullness feeling, the hydrangeas everywhere, the wild landscapes, the beauty, the crepes (with scallops ! Or salty caramel !) and the water, the salty water…

For sure, we will go again !

My Dear Watson

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What happened before : Cosy (you)

During Winter, Capucine kept growing (No ? Yes !)… So, early in March, wanting to anticipate a little, I decide to knit her a new cardigan, one size bigger (8 yo for my 5-years-old girl…), in a thinner and lighter yarn to make a spring-summer cardi.

Still rummaging though my long models-to-try-one-day list on Ravlery (it is so long, if you knew, and though, I “clean” it every so and then…), I choose to knit My Dear Watson, by Nadia. Another one of her pattern ? Yes ! Another one ! They are so nice and well written.

During a trip to Paris in March, I had to go at La Bien Aimée (and at knitnight at L’OisiveThé) to say Hi ! to my friends and, incidentally, indulge a bit… And Hey ! 2 sleins (among other things) of La Bien Aimée Merino Twist, jumped in my backpack ! 😉

Early April, working simultaneously on one of my sample (you will see it soon), I begun this lovely cardi.

Everything went smoothly, a true happiness to knit. My only mod was to replace the neckband ribbing by an-I-cord. The collar is more scooped out, but for Spring and summer, I find it perfect.

I love this cardigan very much : the colourway is cheerful and perfect for my little girl (there is pink, and many other colours…) and the twisted ribs are so charming… I love everything in it ! So much that i am planning to knit one for myself in a (hopefully) not-too-far future…

Capucinechose the buttons in my old buttons satsh and I must say the delicate pink looks so good on this cardi.

To consolidate the button band, I decided to sew a bias ont the wrong side. It really is the little extra that finishes it and makes it even more lovely. I think I will do it on all my future cardigans. If you are interested in this finishing, I made a photo tutorial : Strengthening a button band. It needs little time for a very chic result… Don’t hesitate ! 🙂

 

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Cosy (you)

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Back in October, Capucine also needed a new sweater… (Pictures were taken last week, tough, completely off-season…)

Why do kids grow up ? I barely finish one sweater that they already need a new one one size bigger… Who am I kidding ? I love knitting for them, it’s fast, and, as long as they appreciate it, I should enjoy it because, some people say it doesn’t last long…

So, while I was ordering yarn for Oscar, I ordered some for Capucine too : some Gilliatt, in the lovely new (then) colourway Doré that I absolutely HAD to try (sense of proportion…) !

Capucine wasn’t really happy with my choice of colour : she wanted a pink cardigan, but the colourway she wanted wasn’t in stock, which arranged my case…

For the pattern, I dove again in my long pattern-to-try-one-day list on Ravelry and chose Cosy (you) by Nadia Crétin-Léchenne.

This cardigan was a real pleasure to knit : fast, especially with 5.5 mm needles, a easy-to-memorise stitch, nice buttons and a gorgeous colours… Perfect combo !

By the way, Capucine didn’t sulk long before she declared it was her new favorite (until the next) : I hadn’t finished it that she kept asking for it every morning… 😉

Only mod I made : I lenghtened the sleeves. Indeed, when she first tried it on, the sleeves were the perfect length. But, 2 weeks later, they were already a bit too short : Capucine had a growth boost and it was showing ! So, I decided to double the length of the ribbing. First, she wore them doubled up, and now, not anymore…

This time, I tried to be a bit more foresighted and already knitted her a new cardigan one size bigger. I will show it to you next week !

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Behind Instants de Louise

Je suis Louise, 33 ans
… maman de 3 enfants
… créatrice de patrons de tricot et d’accessoires pour les amoureux de la laine comme moi
… buveuse de thés (verts de préférence, et parfumés)
… gourmande : de tout ! Avec un net penchant pour le sucré et surtout le chocolat !
… grande lectrice d’origine, mais je ne trouve plus le temps
… en plein travaux dans notre maison
… écureuil, en tout cas en ce qui concerne la laine et le tissu

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