Bex Knitty Design

  I wish there were just the fun parts... This week has been all about pattern writing which is not my favourite part of the design process but is obviously very important, so if I am to keep on track with the 2021 schedule I have set myself, I needed to get this patterns written up by the end of this week … that is that box ticked.  I do tend to wish designing could be all about sourcing lovely yarns and just being immersed in the stitches but there is the more colder side like writing up patterns. I used to write each row as I knit it with a pencil and large foolscap worth of paper, but now I tend to type those rows down instead on a rough Word doc draft so at least I don't have to start, like I used to, with having to type up every faintly scrawled in pencil word, which was definitely worse than the new system. Now it's mainly copying everything over, lots of just fixing any quick typing errors, making sure everything that should be in lower / upper case is, putting everyth...

  The instant gratification of hats... This week all my design knitting time has been spent on hats, hats based on and therefore to match some of y previously released shawl designs. I have done this before as it's my favourite way to use up leftovers from the shawls that I have made. I love to use leftovers in a practical useful manner, so they tend to all go into boxes, labeled with the various yarn weights I tend to use (I'm not much of a lace weight knitter!  😂 ) and the intent is to use them as small quantities to make up colourwork sweaters for myself...that rarely tends to become a reality soon after being put in the boxes...So they more often than not, pop into my mind screaming to become a new design instead, and because they are a leftover from a design that means for me, a complimentary piece. This spark of inspiration is then followed practically instantly by working out how to take the main elements of the shawl design in question and try to break those elements ...

  Into my own little Knittiverse... I'm still in a bit of an organisational phase at the moment with the start of the New Year still quite fresh, and for me doing that helps me wrap my head around all the ideas and plans jumping out of it 😂 More about what's looming closest on the horizon for Bex Knitty Designs laid out in the Design / Tests in Progress sections coming up A few words first though on stashquisition and my love for it... Knitting, designing knitwear and all of the parts and processes in between are all looped together with one common thread - the love of yarn, and beautiful yarn which someone has poured their heart into creating will always steal my heart away. This year when it comes to yarn, has been about getting a nice little stashquisition squirreled away for future designs, which absolutely helps with my planning of 20+ designs I have scheduled for 2021/2 and so I thought I would share this yarny-heart warming pic of some of what I hav...

  Prepping for the knitting months ahead... First point on the agenda for embracing 2021 for me was sorting out my pattern release schedule to run as a calendar throughout the year ahead. It felt like I had so many ideas for all my planned patterns that some structure and planning on which to focus on and when was required! So the humble post it note came to the rescue and dividing a cupboard door in two to represent the two halves of the coming year, and I could visually plan where each release would fall during those months. Next up was the enjoyable task of organising the actual stash I've been acquiring during 2020 for these planned designs in line with this schedule into two drawers, once again dividing the year in half. Now with a month by month panned schedule of what to do and when I could feel a bit more organised, which for me is always a good feeling. Leaving the best part of designing to be enjoyed as a reward - the actual knitting... Design in Progress... I am in ...