sponsor giveaway ~ classic cable knits

welcome classic cable knits! christina, the lovely knit wear designer of classic cable knits, has generously offered a giveaway. creating knitting patterns is a very special talent (how do they do it?) so i asked christina if she would tell a little about her creative journey...

classic cable knit photo

how you came to knit and then design?
I have an intensely creative mom (for proof you can check out her lovelywatercolors – every time she paints sheep I swoon) and grew up surrounded by art and making things from nothing. When I was about 6 she taught me to crochet. That bug lasted until I was about 13. I rarely used a pattern but would crochet slippers, hats, lace collars for my sisters and mom for Christmas. When I was 14 I decided I wanted to learn to knit a sweater. I saved up my lawn mowing money and went to the local yarn shop where I was guided to a horrible drop-shoulder pattern in bulky yarn. Long story – but it was a horrible sweater to wear. The yarn shop had not been very friendly to a 14-year-old beginner so instead of going back there I went to the library. Guess who I should discover at the library? Yep! Elizabeth Zimmermann. Zimmermann exudes confidence and I soaked it up. I started to knit my own sweaters with my own measurements and my own designs. I still have a black, dk weight cable sweater I made myself. Oh, for teenage eyes! I don’t know if I will ever attempt a solid black sweater now, but I thought nothing of is as a teenager.

Speeding ahead ten + years, when I was married and transitioning from a full-time court reporting career to stay-at-home motherhood I worked at a yarn shop (not the one I went to when I was 14). Not only did I learn a lot at the shop but I found that customers wanted my designs! I was amazed! I never wrote anything down except my gauge and a few numbers so it was a bit transition for me. But the pattern sold well at the shop and I was launched into designing.

classic cable knit photo

your inspiration for patterns?

My inspiration comes from many places – books, stories, something I see in a shop window, the yarn or movies. Rose Petals was a shawl I designed in the summer of 2012 and I drew the inspiration for that from my “New Dawn” climbing rose out my kitchen window. Right now I am smitten by the book,“Call the Midwife” by Jenny Worth and the TV series that accompanies it. I really, really, really want to knit a maroon sweater like the one they wear on the TV series. Whether it will be just for myself or a pattern for others too, we shall see. 

classic cable knit photo

classic cable knit photo

how you go about the process...

Usually my designs start out with a sketch (where I wish I could draw), a photo clipping perhaps, and yarn swatching. Then I write out all my calculations for my size, begin to knit and adjust the calculations depending on if I like how things are coming out. Then I calculate each size on its own. I suppose there are faster ways of doing it but I really like the simplicity of a pen, paper and calculator. 

classic cable knit photo

and of course anything else you'd like to add.

I’m an avid tea drinker –Indian tea with milk, no sugar, please. I love bargain/vintage hunting at local second hand shops – especially when I can find a vintage sweater. And… I love gardening – especially when it comes to roses. Yep, I nurture a compost pile just for my roses.

thank you so much christina for sharing here, your talents are truly inspiring. christina has offered one pattern of choice to 5 readers. go here to see all designs (the above photos are a few of my favorites)  then leave a comment on this post and the winners will be chosen by random number generator saturday, january 19th. good luck to you!

thank you classic cable knits!