Winter is not my favorite season so during the winter months I am always trying to find ways to stay warm. I happen to love Hand Knitted accessories–bulky scarves, fingerless hand warmers and slouchy hats. Being and looking cold is not cute therefore staying stylish, colorful and warm is always a plus in my book! I love to browse Etsy to find unique and indie designers that have their work on display. In my search for knitted goods this season, I came across three fabulous women (Rebelle, Odessete Studio, and Evelda’s Neverland ) with their own take on knitting. These women keep it fresh, simple and fashionable with their own style. This is not your grandma’s knits!! I got a chance to chat with all three ladies and learn more about them, check it out and click on their name to bring you straight to their store…
Learned to Crochet…
I learned to crochet from children’s crochet books (don’t judge me) and from repeat trial and error. My original pieces were not pretty at all in retrospect… of course I thought that they were masterpieces at the time.
Inspiration…
I get inspiration from any and everything… fashion magazines, tangled yarn, random color sightings but my main source of color inspiration comes from my Crayola 64 box.
Personal Style…
As for my style, a dear friend of mine once described me as a dainty Ragga Muffin….my first reaction was to be confused and then after it settled I was like wow– that is definitely me! I come from a rich Jamaican background so my personal style lends to my design style funky, bright feminine, with a rugged edge, high fashion color therapy.
Favorite kinds of projects to knit…
The new ones! I love to create new, unique designs that will surprise either with interesting texture or uncommon pattern. My head is still full of ideas but I don’t have enough time to make them all. I love to make things from the scratch. I’m always thrilled when I have knitting needles and some gorgeous yarn in hand and I don’t know where I would end up with it.
Approach when it comes to embellishment…
I love to mix techniques, e.g. knitting with crocheting. Very often I will finish up my product with a crochet and it will give it a special and unique feel. I also like to use intriguing color combinations. I tend to choose pastel earthy colors because nature is my greatest inspiration. Some of my favorite embellishments are buttons and buckles. I like to use large wooden buttons or ceramic, artistic buttons.
Material you like to use…
I tend to use materials of natural origins like organic fibers (wool, cotton, bamboo, soy, silk and many more), but also materials like wood or sea shells. Nature is all around me. I live in a country of forests and woodland so it is quite natural for me to be inspired by and use these treasures with great care and respect.
P.S. Ewelina also makes beautiful organic jewelry with character called Eveldorado (eveldorado.etsy.com)
Learn to knit…
My mother taught me to knit and crochet in Odessa, Ukraine, when I was about 5 or 6 years old. Came to the US 17 years ago with my daughter, fell in love with New York after 3 months.
Materials do you prefer to use…
I prefer natural fibers such as wool, mohair and silk. Lately I widely use different wool blends. I love to work with sport and fingering weight yarn, which is very thin and takes a long time to finish the project, I prefer high quality over quantity
French Press coffeemaker knits…
I am a big lover of coffee. Sometimes I use the French Press coffeemaker. But the glass body of French Press doesn’t keep water hot long enough so I decided to make knits for them, they sell pretty well.
Photo Credit:
Rebelle
Evelda’s Neverland
Odessete Studio
