On professional and personal fronts, 2013 was about just average. Had quite a few issues on the work and family side, but there were some positives too. Knitting and reading kept me sane all through the turbulence. Here is the year that went by, in pictures.

I finally had a design published in Petite Purls, a magazine which I admire a lot. It is sad that they are closing down.

I followed it up with a design which I was personally very satisfied with. The cables posed a big challenge and I am happy I managed to overcome it.

My second adult cardigan which I was super stoked about.

I designed my very first shawl and organized my first knit-along and had lots of fun!

Participated in the super popular Gift-Along and all of us, designers and knitters alike, had loads of fun.

Here is hoping that the new year brings its share of ups and downs (more of the former and less of the latter, please). Wishing a very happy, prosperous and crafty new year to you and yours.

We have a winner for the giveaway we held as part of Mindy’s interview. There were 35 comments and the Random Number Generator chose number 13. For once, 13 turned out lucky!

Which makes Sarah our winner. Congratulations Sarah. Mindy will be contacting you shortly regarding your prize.

Thanks everybody for playing. Hope to see you around.

If you have been reading this blog or have been active on Ravelry in the past couple of weeks, chances are you have heard of Gift-Along. Independent designers have come together to promote one another’s designs, organize KALs and CALs and offer lots of prizes. As part of GAL promotion, I am interviewing Mindy (many of you will recognize her very popular Holden Shawlette) on the blog. There is a giveaway too!

Mindy is a US based designer with a stunning collection of shawls/shawlettes making up a majority of her designs. Her first design Holden Shawlette is immensely popular on Ravelry. She is an active blogger and tweeter. Mindy took some time off her busy schedule (holidays are around the corner too) to chat with me.

Q. What inspired you to become a designer?

What started it all was my desire to knit a shawl that had a wavy stitch pattern at the bottom. I couldn’t find an existing pattern that was what I had in mind so I set about designing it. Once I was deep in design work, I realized I really loved the design process.

Q. What aspect/phase of knit design do you enjoy the most? And which one do you enjoy the least?

I really don’t like to sit down and write the actual pattern. I’m not sure why I don’t like it, but I always leave it for the very last thing. I have a pattern to write right now, and I’m finding a lot of other things to do instead! I just need to sit down and do it. As for what I like the most, I really enjoy charting. I work from charts 99% of the time so when I have a chart that works, I know I’m ready to start knitting.

Holden Shawlette by Mindy Wilkes

Q. Holden Shawlette is one of the most popular patterns on Ravelry. How does it feel to see your design do so well?

I had no idea when I designed Holden that it would be so well-received. It was my very first design ever. Nothing can brighten my day like receiving a kind note or comment from someone who knit Holden (or any of my patterns) telling me how much they enjoyed the knitting and how much they love their finished project.

Q. What has been your experience with GAL so far?

I haven’t been too active, but it’s been a lot of fun so far. I love seeing what other people have knit. There’s been a project or two that have blown my mind with how beautiful they are.

Strawberry Moon by Mindy Wilkes

Q. Which patterns in your store can be made as quick holiday gifts?

Almost all of them! I have a variety of shawls that can be made with one skein of yarn, and I have a variety of shawls that are made in heavier weights of yarn so they knit up pretty quick. I think my side to side shawls (Flower Moon, Strawberry Moon, and Hunter’s Moon) would be great gifts.

Q. Do you find time to knit from other designers’ patterns? Who are your favorite designers?

I don’t have a lot of time nowadays to knit other designers’ patterns since most of my knitting lately has been deadline knitting for publishing. I do occasionally start a project from someone else’s pattern. I work at a LYS, and I like to have a project that uses a yarn we carry in store. I can work on that small project when I’m working at the store. It might take me months and months to finish though. I have a ton of favorite designers. Lately, I’ve knit patterns from Bonnie Sennott and Amy Christoffers.

Q. What gifts are you making/knitting for this holiday season?

None! I rarely knit for other people. I am a completely selfish knitter. Right now, my kids believe that clothing cannot be gifts so they’re not getting anything handmade because it won’t be appreciated. Really the only thing I’ll make this holiday season will be food. Just as soon as my kitchen is finished (We’re right smack in the middle of a major remodeling project) I’ll be baking and cooking.

I hope you enjoyed this little chit-chat with Mindy. If you like her designs (who wouldn’t, ha ha), Mindy has generously agreed to offer a copy of any of her self published designs to readers of this blog.
1. All you need to do is comment on this post telling us which pattern you would like to win. Do ensure I have some way of contacting you, via email or on Ravelry, so leave an email ID or your Ravelry username.
2. Entries will close on Dec 24 2013, 12 PM IST.
3. A winner will be chosen randomly and the winner’s selected pattern will be sent to you as Ravelry gift or PDF file will be emailed to you.

All images are copyrighted to Mindy and have been used here with her permission.

I had the opportunity to stay at Brighton for a work related travel. Though my hotel was at Brighton, due to my office hours, I didn’t get to do any yarn shopping in Brighton itself. I made up for it by visiting some yarn shops in Lewes, which is where my workplace is located. When this travel was finalized, I knew I had to buy some yummy yarn because who visits UK and does not buy yarn? Especially when there is such a dearth of pure wool yarns in Bangalore.

The Needlemakers

A lovely, not-so-serious knitter at my work suggested that I visit the The Needlemakers where a lady sells yarn on the first floor, or so I was told. I took a trek up the steep hill and reached this place and landed in a beautiful fabric shop. The cheerful fabrics displayed everywhere and the sewing supplies almost made me buy some, but I reminded myself why I was there. The very helpful lady at the fabric shop was very surprised when I asked her about a yarn shop. She had no idea there was anybody selling yarn in that building and that cannot be because she has been in that building since many years. After going back and forth, she suggested I visit ‘the art and crafts store, just down the station road’ where I will surely find some yarn. My colleague who originally suggested this place is very sure there is yarn in this building and the fabric shop lady is equally sure there isn’t any, so I leave it to you to decide whether to visit this place or not.

Tash Tori Art and Crafts Store

This cosy, little store is quite close to The Needlemakers, so if you can do both on a single visit. This is mainly a sewing, embroidery supplies shop which also stocks some knitting yarn. I found some Debbie Bliss, Sublime and some acrylic yarn. They have supplies too like needles, tapes and knitting books. I bought two balls of yummy Debbie Bliss Cashmerino in Pink. I have no idea what I am going to make with it, but wanted it in my stash. The lady at the counter was very helpful in letting me know they don’t stock much yarn and I am lucky I found some that I liked.

The Knitting Basket at The Stitchery

This leaves us with the best place to shop yarn at Lewes. The Stitchery is a crafts store on the first floor of The Riverside building. This is a prominent place on the very popular High Street. This street has cafes and pastry shops on either side of the street and you can see people enjoying lunch or a beer out in the sun. The Stitchery is run by the very charming Saira who knows what good customer service is (more on that later). I saw so many varieties like Rowan, Sublime, Wendy, Robin and many more, that I felt dizzy. I bought some Rowan Tweed which will become a sweater/jacket soon for my son. The Stitchery has such a dizzying collection of buttons, fabrics and other sewing supplies and they often have items on clearance. I had such a great time chatting with Saira, as if I was meeting a long lost friend. More on Sarah in my next blog post.

Hope this post helps in your yarn shopping adventures when you are in Lewes!

I had a lot of fun going over the wonderful suggestions posted by everybody. I had a hard time choosing just one name, but after a lot of head-scratching, I picked Penstemon. And this name was suggested by MamaLemon on Ravelry.

The random number generator picked contemax as the second winner.

Congratulations Kiel and Carla on winning this pattern. Hope you enjoy knitting this shawl as much as I did.