was determined not to let this affect me
or to influence my naming of the book
as Evolution is the only word that truly
represents what the book is about.
How do you feel that knitting can
help anyone who is going through
personal struggles?
I find knitting almost meditative in some
respects. It certainly holds my focus and
enables my brain to quieten down and it is
also my creative outlet. It speaks for me in
ways I would struggle to vocalise. Knitting
enables every one of us to be creative,
productive, useful and provides us with a
sense of fulfilment and control. In a world
that feels even more out of control than it
ever has, being able to centre our conscious
and unconscious thoughts on making can be
hugely calming. I think I have used knitting
in this way for most of my life without even
realising it and only when the opportunity to
knit is taken away from me does it dawn on
me how positive it has been for me.
The book is influenced by The Vintage
Shetland Project. Could you tell us a little
more about this?
Whilst working on The Vintage Shetland
Project for over 10 years I was constantly
being inspired by a stitch pattern, a motif,
a colour palette, a garment shape, but due
to the demands of the project I was unable
to explore the ideas that were forming. As
a designer first and foremost, it was very
difficult not to act on these ideas, and to
contain my instinct to create something new
and focus on the task in hand.
Therefore, the idea of a collection of
original designs inspired by these
same design details was never far from
my mind, so as soon as the opportunity
presented itself I began to design using
sometimes minute details from an archive
garment as the starting point for a design.
For example, Steek and Tavis are both
inspired by the steek chart I had plotted for
a cardigan which featured in The Vintage
Shetland Project.
What is your favourite pattern inside
and why?
That’s a very tough question as I have a
number of favourites for different reasons,
and every one of the designs is special
to me, but I think Steek and Tavis both
for their originality and for the wonderful
surface design that results are particular
favourites; Umbel for the unusual use of
traditional Shetland lace stitch patterns,
Rosa and Floribunda as they use my most
favourite motifs – the asymmetric rose –
and Annemor as I went all-out to create
the perfect jacket without making any
concessions to making it easier to write the
pattern! But to be honest I love each and
every one of the designs.Do you have any exciting plans for 2021
or projects on your to-knit list you’d like
to share?
One of the most significant plans is building
the yarn side of my business further – I
have many new yarn ranges planned for the
coming year. Coupled with this I have been
hand-dyeing an exciting range of colours
for my new A Room of My Own brand, all of
which I hand-dye here on the farm. More
books are planned, maybe even an Evolution
2 ; a new yarn/design club for 2021 and
much more.I’m afraid I don’t make new year’s
resolutions although I’m constantly making
new decisions! I think the only one of those
that could truly be classed as a resolution
is to succeed in getting all the many kilos of
fleece I have collected turned into beautiful
knitting yarn!Find out more
Discover more about Susan at
http://www.susancrawfordvintage.com
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