The ten of you who’ve been reading this blog since the beginning might remember that my very first Blog Crush post (Jan 2012) was an ode to Jenny Gordy’s now-dormant-but-still-readable blog. Jenny and her webshop, Wiksten, were a huge inspiration to me in starting Fringe Supply Co. — I still have the original printed Wiksten Tank pattern I ordered from her, which contributed to so many of my opinions about what receiving an online order should feel like. And of course she and her patterns and her personal style have been referenced here many times over the years. So it’s a real treat for me to get to run this interview with her today. And I know a lot of you are equally huge fans, so I hope you’ll enjoy this peek into her studio and her knitting and sewing life.

For more of Jenny, follow @shopwiksten on Instagram; check out her current blog here (here’s her daughter, Iris, wearing my dream outfit); and see all of her patterns and fabric bundles in her shop. And for those wondering about the Kimono Jacket pattern pictured above and mentioned below (with modifications and variations since it first appeared in Making), Jenny says it’s coming in June! So the wait is almost over.

Thanks for doing this, Jenny! Here we go—

. . .

Do you knit, crochet, weave, spin, dye, sew … ?

I have the most experience with sewing, which I’ve done since I was a child. I’ve always found it incredibly empowering to be able to dream something up and then literally stitch it into existence that very day (like the time my best friend and I decided we just HAD to make a wedding dress for her hamster so that it could get married). Growing up, I spent afternoons and evenings with anyone who would teach me — from my grandmother and mother to my friends’ mothers.

I loved sewing clothing so much that I ended up going to fashion school in New York to study patternmaking. In school, I had to figure out how to construct garments by myself, and I got to take couture sewing classes. Going to class every day made me feel so giddy that I was bouncing off the walls. I felt very lucky.

When I was in my late twenties I learned how to knit, and it opened up a whole new world to me. I still can’t believe I wasted over twenty years of my life NOT KNITTING! I’m happiest when creating, and this was a relaxing way I could do that just for fun with no pressure or deadlines. I still love sewing, but for me it’s work. Knitting isn’t. It’s comforting and cozy, portable and easy.

Although I’m able to read and write patterns well enough, I don’t consider myself an experienced knitter. I only want to wear things in very simple styles, so I’ve never learned how to do more complicated pieces. In my knitting work I tend to focus on perfecting simple things by doing them over and over again, so I’d say I’m very experienced with a few things and not much else.

I haven’t done much dyeing in recent years, but when I had my clothing line I used to do a bit of fabric dyeing. I did just indigo-dye a Kimono Jacket sample for the pattern cover, which turned out really lovely and made me hungry for more. My friends and I are constantly talking about wanting to dye things with avocado pits, but I still haven’t done it.

Tell us about your tool preferences and peccadilloes.

There are 3 sewing tools I’m obsessed with: (1) a sleeve board for pressing narrow things like sleeve cuffs and underarm seams, (2) a seam gauge for hemming, and (3) an edgestitching foot (for a sewing machine). If you know my patterns well or have taken classes from me, that last one might make you laugh since I can never shut up about it. I have no interest in sewing without these tools. I think everyone probably knows about a seam gauge, but I’m shocked that so many people endure sewing without those other two.

I also have to have two Zirkel magnetic pin holders — one at my cutting table and one next to my sewing machine. Fiskars Razor Edge spring-assist shears are the only scissors I’ve found that don’t fatigue my thumb after constant cutting. Fiskars doesn’t make the style I like anymore, but you can get the old ones on Etsy. People think I’m crazy for using them on both paper and fabric, but they’re so sharp it doesn’t even matter.

As far as knitting tools go, I’m pretty into using Addi Turbo Lace circular needles for most projects, and I like using wood double-pointed needles for socks or tiny baby things.

How do you store or organize your tools? Or do you?

I bought a label maker last year and put lots of things into labeled clear plastic bins with lids, which makes it very easy to find things. My cutting table has shelves on the backside with massive space for storage, so I tuck the bins away since the plastic isn’t so attractive. I have an assortment of wood caddies, baskets, and handmade ceramic cups and dishes around my studio that hold various tools and supplies. One of my favorite things I’ve recently installed is a Shaker peg rail with shelf above the cutting table for hanging patterns, scissors, rulers and other patternmaking supplies. It’s freed up a lot of table space.

How do you store or organize your works-in-progress?

I have a nice collection of beautiful woven pouches with zippers or drawstrings for holding my knitting projects. I keep these, along with some needles and yarn, in a drawer of the credenza below our living room TV for easy access.

Are there any particularly prized possessions amongst your tools?

I was very close to my grandmother, who taught me how to sew. When she died, I inherited her vast collection of vintage fabric scraps and crafting tools. I will basically never need to buy hand-sewing needles ever again. She loved to travel and would collect thimbles from all over the world, and my mom recently let me have a sweet handmade ceramic one from her collection in our favorite colors, blue and white. The whole look of it just really reminds me of her.

Do you lend your tools?

Always! I want everyone to share the joy that I get from knitting and sewing, so I actively try to convert people into crafters if they show the tiniest bit of interest. I always offer to give my friends free lessons and lend tools if they’re into it. If I get the tools back, great. If not, no worries!

What is your favorite place to knit?

I love to travel, so I would say my most pleasurable knitting is done on a plane, in the car on a road trip, in a hotel room, or in a beautiful setting outdoors. However, most of my knitting is done on the couch while watching my daughter play or while watching a movie, preferably covered in cats. Sometimes I knit in bed with headphones and an audiobook while my husband reads next to me. I love knitting at friends’ houses when we have knitting night. There are too many favorite places! I love them all.

What effect do the seasons have on you?

I knit and sew year round. I’m definitely one of those people who knit at the beach.

Do you have a dark secret, guilty pleasure or odd quirk, where your fiber pursuits are concerned?

Nothing too interesting. I’m pretty monogamous when it comes to knitting projects. I usually stick to one at a time. Also I no longer buy yarn unless I’m going to start on a specific pattern immediately.

What are you working on right now?

I’ve been working on the same knitting project for 5 months! It’s the West End Cardigan by Hannah Fettig in Quince & Co Owl in Cinnamon. I’ve been really distracted by some things going on in my life, and I keep messing up and having to rip back and do sections over. Although not a particularly difficult pattern, it’s just been a real struggle to finish. I typically do not give up though.

Over the winter, I worked on sketching and swatching women’s cardigan and pullover knitting pattern designs that I’m really anxious to start writing. So many other projects have been getting in the way, but I’m going to have some time this summer to devote to it. I’m sure I’ll end up trying to do a kid’s version too if I can find the time.

In sewing projects, I’ve just finished up the Kimono Jacket pattern. I’m always sewing Wiksten samples to both test things out and create content for Instagram. I love sewing my own designs, because I’ve done them so many times that it’s a breeze. It’s just really satisfying to do the same thing over and over again, getting better each time. I’m going to take a week or two to have fun sewing samples and give myself a break before diving head first into the next pattern. I have a list of pattern ideas that I want to develop in the next year, and I’m just so excited about them.

PREVIOUSLY in Our Tools, Ourselves: Niree Noel

Photos by Jenny Gordy and Anna Caitlin Harris, used with permission

Every time I invite someone to answer these Our Tools, Ourselves questions, my hope is to learn (and share) something new about them. Some of the respondents are people I/we know very well; some I know just a little; and others I know almost nothing about. In all three cases, the answers often surprise me. Take the case of Niree Noel here, who you may know as @niree_knits on Instagram. She came to my attention because she routinely shares jaw-droppingly great photos on the #fringefieldbag feed (quite a few of which are included here). Niree is gorgeous, stylish, well-traveled, and she apparently takes a Field Bag with her everywhere she goes — whether it’s some fashionable party, the desert, the flower shop, or the roof deck of MoMA. So I wanted to know more about her and her knitting life, and she graciously obliged.

What I learned is that she’s only been knitting two years, and that she took it up as a way to manage adult-onset anxiety, which she just recently wrote a piece about for Allure magazine. As someone who battled a crippling anxiety disorder throughout my teen years, and often wish someone had putting knitting needles in my hands at that time, I was especially touched to learn this about her. I always says in interviews how much it meant to me, when I did take up knitting, to be making something tangible again — to watch something spring into existence right in front of me. So I was particularly struck by this line from her Allure article: “When something grows in front of you, something you’ve created with your hands, you grow with it.”

I hope you’ll enjoy reading the interview below and the Allure piece. Thanks so much for doing this, Niree!

. . .

Do you knit, crochet, weave, spin, dye, sew … ?

I’m a knitter, mainly. While I can crochet and certainly do on occasion, I reach for my knitting needles most often. I’ve dabbled in weaving a few times but always come back to knitting for the elegance and intellectual challenge of it. I used to sew when I was younger and would still love to, but between moving across cities and coasts, and navigating an unpredictable career as a freelance writer and editor, I just haven’t prioritized making time or space for getting back to the sewing machine. Even still, I associate both knitting and sewing with a nostalgia of my childhood; my grandmothers, one from Armenia the other from Iran, taught me those skills when I was growing up (even though I abandoned both by my teen years). Then about three years ago, I started knitting seriously. My grandmothers’ garments, always sophisticated in taste and impeccably made, have definitely inspired my perspective and sensibilities.

Tell us about your tool preferences and peccadilloes.

When I first started knitting, I was a straight-and-bamboo type of lady. Then I tried circular-and-bamboo, and while it was awkward at first, quickly fell in love with the ease and efficiency of knitting off a cord. About a year in, I noticed my bamboo splintering and taking on the color of my yarn. I went to Purl Soho and picked up my first Addis, which were an absolute revelation. I have a set of the Lykke interchangeables that I like to use with certain projects, but my trusted go-tos are the Addi Turbo Rockets: fixed, 40-inch, perfect for knitting flat or in the round, and long enough for magic loop. In all these years, I have avoided DPNs, but despite joking about having a fear of them, I think I’m going to try them out to see what I may or may not be missing.

Does the Fringe Field Bag count as a tool? Because I have both the black and the natural and they are, by far, my most consistently used knitting-related item.

How do you store or organize your tools? Or do you?

As far as organizing my tools, my Lykkes sit nicely in their beautiful case, on display on my shelf. The rest — my Fringe Supply Co. leather and brass stitch markers, Twig & Horn gauge ruler, Row House stitch markers (that come in jumbo sizes), measuring tape from Stephen & Penelope in Amsterdam, vintage bonsai shearers from a boutique in Petaluma, California, tapestry needles in a wood container from Pulp Soho, crochet hooks and neatly wound circular needles (if any are unused) — go in a canvas zip bag I picked up at a flea market in Park City, Utah. Oh and my Muji pens and Moleskine notebooks, too.

How do you store or organize your works-in-progress?

In my Fringe Field Bags! Neatly folded up. I keep all my project notes in one notebook (that goes inside the notions bag), so I just move that bag between Field Bags, and I’m good to go.

Are there any particularly prized possessions amongst your tools?

These aren’t my tools per se but my mom has this retro sewing basket, and she has a thimble and green measuring tape in there that I remember from my childhood. I’m going to transition those into my arsenal one day when she’s not looking.

Do you lend your tools?

I taught my best friend how to knit and was lending her my needles and tools until I gifted her a set of her own for her birthday. If I were to teach anyone else how to knit, I’d of course share my things, but everyone I know who already practices the craft has an extensive collection of odds and ends.

What is your favorite place to knit?

My favorite and most productive place would definitely be my bed, next to my window, with a cup of coffee. It would only be more perfect if my dog, who currently lives in LA with my parents, were on my lap. I love meeting up with the various knit groups I’ve joined in New York, but that sometimes ends up in undoing more than doing. (Especially if we’re meeting over drinks!) There are a few outdoor spots I love as well, if the weather allows: along the shore of the East River, or somewhere lost in Prospect or Central Park.

What effect do the seasons have on you?

I’m a seasonally inappropriate knitter and have consistently failed to make anything in time for anything. I’ve missed birthdays, and ended up with an alpaca sweater in the spring and half a cotton tank in the fall. I buy wool year round, and finished a 9×16 foot-long wool blanket last July. I wish I planned ahead, or planned better, but I really just go with whatever I find or whatever I’m feeling in the moment.

Do you have a dark secret, guilty pleasure or odd quirk, where your fiber pursuits are concerned?

Even if the fabric is just plain stockinette, I obsessively count my stitches. On each and every row. I think part of it stems from the fact that I picked up knitting to ease some pretty serious adult-onset anxiety (I wrote about this for Allure), so the repetition forces me to focus and gets me into a calm rhythm. It’s slightly annoying when I’m trying to knit and watch a show, or knit and listen to an audiobook, and it can definitely look funny when I’m caught muttering to myself. Despite all that obsessive counting, I still make frequent and embarrassing mathematical errors. C’est la vie.

What are you working on right now?

Right now, on my needles, I have:
– the Needed Me cardigan in a vibrant orange mohair, courtesy of Wool and the Gang
– an improvised top-down v-neck crop raglan sweater in Madeline Tosh’s A.S.A.P. (Gentle Monster colorway)
– another improvised top-down v-neck situation, but a gray cardigan with set-in sleeves, made on size 0 needles in Shibui’s Cima yarn
– an amber/brown triangle shawl with lacework and floral motifs, designed on Jordstad Creek’s Cornwall courtesy of Row House
– Purl Soho’s Diagonal Pinstripe Scarf, in a cream alpaca and berry wool combination
– my first pair of socks in Oysters & Purls hand-dyed yarn (I’m stuck on the heels!)

Upcoming, I have:
– a bonnet for my cousin’s newborn daughter
– a sweater for a friend
– a sweater for myself, with Morris & Sons yarn my parents brought back from their travels in Australia
– a skinny tie for my brother
– a beanie for another friend

And the list goes on…

.

PREVIOUSLY in Our Tools, Ourselves: Andrea Mowry

SaveSave

SaveSaveSaveSave

Andrea Mowry, aka Drea Renee Knits aka @dreareneeknits, burst onto the knitting scene with great force in the past few years. I remember her sweet “Man on the Street” segment on the Woolful podcast when it was new (2014) confessing that she wanted knitting to be her life and she was taking the leap, and now she’s arguably one of the most popular pattern designers around. She is a major, major Fringe Field Bag devotee (here she is knitting out of one in Labor and Delivery), and there’s a certain charm in the fact that her wildly popular Find Your Fade shawl and the Field Bag seem to be a remarkably popular combination. If I had a dollar for every photo on the #fringefieldbag feed of a Field Bag and a Fade …

Anyway, she’s also an absolutely lovely person, who I had the pleasure of meeting and teaching with at Squam this June. And I found myself wanting a peek into her knitting life. Thanks for answering my questions, Andrea!

. . .

Do you knit, crochet, weave, spin, dye, sew … ?

I definitely identify mostly as a knitter. I was taught as a child by my grandma, and there is very rarely a day that passes without yarn in my hands. But I also bake and embroider, and I have big dreams of becoming as familiar with my sewing machine as I am with my knitting needles. I had a very brief affair with spinning, but now I have found that my knitting is a jealous mistress and doesn’t appreciate sharing any of my time. I have big dreams that once my littles are in school I will be able to really jump more into my fringe crafts. Which may explain my ever-growing collection of sewing patterns to outfit my whole family in a handmade wardrobe. One can dream, right?

Tell us about your tool preferences and peccadilloes.

In all my years of knitting, I have become pretty opinionated on my favorite tools. I wish when I had first started that someone had pointed me in the direction of a high quality interchangeable needle set. I think I have pretty much tried them all by now, and my favorites are Chiaogoo and Lykke. My Chiaogoo are my workhorse needles: pointy tip, sleek metal, and a fabulously flexible cord. My Lykkes are my “Andrea it is time to slow down and just revel in your knitting” needles, the smooth driftwood relaxes me and is gorgeous to look at. I think the best things to look for are sharp tips so you can maneuver your stitches, a flexible cord that won’t kink, and a smooth join. I only knit with circular needles, so having a set of interchangeables means I always have what I need! I also prefer the shorter tips, as I find they are more practical for every application. My other “must have with me at all times” tools include my little sheep measuring tape, tapestry needles, small metal round stitch markers, sharp embroidery scissors and a row counter. And of course notebooks and pens, but that is a whole other post!

How do you store or organize your tools? Or do you?

Since I use interchangeable needles, they come organized for me! I have dreams of having this gorgeously organized and decorated studio, but if I am being honest, I really use everything I have invested in, and as I work I tend to spread out and jump around from project to project. I find that I am always searching for balance, and this always comes out in my work by doing a lot of tasks all at once. Computer work here, pieces being blocked there, different types of projects on my needles with different amounts of complexity. A little finishing work, a little swatching and sketching. I think to an outsider it would look like total chaos, but to me it actually just feels really organic, my own little hive of activity.

How do you store or organize your works-in-progress?

Well its no secret that I have a nice little collection of Fringe Field Bags! They contain all of my WIPs. My yarn collection is organized on one wall of my studio on big shelves that my husband put up for me. My project bags are the end cap for each shelf. I really like having my yarn, projects and tools out and in view. I find that when things are hidden away, they are just too easy to forget about. Having everything displayed out in front of me is really inspiring, and I think it helps promote finishing projects as they are staring me in the face until I get them done!

Are there any particularly prized possessions amongst your tools?

I have found that finding tools I really love using, and that really do their job well, makes my work so much more enjoyable. I have taken the time to try out different styles, so I could find what is best for me. I try to only hold onto what I use and truly enjoy using. So all of my tools are pretty special to me. I think my biggest splurges are probably my cameras, Fringe Field Bags and Twig & Horn wool needle cases. Each has played an important role in my work, even if just by bringing a smile to my face or helping me to stay a little bit more organized.

Do you lend your tools?

Yes, or even better: I give them away! For those of us lucky enough to have been bitten by the knitting bug, once you become obsessed, I think it is a very natural transition to begin using higher quality tools and yarn. In the beginning I tried out different things as I figured out what really worked for me. Now I love to pass on knitting needles and yarn to other knitters. I also always seem to have an abundance of tapestry needles and stitch markers, so if you are ever caught short, just come find me and I will help you out!

What is your favorite place to knit?

Cafés. Preferably with a friend. Even better if it is outdoor seating in the autumn. And if it is near water, life is really good. But you can find me just as happily stitching away alone in my room, or on a family walk, or on the bus, or a plane, or out to dinner, or at a bar.

What effect do the seasons have on you?

I am a year-round, all-season knitter, but I do find I crave different yarn at different times of year. As it warms up, I want all the bright and speckled yarns, but as it cools, the woolier the better!

Do you have a dark secret, guilty pleasure or odd quirk, where your fiber pursuits are concerned?

I unabashedly love yarn. I think sometimes we tend to feel more comfortable if we can put ourselves neatly under a label, but I have found that when I do that, I just rebel against it. Ha! I think sometimes people are surprised by my equal love of speckled brights and earthy, woolly natural yarns. But I just love it all! My two favorite yarns are Brooklyn Tweed and Hedgehog Fibres. They inspire me in different ways, and I’ve realized thats a good thing. I jump around and I don’t judge what’s inspiring me. I try to just listen and go with it. While today I am totally gaga over a one-of-a-kind skein from an indie dyer, tomorrow I might go all in on some unknown farm yarn that just feels so right in my hands! Either way, I am one happy little knitter.

What are you working on right now?

Everything. :)

I just finished up a cardigan and am working on some woolly slippers for fall. I’ve always got a shawl on my needles, and that is usually my knitting happy place. But I think I’m headed towards a new season in my work. All I can think about these days are sweaters, and I have ideas just pouring out of my head. So yeah, lots more sweaters are in the works!

.

PREVIOUSLY in Our Tools, Ourselves: Anna Dianich

Photos © Andrea Mowry, used with permission

I’m sure many of you know Tolt Yarn and Wool owner Anna Dianich is one of my dearest friends — we started our businesses around the same time and have sort of “grown up” together. But what I only just realized myself last week is that I’ve never seen where she knits at home or what her stuff looks like! Any time I’ve ever spent in Carnation WA has been at Tolt, and I was suddenly intently curious to see her knitting life beyond the store. So of course I asked if I could subject her to the Our Tools, Ourselves treatment. Thanks so much for doing this, Anna! For anyone left wanting more, make sure to follow @toltyarnandwool on Instagram.

. . .

Do you knit, crochet, weave, spin, dye, sew … ?

I knit. I can spin, and when I do sit down at the wheel (which is not often!) I remember how much I enjoy it. I’m not a technical spinner — I just do it for fun and the feel of the wool, the meditative motion of the pedals and wheel, and the draw, not to get the perfect twist per inch or the exact weight of yarn for a project. I think that’s how I do most of my crafts, really. I’m not super technical with knitting either. I do it because I love working with my hands and creating something useful. I don’t like fussy patterns or complicated construction. My husband, oldest daughter and I just started taking pottery classes and it’s a familiar feeling. I love the rhythm of the wheel, the feeling of the clay and making something useful. And, like knitting and spinning, it takes a bit to get that muscle memory, and I hope that it will click soon because I love it!

Tell us about your tool preferences and peccadilloes.

When I first started knitting I only used bamboo needles — circular and double points. They were less expensive and easy to find, and less slippery for a newbie. I now use mostly my Addi Click interchangeable sets, and magic loop instead of double points. I love Addi’s — they are smooth, and the yarn seems to move swiftly on and off the needles. My only complaint is that, although I love how the needles click on and off the cords, sometimes that connection can get fussy on small needle tips, making the stitches hard to slide across that connection. I just got a Lykke set for this reason (and they’re beautiful to look at!) and I am really enjoying them.

How do you store or organize your tools? Or do you?

Organization is not my thing. I would like to blame it on my busy life as a working mom with four kids and such, but I think it’s just me. I’m just not organized. I don’t have a craft room or home office, so most of my supplies are stored in and on a cabinet that’s in our living room. There is a large room above our barn that could be used as a studio, but it’s so far from the activity at home that I don’t use it.

My interchangeables are relatively easy to store; if they’re not on a project then they are kept in the case. I keep the cases nearby, or in my project bag just in case I need to switch needle sizes. I do carry a small leather pouch (that I got from Fringe years ago) that I keep my notions in. I am constantly having to find my measuring tapes — I swear I own at least twenty, but can never find them! I guess that’s why the leather ruler bracelets are so handy!

How do you store or organize your works-in-progress?

Again, I’m not that organized. Such a bummer! I try not to have too many projects going on at once (maybe two or three at the most) and they store nicely in a project bag that can be found on my couch, chair, bed, in my car or in my backpack. If I’m going on a road trip I can usually fit two to three project bags, plus my needles, in my Porter Bin. That keeps everything together and gives off the impression that I am organized, haha!

Are there any particularly prized possessions amongst your tools?

Hmm, not really. I think we, our bodies and ourselves, are our most prized tool that needs to be cared for and looked after. I think this became real for me after breaking my leg. Eating well, staying active and also knowing when to rest so that we can stay healthy to do all the activities that we love.

Do you lend your tools?

I never really have, but I would.

What is your favorite place to knit/sew/spin/dye/whatever?

Most of my knitting happens after the kids go to bed. I plop myself down on the couch or in bed, and knit while my husband and I watch TV or talk. I also get a lot of knitting done in the car while waiting for kids to get done with school or dance practice or driver’s ed. However, my favorite place to knit would be by a campfire, or by a lake or river in the summer, and cozied up next to a fireplace in the winter.

What effect do the seasons have on you?

I pretty much knit year round. I also knit mostly wool, even in the summer. I’m not usually into “summer yarn” — although I did just finish a Vasa top using YOTH’s new Best Friend yarn, which is 75% cotton and 25% wool, and I really enjoyed working with it, and like the fabric.

Do you have a dark secret, guilty pleasure or odd quirk, where your fiber pursuits are concerned?

I’m kind of obsessed with books, all types of books. Knitting, cooking, decorating, travel, pottery, wood carving … I have shelves and shelves full of books.

Another little secret is that I still get very nervous when working the floor at Tolt. I spend most of the time in my office upstairs, but every once in awhile I work the floor, and I’m so scared someone is going to ask me something I don’t know the answer to, or I’m going to mess up on the cash register.

What are you working on right now?

Right now I’m working on the Morrison socks by Jenny Blumenstein. Jenny designed these socks for our LYS Tour and they are super fun to knit. I also have a ton of things I’m excited about casting on so I’m trying to make a list, but, you know, I’m not that organized.

I am also trying to find more time to do pottery. I would really like to have a little studio some day with my own wheel. Like any craft or activity, you get better the more time you spend doing it. I’m working on the basics still: centering, opening and raising.

PREVIOUSLY in Our Tools, Ourselves: Brandi Harper

Photos © Anna Dianich