Our good friend
Amy Loberg is back this season with a
dedicated accessory booklet called
Alpine Forest.
In this book she used
Fresco and a
variety of techniques to make beautiful feminine accessories for adults and
even an updated version of a classic baby hat and mitt set. From cables to color
work to lace, there is something for every knitter.
I sat down with her to talk a little about knitting and the
book.
Stay tuned to the end to answer a question about Amy for a
chance to win a copy of her Alpine Forest book and 3 skeins of Fresco!
CEY: How long have
you been knitting?
Amy: My German
grandmother taught me to knit when I was either 7 or 8. My mother and sisters
all knew how to knit, but used the English technique. My mom thought it would
be better for me to learn Continental, so she had my Grandmother teach me. I
learned to crochet at the YWCA at age 10.
I am perfectly competent at crochet…but I prefer knitting.
CEY: What was the
first thing you knit?
Amy: Oh…that was
too long ago to remember! My first ‘real’ knit was a sweater after I received
my undergrad. Then I took a long break until after grad school when my sister
sent me a kit that was an intarsia sweater of the world! Sean (my husband)
bet me $100 that I could not finish it in a year. I used the money to buy a new
sewing machine!
CEY: You and Sean own Fiber Wild in Galena, IL. What inspired you to open a
yarn store?
Amy: We were
living in the concrete jungle (Chicago) and wanted to move to the country and
get out of engineering and high tech. Here, you either create your own job or
bring your money with you. The county is a huge tourist area because is it
beautiful and it is full of history. We thought that since I was a fiber junky
already, there was no yarn store around; we would give it a try. We were young
enough that if it did not work, we could always go back to the real world.
CEY: When did you
start designing knit wear?
Amy: I designing
and sewed my own clothes as a kid and moved on to quilts when I was in college.
I guess knitwear designs started shortly after I started knitting and spinning.
About 10 years ago I knit something that I not only really liked, but fit me
really well. That was when I started documenting my designs and writing
patterns.
CEY: What inspires
you?
Amy: Structure
and pattern really inspires me. And good yarn always helps. Sometimes it’s a
color or two or three. I think very spatially and will work through the entire
design in my head before the yarn hits the needles or the pen hits the paper. Patterns
come to me without encouragement, sometimes at odd times. If I am lucky, I can
write them down before they escape!
CEY: All of the
designs in Alpine Forest are made using Fresco. What is it about this
particular yarn that that draws you in?
Amy: I love the color palette and
the texture. The colors are bold enough to be fun without being too bright. And
there are lots of choices and you can always find great pairs for color work. The texture of the yarn is great. While it is
being worked with, if feels soft and holds the stitch definition well. Once is
washed, it blossoms and is incredible soft.
CEY: In this book you
use a variety of techniques – Fair Isle, cables and lace. Do you have a
favorite technique?
Amy: This month
it is color work, next month it will be cables. The month after that I will
move onto something else like lace or socks. Sooner or later, my fingers will
be itching for something I haven’t done in a while…like color work! I like to say I am a sweater and sock junky. But
I am also a color work, lace and cable junky.
CEY: What is on your
needles right now?
Amy: Here is what
I will admit to having the following on my needles right now:
- A Fair Isle sweater made
from lots of left overs we had in the shop
- A Lopi style sweater
- A simple tunic with a
little bit of lace detail (this is my shop knitting project)
- A couple of simple shawls
that will eventually have some lace on them…when I feel it is the right
time.
- And lastly a pair of
socks!
It sounds like a lot, but I knit sleeves in the shop on the
weekends so I often have multiple sleeves done long before the bodies are
started!
There are other projects, but we don’t need to talk about
those!
To enter the giveaway, send an email with the
title 'Amy' to blog@classiceliteyarns.com by Friday, October 11 at 5 PM EST with the answer to this
question: Does Amy knit English or Continental? One
winner will be selected at random for the correct answers.