At our April meeting we were introduced to the incredibly creative Leigh Radford, and she shared her amazing artistic journey with us. Starting with a childhood rich in arts and crafts, then later as a graphic designer turned career knitter and artist.

Finding herself laid off from her job as a graphic designer Leigh found a weekend position at a local yarn store. In her free time she started to design her own patterns and submitted them to Interweave magazine. They were impressed with her skills as a knit designer, as well as a graphic designer, so they offered her a position as their Art Director.

She moved to Colorado to work for Interweave, but soon found herself longing for the Pacific Northwest again. She left her position at Interweave and returned to Oregon where she added a new job to her resume: Author. Over the next four year she had four books published, with over 70 knit and crochet patterns. After that she decided to take a break from being a pattern dynamo, by pursuing her dream: a B.A in Fine Arts.

Leigh is a true artist. While still highly influenced by fiber arts she has created sculptures using everything from wood and felt,to knitted rope and plaster, and beautiful haunting triptych paintings. If you can believe it she even knit cups and bowls to use them as molds for porcelain cups and bowls! She isn’t afraid to work with all mediums and craves the experience of the artistic process.

Since I only knew her from her knit designs I was blown away and amazed by her ability to think outside of the box. She has knit lantern shades for garden lights, a tire cover for her Jeep, a full size decorative screen door, and more. It really was a joy to listen to her as she told us about her artistic process, what inspires her, and how she translates her ideas into reality.

As I watched her presentation, I kept thinking her 1920’s bungalow filled with all of her creations must be the coolest house.
-by Jess

Mer’s Lus pattern was recently published in Pom Pom Quarterly. © Ana Mercedes

At our March meeting, Mer Stevens shared her experiences as a budding knitting pattern designer. Her talk covered many topics, from formulating a business plan, staying true to your own style, and how much a good tech editor can improve your patterns. One of her pithiest pieces of advice to new designers was, “Swatch like a fiend.”

Mer uses Excel to speed the process of creating her patterns–as she said, “Imagine what Elizabeth Zimmerman could have done with Excel!” She also uses Envisio knit charting software but feels it has limitations, so she plans to try the Stitch Mastery program soon.

A few of Mer’s printed patterns were available to purchase at the meeting: Matryoshka mittens, Width socks, and Nibbling child’s sweater (all sold on Ravelry as downloads, as well). I purchased her Good Grades cardigan pattern, which enables the knitter to choose different measurements for the hip and bust, something most sweater patterns do not.

Nibling sweater © Mer Stevens

Matryoshka Mitten © Mer Stevens Good Grades Cardigan © Mer Stevens