Interview with Donna Druchunas, part 2

Here is part 2 of the interview with Donna Druchunas. Thank you so much for reading!

DD: Although I love the freedom of being able to design my own projects, I also sometimes like to just follow a pattern instead of thinking about designing something. However, I find that I can never make a project exactly as written -- I always find something I want to change: the armhole shaping or depth, the sleeve cap height, the neckband, changing a pullover to a cardigan. So knowledge about garment construction and knitting design frees me to alter patterns when I do knit from them. Do you ever knit from patterns or do you always work up your own designs? Why?

KMT: I am LOUSY at following directions as written, I always want to change something!! And the few times where I swore to myself that this time I will follow the directions as written, there’d be something wrong with them. Funny enough, I do not always work up my own designs. I should! But when I do, I work things out as I go along, and do not bother to write anything down.

DD: Recently I've been buying crochet books and I'm even working on my first crochet design for publication right now. I don't see crochet ever replacing knitting as my first fiber-arts love, but I do think I'll be making more room for it in the future. Have you ever considered working in crochet?

KMT: I did learn how to crochet as a kid, and my hands know how to do the most basic crochet stitches. While I learned how to read and write English/American knitting patterns very well, the same did not happen for crochet patterns. And believe me, people have tried! I have a number of learn to crochet books, but I just can’t seem to get the hang of the pattern language.There. You found me out. I really only have one talent: knitting.
But you know what? I'll definitely run to the book store and buy your crochet book when it comes out.

DD: It's my obsessions that turn into large projects, like books. A topic grabs hold of me and I can't stop learning more about it. It's not so much inspiration as it is a compulsion to learn everything I can and share the information with other knitters. What drives your creativity?

KMT: Oh my goodness. Call me crazy, but I think in terms of knitting (and these days, dyeing yarn) pretty much everywhere I go. I see string at a hardware store, I wonder what I could make out of it. I see rolling fields, I wonder how I could express that in an afghan and dye the yarn for it just so. I see brick walls such as at MassMoCA, and I want to cover them in giant felted pieces.
Pretty much every skein of yarn I look at, I immediately wonder what it could become. Every stitch pattern I study, my mind goes to making a garment, or something for the home…

One of my dreams is to make more knitted art….either for the human body or environmental art…I have a movie called ‘Rivers and Tides’, about Andy Goldsworthy. I would love to have a whole series of knitted items and garments based on his artwork in that documentary.
But for now, I’ll stick with clothes and items that real people can actually use! There is so much possibility.

DD: Thanks for being part of my blog tour. I'm not sure which is harder in an interview: asking the questions or answering them!

KMT: Thank you ever so much for visiting with me. I do hope that some day soon we will meet in person! Since we didn’t talk about your book here, but rather got an insider’s view of your creative process, I would like to mention that this particular series of books is very user friendly for knitters who want to design their own sweaters. I like the different templates you offer, for different learning/reading styles. As soon as I have a minute, I'd like to sit down and design and make an Icelandic sweater....I've never made one of those.