Our Designers
We have been SO fortunate to attract such talented designers. From elaborate lace shawls to cabled tops to ribbed socks, our designers seem to be able to do it all.
LoBug Designs * DaoBot * Janine Le Cras* Sarah Wilson * Stitch Stud * Ellen Warren * Sivia Harding * Phyll Lagerman * Lisa Ellis * Katya * Merike * Karen * Zana Marette * Marie Haigh *
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Lobug lives in Portland Oregon with her wonderful husband and 3 beautiful children. She is a homeschooling SAHM and avid knitter. She started designing knitwear b/c her husband didn't like any of the patterns she found for a sweater for him- so she designed one, and hasn't been able to stop. Knitting useful and fun clothing for family and friends is what inspires her designs. |
Janine Le Cras lives, works and windsurfs on the beautiful island of Guernsey in the middle of the English Channel. She has been designing for several years and has had designs published by several companies including Magknits, Hipknits and Yarn Forward Magazine. More of her work can be seen on Ravelry where she goes by the name Guernseygal and you can learn more about her on her blog. Janine has designed several patterns for The Unique Sheep including The Quatrefoil Shrug, The Autumn Gold Shawl and The Spring Leaves Stole. |
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Charles is a knitter, spinner, crocheter and a podcaster about fibre. He began knitting when he was 10 because he was inspired by his grade school teacher, a group of Colombian male shepherds who knit, and his father, a different kind of renaissance man, but one with a shared vision for creativity. By 20 he was working in a knitting store, had designed and sold about 10 custom sweaters under his own label, and beginning to spin and weave a little. He put it all away for a few years which spanned his master's degree in language education, getting married, having 2 sons, and many other distractions. About three years ago, he started knitting and designing again, primarily for family and to bust his stash of his dated yarn in favour of new ones full of soft merino, and hand-painted colour-ways. A little over a year ago he started blogging at jigraknits and in the summer of 2007 began a podcast called Stitchstud and His Bride (stitchstud.podbean.com). |
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"I have always been interested in fiber arts. When I was 14 years old, I participated in various fiber related classes at my local Art Museum (High Museum in Atlanta, GA) which resulted in pieces that were shown in the museum shop. After this introduction, I was never without fiber work in one form or another but didn't find my way to knitting until the year 2000. By that time, I had worked in the graphic design field for several years and had a art degree under my belt, so it wasn't a huge stretch to begin designing with my new skill.
After contacting members of my local knitting guild online, I became an active member. One day a large box full of fine weight undyed yarn was donated to the guild, and since no one seemed to know what to do with it, I offered to handpaint the yarn and make lace shawls to sell as a charity fundraising project. A discussion arose about whose patterns to use for these shawls, and since copyright was an issue, I offered to design new ones. My intention was to come up with simple but interesting lace designs. Several of my most popular lace shawl designs resulted from this guild project.
Knitted lace is my first and enduring love, and when I learned how wonderfully lace combines with beads, I began incorporating beads into many of my designs. Socks and fingerless gloves have become the latest additions to my design repertoire.
I began self publishing patterns in 2003. In 2004, I began to branch out with designs published elsewhere than under my own name. My work has been featured in knitty.com, Yarn magazine, the books Big Girl Knits, Knitgrrl 2, No Sheep for You, and More Big Girl Knits, and the Year of Lace 2008 subscription club. This year will see several other designs in publication."
You can find out more about Sivia on her website and blog!
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"In the 25 plus years I have been knitting I have developed a love for texture and stitches! How yarn can be manipulated so many different ways by knitters with such a variety of results is just fascinating to me! I just never tire of it. The many wonderful people I meet and talk to are my inspiration. I wanted the Twilled Ribs pattern to be fun interesting for my knitters. I like to design socks that are comfortable and ultimately wearable. Sometimes I see a yarn and want to design a pattern for it. Such is the case with the Doctors Without Borders colorway. Sometimes I see a stitch and try to figure out how to put that into a pattern for knitters. Right now I am spending quite a bit of time on children's socks as there is a lot of interest in that. And they are so darn cute! I am always pondering my next project and knit as often as I can!" Phyll designed the Twilled Rib Socks and the Doctors without Borders Socks for The Unique Sheep. |
Lisa has been designing for the past 10 years and self-publishing for 5 years. She began designing after taking a course in sweater design and realizing how liberating it is not to be limited to a pattern and a specific yarn. Now the thought of actually knitting from a pattern actually seems daunting to her and so restrictive. She'd much rather have the freedom to design! Lisa designed the Victorian Lace Beanie and Cowl and Victrian Lace Purse, all of which will be published and available on this website Summer 2008. You can find out more about Lisa and her designs on her website, www.lisaellisdesigns.com.
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Merike Saarniit learned knitting and needlework as a normal part of her Estonian family life. She grew up with American weekdays and Estonian weekends and summers - Estonian school, church, Girl Scouts, folk dancing, singing, theatre, camps, etc. This included, of course, learning to knit and other needlecraft - Estonian style! Her formal education includes a BA in studio art, for which she also studied weaving; concentrating on fiber her last year. She raised sheep for 15 years (fabulous Lincolns) and was the driving force behind Carolina Homespun until she sold the business in 2000 and concentrated on her handyed yarns which were featured in Handpaint Country. Now, Merike teaches workshops in spinning, weaving, dyeing, and knitting at fiber conferences, folk schools, and to guilds around the country sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for all things fiber. At home in Meadows of Dan, VA, Merike is now working on a book for XRX. |
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Zana is a self-taught artist from Winston-Salem North Carolina. She teaches classes at Knit Picky where her students learn to knit with wire and beads, creating wearable works of art. “I never tire of experimenting with new yarns, beads, and wire. Discovering the potential beauty in combining new materials in different ways is addictive!” Zana’s inspiration comes from her pure enjoyment of the creative process. Patterns she has designed for The Unique Sheep include: Ruffled Baby Socks, The Beaded Choker Necklace, and Chips Galore Bracelet. (All Three Coming Soon!) |
Marie Haigh started knitting eight years ago when her niece, "Katie Bug", was born. She learned the craft from her mother-in-law, a woman who had been knitting since childhood. Her interest in designing knitwear was mostly born out of necessity from her bad shopping habits. Like a true collector, she purchased yarn for the love of the yarn and the beautiful colors rather than for the garments it could create. It didn't take long for her to feel overwhelmed by the growing stash of yarn and the lack of accompanying patterns. At Knitters East, she came across a stitch pattern dictionary and it helped her to see the art of knitting in a whole new light. The dictionaries taught her new techniques and new ways to create patterns. More importantly, they empowered her to create her own patterns. Years later, these dictionaries are merely well-worn reference books. Marie lives in Pottstown, Pennsylvania with her husband and their golden retriever. Learn more about Marie on her website, http://knittedgems.com |
If you have recently joined us as a designer, please send me your bio so I can post it here!