Sometimes, it still shocks me. I always have questioned myself in my knitting journey. Can I really knit a hat? That looks hard. Socks? No way, I could never figure out the heel. Designing? Not gonna happen. Yet here I am, having just published my third design. My fourth is being tech edited, and five/six are sprawled across the living room in various stages. So, nearly five months after my first pattern was published, I still find myself wondering… how did this happen?
An upcoming wrap design
I completely owe the creation of Rowsom Knits to my husband. He has, since I started knitting, consistently encouraged me to continue to push myself. When I kept knitting the same scarf over and over because I was convinced knitting in the round was beyond me, he pushed me to try something new. When I found an amazing pattern for a lace shawl that I wanted to knit (but was convinced it was insane to try as a first project, which in hindsight, I still think was a bold move) he convinced me that I need to just try. You know what? He was right. It turned out that I could do it.
The Juneberry Triangle by Jared Flood I made for our wedding
When it came to designing my own patterns… well, he’s been telling me for ages that I just needed to do it. That he knew I could, and listed the above (and many other) examples to prove me wrong. I finally agreed that I should at least give it a go sometime at the end of 2016. We sat together for many nights, sketching out my ideas and writing out charts. He helped me with the math that my high school self was convinced I would never need – well aren’t I laughing now. He helped me catch errors, and even in the last stages, suggested a change to the design that made TALUS what it is today. He may be behind the scenes a lot (he also takes all the photos of me that you’ll find on Ravelry), but he plays a huge role in Rowsom Knits – because it wouldn’t exist without him.
Daniel wearing TALUS in Squamish, BC
The funny thing is that TALUS wasn’t even my first design, it just was the first one I published. The “first” design will likely be number six, which is still sitting in a rough stage in my basket. I always knew I wanted my first design to be a mountain hat – and it will join TALUS in what I hope to be a nice sized collection of them one day. My husband thought of texture, I thought of colour. I went with his first, because to be perfectly honest, designing is hard! I still have to face it that sometimes, it doesn’t work. Sometimes, the hours (or days) of knitting that I’ve put into a project just aren’t working, and I have to start over. I struggle with thinking of this kind of moment as a failure. It is not failing, it is just iteration.
Wearing TALUS and overlooking Squamish, BC
I don’t know where the journey goes from here. I have several more designs that are sketched out or in the works, but who knows? TALUS was a several month process. FELSENMEER happened overnight to my surprise. DAWSONIA was fast in the sense of getting the design down, but it took me ages to write it up and get it published. My fourth design, ASCENT, was another fast process – one that I am very proud of. You’ll find more about that pattern, and others, here soon.
For now, I’m enjoying the journey. I know that when I waiver, my husband will be there to convince me I can make it happen.
My next hat design, to be released in September 2017