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So, after publishing Chocolate Stout,  I got a comment from a fellow designer who's coming out with a grandpa-esque cardigan that has a shawl collar and a slouchy fit and some cozy pockets -- kind of like Chocolate Stout, but not exactly.   Hers is actually quite different from mine, but it is definitely the same overall shape and idea.  Since I am not sure how she likes to do things, I will remain mum about her sweater for now, except to say that it is a lovely cardigan.  And that it definitely came from the idea of an Old Man who could have been good friends with the Old Man that was in my head a few months ago.

But the note was well timed, because this is something I have thought alot about in the past couple of years.  

How so many of us do begin with the same nugget in an idea - be it a stitch pattern, a yarn, a collar detail, a sleeve length,  or a sweater shape - but we end up putting our own spin on that idea and seeing the possibilities with different eyes from each other.   Often I will find a cable in one pattern that reminds me of a cable in the other, but the way in which those cables were used each time speaks to a different point of view, and a different way of wearing the cable once it's been translated.  

 I love this piece of our world, and I've been wanting to run with it a little.  Plus, it's an excuse to have some fun with my fellow designers and do something where we collaborate a bit.   

Soon I'll be publishing the first in a series of "Mixed Drink" patterns.

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In which Amy Christoffers and I play with lace hats together. 

 

Photo by Amanda Johnston, and thanks to Maya and Cade for taking a hike in the woods with us!