Meet the maker: Katie from the Queen Stitch

Ooh, that’s a tough one. I suppose I love pop art and food, so that’s where I get a lot of my inspiration from for some of my, let’s say, sillier designs. But I get inspiration from everywhere! I follow a lot of artists of all kinds on social media and so often I see something and I think “I wonder if I could make that wearable…”

Daffodil Yellow. It’s such a cozy happy color, like sunshine coming in a kitchen window in the late morning.

I love both crafts! I think crochet is more ‘free’. I can change my mind halfway through and it’s fine. I think colorwork is easier and cleaner with knitting. So it really just depends on what the mood strikes!

Paintbox Wool Mix Aran is my go-to for winter, it’s so fuzzy and colorful. I love Willow and Lark Plume for my mohair fuzziness. I also really like the Paintbox metallics range because the yarn is so flexible that it drapes beautifully even with crochet. It’s also lightweight enough for summer designs, which those metallic colors are perfect for!

Follow written instructions before visual ones. In other words, before you launch in and watch hours of youtube tutorials, try knitting or crochet on your own first. I think you get a better feel for the craft this way. I ended up doing some pretty bizarre things before I found out “how you’re supposed to do it”. But this ended up being really great in the end as I actually ended up incorporating some of these early “mistakes” into my later designs. I found ways to repurpose. I think that’s how a lot of innovation comes along.

I find the vibrant colors of spring and summer so inspiring. You have pastels, botanicals, neons, and all sorts of color palettes peeking at you from every direction. But fall and winter are magical too. For me they’re all about the textures from crisping leaves and frosted grass, to cable knits and alpaca blends.

My measuring tape. Honestly it’s gotten to the point where whenever someone needs to measure something when I’m out they don’t even ask me if I have it, they just ask to borrow it.

Yes, it does! I think everything is brighter in the rain, and the landscapes here are painfully beautiful and inspiring. I have so many ideas for new designs just from traveling around the island.

Absolutely! My attention span is pretty close to that of a toddler. I get bored easily and need entertainment, and so with a project, I can keep myself occupied.

Up-cycled velvet scrap yarn made from the cape of a Queen. Of course.