Among Stones review & giveaway

I'm delighted to be one of the stops on Carol Feller's blog tour for her latest book, Among Stones. Here we have a capsule collection of nine patterns beautifully photographed in the crags and hollows of Scotland and her native Ireland. Comprising four women's sweaters, one child's sweater, a beaded scarf, a shawl, socks in adult and child sizes and a hat and mitten combo, it's available right now for wholesale (US) and retail customers.

DACITE - heathery tweed, plus versatile design

Carol kindly agreed to have a chat about the making of her book, so pour yourself a cup of tea, coffee, a glass of wine or whatever's your fav tipple, put your feet up and relax and enjoy this unique insight into her creative process.

SEPENTINITE - mossy hues reflect the stone and vegetation

I love the title of your book, Among Stones is evocative, esoteric and enigmatic. Can you say something about how the individual stones influenced your design choices?
The cover photo for this book was taken inside a ruined house at the side of a small river in one of my favourite local parks. When I first saw the spot a few years ago I photographed it and wanted to come back and use it as a backdrop. The designs weren’t influenced by individual stones but rather by my general environment. I live in the countryside and my primary activity involves walking; either locally, in woods or in parks. I have always felt at peace while I walk and I wanted the book to reflect that and my stone strewn environment. Even my entire house is clad in stone and surrounded by a 15 foot stone wall! 

I wanted the easy beauty of those carefully constructed stoneworks to be reflected in the knitting, no individual element is overly complex but in its completion you would have a thing of beauty.

SERPENTINITE - lovely combination of lace and beadwork

One of the things that immediately caught my eye about your book is the graphic design. How much were you involved in this and how important do you think book design is in a pattern book?
My husband does the photography and graphic design for my books, usually with both of us sitting down one evening and throwing text and layout ideas together until we create the general feel for the book. 

The book started off quite organically, with a few projects coming together that looked like they were meant to be a set. Then we talked it through, thinking about how it would work as a bigger project. What atmosphere did we want to create? That is when the darker greens and blacks came in.
We also tried out a new square book format with this book, I really like this shape, it fits a nice amount of information on each page and doesn’t overwhelm the reader.

LIATHITE Junior and Adult hoodies - this could be my first foray into
top-down knits. Perfect sizes for all the grandlings.

What are the qualities you look for in choosing a yarn for a specific project? Do you have particular yarn qualities you like to work with and if so what is it that makes them special for you?
I like a good match between yarn and project; sometimes I fall hard for a yarn (Blue Sky Alpacas ‘Brushed Suri’ used for Dolmite) and other times I have a very clear image of the yarn qualities and colours I want and I spend months searching for the right fit (Hand Maiden ‘Maiden Hair’ for Serpentinite). I like a wide variety of yarns but they need to work well for the particular project to enhance it.

Generally though I have an idea for a project. I’ll initially swatch it up with yarn I have at hand and from there decide which direction I want to take for yarn and colour. There are so many amazing yarns out there now it feels almost like we’re spoilt for choice! Ideally if I get a chance I like to work with some Irish yarns as well, there are many great ones out there and I love to be able to support local businesses. In this book I’ve used both Donegal Yarns and a new hand dyer, Coolree Yarns.

BASANITE - I'm crazy about fingerless gloves,
these come with a matching hat 

If you were setting the mood for a catwalk show of your work, what would the story, music, food and colours be?
I’ve never really thought about this before! For this particular body of work it would have to be very organic, greys, green, blues with rustic touches. Mulled wine and maybe brown breads, salmons and other simple snacks.

Maybe some ‘Kila’ for music which is a fusion Irish music. http://www.kila.ie/

Do you have a muse? If you could chose one famous person to model your designs, who would it  be?
I definitely don’t have a muse, although there are some well known faces out there who’s style I admire. Kate Moss and Sienna Miller have such a casual elegance that it would work well for this collection.

She’s not famous, but my sister-in-law would be my favourite model in the world. She modelled for my Spring collection and I’ve never had so many compliments on photographs!

GABBRO - cool combo of short rows and lace

I’m a big fan of indie publishing, it must be so liberating to take your vision through from initial idea to end product. Can you expand a little on the pros and cons and do you have any advice for designers who may be thinking of taking the leap?
I love mixing between indie publishing and using an outside publisher. Both have their own benefits and I find that I learn from both experiences.

When I work with an outside publisher I learn a lot about organisation, planning and how to manage edits effectively so that nothing slips through the cracks. These skills transfer really well to self-publishing.

The benefits of doing it yourself is primarily control. I control the schedule, projects, yarns, photography and layout. This is both a curse and a blessing! The volume of work is huge and you need a very strong drive to keep moving forward on your own timetable without outside deadlines. I think that for me indie publishing actually works better with the skills I’ve learned from a publisher.
My indie books are smaller also than with a publisher as I don’t have any advance to sustain me for the time it takes to write and edit the book.

GABBRO - Asymmetry hort rows and lace

I've picked out some of my favourites, but you'll find a few more gems in there too. Carol has kindly agreed to donate a hard copy or ebook (your choice) to a lucky reader. All you have to do is leave a comment below, telling me what sort of knitting you enjoy and what's on your needles right now. You have until midnight on Wednesday 18th September and please don't forget to leave your Rav ID or email address so I can contact the winner. For more chances to win, check out the rest of the blog tour below,

19^th of September     Karen Kelty           

4^th of October           Ann Kingstone         

17^th of October         Rachel Coopey           

21^st of October         Woolly Wormhead     

24^th of October         Ruth Garcia-Alcantud       

28^th of October         A Playful Day   

All images © Joseph Feller
For European wholesale info please contact Carol
RRP    Euro €17, GBP £15, USD $22
ISBN  978-0-9571212-2-5 (hard copy) 978-0-9571212-3-2 (digital)