As part of the Indie designer Gift-A-Long, I am interviewing Indie designers about their favorite knitting and crochet projects, yarns, and gift knitting.
Jessica K. Larson of GooseBear Knits (omarsyarn on Ravelry)
If you could only knit/crochet one item type of item, what would it be?
Shawls! Whenever I travel (fairly frequently), it’s time to start a enw shawl. I pick the yarn that’s speaking to me the loudest and the handiest size needle. Shawls make great portable projects. I enjoy playing with various shapes and construction methods.
Fan favorites include In Flight and Lakewood.
What is your favorite workhorse yarn?
My favorite workhorse yarn would be pretty much anything Malabrigo! I chose Rios for my baby blanket pattern Gathering Family because it’s superwash. It got even softer after going through the wash! For shawls, Malabrigo Sock is my favorite. There’s a special squish quality about it that I can’t resist.
Which of your patterns make for really great gift knitting?
Anoka (scarf) and Drexmore (hat) are both unisex patterns. Anoka uses a 1 row repeat that is easy to memorize, so you just cast on and go. Don’t be scared off by Drexmore’s stranded colorwork hat. The carries are short. Great for using up left over half skeins of yarn. Plus, who doesn’t have fun picking out two contrasting colors for this type of project?
