Welcome back! Today I am interviewing the one and only Sonja! I am so happy to host this interview, since she is a fellow Idahoan!
How did you start designing?
I have a background in art and I’d knitted a few fair isle patterns and decided I could do my own designs. And then I spent one summer working on designs. I started with off mittens. The designs themselves were easy to do—it was figuring out the math for the sizes that took me so long.
Where do you get your inspiration for your designs?
So far, I’ve been looking at folk art, especially textiles for inspiration. The first designs that I did were inspired by Incan textiles. A friend of mine works with a community in Peru and she was telling me about the knitters there and that inspired me to check out some books on Incan textiles.
Photo Courtesy of Sonja Launspach
Where did you learn about colorwork?
I can’t remember when I first learned about it. I always thought it was too hard to do—you know, I could never learn something like that. And there was a time when I didn’t do a lot of knitting because my grandmother wanted to do it all for me, so I never had to learn any of the more advanced techniques. It turns out I was wrong about colorwork. It’s not as hard as it looks. I taught myself how to do it and now I’m totally addicted.
Is this your first year in the Giftalong?
Yes, I found out about it last year too late to sign up.
What are you hoping to accomplish this year in the giftalong?
Several things. I’d like to get more exposure for my designs, but I’d also like to interact more with some of the other knitters in the Raverly community. I’m pretty shy and I tend to lurk a lot on the forums.
Photo Courtesy of Sonja Launspach
Where did you learn to knit?
From my mother and my grandmother. I learned as a kid, but didn’t do much knitting until I spent a year in Germany. Everyone knitted there, so I took it back up and learned to do Continental. After I got back to the States, I let it slide when I took up quilting.
Do you knit for yourself the majority of the time, or for others?
I used to do a lot of charity knitting—hats and socks for Afghans for Afghans. I knit while I watch TV and always needed something in my hands. But now I tend to only have time to knit the samples for the designs I’m working on.
English or Continental?
Continental combined.
Photo Courtesy of Sonja Launspach
What crafts do you do other than knitting?
Quilting, tatting, crocheting, embroidery, and sewing. I did needlework lace a long time ago.
What is the best advice you have either given or received in knitting?
Do the gauge swatch.
Who is your biggest knitting/designing role model?
I like to look at different designers and their patterns; it’s like eye candy. It gives me inspiration and ideas. Some of the designers whose work I admire include Alice Starmore, Mary Anne Stephens, and Meg Swensen.
What designs are you thinking of next?
I’m just starting new a hat and cowl design and I’m thinking about a pattern for my next vest design, and socks,--I’ve always got ideas for socks. My problem is that I don’t have enough time to work on all the ideas in my head.
Win a free pattern of Sonja:
Post a comment on this blog post with your favorite pattern from Sonja. Please leave your ravelry name in the comment.
Contact Sonja:
Ravelry: sllauns
Pattern Store: Sonja Launspach
And you can contact me:
Ravelry: Punkin97
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