Anna

What excites you, makes you really jump for joy?

When I see something inspiring or when I come to realize certain things, be it in knitting or other spheres of life.

What brings you down to a dark place?

Well, I guess I have developed some kind of immunity with age, so I am not easily upset. I think, greed, dishonesty and violation of personal borders.

Where is your favourite knitting nook?

At home. I have a table where my laptop is and then my yarns nearby. I alternate between knitting and writing.

What is your food obsession?

I must disappoint you because there are very few things I eat. No obsessions. As long as there is black bread, cheese, apples, tomatoes and coffee, I am all right.

Knitting, obviously, but what are your other favourite makes?

A disappointment again! No other crafts. I find knitting quite overwhelming and there are so many things to explore about it.

How would you describe your aesthetics?

Minimalist and dramatic. Simple lines and shapes but with some twist. What may seem “borring” but actually is not once you put this garment on.

Who or what gives you inspiration?

Many things. If we are talking about knittin, then the work of certain designers whose aesthetics is similar to mine. The 1920s and the 1990s fashion. Old photographs. Functionalist architecture. Knitted fabrics. Black and grey colour (I cannot help looking at fabrics and garments if they are grey or black).

What is your crafting history?

I learned the basic stitches from my mother and liked knitting a lot. Then there was a long pause until my daughter needed some yarn for her knitting classes (in Estonia, knitting is a compulsory part of handicraft lessons at school). I went to a yarn store with her and after the poor choice of the Soviet era I was pleasantly surprise (to put it mildly) with the qualities and quantities of yarns. I thought to myself: I know how to knit, so why wouldn’t I take it up. Of coruse there was internet, patterns and craft forums. Someone told me about Ravelry, it happened in 2008. I took it up seriously. Never worked from a pattern, except for some triangular shawls in the beginning in order to understand the principle. I thought that knitting can be done seamlessly and started experimenting. Quite unexpectedly, some people liked my garments on Ravelry and started asking for patterns. A knitting friend put it rathrer bluntly: don’t be a fool and write up the pattern (for a certain shawl). Gradually, I developed my own methods and constructions for seamless knitting, started publishing in the Estonian crafts magazine Käistöö and on Ravelry. This all lead to a better realization of my own style and asethetics. I realized that I am between two worlds, so to say: that of knitting and that of fashion design. In 2013 I published my bilingual book on seamless knitting. I’ve conducted KALs on Ravelry and on Estonian craft forums and taught various courses on my construction principles. In 2014 together with a young fashion designer Mattis Meekler I participated in Tallinn Fashion Week (true, not in the main programme, but it is a start). We have the same intention for 2015.