Today it was very difficult to choose my favorite independent designer. I had three in mind but I decided on the one designer I've been following the longest. Barbara Breiter is the designer of the very first afghan I knitted. I thought it was right to give her credit in this blog post.
Now It was about 15 years and several computers ago that I knitted my first afghan. Naturally, it was frustrating at first but Barbara not only designed the afghan but also offered assistance in helping me figure out exactly where I might have gone wrong with my knitting. Because Barbara had been knitting since 1983 and has since designed multitudes of patterns on her own and for Crystal Palace Yarns, her assistance was invaluable. Naturally I had the amazing Jill Schaefer cheering me on also. Jill helped me to choose this pattern as my first attempt at an afghan: http://www.knittingonthenet.com/patterns/babyafbear.htm Where should I begin telling you about Barbara Breiter? Barbara is the kind hostess of 2 websites at which you can find any number of superb patterns. I guess the first thing that drew me to Barbara is that she takes what would ordinarily seem overwhelmingly complex and breaks it down into easier pieces. Which, if you are a beginner, is a big relief. She doesn't just leave you hanging with instructions that are impossible to understand. She's keen to help beginners gain the confidence necessary to move on to more complex patterns! I find myself going back to http://www.knittingonthenet.com/ over and over again for gifts and charity patterns. The second website that Barbara Breiter set up is for her more commercial endeavors. http://www.knitabit.net/ She has literally hundreds of designs to choose from so everyone is sure to find something they would like to make. In the off chance you are struggling with your knitting/crocheting I recommend the book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Knitting and Crocheting by Barbara Breiter and Gail Diven from Amazon.com. Crystal Palace yarns was so impressed by Barbara's Patterns they used her designs on their website. Personally I love their Mochi yarns. http://www.straw.com/cpy/index.html. Barbara designed this really cute cowl with Mochi yarns http://www.knittingonthenet.com/patterns/misccowl3.htm The cowl pattern shows the beauty of the yarn. Interested in a more advanced project? Here's a simply lovely baby sweater for babies sized 9 months or so. http://www.knittingonthenet.com/patterns/babyswestripebam.htm Its not typical, which I love, and it tests the skills just a little. There's so much more to tell about Barbara Breiter but I want you to find out for yourselves why I find her work to be some of the best and most practical on the web. Thank you Barbara for so many years of knitting pleasure.
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Author**Opinions expressed on blogs about which I write are the opinion of the blog authors and DO NOT necessarily reflect my own opinion. |