Spring has Sprung: A New Knit 1 Window

Back in December, I blogged about the winter window at Knit 1, my local yarn boutique.  

Karen Schmidt, the shop owner and knitwear designer extraordinaire, is ushering in spring with three new brightly-colored designs in her window.  What makes all of this even more amazing is that Karen just had a baby!  Yup, Karen's wiggly toddler girl now has a snuggly little sister.

Check out the pieces!

  

I talked to Karen recently and here's what she had to say about the new designs:

What was your design inspiration for the window?  I like to change up the window about every 3 months and the last window was about to expire so I guess you could say my inspiration was to get it changed before the baby came.  

Tell me about your design process and how long it takes to whip these up.  In my mind I gave myself less than a week to make them and the go-to yarn for that is Cascade Magnum and some trusty #19 Addi Turbo's (except the yellow piece I used #15's). The three pieces are just variation on themes I've done in the past. The frame work is the same, I just changed elements to make them different enough to stand on their own but still relate to the others. That allowed me to knock them out quicky. The purple capelet and the pink sleeveless (sort of cap sleeve) pullover I did in a day and a half. The yellow one took maybe 3 days... can't quite remember. Luckily I have a new baby that sleeps continuously and a supportive husband who kept the 18 month old busy so I could concentrate on my knitting.

After my last post about the window designs, I got a few questions about the availability of patterns for Karen's designs.  The short answer is that she does not make patterns available. Her desire is to inspire knitters to create their own pieces.  She definitely has inspired me! However, if you are an experienced knitter I'll bet Karen could sit down with you for a few classes and teach you how to make your very own version of what's in the window.  

Which one is your favorite?