Indie Design GAL 2014: Meet a Designer, Cristina Ghirlanda

The knit and crochet along part of the Indie Design GAL on Ravelry is continuing apace (there are prizes to be won; see here for full details, note that you will have to be logged into Ravelry for the link to work), and I am delighted today to be interviewing a fellow GAL designer, Cristina Ghirlanda (minimi on Ravelry; her design portfolio can be seen on her Ravelry designer page, she can also be found on her blog and Facebook page). As I said in a previous blog post, I am in love with Cristina's Polonaise hat, and, even though it is at the very edge of my cable knitting skills, I hope to at least cast it on before the end of the GAL (I can't make it too high a priority as that hat will definitely be for me, and gifts probably ought to come first; it might become my Christmas break knitting).

Polonaise hat, image copyright Cristina Ghirlanda

1.How long have you been knitting? And who taught you to knit?
My mother is a knitter and she taught me to knit as a child. I was never interested though, until the discovery of wooden needles in 2006. I would not knit without them!

2.When and why did you start designing?
The very reason that I knit is that I want to create exactly what I have in mind. The only way to do that is to design my own. At the beginning I was only designing for myself. Then to my surprise, there was an interest in what I was designing, so I've started designing seriously since 2013.

3.Which of your designs are you proudest of?
My favourite design is Bella Vita Cardigan. It's the kind of plain sweater that I want to live in.

Bella Vita Cardigan, image copyright Cristina Ghirlanda

 4.If money was no object, what would be your dream crafting item?
A professional model! That's not exactly a crafting item ;-)

5.You design for adults, children and babies. Which is your favourite age group to design for?
I have no preference, I still have to try to design for men though.

6.What inspires your designs?
People. Some of my design ideas are from answering the question "what would look great on THAT person?".

7.I love all your beautiful cabled designs. Do you have any tips for anyone who hasn’t knitted cables before?
Inspect your work often. There is nothing more irritating that discovering that you have crossed a cable wrongly several inches below.

Minimissimi Sweater Coat, image copyright Cristina Ghirlanda

8.You have a toddler. Is he interested in your knitting, and have you tried to teach him to knit yet?
My son loves winding yarn! He's still too little to learn to knit.

9.If you’re not working on one of your own designs, do you have a favourite designer whose patterns you turn to?
I like trying patterns from new designers!

10.What’s your favourite knitting technique?
Knitting in the round. I hate purling!

11.Are there any techniques you’re keen to learn?
Fair isle.

12.Are there any techniques you have no interest in learning?
I'm open to learning anything, not just in knitting!

13.What are your design ambitions?
Make a living by designing alone.

14.At Bake Day Wednesday we like a nice piece of cake, so what is your favourite type of cake?
Chocolate muffin! I hope to share my favourite recipe soon on my blog!

It has been lovely getting to know about more about Cristina, and she has been added to my Ravelry favourites list! Her latest design, Flip, is a lovely unisex design in sizes up to 10 years, and is available now in her Ravelry store.

Flip, image copyright Cristina Ghirlanda