Welcome back to my (slightly irregular) interview feature where I sit down for a brew - metaphorically speaking - with someone who I love spending time with here on Substack.
This month I am chatting with the wonderful
of the While I Was Knitting Substack. I have been a fan of Kavitha’s publication here for ages now - I love how her posts are equal parts of uplifting and inspirational crafty energy. Her recent post on Knitting Myths really made me smile - further proof of how knitting is so integral to our livesSo, without further ado, I’ll hand over to Kavitha:
1. It’s no secret that coffee is my favourite drink – what’s yours? Chai made with ginger & cardamom is my absolute all time favourite. I love different varieties of basic and flavoured black and green tea too.
2. You have a spare half an hour in your day – how do you relax and ‘fill your cup’? I get out for a quick walk. If I am not able to do that, I sketch something. It may not even become a share-worthy finished picture. But focusing on something and making marks on paper for a few minutes has the power to completely empty my mind and help me relax.
3. Analogue or digital – when it comes to planners, diaries and journaling in general are you paper/pen or online? I love paper and pen in every form available and I have used them to plan for the longest time. However, during the past few years I have gotten used to digital conveniences. Currently Google calendar and Apple Notes are my go-to for serious planning and keeping notes. For the more relaxed bits, I keep some notebooks. For example, I keep one dot grid notebook dedicated for designing - when I get started with a design idea, I sketch it roughly and make lots of calculations in this notebook. I am also swatching and making decisions at this time. Usually this process is very messy but I keep everything here until I am confident that the idea is working. At this stage, I transfer everything to digital and continue with making my design sample. This way, I do not lose track of so many little details that come in handy for pattern writing. And I keep one or two sketchbooks handy as well as I am trying to establish a regular sketching (sort of illustrated journaling) habit. I draw objects at home or use some reference images or make a drawing about something that happened in the day that I want to remember.
4. What are you currently reading? I am currently reading The Couple at No.9 by Claire Douglas. I first heard about this author from your posts and had added to my reading queue. Very enjoyable and gripping read, thank you for recommending. :)
5. What piece of advice would you give to your younger self? You are enough.
You can find more on Kavitha’s work and patterns HERE
Two of my favourite ladies!
Thank you so much for sharing about my work. Your profound writing has been a steady source of my inspiration. It is always heartwarming to see a post or a note from you and I am so thrilled and humbled to be featured on your coffee chat today. ♥️