When Nancy Vandivert teaches knitting and crochet classes, she likes to share this mantra with her students, “take a deep breath and remember that you are the goddess of your project.” And she speaks from experience. Nancy has been knitting and designing for years, and she became a TGKA-certified master knitter in 2010.
Nancy’s Black Baccara Cardigan, featured in the new issue of Interweave Knits, is a great example of her can-do attitude. The sweater arose from a personal challenge to design a Gansey that would show off different textures of a traditional design both vertically and horizontally. Nancy’s cardigan is knit flat, from side to side, using the Old Brick colorway (#2664) of our Blacksone Tweed yarn.
Did you design this sweater with anyone in mind?
Unless otherwise asked, I make sample sweaters for me. In fact, I liked Blackstone Tweed so much, that I bought a different color and made one for myself once the Interweave sweater had been finished.
What’s you favorite project that you’ve ever made?
My favorite project is an Alice Starmore sweater I made for my husband – the Henry the 8th sweater from the older version of Tudor Roses. It was his Christmas present in the late 1990s and took me several months, up to and including the wee hours of Christmas morning. When he opened it and liked it, I knew it had been worth every swear word.
What’s your favorite thing about knitting?
My favorite thing about knitting and crochet is that it is mine. These days, I almost never make anything exactly as a pattern says. Part of it is that I am petite and short-waisted – from my sewing days, I learned to tailor and fit and I fold these skills into knitting and crochet.
Do you have a cool design you want to share? Or did you recently finish a project with Berroco yarn? You can email Ashley: apalumbo@berroco.com or post it to the Berroco Lovers forum in Ravelry.