Designer Spotlight: Colour Me Surprised Cowl by Emily Manasc

A full-time student and part-time yarn shop employee, Emily Manasc doesn’t have much free time for knitwear design – at least when she’s awake.

The idea for Emily’s Colour Me Surprised Cowl actual came to her in a dream. She had purchased a new shade of Boboli Lace that day and left the rest to her subconscious. She picked up some white yarn for the background and played around with elongated stitches and stranded colorwork until her knitting matched the “perfect pattern” she had envisioned.

How long have you been knitting?

My grandmother started teaching me to knit when I was four. We did a lot of different crafting together. I started getting back into knitting 5 years ago when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

What’s your favorite project you’ve ever made?

My favourite project I have ever made is definitely my prom dress. I designed and knit it in my senior year of high school. My grandmother had passed away, so this was the first big project I did by myself. I just had to figure it out as I went along. It was so beautiful when it was finished.

If you could knit something for anyone in the world, it would be…?

If I could knit something for anyone in the world, it would be Sophie. She was an amazing young woman I met doing a camp in North Carolina. We became close friends and stayed in touch even though we were so far away. She was 15 when she passed away. She had stomach cancer. I never got a chance to finish the hat I was knitting her. I’m planning on finishing it soon and releasing the pattern to raise money for a foundation she asked us to start.

What’s your favorite thing about knitting?

I think my favourite thing about knitting is that it calms my brain and keeps my hands busy. I have a slight attention problem and it can be quite difficult to keep my focus sometimes. I carry my knitting with me compulsively. I knit in classes all the time. It keeps me focused on the teacher, I talk less, I stay awake, I don’t get distracted. And with all this extra energy I get to create amazing pieces that keep people warm. What more could I ask for?

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.