Quiet Valley Fiber Designs
About QVFD:
Quiet Valley Fiber Designs is a Vermont-based company currently offering knitting patterns only. I am actively looking for local test knitters for the upcoming season. All of this season's patterns shown in the Gallery were designed and knit by me. The Asymmetrical Cable pattern was tested, retested and then retested again by dear, patient Elizabeth. I have made every effort to ensure the patterns accuracy. If you do find an error PLEASE let me know.
About the designer:
I accidentally designed my first knitted garment in 1982. It was my third sweater. Being an inexperienced knitter, I thought I could handle an Irish Fisherman sweater with moss stitch, cables, and a rather intricate at the time, center front diamond. Unfortunately, our only knit shop in town had closed and there wasn’t anyone I knew who knitted. Needless to say I didn’t understand the directions for the diamond so I made the center front panel in plain stockinette stitch. When I completed the sweater, the large field of plain stitch looked so out of place with the rest of the sweater that I had to turn my pullover into a cardigan with crocheted button and buttonhole bands up the center front. I choose pewter buttons that cost more than the yarn and ended up with a sweater that I wore for years.
Since then I have used my design skills to correct other mistakes that I have made, to make inventory for craft and farmer’s markets or else to fill a void in my clothing. For several decades I have been designing my own knit, and more recently, crocheted wear. I also design needle felts, wet felts and quilt patterns. I have been encouraged by many customers to sell my patterns. The internet has given me a platform to do just that.
The first draft of my designs are often scrawled on the back of envelopes in a cryptic code that few would understand. In part because I do so much designing away from home and as a result, away from my laptop. I have spent the last year and a half re-knitting old patterns to ensure that my instructions are correct and designing new, sometimes complimentary patterns.
If you have any issues, comments or questions, feel free to contact me at Quietvalleyfiberdesigns@gmail.com. Happy knitting!
About yarns:
Feel free to substitute your favorite yarn provided it gauges out properly. My choices are usually guided by what the end use of the garment is, how often I plan on washing it and quite frankly what I have in my stash when my muse whispers in my ear. As a hand spinner I am wildly in love with any natural fiber and containing at least some wool for its elasticity.
You will notice that I use a lot of Brown Sheep Co. Lamb’s pride™ It is made in the US and is a 113 gm/109 yd skein. I mainly use their 85% wool 15% Mohair blend, which makes the garments a little warmer. If there's one thing that we know about in Vermont, it's COLD weather! I have also used Valley Yarns™ 85% wool and 15% Alpaca. The hats came out exactly the same size, but the Alpaca made the interior of the hat a little softer. The deciding factor in choosing one blend over the other is yardage. The Lamb's pride is a longer put up since it comes in a 113 gm skein. That can be important when making a larger sized garment.
The Lion Brand Wool Ease was available at the local Ben Franklin's store in Middlebury, Vermont and is usually chosen for one of three reasons, either I need ease of laundering, I bought it at a local resale shop for peanuts or I need a specific color that I don't have in stock. My other yarns require either a 2 1/2 hr round trip in the car or else being mail ordered. I find mail ordering to be excruciating. Whenever a new design magically pops into my head I want to jump in with both feet and make something that everyone can see and feel. Since I am too thrifty to pay for expedited shipping, the yarn seems to take FOREVER to arrive.
Be your own designer! Use QVFD patterns and your own choice of yarn. Choose whichever features are right for you. Are you one of those unfortunate people who are allergic to wool? (In my book the only thing worse would be a chocolate allergy.) Acrylic is a decent substitute. Do you want machine wash/dry? Super wash wool works. Are you making something for the most brutal part of your winter? Choose a blend of wool and a hollow core fiber like Alpaca or else Angora or Mohair. Do you want luster? Wool/silk blends are readily available. The only caveat is that they must match the gauge listed in the pattern.
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