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What’s on your needles?
Right now I am working on a secret movie project – more to be revealed later in the year.
What’s your favorite design/type of project?
My favorite pieces are the conceptual pieces I design that have images. These are sometimes stories with a narrative and sometimes one of a series of images with a broader theme, like my art history series. It is a thrill to see the picture unveil itself as I knit.
What would you like to learn?
I would love to take a month and study with a knitting goddess like Alice Starmore.
Your most popular pattern?
People love the Aran sweaters.
If time and money were no object, what would you choose to knit for yourself?
I would knit myself a Couture gown out of stainless steel thread.
For somebody else?
Cool gloves
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I would like to be designing and knitting still (God willing, my hands and eyes will hold out that long) and making a good living doing it. I'd also like to write a few pattern books.
Tips for new knitters or aspiring designers?
Start out with a project that is very pretty to you – I never recommend starting with a scarf because I think they're boring. How about a little shawlette or cape? For aspiring designers: listen to the inner voice and if you can dream it and chart it, then by golly, you can knit it!
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Through tiny projects,
designer shows her enormous talent
Name: Althea Crome
Age: 43
Location: Bloomington, Indiana
Real Job: This is it!
Website: www.bugknits.com
How long knitting: 20 years (7 years knitting in miniature)
How did you get started designing?
Designing, for me, took the same path a cook would take in becoming a chef. I followed patterns for many years the same way a competent cook would follow recipes. Eventually I craved more of a challenge and so I started altering the patterns for fit or trying yarns that were different from the ones suggested in the pattern. As I became more comfortable with the medium, I strayed a little further from the written pattern. The first thing I designed myself was a pair of gloves for my mother. It wasn't long after that that I began knitting in miniature, and every single thing I have made in miniature I have designed myself.
Describe your style.
I love detail and ornament. I love garments that tell some story and have imagery woven into them. I have an affinity for Asian designs and patterns.
Where do you get your inspiration?
I love going to museums and often find inspiration there. Art books, knitting books and even gardening books give me great motif ideas and color ways to consider when I design my own pieces.
What’s the best part of doing what you do?
The satisfaction of knowing that I am doing what I love. Also, the fact that my children are so proud of me and so supportive and they can see my work in museums.
The worst part?
Having a creative block and feeling uninspired.
Other accomplishments?
I have had several group shows, the most recent being the Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting show, which is a traveling show and will be at the Indiana State Museum next spring. I am one of the artists in the wonderful new book Knitknit: Profiles and Projects from Knitting's New Wave by Sabrina Gschwandtner. Many of my best pieces are part of a permanent collection at a new museum in Maysville, Kentucky called the Gateway Museum Center. I also have a couple pieces at the Kansas City Toy and Miniature Museum.
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