First Person
Announcing: The Designer of Field Guide No. 7!
We love the fun of springing a surprise, so we keep the identity of each Field Guide’s designer under wraps for as long as we can stand it, right up until the publication date if possible.
In the case of Field Guide No. 7, which will be released tomorrow, there was a leak.
The leakers have been identified.
The leakers are us.
By coincidence but probably not-coincidence, when we asked Julia Farwell-Clay to be the designer for Field Guide No. 7, she had already signed up to be our Dr. Fix-It at the MDK Knitting Getaway earlier this month.
So, it seems like somebody spilled the beans in Sewanee, Tennessee. And then spilled them again, the following weekend, at the TNNA trade show, where we were feeling braggadocious.
Basically: don’t tell us a secret. Especially not a really juicy, happy secret about someone we adore.
Photo by Amy Palmer @threadpanda. (If the stitch pattern of Julia’s forthcoming cowl pattern looks familiar, it might be because it’s the same pattern that julia used in the Eddy Wrap.)
About Julia Farwell-Clay
There’s a boundless curiosity in the way Julia Farwell–Clay explores knitting. You see it in the patterns she writes—her ideas come from unexpected places. She is a master of blending traditional and modern elements. She is not afraid of math, or swatching a stitch pattern for days until it gets to the sweet spot for knitting. To follow her on Instagram is to see a designer experimenting with an idea in real time, trying it in one application and then another. Playing, and also working.
A former college teacher, Julia brings to her knitting students 30 years of knitting experience and an unabashed enthusiasm for the craft. Her distinctive patterns usually include graphic interest and a modern twist on traditional color techniques.
Julia has created more than 70 patterns, and has been published as both a writer and a designer in Knitty, Interweave Knits, PomPom Quarterly, and Twist Collective, among others. Her archive keeps growing, and each new design has a fascinating twist courtesy of Julia’s adventurous, searching brain.
Yeah, we’re proud that Julia said yes to our pitch. We can’t wait to show you what she cooked up for Field Guide No. 7. There is fun summer knitting ahead, for all of us.
One more sleep!
SO excited for this!
I have been fascinated with the shells for the Eddy Wrap but am not a shawl person. But an Eddy Cowl! Huzzah! I am in.
Hi there, Julia! Horizons expanding all the time.
Telephone, Telegraph, Tell MDK! I love you guys so much. I’m having great fun knitting my FREAK Flags. As a fun (short) break from my Shakerag Top.
GREAT choice!
Hooray!
My favorite designer ever. Can’t wait to see it!
Yay!!!!!!!!! I can’t wait to order this field guide!!
I wish Julia had been one of my college teachers! I adore this human.
Great photos too. Glad it is official now.
Got to meet Julia at a local (tiny) event a couple years ago. She came to our small town along with Brooke Sinnes of Sincere Sheep – two of the biggest-hearted and most interesting folks you’ll ever meet!
From this photo of her, I am guessing that Julia is both fearless and fun. What a great person to have as a friend. I am going straight to her Instagram