#GAL2016: Meet Lisa Chemery

The Indie Design GAL* is finishing soon, with a little over a week to go (the craftalong finishes at 11.59pm EST on December 31st), but there's time for one last interview, so today I'm talking to Lisa Chemery.

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Lisa Chemery is a French knitwear based in Germany. Lisa primarily designs children’s wear, with some of her patterns scaled to include adult-sized garments too, and her designs are wonderful! Vintage-inspired, Lisa’s designs feature simple constructions with beautiful details. My absolute favourite is Entrechat, which I have knitted four times and is my go to pattern for baby girls, features a peplum hem and an unusual variant of the raglan construction; it is simply adorable!

Entrechat by Lisa Chemery. Image copyright Lisa Chemery

Baby and Toddler Tiered Coat and Jacket by Lisa Chemery. Image copyright Lisa Chemery

When did you learn to knit?

My grandmother taught me the basics when I was about 7 years old (I still have that widening “scarf” in red bulky acrylic!)

How did you getting into designing and pattern writing?

In 2008, I found myself a knitter in the midst of a baby-boom and couldn’t find the kinds of kid garment that I liked, so I started coming up with my own designs. Soon after, I started offering a few patterns for sale on Ravelry and their success caught me by surprise. I feel so lucky to be able to do what I love for a living.

What designs do you have in the pipeline?

I have been mostly designing with worsted weight yarn so far (with a few sport weight designs), but I am now starting to warm up to working with fingering weight. As far as the current pipeline: I am about to release the grown-up version of my Hyphen cardigan, then testing will start on a very cute worsted weight pinafore dress. But after that, I may release a few fingering weight designs in a row! Right now, I am working on a very vintage/romantic dress with lace accents that is worked in Quince & Co. Finch.

Hyphen cardigan by Lisa Chemery. Image copyright Lisa Chemery

What’s your favourite knitting technique?

I like I-cord finishing and short rows, and have really become obsessed with fair isle.

What knitting techniques would you like to try in 2017?

I want to try st(eek!!)ing ;)

Which other GAL designers have caught your eye?

Soooo many! I love your designs actually :D Thank you!

Fluffy white clouds by Vikki Bird

Otherwise, let’s see… I have designs by Tikki Knits, Lyrical Knits, and Christal LK designs sitting in my cart right now! (I actually forgot to check out so I missed the GAL sale! But that’s ok. Even at full price, they are well worth it!)

Summer Festival by Georgie Nicolson (Tikki Knits). Image copyright tikki

Fractured fairy tale hat by Mary Annarella (Lyrical Knits). Image copyright Mary Annarella

Broadford by Christelle Nihoul (Christal LK). Image copyright Christal LK

Do you knit Christmas gifts? What are your favourite gift knits?

I used to knit a lot for Christmas but I don’t really have time to do that anymore and I don’t love the pressure to have everything done in time. I tend to knit things for people on a whim.

Lisa can found found on Ravelry as frogginette, at frogginette.com, on Instagram, also as frogginette, and on Facebook.

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*Note that you will have to signed in to Ravelry for this link to work. Joining Ravelry is free and Ravelry is an excellent resource for knitters and crocheters.