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Jennifer Lee McLarty

@knitjlee

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#knitwear designer + #knitter who knits a lot of #knitting in St. John's (Previously known as "knitjbeale aka Jennifer Beale) Click to find my work 👇

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You might be as delighted as we were to learn that our latest Maker Spotlight, Jennifer Lee McLarty (you might know her as Jennifer Beale!), has a PhD in atmospheric physics. ☁️ We just had to ask whether that scientific background manifests in her current work.⁠
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❓️Before you became a knitwear designer, you worked as an atmospheric scientist, with a special place in your heart for fog and atmospheric physics. Do you think that a scientific mindset shapes how you approach your design work in the way you work out a construction problem, or develop a colorwork motif?⁠
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"I really don't know! But at the same time, my past must have influence in some way. I just do things that feel right. Not very scientific of me :) ⁠
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I've always been science and math oriented, but I've never had the traditional scientific mindset. I'm not methodical or organized, and I like ideas and their development to be spontaneous and unplanned, yet fully intentional. For my BSc, I took 6 years and did loads of astrophysics, physics, math, and ocean physics, then later in my MSc and PhD I focused on ocean and atmospheric physics, but I think I have always had a problem with not being scientifically rigorous enough. I was more obsessed with the unknown than the known, and sticking to rules based methods was so hard to do!⁠
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So I've lacked a traditional scientific mindset but I will forever have a love of physics and math... and will never get rid of my old textbooks no matter how outdated they get. Maybe it's that love that has influenced a certain geometric feel, and strangeness or structure to, many of my past designs. Like point-set topology and statistical mechanics, I loved those classes, and those classes have somehow influenced my designs in some obscure way, just don't ask me how exactly!"⁠
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Follow Jennifer and her design work at @knitjlee, and stay tuned for the next installment of her Maker Spotlight Q&A!⁠
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🧶Designs:⁠
1️⃣St Jones Without⁠
2️⃣Joe Batt's Arm⁠
3️⃣Conche⁠
4️⃣Stoneville⁠
5️⃣Lamaline

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My "Wild Bight" keeps getting wilder! I was going for a stained glass look.

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We’re so excited to introduce our latest Maker Spotlight: Jennifer Lee McLarty [@knitjlee], the St. John’s-based designer that you might also know as Jennifer Beale.

❓️So many of your patterns are named after places all across Newfoundland & Labrador. Do the places inspire the patterns, or is there another connection between them?

It's the cliche of "home is where the heart is" that influences all of my designs. The inspiration in most of my designs tends to be formed by a bit of a feedback loop, but the thing that originally instigates the design differs in each design. Sometimes it's the feeling a placename evokes in me, sometimes it's the literal meaning of a placename, sometimes it's a memory of a place I've been to, sometimes it's a photo, or sometimes it's the history or landmark of a place. But sometimes the inspiration switches, where I'll have an idea and then I'll search for a name that fits with the design, and then in turn the name will influence aspects of the design.

Rigolet was such a super fun one! I picked a bunch of Carol Sunday colors that I thought would look gorgeous together and swatched until it looked like The One. The swatch had a feel to it, like it had an Italian opera vibe. The name Rigolet also makes me think of an Italian opera. And it turns out that there is one, called Rigoletto! Upon reading about the place Rigolet, I learned that it is home to the longest boardwalk in North America... 9 kilometers long! That boardwalk inspired the construction of the sweater.

Signal Hill is arguably the top landmark in St. John's and it's been called "The Birthplace of Modern Communications". In 1901, the first transoceanic wireless message, “S” in Morse code, was received atop Signal Hill. So because of this, I wanted dot-like colorwork travelling the sleeves with a stormy-feeling lace in between each signal line. And, "S" is 3 dots, so each sleeve has 3 lines of dots. Since Signal Hill is perpetually embedded in fog, the main color had to be light grey!

Like all things that turn out good, ideas are just stumbled upon. The best things, the things that stick, aren't forced and they just seem to work out naturally with no expectations.

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It’s Autumn and hemp knits are the best! Easy care, and the ones I reach for most.

These designs by Canadian designer @knitjlee are two of
my wardrobe favourites!

Have you knit a @knitjlee design yet?

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Allô allô! Le nouveau patron de @knitjlee est sortie cette semaine pis la fantastique Claude Dessureault à tricoter un échantillon de main de maître comme d’habitude dans notre fils Lune coloris Nebula ❤️ Non mais c’est tu beau ste manche la 😍 Tellement de jolie détails sur ce modèle, il est magnifique! Bonnes mailles! ••• Hey hey! @knitjlee’s new pattern came out this week, and the fantastic Claude Dessureault knit a masterfully crafted sample,as always,using our Lune yarn in the Nebula colorway ❤️ Just look at that sleeve detail! 😍 So many lovely features on this design, it’s stunning! Happy knitting!
🧶 Lune Nebula
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/doyles

Hey hey! @knitjlee’s new pattern came out this week, and the fantastic Claude Dessureault knit a masterfully crafted sample,as always,using our Lune yarn in the Nebula colorway ❤️ Just look at that sleeve detail! 😍 So many lovely features on this design, it’s stunning! Happy knitting!

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ENG: Norwood and Elora kits for pre-order! Over the years we've collaborated with talented designers to create patterns for our special Norwood and Elora yarns. This year we're offering kits for:
1. Cuslett by @knitjlee
2. La Manche by @knitjlee
3. Lollyzag by @shena.tschofen
4. Pathways vest by @veronaknits

All kits are available as pre-orders ONLY and will not be offered after September 24th. Link in bio.

FR: Les kits Norwood et Elora sont disponibles en précommande ! Au fil des ans, nous avons collaboré avec des designers talentueux pour créer des patrons pour nos laines spéciales Norwood et Elora. Cette année, nous proposons des kits pour :
1. Cuslett par @knitjlee
2. La Manche par @knitjlee
3. Lollyzag par @shena.tschofen
4. Le gilet Pathways par @veronaknits

Les kits sont disponibles UNIQUEMENT pour les précommandes et ne seront plus disponibles après le 24 septembre. Lien dans la bio.

#SweetPaprikaYarn #CanadianWool #CanadianYarn #Norbouillet #NorbouilletYarn

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Wonderful late summer Wednesday here at Lanaknits!

Milady is wearing @knitjlee Great Harbour Deep and I’ve just put on Roxaboxen designed by @ohsofancyknits and available for FREE at Knitty.com @knittymag

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I love my #trepasseycardigan by @knitjlee , my first ever knit in the beautiful @artisanfibres wool by @fruityknitting 🤍 colour is whiteopal and it is stunning, I love how it makes the lace and cables pop and the shimmer of colours in the white. The most challenging design I have knitted yet, (apart from my Katherine Howard😆). Going to try the LillyPilly next 🩷#laceknittersofinstagram #cableknitcardigan #knittersgonnaknit

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Hemp yarn makes the perfect layering pieces! Extend your warm weather knits by adding another hemp layer!

Here we’ve got a gorgeous dress/tunic knit in sport weight allhemp3 yarn topped with a heavier allhemp6LUX yarn short sleeve sweater.

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It is FO Wednesday for knitting inspiration! See today’s complete blog/newsletter at bit.ly/3UwkHsw

1. to 3. Debbie (@love.knit.spin.weave) finished another Jennifer Beale design and, as the others, it was a wonderful adventure. She knit this stunning Stephenville Crossing by Jennifer Lee McLarty @knitjlee sweater with Julie Asselin Leizu Fingering. There are cables and lace in the large, graphic yet delicate motif worked across the wingspan.
4. and 5. Linda (lmcnorton) finished this striking Deep Winter Coat by Wool & Pine. There are cables on the sleeves, fronts and the back.
6. and 7. Patty (Travelbravely) finished her Weekday Tee by Aimee Sher. The pattern has beautiful lace raglan lines.
8. Diane (ladi-di) knit this Citrus Dream Child by Carol Feller using a self-striping sock yarn.
9. I knit more clothes to add to my granddaughter’s Little Cotton Rabbits collection. I cast on the Coats and Cardigans pattern using leftover Schoppel Wolle Zauberball Crazy and I knit the Small Arrows Lace Skirt from the Skirts and Trousers pattern.
10. Here are all six of the new outfits before I sewed on the buttons. Why do they need buttons? There needs to be a large enough neck opening to get over the little heads!
11. The buttons are all sewn on and I think I have enough for a new package to ship.

Link to shop in bio or www.sue2knits.com

#sue2knits #sue2knitslys offourneedles #knittinginspiration

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We had several requests to feature some of our favourite Canadian designers. We’re starting out with @knitjlee because we love her unconventional approach to design, her tendency to mix cables, lace, and colourwork, her cheerful colour choices, and the fact that knitting her patterns are just plain old good fun! Pictured here is Botwood … a Stepaside styled cardi knit in our Selkirk Worsted. We think it would be beautiful in just about any colour. What colours would you knit it in? #canadiandesigner #canadiangrownandmilled #canadianyarn

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