Giveaway + Designer Spotlight: Angela Tong

This month, we have another designer spotlight to share with our readers! Angela Tong recently used a variety of Knitter's Pride double-pointed needles while filming her newest Craftsy Class, My First Mittens and Gloves. This beginner-friendly class is a great introduction to knitting on double-pointed needles (DPNs), and Angela does a great job of explaining how to choose the right type of DPNs for your project! In addition to teaching, Angela is a knitwear designer, weaver and hand spinner. We hope enjoy getting to know her better on today's post - enjoy!

Angela on the set at Craftsy with a selection of Knitter's Pride DPNs.

How long have you been knitting? Weaving?
I have been knitting for 14 years, since 2001. I learned to weave on the rigid heddle loom in 2009.

Curvilinear Hat by Angela Tong

 
Where do you find inspiration for your knitting designs?
I have an eye for details. Even ordinary things that I encounter during my day can spark an idea. I use to live in Brooklyn and I found myself being bombarded with inspiration everywhere I walked. It could be what someone was wearing, a window pane on a building, or even a doorway. I use the inspirations to add details to my knitting designs.

For weaving, do you use specific patterns or make up your own?
I definitely make up my own. It's fun to experiment on the loom to see what kind of fabric can be made with what I have on hand. I tend to use mostly knitting yarns for weaving because that is what I have a lot of.

What do you love most about knitting? Weaving?
What I love most about knitting is that I can take 2 sticks and yarn to create something that can be worn, used or be decorative. It's so basic yet there is so much you can do with it. I love weaving because I find it meditative. Once you set up the loom, you can go on auto pilot and just repeat over and over again to create fabric.

Tell us a little bit about your new Craftsy class, and why you chose to focus on DPN needles.
My newest Craftsy Class is called My First Mittens and Gloves. It's focus is to teach knitters how to knit their first pair of mittens and gloves. I chose to teach the class using double pointed needles because I believe we all should learn how to use double pointed needles. It's a knitting skill that can be applied to other different types of patterns. Plus, it's really much easier to knit fingers and thumbs using double pointed needles.

What is your best knitting tip for beginners?
Making mistakes is good. That is how you learn to be a better knitter. I have learned so much by tinkering back my knitting mistakes.

Angela Tong is a fiber arts designer based in New York and New Jersey. Her designs have been published in magazines, books and yarn company pattern collections such as Interweave Knits, Knitscene, Knit Simple, Scarf Style 2, Free-Spirit Shawls: 20 Eclectic Knits for Every Day, and more. She is a certified knitting teacher through the Craft Yarn Council of America’s Certified Instructors Program. You can view her designs here on Ravelry and follow her blog here.

November Blog Giveaway
This month, we're giving our blog readers a chance to win a Marblz DPN set! If you're excited to try knitting in the round with DPNs, leave a comment on this post telling us which pattern you would most like to make using our Marblz DPNs. Remember to also tell us your Ravelry ID or email address so that we can contact you if you win. We will randomly select one lucky winner to announce here on the blog on Friday, November 27. Good luck!