Fiber Artist Interview – Cosy Knits (literally)

Today I’m so happy to share an interview with Cosette Cornelius-Bates of Cosy Knits (literally).  Cosy designs whimsical knitting patterns, knits adorable, embellished accessories, spins beautiful yarn and authored Knit One, Embellish Too. You can read all about the process (and her new article in Yarn Forward!) on her blog Cosy Makes.  I asked her to share her experiences as a full-time fiber artist and below is our interview.

When did you discover a love for fiber arts?

A couple of years out of college, I saw one of my good friends knitting (by the way, she was the first person I ever remember seeing knitting). However, she knit left-handed so I ended up teaching myself out of a Dummies book. Then I knit not too well (through the back of the loop) for at least a year. I also started teaching other people to knit and organized us into a knitting groups. I was hooked!

Then my husband and I moved to Vancouver BC. There, my favorite yarn store was an old school wool shop – batting, big huge carder in the back etc. They had a very small store front stuffed full of 6 spinning wheels. I noticed they offered classes and convinced my friend Sarah to take one with me. Spinning class led to dyeing class and shortly thereafter, I found 2 wheels at a thrift store. It seemed I was meant to be fibery.

How did the business begin?

Like most people, my business began because I liked to knit and so knit too many things. So the beginnings was merely getting rid of things I knit and had no use for. A girl only needs so many hats! That said, I think the business really began when I started embellishing my hats, making a unique and interesting artistic product.

How did it become full-time?

I became full time the first time because I had money left from my book deal to live on when we moved back from Canada. Then I picked up a small job for a bit because I needed to, and now I just became full time again – trying to build up the business and make it viable before we have children. The business has always been slowly building on itself. Knits, patterns, spinning, teaching, and then dyeing.

What’s a normal working day like?

I generally get up in the morning and check in with the computer. I do most of my marketing by blogging, so I generally think about whether it’s a blog day or not (depends upon what I’ve been up to). Deadlines are what my business is all about. I might have a pattern due at a magazine, a yarn/fiber show in a month or a big craft fair to prepare for. Any or all of the following might be included in a day.

spinning yarn
dyeing roving/yarn
blog writing
knitting ~ for patterns, commissions, or craft fairs
cooking
yoga
computer stuff ~ answering emails ~ updating etsy etc.
organizing classes for the Pittsburgh Craft Collective
bookkeeping
photographing fibery goodness

And all of this is carved around my husband’s school/work schedule so that I have time to play with him too.

What do you wish you had planned for/expected before starting?

For me, it has been a big woolie snowball that I’m just caught in, and that’s the way I like it It always seems like there are more things happening to me than me intentionally doing.

That said, it would have been nice to know a bit about sole proprietor small business taxes before i made that leap.

Is it easier or harder to be “creative” in your full-time fiber artist schedule?

I don’t really find the whole of being a fiber artist creative, or maybe it’s just creative in a different way. Pattern writing is creative to me. And knitting/embellishing my hats feels like painting. That said, I find spinning and dyeing to be less creative pursuits. But that isn’t bad because I find that they complete the job perfectly. It’s nice to have such a varied job. I couldn’t dye all the time or knit all the time. It would drive me insane. It’s like cutting and gessoing your canvas before you can paint on it.

You mention painting, did you study art?

Before I started knitting, I went to university for Art and English and was certified to teach both.  After I started knitting, I went to graduate school and got a Masters of Christian Studies in Christianity and the Arts.  At the end of my masters program, which combined a written paper with a presentation of art of some sort, I had a knit/spun/designed gallery show of my work.  That’s how the blog started, to keep track of the knit thesis.  Here’s the gist: http://cosymakes.com/2007/04/13/thesis-show-write-up/

How did your book deal come about?

Before the blog started (read, before my last semester when I was working on the thesis), I found that there were a lot of fabulous crafters on Flickr and started posting my knits.  Shannon Okey of knitgrrl.com noticed me and did an interview with me on her blog.  I started my etsy shop.  Got mentioned on Whipup.  Then one day I got a note over flickr from the crafts aquisition editor for my publisher, asking if I’d be interested in doing a pattern book.  I was busy with my thesis, but my friend Alissa talked me into it.  The other thing was that I had never actually written down a knitting pattern.  So working on the book was a totally new ball game.

Did you spin all of the yarn for the book?

You can find my handspun throughout, as well as that of Rachel-Marie (knittydirtygirl), Daniella (feltstudiouk), and Abby (folktale fibers).  Since spinning and dyeing also happened at about the same time, the book contains a lot of hand dyed recycled sweater wool and a whole section on how to recycle thrift store sweaters.

Did writing the book change your business? or your work?

To some extent, I felt myself claiming fiber arts as my real work before the book.  But after the book, it felt all the more real.  One good thing about my publisher is that they allow me to buy my book from them at wholesale and sell it, so the book became a part of the business as well as a boost to the business.  Having a diverse business is how I survive year round and the book has been priceless.

I don’t see the book as changing my work much.  The patterns in the book are like the hats I sell at craft fairs… which I still do.  They went well together and made a nice book, but you only need so many basic hat patterns to embroider on.  It has been fun starting there with my designing and moving out from it.  The book was a bit of a manifesto for me, to get some ideas and opinions out there on creation, recycling, creativity, spinning/dyeing and color.  It was great fun to write, but my work, even when the book was finally published, had moved so far beyond what was in the book!  I was surprised one day when I noticed that if I were to start the book last May (when it came out) it would have been totally different.

Can you explain your process from fiber to finished yarn (or knitted thing)? Do you plan it out ahead of time?

My knits contain a mixture of recycled sweater wools, handspun, hand dyed, and commercial wool. So, I enter the yarn room and start rummaging. It’s a bit like looking for truffles Sometimes I have an idea of what I want to make (perhaps size, color, or shape) and sometimes I let the yarns inspire me. After the physical act of creating the object, I get another bout of searching – wondering what the accessory needs to make it a successful, finished work of art. Sometimes it’s just a button or two. Sometimes it’s buttons and a bunch of embroidery in different colors. Each hat calls for something different.