Designers Speak to Barbara Walker's Influence

In the Feb/Mar 2012 issue (on sale Nov. 8), we asked our designers how Barbara Walker shaped their knitting techniques and designs. Here are some of their answers: 

“I can always count on finding just the right stitch or starting point. She is to knitters what Julia Child was to American family cooks.” —Elena Malo, designer, Criss-Cross Sweater

"She was the first author that I ever read on top-down knitting, and it’s just amazing. I met Barbara last year and cried. —Stefanie Japel, designer, Spruce Sweater

“Now I see my socks and shawls as pieces of history, and myself as part of a community of ‘makers.’” —Meganne Fabrega, writer, “A Conversation with Barbara Walker”

“I’m not afraid to knit ‘outside the box’!” —Bobbi Anderson, designer, Mosaic Pillow

“Before I owned Knitting from the Top Down, I knit a sweater, but its ill fit led me to vow ‘never again’!" All this changed due to her book.” —Kris Percival, designer, Gnome Hat

"Almost every ‘stitch’ related design I do begins (and more often than not ends) with influences from one of her books. She has been a true inspiration.” —Cathy Payson, designer, All-Buttoned-Up Cardigan

“Her work is art, she is an inspiration for every knitter!” —Monica Rodriguez Fuertes, designer, Menagerie Puppets

“Barbara Walker’s stitch dictionaries are the first ones I ever owned, back in the 80s when I began creating my own sweater designs. Her dictionaries gave me so many options and so much fun! Her contribution to the knitting world is priceless!” —Lorna Miser, designer, Sleigh Ride Hoodie

The immensity of her stitch collections has allowed me the flexibility to go with the flow of my creative process. —Shannon Mullett-Bowlsby, designer, Chill Chaser

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