I’m nuts about colourful designs, you all know that. So of course Victoria’s pretty designs caught my eye immediately. Also because of the lovely photography of her patterns. So I asked Victoria a few questions about her designs and inspiration and which designers she loves.

Victoria Groger (aka Auriga on Ravelry) from Israel

Viktoria will give away two patterns to readers of this blog (see questions below!) 

2 winners will get one free pattern of their choice as a gift.

Please comment on this post to enter the competition!

You can find her bundle for the GAL here. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself! 
I am from Israel but was born in Ukraine back when it was a part of USSR. So Russian is my native language.
My craze is yarn, I am a classic case yarnaholic. Have been trying to keep it on the low for the last couple of years but not too successfully 😀 I could finish a whole basket of cherries without blinking!

I was taught to knit basic stitches back at age 10. We had a class after school where my classmate’s mom volunteered to teach some of us. That didn’t last long, I lost interest very quickly and didn’t look back until my elder daughter was born. Then out of nowhere I got the urge to create something for her. And somehow I thought of knitting. So I put her in the pram and went straight to the closest yarn store. I didn’t even know what kind of yarn to buy, what weight, which needles. The lady from the store suggested some cheap acrylic DK and 4 mm needles, and I practically ran back home to start knitting. And I haven’t stopped ever since.

My first official design was Spikelets Cowl. I have made quite a few of my own pieces over the years but this time I decided to write it down into a real pattern. I made it while being 9 months pregnant with my younger daughter. I literally blocked the finished cowl and went to the delivery room. The pattern was published three months later. After that I made a matching hat and much later a scarf. These three patterns are free and quite popular judging by a amount of downloading 🙂

I design mostly for my girls. They love knitwear and often ask to make something new. Also my parents, my sister and my niece get knitted presents from time to time. They all love everything what I create so it makes me extremely happy and pushes to knit even more. Pretty much everything I see could start the motor running. Once I notice some pretty pullover in a store and I thought ‘Hmm, it could be better if I change it a bit here and there…’ At the end I made something completely different but that pullover was definitely a trigger. My husband is often helping me with the photos, I am learning from him a lot about photography and presentation. Other than that I am doing everything my myself. Even pattern translation to keep my Russian in tact.

Show us your stash!
Be aware, it’s a lot of yarn there. And I am expecting two more packages to arrive any day now. (I need help :D)

What are you working on right now?
I am working on Magic Garden eBook. There are two designs currently being tested and two more are on the needles. I don’t have wip photos yet, it is at the swatching stage now – I am trying the same pattern stitch for a different yarn so have to be thorough.

Which designer/s participating in the GAL caught your attention and why?
Actually there are three: Tania Richter, Erica Heusser, and Sonja Launspach. They do the most amazing colorwork! I hope to master it someday but for now I can only look and admire their craft and endless imagination.

All in all I am very thankful. For the testers for doing such an amazing job by helping improve my patterns, for the clients for choosing my designs, for everyone who bother to click on ‘like’ here or on IG just because. And, of course, most of all for my family who constantly reconciles with my obsession and gives me the space and time for creating.

I hope you found your favourites already! I sure know which one to cast on next!

Now for the giveaway questions: Please leave your comment below and I’ll pick two winners at random!

1: How many hat designs does Victoria have in her Ravelry store?

2: Which non-free design has the most projects on Ravelry?

 

Happy knitting!