Catalina Yarns - About Rebecca Sweinhagen

About Designer, Rebecca Sweinhagen

Rebecca discovered Catalina's Chunky Baby Alpaca in January 2005 while working at The Fifth Stitch and immediately fell in love with the yarn. "My first Catalina sweater was finished the day after we received the first shipment. I couldn't put it down. The yarn is a dream to work with."

When asked about her design inspiration, Rebecca answered, "Fashion should be timeless and classic with modern details to give it an artistic flair. As a beginner knitter I had a hard time finding patterns that were both simple to knit and current with modern fashion; and by fashion, I mean, would you find this in your favorite store in the mall? At Barneys? Nordstroms? I spent years trying to adapt existing patterns to my body specifications, wardrobe needs, fashion sensibility and skill level. My goal is to make knitting a fashionable item as painless as possible. I'm inspired by all the fashion icons, men & women on the street, my artist & musician friends, other knitters, a busy lifestyle, my environment; all of it. It's all inspiring but I want to knit something that will still fit into my wardrobe next year & the year after that. I love to find shapes, colours & textures in my surroundings that can be translated into my knitting to punch up the classic styles. Most of my wardrobe is classic, in basic colours, this allows me to have a lot of fun with the colours & textures of the yarn I choose to knit with. I'm crazy about texture. The loftiness of Alpaca and the elegant sheen of silk make me happy. Combine that with luxurious colour and I'm in heaven!"

Artists Profile -
Rebecca began to sew at the age of 2, to crochet soon after, and hasn't stopped exploring art & craft since. She landed her first freelance graphic design job at the age of 14, worked as a Regional Visual Merchandising Director for a midwestern department store chain, is an award winning Watercolour artist, and currently, is the owner of Urban Tribal Wear and Co-owner of Catalina Yarns.

You can see Rebecca's designs in the winter 2005 issue of Cast On magazine, 2005 Luxury Fiber issue of Knit Net, 4 designs in the spring 2006 issue of Cast On magazine, the 2005 book 220 - 220 designs using Cascade 220, and Rebecca is in the process of writing Urban Tribal Wear Collection which will be released sometime in 2006. Additionally, you can find new free patterns regularly here at Catalina Yarns as well as look forward to books featuring Catalina Yarns yearly.

Rebecca and her husband Joel live in a refurbished turn of the century church in Defiance, Ohio. For more information on Rebecca's other projects, or to view pictures of her unique home & artwork, visit her at Urban Tribal Wear. For pictures of the church and a detailed portfolio don't miss the "about us" section of the Urban Tribal Wear web site.

Click HERE to go back to the Pattern Support page.

Terms of use: Our competition	About Designer, Rebecca Sweinhagen Rebecca discovered Catalina's Chunky Baby Alpaca in January 2005 while working at The Fifth Stitch and immediately fell in love with the yarn. "My first Catalina sweater was finished the day after we received the first shipment. I couldn't put it down. The yarn is a dream to work with." When asked about her design inspiration, Rebecca answered, "Fashion should be timeless and classic with modern details to give it an artistic flair. As a beginner knitter I had a hard time finding patterns that were both simple to knit and current with modern fashion; and by fashion, I mean, would you find this in your favorite store in the mall? At Barneys? Nordstroms? I spent years trying to adapt existing patterns to my body specifications, wardrobe needs, fashion sensibility and skill level. My goal is to make knitting a fashionable item as painless as possible. I'm inspired by all the fashion icons, men & women on the street, my artist & musician friends, other knitters, a busy lifestyle, my environment; all of it. It's all inspiring but I want to knit something that will still fit into my wardrobe next year & the year after that. I love to find shapes, colours & textures in my surroundings that can be translated into my knitting to punch up the classic styles. Most of my wardrobe is classic, in basic colours, this allows me to have a lot of fun with the colours & textures of the yarn I choose to knit with. I'm crazy about texture. The loftiness of Alpaca and the elegant sheen of silk make me happy. Combine that with luxurious colour and I'm in heaven!" Artists Profile - Rebecca began to sew at the age of 2, to crochet soon after, and hasn't stopped exploring art & craft since. She landed her first freelance graphic design job at the age of 14, worked as a Regional Visual Merchandising Director for a midwestern department store chain, is an award winning Watercolour artist, and currently, is the owner of Urban Tribal Wear and Co-owner of Catalina Yarns. You can see Rebecca's designs in the winter 2005 issue of Cast On magazine, 2005 Luxury Fiber issue of Knit Net, 4 designs in the spring 2006 issue of Cast On magazine, the 2005 book 220 - 220 designs using Cascade 220, and Rebecca is in the process of writing Urban Tribal Wear Collection which will be released sometime in 2006. Additionally, you can find new free patterns regularly here at Catalina Yarns as well as look forward to books featuring Catalina Yarns yearly. Rebecca and her husband Joel live in a refurbished turn of the century church in Defiance, Ohio. For more information on Rebecca's other projects, or to view pictures of her unique home & artwork, visit her at Urban Tribal Wear. For pictures of the church and a detailed portfolio don't miss the "about us" section of the Urban Tribal Wear web site. Click HERE to go back to the Pattern Support page.