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2020 beat the hell out of all of us, lets be honest. But with so much free time to design, I released the first 3 crochet patterns in my Women in STEM series. A series I hope to continue on with your support. Here are the patterns released in 2020 with a bit more back story…

The Women in STEM collection was a concept I designed while locked down in Poland in 2020 (read more about that here). I was sitting in a café thinking about my latest endeavor: self-employment, which was going horribly wrong given the coronavirus situation around the world.

I’ve always had a fascination with science, and art and how the two sometimes go hand-in-hand together. If you meet my sister, we’ve been told we’re like two sides of the same brain- she’s the MSci in Physics logical-brainy side, and I’m the creative can’t-switch-off side.

You’ll usually see how science can influence art- whether its through advances in technology that make things like graphic art possible, or changes in chemicals in paint, but its harder to find the intricate little ways art can impact science.

Working in Automation – very engineering heavy – I’ve used my creative brain to solve problems in different ways than your stereotypical engineer. In fact, I work in engineering without having any engineering qualifications- but it hasn’t stopped me. I think outside the box, and I’ve noticed this among fibre artists too. There are different ways of solving problems – if you’re creative enough to discover them.

So with that, the Women in STEM series is a celebration of incredible achievement, primarily by women – but I don’t discriminate – that they can showcase through their fibre-artistry.

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#1 AC/GT Wrap

This collaboration came out of a recent friendship with Michelle and Scott from Mad Scientist Yarns. I never expected such a great friendship to come out of meeting them at Nottingham Yarn Expo but sometimes fate works in unexpected ways.

The AC/GT Wrap was inspired by DNA and my complex relationship with it. I’m not a chemist or biologist, but I have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which is a genetic disability. I wanted something that could showcase the fascinating patterns we associate with DNA that make us different from each other.

Find it on Ravelry here.

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#2 – EMSpectrum Shawl / Shawl Us Your Pride

The EMSpectrum was inspired by the Electromagnetic spectrum, something we are exposed to every day – whether we know it or not!

With the symbol of the 2020 lockdowns being a rainbow, I wanted a design that would incorporate the visible light spectrum, and being a fan of surface crochet, it was a no-brainer to design around this physical concept.

I reached out to scientist Dr. Jessica Esquivel during the creation of this pattern as I felt compelled to not only celebrate Women in STEM with this specific pattern, but also the LGBTQ+ community as the inclusion of the rainbow is usually synonymous with this particular segment of our community. Dr. Esquivel has personal recognition of the importance of equity, diversity and inclusion in the STEM fields – not only is she a particle physicist, and one of 125 female ambassadors of the AAS IF/THEN® program, serving as a high-profile role model for middle school girls in the US, but she is also a proud Black, LatinX, Lesbian Woman in a white male dominated field.

The spin-off of the EMSpectrum Shawl is the Shawl Us Your Pride pattern that excludes the surface crochet waves, modified to be ultra-inclusive so that the rainbow can be adapted to your own sexuality.

Find it on Ravelry here.

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#3 – AstronomiShawl

I was lucky enough to be asked by the lovely duo at Mad Scientist Yarns to design the pattern to be included in their 2020 Advent Calendar. The colours were kept a secret but the Jekyll set was teased as being related to the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram.

The H-R diagram plots the temperature of stars against their luminosity, so obviously my inspiration was set! This shawl *had* to be made to look like a giant exploding star. Its made using chain spaces to achieve its HUGE wingspan (almost 3m) and I think Michelle and Scott really outdid themselves getting this yarn absolutely bang on!

Find it on Ravelry here.

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I’ve already got a few ideas of future patterns, and am hoping that 2021 will see more Women in STEM patterns that won’t be purely focused on shawls. Luckily I’ve got another lockdown ahead of me so I have time to brainstorm!

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Wishing you all a Safe & Happy New Year. Struggling this lockdown season, my inbox is always open!