An Interview and a Giveaway!

I am very happy to introduce you to Heather Zoppetti, of Digitalnabi, who has just published:


How did you get into designing?
I started designing on a whim. I had this great entry idea for a contest being held on Knitty.com called Spin Control, at least I thought it was a great idea. I submitted both an article and a pattern and won second place. My dream of starting a design career on Knitty was waylaid, but my hunger for designing was just getting started.

How did Crafty Detour come into existence?
I met Ida online and we quickly became friends. We spent quite a bit of time chatting over Plurk and both of us had such varied interests that extended beyond knitting. I thought it would be fun to have a place where we could be diverted from our normal blogs and share other crafty conversations. So, one day I flat out asked her if she thought it would be a good idea to start a joint blog, and would she consider starting one with me. The brainstorming began, and now we have Crafty Detour.

As a designer, I am so interested in other designers’ inspirations- why CSI?
CSI was actually going to be something else on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. However, that idea didn't pan out and so Ida and I started throwing about some other ideas. We wanted a collection of socks - something that would work together as a theme. Other ideas came and went but knitting criminals won out in the end.

I love the names of the CSI patterns- Would you describe your design process for the patterns in this book?
Thank you - the names are subtle hints at the story of the sock.The early designs started with a pattern followed by name and story. Later, I had a more defined list of crimes/themes, and so I was able to work in the opposite direction. Usually I designed on the fly, meaning I did my designing as I was knitting the sample. This was both good and bad. Good because when the pattern was complete, so was the sample. And bad because if something went wrong, I had to rip out quite a bit of work.

What considerations went into the process of choosing yarns for this project?
Um, mostly the yarns came from my stash. I have a huge stash. HUGE. I sometimes have nightmares that it all comes crashing down on me, burying me alive. I'm not kidding; I have pictures; I could open a yarn shop in my home. Other than that, I tried to keep a varied color pallet. Each sock needed it's own personality and one of the easiest ways to accomplish that was to make each one a different color and use different yarn brands. Occasionally I would start a sock only to find the yarn too twisted, not twisted enough etc. and so I would have to switch it up.

Of course, I have to ask the obvious- Why socks?
I love knitting socks! There are so many different combinations to play with. Cuff down, toe up, various heels and toe styles, the possibilities are vast.

Which pattern was your favorite to put together and why? Your least favorite and why?
My favorite pattern was Mae Finch; my least favorite was Typsi Miovre. Mae Finch because it was my first - I really had fun putting all the pieces together while establishing the layout, style, and mood that would be used for the entire series. Typsi Miovre gave me a terrible time during the testing phase. I couldn't get the charts correct and the photo tutorial didn't come out as nicely as I had hoped.

Where is the book available? Are the individual patterns available also? Where?
The book and individual patterns are available from Ravelry (no account needed) both directly and via Crafty Detour.

At this time the book is $20 and each pattern individually is $3. However, mid June prices will go up to $28 for the book and $4 per individual pattern.

Thank you so much, Heather. I love the book. My personal favorite would have to be:


Heather has graciously offered a copy of her ebook to for me to give away. Check out her Ravelry store or Crafty Detour and then leave me a comment telling me which is your favorite CSI pattern, and the random number generator will help me choose the winner. You have until 8am, Monday, May 23th to enter.