Inspiration
A Portrait in Objects: Mina Philipp
Dear everyone,
We’re thrilled to offer you this peek into Mina Philipp’s richly patterned, colorful world of textiles. A knitting and crochet designer who lives in the UK, Mina’s Any Gauge knitting method is opening up a new way of thinking for knitters all over the world. The designs in her recently released ebook, Cowls: A Colourwork Sourcebook and Patterns, draw inspiration from Persian rugs, a phrase that never fails to perk up our needles.
Welcome to MDK, Mina! We can’t wait to see what you do next.
—Ann and Kay
Knitting scrappy blankets was one of those things I initially resisted doing. But after I had amassed a collection of scraps and leftover yarns, the lure to cast one on became too great.
Knitting for my daughter has been such a joy! And she loves her handknits so much. I’ve adapted many of my patterns for child-sized versions as well and Layla always likes to point out when we are wearing our matching sweaters.
2020 was a hard year for everyone, myself included. On the surface things were ok, but I did struggle a lot with my work mostly around feelings of not being good enough, doubting myself and my ideas. In the end, I decided to focus on one main goal for the year—to design a collection of colorwork cowls which incorporated my Any Gauge knitting method.
I decided to draw on my heritage, which is Iranian, and more specifically I focused on Persian Rugs as my inspiration. Cowls was a true labor of love and I did it on my own, with the help of my tech editor and layout designer. My family modeled for me which was very fitting and tied in with the theme of the book.
One of my favorite things about anything handmade is that it’s not perfect. Sometimes it can be hard to get past a perfection mentality with our making, but Persian rugs wonderfully demonstrate the beauty of handmade imperfection. The one in the photo is an antique flat weave Persian rug that was a wedding gift.
I love it so much, but it is far from perfect. There are spots where the wrong color yarn was used, others where a random motif was added because there was space. And my favorite thing about this rug is that its overall dimensions and size are not even all around, because the weaver’s tension changed over the course of making the rug. But these imperfections tell you this rug was handmade, and make it more valuable as a result. I feel this about handknit items as well—those little “mistakes” add value!
Spinning was a skill I was always fascinated by and knew someday I would get to learning. I can be impatient, so I knew a spindle was not going to be what I wanted to use if I was to spin long term. Towards the end of 2018 I was able to get an amazing spinning wheel. I have loved it ever since.
Sock knitting and I have a funny history together. When I first learned to knit I lived in Dubai and I remember thinking to myself and even saying out loud a few times to people “Why would I ever want to knit socks?” Well several months later I had cast on my first pair of socks and a year later I was a die-hard sock knitting obsessed knitter!
I’ve had many different types of storage options for my yarn over the years as our circumstances and size of my stash have evolved. However I really enjoy my current setup with these metal and glass cabinets from Ikea. I use one for my yarn and one for fiber.
My design process is a little all over the place to be honest. It really depends what I am designing. Sometimes it’s very much a take-notes-as-I-go-along process and at other times I plan everything out and even write up a rough first draft before I cast on.
Nowadays, I typically start with a rough sketch of what the overall shape is going to be with some key design features marked out. One of the overarching elements in my design process has always been inclusivity and customizability, not just with sizing, but also in terms of allowing knitters the opportunity to adapt and modify a pattern to suit their needs.
Typically you can find me in my cozy yellow arm chair with my laptop working away during the day or knitting in this little corner in the evenings.
I have been lucky over the years that my family have been very supportive and proud of my creative endeavors and achievements. My husband in particular has always encouraged me to follow my dreams and do what I love for work.
When anyone asks me what my favorite color is my usual answer is, “Does rainbow count?” I love all colors and I’m especially attracted to bright saturated rainbow hues. I equally love a good neutral, and softer color palettes, but nothing inspires me quite as much as saturated jewel tones!
The article about Mina Phillip was very enjoyable. Beautiful artistic works that challenge the mind to create.
I looked at her designs on Ravelry and I want to knit all of them. Her colors are so happy!
I’ve been watching Mina on YouTube for quite a long time now. So thrilled to see her show up on MDK. I hope to see more from her, too!
Enjoyed the article. She is an exciting knitting designer and knitter. Looking forward to seeing more of her color work and designs.
Lovely cowls and what a sweet pic of Mina’s family!
I have the cowls book. Have not dived in yet but this may inspire mr!
This is probably my favorite article that I’ve woken up to.
And my eyes! What a feast! I think I have to have her book, even if I never knit one of those complicated patterns. I just want the opportunity to look at those colors and patterns, at will.
I’m a great believer in having knitting pattern books purely for reading enjoyment. There are times when looking at beautiful knitting is just as satisfying as actually knitting. Hence my groaning bookshelves, but as my husband often says, it’s better than some addictions I could have….
Breathtaking! So beautiful!
And the yellow chair with the yellow blanket… I can’t decide if I would rather steal the blanket for myself or make her a gift of a yellow pillow to go with it. A moment of monochrome depth in the midst of the delicious swoon of colors.
I’m always wildly impressed and inspired by this wide range of color work. I’m an absolute sucker for rainbow-colors, and she has some that are so satisfying to that itch here, but also so many other “more sophisticated” combos.
Just plain GORjus. Thanks so much for this day brightener.
Oh yeah, the Persian rug AND that yellow chair!! The addition of the stunning hand knits make it a feast for the eyes and the soul. I usually shy away from rainbow themes, but Mina definitely has a different way of using the colors which is making me rethink things. A good reason to always keep an open mind!
Rainbow absolutely counts!! I just want to look at these photos all day.
That Persian rug! I have been thinking of doing a color work sweater…just the inspiration I need!
Back to leave another comment because I had to say, the project photos of pinwheel blankets are my new favorite thing on the internet.
Mina is lovely and an excellent teacher too! I enjoyed a class with her at Virtual VKL last autumn and am scheduled for another about the Pinwheel Scrap Blanket this weekend. So nice to read this today Mina!
I am intrigued by the reference to her Any Gauge system. Where can I find more information?
i think you can find it on her Ravelry page
Love her work. I am also one of those people who has never met a color I didn’t love.
What a wonderful piece to read on such a dreary day.
Thank you.
The first shawl I made was Mina’s Snowday Shawl and it’s still my favorite. It has pulls from my dog walking (my horribly behaved dog sometimes likes to catch things in her teeth) but it is well loved and definitely used on those extra cold days always. Love it.
I want to knit all of Mina’s designs. Great article.
Oh, the cowls look beautiful, but the rug! I’ve been wanting to copy the patterns from a very old family rug that came from China with missionaries. But the black and red patterns look distinctly mid-eastern. A friend who is very knowledgeable thought Baluchistan.
I wanted to turn them into knits. You have given me new energy to do this, thanks so much!
I’ve been a subscriber to Mina’s ‘A Knitting Expat’ podcast on youtube for a while & I am always so impressed with her tenacity & skill. Accomplishing what she needs to in a way that works for her & I particularly love her shawl patterns. ☺️
What an uplifting article! Perfect to calm some of the craziness in the world a d keep us sane. I’m new to color work and don’t know Mina. I will search her out on YouTube and hope she has a website. I’d like to download her ebook. Anyone have directions on where to find it? Have a great day all. Cheers! Sue
The seeds of creativity have found wonderful and fruitful ground with you! Such a blessing!
Oops, it’s early here I California. I read this article about 7am while having coffee. I obviously skipped around and missed the Book and website. So sorry. I went back and found what I was looking for. I’ll go back on my laptop and do more research. Log into Ravrelry and purchase, Shame on me, I know better. Sue
Beautiful work..a beautiful person. Thanks for sharing yourself with us.
And, reading others comments, I just purchased the snowday shawl pattern. Love it!
Cowl book is lovely Amazing designer, been following her for years.
Rainbow is my favourite colour too! This is a lovely article. Thanks Mina.
My real book of Cowls arrived in the mail the other day, took a while to get here to the west coast of Canada. I had already started working with the e version and have made two cowls with another on the needles and another requested. I love the Any Gauge info, especially for handspun. The actual real book is simply gorgeous!!
Mina is one of the first designers I followed when I learned to knit. It’s been interesting to follow her over time. She’s very good at whatever she does.
Thank you for introducing me to a new designer. Thoroughly enjoyed her article. Hello Mina, so good to meet you.