Interview with Cheezombie

Through my travels through the internet, I often come upon interesting designers.  Cheezombie is one such talent.  She is one of the (relatively) few knit amigurumi designers I’ve come across, and her work has a distinctive style.  Cheezombie is shrouded in mystery, so I’m honored that she stopped by for an interview (but don’t expect a picture!). I also included a roundup of six of my favorite patterns from the Cheezombie collection.
This post contains affiliate links.
You can find Cheezombie online on Etsy, Twitter, and Ravelry (as cheezombie, in her Slug Love group, and on her designer page).  All pictures are used with permission and link to the patterns.
 
Cheezombie's UnCrabby Crab.
Cheezombie’s UnCrabby Crab.
Underground Crafter (UC): What inspired you to start designing?
Cheezombie: I found other knitters online (thank you Ravelry!) who wanted to make the same wacky stuff I did. So I put out the patterns. Then all these people take these patterns & turn out amazing, creative things I never would have thought of in a million years. I am continually astounded at how a few written lines & silly pictures can spark a veritable flood of awesome. So THE PEOPLE are why I design. Shout out to EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO EVER KNIT A CHEEZOMBIE PATTERN. I love you all. You blow my mind on a regular basis.
Cheezombie's Eddie Lizzard.
Cheezombie’s Eddie Lizzard.

UC: How did you develop your Knitting Manifesto and how does it connect to your designs?

Cheezombie: The Manifesto is what all cheezombie patterns strive for: brevity, clarity, & fun. It’s serious stuff. Sort of. Plus it’s good to have a manifesto. Everyone should have one.  (UC comment: If you aren’t familiar with Cheezombie’s manifesto, check it out in this interview she did with FreshStitches!)

Cheezombie's Omar Alien.
Cheezombie’s Omar Alien.
UC: Your work is primarily self-published.  Can you talk about your decision to focus on self-publishing rather than on designing for other publishers?
Cheezombie: What can I say, they’re my babies. I’m a bit retentive about how they’re presented to the world, and retaining all rights to the designs is very important to me, and it’s gotten so easy to self publish with all the pattern sites popping up all over, it just makes sense. I’m not opposed to publishing for others, and I have and will continue to do so, but I’m super picky about where I submit designs. It’s like interviewing daycare centers, it has to be a perfect fit.
Cheezombie's Garden Slug.
Cheezombie’s Garden Slug.
UC: What are your favorite knitting books in your collection?
Cheezombie: The book collection has gradually dissappated what with virtually endless online resources.  Knittinghelp.com & YouTube have changed my life. but I still have a Kaffe Fasset book (for the colors of course!), and I regularly check out Mochimochi books from the library just to read them over & over like picture books.
Cheezombie's Sheepish.
Cheezombie’s Sheepish.
UC: Your business name is awesome.  How did you come up with it?  (Or will you have to kill us if you tell us?)
Cheezombie:Take a gaming avatar (unabashed nerd here) that looked like a zombiefied piece of cheese. A cheese-zombie, if you will. Add a midwestern twang and it becomes a cheezombie. Add a bunch of starey-eyed animals of ridiculous proportions and a bunch of slug loving creepy cute obsessed knitters and you get cheezombie patterns.
Cheezombie's Splat Cat.
Cheezombie’s Splat Cat.
UC: Do you have any crafty websites or blogs you frequent for inspiration or community that you would like to share?
Cheezombie: Ravelry is my people! It amazes me that I can immediately connect with like minded knitters from all over the world, anytime. We have the Slug Love group for sharing photos, swaps, & general squeeeing, I post sneak peeks, coupons, and gratuitous cat photos there too.
I also like Craftsy for cruising projects from crafts of all types, from sewing to jewelry & all kinds of other fun stuff.

UC: Tell us about your newest patterns.

Cheezombie: The newest pattern is Splat Cat & I have one coming out in an upcoming issue of Knitty.

Thanks for stopping by, Cheezombie!

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