Guest Q&A with Lisa Bogart!

Super excited to have Lisa Bogart on the blog today! Lisa is the author of Knit, Purl, Pray, a devotional geared towards creatives in general, knitters in particular.

I see you there, you yarn hoarder. You know who you are. May I assure you, this is your jam, and Lisa is our people.

I've invited Lisa to share more about Knit, Purl, Pray, as well as her new coloring book, Drawn from the Heart. Because YES she authored a coloring book too.

Hillary: Thanks so much for coming to the blog today! Tell us more about what inspired Knit, Purl, Pray. 

Lisa: Knitting is one of my favorite past times. I try to grab some quiet time with my needles everyday. Spending that much time with the hobby I love gives me a lot of time to think. Sometimes I think about work I’m avoiding like chores, but more often than not I think about my family and friends. I take time to pray for the people I love. It’s very quiet and relaxing.

Devotions are my favorite thing to write and I get the spark of an idea at any moment. But it really helps to get quiet then there is more chance for God to offer an ah-ha type thought to pop in my head. I know there are many other people who love to knit just as much as I do and who use their knitting as quiet time. So I thought it would be fun to
write some knit related devotions. The book grew from there.


Hillary: How did you get your start in art and graphic design?

Lisa: I grew up in a crafty home. My mom was a kindergarten teacher before I was born so she wasn’t afraid to let us fingerpaint and create a mess! She also had a ceramic studio in the basement. My sister and I got to play with clay and paint a lot. And mom was always letting us try different arts and crafts. Paper mache, needlepoint, woodworking, lots of coloring and drawing and just plain goofying around with art supplies. We had a blast.

When I went to college it was without a major in mind or a plan. I took general studies. This meant I could take just about any class the university offered. I took a bunch of art classes and landed on being a graphic design major. This was decades before digital design. I learned to do things the old fashion with pens and xacto knives. When I got out of school I worked at a variety of small design studios. It was great fun.

I quit full time design work when my son was born. But I didn’t give up art. Now it was my turn to let my kidlet fingerpaint and not worry about the mess.

Hillary: What coloring books do you enjoy?

Lisa: I’m impressed by the variety of coloring books out there now. Some of them are so complicated they seem hard to color. I admire their artistic value but don’t want to add color. I like the old Altair Design books. They came out in the 70’s. I colored them over and over. I like them because the books have multiple pages of the same design. This meant I could try different color combinations and design ideas. And since they are geographic designs there are endless possibilities. Readers can see them here and here.


Hillary: What were your goals when you wrote and illustrated your own coloring book?


I had several goals with this book. First I wanted to have something for the reader to ponder while they became the artist coloring. They say coloring is a stress reliever and very calming. It is! I wanted to open up some room for an ah-ha moment for the reader. Another goal was to incorporate words in my artwork. I love letter-forms and hand-lettering. I liked the puzzle of making the quote I used for the devotion be an intricate part of the drawing to color. I also wanted to make sure there was enough to color in the drawing but not so difficult it was frustrating. That would take away from the desire to have some quiet time. Finally, for fun I wanted to see how many different styles of drawings I could do. You will find ones that look like stained glass, or needlepoint samplers, or puzzles, or hand-lettered advertisements. Getting all those goals and ideas in one book was a challenge I really enjoyed.

~ Geeky Knitting Questions ~

1. What projects do you gravitate towards? 

I like fine gauge things. So I make a fair number of socks. I also have started making more sweaters with sock yarn. Again, the fine gauge appeals to me.


2. What’s your favorite fiber to work with?

I’m a sucker for cashmere but my budget goes for alpaca blends.


3. Do you consider yourself a process or product knitter? 

Hmmm. I do love the process a whole lot, but producing a new sweater is VERY satisfying. I’m both, teehee!


4. Favorite pattern book/pattern writer? 

I have bought three kits now from Sunday Knits. Carol Sunday is a lovely thoughtful designer and her patterns are very well written. Shakespeare in Love was a cabled delight! I wear it with pride. You can see her site here.

Lisa is giving away a copy each of Knit, Purl, Pray and Drawn from the Heart! To enter, login to the Giveaway Tools form and leave a comment. 

Tell us - what's your creative passion? Are you a knitter? Coloring enthusiast? Miniature garden designer? Share below!

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