Hey there, can you introduce yourself?

Sure! I'm Daniel Yuhas. I've been knitting for over 20 years now, and still feel like I'm just getting warmed up. I teach at knitting festivals and my local yarn shops here in Portland, and my first book of knitting designs just came out, all about Knitting from the Cente Out.

Tell us a bit about the book?

The challenge I set for myself in this book was to see how many projects I could come up with that are knit from the center out - so there's quite a variety. Socks, hats, toys, sweaters, toys, knitted jewelry, you name it! Each one explores the center-out theme in some different way.

What was the inspiration behind it?

I got totally obsessed with all the design possibilities of center-out knitting when I made a baby blanket for my first niece. That blanket was divided into eight parts, and as soon as the blanket was done I had a toy octopus on my needles. One idea kept following the next and before I knew it I had a book on my hands.

Which is your favourite project?

The Sunflower Shawl. Norah Gaughan's awesome book Knitting Nature got me obsessed with phyllotaxis, the natural shapes that plants take as they grow, and this one is an exploration of that theme. I had dreams about it as the design came together.

What is your craft space like?

Knitting is a super portable craft, so my making space is wherever I happen to be at the moment - the subway, the bus, my couch, or the shops I teach at. I've usually got a circular needle around my neck like a pair of reading glasses, and I tend to leave a trail of stitch markers wherever I go. My partner and I share a creative office space where I write, but a big chunk of my book was written in the Rose room of the New York Public Library - that majestic space really focused me.

Have you always been creative?

I guess so!

When did you first start crafting?

I grew up in a super-crafty family. My mother was into basketry and my grandfather was an amazing woodworker, so I've been making things as long as I can remember. My first successful knitting project was an army green and burnt orange striped acrylic scarf I made my first year in college - it kind of hurts my current fashion sense to remember it, but hey, it was the nineties!

Who are your crafty heroes?

Katharine Cobey, who believes in taking ourselves seriously and knitting "no holds barred," Anna Zilboorg, whose Knitting for Anarchists rocked my world, Helle Jorgensen, Norah Gaughan, Jess Polka and Hansi Singh, each of whom got me excited about craft as a creative practice, Paul Jackson and Chris Palmer from the world of origami, the list goes on...

Where do you find inspiration?

I'm a technique and idea junkie, so I'm constantly trying new moves and figuring out where they'll fit into my design work. Sometimes it starts from a really abstract place - I'll learn something new or have a new obsession of some kind, and try to use my knitting to explore that idea. Many of my favorite projects started out in the mistake pile, or sat around in my idea box for months until the design finally "clicked."

What's next for you?

I've been super excited to be teaching workshops all over the US since the book came out, and I'll be doing a lot of that over the coming year. And of course I'll keep designing and writing. I'm gearing up for the next big thing, but not sure what shape that'll take yet.