Helen's grandmother gave her two major passions early in life – knitting and scrabble. After leaving behind the rat race working as a database programmer in London Heathrow to 'retire' to the beautiful Scottish Borders in 2005 she now has the time to enjoy those passions.
Helen learnt to knit as a young teenager. From her mid-twenties she was addicted – especially to making sweaters for herself and her husband, including many of her own designs. After discovering Ravelry via a local knitting group in 2011 she started self-publishing patterns on there in 2014 (http://www.ravelry.com/designers/helen-gipson). She loves cables, playing with color, learning new techniques and combining them to make fun and interesting designs.
On the scrabble front she has won many competitions including the British Championships and the prestigious King's Cup in Thailand, has represented both England and Scotland in many world championships and was the highest rated female player in the world until taking a break to concentrate on her knitwear design.
In what little spare time that is left over she enjoys gardening and making her own jams and chutneys from her home-grown produce.
From the February 2017 issue
From my student days trudging through the snow to the lecture halls to giving the dogs a run in nearby snow-covered fields, these leg warmers add an extra layer of warmth and a splash of individuality. These knee-high legwarmers are inspired by the textures of frost-encrusted stems and branches, and the fissures, knarls and knots of bark which become the dominant features of trees in winter.
View ProjectFrom the December 2016 issue
This scarf was inspired by the simple beauty of the movement of the lights in the sky caused by the random collisions of particles from the sun with the earth’s atmosphere. Throws of a die were used to recreate this random effect in the design of this scarf.
View ProjectFrom the October 2016 issue
Just as a zebra’s stripes merge and divide so does the colorwork in this striking set. The brim of the hat starts with a waste yarn tubular cast on to give a stretchy edge followed by deep ribbing, which allows it to be worn either as a close-fitting beanie or as a hat with more slouch.
View Project
