After I made the entry last week about my son taking over ownership of my tape measure, I got to thinking about other tools important to me when designing.  Here is a list of my most important tools.

1)  Yarn, of course!  I'm a yarn person since I don't really do much designing with thread.  I'll take yarn of all different sizes.  I prefer cool colors; purples, blues, greens.  You can't always design with only your favorite colors, but it really helps to have some around for inspiration.

2) Crochet hooks.  My favorites are Clover.  I have my crochet hooks in all different sizes.  I also have a full set of afghan hooks and double-end afghan hooks and even Easy Tunisian and MoEZ hooks.

3) Inspiration.  I usually browse through current women's clothing catalogs and knitting magazines for inspiration.  I never know what exactly is inpiring me, whether the colors or the styles of clothing.  But, at some point, something starts forming in my mind.  Another BIG source of inspiration is books with different knitting stitch patterns.  I *love* looking at all the different variations in knit and the aran combinations are absolutely amazing!

4) MS Paint program.  I use this program to draw out the schematic for my garment.  If I'm making an afghan that needs pieces of a certain color put in certain places, I will use this program to draw it out.

5)  MS Word program.  I use MS Word to write out all my patterns.

6) Jasc Paint Shop Pro program.  I use this program to manipulate photos or graphs to place in my finished pattern.

7) MS Excel program.  I use this program to determine the number of rows and increases in my designs, especially when writing out patterns for sleeves.

8 ) Sometimes, I will use crochet designing software like FrauComp or Filet Designing software.  I am currently testing a demo for another crochet designing software.

9) To determine sizing, I have a grading book put out by Fashiondex.  It cost more than your average book, but it has more than made up for that cost in the many times I have used it.

10)  Tape Measure (!).  You really have to be careful about gauge when you're a designer.  And, of course, you have to accurately measure afghans and other finished pieces when you're writing out the pattern.

11) Yarn needles.  Sewing pieces together and weaving loose strands.

12) Scissors.  (No explanation necessary)

13) Optional.  Buttons.  It's always nice to have some buttons lying around.  I like to buy them in sets of at least 4, but I prefer 6.

14) Optional.  Beads.  Just like buttons, it's nice to have a selection of beads.  And, a good friend, Janet Rehfeldt, has a way to turn beads into shank buttons at Knitted Threads.

15)  Optional.  Elastic.  You may want to use elastic in places where gathers are needed.

My son-in-law as asked me to make a blanket for his king size bed, he would like it to be in his football colours whice is simply black and white, the hard part is he wants 'COLLINGWOOD' written into it. I am hoping someone can help me out with the design:-?

Good points you have suggested!! :)