Leanne Prouse (Ella Rae) began her design career over 10 years ago. After studying Fashion Design then spending many years travelling the world, she returned to live in the beautiful South-west coastal region of Australia where she had grown up to raise her own family. As luck would have it the same town was home to International designer Jo Sharp, so looking for another challenge to embark on whilst raising a young family she approached Jo with some design ideas. “ That was a very happy and exciting time, the moment I walked into that design studio I felt like I belonged there. Being surrounded by all the yarn and amazing colours really ignited the passion for knitwear design as a career option not just a hobby. “ In the following years she went on to become a head designer at Jo Sharp. After going out on her own in 2004, she has gone on to develop the "Ella Rae" label in association with KFI. Ella Rae continues to grow and showcases the love of design that keeps on evolving and changing with the seasons.
ELLA RAE FALL/WINTER UPDATE 2009/10
posted November 6, 2009
A collection for Men and Women using the 'luxury' range of yarns from the Ella Rae Yarn Collection. Gorgeous yarns are always easy to work with and just to feel a ball of yarn that has an amazing mix of fibres is enough to make any knitter go into raptures! Here we add a yarn called 'LATTE', a mix of milk fibre, baby alpaca and microfibre and 'MOCHA' a blend of camel, extrafine merino and kid mohair. Whenever I put a collection together I always keep in mind that when I buy a knitting book I like to think I can knit at least half a dozen (or more) of the projects. There are pillows, socks, scarves, sweaters and cardigans for men and women, a beret and beanie, over 25 projects for knitters of all skill levels.
SPRING/SUMMER UPDATE '09
posted July 30, 2009
Dear Knitters,
Working to deadlines and planning season's ahead certainly makes the year fly by. Summer is upon those living in the Northern Hemisphere and for those of us 'downunder' we are into Winter. One of the fortunate things about living at opposite ends of the earth is that I actually get to design my collections in the same seasons, in Winter I'm designing with winter yarns and Summer with summer yarns, athough a season behind.
For Spring/Summer 09, we have 2 books released. Book 15 ' Rug Emporium' featuring the every popular and versatile yarns in the Ella Rae line, Classic, Amity and a new Superwash , this collection of rugs, throws and baby blankets is one of my favourites. It features a mix of projects for all types of knitters and uses yarns that are value for money, something that we all have to be mindful of in today's economic climate. Book 16 'Family Postcards' is a lovely bright collection of summer garments for all the family. Featuring Baby Cotton and Bamboo Silk (a favourite of mine to work with) the projects are very functional and wearable. I am currently finishing the next 2 books for Fall/Winter and will give you thelowdown on these when we catchup again, in the meantime enjoy the Summer while I get through Winter!
Leanne
Fall/Winter 08-9 Update
posted January 28, 2009
Having the opportunity to work with new yarns each season is always something I look forward to. For me, it's probably the most exciting part of the design process as it's the time when the ideas start to flow and things come together. This season we introduce 4 beautiful new yarns to our expanding range and 3 books to compliment them, full of new patterns.
Book 12 - Junior Collection- using 2 of the most popular yarns in the Ella Rae range, Classic and Amity, designs for children aged 3 to 12 years. With the addition of a beautiful mix of Heathers to both these lines, they both carry a huge array of colours. Both are very versatile and affordable making them ideal yarns for childrens garments.
Book 13 - Studio Collection - Introducing 3 new yarns: Kamelsoft- an exquisite mix of Camel and wool- wonderfully soft and gorgeous to work with. Jaspe Wool - A light weight variegated wool, that is easy to knit and wear. Lace Merino - this beautiful fingering weight Italian yarn is hand dyed in Chile giving a unique blend of colour. I have designed a Collection with simple lines, very wearable pieces that will carry on for years to come.
Book 14 - Hyde Park Story - A Collection of designs that are fresh, versatile and will carry through to Spring. Introducing Extrafine Heathers a lovely 100% wool yarn with a beautiful range of warm tones.
Happy Knitting!
Hello from Downunder
posted February 13, 2008
Work for me is such a joy, my love of fibre, texture and colour is something that is always with me...I'm often told “ you need to take time out and have a break from work”, but "time out" for me means looking for ideas, swatching and sourcing for the next collection! Designing and knitting is my passion and it never leaves me - fortunately my family has learned to accept this (or learnt to live with it and all the yarn that comes with it!). When my kids were younger, if asked what does your Mum do? they would reply “she just knits”...I'm sure most people think I sit home knitting all day...not such a bad thought, but unfortunately not true. For the coming season I have put together 2 new books. The first (book 10) is a collection of gorgeous bright summer yarns with designs for Mum and children. It introduces 2 new yarns to the Ella Rae range, Baby Cotton with a lovely soft feel and palette and Bamboo Silk, a mix of silky texture and rich jewely colours. Both these new yarns complement "Silkience" another beautiful summer yarn with a luscious array of colours. Book 11 is the second felted Bag book I have done. After the success of the first one, it was great fun doing another and I have included lots of projects for all skill levels. I hope knitters get as much enjoyment out of them as I have. Keep on knitting... Leanne