What (Else) Would Madame Defarge Knit? - My Interview

This went out yesterday in the final "sneak peek" before today's release of What (Else) Would Madame Defarge Knit?.  Madame Editrix has given me permission to reproduce it here.

After contributing three patterns for What Would Madame Defarge Knit?, Erica Hernandez signed up for more punishment was eager to offer a pattern for this new collection. Erica blogs(sporadically, she admits) and can be found on Ravelry and various time-waster social media sites as ericah64. She reluctantly left her chair next to the wall heater to chat with us.

Defarge: OK, Erica, we notice that you seem to have a "thing" for items knit from the center out, having designed a Mobius cowl and a center-out square shawl for our first book and now a center-out rectangular throw for Defarge Deux. What gives?
Erica: To be honest, there are two reasons: I'm lazy, and I'm easily bored. I'm not out to fit into a certain mold or niche; I simply design what I personally enjoy knitting. You probably won't ever see me design pattern for an end-to-end California King garter stitch blanket in all one color. I like patterns where I can easily see my progress and which have enough changes in them to keep my interest. The Land of Counterpane fits the bill for me, since it starts in the middle with Judy's Magic Cast-On and has several different textured stitches. Plus, I hate seaming, and I stink at Kitchener stitch, so I pretty much avoid them like the plague.

Defarge: How did you light on "The Land of Counterpane" as your inspiration for this Defarge project?
Erica: Actually, I originally wanted to use "The Swing", but I just couldn't find stitch patterns that seemed to fit with the poem. "The Land of Counterpane" resonates for me because of all the time I spent ill in bed as a kid. After all the symbolism of my Jane Eyre-inspired patterns in Defarge Un, I wanted something simpler, something that didn't make me feel like I was writing another college thesis.

Defarge: What can we look forward to in the future from you, design-wise?
Erica: I jumped at the chance to participate in the upcomingDefarge Does Shakespeare book and have several patterns in there. I won't tell you what they are, though. After all, as River Song would say, "Spoilers!"

Defarge: Thank you so much for speaking with us today and for stealthily invoking The Doctor. We time travelers are all great friends. Bon courage! Vive la France!