Mother's Day

Mother's Day is coming up, and what better occasion to offer a coupon in my Etsy shop than that? Now through May 8th use the code "mother20" (no quotes) and receive 20% off any purchase, including my handknitted Matryoshka doll sets. As always, shipping is free.

Fell off the wagon

Well, I kind of lost my momentum at the end of the month of March, didn't I? I thought signing up for the Knit & Crochet Blog Week would give me the chance to spring to the finish line and then keep going, but I got distracted by the Infinite Variety quilt show, and then my parents came to visit Thursday through Sunday. We had a great time with them, but between grandparents and kids there wasn't much time to blog.

I also finished writing up (and charting) a pattern. Now I just need to find a baby to photograph (it's a blankie), since the pictures I took of my nephew with the blanket, using my cameraphone, just won't cut it.

Skill + 1UP (2KCBWDAY2)

This post is part of Knitting and Crochet Blog Week.

The past year has been more about gaining skills and confidence in knitwear design and pattern writing than about gaining any one knitting skill (I'm pretty good with cables, lace, and my stranded work improves, but I have yet to tackle entrelac, and socks just don't drive me wild). And I think it's safe to say I hit my big goal of getting published. Having Knitty publish Turn of the Glass hasn't changed my life in an obvious way (no one is beating at my door with a big contract to sign, hehe), but it affirmed my decision (alright, my falling into this) to pursue knitwear design, to even think it was an option. It's also so exciting to know other people like your work, and I love seeing everyone else's version of the sweater, since knitting is such a personal hobby.

This was pretty huge for me. For years and years I introduced myself as a whatever-my-current-title-in-publishing was, and then for a while it was as a "temporarily retired person". Since reaching adulthood I've worked, and worked hard, to make things (and make them more appealing). I've liked doing it, and it was difficult to let that go when I had to. But knitting was a saving grace there.

And now I usually say I'm a knitwear designer and waggle a shawl in their face!

As for my skills, pattern writing has been an interesting challenge. The other day I was working on the hat that's coming soon and just before I sent it off to my tech editor I realized that I hadn't mentioned the two different needles called for in the materials list at all. So, what would a new knitter do? "Why did she make me get those two different kinds of needles? I've never used one of those before. Ack!" These are the kinds of things I have to remember. An experienced knitter would probably know to cast on with the circular needle and then switch to the DPNs as decreases make it difficult to move the stitches around. But a newer knitter, perhaps one who had never knit anything in the round before, would be stumped. Just as in my days in academic publishing I had to learn about the different ways people take in information (fascinating stuff, seriously), now I have to remember that knitters may come to my patterns from all different levels of experience and skills.

I've also become more willing to rip things out (see my recent frogging post) when they're not right, re-knit, drop stitches and repair things on the needles, and just plain being confident that I can manipulate the stitches and fabric to become what I envision. I'm also working on my vision being realistic as far as what the yarn/fabric can do.

A Take of Two Yarns* (2KCBWDAY1)

This post is part of Knitting and Crochet Blog Week 2011.

Have you ever knit with linen yarn? The first time I tried knitting up some Louet Linen I broke a favorite needle. Granted, it was a plastic Bryspun, not a metal needle, but still, it was a disheartening experience. On top of that, as a fairly new knitter, it was difficult to handle this yarn, so wiry, so rough, nothing like the soft merinos I had grown fond of with their bounce and sheen. I put the three skeins in the back of my stash and did my best to forget about them.

However, a few years later, continuing to hear about what a great yarn this Louet Linen is, I tried again. This time I was more prepared for the hand, and I grabbed a Hiya Hiya metal needle - no chance of breakage there, unless I ran the needle over with a tractor. I re-swatched, and the knitting wasn't terrible. I think my additional experience as a knitter helped. Then I washed the swatch, as Louet recommends, in the washing machine and threw it in the dryer. Holy smokes! It went from crispy and rough to soft and drapey. Now I understood what everyone had been talking about. From the swatch I worked up a pattern (coming soon) and knit up a sweater that I wore all last summer. It only gets better with washing! I have some more, and I'm debating whether to wash the skeins before working with them. It's still a tough, strong yarn, and I kind of enjoyed the magic of putting the finished item through the washing machine. We'll see.

Just goes to show that sometimes you should give yarn a second chance.

*I guess this ended up being a tale of the same yarn at two different times.

Froggy went a-courtin' (Sunday's post - am I caught up yet?)

Sweater frogging

I finally admitted to myself that the Ditto sweater I knit last summer, with ribbing at the bottom hem and no waist-shaping, just didn't flatter my figure. And it was time to reclaim the six skeins of Berocco Vintage that went into it (along with some pretty mother-of-pearl buttons). Above you can see me, mid-frog. The balls of yarn behind my knit kit are from the front bands.

I wasnt' sure how well the yarn would frog, since I had put the sweater through the washing machine a few times - Vintage is a blend of acrylic, wool, and nylon - but it went smoothly. There was an occasional, tenacious pill of wool fibers, but nothing that a little tug wouldn't fix, and the yarn still feels "whole" as I'm reknitting.

What am I knitting? It's a new pattern for my first collection. I knit this one before but gave it to my nephew (and don't think it's quite fair to ask a baby to give back his blankie), so I need a new one. It's going fairly quickly and, hopefully, will be finished by the time the Knitpicks yarn arrives for my first IDP pattern.

Kittehs (Saturday's post)

When you run out of things to blog about, blog about your creatures, right? Well, not really. I probably have other things I could blog about, but a comment from Ellen on Isobel's Pipit sweater (and the cat in one of the photos) made me realize that I hadn't properly introduced our kittens to the blog. I'd uploaded a twitpic  (I'll wait while you go see them as kittens - George was so little!) back in October after they came home with us, but they hadn't actually appeared here. Without further ado, meet George and Henry!

George behind the couch

Henry lounging

After mourning Riley we decided we'd better get some new furballs to liven up the place, and, boy, do these two deliver! George was only eight weeks old when we brought him home mid-October, and Henry was about five months old. We were all attracted to George at the adoption site but were told that we had to take both. I was a little worried when the adoption coordinator told us not to leave George alone with Henry for a while, since he was bigger and didn't know his own strength

But it turns out that red-headed Georgis is the savage beasty of the two, while Henry is just a big sweetie. I joke that George is the looker, and Henry the lover. But Henry is a handsome boy, just a little unconventional, whereas there is a kitten on a t-shirt in the copier place window that Penelope points out as "Georgie" every time we walk by - he's more "standard". Henry will just stare sweetly at you with those eyelinered eyes until you start petting him, at which point he'll flop over on his side and drool. Loverboy.

George is a bit more of a wild child, though he's the one who sleeps ON my neck most every night. He purrs like a lawnmower every time you get near him, which I've come to believe is some sort of disarm-the-human defense mechanism. George, it also seems, is a woolpig. I can't leave any knitting or even a skein of yarn unprotected anywhere or he will attack it, drag it around, and chew on it. Totally bad for feline digestive tracts, I know! Luckily, he doesn't seem to have ingested more than a bite here or there, and I am now much more careful about the yarn.

I still miss Riley (and Penelope is going through a phase where, whenever she's upset, she says she misses Riley, rather than saying what has really upset her), but these two fuzzy heads have worked their way into our hearts. And, as you can see from the above photos, settling in to Riley's old spots, particularly George who is in the Riley evening locale on the table behind my spot on the couch.

Blogger of the Day: Robin Hunter (Friday's post)

[Yes, I've slacked the last few days but am making up for it before this week's extravaganza.]

If you're interested in the business of knitwear design, particularly in the perspectives of a wide variety of today's knitterati (not sure how I got in there, but let's go with it), be sure to bookmark Robin Hunter's How to become a Professional Knitter. And don't forget to go back through her archives. Annie Modesitt, Teva Durham, Nancy Bush, Shirley Paden, Jared Flood, Stefanie Japel, and many more! On top of all these great interviews, Robin also touches on all sorts of topics related to the biz, from creativity to bust darts to feeling good about your own unique shape and making the most of it. I'm always learning things from Robin's blog, and it makes me think.