New layout

What do you think of this layout? I was having issues blogging from my phone, where all my great photos come from (well, the best camera is the one you have with you, right?). So, I thought I'd see what could be done, and this more interactive "magazine" layout seemed interesting. It is a work in progress, so please be sure to let me know if it doesn't work (or work for you).

The pattern list in the sidebar has been moved to its own page, which you can reach from the top bar or here. Other pages will find their way up there, too, as I get to them (there is nothing that inspires procrastination like the need for an "about" page).

I'm in a sort of fallow period, knitting-wise. I had been working on a lacy cardigan, but had to ... frog. the. whole. thing. ugh! Sometimes, unfortunately, my ideas aren't spot-on, and I couldn't tell with this one until I tried it on. So, that lovely pile of tosh pashmina is in timeout for a while. And the weather has, um, gotten disgusting! Which means all my sweater ideas have to go take a nap until I can bear the thought of being near them. I have some designs in the testing stage, as I mentioned not too long ago, so there is stuff in train. Then there is the stuff for Jane Austen Knits, but that's not until November. And there is one that is all ready but for purty photos, and there is no way I am putting on a long-sleeved Shetland wool sweater at the moment. I really don't want a heat stroke.

So, I'm trying to figure out what to knit next. There are some laceweight ideas rolling around in my head, and I had been planning to start a shawl, since we were supposed to head to the Midwest tomorrow to spend some time with my family, but we have canceled the trip. My mom suffers from clinical depression, and right now she is really suffering. It's hard to be far away and feel like I should be able to help in some way, but it seems like right now I wouldn't be able to do much if I were there (and I have responsibilities here). So, I'm spending a lot of time on the phone trying to be as empathetic (and sympathetic) as I can. And now I need to find some knitting, which has been balm for my soul for many years. Hug your loved ones and knit something :)

Visiting The Cloisters

Last week I visited The Cloisters with a friend of mine to see a unicorn exhibit in honor of the Museum's 75th anniversary. It was lovely! If you haven't been up there, you should go (let me know, and I'll join you!). In addition to the exhibit, which had a lovely variety of unicorn items, including a narwhal horn and the transplendent Unicorn in Captivity, we got to spend some time in the lush Bonnefont Cloister. 

View of the Bonnefont Cloister from the far corner

A quince ripens on one of four trees at the center of the garden

How fabulous is it that they have a section with flowers that are depicted in the Unicorn Tapestries? I love the little wild pansies. 

One of two potted dwarf pomegranate trees. People often think the red marks on The Unicorn in Captivity are bleeding cuts from his capture, but they really are pomegranate juice dripping from the tree he is tied to. 

The garden is segmented into beds for different categories: medicinal, magical, culinary, and the one that interested me most - crafts. Here is some indigo. There was also madder, flax, and quite a few other plants used in fiber production. One of the amazing things to realize about the tapestries is that all those colors are from natural dyes. 

Here is a snap of The Unicorn in Captivity from when Isobel and I visited in March.  

It is more vibrant IRL, of course. My creativity is whirring away, so maybe you'll see some unicorn-inspired designs down the line. 

Etsy Downloads!

Did you know that instant downloads are now available on Etsy? Not just for my patterns but for lots of other lovely things that all of us Etsy vendors used to have to scramble to email out ASAP to our wonderful customers. This is such a great improvement to the Etsy customer experience. If you would like to check it out for yourself (and get 20% off any of my patterns to boot), use the Coupon Code DOWNLOAD at checkout through 7 July 2013 at my Etsy shop. Happy Tuesday!

WWKIP Monday in NYC

Thought you might enjoy seeing me in action this afternoon. The day was glorious, so the girls and I went across the street from our building to this little park-let that also happens to be the site of Nick's and my wedding 4 1/2 years ago. I knit while the girls played with bubbles and sidewalk chalk. Down the way a young woman practiced her samisen. How cool is that?! New York in late spring/early summer is pretty wonderful, especially when you have a lap full of tosh pashmina in a favorite color way (Bloomsbury). I hope you've had a chance to knit in public recently :)

Testing, testing

Apparently, I've been very busy knitting and pattern writing and have let blogging fall by the wayside. I think I've been avoiding introspection a little due to some emotional baggage. Plus, I've just been excited by my ideas!

A couple of them have gone off to the editors and will appear in the next issue of Jane Austen Knits this fall (yes, two, I experienced some panic here and there to complete the samples and patterns, but it all worked out). Because the samples were for sizes smaller than me, I decided not to get them back and will instead knit my own down the line, which means we'll be able to do a couple of KALs! I appreciate that samples are knit at smaller/est sizes, since they take less time and yarn to complete (and fit better on "models"), but I've decided that I really love my sweaters. They're a personal thing for me, and I wear them as much of the year as possible (today is rainy and cool, and I'm wearing Wavelette - see below), so it will be worth it for me to reknit a version to wear and have for trunk shows and such. I know there are a lot of designers with a different philosophy, but this is what works for me.

To that end, I have a couple of sweaters that have just gone into pattern testing: Wavelette, which you may have heard about if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, and Bloc Cardi, which was a submission I never heard back about, so it's been sitting on the back burner for a few months, and I finally decided to get out of my funk and get this one moving.

Wavelette (I'm actually really in love with this knit, but self-photography doesn't always make for the most flattering photography - "beauty shots" to come)

Bloc Cardi - it's easier to smile when your husband takes your picture!

So, both of these have been written and graded, and I'm in the process of testing the patterns (join my Ravelry group, if you're interested in being a tester). They should be ready to go by the end of July. Since both of these are knit in fingering-weight yarns, they will make perfect layering pieces for the end of summer/beginning of fall. And I plan to wear mine all winter, thanks to overheated-New-York-apartment-living. I've already gotten a fair bit of wear out of the cardigan, and it always attracts attention from non-knitters.

And then there's Bloc Pulli, which has been written, graded, tested, and edited. Now, we just need a photo shoot before summer shows up in force.

On top of the five mentioned, I have a couple more completed knits (with lots of scribbledy notes and doodley sketches) that will be written and graded soon-ish. One is a laceweight shrug-y cardigan that someone begged me to write up when I wore it to this year's Gore Place Sheep Shearing Festival, and the other was the result of a gansey/guernsey/jersey obsession and some yarn from an earlier Gore Place visit. You can spot a sun-bleached peek in the Maine pictures. Soon! However, my time won't be my own after tomorrow, when Penelope finishes Preschool. Ack! She's finishing Preschool! So, I will have less computer time, though I've started doing a lot of my writing and grading on Google docs, so I can do some stuff while sitting on a park bench while the kids splash in the sprinklers.

Springtime in New York

This post was written a couple of weeks ago, but the blogger app has refused to post it. Hopefully it will work this time...

Springtime in New York is a beautiful thing, as long as you don't suffer from tree pollen allergies. But how could you blame a beautiful plum tree like this one? I find these pompons of blossoms so very charming!

 

And here's another one dropping its petals to form a drift of purple snow. The sweeping of the branches is so lyrical. 

At the beginning of the week I walked through Central Park to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the new PUNK Costume Institute show on the last of the Members' Mondays (the museum will be open every day soon). Throughout the park there are green benches most of which have little dedication plaques. This one caught my eye with its little boxwood wreath. I love the little personal touches that can be found throughout the city, if you keep your eyes open. 

PUNK was interesting, though its not a genre I know much about. I loved that the original punks made use of sweaters and other knits. And the use of mixed materials - so many shades of black - was interesting, too. I think at some point a punkish element may find its way into my own work.  

Maine!

Here are some photo highlights of our trip up to Maine last weekend. I also managed a quick stop at Halcyon Yarns but didn't take any pictures (just stood in the beautiful warehouse panicking a little about what to get :) Perhaps I'll do a video visit there later this summer for you. 

Photo shoot for Bloc that didn't really happen

'Cause it was cold in Maine!

Family all bundles up after dinner at Spinney's 

Fort Popham and an FO: tipped, cabled, heel-hood, saddle-shoulder cardigan based on EZ's brilliance

Beautiful cemetery gate in Phippsburg - Victorian wrought iron weeping willow covered in real flower petals

This tree is older than the United States and taller than the church 

That's one tall poplar (that gate is part of the fence at the lower left)

Church steeple at sunset

Fading daylight in the way home

Reid State Park shoreline (catch my video on YouTube - link -> http://youtu.be/lTVeA8c2BtY )

Reid from the picnic area

Rocky coast

Waves crashing on the shore (I'm going to put my little video on a loop and fall asleep to it every night)

Beautiful flotsam at the shoreline

Lobster red boots are a good idea when the water is so cold (I'll put my bare tootsies in again come late July)

Five Islands is the best!

The view while you wait for the good people of Five Islands to cook your very own lobster

View t'other way

Waiting for lobster in my In the Shallows scarf and a new sweater design that you'll have to wait for (I am just crazy about it!)

My very own lobster

Soft shells are the bomb - no cracker required

Only working boats are in the water this time of year

Five Islands lobster house

Five Islands cookhouse (fried stuff, burgers, lobster rolls, the all-important tshirts, etc.)