Onward

I finished the sweater for Knit Simple today, and what can I say? It's pink, and Emma's size, so she'd like to keep it for herself. Too bad, kiddo-- it's got a date with a shipping box. More yarn is coming tomorrow for another sweater to finish before TNNA, and of course I'll do that one before starting in on the rest of the to-be-knit shelf, which believe it or not used to be more crammed than it is now. Guess I'm making progress.


Everything is wonderfully (perhaps crazily?) busy whenever TNNA is looming, but I enjoy going to the show so much that all the lack of sleep and long hours is totally worth it. The news of winning $500 from the Pattern-a-Day calendar thing really made my work-y weekend. I sent in a few patterns (for little things, like the sushi) last fall just for the heck of it (and the possibility of a free calendar)-- I never thought for a second I would win anything.

Wow!

Check this out!!
(Thanks to Pipp on Ravelry who pointed it out to me).

Sweater-a-week rolls on...

Well, I've finished my 4th sweater in as many weeks, and still have a few more to do-- that's the thing about submitting designs, sometimes a bunch get picked at once. If I wasn't such a control freak, I'd probably farm out at least some of the knitting, but I just can't bring myself to do it.

Anyway, here's a teeny peek at the one I just finished... in the new SWTC yarn Therapi, which is so soft I can hardly stand it!! It has Jade in it, believe it or not. Basically it's a nice worsted weight, a good substitute for any "regular wool" type pattern.

I'm embarking on another big tech editing project today, as well as starting the 5th sweater. Later too I'm hoping to start on some sketches for the next round... it's time for Spring 2009 stuff. The UPS man has paid me a few visits in the past week with sample yarn for swatching for the yarn companies and I can't wait to dig in.

More patterny (and yarny) goodness

Today was a great mail day! I'm doing a tech editing project, first of all, for Jelly Yarns, and along with the box of projects they sent me some of their yarns to try, which is great, since I haven't had the chance to play with them before. They look fun!

Second, I received my copy of the new Aslan Trends pattern book, "Seasons Change Volume 2." I designed a little boy's cabled sweater for it. Check out the cover!



The mailman brought the new issue of Yarn Market News, and imagine my delight when I lifted the front cover to see an ad for Nashua Handknits with the mohair cardigan I designed for the fall "Mohair" book! It's probably my favorite design of mine, so that meant a lot. It wasn't easy knitting mohair in August, but the sweater turned out great.

Flat Feet and other things

I was itching to try some of that new Flat Feet yarn, and after hunting around a bit I found some, and it's pink! Once I finish the big mountain o' design projects on my to-do list, I'm going to give it a try.

Speaking of design projects, last week was big indeed--in addition to the 2 magazine acceptances, I had another project accepted for a book. Plans are also in the works to get some more things cooking at TNNA in a few weeks (making appointments, etc.) and more tech editing jobs are shaping up too.

My sister has been in town the past few days, and she wanted to learn to knit. I was really surprised (and pleased) how quickly she mastered the basics. I'm hoping she'll keep it up! I got her all set up with supplies after raiding my yarn closet. She had to go home sooner than expected, so we didn't get as far as binding off... oh well.

And sometimes things happen quickly

I recently sent in a submission to Creative Knitting, and last night got a call that it was accepted! Between the pile 0' designs I have to knit and the mountain of edits, I'm going to stay very busy for a while, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Just when you think all hope is lost...

I sent a design idea to Knit Simple for the Fall issue way back in December. Although I hadn't been officially rejected, I had chalked it up to "no" and moved on with my life. Imagine my surprise to get an email yesterday saying it had been accepted for the Holiday issue (and I had already given up hope on that Fall design being held over to Holiday as well, seeing as though the Winter deadline is nearly upon us). What a delight! And the best part? They want it in pink.

How To Knit In the Woods

Is out! I designed two projects for this one: Woodsy Washcloth and Camp Towel, both of which I knit last summer while we were camping in Put-in-Bay for Hubbo's volleyball tournament. (Very authentic, I know). The book looks very cute-- check it out!