And by problem, I mean I'm possessed by an irresistible urge to knit these when I should be doing responsible things like dishes or laundry or grocery shopping or sleeping. I knit thirteen of the blasted things... Blocked them... Stuffed them... Then immediately cast on more (I was nervous waiting for the preorder to open, it seemed reasonable at the time). But I'm pretty sure I'm through the worst of the compulsion now.  The pattern is headed out to testers this afternoon.  I'm taking pictures for them next week.  And the pattern should be out in early September.  That way [...]

 The preorder is over now!  If you didn't have a chance to get your copy, you can ask your LYS to carry the paper book or find it on amazon (as always, amazon links are affiliate links), or head over to ravelry for the electronic version.   Click on over and grab yours now!

At eleven this morning (eastern time), I'll send an email out to mailing list folks (you need to be on the list by about nine this morning to get today's message).  That email will send you to somewhere you can get the book at mailing list rates for the first hour.  Then at noon, I'll make it live more generally, and everyone will have access! If you want on the mailing list, you do that here: [mc4wp_form id="13597"] And if time zones are the bane of your existence and you want to double check what time any of this is [...]

I like to keep preorders short and sweet (because really...I want to get books out and in your hands as quickly as possible), but I wanted to spell out all the details in one place so everyone knows just what to expect! Tuesday, August 14, 11 am Eastern time: Preorder opens for folks on my mailing list (I'll send you an email with links to where you can buy either the paper or the electronic book). You'll get the best price of the preorder ($3.00 off either the paper book or the ebook).  This price only lasts an hour, so [...]

One of these days I'll tell you the story of the horrible yarn shop I visited when I was a brand new knitter.  The one where the owner made it very clear that real knitters only knit sweaters (and only out of very thin, very expensive wool at that). Every now and then I think of her...especially when I'm knitting something like this. Definitely not the sort of thing a real knitter would be making...heavens no...what a scandalous idea (that noise you hear is the sound of my eyes rolling so hard it hurts). But I'm having an awful lot of fun [...]

So...Did I mention I'm sneaking a second little book on the schedule (don't worry, Curls 3 is still coming this fall...this is just an extra little something)?  Because I totally am!  Today I'll tell you a little about the book.  Then, later this week, I'll give you all the details about the preorder. You remember the hat?  The one we all went a little nuts for?  The one right there on the front of the book?  Yeah...that hat has a lot to answer for!  The stitch I used on that hat was so much fun that I wanted to keep playing [...]

I got distracted. I got distracted near yarn. I got distracted near yarn and needles and now I'm oddly obsessed with these little bits of foolishness.  I'm doodling around with how best to make them (the goal is no seams, only two ends to weave in, and not too fiddly).  Because from what I can see on instagram, some of you might want to play too!   [pextestim pex_attr_set="looking-for-this-pattern" pex_attr_autoplay="false"][/pextestim]

I think we're due for some socks, don't you?  Propitiate are (back) out, and I have a feeling they're the sort of socks that a lot of us sock knitters secretly most like to make (and wear).  They're 10% off with the code COZY, and there's yarn to give away, so read on! There seem to be two sock factions.  There's the Let's Make This As Complicated As Possible camp (lace! and brioche! and quite possibly some beads! and three different colors of yarn! and they start in the middle of your foot and go together some really weird way!).  [...]

So this was going to be a post about how I'd been getting rather a lot of a particular question lately (briefly summarized as "Knitting patterns are stupid and easy to make, so it's basically a crime that anyone charges such an outrageous amount for them.  And I don't have enough money to buy both yarn and patterns, but I don't like the thousands of free patterns that are out there, so how about you give me your patterns for free because I like them better than the free ones?  Not enough to pay for them mind you, because paying for [...]