Standards
Every now and then, someone writes to me and says something along the lines of "why don't you use the standard chart symbols?" More often, I'll see someone say on ravelry some variation of "gee, I like her patterns, but I wish she'd use standard chart symbols." The only thing I can think in response is what standard chart symbols? There is really no such thing. Not even a little. In fact, chart symbols (and charts in general) are staggeringly different from one book to the next. I pulled a handful of books off my shelf, they all use different [...]
Caesious, First Curls KAL
So, I think we should do a knitalong for the patterns in Curls, don't you? And I'm a fan of doing things in order, so we'll start with the first pattern in the book, Caesious. Now, I'm also a big fan of relaxed knitalongs. I am not a fan of stress or hard deadlines, so we're going to make this easy. All the details for this one are over the KAL thread in my ravelry group. But the gist is knit this pattern over the next two months, show it off and talk about it in that thread, and some time [...]
Accustomed
See that? That little line there that says second printing? A girl could get used to that... I bet I could get used to one that said third printing too (I'm adaptable like that). Just by way of explanation, that's one of the advance copies from the second printing. The printer sends a few early to make sure nothing has gone excitingly wrong in some sort of new and unexpected way. The bulk of them are on a boat (said boat going to the east coast, not the west coast, to avoid the fun drama we had last time). They'll [...]
The Grayest Gray in Grayville
Oh...oh the swatching has begun. The swatching has begun and I am a happy happy camper. And no, no that is not some weird white backdrop, that's snow. All of the outside is covered in it, so I'm borrowing it. If it's going to be that cold, I'm at least going to put it to good use. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a pile of yarns to frolic in.
Follow-up
So we had two outstanding mysteries. First, the Emily Bergan and her delightful suitcase. Second, Aloysius and his intriguing body art. And now, thanks to the powers of the internet and its amazing ability to collect knowledge from all over the place and put me in touch with awesome people who know things, we have answers. The first comes from my dad. He looked up our friend Emily and found the following: Emily Bergan (ticket number P.C. 22573 aboard the "Queen Mary" - Cunard White Star Ltd, which matches the tag on the suitcase) had a cabin (e.g., not steerage) on [...]
Complect (plus giveaway)
The pattern for Complect, the lovely twisty cabled socks, is now up on ravelry. I'm smitten with them, so I'm going to indulge in some pictures, then we'll do that useful information thing (complete with handy dandy yarn giveaway, so do read on). These hit that perfect knitter sweet spot for me...there is enough going on to keep your interest, but not so much that they're hard. They are appealing to both guys and girls. And they work in a bunch of yarns (the pattern is written for gauges of 7, 8, and 9 stitches per inch, so you've got [...]
New Arrival
I have a big head. I'll pause for a moment for you to insert the obligatory joke here. This big head thing makes it a bit challenging to block my hats. Esmeralda helps, but she has some...protuberances that my head doesn't currently have. Luckily, the Chez Violence Home for Wayward Knitting Props is an accommodating place, and we've always got room for a new resident. May I present Aloysius? His head is pretty much exactly the same size as mine. And, like most of the characters pressed into service as knitting props, he seems to have had an interesting life. [...]
Neeeeext!
Those lovely blue cabled socks? The ones you kept asking about? They'll be going up for sale on Tuesday. This is just a heads up so you can go pick yarn and make plans (it's written for either 7, 8, or 9 stitches per inch so you'll be able to use whatever thickness speaks to you, I've used Frog Tree's Pediboo Sport Tonal and I loved it). And just as a reminder, folks on the mailing list will get a notification when it goes up and (usually) also get a coupon or some other special goody when new patterns come [...]
A Good Start
Did I mention I'm deep in the middle of the next book (the one that should be out in early fall 2015)? I'm at that stage where all the patterns are written and most of the projects back with me. The sock part of the projects look a little something like this. If you've been paying alarmingly close attention for the last little while, you'll notice that those are six of the seven yarns shown here (the seventh is underway). Now that they're here and blocked and stacked up in a nice neat little pile, I'm even more convinced than [...]
Mailing List
Want to hear when a new pattern comes out or something fun is going on? Sign up below!
Patreon
Want to support the content I create, get nifty bonus material for some of my favorite patterns, or get every new release delivered right to your inbox? Head over to patreon and sign up!
