Character Building
The proofs of Knitter's Curiosity Cabinet, Volume II have arrived from the printer. They are sitting on my desk. Unopened. It feels wrong to open them by myself, so I'm waiting 'til The Boy is home from work. Just for context, they arrived at 9:00am. It's going to be a long wait. I'm considering calling with some sort of terrible emergency (ninja rodent invasion? attack tarantulas? kitten spirit possession?) that would require him to come home immediately, but that seems against the spirit of the thing. So I wait. But folks...this means the book is almost ready for you.
Updated
I know more about knitting, designing, and pattern writing now than I did a few years ago. That's actually a good thing. If I hadn't learned something in the last several years, I'd be terribly disappointed in myself. The tricky bit, though, is that when I look back at my early work, I sometimes get twitchy. I see all sorts of things I'd like to improve. Not correct...correcting is for wrong things...just improve. Different yarns, different directions, different charts, different photos. Alas, making these changes is generally not practical. There are only so many hours in the day, and updating [...]
And After…
Quick and not-so-great snap (it is unpleasant outside, I don't want to be outside, so I didn't stay long) just to show you the much more relaxed shape these take on post blocking. Compare that to the tight bunchy shape before blocking. Some time I'll get close up pics of the scallops so you can see how they're made, they really are shamelessly cute.
Why Yes, I am Rather Exacting
I explained last time how I deeply truly love flared cuffs. They fit beautifully, make my hands look all pretty and girly, and are ridiculously convenient. The only thing they have against them is that they can be tricky to block. But no more, I have found the solution. Graph paper and shampoo bottles. No really. Hear me out. The problem with blocking cuffs like this is getting the flare nice and distinct and even. To do that, you need a way to make it bigger than the part on your wrist, and you need keep the points uniformly spaced. [...]
Greetings Underlings
We interrupt your regularly scheduled knit blogging to bring you an important kitten announcement. Kitten Overlord Barry has taken the 'over' part of his title a bit too seriously and devised a way to get to the top shelf of the bookcase. This does not bode well for Barry, the books, or my equanimity (he's a leaper). That shelf is a good 6 feet off the ground. Let's talk him down gently, ok?
Shamelessly Girly
Of course, I did manage to squeeze in a bit of knitting while I was away. I made good progress on the blue, leafy socks. I'm about 3/4 done with the second one and should have a finished pair to show you soon. But I wanted to see if I could squeeze a whole project into the trip, cast on to bind off. That meant it would need to be a small project, but I managed it. I wanted to take pictures there (seemed only appropriate, since I knit it all there), but that meant it was unblocked. So I'll [...]
Retreat, Mind the Loot
The goal of this retreat is for people who are working on self publishing knitting books to get together and help each other. Well no, it's a bit broader than that. We've got a few things that aren't exactly books, and a few things that aren't exactly knitting. But the gist of it is 'fiber' and 'stuff that until recently was done only by big publishers (or maybe not even done at all) but is now being done by individuals.' The technology is changing so fast that trying to pin it down more precisely than that gets tricky. If you [...]
Retreat, Now With Work and Secrecy
On Thursday, the retreat proper began. This is where it gets tricky to talk about. We're all there to make progress on our various projects (and to help other folks make progress on theirs). That means things that get discussed there are often still fairly confidential. This is understandable and hugely important (ideas need a safe space to come to fruition), but it does make for rather tricky blogging. So, I'll tell you what I can, but on the whole, I'm going to be maddeningly obscure. Cat's got plans for something grand that in no way involves socks. Jeny is [...]
Retreat (now with actual rest)
Having spent 12 hours traveling on Monday, and having engaged in unexpectedly vigorous relaxing on Tuesday, I decided to see if I could spend Wednesday in a slightly more restful fashion. I went into the town of Friday Harbor and passed a lovely morning perusing book stores, art galleries, second hand shops, and sampling the products of the local bakery. I'd hoped to stop by San Juan Island Distillery, and tried calling several times, but never managed to find them when they were open. I consoled myself by procuring a selection of their products at the local grocery store. Then [...]
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