Sock Club
You guys have heard me say all sorts of nice things about Suzan at Barking Dog Yarns. I used her yarn for Peregrinate and Foliate, and I absolutely love it. I've also used it for two of the projects for Book the Second. So when Suzan told me she was doing a sock club, I was thrilled at the chance to be part of it. And we've come up with something kind of neat. We'll be using the club shipment to preview the the sock pattern from Book the Second that uses Suzan's yarn. If you're part of the club, [...]
Cheating
I have a complicated relationship with my furnace. I deeply resent turning it on every year. It's not even that it's all that expensive. It's just I feel that I should be tougher than that. I shouldn't walk around whining that my fingers are frozen stiff when it's 55 in here. That's a perfectly lovely temperature and I should enjoy it. But I find if I'm sitting still and reading or writing, I really can't abide 55, even if I'm bundled up in all sorts of woolly layers. And the next few days are going to see a lot of [...]
Wrap Up
1) Holy hell that was fun -- watching professionals work is really inspiring. Also a tiny bit envy-making. But mostly inspiring. I feel so good about having hired a real live grown up to come take the pictures for this. 2) Man oh man was that tiring -- try to schedule your colds and your photo shoots for different days. Because I know you carefully schedule your colds. To do otherwise would be foolish, as I've just demonstrated. 3) I will likely die of impatience waiting for the final version of the images -- no really, they are that good. [...]
All My Bags Are Packed, I’m Ready To Go
I am (finally) all packed and ready for the photo shoot tomorrow. That's Box 1. It contains model releases, shot lists, a wee knitting repair kit in case something goes wrong, and lint roller. Oh, and knitting. A fair bit of knitting actually. You can see tiny snippets of about 15 of the 20 projects there, though peer as you might, you aren't going to be able to tell much about them. You'll just have to take my word for it that they are nifty. Box 2 is lurking off camera. It is even larger (and much much heavier). It [...]
Tick Tock
Folks, have you looked at a calendar lately? I'm less than two weeks away from the book's photoshoot. Do you have any idea how cool that is? Do you have any idea how nerve wracking that is? The balance between cool and nerve wracking shifts from moment to moment. To cope, I'm going into super organized mode (yes, scarily enough, it is actually possible to be more organized than I usually am). As part of this organizational frenzy, I'm reblocking most everything for the book. Some of it had been folded up in the box, and those folds sort of [...]
Your Turn
I'm meeting with the photographer for Book the Second on Thursday. We'll be having a planning meeting, wandering the halls of our photo shoot location, and generally plotting how to make this book extra awesome. I have my list of 'things to ask' and 'things to insist upon.' But I'm sure there's something I'm overlooking. After all, this organize and execute a book thing is still new to me. So here's where you come in. I've got two questions for you. First, what do you always wish you could tell the photographers of your knitting books? Is there something you [...]
Book Yarn, Part X
An exciting thing happened yesterday. The nefarious scoundrels lovely employees of the customs office released one of my packages and the saints of fed ex brought it right to my door. In that package was the very last of the projects for Book the Second. That means that I currently have all 20 projects, finished, washed, blocked, and tucked safely in the box. This is a very good thing, as the planning meeting with the photographer is next week (eek) and the photoshoot shortly after that. To mark the momentous occasion (er, and because I'd been meaning to do it [...]
Book Yarn, Part IX
I know. Trust me, I know. That's an awful lot of pink. There are even pink blotches in the background (that would be my rose bush, the most neglected and most prolific rose bush you've ever seen...and no it's not blooming now, I took all of these pictures one evening in June and have just been posting them as I go along ever since). I don't normally do pink. But for these two, I'll make an exception. On the left is Hazel Knits DK Lively in the color Cotton Candy. It's a 90/10 merino nylon blend and it is magical. [...]
Ready to Absorb the Knowledge
I had the very best of intentions. Really I did. I had amassed all the needed materials. I had my books and pens and pencils. I had the much revered post it note flags and the handy notebook. I even had a bracing cup of hot, fresh tea. I was all set up at the dining room table so I couldn't drift off to sleep in an overly-comfy chair. I was ready to go. But you see, I also had a Levon, and he had rather different ideas for my afternoon. He made it quite clear that he was much [...]
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!
