Still knitting...even with no power

After a windy storm - loss of power for over 13 hours and a 2-hour late start for school - I am still able to knit.  I have a great camping lantern that can light up a room so knitting wasn't too strenuous on the eyes.  Funny thing is I just taught my neighbor  (like 2 days ago...) how to knit and she was knitting by flashlight (teenage boy trying to hold still with the flashlight so she can finish her row!), while another crazy knitting friend is knitting by candlelight!  Now that's tough on the eyes.

So - this is what I was working on.  Yea, yea, it looks fabulous, I know (it's a Nicky Epstein design and she's fabulous) - but there is a mistake in the center cable that must have happened during the excitement of the power outage.  Good news is that I did a quick duplicate stitch over the mistake (had a cable going the wrong direction) and only I can tell where it was.  I just hate ripping back such tedious cables in fear of not being able to get back on track.  Besides, I now have a story and memory about the sweater that would be lost if I ripped back.  Some things are better left as is - makes for a great conversation piece!

Sock Monkey Hat

At the request of my sister-in-law, I have made a sock monkey hat for her grand-daughter.  I liked the yarn - it's a chunky weight Farbo something - acrylic yarn.  It turned out okay -
My next attempt is to make a winter ski cowl neck sock monkey.  Same concept and design only in a cowl neck.  She's a ski instructor and wants to be more visual on the slops so her students can see her better.  It's not my thing, but it was good for me.  Besides, how cute will it be on her 3 year old grand-daughter!

It must be sock season

It must be sock season - or at least for me it is.  I just finished the last sock club pattern for Crown Mountain Farms (http://www.crownmountainfarms.com/) for this year.  I had to wrack my brain to come up with something different than all the other socks - and after some 15 different swatches, I decided to copy my Northwest Button Band hat idea and work the same concept onto a sock.  I must say, I'm pleased with the outcome.  Different heel flap for me - I used a combination of wyif, sl 1, wyib, k1 on the wrong side of the flap to create this sturdy seed stitch look.  I'm thinking this sock could be adorable on a toddler or babies foot in some pink tone with a fun button and some Mary Jane shoes. 

 These socks were designed for Frog Tree Yarns (http://www.frogtreeyarns.com/) - using their new Pediboo 3-ply sock yarn.  Both of these socks were test knit for me and both knitters raved about this yarn.  This sock will be at TNNA, Long Beach at the Frog Tree Booth.  The heel flap is the standard heel flap (sl 1, k1) - only done on the wrong side so that the bars would face the right side tot give some needed texture.   

This sock was intended to be reversible - but after asking the opinion of my 3 test knitters, they all agreed that they prefer the knit side up with the cuff folded down - so no need to offer a reversible option.

No time to knit these days....

It's all about Witches this month!

No time to knit these days....Disneyland called to say they missed me, then school called to make sure the 3 amigas were still working the cake walk booth...now I have a family wedding tonight about 3 hours away.  I'll be able to at least knit in the car for the trip up.

I'm sure next week will look more promising....

New Winter Hat...photoshoot

What a great day!  I managed to convince my neighbor to allow me to take her picture with my new hat.  She had 1 baby down for a nap, another youngster due home from school and according to her, a messy house to boot.  And yes, she was kind enough to take time out of her very busy "mom" day to let me snap a few pictures.  I literally took about 5 minutes - I only needed 5 minutes.  She was remarkable!

Gearing up for Winter Designs 2011

Fall designs have been launched, classes at Northwest Needle Market have been taught and I have pretty much wrapped up 3rd quarter.  I always take a break between the seasonal designs and try to wrap my head around organizing the desk (again), sketching the new designs and checking on all of my on-line accounts to be sure they've received and uploaded the fall designs.

I go over my list of "submission proposals" - much which has been missed.  My deadlines and their deadlines don't seem to match well so I miss more proposals then I actually submit.  In fact, I haven't sent out any proposals this fall which means I've missed them all for the next 6 months.  Oh well...I probably needed the break.

So this week I think I'll try and conquer my list.

1-sketch design for Madrona Fiber Arts this February
2-swatch sock for Sock Hop club (due this November- better put an alert on this one)
3-post an iddy biddy winter trio errata (2 sentences were transposed)
4-finish a new design for Allyn Knit and Spin
5-print 4 old patterns in the new template (Faux baby hat, happy hallo-twining, spring gauntlets, unisex vest)
6-check on student count for upcoming class at Yorkshire Yarns (October 16)
7-finish Zealana yarns winter hat and create a You-Tube instructional for the hat
8-sketch a non-sock design using Frog Tree Yarns in Pediboo sock yarn for TNNA, Long Beach (January)
9-check website for improvements and updates
10-finish cowl neck on flattering summer shell for Frog Tree Yarns, Long Beach (January)
11-keep checking for new book on How to Knit Mittens, House of White Birches (I have 2 designs in the book) and new winter edition of Love of Knitting magazine (I have 2 designs)

This should keep me busy through the week....

Got me some sample/test knitters

I have been on the search for some fabulous test and sample knitters.  It's hard to find good sample knitters.  First of all, the pay is lousy.  Second of all, I keep the knitted pieces.  Third of all, we are going into the holiday knitting season so everyone is trying to crank out their own knitting first.

I finally got up the nerve to search for sample knitters on Ravelry.  The response was enormous!  Not only did I get a good response, many of them gave me a run down of big time designers that they regularily test knit for.  Once you throw out a recognizable name, I'm convinced you gotta be good.

I sent out 3 socks, 1 hat, 1 cowl and 1 XL sweater ....all to be sample knit.  I am working with one yarn company that buys all of the samples for their booth displays and will sell them as well to the yarn shop owners.

In the past, I've only had most of my patterns test knit by 1 person per project.  Now that I have 4 different knitters on 1 pattern sock, I am noticing that each knitter brings new comments, suggestions and even questions that the others didn't.  These knitters are truly perfecting the pattern for me in more ways than you would realize.  It's not so much that I am looking for errors in the pattern but I am also wanting feedback.  Did you enjoy knitting it?  Did it fit you just right?  Do you like the reversible look?  Would you knit it again?  Do you like the look of it?  If I can't get positive feedback on the questions, then the pattern it too hoo hum to print.

A design is not successful without the tech editors, test knitters and sample knitters behind it.