This blog is a BLOG, yes?

So I should talk about other stuff! It ain't all just business around here, even though it is often business. But business = fun, and vice versa and oh. My head hurts now.

Never mind.

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Item one: Long-time blog readers may remember my obsession with Blythe dolls. I have 5, and still love looking at them and having them around. But I really don't need all 5, and one of them is being wasted in my cabinet since I don't have time to photograph or trick her out any further. The most posable of them all, Figue.

She's featured in the top two pictures in this Knitty pattern and in the shot at left. I know! Photogenic, ain't she?

She started as a stock Blythe. I first swapped out her body with a super-articulated Japanese Obitsu body. Then new eyechips [so her eyes are prettier colors than the boring blue/green/orange you get with a stock doll].

Anyway, she's now for sale, and her listing with lots more photos is here. I hope she goes to a good home.

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So Knitty came out, I went to TNNA, stayed on for the Knitters' Connection and then home. And I haven't really stopped since then.

There's usually a blissful week or so after an issue comes out when I can be a happy sloth, doing whatever the heck I want to without having to obsessively check my e-mail or sit at the computer coming up with [cough] brilliant prose for someone. So there isn't this time, and I'm a little crumpled up, kind of like when you suck the water out of a plastic bottle and don't let air rush in to take its place. I'm getting stuff done, which is fabulous. I'm also having non-restful dreams so close to reality that when I wake up, it's like the dream gave me a to-do list for the day.

I'm not kidding. It happened this morning. The written thing I dreamed that I'd missed sending in time -- it sent me right off to the Starbucks where I got a reasonable first draft done [I've still got a few days to finish it, so I'm okay there]. And then Jillian called and we had the phone call we'd had in the dream. Really.

The good news is that the clog will clear in about a week and then it will be more summer-like around here. But until the immediate deadlines get met, I'm a bit of a bag of nerves.

I'm hoping the not-sleeping-well thing will stop then, too.

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What else? Lots of knitting for Sock Summit. Frequently reaching for the uke for stress relief.

Actually, our group, the Corktown Ukulele Jam, performed at the Toronto City Roots festival this weekend. Half of us on stage, the rest in the audience [that's where I was]. And we were fabulous. We were so good that, even as it began to rain, the crowd continued to grow, clapping and singing along with us. It was a blast.

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Okay, enough rambling and definitely enough venting. I'm gonna go try to find my sheet of shrinky dink material. I have an idea for something silly for my uke friends and am going to give it a shot, hoping I don't burn myself.

WWW for June 24, 2009

by Melissa Gow, Editorial Assistant for Knitty.com

Amy's asked me to fully take over the WWW updates so that they're published on schedule. [sez Amy: "Thank you, Mel!"] I'll be bringing you an update every other Wednesday on the Knitty blog. Let's get started!



First off, some big news about Knitty! Amy hinted at it in her latest letter from the editor, and now we can tell you all about it!

Starting with the next issue, Fall 2009, we're going to celebrate our 7th Anniversary with a gentle redesign! The original site was designed in 2002 and everyone thought it was time for a little freshening.

Here's how we look now:



Kind of squished into the left side of your browser window and narrower than it has to be. That was for a reason in 2002, but now that we're making pages printer-friendly, it no longer applies! So starting in Fall, Knitty's front page will look a little more like this:



As you can see, the page content is now wider, the main content window is a smidge bigger, and we've even been able to enlarge our ad spaces. After all, it's the support of our advertisers that allows Knitty to come to you for free, and we think they deserve a little extra screen real estate. We're also tweaking navigation to make it even more streamlined.

We've also decided to shake up our publication schedule a little. We'll still be producing four yummy issues every year, but starting next March, they'll come out on a slightly different schedule. Here's what you have to look forward to:

Issue	Theme	Issue live
Winter 2009	Knitted gifts, garments + accessories	Dec 2009
Spring+Summer 2010	Warm-to-hot-weather garments + accessories	Mar 2010
First Fall + Holiday Headstart 2010	Transitional cool-weather layers + projects to knit early for holiday gifting	mid-July 2010
Deep Fall 2010	Cool-weather garments + accessories, quick last-minute gift knits	Oct 2010
Winter 2011	Cold-weather garments + accessories	Jan 2011
Spring+Summer 2011	Warm-to-hot-weather garments + accessories	Apr 2011

Yup, it's a lot of changes, and we're really excited about all of them. We'll talk more about what and why when the fall issue comes out, but we wanted you to know the great news we shared with everyone at TNNA earlier this month.





Lexie Barnes returns to the tote with her new series of bags, the shimmery metallic Classic Lexie Collection. Expect to see more designs and patterns for the fall!



Yarn Forward is working towards offering a digital edition of the magazine! Keep your eyes on the blog for when they go live.



The Boys of Summer are back for another season along with them is the Stitch 'n' Pitch.

For those of us in Toronto the date for the Jays game is the 25th of August. For everyone else, check the main Stitch 'n' Pitch page for the date of the game nearest you.



Remember when we told you about a social network site for weavers? Weavolution went live on June 8!



Knitting Daily has a new look and with the comes new features like being able to search through current and back issues for information on patterns and in many cases purchase that pattern you missed out on! The are other changes afoot to the message boards, too.



For those knitting font junkies, (we know who you are!) here's a knitting font plus a few more for other stitchy endeavors.



Looking to do some redorating of your abode? Why not incorporate your favorite craft in to the design by recovering a ratty old chair and a few pouffs stacked in a corner??



See you in two weeks with more knitting news from all over the web!
Mel

What Neil wrote.

I do declare, someone get me a Mint Julep lest I faint dead away.

full circle

Remember when I got this? The man who wrote the book the movie is based on saw it tonight, was quite amused by it, and then signed the button-sealed envelope for me.*

I will be shadowbox-framing this baby as soon as budget allows.

*I am not the first, nor will I be the last, to say that Neil Gaiman is a charming man, highly nice, a gentleman, and absolutely freaking hot. Oh, sigh.

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Where's summer Knitty? Soon, my pets. Very, very soon. In the meantime, the rest of the pics from tonight can be found here. I've done the best I can to title them helpfully, including a few choice quotes from the man himself that I remember quite vividly. Much better than a wordy blog post, no?