The KnittyBlog is somewhere else!

Those of you who subscribe to our RSS feed will need to update that link to stay in touch with all things Knitty. We've upgraded the blog to wordpress!

This is the new feed link:
http://knitty.com/blog/?feed=rss2

[I've already set up the new blog, but realized after the fact that 1500+ of you would have no way of knowing it existed, so this old one is back temporarily until I can get the message out.]

Add this to your Google Reader or Bloglines [are there other aggregators?] and you'll be all set!

I have knitting stuff to blog, too, but I'll save it for the new blog. It's much purtier and easier to read, and I think you'll like it. No more comment spam, either. Wordpress rocks.

Since last we chatted...

...more has happened than I can possibly blog. Let's go to the bullet points!

• the magical Sock Summit
• a lovely vacation trip with my mom and sister
• the fall issue of Knitty, celebrating 7 years of Knitty goodness and a gentle redesign
• a trip to The Knitting Nest in a really comfy, not-hot Austin, TX [I didn't think the not-hot was possible!]
• a trip to WEBS -- New England in early fall [heaven!]
  

You already know about Sock Summit [see the post below for wrap-up links all over the web], and the vacation was much needed.

The fall issue of Knitty was the result of months of planning, work and not a little fretting. We're all glad you like it, very! It was a huge relief to go live...a redesign of any sort is always a bigger undertaking than you envision until you're right in the mucky middle of it. I learned a lot, that's for sure.

The Knitting Nest was just a lovely, warm place full of great yarn and nice people. You know the reputations Texans have for hospitality -- well, Stacy and her crew [and her charming husband and daughter!] took more than excellent care of me. We had a great class and a lovely party to celebrate their anniversary and poof, I was home before I knew it!

I've been traveling mostly camera-less lately. Too much to shlep with the uke, I guess. But I did take a few pics with the iPhone on my last trip -- to WEBS -- and you've gotta see them.

WEBS itself is really indescribable. It has nearly everything from every company that makes yarn, and even the work of some smaller hand-dyers. Bags, tools, spinning things, weaving things. And then there's the back room where the bags of discounted yarnish goodies reside, and it's hard not to walk around with your mouth open. For a long time. Just wow. I was so stunned by it all, I took not a single picture inside the shop. But here's their highway billboard:



I had a great Plug & Play shawl design class with really excited and motivated students, and a lovely No Sheep lecture the night before. I bought a sweater's worth of, not kidding, Berroco Comfort worsted, to make this [rav link], and a little yarn for a few friends. On my last afternoon, it was decided that I needed to see a little of the surrounding area

My tour guides, Karen [the lovely shop manager] and Melissa Morgan-Oakes [who I'd never met before this trip, despite us being in the same places more than once over the years] made sure I got a little infusion of New England before I went home. Yankee Candle? Sure! A quick stop at Scandihoovians, yup! But here was the highlight of our spontaneous road trip:


I know that logo. No way. Lexie Barnes' showroom is within driving distance of WEBS? I freaked out.


Here's Lexie with samples from her brand-new line. And I finally got to put my hands on it...folks, the fabric we all know and love is BACK! The nearly bulletproof fabric that is the friend of knitting and the enemy of spills. It feels so solid and smooooth, and look at her new prints!

The little shiny thing in her hand? That's her brand-new circular needle case. It's brilliant! The page on her website doesn't give a hint at the insides, so this is your sneak peek! Lots and lots of pages to hold your needles and way more, plus it zips closed so nothing escapes. Wow.


Another [slightly blurry, sorry] pic of the new goodies. The Kiri print looks bright red on her site, but it really is this deep burgundy color, so I wanted you to see.

One of the other things I've been excited to see is Lexie's new bag shape, the McCoy.


Now, this print is called Lotus and it's not on her site because the factory screwed up and the color isn't what she'd ordered. I personally love the color as is, but Lexie is the designer, and what she says goes! Meanwhile, if you like this pattern, you can grab it if you move fast. Lexie is having a sample sale, this coming Saturday (Oct 3) from 10-5. She'll have bags in this Lotus fabric (limited quantity of course), special deals on sample Classic Lexie totes, and other surprises.

Anyway, back to the McCoy -- yup, she gave me one of them to take home with me and you'll never guess what fits inside this bag:


That's my sopranino ukulele. Fits in perfectly, with tons of room to spare for yarn and everything else a traveling knitter might want. My full review of the bag will be in the winter issue of Knitty, but I just couldn't keep my lips zipped about this one, especially for those who are close enough to grab a sample at the sale this weekend.

---

So that's a very spotty, very shwag-oriented catch-up post. I'm home for a two-month stretch now and you may see a little more action on the blog than you're used to.

I need to be packing...

So of course I'm going to write a blog post instead!

Hello, blog! How are you? I've thought about you more frequently in the last few days. Lots to talk about! [I promise not to continue this anthropomorphication of the blog any further. It's getting creepy already.]

---

If you've been following my Twitter feed, you know I've been in a Sock Summit preparation frenzy for the last month. I understand many of the other instructors have been similarly focused/freaked out and it's a bit of a comfort. See, these are two brand-new classes I'm teaching at Sock Summit: simultaneously exciting and terrifying. I can't even begin to go into everything that's been running through my head, so I just won't.

I do know that I'm looking forward to Thursday night when I will have finished teaching each class once, and can breathe a little easier. I want to kick ass with these classes [without actually kicking anyone in the ass, because I don't think the students would like that].

---

It didn't occur to me that I might need to get a massage before the trip because my neck and upper back would seize up, so I didn't book one. And I guess my favorite miracle worker is away for the weekend, so oh well. We pulled out the Thumper and hub went to town and it has helped!

I'll book her for when I return. Because man, will I have earned it!

---

You probably know I think the internet is a wonderful place, and this next story just proves it once again.

I'm enamored [understatement] with the ukulele. I adore playing it -- not that I'm fabulous, just that it makes me SO HAPPY. Here's a little something my BUFFs [best uke friends forever] and I worked up a few weekends ago...Take the Skinheads Bowling. Original version by the incomparable Camper Van Beethoven. Our take is the world premiere of our new girl group: No Skanks On Sunday.

One thing girl uke players have to deal with is that our natural appendages get in the way of holding the uke flat against our chest like guys get to do. This makes it harder for us to play -- or some of us, anyway. So I posted a query on my favorite ukulele forum asking if anyone had ever tried to alter the architecture of the ukulele to accommodate our protrusions, and the discussion didn't go south...it got really positive, constructive and interesting, really quick! Here's the thread in case you're interested.

The summary: the back and forth discussion prompted one forum member to ask about making a concave-backed uke, which I thought was a brilliant idea. After the jokes about custom cup-sized ukes were finished [can't blame them], up stepped a skilled and kind luthier who wanted to give it a shot. In fact, he offered to build a prototype for me and just send it to me. As a gift.

I was floored. His name is Brad Donaldson and you can google him, but you won't find much right now. I offered to build him a website for his work as a thank you, and he's accepted...so that makes me really happy. [No, I won't start work on it until fall Knitty has gone live, promise.] Brad lives about an hour and a half outside of Portland [you know, where SOCK SUMMIT is being held this week?]. So tomorrow, when I get off the plane, I'll be heading to pick up my rental car and driving out to get my brand-new first-ever concave-back ukulele.

Once Brad got into working on this project, he was on fire. Every day, I got a progress e-mail with pictures. He started upgrading the wood he was using, because he could tell it was working out well and he wanted it to be even prettier than he'd planned at first. So instead of solid mahogany [which is fabulous enough], it's now mahogany and quilted maple with rosewood trim and abalone fret markers and his logo. Here, some pictures of the uke without the finish on:







and the money shot:



Look at the curve in that back! He's already strung it up and says it sounds great, and since then, has applied a gorgeous gloss finish which has been curing for the last few weeks. Tomorrow, I get to pick it up and play it. I am so excited, it's hard to think straight.

I'll post pics when I'm back home in a week, so you can enjoy it with me, but if you follow the Twitter feed, you'll see a snapshot or two as soon as I have it. For Sock Summit attendees who are curious, yes, it'll be with me all the time during the week so you can peek at it.

I'm also quite certain that Brad will build one of these for other people as well. I believe he's already started on a few. So I'll share his contact details when it's okay with him.

Like I said, the internet is an amazing place where great things happen.

---

Underwear is washing, suitcases pulled out of hiding and my new treat to myself for this trip is ready to be loaded: it's an ePac rolling backpack. Key feature for me: easy access pocket for my laptop so when I get to airline security, I don't have to unpack my bag to get at it. [The bag I've had for the last 3 years only works when the laptop is on the bottom of everything else. Ack!]

I already feel my travel mood improving as a result. I'm just tired of fighting with luggage in front of every xray machine.

There's room in it for a little spindle and fiber, some knitting and even a pocket at the very back for my class handouts, so it's the perfect travel bag. And cheap at $79.

So there you have it. My pre-trip update. There will be no WWW news this week, for obvious reasons. Mel is going to collect more good stuff for the next week and it'll go up when I'm back.

---

I'm looking forward to meeting all sorts of people this week, and hope everyone has a great time at the Summit. And for those not going, I'm quite certain that the benefits of this event will trickle down to the entire sock-knitting community in the form of new patterns, books and ideas that we can all share.

Have a great week, everyone!

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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

The Knitty LYS shwag shop is open!

It all started back here. LYS owner Stacy wrote with a brilliant suggestion that now is a tangible thingy. At the brand-new Knitty LYS Shwag Shop you'll find 4 and 6-packs of Post-its, pre-customized to make referring folks to Knitty patterns as easy as possible! You'll also find brand-new window clings and this year's edition of the 1" Knitty button.

Sure, this stuff is meant for LYSOs. But the window clings and buttons? Any red-blooded Knitty knitter just might want some of those for themselves. Anyone is welcome to place an order.

Let's hear it for shwag!

You guys have the best ideas.

So in the comments to my last post, out comes Stacy with a brilliant idea. Knitty post-its for LYS owners, customized to make referring their customers to a Knitty pattern as easy as possible.

Design done. Order goes in Monday. It's a brilliant idea and I'm not the least bit bothered that I didn't think of it myself. Knitty has always been all about collaboration, and dammit if this isn't just more proof of it.

I've got a few other things I'm stocking up on as well and when it's all ready, I'll let you know so if you need some, you can get some!

Thank you, Stacy, for the lightbulb! I'm looking forward to thanking you in person one of these days :-)

The great joy of the after-Knitty rush

Rush as in endorphin rush [not as in "Rush! You must go somewhere!" because I've just done that mentally for 3 solid weeks]. There is this weird feeling when I put a new issue up for the world to see. First, there are little things that always need fixing. Always. Then people send in the loveliest notes and that is such a fine, fine way to spend an afternoon. Often, a nap follows [more like a passing out with relief, but usually in nap form].

The next day...what the heck do I do with myself? If you read this blog, you'll notice that I start to make lists of all the things I want to do that I couldn't do until the issue was live. So why break with tradition? Here's the list!

- In the middle of the production crunch, Claudia blogged about a sale on Grafton Fibers Darn Pretty Needles [DPNs...get it?]. They'd been out of my price range -- justifiably, since they're not only gorgeous, but totally handmade in Vermont -- but at the sale price? I ordered two sets. Checking their site today, I see there's a new colorway on sale. OOOh, so tempting.

- So what will I do with my brand-new DPNs? Well, there's this big sock thingy I'm lucky enough to be teaching at. And I have got a lot of socks to knit before August, so I'm going to get started! Knitting on pretty handmade needles makes everything even better.

- I'm eyeing the ugly living-room curtains with the same critical eye I took to our naked dining-room window after the last issue was finished. Time to get out the Bernina again! Just waiting for the right fabric to show up at Ikea.

- I have two gorgeous bags of hand dyed silk roving bought at Rhinebeck last fall. I am going to spin and ply all of it on my Ladybug in a reasonable amount of time. It's only 4 oz [though in silk, 4 oz goes a long way]. Will! Do! It!

- The ukulele group I belong to has a rather primitive forum architecture and I have been given supreme administrative powers to slap it into shape. The software is fine, it's just that the nice guys who set it up are musicians first. :-) Am scared I'll make it all go boom, so am taking my time.

- I need to design new Knitty shwag.

- I need to prepare for Maryland, because this year I AM GOING! I know it's crazy busy crowded with spinners and knitters and not as familiar to me as every inch of Rhinebeck is, but that's half the fun. Plus I'm going as part of Jennie the Potter's posse, which means I get in a day early to help her set up. And maybe map out the grounds a little to know what's where.

- I have a few big ideas for Maryland. Watch this space. I'm not telling yet.

- And I'm knitting, really. The top-down raglan in Lorna's Laces new Pearl yarn is going along swimmingly. Amy Swenson, new resident of Toronto [yay!!] and I are working on the design together. It's very simple, designed to take advantage of the drape of the non-woolly fibers in the yarn. Pictures forthcoming, promise.

And now I need to get to it!

By the way, I know my blogging has been pretty spotty for a while, and though part of it is due to the requirements of magazine production, most of it is due to Twitter. It's so easy to whip off a few sentences and maybe attach a single picture that it makes blogging seem ever so much harder. :-)

For those with RSS-feed readers, if you care to read the Twitterings of a geek knitting magazine editor, you'll find the feed here: http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/18513281.rss

I will not be abandoning the blog, no sir! But I am loving the Twitter.

Downward-facing head, but a little treat for you!

Longtime knittyBlog readers know that, as new issue time approaches, my head goes down and posting gets a little weird around here. So as I get into it, I leave you with a little something!

Have you wanted a Lexie Barnes Lady B bag for a while? It's a huge favorite among Knitty staffers and readers alike! Her current collection of Lady B bags is marked down to a crazy low $65 [usual price $130]

Well, because Lexie is the coolest, she's offering an EXTRA 10% discount on these great bags for Knitty readers. Coupon code: iluvknitty

Click here and you can choose your favorite of the three available prints.

Happy Lexie day!

Independent designers and independent magazines go together like tortilla chips and salsa...

...or insert your favorite food combination here.

So there's been a whole lot of discussion on the web about the struggles of independent knitting designers, the challenges of those who publish the work of independent designers, and everything that relationship means. The discussion is explained here. It's a complex issue, and one made more challenging by the innovative possibilities the internet makes available to designers and knitters alike.

Knitty has a unique place in the designer->magazine->knitter continuum, and that's on purpose. I started Knitty in order to publicize and support the work of independent designers who were giving it away for free on their blogs. You can read what I wrote in the first issue here. Happily, Knitty grew quickly from a sweet, tiny thing into a robust magazine, thanks to the support of indie designers, a growing number of readers, and the final piece of the puzzle: our advertisers.

Since day one, Knitty has always been clear on one thing: the work of each designer and author belongs to THEM, not to us. They allow us to publish their work exclusively for a short 3-month period on our website in exchange for a modest honorarium. Afterwards, they do with it as they please, which means their work can continue to generate revenue for them. The other thing we offer to independent designers is, frankly, a huge audience -- 2.7 million site visits in December 2008.

I am so proud of the designers we've featured over the years, some who want careers as designers, and some who just have great knitting ideas. This kind of independent, spontaneous creativity is what I want to be able to continue to share through Knitty for many, many years to come.

I was really touched to read this post that Shannon Okey wrote about Knitty on this topic. She writes about how she's supporting Knitty and why she thinks that support is important.

There are many ways to support Knitty.
Designers and authors do it by sharing their work with us and our readers.

Readers can do it by:

• clicking on the ads in our issues and shopping with our advertisers when they need knitting supplies or want a treat. Since Knitty is free to readers because of our advertisers, this is the most important way readers can show their support!
  
  
• visiting our Knittyshop, where each sale sends a few dollars directly to Knitty...and when you wear Knitty gear, you help promote the magazine, too!
  
  
• joining our grassroots marketing team by telling knitters and yarn shops about Knitty when you come across someone who's never heard of us. We've got a simple letter-sized flyer that you can print, cut up and pass out when you need to...you'll find it here.
  

People have been writing me for quite a while, asking if they could send a financial contribution directly to Knitty as well. After reading Shannon's post, it seemed time for me to put a Tip Jar on the counter. Does it feel strange to do this? Um, yeah. But I also know what it's like to be on the other side -- wanting to show your appreciation for something you love in a tangible way.

If you'd like to support Knitty with a donation, here's what to do:

1. To use a Paypal account or a credit card, click on the Send some love to Knitty! button above. You'll be able to fill in the amount you wish to send and then complete the transaction.

2. To send a check/cheque, payable to Knitty Magazine, here's our address:

Knitty Magazine
2255b Queen Street East
#527
Toronto ON
M4E 1G3

Because Knitty is not a charitable organization, your donation is not tax deductible. Our donors names and e-mail addresses are kept strictly confidential, but the Knitty editorial staff will know you've donated and we all thank you for your support!

Writing this post reminds me, once again, how lucky Jillian, Mandy and I feel to have knitters, yarn companies, yarn shops, publishing companies and other craftspeople wanting to support independent design and publishing in general, and Knitty specifically. And that this little magazine I started more than 6 years ago, because of a passion for knitting and knitters, and a desire to work with people I care about and admire, has become important to so many people.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I always knew Amanda of Lorna's Laces had a big heart, and now we've got photographic proof.

[Amanda knit her huge heart out of Lorna's Shepherd Bulky in the color Red Rover, following the Knitty pattern for everything except gauge. Love it!]

Hope you have a love-filled day! Hug someone!

You thought I was kidding?

We really do have a lot of shops that specialize in down products, many of them started by European immigrants to Canada in middle of the 20th century. Some are big chains, but I love finding an independent shop where they really understand their craft.

How do you find such luxuries in Canada? Why, simply visit the website of The Down Association of Canada. That's where I found Daniadown -- the company I bought the twin duvets from earlier this year. I'm not sure where I'll be taking the two-pillow project, but that's what the whole winter is for.

---

Meanwhile, it's quiet around the blog and you guys know why. We're on the new server now and, knock wood, all seems to be as promised. Hub is going happynuts with programming things he was unable to on the old server. My happy geek boy.

Speaking of my geek boy, question: I've blindly cast on [after swatching and getting gauge] for a pair of kilt hose. I have 4 balls of Bulky Fixation and I'm wondering if that will be enough for his size-10 feet. Does anyone have any feedback for me?

[He doesn't read the blog. He's very much NOT a blog boy.]

---
I'm picking up a special present at the airport today. I'm selfishly excited to have my good friend moving here. I know the next few months will be a challenge for her and Sandra, but I'm hoping I can help a little.

---

Okay, head back down!

Knitty secrets revealed!

Okay, so I don't always talk about the business behind the scenes, but this is something you guys need to know about!

You know how, whenever a new issue of Knitty is released, the site gets bogged down and unreliable for about 6-8 hours? And then it's fine again? That's because we're on a shared server with an "unlimited traffic" account that we set up in 2002. It worked very well for quite a while, but as our readership grew [yay!], our server couldn't keep up.

About 2 years ago, we moved to a "better" account with the same webhost that was supposed to alleviate the problems. Those of you with long memories will remember that it was a disaster that shut the site down for hours and hours [not just a slowdown, but a complete stoppage of data] until we returned to our old server. Oy.

So more than a year ago, the hub [aka CTO of Knitty] started seriously pushing for us to upgrade our server situation. It's taken that much time for us to weigh our options, seek out solid solutions and finally, unbelievably, choose a provider. We signed up with the new provider today.

This is a huge deal for us. Moving to the new server should be almost invisible to you, and will likely happen in the next few days. Then we get to play with it, making sure it really does what they said it would. And then we get to implement the new features we put in place in September [the thing that made the server go boom seconds after we went live? that's the thing I'm talking about] and see how we do for the winter issue.

This means that the launch of the winter issue will be a breath-holding few hours for the hub and I. You guys are fabulously determined websurfers and we expect to be pounded with traffic the moment we launch, as usual. This time, we're 99.9% sure the new server can take it and more with no slowdowns! But as a practised skeptic, I'll believe it works when I see it working.

Should we have any trouble on launch day, please know we'll be doing our best to get it sorted out as quickly as possible. But our hope is that you won't notice any difference at all, except that you won't have to post "New Knitty's UP [and I can't get at the site]" on any message board ever again.

---

The other thing the new server means is still a secret! We've been working on a sister site to Knitty [nope, not Knittyspin] since 2004. We plan to let the beta version loose as soon as we can. We're really excited about this new site and we hope you will be, too. It's something we believe knitters have wanted for ages, and we're looking forward to telling you all about it. When we can.

no, seriously. Devo!

Thank you to everyone for the good wishes! Special thanks to Rache in the comments who found the FTP app that is TOTALLY going to solve 1/2 of the remainder of my connectivity problems. Brilliant! Now if someone can just find an app that will let me run Keynote presentations from the iPhone -- because look at this projector! -- I'll be all set!

---

Meanwhile, in Knitty parts [why does that sound dirty?], I'm wondering why I am hearing zero Devo web buzz after the surprise came out. Dudes. I know Nicky named her scarf Skullface, and I haven't even asked her about the Devo resemblance, but I feel this cannot be ignored.

We knitters now have a chart for Devo heads. Why are we not running to our stashes, casting on for Devo socks, Devo cowls, Devo tunics of extreme proportions? It's not even fair isle...it's MOSAIC! Even I can do mosaic knitting!

Nobody? It's just me?

I leave you to mock me in the comments. I can take it. Sort of.

Rhinebeck 2008 encapsulates the glory of fall.

I've been to Rhinebeck three times now, and this year was the first that really felt like fall. Brilliant fall colors and a significant chill in the air. In fact, I was so programmed by previous visits where knitwear = shvitz that I underpacked and missed two great silk sweater days. Yes, it was that cold.

For those who'd rather look than read, the full photostream is here. For the rest of you, a brief walking tour.


I met many new-to-me Knitty and Knittyspin readers this trip. This group of glowingly happy women were just the first 3 out of a whole group of them. Happy friends getting to hang together. That's what Rhinebeck means to me. [That sounded like the title of a grade 5 essay, didn't it? Sorry.]


My friend Jennie the Potter -- that's her on the right -- made her first professional appearance at Rhinebeck this year and her booth was continually full of jaw-dropped fiber freaks.


Watch for more on Jennie's newest offerings in the winter issue of Knitty.


I finally got to meet Lynne Vogel, who was as fun as this picture suggests.


Of course, I got to hang with Jillian [far right] and Carla [far left], as well as the bonus hanging with Kay and Ann [and Ann's friend Kelly] as we lined up and lunched on chicken pot pies.


Not all girls, though! Stephen, Franklin [sometimes] and Sean were Scout's unofficial posse as she made her way through her first Rhinebeck, which means I got to see a lot of them.

My pictures are pretty lame when it comes to capturing most of my friends, though. Like where are pictures of me and Scout? Me and anyone, for that matter? For some reason, I was living the fun, not thinking about blogging it. I guess that's not so bad, but it doesn't make for a very electrifying blog post. :-)

Speaking of Scout, she picked me up at the Newark airport and we got to drive to Rhinebeck and back together. It was so good to have a little time with her, since she lives so danged far away, and we laughed a lot. We also found the best pickle [sour new dill] on Route 17 in New Jersey. I will be dreaming of that pickle for a long time.

I didn't make it to any big meetups or the Rav party. I was feeling a little insular and wanted to be with a smaller group of friends this time. I still got to meet tons of people as I walked all through the grounds, and that was great!

Every single button and sticker was passed out to Knitty fans and a lot of you guys were much less shy than you've been in the past. Rock on! You know, you never have to apologize for coming up to say hi or that you like Knitty. That's the nicest thing I can ever hear. And I heard it a lot this weekend. So thank you to each and every person who took the time to poke me on the shoulder and grin at me. I send you all hugs.

---

There are two more Rhinebeck posts coming. Stay tuned!

---

Anyone notice anything different about the blog?

are you going to one of Neil Gaiman's upcoming signings? and more about all sorts of yarn!

He's not coming anywhere near Canada, but he IS going all over the US and onwards. Does anyone who reads this blog plan on going and getting an autographed copy of the new Graveyard Book? If so, would it be possible for you to buy a copy of his book for me and have it signed, too? Of course I'll pay the cost of the book, postage and I'll send you some beauty yarn as a thank you.

For those who love Neil, but didn't know about the tour, here is a post with all the dates/times/locations:

Neil Gaiman's Journal: The Graveyard Book Tour

---

We are just a few days away from the next Yarn Roundtable and we have a few spaces left. If you're going to be in Toronto this Thursday night, we'd love to have you join us! Visit the Yarn Roundtable blog and leave a comment to the September post to RSVP.

I have heard rumors about a home-baked chocolate cake making an appearance. It would be criminal to miss it.

What has happened since last I wrote...

• I became a cover girl [as designer only. Julia is the super-hot model in my knitwear on the ONLY hot day so far this month. And she looked so good in the cowl, I had to give it to her.]
  
  
• Wait, cover? What cover? Don't you know about Knittyspin? This issue, it got its own cover. Dang well about time, too.
  
  
• Yup, fall Knitty came out, and this time, we've got yer printer-friendly pages for ya! This is why I have been a hermit the last month or so.
  
  
• My uke fingers are all soft again. Poo. Haven't been able to touch the thing in a week. Back at it to get my fretting fingers back in shape!
  
  
• I have been knitting behind the scenes for relaxation! Progress is being made on the Luscious Silk lace Sonnet. Photos forthcoming, but don't you dare make me get the camera out again today, okay?

I'm sure there's more, but I can barely see the screen now, so I say byebye. Big love. Sleepies now.

i'm going mental, i must say.

but it's a good kind of mental. the knitty-production kind which means never leaving my office [my house] for more than a short break and dreaming in pixels and stitches per inch.

it's all for good reason but i figured you wondered where i'd gone and didn't want you sending out the troops just yet. okay, maybe send one troop, skilled in multiple massage disciplines [thai, swedish, maybe a little shiatsu on the side] and beverage making. and housecleaning. and laundry. and litterbox changing.

i extra-special hope you'll love this issue. you'll see why when we go live. and that's all i'm saying.

Wanna get your mitts on some yarn?

There's no better way than to attend one of our Knitty Yarn Roundtable Nights! I've just announced the next cycle of openings -- September, October and November. You can RSVP for one of the events in the cycle...this is the fairest way to give everyone a chance to play. Instructions on how to RSVP are on the Yarn Roundtable blog.

Did you know:
- Everyone gets to knit all 5 yarns at each event
- Many of these yarns will be new to you, some will be old friends
- The Purple Purl -- our hosts -- makes great coffee, tea and has amazing baked goods.
- Everyone goes home with a little something...and sometimes a big something. There are always door prizes at Knitty events, you know!
- It doesn't matter where you live; if you can get to Toronto for the event, we would love to have you! We've had guests from all over the US and Canada!

Wanna see the results of previous Yarn Roundtable nights? Peek here and here!

looking as cool as a Fisher & Paykel

My office has recently had a makeover. Wanna see?



What, it doesn't look so different from the last time, except significantly messier? Well, you're not paying attention, then.



Every good office should have a ukulele. [and a Pee-Wee bobblehead and a set of 3 Serenity action figures including Captain Tightpants in said pants and Jayne with a bigass gun].

But wait -- here's the best thing. Did I buy this $14.95 custom-designed hanger to get my uke out of oops-i-just-sat-on-my-uke range?



No. I went to Rona and bought this, except smaller and in grey:


For 80 cents. What the hell costs 80 cents anymore? Not even a pack of gum. I feel quite clever.

---

Also! The Knitty Calendar Contest ends tomorrow night at midnight! Have you sent in your entry yet? You know you want to.

knitting! really! actual knitting!

a little yarn pr0n to get you in the Saturday knitting mood. last time you saw this yarn, it looked like this. i am so deeply in love with this yarn. as are all the people who've been lucky enough to touch it. there is always a little soft moaning accompanied by noticeably dilated pupils. :-)

i'm knitting Sonnet, but with lace instead of garter and moss stitch. it's a sexy, slippery silk. the finished fabric will, without question, stretch. why am i going on?

i have decided to keep knitting in an act of blind-but-with-a-little-experience-faith. i have mentally upsized my gauge from the actual 4.5sts/in to 4 sts/in, in order to accommodate the fabric growth that we all know will happen. i reduced the needle size so that the fabric is tightly constructed [yet still drapey and lovely] before it gets a chance to grow when worn.

it all sounds like a crapshoot, yes? but it's fast knitting, so i'm not dedicating months of my life to a potential future frogfest.



i'm already at the first armhole, and the fabric is gorgeous. sizewise, i think it will be fine, especially since the lace feels infinitely flexible. in No Sheep, i wrote about how to test your geeky thing before you start knitting to get a good idea of what might happen to the finished fabric. no, i haven't done any of those things. because i'm quite sure that this sweater will either work or it won't, and i just won't know until the body is done. this huge mass of gorgeousness in 2-ply hand dyed silk will do whatever the hell it wants to, and until i've shaped it into a sweater body, no amount of swatching, pre-washing and blocking in advance will predict the result.

and i'm okay with that.

can somebody please remove these cutleries from my knees?

and now, i end the teasing. look what arrived in my mailbox last week.





4 skeins of sex brand-new Blue Moon Luscious Silk in the colorway Gypsum. i had no idea it was coming. so i opened the package and then i had to sit down because all the blood drained out of my head. i rubbed it all over the public parts of myself [don't get gross now] and made soft moaning noises.

if you haven't been stalking the Blue Moon website [or the new development, Tina's blog!], you might not have noticed the new additions to the site. silk. one or two-ply and worsted-weightish. can you stand it? more stunningly, 360 yards of this gorgeous hand-dyed-by-Tina silk is only $28.

then i ran to the swift and turned the first skein into a cake and started swatching.

jillian has taught me that long stretches of color aren't going to work so well horizontally on my bod, but if i knit side to side...



and when i think side to side, of course i think of kristi porter, which is why a lacy variation of Sonnet is going to be the next thing on my needles. lace because it's cooler [and silk is warmer than wool, so coolness must be factored in to the design plan!] and because 4 skeins of this sex gorgeous 2-ply silk = 1440 yards means it needs to be lacy if i want it to be long-sleeved. and i do.

i'm knitting something for fall Knitty as well, and it's damned hard to concentrate on deadline knitting with this stuff looking at me and winking seductively. oh, my life is so hard, isn't it?

got an hour to kill?

Yup, I done opened my mouth again. This time, the podcast was CraftSanity, and what you'll hear is me sounding more like me than any other interview I've done.

You know how sometimes you know stuff but you haven't had to articulate it so the stuff just floats around your head, all nebulous? Well, in this podcast, Jennifer, the host, got it all out of me.

I'm not one for Mission Statements. I think they're kind of pompous and usually pretty generic. But this podcast is about as close as I'll get to stating Knitty's mission...so if you are interested in why Knitty does things the way we do, give it a listen.

And then come back and tell me what you think, will you?

knitting math

+

+

+
a mystery ingredient =
the newest thing on my needles.


how's that for a weekend-eve teaser?

music that's making Knitty go today

[his website makes me giggle. listen to all the stuff he's done for each of the pages. don't click too fast!]



keep your hands off my teevee boyfriend -- jemaine.
[hey, j, the mustache could go, but don't you dare touch the sideburns]

lather, rinse, repeat.
um, yes, please.

a little more of TNNA

So you saw I got to spend a little time with Franklin. Then I read his blog and found the image at left...which was part of the best post on TNNA I've ever read. You must read it. It's here. The cartoons made me snort in my chair. Out loud, even. I believe I scared the rabbits.

As usual, lots of the stuff I got to peek at will become parts of future issues of Knitty, so I can't talk about them here. Here's what I can tell you.

I lost my voice suddenly, while talking to co-zone-of-funner Shannon Okey on Friday night. Yes, the night before the trade show. It just suddenly went pop, and was gone. Some time after this photo was taken. [BTW, I may look pensive in the shot, but really, I'm just thinking. :-)]

This photo shows that I didn't need to have a voice to have fun. This is the gang at the Tip Top again, posing for miss Mim.

Meanwhile, between the shmoozing and the business card swapping and much of what Franklin chronicles in that blog post above, there was also some surprise gifting.

Beth, who owns and operates the delightful Spinning Loft in Howell, MI brought little pouches, branded with her adorable shop logo [my favorite sheepies!] for a whole bunch of us. My pouch was filled with 2 oz of undyed Seacell. Yes, I buried my nose in it. I can't wait to spin it. On a spindle, even. I wrote more about my new love affair with my spindles in my most recent Knittyspin column, in case you missed it. So Beth, thank you for a kickass and super-timely present!

And then there's Abby, she of Abby's Yarns? I have no idea what I did to deserve this [probably nothing :-)], but she gifted me with her handspun. HER. HANDSPUN. There was nearly an embarrassing moment which involved plotzing and the aftermath there of, but I managed to hold it together.

Hang on. You can't really see the yarn [did I mention it is Abby's handspun?] in that shot. Look here:

Laceweight singles so delicious you could eat them with a tiny laceweight-enabled spoon. Public additional thanks [beyond my hugging and stuff] to Abby for this beauteous eye candy.

And now, I've got to run out to The Purple Purl [this is not a hardship, let's be clear on that]. It's time for the June Yarn Roundtable and just WAIT till the knitters see what I've got for them tonight!

[Tomorrow is all about the Harlot, Franklin and knitting in public. Let's hope the rain holds off, because wet knitters make a funny noise when you squeeze them.]

---

p.s.! did you know? The Purple Purl is having a KIP day event tomorrow, too! So after I go nuts at Lettuce Knit, I'll be heading back to the Purl to knit in the park with my girls. Join us!

Strapping the boys on tight

Before I deal with the title of this post, a little note. Knitty's summer issue is live, with a bullet! I've had fun watching the patterns get queued on Ravelry. Currently, Seascape and Spring Forward are trading first place back and forth. What a blast!

---

Then there's this: People have been asking where they can get a copy of the Montego Bay Scarf pattern [my design that was published in Interweave Knits last summer]. I believe that issue of the magazine can be ordered directly from Interweave, but of course it's long gone from most LYSs.

So I decided it was time to make the pattern available on my own. I strapped the boys on, got out my magic Macintosh tools of glee and this is the result. You can now find the PDF of the Montego Bay Scarf for sale on my designer page at Ravelry.

eta: um, that is, you *will* be able to find it once I get approved by Casey. I kind of missed that step. :-) I'll write again when it's ready.

---

You might wonder why I can make a PDF of this one pattern but not of all the back issues of Knitty. Well, that's easy: this pattern is one simple two-page pattern. We're working on an elegant, all-encompassing, automated system for Knitty, and until we've got that in place, manually creating PDFs [which is what I've done for this one pattern] is just impractical.

This is all said just to let you know that I haven't forgotten about this important issue. It's one of the big things we're working on this summer.

There are others. What are they? You don't really think I'm going to tell you until they're ready for public consumption, do you? [I'm such a tease, I know.]

---

More on TNNA later. Oh, and there are just a few spots left for tomorrow night's Yarn Roundtable. If you're quick, you can sneak in!

happy birthday to my favorite girl

It's the day Jillian was born! It's also the day she popped out her first sprog* [my darling nearly niece]! It is a day for worldwide celebration!

Without Jillian, there would be no Knitty. She's been the other half of my brain for longer than I can remember. [That sounds like a joke, but really isn't.] We've written books together and still love each other. She's also the most fun best friend a girl could have. Ever.

So [since she rarely posts on her blog], please leave a little note of love for her in the comments to this post. Some of you have met her in person, but even those who haven't have felt her skill and prowess [ooh!] if you read Knitty on a regular basis.

*"popping a sprog" is a delightful east-coast Canadian expression which sounds kind of rude but isn't, therefore it makes me giggle.

Knitty 2008 Reader Survey -- whoops!

Are you sure this isn't a Monday morning?

I launched the surprise [woot!] and with it, our new reader survey. Inexplicably, the first question was missing ages over 60, which was totally not intentional. So I had to pull the survey offline to correct it. As a result, you'll find the corrected survey at a new URL:

Knitty 2008 Reader Survey.

Please spread the word if you see others who are frustrated with the situation. I'll send out this new URL tomorrow with the contest winner announcement. I don't think people really want THREE messages from me in less than an hour.

Thanks for understanding.

The biggest contest Knitty has ever had

Sometime on April 13th, Knitty reached an insanely great milestone: 50 million individual site visits. FIFTY MILLION.

As you can imagine, there was much hooting and hollering of happiness. This is a big deal for us, and it's all because of our readers. So we sat down and thought about how we could thank you guys for reading, linking to, talking about and knitting from Knitty magazine. And one thing came to mind: really great shwag.

I contacted some of the Knitty favorites and was answered each time with a resounding, "Yes! We want to celebrate with you!" Knitters, we have ourselves a contest.

How do you enter? It's so easy, it's almost embarrassing. Just sign up for the Knitty mailing list which we:
a) never sell or give to anyone, EVER, and never will
b) only send messages to a few times a year about Knitty-related news and events, like when a new issue or surprise goes live!

Okay. So why would you want to enter this contest? Please sit down. You may need a cold compress on your forehead in order to make it through the list of prizes.



One lucky winner will be chosen at random [using the random number generator] from the members of the Knitty mailing list and will receive:

From Lexie of Lexie Barnes, a $250 gift certificate to her shop!





From Beth of Lorna's Laces,
a sweater's worth of the Lorna's Laces yarn of your choice, in your choice of color!




From Potter Craft, you'll get these six knitting books:
Big Girl Knits * More Big Girl Knits * A Fine Fleece
Twinkle's Weekend Knits * Tweed * Shear Spirit






From Knitting Out Loud, their entire library of knit-related audio books:
Stitch & Bitch * America Knits * A History of Hand Knitting
Knitting Memories * No Idle Hands * The Art of Fair Isle Knitting





From Jennifer of Stitch Diva, her entire library of more than 40 Stitch Diva Patterns in knit, crochet and hairpin lace!





From Cat Bordhi, her entire collection, autographed, including all 4 of her revolutionary moebius and sock knitting books and her novel, Treasure Forest.





We can't stand it. This is about as big as we've ever done anything, and we're super excited! Tell your knitting friends -- it's as easy as joining the Knitty mailing list. And that's pretty danged easy. Are you already on the list? Then you're already eligible to win!

Contest winner will be chosen by a random number generator on May 1, 2008 at 9 am eastern time [that's Toronto/New York time for those that will cut it close]. The random number will correspond to the person's numeric place in the Knitty Yahoo Group [home of the mailing list], which is assigned by date registered. The winner will be announced later that day on this blog, through the Knitty group itself and probably by random strangers on the street.

where i am...

This candid picture shows your intrepid Knitty editor and Knittyspin editor/catalyst in the midst of their quarterly staff meeting. Not pictured are intrepid ad manager, Steph, and intrepid technical editor, Mandy, who are linked in on a Skype conference call from various locations across the Canadian border.

Not kidding. This issue's Knitty meeting took place under Jillian's dining room table. A very time and cost-effective meeting, as always, plus it's extra fun to work in a fort! What would we do without Skype? What would I do without Jillian?

---

Today is the launch party for More Big Girl Knits, v1.0 at Threadbear. We start at 1pm and need to be home for dinner, so come early, try on the garments from the book and eat cupcakes with us!

My tax dollars at work!

This is really cool. I was contacted by Karen at Library and Archives Canada [a government agency that keeps a record of all publications in the country]. When she first wrote, I wondered if I was in trouble, but it's just the opposite.

I am writing to you today on behalf of Library and Archives Canada with a request to archive and make accessible your online journal, Knitty, http://www.knitty.com/ . Library and Archives Canada's mandate is to ensure this country's printed and recorded heritage is acquired, preserved and made accessible for present and future generations. To that end, we would like to ensure that our collection includes your online journal, Knitty.

In January 2007, the Legal Deposit Act was extended to include electronic publications and web sites. As a Canadian publisher, you are required to send us your online publication so that we may archive it and make it available for future generations of Canadians...We would take a periodic snapshot of your website in order to have a copy of the current issue, store the files on our servers, make them available to the public in the Library's Electronic Collection and make information about the online journal available in AMICUS, our online database which is used by reasearchers, libraries, schools and book sellers.

How freaking cool is that?

Anyway, Karen wrote today and the archiving is complete. She'll be adding to it every year with our new issues. Wanna see? Here it is. Our advertisers might be amused that their ads will live on forever, too!

I never plan to take Knitty down, ever [!], but this is a nice thing.

alive! and More Big Girl Knits launch party nooz!

So it's like this. I came home from Ann Arbor, popped out a Knitty :-) [why does that sound dirty?] and then got in the car with hub and drove to Vermont.

The Mindful Knitting retreat was amazing, eye-opening and huge fun. Full deets are being saved for a future article in the Knitty.

Of course, while relaxing, I got a[nother?] cold. So maybe the post-Florida thing was allergies, because this certainly ain't. I have never gone through so much kleenex in 4 days in my whole life.

---

Super-quick party announcement, aka SAVE THE DATE!

More Big Girl Knits launch party, v 1.0
location: Threadbear Fiber Arts, East Lansing, MI
date: April 13th, 1pm
the boys know how to throw a big party and we can't wait!

More Big Girl Knits launch party v 1.1
location: Lettuce Knit, Toronto, ON
date: April 26th, 7pm [conveniently timed to let you finish up at the Knitter's Frolic and then come and join us in Kensington Market!]

Jillian and I will be at both parties, as well as
- samples from the book [possibly their only appearance en masse as we have to return them to the designers shortly]
- cupcakes
- the new Big Girls book in the flesh [both shops will have them for sale]

and other surprises!

Bring your friends, turn it into a road trip and let's make these parties huge and memorable!

blueberry love + flaaaaridaaaaah

way back when my gall bladder and i broke up, the Purlescence girls sent me a get-well love package. it worked! :-)

the sparkly stuff on the right is Blue Heron Rayon Metallic in the deliciously named color Blueberry. i've had it hanging in front of my desk since it arrived and last night, a little lost without a quick-knit sweater to work on, i cracked it open and cast on for the simplest thing ever: a triangular shawl in garter stitch based on the Tuscany silhouette. perfect travel knitting and so beautiful to look at.

---

travel knitting? why, yes. this is very odd to me, but i'm going to florida. this is something many people do every winter, but i've never gotten to be one of them. until this year, when my chicago-based parents got all, "winter is too cold! we must escape!" and rented a place on the gulf side for the whole month. the whole fam has been invited to visit sometime during the span, and my week starts tomorrow.

luckily for me, the house has wi-fi, because i'm full-on into spring Knitty mode and can't stop. but it will be mighty nice to take breaks and such by the pool in the backyard. wow.

so...i'm not into touristy stuff, but is there some amazing fibery thing i can't miss that's gulf-side, an hour or so south of Tampa?

---

hub's staying home to concentrate on programming, watch many boring documentaries and fuss over the bunnies.

---

psst:


yup, that's color accurate. can you stand it?

FINALLY! progress!

remember this? i just now, at the end of December, got to the separation of the back from the two fronts. i started it in March. clearly i lost steam somewhere around albuquerque.

every row is so damned long [this sweater is knit in one piece to the armholes] and though it's an easy stitch pattern to remember, it's not as mindless or quick as the stuff i usually choose. still, i do love the fabric and picturing actually wearing the thing is keeping me going.

so yes. i'm at the point where i just knit a front or the back and leave the others on holders. while i was shopping at Husfliden in Oslo, i found a freakinghuge stitch holder which was [Theresa and i guessed] for weaving. it was just a few dollars so i bought it. it handily, as i hoped it would, holds an entire back's worth of stitches on it with no scrunching.

pictures tomorrow, perhaps. right now, i'm spent with the excitement of it all.

ah.

that's better.

- new Knitty is up [clear your cache, folks].

- Boeing is acting more like herself...enough so that we feel comfortable going on a family trip that really couldn't be cancelled [dad's big birthday party]. she'll be staying, with little Squeezle, at the bunny spa, so they'll be able to watch her in case she gets wiggly again. but she won't. because i told her not to.

- and now I can get back to my last-minute knitting. :-)

happy sigh.

today [a summary]

I'm in the thick of the winter Knitty slog, so this will be short.

- for those at LK last night, and those who love bunnies, the news: Boeing [who is acting fine and wonderful now] does have a 12mm-long stone in her bladder. our vet says we can try antibios, which will help if it's one kind of stone. if in 6 weeks the stone isn't smaller, then it's the other kind that can only be fixed with surgery. in any case, all bunnies in this house will be transitioned to a new low-calcium diet.

- hub now has caught up to me. we both need, um, several different levels of focus in one lens. and my RX has changed a little too. so we both ordered new glasses today. the frames are never the financial problem, but our lenses are over $400 a pair. for each of us. very, very painful.

- I made a mess with Laura last night, and it was wonderful. Laura is the queen of the chemicals. [more on this later, if I'm allowed to.]

- really, can't talk. Knitty. bye.

this stuff amuses the crap out of me

Seriously. I got this in my e-mail box this morning out of the blue. I didn't ask for it. I didn't arrange it. Cafepress just sent it out. Oh! Okay, then. Thanks for the discount!

[marketing stuff like this amuses me, especially now that I'm no longer a proofreader in an ad agency! w00t!]

Seriously, if you wanted the 2008 Knitty calendar or anything else we sell in the Knittyshop, I guess now's the time to go grab it and save some bucks.

---

Meanwhile, I started my day by frying up onions and garlic to make a huge batch of sauce. Ragu-ish [a little more moist than a traditional Bolognese ragu, I guess]. I'm no purist. I totally avoided the true soffrito -- that would mean adding carrots and celery to the onions as I fried them. All I could think of was big chunks of limp celery in my tomato sauce in Oslo, and I just couldn't do it.

My recipe:
-2 lbs of lean ground beef
-1 lb of lean ground pork

salt the meat, fry, drain well.

-portobello mushrooms, one huge onion, two cloves garlic -- all minced and fried in good Tuscan olive oil
-three large cans of crushed tomatoes
-little bit of oregano
-nice bit of basil
-good bit of marjoram [that's my secret, if you ask me]

simmer, covered, on lowest heat ALL FREAKING DAY. eat some for dinner, save some for tomorrow's lunch and freeze the rest in one or two-person servings.

---

You don't really care, do you? Okay, I'll get back to work. But man, it sure smells good in here right now.

The 2008 Honorable Mention gallery is up!

And you can see some of the fabulous photos here on Flickr. Now you see how hard it was to pick winners for this year's calendar contest!

Thanks again to everyone who entered!

Who won the calendar contest?

It was harder than ever to pick this year's winners. We had so many great entries!

Our grand prize winner this year is Amelia Hajda. Her simple, perfect picture exactly encapsulates winter in my mind [and might make you reach for a pair of mittens!]. Her winning entry is on the cover and on the page for December. Amelia wins a ridiculously huge box of goodies from the Knitty review cabinet, including yarn, knitting books and other surprises. I may need a forklift to get it to the post office!

Here are the rest of the winners:
January: Alicia Ramirez
February: Sarah Wilkin
March: Jo Kerrigan
April: Flora Wermuth
May: Jenny Spencer
June: Suzie Putnam
July: Heidi Kastner
August: Angela Daff and her bunnies!
September: Lindsey LaPlant
October: Angela Moore
November: Jennifer Schmitz

Each of these runner-up winners will receive a copy of the calendar, fresh from the shop! Take a peek at all the calendar images there!

The honorable mention gallery will be posted in a week or so, and there are some wonderful images there, too. Knitty readers clearly have talent beyond their needles.

---

The full fall surprise just went live as well. Big day around here!

---

Meanwhile, I'm off [stop laughing] to Ann Arbor today to see Jillian, her hub and her kiddos [my honorary niece and nephew], and to teach some classes at the hallowed halls of Threadbear. The Tuscany class is pretty much full, but there may be a spot or two if you'd like to learn about the No Sheep stuff with me this Sunday. Call Rob or Matt at the shop and they'll let you know if you can sneak in.

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Last night, Denny surprised me when I thought I was surprising her with my sweater. I want to write fully about this surprise, so I have to hold off for a bit. But I promise pictures when I do post. [It was a REALLY HAPPY surprise.]

Maybe I can ask Jillian to snap a pic or two of me in the finished Artfibers sweater, too. This could be dangerous. :-)

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Okay, I've gotta pack! What am I doing blogging at a time like this?

the bag...it's finally here!

Do you remember this?

We sure do. We've been talking to Tom Bihn for several years now, giving them our ideas and feedback on their ideas for a new knitting bag design. Well, it's ready and you can finally get one for yourself!



It's called The Swift, and it was named by a clever group of Knitty readers around a big table at a coffeeshop in Toronto. One of them wrote about it on her blog, and she's clearly smitten. Me? I got to test a prototype or two and I'm really impressed with the final bag. Tom Bihn's famous for producing well-made, well-thought-out bags, and now we finally get to benefit from the best of his design expertise blended with what Knitty readers said they really wanted in a bag.

Because you might wonder, we're not involved with Tom Bihn except as cheerleaders and fans of the stuff they make. We don't get a cut of the bags or anything else beyond our prototype samples. We feel lucky to have been asked for our opinions and ideas on the topic, and we're glad to see the final result of our collaboration.

Calendar contest news, and other things too

Item 1: Check your spam filters, because I've sent out 12 congratulatory messages to the winners of the 2008 Calendar Contest. It was harder than ever to pick this year's selection of winners. We got so many great photos but only have 12 spots. So if you didn't get my happy message, you may very well end up in the honorable mention gallery! The calendar will be released along with the fall surprise. Thanks to everyone who entered!

Item 2: Panic in the Knitty household this morning. We are out of Stumptown's Hair Bender blend. I bought 2 lbs of beans when I was in Portland, and it's all gone. Does anyone know if they'll ship to Canada? Their website is spectacularly unhelpful! SOLVED! Thanks to Audrey and dameknitsalot for their help. I called, told them I'd take the responsibility for the time delay [the 2 lbs we had lasted about 2 months and still tasted great at the end. maybe it would have been better if it was fresher, but we don't live in Portland, so we deal with it. :-)] and they're shipping 4 lovely lbs of whole bean Hair Bender to our door. Happiness has returned!

Item 3: QUESTION: has anyone taken an Ashford Joy wheel [in the soft case] onto an airplane? Does it fit in the allowed spaces? Please dish. I need to know what to do! I'm damned well not shipping it as luggage and I am sure I read somewhere that it's carry-on sized. ANSWER: Shannon Okey, world-traveller and spinner, assures me that it fits, and if not, flight attendants will treat it like a delicate instrument. :-) It also measures JUST 45" [all dimensions totalled], so that means it's legal.

Item 4: I love Northern Spy apples. It's Northern Spy apple season. Some misguided people think the Northern Spy is a pie apple. In fact, it is the best, crispiest, most perfectly tangy apple that ever grew on a tree.

That is all.

attenion: designer of Felicity

At least that's what I think it was called -- your submission got sent to the spam folder and I accidentally deleted it before I realized it wasn't spam.

Please resend! [And if you know the designer who sent this in, please -- ask them to resend.]

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ALSO! The Knitty gmailbox is almost full with winter submissions! I've bought additional storage [did you know you can do that now?] but it may not be active right away. [They said it could take 24 hours and I've just done it now.]

So I've moved the deadline back to September 17th, just in case what you send bounces back to you. Spread the word, please!

Thanks again!

somebody's got a sick sense of humor

i was just feeling rather fabulous [post-GB] when i got a cold. started slow and stealthy for a few days, and then hit me like a ton of bricks on Thursday. coughing all night [oh, how the hub loves THAT] despite the NyQuil, and then sleeping all day to make up for it. what a mess.

still, i keep pushing hard on the Knitty while i'm conscious and we're getting close. we should be going live soon, but exactly when...well, you'll have to stand by.

are you standing by? you can knit while you're waiting, you know.

thanks for your patience, guys. i promise never to have a gall bladder out again in the middle of an issue. :-)

my Philly adventure

I'm back from Philadelphia. What, you didn't know I was gone? It was that fast. I think I was away from home a total of 27 hours, but what a crazy 27 hours it was!

First, massive props to Craig, proprietor of Loop in Philadelphia. He's charming and sweet [and now no longer a Jamba Juice virgin], has a great shop and made the whole weekend possible.

The Knittyboard crew wanted me to come to their big Phillyfest, and thanks to Craig's generosity and organization, I was provided with plane fare and the nicest hotel room I believe I've ever slept in. Look at the puffiness of the bed!



That's the Sofitel Philadelphia, btw, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone lucky enough to stay there.

In order to earn my keep, I taught a No Sheep class on Sunday morning to a lovely group of PA/NJ/NY knitters eager to learn about my favorite fibers. And met my first silk-allergic knitter! I confess I looked at her with the same overly sympathetic eyes that people look at me when it comes to my wool allergy. Sorry if I offended...I just can't imagine life without all animal fibers INCLUDING silk. Wow.

And Saturday, we had a big Knittyboard meetup, where I finally got to hug some of the girls who keep the Knitty Coffeeshop hopping and vibrant every day. I have no pictures of them, because they were too busy dressing me in a horror of novelty yarn and taking my picture. No, I'm not linking to any of them. It's just too much to bear. The things I do for you guys!

We had a great time knitting and laughing and embarrassing ourselves with generous doses of TMI and then went out for cheesesteaks. I had a half and fared very well.

Special thanks to Jamie and Jas who made sure I got back to my hotel safely. Pictures on Flickr.

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And then there's the airport story.

Because I'm not supposed to lift heavy stuff [hint: suitcase] for a while longer, I'd made arrangements for a wheelchair ride through the airport. This worked very well until I got to the Philly airport. A half an hour later, the chair still hadn't arrived, and it was time to board my flight! I freaked! I couldn't get through the security line in time, and the guy behind the counter was completely useless. He wouldn't even try to get me on my flight and was already trying to book me on the next one, 4 hours later.

Are you kidding me?

A supervisor finally came out, and when I explained my situation to her, she escorted me to the "short" line...which didn't move either. I was screwed.

All of a sudden, a flash of silver passes me on the right...a wheelchair with a passenger in it! So I did what I had to: I walked right behind the wheelchair like I belonged there [because I did!], right up to the front of the line, slipped my bags on the conveyor [being careful not to rip out anything the surgeons had put in place] and made it to the gate just in time. I was surprised that no one freaked on me for doing this, but honestly, if I'd had the chair I was supposed to have, I'd have been through in plenty of time.

Oy.

Anyway, it was a great weekend and meeting everyone makes it all worthwhile. I hug you all and will now get back to work.

[Sunnyvale women: I love you. More shortly.]

What happens when Emma Jane gets a little. Well. You'll see.

When I visited Emma Jane earlier this month, one of our to-dos was to shoot the beauty shot for my most recent design, Everlasting Bagstopper. [Yup, it's in the Knitty surprise that just went live!]

We'd decided it wasn't a photoshooty day after all, until I found myself driving us up the side of Owen Sound [the actual body of water that gives the town its name] and I found this spot. And then Emma did her magic. I particularly like the last two: action shots. Woo!






For those who wonder, I didn't initially design this bag to be in the magazine. I searched all over the interweb to find a bag like this because I needed one, but I couldn't find anything that collapsed into it's own pouch [except the nice crocheted bag on Crochet Me]. So I took the Montego Bay stitch pattern [I *was* going to call this pattern Montego Bag :-)] and started knitting. By the time I got past the base of the bag, I realized it was [IMO] good enough to share. I hope you like it.

Why I love Americo so much

Me at Americo during the TTC Knitalong on Saturday. Yes, I bought. Just a little more cotton/silk. Yummy.

Photo scoffed without asking [but with sincere thanks] from Michelle's flickr. You must click for big to see the yarns. Michelle took great photos of the day. Hopefully she'll blog with the stories soon.


[New Knitty is coming soon. Very, very soon.]

drive-by update

So much! TNNA was great! You'll want to read Clara's recap, because she does it right. This time, TNNA was about Knitty-building [adding content, etc] and a few other thingies for me. Just you wait. :-)

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Meanwhile, you all know what I need to be doing now instead of writing a flowery blog post, so a few quick pics will have to hold you while I go back to work!

pic 1: the secret present I was working on in silversmithy class:


Yes. Those are sterling silver brains, handcut out of sheet silver, BY ME, for my beloved Jillian. Anyone who's ever seen us work together knows that we share a brain and are just better together. Her birthday is this coming Saturday, and I wanted to formalize that. So now we share two brains [we each have one of the silver ones]. She loved it. :-)

pic 2: the accessory I wear all the time now that everyone at the show loved:


Those are beads OF GRASS. Seriously. Read this site to learn more about who makes them, why they're cool and how great it is to be able to support a group of crafting women on the other side of the world as we decorate our bodies. I bought mine in Toronto at the UofT bookstore. You can find links to shops through the Zulugrass.com site -- it's all over the place, but without the backstory, I don't know that I would have noticed these.

[for those that care about such things, this is 6 strands, colors chosen by me, twisted three times around my wrist.]

pic 3: a big shoutout of love to Amy O'Neill Houck and Kim Werker. Girls, looky what I did on the plane home!!


That, my friends, is a granny square. CROCHETED by me. In, get this, Alchemy Silk Chenille. Could you plotz? Thanks to Gina and Austin who enabled me into a skein of this gorgeous stuff [colorway Red Run] when I had the best crochet teacher ever [Amy] at my disposal. You need to see how Amy wields a hook [I didn't see Kim's techique, but it's probably just as sexy.] Amy makes it look like hand ballet. And unlike crocheting straight rows that are boring as hell, doing this, once I got the hook size right, was [dear lord, help me] F.U.N.

No, there will be no Crochetty. No, I am not giving up my beloved knitting. But I do want to make granny squares and ripples. And now I can. Thank you, crochet girls!

And now, back to Knitty. Head down, see you soon!

anotha qwiz

knitty -- [adjective]: Visually addictive 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

2008 Calendar Contest...let the onslaught begin!

We've done it twice already and it's such a tradition that we couldn't think of stopping now! If you've knit something from the pages of Knitty and can get hold of a good-quality digital camera, you could win great stuff! Full details are on the Calendar Contest page, right here:

We always love seeing your photos, and so do the rest of our readers. Don't be shy...think carefully, point and shoot, and then send the results to us!

more synchronicity

Some of you have written about the similarity between our Queen of Cups pattern by Nathania and Cookie A's Mona.

What you guys probably don't know is that Nathania and Cookie are friends. Neither of them knew the other was working on such a sock and hadn't seen each other's FOs until I wrote them about this situation last night. Here's what Cookie has to say about the crazy coincidence:

"My Mona pattern was originally the exact same stitch pattern as Queen of Cups, but I knit it in STR Puck's Mischief to...submit to you! But I didn't like the way the STR pooled, so I ended up not submitting, it got too late, and I had my friend knit it in a solid color. Except I messed up the chart I sent to her which ended up being Mona instead of exactly the same as Nathania's. Now I'm really really glad I messed that up.

Anyway, to make a long story short, we had no idea the other person was working on almost exactly the same thing, are a bit weirded out, but I think are mostly laughing about it."

Ahhhh, that's better

See, when you book a speaking engagement* in fall for the following March, it's hard to imagine that you might be producing an issue of Knitty at the same time. But that's just what I was doing.

Thankfully, this time, I had an extra special team behind me. Not only were Mandy and Steph and Jillian brilliant as usual. This time, hub also stepped in and did some geek magic. He spent a few weeks building a custom Knitty-code generator that makes programming pattern pages much more efficient for me. So this issue, big props to darling hub. You should see how well he understands knitting pattern language now!

I hope you like it. Me, I need a strongbow now. And maybe some more pink beret.

*p.s. I think it went well. The York guild is made up of charming members and a great executive and we talked non-woolly things all night. Special hi to the vegan knitter from out of town and her boyfriend. Let me know if you get to Gemini Fibres...I'm envious! I love that place!

p.p.s. sorry, LK folks. I really had meant to come tonight, but I've been at this nonstop for more than a week and I just crashed. Plus I do need to sit by the computer on live day to fix the little fixables that come up. I hope to come out for a Strongbow on Friday, though!

Knitty, she keep on plugging

Soon!

In the meantime, progress photos for those who love such things. Cables & Os is moving right along. Look.


Look at all those tidy, shiny repeats! Ooh!

But it takes me 30 minutes a row. Really. Why is that?

Cause I'm knitting the fronts and back all at the same time as per the pattern. I don't mind this, because I can see the yardage growing, but MAN it feels slow sometimes.

Never mind. Progress is progress. Once I split the body for the fronts and back, it'll feel like flying! Plus I constantly get to fondle the fabric, knowing this is one of those sweaters I'll have forever.

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p.s. I confess. I had kind of mentally tuned Berroco out for a while, because their designs were nothing like my taste. A lot of novelty and I don't do novelty.

But have you seen their newsletters recently? Oh heavens, it's a new Berroco, and I love it. What's that? A cotton-blend yarn that's specifically created to mimic what wool does naturally? With added elastic? How very No Sheep! Yay!