I DID IT!

*SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE*
KNITPICKS ACCEPTED MY SWEATER PATTERN!!!
*SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE*

Today should have been awful. It's my five year anniversary (or would have been) with my ex-fiancee, the snow came down all day, and my health hasn't been the greatest. I've been dying to knit myself a sweater but with the holidays I don't have the time or money for yarn. Then when I got home I got an email from KnitPicks that said they accepted the sweater pattern I submitted two weeks ago for their independent designer program, and they'll send me the yarn to re-knit it! I'm so super excited, I've been rejected by Knitty about 4 times but this was the first pattern I submitted to KnitPicks. As if I needed another reason to love them.
The title is "Amanda's Aran", and I am so excited to get my Swish Worsted to knit it.

New aspirations

I've been toying with the idea of becoming a knitwear designer for years. I sketch while on hold at work. I design things for friends, like fingerless gloves for my roommate or an aran hoodie based off a sweater seen in Torrid. I've tried about four times to get published in Knitty, and the latest attempt (the aforementioned sweater) will be my last. The good news is that this is the longest time I've waited to hear from them, and I haven't recieved a rejection yet.

I'm not giving up on getting published, mind you. Knitpicks.com has their Independent Designer Program in full swing and I am reknitting the rehearsal gloves I designed one college night for my oboist roommate in Wool of the Andes. She was having issues with the cold halls she had to warm-up in before concerts, so I offered to make her something that wouldn't interfere with her oboe. We literally sat there for 20 minutes after I offered to make them, took measurements and did some sketches. She handed me the yarn from her stash and went to bed. I always stayed up later, and by morning I had a prototype for her to try on.

They are now no more than rags, the 10 and 12 hour days apparently too much for the merino wool to handle. They were incredibly helpful when she endured severe tendonitis a year later, which could have ruined her career by taking her out of the action almost an entire semester her junior year. We talked about a new pair a while ago, and we decided to try WotA because Peruvian highland wool is supposed to last longer than merino. So when I ordered yarn for my dad's Christmas present, I grabbed two balls: 1 in orange and 1 in Fairy Tale. (She likes crazy color combos. The original gloves are teal and leaf green.)




I'm also going to size them up for men's hands as well. The other charts are a bass clef and a cello. I hope I get two pair out of this yarn, because there is no way she will let them go for the 3 months Knitpicks requires!

FINALLY another knitting post

I finally took pictures of a hat I knit for my etsy shop (last year...) and listed it tonight.

Still no sales, but I'm working on it. I'm being featured in the Loud and Wacky Street Team blog sometime soon. SO excited.

Other than that, we've successfully hung the garlands and trimmed one of our two trees already. I got my hair cut as you can tell, and I love it. My Christmas Present WIP list is winding up thank goodness. Poppy's never ending Gryffindor scarf is almost complete, and then I have to finish Grandma's lapghan. Still have to get the yarn for my aunt's wrap she asked me for, and then there's one coworker whose headband I still have to knit. Most of the presents are wrapped. I'm going to finish a pair of earrings for my sister once she goes to work, and then find a penguin bag to stash upstairs til I get her penguin cross-stitch done.

And the little Christmas dress is getting shipped tomorrow! I'm so excited. Here are some pictures; since her mother doesn't read this it will still be a surprise.

I hate Being Sick

My cross-stitch Christmas ornaments probably won't get listed on my etsy this week, and I'm not happy about it. I came down with a sore throat yesterday, was nearly delusional with a fever last night, and I'm just mostly tired and achy today. My latest creation is an adorable knit gingerbread man ornament, and I'm trying to get his wife done. I am seriously debating which would sell better, the pattern or the ornaments themselves. I may not be able to part with the finished products...

What are going up, ironically, are some seashell necklaces. $5 each. I think they're a nice reminder of the summer. So at least I'll have something new this week.

Twin Star Gifts is Live!

Hooray! As of November first I am officially live with my new store, Twin Star Gifts. Not much else to blog about. Rob is working on getting work up here and I'm trying to get the promotion I was promised a year ago. Or find work elsewhere. Check out my Etsy Mini on the right hand side of the screen!

Fiancee Visit!

Well Oktoberfest was canceled due to an outbreak of the flu, but Rob came anyway. One of my friends had a birthday pub-crawl planned for Saturday so we dressed up as per the invite and had fun. I was a pirate, he was a frazzled computer technician (shirt reads: "Leet Squad"). I also got him back to Primanti Brothers for lunch and we went around downtown Pittsburgh. I wish he was coming for Christmas so that I could show him all the Christmas decorations and things to do downtown. I feel like I missed out on all that last year :( It never even crossed my mind. Maybe another time.

My sister suggested he apply to her grocery store and relit the fire under his ass to move up here. He helped out with a bunch of yard work my parents needed done that none of us can do easily, and earned their gratitude. He didn't want to go home at ALL. So I'm looking for a second or third job still so I can put away enough money for him to actually get here. He said he'd look too, up here and down in VA. The only other thing is we'd need a place for him to stay at least temporarily. I think between the two of us we can make it work.

Twin Star Gifts is coming along nicely. A little preview of what I'll be offering:

It's a baby dragon ;)

Still planning to go live November 1st! Wish me luck!

I shall call her... Smurfette

I saw my roomie today, and she helped me make a dress dummy out of duct tape using the tutorial I found on Etsy Lab's blog. It was awkward at first but lots of fun. I don't reccommend asking someone you're not 100% comfortable with to help you. It gets very personal.I make duct tape look sexy!

Her name is Smurfette. Getting her home was hilarious. My roomie's fiancee had her strapped into the backseat! She's quite heavy, and I think I need to modify the stuffing a bit because she keeps developing a third boob. But overall, I think it's a great project. And the stuffing is a wonderful use for those excess plastic bags we all have lying around.