Ready for My Close-Up

The sweater is done!

My old college roommate, who I've mentioned in this blog before, kindly took the pictures for the pattern to be published on KnitPicks' website. I really wanted someone who knows what knitters look for to take them. She was the ideal photographer, and I was grateful for her efficiency - because I was wearing merino wool in 90 degrees Fahrenheit!!

I edited out the shorts and sandals, haha.

Here's a quick preview, since the pattern will not go live for a few more weeks. It will be well worth the wait! I will have an "Amanda's Aran FAQ" post when it does go live so that any pattern errata or questions may be answered, and everyone will benefit from them.

Running out of time!

I am so frustrated I could scream. One of my dear friends is pregnant for the fourth (and last!) time, and they are finally getting their girl. I have a tradition of knitting a blanket for each child prior to the birth, and this time I have seriously procrastinated. I've been so distracted knitting my sweater (only the sleeves to go - more on that later) that her due date is barely a month away and I still can't even decide on a pattern!! Mom wants a cotton blanket. This is easily accomplished, except that the blanket I wanted to make originally is designed for DK weight, and I can't afford the yarn it would call for. Stupid medical bills. I'm sure you're thinking, 'Guen you're a designer, just rewrite it'. And I probably will, but that goes beyond refiguring guage and size. I will be totally guessing at the yarn quantities. Risky business, that.

For the last baby I made the Rainbow Chain Blanket by Erika Flory from online magazine Knotions, and she really wanted the new one to coordinate. I love it. It is so bright and vibrant, and I just don't know if I can top it. She suggested I look at Ravelry for inspiration. I have avoided that site because I was afraid I'd get addicted, like I knew I would with Facebook. But I need something to inspire me...

The Pink Sweater That Didn't Fit

She threw the gauntlet....

Before Christmas my friend and I went to see her boyfriend perform in a modern interpretation of The Nutcracker. She collects nutcrackers, and when I was thwarting her attempts to steal the ones in the lobby of the theatre, she said "Knit me a nutcracker for next Christmas! GO!". My immediate thought was, 'Well, I needed an idea for your birthday...'

It took appoximately one month and a couple of design changes before I was happy with him. Last night we went out for her birthday and the look on her face was amazing. Apparently, she hadn't been serious, and hadn't expected me to actually knit her a nutcracker.




With that kind of success, I might offer a custom nutcracker in my etsy shop, I just have to figure out pricing. But never let it be said I don't rise to a challenge.

In other news, the Swish Worsted came in today from KnitPicks! It is so much softer than I imagined, knits exactly to gauge, and the color is beautiful, albeit darker than on the website. I had to wait til after the new year because Indigo Heather was out of stock.



I'm waiting to start it til probably tomorrow, I have four Valentine's bracelets that have to come off the loom for the shop. But that yarn knits like a dream!

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.