My Feet Are Tired from Doing the "Happy Dance"

My pattern went up on knitpicks.com today! I am officially a published designer, and not even just published by me on my ravelry.com page. I’m as giddy as a school girl.

I’ve been refreshing the “new patterns” page like a maniac since last Monday when I received an email with my acceptance to the Knit Picks Independent Designer Project (IDP). This morning, I rolled over in bed to check the time, refreshed the page on my phone for good measure, and – voila! – it was there! 

You can check it out, too: Sam Gus' School Bus Sweater on Knit Picks.

Tee hee hee!

Giving the Gift of EVIL

Usually, I aim to spread joy by giving hand-knit-by-me gifts.  For my most recent knit gift, I gave a touch of the evil spirit.

My DDM (that’s Dear Dungeon Master) just celebrated his 42^nd birthday. I made him a bag to store his precious D&D dice under the watchful eye of Cthulhu, the Elder G-d of Evil. (Check out the great pattern by a sister blogger here). It took all of my willpower to stop from giving it to him the minute I finished. I presented his present the second he awoke on his birthday morning.

I think he likes it!

Spoiler Alert: Shameless Boasting Follows

Many exciting things have happened in my knit-knerdy world since my last post many moons ago. I will try to catch up on many of them here, and I’ll start with my biggest news: I am now, officially, a published designer! OK, so maybe I’m only self-published at this point, but let’s not split hairs. I have opened up a Ravelry Store, put up my first written pattern for sale, and I’ve even had a customer! I’m just tickled.

The path to here has been a little strange. It started with a persistent bee in my bonnet, buzzing repeatedly that Sammy had to have a sweater with a school bus. It’s true, his favorite sport is pointing and squealing at every bus that passes. I poked around Ravelry and didn’t see anything good enough. The next thing I knew, I was busting out the colored pencils and sketching an intarsia chart!

The rest, as they say, is history. I knit a 12-month size for Sammy, wrote up the pattern, started a test knit, knit a 2T size sweater, opened a Ravelry store, wrote a proposal, and submitted to the Knit Picks IDP! Keep your fingers crossed for me.

And you can even buy the pattern right now! How nifty is that?

Rollercoaster

(Slightly obsessive) knitters know the emotional rollercoaster of knitting. In the past few days I have pulled that bar into my lap, closed my eyes and held on for the ride.

Satisfaction

In finding the perfect use for stash or leftover yarn.  I did this quick knit for Baby Aubrey with some leftover Comfy Worsted from a maternity sweater I made a while back.  I like the combination of girly ruffles with the less-girly navy blue.

Pride

In finishing.  There is nothing like a FO to lift your spirits. I particularly love seeing a FO worn by its recipient.  I finally finished my Sea Foam Gable for my friend Bethany.  And I think it fits perfectly if I do say so myself.

I was also standing a bit taller the other day at the grocery store when I first used my recently finished plarn bag.  (For those who don't know, "plarn" is plastic yarn, made of plastic grocery bags.) The bag guy was so excited about my bag, he brought over about 15 of his co-workers to admire my FO.

Eagerness

To gift a FO.  I can’t wait to see Baby Aubrey in her halter!

Saddness

In frogging.  I was about ¾ done with a cottony lace shawl when I made an irreparable mistake.  I dropped a stitch right at a nupp and couldn’t reassemble the darn thing.  The sadness was exacerbated by prior hubris – why, oh why didn’t I leave life lines?  The end result: a pile of frogged yarn.  Boo hiss.

Joy

In receiving new yarn in the mail. And having found said yarn on sale!  I just got some beautiful fingering weight, cotton silk blend yarn from WEBS in the mail.  I wound a few balls and set myself up for the next turn on the rollercoaster...

Frustration

In failing to find my Size 4 needle tips! I want so badly to cast on a cute light lacy summer sweater with the yummy yarn that arrived, and I can’t find my 4s.

Impatience

In having to wait for my new Size 4 needle tips to arrive.

I CAN Get Satisfaction

Every knitter/crocheter loves to see her “in action”.  I find it particularly rewarding to see my baby project worn or cuddled.  Babies make the best models!  Very satisfying.

 Baby Sammy

 Baby Francesca

 Baby Sammy

 Baby Hazel

 Baby Sammy

 Baby Sammy (modeling Baby Kingsley's bear)

 Baby Sammy

 Baby Mad Mad

Baby Charlie

Baby Sammy

Baby Max

What to Crochet for the Boy Who Has Everything

I play Dungeons and Dragons in my husband’s game. “D&D” to those in the know. During our game a few weeks ago, a bee planted itself in my bonnet.  I could hardly wait to search Ravelry.  Do you believe there are at least seventeen patterns for Cthulhu amigurumi? And that doesn’t include the hats, dice bags, and other handy Cthulhu accoutrements.

I chose the best of the free Cthulhu patterns.  I had to make it. I found some green acrylic and I placed an order for safety eyes on ebay. This project was a diversion from my last diversionary project. Yes, I have Knit/Crochet ADD. I am almost done with Bethany's belated birthday gift – an unplanned project that I committed to when a wave of generosity overcame me while writing a birthday card.

I am a pretty opinionated crafter.  I am usually vociferously opposed to sewing and/or seaming. Big confession time:  sewing together the crocheted pieces isn’t so bad! I swore to never knit another amigurumi (is it considered amigurumi when it is knit?) after my first and last knit turtle. With knitting, there is seaming and sewing.  Sewing sans seaming is tolerable.  And the end result is yummy.

The pattern for Cuddly Cthulhu is very well-written.  As I was crocheting the head, I somehow ended up a stitch or two short and had to fudge it.  The end result was ten tentacles instead of twelve.  I had to consult with my husband/Dungeon Master – is it written anywhere that Cthulhu has twelve tentacles? As you might gather from his crazy-great and -geeky blog, he would know. (The answer is no, Cthulhu’s tentacles are not enumerated.)

So if you thought Sammy – who is blessed with six generous grandparents – had everything, he didn’t.  But he does now.  He has his own hand-crocheted stuffed Cthulhu toy.  Life is good.

The Blogwagon

A little red winged-thing has been sitting on my shoulder screeching in my ear. Something about the www needing another knitting blog. So here we are.

Though not professionally diagnosed, I suffer from Knitting ADD. I generally need all my fingers and toes to count my wips. True story.

During the warmer months, I generally have at least one tank or tee in the works. I just finished a cute hot pink little number here.

I’m about half-way through another Green Gable for the birthday of my comrade Bethany. Clearly, I listened to a little white winged-thing perched on my shoulder. I don’t usually gift anything bigger than a baby sweater, but a wave of generosity swept over me. I hope it fits her because I think it will be too big on me if it doesn’t work out.