• Curiouser and Curiouser
• 15

The Boy and I have reservations at a very nice restaurant tonight.  If you’ve been reading a while, you might recall that I mentioned that the book writing process has surprisingly few moments where it feels like you’ve really reached a milestone.  There are lots of concurrent steps, and just because you’ve finished one doesn’t mean you don’t have 4 other things to do.  I found that distressing last time around, and I vowed to celebrate all the milestones I could with this one.  And I’ve reached one.  The website for Book the Second is officially live today.  Any chance you’d like to look at it?

 

The Knitter’s Curiosity Cabinet:

Twenty Patterns Inspired by Vintage Botanical Prints

And now for some questions I’m guessing someone will ask…plus a few pictures, just because I can!

1) No, you can’t start knitting quite yet!  The book is now available for preorder (at a discount).  The electronic version will be going out in the Spring and the physical version a month or so later.

2) Yes, it is all up on Ravelry so you can add it to your queue and start making plans and linking to it with abandon. The book’s page is right here.

3) Yes, this one includes more than just socks.  There are 10 sock patterns and 10 accessory patterns…something to tempt everyone!

4) Yes there will be more to come.  I’m working on a blog tour, some interviews, and some special ways to get started on a few of the patterns early.  But that will all be sorted out over the next several weeks, and I wanted to share this with you now.

 

• Not Productive
• 5

This weekend was not productive.  I did not clean my house.  I did not do my laundry.  I did not proof the book.  I did not write up a new pattern.

I didn’t even knit.

I ate tasty food.  I read books (fiction books…not scholarly books…an unheard of luxury). I may have even had a tiny little nap.

And I played games.  Lots and lots of games.  Douglas approved and was happy to help.  He seemed to prefer this one, as the box makes an excellent kitten nest.

But fear not, there was quite a lot of actual productive work going on behind the scenes last week and quite a bit yet to come this week.  Some time very soon (I’m thinking Thursday, but I’m not promising anything), you should hear an echoing shout of joy as Book the Second’s website, complete with pics of each and every pattern, goes live.

At which point, I will likely go lie down with a cool cloth on my forehead and swoon for an hour or two.  I’m sure you’ll understand.

Oh, and one tiny reminder that the Thanksgiving sale ends tonight.  Scroll down for the details if you’re looking for patterns.

• No Really, It’s OK
• 2

Every now and then someone will send me a message either apologizing because they’ve made one of the Silk Road Socks projects in a wild color or asking if I’d mind if they do.  My response is usually ‘awesome, can I see it’ or ‘of course it’s ok.’  Really folks, once I’ve sent them out into the world, my designs aren’t just mine anymore.  They’re yours too, and you can do with them what you will.  It’s charming that you ask, but I promise it’s much more interesting to see how you make them your own than it would be to just see exact copies turned out again and again.

So the other day when I stumbled across ABC Carpet & Home and their mind-meltingly amazing rugs, I knew I had to share.  This place takes rugs, many in very traditional patterns and overdyes them in absolutely florescent hues (the picture over there is one of the more subdued options).  The results are stunning.

My first thought upon seeing them was something like ‘holy crap, is there any conceivable way I can justify buying one of these as a research expense?’ (Answer: ‘no, absolutely not.’)  My next thought was ‘hmmm, I wonder if I could take one of the rugs rolled up under the bed and play mad scientist in the back yard with a wading pool and a whole lot of kool-aid.’  (Answer: see above.)

After that, I figured I could at least show you guys (perhaps one of you has a better research budget) and offer it as absolute proof that you can take something with the most traditional roots imaginable and whack some massive color on in and come out with something lovely.  So pretty please, feel totally free to make the Silk Road Socks (or any other pattern for that matter) and make it in whatever color floats your boat.

(The picture is ABC Carpet & Home’s, click it to go directly to the listing for their carpets and see more rugs and be filled with a whole new kind of wool lust.  And if you’re ABC Carpet & Home and want me to take the picture down, just let me know.)

• Thanksgiving Sale
• 3

All of my Thanksgiving plans are set.  I’ve secured a new game (Mansions of Madness, let’s hear it for games with 20+ page rulebooks), we’ve found a way to consume the requisite Thanksgiving pizza, and we’re finishing up the evening with dessert with friends.  Should be a lovely day.

Tomorrow, I will be staying inside and refusing to shop.  We’ll call it an act of consumer disobedience.  The mall and I don’t get along under the best of circumstances, and it’s totally banned during November and December.

But on the off chance you’re the sort who likes to shop, I’m here to help (I’m thoughtful like that).  I’ll join the crowd and have a Thanksgiving sale.  From now through the end of the day on Monday, you can get 10% off 1 pattern, 20% off 2 patterns, or 30% off 3 or more patterns.  It’s good for all the individual patterns and all the 2 or 3 pattern sets. Here’s how it works:

1) Go to my Ravelry pattern page, find the patterns you like, and add them to your cart (this only works if you add them to your ravelry cart).

2) Once you’ve got your cart loaded up and you’re ready to check out, click on the button that says ‘use a coupon code’ (it’s just to the left of the ‘checkout now’ button).

3) Enter your code.  If you’re getting 1 item, use ‘Turkey 10′ to get 10% off.  If you’re getting 2 items, use ‘Turkey 20′ to get 20% off.  If you’re getting 3 items, use ‘Turkey 30′ to get 30% off.

4) Hit ‘apply.’  Your discount will be shown immediately.  Double check that you see it, hit ‘checkout now,’ and finish up.

I hope it’s a lovely day for you all, and that you can find some time to tuck up at home in your pajamas and enjoy some nice quiet knitting!

• Finally!
• 6

Fellow knitters, because I love you and want you to be happy, I’m going to share my discovery with you.  For the last two years I’ve been bemoaning the lack of graph paper post-its.  I’ve drawn vertical lines on the sort of post-its that come with horizontal lines.  I’ve put tape on regular graph paper.  I’ve even looked into getting custom post-its printed.  But none of it was quite right.

Then today, as I was doing the pre-holiday-crazies run through Target, I saw them.  They were sitting right there on the rack, like they were just normal post-its and not some sort of glorious innovation meant to brighten the day of knitters everywhere.  Graph paper post-its.  I danced a little jig right there.  Then I put them all in my cart before anyone else could see them and make me share (unlikely I know but always possible).

But because I am a good person (and because I have secured my own stash…and because I want these to sell well enough that they continue to be made), I present you with your very own source for the elusive graph paper post-it.  You know you need them.