Spring Collection Preview

Getting ready to release some of my patterns for the new season, some things have taken longer than I thought, while others are ready to go, so I thought it would only be fair to start releasing those patterns that are ready go into the world!

I have just released Lady of the Blue Forest for individual sale. Later this Spring, it will also be part of new pattern collection, featuring the patterns below. Keep an eye on my blog and my Ravelry designer page, and I'll let you know when each pattern is available, plus when the collection finally makes its fashionably late appearance!

Lady of the Blue Forest

Marja

Luminosity

From this Day Forward

Shells and Sea Glass Beret

Summer's Day

Wind and Willow

And finally...

Cabowls

The collection will be available as a Ravelry download for 12 GBP (price subject to change). In the meantime, keep track of the individual patterns are they're released on my Ravelry group!

Springtime and New Patterns

It's been a while, hasn't it?

Can I made up for it with some pretty pictures?

 

I'm also putting the finishing touches (well, a lot of finishing touches, but finishing ones, nonetheless!) on my Spring/Summer collection, with a hesitant release date of mid to late May. The most exciting thing about it? We're heading to Spain for the photoshoot!

Okay, well, not actually for the photo shoot, actually to see our wonderful family, but knitwear will be a nice distraction from the beautiful scenery and sunshine. I've finished the samples and am now indulging in a bit of lightweight non-design knitting while I get all the technical bits done. In the meantime, here's a bit of a preview for you:

Lady of the Blue Forest

Lady of the Golden Leaf (Triangle version of shawl above)

Luminosity

As always, there's lots more to see on my Ravelry Projects Page!

And before I forget, The Sanguine Gryphon recently released this little beauty as part of their Spring collection:

Gismonda

Happy knitting!

The rumours are true...

...there's going to be a Spring and Summer collection!

This season's focus will be light-weight yarns, bright colours, and we'll have a few garments thrown into the mix. I'm working hard to get the samples and patterns ready, but it's coming together well, and I'm aiming for a release of April-May. Will keep you posted on that.

In the meantime, you can watch my Ravelry Group or my Twitter feed for calls for test knitting.  You can also keep an eye on my Ravelry Notebook page, where the samples keep popping up!

Charity of the Quarter: January-March 2011

To be honest, I spend most of my time thinking about puppies. This is Year 8 that I've been without a dog, and the momentary joy I see when a person walking their dog goes past (Golden Retriever, German Shepherd, Highland Terrier, I love them all!) is all but surpassed by the overwhelming urge to go somewhere and get a dog.

But I can't. Not yet anyway, since we still live in rented accommodation where no pets are allowed. At least it gives me great incentive to save my money for a mortgage.

So in the meantime, I thought I'd dedicate the first quarter of the year to one of my favourite pet charities: the RSPCA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). They do great work in re-homing animals of all kinds (dogs to horses, cats to former battery chickens), investigating cases of animal cruelty, and promoting legislation that will give animals due respect and protection.

Kimmy

This means that 10% of my pattern proceeds from January through March of 2011 will be donated to the RSPCA.

Why not go check out their website, and see if you have room in your home and your life for a new best friend?

A Search for Signs of Spring

I love self-employment, if only for the fact that I dictate the hours of my day. To be honest, most of my days are spent working pretty frantically for a deadline. But since I'm 50% Tech Editor and 50% Designer, when I have the luxury, I like to split my day in half, and spend the time of transition doing something I enjoy.

Today was a walk, in search of design inspiration and signs of Spring. And by Spring I really mean lambs. Except for the fact that it's still cold enough to flare up my exercise allergy (I wish I weren't serious about that), the blue skies made up for it.

So I went on a walk, only to find a lack of sheep. In Wales.

 

Nothing.

Not even in our back yard.

In short, it was shocking. And the taunting evidence of this mythic sheep was not helping.

 

 

Liars!

I stumbled upon other signs of Spring along the way. Though not nearly as cute as lambs (because let's face it, nothing is), they were promising:

 

The snow drops were snow dropping

The blue tits were tittering

There was even a cat, which to poor, pet-starved person such as myself, is a big deal.

This was as close as I could get to it.

Finally, at the end of an arduous journey uphill, past empty field after empty field and with itchy, itchy legs (allergies!), I found my reward.

Lambs.

LAMBS.

 Task completed. Now it's time to get back to work.

Errata: Menai Bridge

Unfortunately the chart key for Menai Bridge, published in Issue 34 of Yarn Forward, went mysteriously missing on its way to publication. I've posted it below; so sorry for the inconvenience!

Giveaway Winners

Thank you to everyone who posted in my Name a Charity Giveaway! I got names for some great charities and will be researching them in the coming weeks to select four to receive pattern proceeds this year.

The two giveaway winners have been contacted via Ravelry and sent their prize. Stay tuned for future giveaways, and maybe a new collection in Spring...

Today is Contacts Day

I love my glasses, but for various reasons, I prefer not to wear them in pattern photos. Plus, last week I was informed (though a bit more eloquently) that my eyes are so different that a new pair of glasses would, in short, make me look like a lopsided freak.

So today is when I go get "fitted" for my new contacts. Hopefully that means that in the future, I will no longer have 70% of my photoshoot photos turn out like this:

See you soon! And Giveaway winners will be announced tomorrow!

Giveaway!!!

Well, it's that time of year again: the beginning of it. And while I've donated pattern proceeds to a lot of great charities in the past year (Oxfam, MSF, Red Cross, and the Donna Louise Trust, among others), I'd like to see what else is out there.

And this is where you come in. Name me your favourite charity, and you'll have a chance to win a copy of Gwynedd, my e-book of 12 patterns.

Already have it? No worries...if you win, I'll refund you the price!

So just leave a comment below giving me the name and the web page of your favourite charity: local, national, or international, animal, people, or other. All charities named will be considered for the receipt of 10% of pattern proceeds for a portion of 2011, and you'll earn a chance to win a copy of Gwynedd.

The Rules:

I'm giving away two (2)! electronic copies of Gwynedd. All you have to do is comment on this post by 11:59pm GMT on Wednesday, 12 January, 2010 for your chance to win.

Post only once with your suggested charities. If you want to suggest more but have already posted, you can comment, but please comment anonymously.

Please include contact info (a link to your blog, Ravelry name, or e-mail address) so I can contact you if you win.

You can earn one more entry if you re-tweet, blog, or post about this contest somewhere else. Just post with a link back to your mention of it and that post will be included in the drawing.

Winners will be drawn after the giveaway is closed.

Thank you for a great year, and I wish you all a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2011!

Cranberry-Fudge Pie

Today was Cranberry Fudge Pie day! It's been a pretty tough week, so it was lovely to hole up in my kitchen with the radio and boil the crap out of some cranberries.

I have no idea how it tastes, but we'll find out tonight.

Fudge Pie

Cranberry Fudge Pie

I followed the recipe but used digestives instead of graham crackers (which aren't available in the UK), and G&B Maya Gold for the chocolate. Here's hoping the orange flavouring in the chocolate enhances the cranberries and doesn't make it taste awful!