Introducing: ROSEBUD

"A deep, faced hem brings a polished finish and extra warmth to the Rosebud Hat."

It certainly is about time that I introduce my latest design... Rosebud... one of 34 designs in Interweave knits, Gifts 2014.

"The 2014 holiday issue offers the usual collection of delightful quick knits and artful accessories. His and hers hat variations, a children’s tea party, holiday decor, and loads of accessories—shawls, socks, hats, mitts, cowls, and more—fill out the patterns, while technique articles focus on unusual colorwork methods. Get in the giving mood with these 34 exciting projects."

This magazine is available digitally at the link above.  The official release date is September 2, when it will be on newsstands everywhere.

I was delighted to receive my complimentary copy in the mail on Wednesday.

Though I have yet to make it onto the cover of anything... I am happy to have my project on one of the two contents pages.

 And then there is that spread on pages 65-66.

I was tickled pink that Interweave chose to photograph the inside of the hat.

This project is basically a "stranded colorwork" project.  The reverse side is partially cover by the hem facing, but you can see all the little "floats" where the yarn that is not being used is carried along behind the work.

For basic instructions on stranded colorwork, please check out my very popular post from last year, "Two-Handed Stranded Colorwork Tutorial".  One thing that I did not think to include at the time that I wrote the tutorial was a photo of the reverse side.  From time to time, I have thought, "that might have been helpful," and now you can see it in print!

I hope that if you purchase the magazine, you enjoy making many of the projects.  If you have a moment, please see Rosebud Hat on Ravelry and while there, favorite it just for me ♥♥♥♥♥♥  Thanks for reading!

Randomly I Write (About Saturday)

1. Mr K and I went to a beautiful and extremely enjoyable wedding on Saturday evening.
2. The bride and groom, our friends, are just a bit younger than us but older than most wedding couples.
3. We had to get up very early on Saturday to make it to the wedding.
4. The wedding was not far from our home, but we were vacationing last week in North Wildwood, New Jersey.
5. Most east coast weekly rentals are from Saturday to Saturday.
6. If you leave an Atlantic shore point at any time from mid to late morning on a Saturday, you can expect a very -s-l-o-w- ride.
7. We left much earlier.  
8. Part way home (actually at a mid to late morning time) we stopped to "check in" on our children.
9. One of our children was moving into a new place on Saturday.  (We could not help, because "We had a wedding to go to".  But all was well... help was on the way.  BTW:  The new place is pretty cool.)  We had a late morning outdoor brunch with our other child (who lives not very far away in another pretty cool place.)
10. How did these (once very tiny and totally dependent baby) children get to be such accomplished and fun to visit young adults?  
11. We rested at home for a bit before I began to put my outfit together.
12. My latest FO is "The Color of Flowers".
13. I finished (seaming) it the day before we left NJ (Friday).
14. I wore it to the wedding.

Project Name: The Color of Flowers

Pattern: Vine Street Tee by Amy Herzog

Yarn: The Fibre Company Canopy Fingering
Color Name: "Guava" 

Midweek Meditation - Warhol style

"I'm afraid that if you look at a thing long enough, it loses all of its meaning."     ~ Andy Warhol

I took this photo at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in August of 2007.

As a (very young) child of the 60's, I have long wanted to quote Mr Warhol in a blog post.  But each and every time I googled and then read "andy warhol quotes" nothing really worked for me.

"Isn't life a series of images that change as they repeat themselves?"

Late this evening, truly by accident, I learned that today is Andy Warhol's 86th birthday.  He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on August 6, 1928.  Sadly, he died at the age of 58 in 1987.

Though I did, some time ago, rightly decide that quoting Mr W might not work effortlessly for my blog, this photo could help to explain my post tonight.

A painting my son made at school when he was in third grade hangs above my desk.  I do love it!  I took this photo just minutes ago.  Not very far away is a similar painting made by my daughter (Ref: Georgia O'Keefe).  Love that, too!  I will share it on another day.

Some final words from Mr W...

"Sometimes you're invited to a big ball and for months you think about how glamorous and exciting it's going to be. Then you fly to Europe and you go to the ball and when you think back on it a couple of months later what you remember is maybe the car ride to the ball, you can't remember the ball at all. Sometimes the little times you don't think are anything while they're happening turn out to be what marks a whole period of your life. I should have been dreaming for months about the car ride to the ball and getting dressed for the car ride, and buying my ticket to Europe so I could take the car ride. Then, who knows, maybe I could have remembered the ball."

Something's Coming...

Something Good (is still in my cupboard)...

I will be spending a lot of time this weekend completing all of the remaining finishing touches on one (or two, or maybe all three) of my first indie designer knitting patterns in quite some time.  These have been in the works for just over a year now.  (God bless my test knitters for their patience!)

I have been lucky enough to have had a small handful of designs accepted for publication in magazines.  A couple of times I have won design contests.  And then there were even some designs picked up by yarn sellers.

Every one of those designs felt like a win (because there was a submissions call with some competition, and I did get selected).  And, every one of those designs was really so much easier to see through than these indie designs.

You see, all of those knitting pattern design "wins" were tech-edited, styled, modeled, photographed and formatted by others who were true professionals.  I just had to design and then knit (with free yarn).

With my indie design patterns...  It does take so much longer... I do not have to do it all, but I do have to actually hire and coordinate others...

Two different tech editors, one model/stylist, four test knitters (God bless you for your patience!) and one very special photography assistant... 

After all of that...

I am the designer, and I must still work on the final formatting.

My father's mother informed me when I was very young that I am a perfectionist...  Grandma S was right...  It always takes me a lot of time and effort to struggle to be not-quite-perfect, but as close as I can get.

This is finally about to happen.  I must get back to work.

Thanks for reading!