The final chapter of the great aunt trilogy

My grandmother had 5 sisters - Obeira, Emma, Frances, Aileen and Ardys. Her name was Della. Her brother's name was Aubrey. I was told their mother read a lot of novels hence all the cool names  :) My grandmother was born in 1889, just to give some context., Her middle name was Laura, and I am named after her. It's pretty easy to find odd-sounding names if you go back to those times, but I like that these names are different without being weird. Aileen, Ardys, and Obeira are pretty as well as being a bit unusual, so those are the names I chose for the 3 vests I designed. You know. In case you were wondering.  Today I listed the last of the trilogy on Ravelry - this is Obeira.

This is my favorite of the 3. I have worn it and the grey one I made a lot already. My daughter, who is also named after one of the aunts, has expressed interest in claiming the grey one herself. Maybe.

Timing is everything

I had the idea for my lastest design months ago, but had planned to work on it for a fall release. For some reason it demanded to be moved up in my design queue - I guess I had a craving for acres of garter stitch.
The initial inspiration was Praire style stained glass, but it reminded me of Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings, and I did some research and had a name all picked out based on the name of a house he designed. I did all the math, decided on colors, ordered yarn, wrote the pattern, drew the schematic, and knit the stole. The very next day I was reading Game of Thrones and read this passage: "Black and white and grey, all the shades of truth." You can see why I felt like I had to change the name to 'All the Shades of Truth'!

Yesterday was Peter Carl Fabergé's birthday (hmm, an accent and an apostrophe look weird together...) and I wish I had known it ahead of time. I would have had a sale on my Fabergé pattern. It occured to me that it might be interesting to know when Frank Lloyd Wright's birthday was - turns out it's next Friday! When I released this latest pattern, I put it on sale through next Friday in honor of his birthday. I have to remember to check out the Google Doodle that day :)

And how often does this happen? I 'drew' this back in March on the computer -

and here's the finished item -

Pretty darn close!

The Sekrit

Back in April I got an email from an editor at Vogue Knitting. They were planning a special  Noro magazine and wanted to include a page on Lizard Ridge.

My copies came in the mail today!

Pretty cool, huh?

Committed

"...the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way." -  William Hutchinson Murray

Ever since I decided to take my design work seriously, things have been happening. An online shop started carrying my designs. People are requesting patterns. I have ideas!!! Fabergé was selected for a KAL on Ravelry as part of MadMay. I've been mentioned on a knitting podcast (twice!) A famous designer was given a Lizard Ridge afghan as a group gift and mentioned me on her blog. I got invited to do a trunk show at Stitches Mid-West. And I can't even tell you about the coolest thing yet - it's a sekrit!  All this stuff has happened in the last 2 or 3 months. How cool is that???

My latest project - people actually asked me to design more vests!

I think I will wear this a lot - it will be perfect for work this spring and summer. I can throw it over a tank or t-shirt and look a little more put-together than I usually do :)

Enamored

My new shawl is almost ready to release!


This one has beads too - hard to see but they're between the two braids.

As soon as I get this one finished up, I will be swatching for that vest I promised to work on.

Two more designs are up!

I managed to get another vest pattern out of my head before shawls took over again. This is Ardys and I am really happy with how it came out!

A few weeks ago, I sat down to work on a shawl idea I've had for awhile. It was such an odd experience. A totally different shawl was the result. The one I planned to work on is geometric, graphic, the one I designed is romantic and girly. The original idea is still on the to-do list, but this upstart was released last night. Obviously the name is Fabergé.

Something really cool happened when I started posting pictures of the prototypes on my Ravelry hang outs - people asked me to design more vests! The two I did over the winter were well-received and well-liked by those who knit them, but I really didn't sell that many so it surprised me. I was so nervous about breaking into garments, but so far, so good!

I have another shawl design on the needles and then I promised to work on a warm-weather vest in Pashmina. I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do, we'll see what comes of it!

Best Laid Plans

When I started this blog several years ago, the main idea was to motivate myself to knit up my stash by going public with my plans and feeling accountable. Excuse me a minute while I get a tissue - I'm laughing so hard I'm crying. Ok, I'm back.

Since then, I estimate that my stash has roughly quadrupled. My old top 10 yarn list?
Cascade 220 - any of the heathers or tweeds specifically - Still like
Cascade 128 - Still like
Araucania Nature Wool (Worsted or Chunky) - Still like
Artful Yarns Jazz (discontinued) - Destashed - too heavy for this climate
Jo Sharp Silkroad (tweed or not, any weight) - Do Not Like
Rowan Tweed (any) - meh
Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool and Silky Tweed - meh
Malabrigo - luscious but omg the pilling
Noro Kureyon - still love the colors and get sucked in by them occasionally but rarely knit with
New Tweed - meh

New top 10 list:
tosh merino light
tosh chunky
tosh sport
tosh Vintage
Pasmina
Yarn Chef Mulligatawny
Yarn Chef Creme Brulee
Yarn Chef Cider
Cascade 220 (still liking the heathers)
Knit Picks City Tweed

I've gravitated towards lighter weight yarns. I love the drape and they make more wearable garments for this climate. I also (obviously) LOVE the semi-solid hand-dyed yarns. Solid color commercially made yarns have to have some heathering or tweed in them.

But you know what? Now that I'm doing more designing, I've found out that I need a good-sized stash. For inspiration. For samples. Sometimes you don't have time to wait for an order to come in, and most of what I like to knit with can't be picked up locally. I try to be mindful when I buy, and lately I've been using money made from pattern sales, so at least I'm supporting my habit :)

And how gorgeous is this?