Attack of the Double-Knit Rectangles

I don’t know how it is that I ended up working on 3 scarves at the same time. It’s a nice break from the constant innovation but I find myself itching to get going on something groundbreaking. Still, I’m having a good time and will likely finish and release these patterns before starting anything else major.

So a couple of progress shots are in order. First, I’m about 2/3 done with 52 Pickup. I was hoping to have it done and ready for release by Christmas, but that doesn’t seem likely to happen. Even if I can stay on target (roughly one 3-card repeat per week), I have 6 more card repeats to do and only 5 more weeks until Christmas. It’s possible I may yet finish it before the end of the year, though. I’m happy with the outcome so far, but I don’t know how I could possibly work on anything more eye-popping or conversation-starting than this. Perhaps I’ll do the next revision in laceweight with real face cards, better numbers and letters, and the correct number of pips on each card.

I’ve also done a couple more repeats on Parallax v1.0, and am about to get into the really interesting part where the two colorways of Kauni will start to do this dark shimmery effect together. It was really pretty in the test swatch and I’m happy they seem to be lining up the same way here.

In addition, I’ve kept my promise and designed a lower-resolution Parallax scarf, called Parallax v0.5, for those who don’t want the commitment of a scarf double-knit from fingering weight yarn. The real treat, however, is that Parallax v0.5 is designed in Bijou Basin Ranch‘s Lhasa Wilderness yarn, a luxurious yak and bamboo blend. I spent much of Stitches East with Bijou Basin and fell in love with this yarn. It has great stitch definition and a really soft hand. I’m happy to be able to do something different with it and I hope the folks from Bijou Basin will enjoy it as well.

A further announcement: Last week I did a guest post for Juniper Moon Fiber Farm‘s blog. There was a drawing for a copy of my book there. Out of respect for her own following, I opted not to post about it until the drawing was done, so as not to dilute her own commenters’ chances at winning the book. However, it’s a fun post, and you should check it out. If you’d rather cut to the chase, though, I understand: at the end of the post I announce that I will be designing two new patterns in her luscious fingering weight yarn Findley, for release in Fall of 2012.

I’ve got some unsolicited book reviews up at Amazon and Goodreads — thanks to those who posted them! Here’s hoping there are more to come. Oh, and check out Episode 61 of the Savvy Girls Podcast. I’ve got a little bit in there as they interview the Cooperative Press gang at Rhinebeck.

The book itself is now in its second printing, since presales and event sales went very well. As a result we’re very low on books for a little while. It only takes a couple of weeks for the printer to get the books to Cooperative Press, so I hope we’re in good shape for the holidays.

I recently did a presentation for the Common Cod Fiber Guild — it was well-attended and a good time was had by all, even as, midway through my talk, the projector went off and the screen retracted of its own volition. We weren’t able to get it back on, so I just did an impromptu trunk show and Q&A for the last part of the event. My next non-workshop appearance will be at Vogue Knitting Live in NYC, where I’ll be signing my books at the Knitty City booth from 2-3pm on Saturday, January 14th. I’ve also got workshops coming up at Knitty City, Webs and Fresh Purls in Providence. I’m working on lining workshops up in Salem, MA and Philly as well. Check out my calendar for more info.

Whew … I think that’s it! Lots of info crammed into a single post here. I hope I haven’t missed anything. See you next time!