Designing Cithara was part of my quest for the perfect sweater. There were elements I included in that design that I really enjoy. Specifically the zipper and the turned hems. But I’ve been thinking more and more about what sort of sweater I want to design and knit – for myself – that has all the right stuff. A sweater I can wear more than once a week, that will be comfortable and wear well, and not be so very distinctive that I can’t wear it often. But distinctive enough to be beautiful and something others would like to knit as well.
This is a tall order. But I’ve started with the yarn. It’s the perfect go with everything color.
The colorway is called Cloud Jungle, and it’s Dream In Color’s beautiful workhorse of a yarn Classy. I’ve heard this wears very well, so it satisfies the “wear a lot” requirement and the colorway is nothing short of genius. It’s kind of a smoky purplish grey. Kind of. But it has hints of browns in it. Which I adore, because that is one of my biggest wardrobe problems. Rich browns are good colors for me. But basically in my closet I have clothes you can wear with brown things and brown shoes and then another subset of clothing that only goes with black stuff. But with this being both grey and brown I think it will bridge that gap!
The Classy has a nice twist to it, and the little bits of other colors are so nice. There are hints of rose and plum and in some light bits of greenish brown. It really is the perfect go with anything chameleon of a colorway.
I’ve done some sketches and I’m thinking hard about what exactly I want this sweater to be. What do you think makes a sweater perfect?
So I’m sweater obsessed right now. And I actually went and bought myself a sweater’s worth of Dream In Color Classy the other day. And as soon as I can get a picture of it where I can get the color right I will show you. I will master this photography nonsense even if it kills me. But I figured that in lieu of designing myself a sweater I might could break out one that’s already started.
This is indigirl’s Elsewhere in Malabrigo Worsted. Pretty, ain’t it? I’m working on the diagonal side panels now and then I will move on to sleeve city. The nice thing about this sweater is that despite the unique look of it, the pattern is not at all complicated and I can do a few rows here and there while waiting for other things.
I love the purl row detailing on this sweater. And I’m thinking it’s a great winter coat type sweater for Florida. That is if we actually get any more winter this winter. We had some chilly days here and there but now it’s back up the 80′s and it’s driving me crazy. I’ve been rocking jeans & tees & flip flops, but I might have to break out some capris if this weather doesn’t ease up!
All I can think about lately are sweaters. Probably because my fingers are slightly blue – it’s actually been cold here in Florida lately – and I refuse to turn the heat up on principal. Last night I was sketching up and submitting sweaters, and I am quite seriously considering hitting the yarn store today to get yarn for a sweater for myself. I’d also like to make myself one of these:
When I designed this sweater, I had the perfect sweater in mind. I thought about features on other garments I had knit – what I liked, what I didn’t like. I knew I wanted a zipper, and I’m a sucker for turned hems and i-cord edgings. So I starting thinking and I started sketching.
I played around a lot with where the cable motifs would go – how they would integrate into the sweater – what seemed most organic. I swatched the cable motifs in Malabrigo worsted – because it’s always good to have some of that on hand for swatching. The motif I had chosen lent it self well to sleeve insets and panels up the front of the sweater and around the hood. The motif itself reminded me of a harp, so after a smidge of research (wikipedia to the rescue!) I found that a cithara was a kind of ancient Greek harp or lyre. Hence the name. Naming things is sometimes the hardest part!
When I received the Mountain Mohair from Green Mountain Spinnery I was pleased to find out how well it cabled. And the little tweedy bits were perfect for the large areas of stockinette in this sweater. Something with a bit of interest is best – either texturally or color-wise. That way the stockinette areas don’t look flat.
And when push came to shove I ended up with a sweater that was actually better than I envisioned. Which is really all a designer can hope for.
So I’m trying to learn to take pictures. Good pictures. Honestly what I want to be able to do is take pictures of my knitting designs, my kids, my husband, and my dog. That’s about it. I don’t want to start a photography business. I just want my pictures of my family to speak to me, and I want my pictures of my knitting designs to sell stuff. That’s it.
This, apparently, is a very tall order. There are so many things to learn with the picture-taking. And photography people? They are mean. I joined a few photography forums and apparently the idea of constructive criticism is lost on (most of) these folks. They love nothing better than to rip an amateur photographer to shreds. I don’t get it. And then I go and look at the websites or flickr accounts of these so-called experts… and we are not impressed. At all. I guess I just don’t understand the not wanting to help people. I mean I guess technically they are sometimes giving good information, but it’s hard to see it when they are blasting you with the hate.
And just for the record, I haven’t really experienced the vitriol myself. I’ve just watched it. It’s like they take glee in shooting folks down. I tell you what, if I ever hire a photographer the first thing I’m gonna do is see if I can find them on those forums. Because if they are asshats (like so many of them are) they ain’t never getting my business.
But I digress. As usual. My point is, there’s tons of information out there, but I’m having trouble putting it into something cohesive that I can study. And Lord knows I can’t ask any of these folks. But I’ve been working through a Ben Long book that is written specifically for the camera I have, which is the Rebel T1i/500D. And I’m actually slowly learning stuff. Like how to use fill flash for something that is back-lit…
And how the different white balance presets work and how to create a custom white balance…
Although I think I might like one of those nifty grey cards. The thing is, for my business, I can’t decide if it’s better to try to learn these things on my own, or pony up and take a class. It’s a very slow time of year for my business, so it’s hard to justify the cost of a class. How did you learn to take awesome photographs?
First off, the make your own e-book special is still running. Until the end of this weekend, you can choose any 6 PicnicKnits patterns, use the coupon code “ebook” and get them all for only $20. That’s $16 off the regular individual price. So go! Make yourself an e-book.
But now that I am officially not sick I just have to get back into the swing of things. And things are swinging. The next 6 weeks the boys have so many activities that it makes my brain hurt just to think about them all. And I need to get back into properly managing my time around here. If I expect to get anything done I can’t be lollygagging through life. So I’ve set some goals. Important yarny goals.
I want to make myself a sweater. Out of that there Jaeger. I’ve had this yarn for years. And I’ve swatched a few things in it, but now I’d really like to knit with it.
And I want to make the perfect shawlette out of that. I’ve wanted that color forever and for my birthday this summer I finally got it. It’s Skinny Bugga in Dragonfly Tattoo. And I just know it will make something gorgeous, I just have to show it what to be.
The funny thing is, as I went through my paltry stash, those were really the only two yarns that jumped out at me. So either I need to buy more yarn, or I need to set up a new project so I can solicit some new yarns from indy dyers. Because I really loved working with the indy dyers on the Seven Songs. What yarns are you longing to work with?
Today I’m trying something new. A different kind of promotion. One that I think is a nice discount/reward for all my awesome customers, and also allows me to do a sneaky bit of market research. I have two nice e-books with shawlettes. And I’m seriously considering another one. But I’m curious to what sort of collection you would put together if you had all the freedom to choose.
So… for the next couple of days I am running a “Make Your Own E-Book” sale. Here’s the deal: You go to my pattern store. You add 6 patterns to your cart. Normally those six patterns would cost you $36. But then you add in the coupon code “ebook” and it takes off a nice chunk of change. So now, you have 6 patterns of your choosing for only $20! Quite a nice little bargain, eh?
And the beauty part of this is for this limited time, you get to choose exactly which six patterns you would like! So what would make up your dream PicnicKnits e-book?
That’s what I’ve been all week. I started fighting off a cold since last Friday – I could feel it coming, but I refused to acknowledge I was sick. I probably should have gone directly to bed and tried to sleep until it went away. But I’m not that smart.
By the time it hit me on Monday I was done for. No breathing, no sleeping, all achey, fever and chills. If I didn’t know better I would say I have the flu. It might have been. Today I’m still having a smidge of trouble breathing but it seems to be leaving town thank goodness. And so far it doesn’t look like the boys have it. Or the man. Perish the thought!
I’ve been working on sooper seekrit knitting – which goes really slow when you can barely keep your eyes open. But I managed to snap a few pictures with my new lens on New Year’s Day. I’m still learning how to work with such a small area of focus when I’m shooting wide open. It’s kind of cool to have new things to learn though!
One of my resolutions this year is to learn how to master this camera. Another one is not leave deadline knitting to the last minute. You never know when you are going to catch the plague.
We had a wonderful Christmas in our new house. Christmas Eve we dressed up and headed to Mass and then over to an annual Christmas Eve party that we attend. Even though we don’t have family in town, it’s nice to have friends that treat you like family. This particular family has known the man since he was a wayward teenager and they still invite us over, so that’s nice.
We would have slept in nice and late on Christmas morning. The boys being 12 and 13 they don’t get you up at the buttcrack of dawn like little ones do. But unfortunately 2011 will be remembered as Merry Poopmas or Poop-Pocalypse 2011. Rufus the wonder beagle is afraid of boxes. When we’ve moved in the past he has made this quite evident. I think the stress of our recent move and the big boxes for the man’s Christmas presents sent him over the edge. We woke up way too early to a dog who had filled his sleeping crate with poo. So the dog and the crate and the surrounding floor got washed very early. Thank goodness the floor was tile. He looks so innocent here, but don’t let it fool you.
The boys were very happy with their presents – the big dude had a very video game Christmas. He even got video game inspired t-shirts. I am totally not happy with how fast he is growing up.
The little dude got a lot of wrestling related gifts and tees. He is still all about the wrestling. They even got to go and see the Smackdown taping here in town a few weeks ago. He desperately needs a haircut, but I’m loathe to chop off his curls.
The man got manly things, like firepits and toolboxes and things for the Jeep. Hence the big boxes that caused the poo. I had a totally camera Christmas. Sadly the 50mm lens that I got for Christmas was flawed, so I had to send it back. But a new one is already en route, so no worries. And even with the flaws, did you see that awesome pic I got of Rufus up there? Love it!
But now I’m thinking about 2012. Not in an end the world sort of way, but more in a what do I want to do with the year sort of way. I already have a motto for 2012. And a buzzword. My buzzword is mighty. And my motto?
1 cup mashed potatoes (leftover or prepared from instant)
12 oz. pkg of bacon, cooked, crumbled & drained
1 pkg of crescent rolls
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out crescent rolls, press together diagonal seams, and cut into 24 squares (4×6). Press one square into each hole of a mini muffin tin (24 count). Bake for 7 minutes.
While puffs are baking, mix together mashed potatoes, one cup of cheese, and bacon. Remove puffs from oven and put one tablespoon of tater-cheese-bacon mixture on each puff. (Smoosh if necessary!) Top with remaining half-cup of cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and any visible crescent puff is golden brown.
I think these would be particularly tasty served with sour cream (like potato skins) and maybe some chopped chives. Very tasty, very easy!
Are you ready? I just got home from the grocery store where I got all the fixings for a roast beef dinner and some last minute candy for stocking stuffers. I forgot one thing. But my husband is quite insane and he actually *likes* to shop on Christmas Eve. So I’ll get him to pick it up for me when he wakes up in a moment.
Use the coupon code “thanks” to get any single PicnicKnits pattern for free! Or, alternately you can use the code and get $6 off of Sideways Shawlettes, Seven Songs, or Blue Brim Hats.
I’ll leave you with my very favorite Muppet Christmas song – with apologies that I think I share this one every year. But the sentiment is worthwhile. I wish you a Merry Christmas, and a blessed and joyous New Year, and I hope that you are well and happy wherever you are and whatever you do.
