Howdy from the Occasional Blogger

Here's a pic of some of what I've been up to since almost a month ago when I wrote last. I gave Mairi an upgrade and made a new sample. I'll give you one guess what the yarn is...c'mon, you know...my most-used yarn ever...yep, Cascade 220. I used #2437 and #4011 to create what I think is a much more interesting version. I got rid of all the knitted cord and just made it a simple design. Now it's an all-purpose zip hoodie. It's technically a girl's pattern, so I made this one in the largest size so I can wear it. I couldn't help adding a little embroidery for fun.

The scarf is the bulky version of Mavis, knit with Cascade 128 in color #3438. It was fun and fairly fast to make. I am trying to get samples made of all four yarn weights included in the pattern. Two down, two to go. The fingering weight and the worsted weight ones are in progress, so I'll show you when they're done.

Let's see, what all has been going on in the last month? Lots of subbing, a trip to the South to see Fred's parents (and to gain about five pounds from all the delicious food), my mom (more good food and a gift bottle of wine, not to mention good advice), Chattanooga (a really cool town), Natalie (yep, more good food and seeing her apartment and meeting her roommate for the first time), and Emily and Randall (good food while enjoying a live Sean Lennon concert, among other delights), spending a Saturday night in the Las Vegas airport (my first time to sleep on airport benches), and back home to rest up and then finish the Interweave Crochet project. Whew! That was the super-condensed version. It's been very busy.

So busy, in fact, that I have made a decision. I am not submitting any more designs to anyone for the rest of the year (or at least I'll try my dead-level best). I have to work my own stuff. I had to leave my current design project for Figheadh languishing for so long, not only was I completely lost when I picked it back up today, I couldn't even find the notes for it--at first, at least. I finally found them and figured it out and I am back on track with Sara, the Aran jacket in purple Cascade Pastaza. It's luscious, folks, but I need to get it done while the crisp cool of early spring is still with us.

One reason I can wait for the rest of the year to do submissions is that so many good things are yet to come! There's the scarf in the fall Creative Knitting, the project for the fall IC, a project in an undisclosed book by someone you all know about projected for fall publication, and TA DA, something I can finally talk about, because the author and Amazon are talking (if not showing as yet). Around December 4 of this year, an amazing book is due to hit the bookstores--a book about yarn--a book by Clara Parkes of Knitter's Review fame. That's right! I'm sure you've heard about it by now, but what you didn't know is that I have four little designs in that book. Wow! I am so excited I can't stand it. Backstory. Last year at about this time, I got an email from Clara asking if I wanted to "play" and do some designs for her book. I was in shock, I'll tell ya, and had a blast working with her. Clara is the best of the best. Pure gold. Now we just have to get busy with other things and try and wait over seven months to see it. Oh, well, I've waited a year to even say anything about it (which was torture), so I guess I can wait longer.

Okay, more later. I have to go and fix dinner--it's Smallville night, and we finally get a new episode after watching reruns for the past month. It's a big deal at Chez Hagan.

Happy Stitchin' (and whatever else you're up to)!