i thought i would share some of my process sketches and photos

1.     here is my first sketch of the sweater pattern

2. this is the first “swatch” with a yarn i did not use for the pattern… i was looking for a yarn that had a nice drape horizontally… the pattern is  crocheted from side-to-side, so instead of the normal “stripes” that go horizontal, the work is rotated so that the lines are vertical…

3. i ended up getting great stretch in the fabric  with RYC Cashsoft DK … a surprisingly affordable merino, microfiber  and cashmere blend

4. here’s the part where i ripped and ripped and ripped, trying to find the perfect stitch for the pattern… it was more fun than it sounds!

5. time goes by
-crochet pieces get finished
-assembly is taking place
-math is being done
-and countless hours of double checking

6. voila!   perfect stitch found, assembly done

these are the photos i sent for pre-approval, along with some schematics i had to draw out

7. i then had to send the sweater (oh god, this is where i was in total panic, my hard work was going out the door, never to be touched again…   but i DID get to touch it at the TNNA show where it was on display at the Interweave Press booth!) with all the sizes mapped out… i think i double checked my work about 20 times, sweating the whole time.

8. then a sigh of relief as my sweater was well received and going to photography

9. oh yeah, then sit and wait for the book to come out!

it really is the BEST crochet pattern book, i saw many at the tradeshow and the Crochet Me one out-shined them all… totally wearable designs, trendy, GORGEOUS photography… anthropologie style

Kim Werker of crochetme.com is the one who put this all together… she not only contacted all the designers and made the book happen, she was there along the way to help out, she made sure the book lived up to her standards… i can’t say enough… she rocks!

the new 2.1 upgrade is available!!!
click here to read about it (and download it)  on the wordpress website

i installed it here at midnightknitter and i LOVE it!   so many  cool upgrades and a few security fixes…

and if you are running wordpress  2.0 or later and  hate spam,
BE SURE to use the Akismet plugin, it works wonders.
The new 2.1 version comes bundled with it…

oh yeah, also, if you havent heard, you can get a wordpress.com blog for free!!  

we’ve got Blue Sky Alpaca, Himalaya Yarns, Peace Fleece felting kits and a whole lot more…

** the future of Knit Pixie includes a pattern section with designs by yours truly and other indie designers (so email if you’d like to be featured in our store), more yarn companies including Lornas Laces, Mal Abrigo and other hand dyed yarn, the coolest knitting needles, and another secret plan to be announced when we’re ready to launch it…

** SO!   i had a very hard time keeping this a secret, but now that we’ve launched i’m spreading the news!   AND the first 100 knitters to create an account will get a 10% OFF coupon for their first order!

** and a big thanks to everyone who visits my blog, without your kind comments and links back to my patterns i never could have dreamed this big   ;-)