January 24, 2014

A recent trip to work on my book, including a mini-hiatus to see old friends, is over. With a week-long visit to San Francisco in my rearview mirror, I’ve resumed knitting (and more knitting). While this gorgeousness:

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was plenty distracting, the purpose of my trip was definitely knitting-related. Over two days, the projects for my next knitting book were styled, primped, and positioned to best advantage during the photo shoot, some of which took place outdoors.

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While I created the designs and wrote the patterns, and the ultimate product (The book! The book!) is my responsibility, hiring a fantastic team gives me confidence that the end result will be all I could wish.

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From tech editing the twelve patterns, to design and layout of the book format, to photography of the knitted sample garments, the end result will be the work of many.

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And while overseeing the details has entailed many checklists, spreadsheets, and emails back and forth, at the end of the day it’s so worth it!

Choices, Choices….Yarn Selection

My big 2013 knitting book project is complete. Well, let me amend that. My initial responsibilities are complete, meaning that I:

~designed twelve – yes, twelve! – flattering and comfortable new garments (I can’t reveal much, but here’s a sneak peek of one cardi with a vintage mother-of-pearl button from my collection):

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~chose a lovely palette of fantastic yarns for them,

~wrote up all the patterns.

The physical book layout, photography, and production are starting in mid-January, and the file will go to the printer by early March. The book’s target release date is early June, 2014.

With a three-week window wide open before me, I’ve begun selecting yarns for a new book project because god forbid I should have nothing to do between now and mid-January. This new secret project has an exciting theme, a gorgeous color palette, and a bit of a bias toward luxury yarns in small, affordable quantities (although many of the featured yarns will have user-friendly price points). I’m stoked!

Here’s a peek at the prototype for one of the projects already nearing completion:

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I haven’t seen much of this lacy cable design out there, and really wanted to try something new to me that would be easily memorized but would also develop a satisfying pattern reveal as it grows on the needles.

I’ll leave you with a few images of Chicago’s holiday attire:

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For a couple of frigid days, new snow covered every surface, and holiday lights were the only things warming the view at night.

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A little dusting of icy “confectioner’s sugar” on the rooftops:

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Even the river began to ice over, but as soon as it warmed up ju-u-st slightly, these mini ice floes broke free and skimmed down-river.

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