knitting school dropout

cecily and i will be bringing the book garments around for a few trunk show / book signings in the not so distant future. here are some definite dates so far, with others to be added as soon as times/details are determined.

A Stitch in Time
July 15, 6:00-8:00pm
Bethel, CT

Purl Diva
July 25, 1:00-3:00pm
Brunswick, ME

WEBS
July 29, 6:00-8:00pm
Northampton, MA
registration is free, but sign-ups are required. please contact customer service at 413-584-2225 or customerservice@yarn.com to register.

Hub Mills
August 14, 1:00-3:00pm
Lowell, MA

A Loom With a View
September 11, 2010
Newburyport, MA (where the book was photographed!)
time tbd

come say hi and see the sweaters in person!

Posted by melissa at 08:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

there are some new england knits giveaways happening right this second!

hurry, hurry!

the one at craftgossip.com ends tomorrow.

and the one at the kelbourne woolens blog started today! (kw is also giving away the yarn to make the whale watch hat!)

good luck!

i have a much longer post in the works, complete with photos from my recent trip to harrisville, but i'm too tired to write about my good time tonight. :)

Posted by melissa at 10:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

the garments from the book arrived here today so we can bring them with us when we visit shops. i'm reunited with my o-wool hoodie. yay. and some of the projects have been added to ravelry. i'll blog about each of mine soon.

Posted by melissa at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

did you know that in only 10 days (july 1st), new england knits will be officially released? i am definitely might be freaking out a lot bit. i am a pretty mellow person. i do not know how to handle excitement. at all. luckily, i've had lots to distract me lately.

i'm trying to wait patiently for quince and co to officially launch. i've had the pleasure of sampling all of their yarns now, and i am in love. the colors, the stitch definition. swoon. see, now you can't wait either!

i never did finish my cardigan for tnna. i finished the body and 1 sleeve by the 1st day, but only just finished the other sleeve. then i thought the ruffles were a bit too ruffle-y and big, so i made them smaller, which was a lot of ripping. i have re-knit all but 1 ruffle and the edging. maybe 2 hours of knitting left, then i'm done. i spent some time writing the pattern up too, so it should be available soon. it's a top-down, open front cardigan with a little ruffled edge and 1/2 sleeves. i wear a ton of open-front cardigans as a layer of protection from the air-conditioning that seems to be turned up to 11 everywhere i go. here's a peek:

i also wear cropped short-sleeve cardigans a lot over tanks and dresses this time of year, so of course i was super excited for the release of cecily's new design. i was extra excited when she let me take the photos for the pattern while we were in ohio. details on her blog.

oh yeah, i went to ohio again! as expected, it was lots of fun to see friends from far away, eat amazing ice cream and show people the book.

i've been back for a few days, but i'm still kind of catching up on sleep and trying to keep myself busy while i wait for the book to finally be out.

xo

melissa

Posted by melissa at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | TrackBacks (0)

i knew it was coming... but really how prepared can you really be for the first time you see your book?

it came in a rush.

wrapped in wrapping paper, even. i heart interweave

and then, there it was, all real and stuff. :) did i ever tell you that i was mildly obsessed with our book being square? i've always loved my little collection of square interweave books. when we first got our book deal, i kept saying "we're going to have a cute little square interweave book!".

and now we really do. i feel like crying and hugging someone and crying some more. i wish i didn't have to only virtually high-five and hug cecily today. i guess i'll just hug my book until i can visit her again.

the book still won't be out for a couple months, this is just an advance copy. but still, joy! next time i post, i think there will be a peek inside!

Posted by melissa at 09:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (47)

Our book is available for pre-order on amazon.com. it's funny how some things make it seem so much more real.

i'm still catching up after a toothache that turned into last-minute oral surgery last week. honestly, the toothache was worse than losing the molar, and right now, the only bother is a diet that lacks crunchy things. i will survive. i will return emails. i will be saving indefinitely for a dental implant :)

Posted by melissa at 10:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (41)

last weekend cecily and i traveled to newburyport, mass to witness 2 days of the photoshoot for our book. it was a beautiful place.

while blue skies and beaches are lovely, i was especially thrilled with the two farms we shot at, one of which offered your standard friendly old dog, and the other, overrun with piglets. piglets! they ran around throughout the shoot, and i'm hoping they make their way into some of the final photographs.

it was really amazing to see how much work goes into photographing just one garment. i think when i witnessed that work revolving around a garment that i had knit just a few months ago, the book finally became real to me.

so, now it's really real. when cecily and i said goodbye to tricia and liz from interweave sunday night, i think we were both hit with a sudden wave of sadness. the big part is over, and the wait has begun. spring 2010.

pictures cross-posted over on our knitting daily blog

Posted by melissa at 06:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)