Patterns Anyone?

I have just uploaded two Emma’s Daughter original designs onto Ravelry. 

The first one is a sweater that I designed a few years ago for Knit Picks.  It has been languishing within a pile of patterns that I have sold in the past.  Now, resurrected, it is again available either on Ravelry or by going to my Sweater Patterns page, above.
The second is a new pair of socks made with a sport weight sock yarn.  These are quick and easy to knit.  Slipped stitches add an extra layer of warmth, making them an excellent winter sock!  The pair pictured were made using Zwerger Garn’s Opal 6ply.

Nubby Socks

This is a post without a picture. The picture will have to wait until I decide if it is going to be submitted for publication or kept as my own. Either way - I. Love. These. Socks!

They are boot socks, so cuddly and warm. Knit with a sport weight sock yarn, quick to boot! (no pun intended) Also, they are designed to fit the smallest woman to a rather large man. Socks with sizing! Gotta love it.

Well into the second draft of the design. Wanted to have them finished in time to submit to Knitty for their fall issue. No gonna happen. Maybe, if I can hold them back long enough, they can be a contestant in the Winter issue. Maybe winter would be better anyway.

Back to knitting a boot sock. Mine are in Opal yarn. Will make the Boyfriend a pair too. Never made him a pair of socks before. Wonder if he will wear them...

Fickle Little Muse

I have not been able to come up with a design in so long that I had just about given up.
My muse up and left.
My muse got tired.
After a whiz bang sweater

she decided I didn't need any help for a while.
I tried on my own but couldn't even come up with a decent pair of socks!
I begged her forgiveness.
I grovelled at her feet.
I cried in the night...
but she didn't return.
No, she didn't return
until last Friday morning at about 1 a.m.
Damned muse!
Kept me up all night!
She gave me not 1
Not 2
But 3 ideas!
Albeit sock ideas.
But IDEAS nonetheless.
And along with the ideas

she gave me mental images

of the sort I haven't had since the whiz bang sweater!
I could see them.
They wouldn't let me sleep!
I had to get out of bed and begin writing them down.
I mean, after all,
what the Muse giveth
the Muse can taketh away!
One of the ideas is a boot sock using a sport weight yarn.
It is (and this is where I give Muse credit for an extra idea)
in 3 sizes!
It is unisex!
It works up quickly!
It is worth 2 points for the Muse.
Maybe 3.
The other one is a toe up confection that came from my new love of fiddle head ferns.
Haven't gotten that one beyond jotting down the idea and a very poorly drawn sketch.
(My Muse doesn't help with the drawing aspect)
I danced the dance of joy.
I wept.
I...maybe I am getting carried away.
My Muse returned for a little tête-à-tête.
Fickle little Muse.

Missing Muse

Where has my muse gone? It has been so long since I have designed anything that I am beginning to think it was only a dream. Ideas are there. But, those ideas don't transfer from my brain to the needles.

I started a shawl. It was looking very nice. But, I got to a point that it became boring. Mundane. Just like every other shawl out there.

I started a pair of socks. Same thing. Just like all the rest.

A sweater? Fergit aboudit!

I have come to the conclusion that there are so many fine patterns and so many wonderful artists out their that I can spend the rest of my knitting life working their things. Is this a cop-out? Could be. But, if it is, then at least I can bury my escapist head in a pile of yarn and keep busy with someone else's labors.

After all, there is a grandchild on the way... Said grandchild won't wait to grow while Granny Me visualizes a cute, adorable little sweater set, contemplates the best yarn for the project and figures out how to get the cables just right. Granny Me can just hit up Drops or Knitty or Ravelry or even..cough...purchase a pattern. So much time saved. So many more little things that can be knit before the child outgrows them.

Sweaters for the fam? So much yarn and so little time. Don't have any to waste with the same, aforementioned little designing problems.

In the end. I am taking the pressure off and not even going to delve into that area until such time as my muse returns; if ever.

Knitting Success, Knitting...Oh Fer Pete's Sake!

I have been knitting.
Really.
Just not so fast that you could tell.
Today I was going to post all my knitting successes and brag a bit. But the reality is that I just can't. I will show you the current progress and one tiny FO, the first of 2009.
First, the stalled Amhra'n Gra'.

I had high hopes for this sweater as a Yule gift for Hijo Segundo. And then, one day, he comes in to find me perusing sweater patterns and states:
"I'm not really into sweaters Mom. You don't have to make one for me. I would rather have socks or a scarf."
"HUH?!" I said to myself.
And the sweater began to languish. It is still going to be finished though.
The photo is where I was the day that bit of information came my way.

My small success came in the form of these newly designed little cuties. They are a new Emma's Daughter Design and will be in a series called Twinkle Toes, booties and socks for preemies and newborns. This is the first set and is currently under test and rewrite. They are so tiny that it takes only an hour or so to knit one! Fun stuff and small successes count. Right? With help from a marvelous group of women from Ravelry this pattern is getting finished so fast that my head is spinning. That group consists of the wonderful Krafty Anne, the amazing Doodler, the kind Nanarector, and last, but not least, the blogless yet amazing Nathalie, Sunniann and Miolulu.
The next little project that was so exciting for me to finish was for my dear friend Becca, who is still Unpublished by the way. I was getting ready to place them in an envelope and mail them to her when I thought to try them on for a picture. Oops...unless she has 2 right hands, this is just not going to work! Last time I saw her, she seemed to have both thumbs in the proper locations. I laughed, cussed, tried them on again to see if I was somehow mistaken with the positioning of the offending manual appendages only to discover that I was right. They were wrong. Now I have to make another one for the proper hand and probably another one for the proper hand again so I can have a pair too! Sorry Becca, they are going to take a while longer.
Knowing of my dismay and disappointment, the kindly Clinton mailman brought me a consolation prize though!
A while ago I ordered this gorgeous yarn in a kit. A Colinette Afghan kit.
A few years ago I made one for Hija Primera. Not the same pattern or colorway, but a Colinette kit. It was such fun to work and kept me warm while knitting. It was a Yule gift to her.
Since that time I have wanted one of my very own.
One day, while surfing around, looking for Wendy Peter Pan yarn, I stumbled into Wool Needlework. The Colinette brand, floating in the sidebar, caught my eye and I was a gonner. The kit is called Perugino and the colorway is Ginger Nut. It is perfect for my newly painted and decorated parlor! Can't wait to start it.

But you all know what I must do first. That is right, fix the mitten!

Economic Times

Don't we all wish that prices were lower? It seems as though my dollar is transparent. You can only stretch those bad boys so much and they begin to disintegrate. The holiday season brings the economic situation into focus - sharp focus, with a macro lens! No matter where you go, prices are insane. What's a shopper to do?

Well, I for one, refuse to shop for Christmas gifts. For the past couple of years we, or rather I, have done minimal shopping. Rather, I get a gift card with the amount of money that was budgeted for that person's gifts and they get to shop the Christmas sales. Mind you, that is only for immediate family. Others may not understand my abhorence for holiday shopping and the crowds. And, rather than a purchased gift to place under the tree, there is a handmade item. The handmade items are my way of showing or demonstrating how much that person means to me. The time and effort put into the gift, usually a knitted sweater, socks, gloves, etc., is much more meaningful than throwing money on a counter in exchange for an item the person may or may not use.

I know, a handmade gift isn't always looked upon as a "gift" and you can't take it back or return it; but with a handmade gift, you know the person was thinking of you when they made it. And, isn't it the thought that counts? That is what I was always told.

Don't we all wish prices were lower? I know I do. As a result, I lowered the prices on all my Payloadz patterns. Won't have an impact on the economy, but it sure makes me feel better.

Happy Holidays!

Harlingen Girls! Up on Payloadz

I do believe that the latest sock design is uploaded to Payloadz. This one will also be available in January. But, if you just can't wait, here is the link for the pattern:

Harlingen Girls!

Xanadu Comes in January

The first pattern to be posted on Emma's Daughter Designs will be Xanadu.

This yoga (or dance) sock will be available for immediate PDF download.