Weekend catch-up

Has it been a week already since I last posted? Yikes!

The draw for the Italian stitch disctionaries is now closed - thank you for all your thoughtful comments! I'm going to read through them today, email the two winners, and once they have confirmed I'll announce them here!

Other news:

I decided to make Mr Tom's Beanie available as a free download. I know I'm running a business but offering the occassional free pattern feels right, especially one as simple as this. It's a quick beanie, perfect for last minute gifts or charity knitting.

Follow the link above to this patterns' page and you can download it from there :) Enjoy!

And now some pimping:

Remember when I was interviewed for knitting TV? Well, that new knitting channel is now live! Knit1.TV is an online subscrition channel (here's the link for US folks) I haven't seen the episode I was in yet, so if you spot me, please be kind in your comments ;)

There's a new fibre filled event planned for next year called Fibre Craft Away! It's a whole weekend packed full with various tutors (myself included) set in the Brecon Beacons during May. I know nearly all of the tutors personally, and each and everyone is both skilled and good fun - I think this will be a great, enjoyable and relaxing weekend.

A little bird has told me that the Anticraft book is being 'remaindered' (technical publisher talk) - more information can be found here - basically, they're having a sale of the book and there's even a special deal for non-US folks. Hey, there's no affiliation, just passing on a message for a friend! Actually, maybe I should start charging for pimping...

And now I need to get on and finish reading everyone's comments on the draw, complete a tutorial for print, review a new pattern (more information shortly!) and sort through this mornings' photos for it, retackle a crochet pattern that will not beat me, and then maybe, just maybe, sit and do some knitting..

Italian stitch dictionary give away!

Please read this post for information about this stitchionary:)

So, this unusual Italian stitch dictionary that I found in the local supermarket... we went back this morning and I bought the last copies...

And now I'm offering them up for grabs! There are 2 copies available, and both have a small amount of damage on the back cover (minor tears) but hey, they were the last copies and two lucky people will be getting them for free, so who cares about a small tear, right?

Here's the deal - leave me a comment with your email address on this blog post  telling me why you'd like a copy of this stitch dictionary. That's all you have to do - email addy + your reason for why you want a copy. It could be that you want to improve your Italian or have a design that needs something creative on the stitch front or because you collect these suckers and can't possibly live without this one. Whatever your reason is, tell me.

Here's a little looksy again at what's up for grabs:

And don't forget you can read more about it here.

Now the important stuff:

• I'll post (ship) just about anywhere, so overseas folk are more than welcome.
• You must let me have your email addy - no addy, no win, I don't have time to chase you.
• You can leave your email addy in the required field for commenters - there's no need to include it in your actual comment.
• Your comment must be left on this blog post only - not the previous post, Ravelry,  Facebook or Twitter - post elsewhere and you won't be included in the draw.
• I'll make every effort to post the stitchionary safely and it'll be well packaged to avoid anymore damage, but I can't be held accountable for what happens after it leaves my hands.
• A link to your blog or website is welcome - gives me somewhere to link to when I announce the winners!
• I'll be selecting the winners based on the best comments and that decision is final.
• And on that note, think about your comment - be imaginative, clever, thoughtful or funny - just don't say "because you want it".
• Only one comment per person - multiple entries will be ignored.
• I'll be taking new comments until Saturday 21st November, 6pm GMT+1. I'll announce the winners within a few days (you gotta give me a chance to read your comments!)

Still with us? Good! Now fire away with your comment and best of luck!

**Remember there are two copies up for grabs, so I'll be looking for the two best comments, not just one!

PS/ thank you to everyone who's offered help with translation! I'm the only Brit here on the Yard who doesn't speak Italian so there's plenty of help on hand. I'm trying to work much of it for myself, based on my own knitting knowledge, as I figured this could be the only way I manage to learn any of the language ;)

An unusual collection of stitches

Babelfish translates the title literally to 'The Great Review of the Points', but then we all know Babelfish talks nonsense. 'Points' is the Italian word for stitches, so the title reads more like 'The Great Stitch Review' or similar.

ETA: Teacosy has told me that 'rivista' means magazine, which makes sense! Thanks Teacosy!

This was found in the local supermarket, of all places! Every Italian stitch dictionary or how-to book that I've bought has come from the magazine shelves. Infact all of them except one are more magazines than books - they may be one-off publications, but they have the look and feel of magazines; the flimsy paper, lack of reinforced cover etc etc. This seems to be quite common in Europe - my copy of Mon Tricot has the same feel about it. Even the one Italian book of knit stitches that I do have sat alongside the magazines in the shop. The downside is is that they need protecting to survive any amount of use, and the plus side is that they are far more accessible and loads cheaper.

Unusually, this isn't a Mani di Fata publication; it is infact a German publication, produced by OZ Verlag, and this collection of 130 stitches is translated and distributed across Italy and Switzerland as well as it's native Germany.

The stitch patterns contained inside are interesting - they aren't the usual collection of standard patterns that we're so used to seeing repeated from collection to collection. Very few basic stitches can be found, and infact, most are complex repeats of some 30 rows or more - the samples are definitely knit on fine gauge yarn. There are intriguing combinations of cables and lace, or overall shawl patterns with a variety of lace stitches already combined and mapped out. I'm more used to seeing these unusual sorts of stitches in my Japanese stitch dictionaries, so I'm really pleased to see a European publication like this, even if it feels like it won't last a full swatching session.

Each stitch pattern is charted, and the key is in Italian. Now, there's no one universal symbol for a yarnover used, which threw me to start with. But then I remembered where I am and who published it, and realised the symbols represent yf, yb, etc, i.e the different ways of creating a yarnover. I'll get Tom to translate the key for me to be sure, but I reckon that's what they mean. The increase and decrease symbols are also more specific than you generally see. Reassuringly, they use the same symbols for cables that I prefer to use, helping it seem less alien ;)

All in all, this was a really good find and a good addition to my collection; a total bargain at €3.90. I'm going to look out for more of these, as I think they'd make great little gifts or giveaways. There were more in the shop where I bought this one but they'd already been damaged - such is the life of a magazine.

Simple pleasures

I've found myself in need of simple knitting again, and this time a skein of Babylonglegs handspun came to the rescue!

These are no fuss Hats. No unusual or tricky techniques, no juggling of stitch patterns or brain-aching maths. No deadlines, charts or expectant publisher. Exactly what I needed.

Aran's Hat has a twisted rib for the body, and Tom's garter stitch. They both have the same low tech stocking stitch crown, with the standard 4 stem balanced decreases (i.e. worked on multiples of 8). They're variants of the same structure. I think the simplicity of the Hats really shows the yarn to it's best, too - the colours are wonderful, with such depth, and could have easily been lost amongst a busy stitch pattern.

It was so nice to take some time out from all the madness and just knit something, anything other than what I should be knitting. It was nice to have the right yarn there and two willing recipients. It was nice to be able to knit two Hats in one day, just like that, without the need to keep ripping them out and making modifications. Just cast on, knit, finish.

But. Old habit's die hard and I've written the pattern. I don't think I know how to knit a Hat without writing a pattern anymore.

And now I don't know what to do. The pattern isn't finished yet, because that would require some thinking and I've been trying to have a break from that these last 2 days. The pattern includes (currently) 4 sizes and 2 body options (i.e. different stitches) with notes on more (as you can see I failed somewhat at not thinking). It's likely I'll add either another size, another body option, or both.

What I'm not sure about is whether I should charge for it, or offer it free. There's value in a well written beginners pattern, and I've learnt that the simple ones are often more popular, but I'd feel cheeky asking folk to pay for something so basic. I'm kinda inclined to offer it for free to balance out the ones I need to start charging for, but I'm also reminding myself that I need to earn some money.

Alternatively, I could submit the pattern somewhere (but who's going to take it now it's public?) or I could donate it, which would be a good compromise.

I'm going to sleep on this, and hope that tomorrow is a better head day! In the meantime, my boys have got new Hats, and with any luck they'll stop trying to steal the ones I need to keep for publication...

PS/ if you were expecting to hear from me these last couple of days, I'm sorry, and will be in touch shortly, I promise. Meltdown was reached, and that needed to be remedied.

PPS/ I suck at taking time out, don't it? I mean, I give myself a day or two off and what do I do? I knit a Hat. Then another Hat. And then I write the pattern. Clearly I need help.

Alveare & advanced price change notice

Sometimes you just want a quick knit, something you don't need to think about too much, and something that flows easily. The same happens with design - I needed something that I knit without ripping, something that had pleasant, simple elements, and something that wouldn't cause me a headache when pattern writing.

I knit this Hat during our drive down from the UK to Italy. When we take our long road trips I'll often work whilst Tom is driving - if Aran is asleep or content with his travel toys, I take the time to catch-up. I'd been reformatting a number of patterns and pattern writing, and the urge for a simple knit took over. I started playing with some of the Zitron Nimbus Merino in plain shades, the same yarn that I worked with for the Nimbus beanie, and this Hat grew effortlessly!

It's not quite a slouchy beret, not quite a slouchy beanie, more somewhere inbetween. I like how the wide rib of the brim reflects the horizontal rib of the body. I couldn't resist adding the bobble, which is more a teardrop shape than a ball - it is optional if you don't fancy that little bit of whimsy!

Alveare is the Italian for beehive - I played with lots of words to get the right name, something that explained it's texture, and thought this word had a rather nice ring to it. Here's the specs:

Materials:
100g/200m/218yds Nimbus Organic Merino Aran (100% Merino)
OR 100g/219m/240yds Araucania Nature Wool Multi (100% Wool)
Set 4mm DPN's
Set 4.5mm DPN's
Stitch marker as necessary
Tapestry needle

Gauge:
18 sts x 24 rows to 10cm/4" on 4.5mm needles over St.St

Sizes:
To fit sizes: S (M, L), 19 (21, 23) inches, 48.25 (53.25, 58.5) cm
Finished size: 16 (17.75, 19.25) inches, 40.5 (45, 49) cm

Format: written only

Alveare costs £2.50, and is already available for download. Enjoy!

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I've had to do a fair bit of restructuring with my prices over the last few months, and this is because of print distribution and the costs of paper and ink. There are now 2 price brackets for my patterns - £2.50 for those that fit one page plus the cover, and £2.75 for the others. I may need to introduce a 3rd one, £3.00, because most of the sideways designs with their more complex charts take up a lot of space, and I get virtually nothing from the print sales of those. I'm still thinking about this, though, and will see if there's another option open to me.

One decision that I have made hasn't been easy, and that's to change a few of my free patterns to paid-for. These patterns will be going into print distribution, and I felt it wasn't fair that shop customers would have to pay and online ones not.

There aren't many that will change, and I've thought long and hard about which patterns will, and what their changes will be. Here's the changes and how it will work:

Lucy - this was originally published in Magknits, now defunct. The charts have already been redrawn, and once the layout is finished it will be tech edited and a price added of £2.75. It will go up for sale from the end of November.

Arbacia - published in the now closed magazine, The Inside Loop. The free version will remain as long as the owners of the site keep it live. The charts will be redrawn and the pattern re-tech edited and offered for sale for £2.75 from the end of November. The link to the free pattern will remain on Rav and my website, and the pattern will have a note explaining that the old version is still available.

Spring Cap - this was originally published as a for sale pattern, then offered free - I took it down days after publishing it because I didn't think anyone would be interested in it. I will reknit the sample & rephotograph it, probably have charts added and have it fully tech edited. This won’t be ready before December, and will cost £2.50

I’m also considering adding Urbanista to my print line, although the free version at Knitty will remain. Haven’t fully decided on this one yet.

I appreciate that making free patterns into for-sale patterns isn’t a popular move, and it wasn’t an easy decision, but like any small business owner in this current climate, I need to keep the money coming in. I don't earn a lot and thankfully our lifestyle is incredibly cheap, but I am the only wage earner, and really, any designers should be paid for the time they put into a pattern. (I earnt a total of £25 for the 3 patterns above. That's not each, that's total!) Print distribution is a big move for me, which hopefully will make my business more stable. All of the patterns mentioned will be improved, to justify the cost.

There are still plenty of free patterns available, and the majority of them will stay as they, especially if they’ve been published in online magazines. There is also still plenty of time to download them before things change, and it's only fair to give an advanced warning!

I hope you can appreciate my reasons for making a few changes :)