Archive for the 'Book Talk' Category
We had quite the evening with Miss Mazie.
Tuesday, March 18th, 2008
She’s been really colicky some nights starting at around 6 and going to 10 or sometimes even 12. It’s not every night, but once in a while she’s SO TIRED but just won’t let go. She’s also having some pretty bad gas. Sometimes when she passes a bubble, she screams. Again, not every time, but often enough that it just must be really hard for her. She’s just so new that she’s still getting used to her body. It does some weird stuff!
We’re well on our way out of Mazie’s newborn days. She’s smiling, crossing her eyes as she tries to focus on farther and farther objects, she chatters and has
little bla-bla conversations with us, and is starting to be more alert during the day. She still takes a lot of naps, though. I think this colic stuff is on its way out. In the meantime, though, she has a couple of things that soothe her. One is a vibrating chair that she got from Olin’s mom and dad. Tonight she was crying and crying and Nate put her on that and she immediately stopped. Like someone flipped a switch. I bet Aaron and Margi are going to want this one back!
She also likes her swing. 
She didn’t like the chair or swing at first, because she really preferred to be held all the time. But now being held all the time is too boring…so she wants to go to one or the other. She laughs and chatters away in her swing. It’s really cute.
One other thing she really likes is her stretchy sling. 
It’s made out of the kind of fabric that you can buy in the fabric store to ring t-shirts or to use as cuffs on something made out of t-shirt material. It’s heavier than t-shirt. ANYWAY…it’s almost guaranteed that she’ll fall asleep if I put her in there and start a load of laundry. I’ve got several variations on this…pouches, ring sling, wraps, hybrids of those…it’s almost as addictive as sewing diapers. The different ones are good for different moods and situations. It’s easy to make your own and there are tons of web forums about it. My favorite is thebabywearer.com.
Speaking of diapers, I just finished a batch of 4. It’s not a lot compared to what I had time to sew pre-Mazer, but I really like how these came out:
Some of the fabrics are directional the wrong way, but I got more cuts out of them this way.
They’re so soft inside!
They’re made using the Chloe Toes sewing pattern.
The outers are DIY (do-it-yourself)cotton woven PUL(polyurethane laminate), the inners are dyed velour, and I dyed the FOE(fold-over elastic). They all have 2 hidden layers of cotton sherpa and the soakers are 2 layers of microfiber towel.
I got some excellent advice from Chloe Toes owner/designer, Catharine Decker:
*make sure you use 100% polyester thread
*polyester pul wicks less than cotton, but many use
cotton with success
*keep the soaker layer out of contact with the edges
of the diaper and binding within the crotch area;
wicking occurs by contact, with wetness travelling
along the adjacent fibers, so your soaker should be
narrower than the full crotch width (the pattern is
designed this way) to minimize wicking contact
*make sure your inner layer wicks fast if you have a
wicking layer against baby’s skin
*consider using a very fast-absorbing fabric for the
layer of soaker closest to baby’s skin (so wetness
absorbs quickly and doesn’t have time to pool and soak
at the crotch) I like microfiber, but others prefer
other fabrics
*include at least one layer of something that really
distributes wetness well in your soaker (so that
wetness spreads out through the whole diaper instead
of being wet just in the “wet zones” and dry
elsewhere) Again I like microfiber for this
*include at least one layer of something that really
locks in wetness well and doesn’t tend to experience
“compression leaking” (where it holds a lot of wetness
but the wetness easily squeezes out when baby sits or
moves) I like hemp for this
*if you have a very heavy wetter or need a
long-holding diaper for overnights, etc, consider
using a waterproofing spray applied in several light
coats to the outside of the diaper (information on
this is included in the pattern)
Having all this spelled out for m was so helpful. Like when starting to knit, I knew there were certain things to do…like using wicking layers, don’t let the soaker touch the edge, etc., but understanding WHY is really helpful.
…and I love how my diapers came out!
Thanks to Joy’s suggestion, I’m trying to get some shots of Mazie’s sweaters as she wears them…
(click to see them)
Also…thanks to Ainsley for the note today!
Posted in Uncategorized, Book Talk, press | 7 Comments »
WoooOOOOooOOo HOOoooOOoooOooo!!
Sunday, February 24th, 2008
I sent off the last garments, last patterns, and the whole MANUSCRIPT for Glam Knits last week!!
I sent the last pages on Friday. Both that camel tweed sweater from the author photo of Fitted Knits and the blue scarf I posted about here are in the new book, so if you’ve been wondering what happened to those…there they are.
Now there are two patterns on the TO DO list to write up for SWTC, and I’m done will all of my current projects.
I’ve got the garments on the mannequins, so they’re staring me in the face…FINISH US! (I AM!!!)
Me after not much sleep…no makeup in pajamas:
Today, Mazie and I have been hanging out while Nate took a little nap. We’ve had a few sleepless nights in the last 6 weeks, believe it or not, and we’re both trying to make up the deficit this weekend. Mazie’s sleeping in her Peanut Shell (her baby carrier pouch thing) while I work on the computer…we’ve had a really nice day together.
My sister’s here from Boulder to see her new niece. We celebrated Tonya’s visit and the finishing of the book by all going out to eat on Friday night. We took little Mazie with us, and she did great. As long as we change her diaper, tank her up on milk, and drive a few blocks to get where we’re going, she sleeps right through dinner. Not that we don’t love her company when she’s awake, but she’s just starting to outgrow the phase where if she’s awake she’s hungry (and either crying to let you know or eating because she *already* cried.) So it’s good when she can get through a whole meal! Last night, Grandma baby sat so we could go see a film.
Posted in just chit chat, Book Talk | 7 Comments »
U-neck vest errata
Monday, October 29th, 2007
OK, first, let me apologize for how long it is taking me to compile all of the errata.
Things have been hectic over here…I’ve transitioned from full-time scientist / part time knitter to part-time University instructor / part time knitter. For a while there, I was doing both a full-time job AND teaching, AND writing 2 books, AND getting ready for the baby.
I’m trying to compile all of the errata myself, with the help of the book’s technical editor, and get them all submitted to the publisher for inclusion in future editions of the book. It’s taking a while to go through all of the posts on all of the message boards, all of the comments on the blog, and all of the emails and figure out what’s really errata, etc., and get those pages updated. It’s an arduous process, but we’re working on it!
I’m finally getting caught up…
Here are the errata for the U-neck / back to school vest:
Upper front
Dec 1 st at beg of next 12 (12, 12, 12, 14, 14, 16, 16) rows–68 (72, 76, 78, 80, 82, 84, 88) sts.
Front neck
Row 2: Bind off 24 (28, 28, 30, 28, 30, 32, 32) sts, work to end.
Upper back
Dec 1 st at each end of next 6 (7, 7, 8, 9, 9, 9, 9) rows–44 (46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 58, 62) sts.
If that doesn’t solve the problem, please let me know!
Posted in Book Talk, Patterns | No Comments »
Fitted Knits Trunk Show at WEBS!
Saturday, October 20th, 2007
Thanks to Kim for taking this photo for me!
Here’s Fitted Knits on display at the Mothership.
Posted in Book Talk, press | No Comments »
To Do list update…what I actually accomplished last night.
Friday, October 19th, 2007
I don’t know what happened yesterday, but Mazey and I went to TOWN on the “to do” list..the only things on the list I didn’t do are 5 and 8…and I did a bunch of extra stuff instead.
Remember this?:
I got the “Petal” pattern corrections done and it’s sent off to the graphic designer. As soon as it’s formatted, I’ll release it for sale here on the site.
And Sanpoku has a sleeve. I’m going to have to do something to close it other than use a stick. If I use a stick, I’ll put out an eye. Maybe not even my OWN. Just looking at that stick makes me shake my head…all the places that could get caught. For now, the plan is to just put buttonholes on that one edge. But maybe it’ll be frogs or who knows. Weeeeeee’ll see.
REVISED TO DO LIST:
1) cami top and finish pattern
2) “Press” page update
3) one more freelance pattern
4) 4 more book patts
——-
So I’ve had this 2-lb cone of undyed Blue-Faced-Leichester** yarn sitting in the living room for about a month. Last night, I decided that I could multi-task if I skeined up the yarn and put it in the dyepot WHILE I was knitting/doing patterns. So I got out my niddy noddy and wound it all into 4oz / 205 yard hanks (after skeining over 1600 yards of yarn by hand, my arm’s tired!) soaked it in cool water for 30 minutes, mixed up my dyes, and put half of it in the crock pot.
I decided to do half in ‘warms’ and half in ‘cools’, the ‘warm’ batch is called, “IT’S FINALLY FALL!” The cool batch turned out to actually be warmer than I intended. There was a little mishap in which my black went purple, and the whole thing was a muddy mess of washed out green, grey, and hot purple. SO…to tone everything down, I added a big squirt of brown. Now it’s sort of peacock-colored and sort of brownish…I’m not too sure about that batch.
IT’S FINALLY FALL! is a mix of yellow, orange, pink, copper, red, and a tough of dark green acid dyes.
Are you tired of me saying IT’S FINALLY FALL!?
Too bad. It’s finally fall here in the L.C.. It only got up to 79F yesterday!! It’s supposed to only be in the high 60s next week!!! It’s not going to freeze for a WHILE which is too bad, because the mosquitoes seem to have had another round of babies. I’m so sick of mosquitoes. We need a FREEZE. (Hmm…possible “cool” BFL yarn name?) My flowers are still blooming! We got another round of zinnias and the hibiscus is still going strong. Amazing.
Dyeing yarn is FUN. I did a TON of dyeing back in Baltimore, when I first started this blog (so like 2002-2003), and I’ve done a little here and there since then, so it was really nice to get back to it.
SO…after I got everything in the pot and sat down to watch the Daily Show, I ended up finishing patterns for: a skirt, half a cami, a lace tunic sweater, and a babydoll top. SO, only 3.5, not my quota of 4. So I have a total of 3 new knits (that Cathi actually knit and knit WELL, let me say) with patterns for my editor, one freelance pattern, and one pattern for the site DONE. WHEW.
**This BFL yarn is famous for being good for baby knits. Water-resistant, pill-proof (extra-long staple length), takes dye wonderfully, soft, etc.
Posted in just chit chat, Book Talk, Patterns | 4 Comments »
Baby Bog Jacket
Monday, July 16th, 2007
OK, so. This Elizabeth Zimmermann kick is all-consuming once you start. (friendly warning.)
This baby knitting is perfect for trying out EZ’s addictive shaping/construction techniques *and* satisfying the BABY-BABY-BABY *and* the “I just have to try this handspun merino right NOW” parts of my brain, all at the same time on itty bitty projects that don’t take up any time.
OK, so this is the start of my baby’s Bog Jacket by EZ, from Knitting Around. I didn’t follow the “Baby Bog” directions at all. Instead, I used the directions for the Adult Bog and sized them for a baby. SO…I don’t have the puffy, diaper-accommodating backside or the fancy “just for baby” sleeve shaping. I still think it’ll work, though. I just took EZ’s advice and started with my desired chest measurement (24″) and used that as my [X]. The rest is done in percents.
Even though this pattern is much more straightforward than the Baby Surprise…I still found myself wondering, “What part is THIS?” (baby brain) as I was knitting it. By the time I got to the shoulder shaping, though, I had it figured out.
We went to see a film on Sunday at the Fountain Theater in Mesilla, and on the way we stopped at The Bean. The Bean is a coffee house that has great atmosphere, great coffee, and pretty good food. I really like the colors of the walls and furniture. We were shooting on “manual” with some settings that I had put in for some other lighting conditions…so the photos look pretty Technicolor. Cool though, I think. I like the graininess. I made a Flickr set of all of them. The colors are so neat.
The film we saw was about Mexican women who come to the border towns (like Tijuana and Juarez) to work in the factories. Most of them have terrible conditions and become really ill from the chemicals they have to work with and the conditions in which they live. SO…this film followed a few of these women who have become educators within their factories.
They tell the employees about their rights and empower them to speak out against this treatment. It was really moving. Two of the film-makers and two of the workers were there to speak and answer questions afterward. It was a good reminder to buy Fair Trade when possible, and to minimize our environmental impact. Here’s an article about two of the women in the film.
**One of the comments yesterday was about the third printing of the book. We got all the errata (available in the upper left corner of this page, both as html and as a downloadable pdf file) for the book together and handed in at the end of March…but were too late for them to go into the second printing.
So the errata will be incorporated into the THIRD printing. It’ll go into press once it looks like the second printing will sell out. I don’t even know if the second printing WILL sell out. It’s be GREAT if I knew for sure. But, in reality, there are just too many factors governing that for me to hazard a guess.
If you have questions or comments regarding the book, and want the real official answers, F&W has a “contact us” page here. I don’t really know much about the book business, so anything relating to when, where, why, how things are printed should be addressed to the big wigs. I’ll put their contact info in the sidebar, so that if anything comes up later, you can find it.**
Posted in Book Talk, Patterns, baby | 4 Comments »
TNNA Book Signings
Saturday, June 2nd, 2007
In case you’re at TNNA (or coming tomorrow) here are the times I’ll be signing (free) books:
Saturday:
When…/…Where
10:30……North Light Books
1:00……..R&M (distributor)
Sunday:
10:30……North Light Books
1:00……..Checker (distributor)
Posted in Book Talk, events | No Comments »
Drop-stitch tank!
Friday, May 4th, 2007
This is Carolyn’s version of the Drop-Stitch Tank from Fitted Knits. I taught a class on this top at Unravel last month, and Carolyn was in my class! This is amazing to see, because Carolyn was not so sure that she’d get gauge on the lace pattern, and I think it looks like her practice REALLY paid off!!
Great job, Carolyn!!
Posted in Book Talk, Patterns | 6 Comments »
Bluegrass Festival of KNITTING
Thursday, April 26th, 2007
WOAH!
(photo courtesy of lotus knits)
Was this ever a fun thing to do!
On Saturday, we (me, my editor Jessica Gordon, several charming women who work on the Writers Digest books, and our publicist Greg Hatfield) went to Lexington, Kentucky for the Bluegrass Festival of Books.
When we arrived at the convention center, we were met by show organizer Rachael Ray, the person who invited me to be on the discussion panel. She led us to the table, where we were met by Diane MacDonald and Jane Homeyer, the owners of Magpie Yarns (Because the Yarn Harlot already posted, I borrowed the link from her.) These women are so amazing, as soon as we all got there they started taking a coffee order! AMAZING hostesstes.
On one side of me was Susan Anderson, author if Itty Bitty Hats (which I’m sad that I forgot to ask her to sign.) Itty Bitty Hats is a really sweet and innovative collection of baby hats. On my other side was Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle! I’m just starting my copy, but after meeting Ann and hearing her speak and spending time with her…I know that I will learn a lot from this book. On Susan’s other side was Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, author of (ok, I know you already know.) 
So after we all signed books a while, it was time for the knitting panel. Susan, Ann, and I were on the panel, and my editor Jessica was the moderator. It was really interesting to hear from the other knitters, and in-person get their perspectives on knitting and what it means to them. Susan is one of Wisconsin’s leading entrepreneurs, and Ann has written like 7 novels, so I was the noob in the room of experts!
After the panel, the Magpie Mavens invited all of us knitting people to lunch! So we all piled into the minivan and went to a restaurant downtown. I’m secretly glad that the food took so long to arrive to the table, so that I could talk to everyone longer. We were discussing things like the slang words that you can and can’t say in different countries, and blogging of course, and book-writing, and traveling…I’m so lucky to have had the chance to talk with these women. It was really, really great. I can’t say enough about how fun that lunch was.
After lunch, I signed a few more books and we went home at 5. I totally had to miss the Yarn Harlot’s talk, but I had a lot of fun meeting people at the table. (Who am I kidding, while the Harlot was speaking, every knitter in the building but me and Ann were in the lecture hall.)
I met a lot of really fun knitters when Stephanie was done, though!! I’ll post photos when I get home from Rock City, I promise!
Posted in Book Talk, Trips, events | 5 Comments »
Turtleneck Tube
Wednesday, April 25th, 2007
If you’ve been wondering how to downsize the Turtleneck Tube Vest from Fitted Knits, I’m knitting one myself in a smaller size over on the Fitted Knits KAL. Join us if you like!