The Dog Ate It

There isn't much in the world that I dislike more than excuses.  Excuses are the crutch of the weak imagination, and at best, a poor substitute for a well-crafted lie.  Of course, I do believe that if one makes a mistake, one had best fess' up, fix it if possible and move on.  Excuses, in my view, are a complete waste of energy.  After all, they don't change anything, and they rarely make anybody feel better.  That said, I am now going to offer you a whole pile of them.  

Remember when I told you, my beloved blog, that I was going to post the Sommelier pattern this week?  Remember how I raved on about its virtues, waxed poetic on its beauty, and promised you that it would be yours in practically no time at all?  Yeah, that turned out to be pretty much wrong.  The photo shoot was rescheduled, after a series of unfortunate events:

1.    My photographer was called out of town.  This lady is the absolute bomb, where picture-taking is concerned, so taking her out of the photo-shoot equation was like removing the gin from a gin and tonic: you'd have to be pretty thirsty to drink what's left over.  Nonetheless, since the models were all ready and the sweaters had been expressed back from tech editing  in Maryland in time to make it, I thought it best to press on.  I planned to take the pictures myself, and cross my fingers. 

2.  The Desert Rain sweater, which was also supposed to be photographed at the same time, decided of its own accord to take a surprise detour to Ohio for TNNA.  Okay, no problem.  We'll arrange a separate date to shoot that one.  It will be fine.  Really.

3.  It's raining.  Of course it's raining.  June in Portland = Monsoon.  It's a mathematical fact.  So what, I thought - wine cellars are indoors!  We'll use a flash.  This development will not deter us in the least.  After all, I still have beautiful sweaters (2 out of 3) and beautiful models.

4.  One of my models is sick.  To her credit, she bravely offered to push through the wall, and come along anyway.  But she didn't feel pretty.  In fact, she felt crappy.  And because she is also my friend, I just couldn't do it to her.  Plus, she might get snot on a sweater. (Just kidding, K - get well soon!)

And suddenly I realized that the universe was no longer whispering a subtle message to me.  It was bludgeoning me with a club made of DUH!  It  was time to admit defeat and abort the mission. 

I have no idea why the universe doesn't want you to have the Sommelier yet, but it clearly does not, and we are all just going to have to get used to it.  My apologies are both deep and sincere.  To all of you would-be Sommeliers, I offer this final shred of hope:  
 

I engaged the services of some stand-in models, so that I can prove that the Sommelier sweaters really do exist.  Yeah, they're cute, but as models go, let's just say These Aren't The Droids You're Looking For.

I will reschedule the photo shoot, and there will be a pattern on offer.  When, I dare not predict, the universe being as it is. 

I know I promised you a new pattern, but What can I say?  The Dog Ate It.

But Wait! You Also Get:

Abstract Fiber Supersock, in "Bonfire".  Yeah, Baby!

Yesterday I met Susan Stambaugh at her studio to show her the Desert Rain, and to continue sorting our cunning plan for Sock Summit.  What a field trip!  Her studio is a wonderland of color, in all different stages of preparation.  I could have spent the entire day peppering her with questions about the dye process.  She's also a wicked-cool spinner, which could easily have taken up another day.  But back to the above: we decided to make a second Desert Rain in this color, just because.  I am so besotted with this yarn that I can't even tell you.  I, who never knit the same thing twice (in fact, I'm usually in hate with my projects when I first finish them - there has to be a cooling period before I love them again) cannot WAIT to make this camisole a second time.  There is something addictive about it - the lace is so easy and accumulates so quickly - it's really hard to put down.  You are going to love this thing.

And here's the really big news:  You will be able to buy Desert Rain in KIT FORM!  That's right: the yarn, pattern, beads and ribbon, all conveniently pulled together for you in a ready-to-rumble package!  I just love a good kit - All the decisions have been made for you; just add needles.

So this week is all about patterns for me:  I'm in the final stages of formatting the new Sommelier (which you will be seeing soon), I threw together Desert Rain for tech editing, I'm in full-throttle sample-making on Juliette (which you will see in Cast-On this winter), I'm ramping up for the Frog Prince Cardigan (which I want you to have in September), and I'm toying with a big fat idea for a pattern that will be good for handspun, with instructions for different gauges and sizes.  My head is as full as a sack full of cats.  And similarly well-organized.  This weekend is the trip to Oregon wine country for the Sommelier photo shoot.  There will be real models and makeup and everything.  I have declared that we will have fun, and we all get paid in wine.  When you are the boss and also all of the employees, you can make sweeping proclamations like that.

Thus Spoke The Queen.
 

Rain in the Desert

You might remember my telling you a few posts back about meeting the lovely and talented Susan Stambaugh of Abstract Fiber at the TKGA show here in Portland.  It turns out that Susan has been working her handpainted magic right here in my own back yard all along.  She lives in Portland, too, and I drive right past her studio all the time.  Together we hatched a cunning plan, whereby there would be a new pattern that uses her yarn available for you at Sock Summit.  As an esteemed vendor at the big show, Susan will have the yarn and the pattern available for your knitting delight!  Both will be available online, too, so you won't miss out if you can't make it to Portland this year.

Let me tell you about making Desert Rain:  I was thinking about something I might be inclined to knit in August, when it's hot even here in the Pacific Northwest.  I knew I didn't want it to be socks, since this yarn is already supported nicely in that department..  And my rebellious nature prohibits me from making socks for Sock Summit.  Plus, I liked the painting on this yarn so much that I decided it needed some acreage in which to show off - an i-pod cover was not going to be large enough to showcase its gorgeous colors. 

All of these thoughts tore through my mind before I even left Susan's booth at TKGA.  I was carrying (okay, I may have clutched it protectively to my chest) my 2 perfect skeins and daydreaming a million things about what it wanted to be when I bumped (literally - I have the shin bruise to prove it) into the booth next door.  They had buttons, baubles and beads galore.  And they had the singular shade of blue you see above, which naturally came straight home with me.  I have never knitted with beads before this project: What A Hoot!  It is so much fun, and adds just the right texture and sparkle.

Once I had those beads, everything seemed to click into place, and I had the sample done in a week.  Dontcha just love a fast knit?  The lace pattern is fun, the beads are sparkly, and the ribbon adds just the right finish.  And here's the best part: this is some really good yarn.  There are beautiful, temperamental yarns.  There are some yarns that are easy-going and compliant, but not superstar pretty.  SuperSock has the best of both worlds.  Sproingy, snagless, and well-behaved; it also has the perfect pearly sheen to highlight Susan's gorgeous painting.  But that's enough talking - time to get to the Eye Candy:

This is only a little snapshot I grabbed as I flew out the door.  Wait till you see it in the light of day.  It comes in sizes 32"-52", and probably fits more than that, knit with negative ease, as it is.  Lace is so forgiving and so flattering - no wonder we love it so.  Check out the drape and swish on this baby - Sassy, No?

So that's Desert Rain, in progress to publication.  A project that designed itself: no gut-wrenching frogging, no lost skeins, no kitchen fires.  Hardly seems like I worked at all. Oh man, I love my job.