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.

Screwy

This has been another of those weeks where nothing is quite working.  The children finished their school year, but Phillip didn't.  So the smallies went to Grammy's House (lucky them).  But rather than embrace our childless evenings, Phillip and I managed not to even see much of each other (he worked late doing end-of-the-year things).  I have gobs of knitting work to do, but I fell asleep before 10 PM every night this week.  I remembered my cell phone, but forgot to charge the battery.  I found my lost debit card, but there was no money in that account.  There is some cosmic balancing act afoot, and I seem to be on the receiving end.  Not that anything horrible has gone wrong, exactly, but nothing has gone extremely right, either.  Oh well, can't complain: as long as I have yarn.

Next week (not sure yet which day) I am planning to offer my very first self-published pattern for sale.  You will find it here, and on Ravelry too.  I've been working on this one since the middle of February, so I hope you will think that it's worth the wait.  It's called Sommelier, and it was inspired by all things Wine.  The buttons (funny how often it begins with a closure) have grapes on them, which inspired me to think about all the colors grapes come in, and the design unfolded from there.  It's fun to knit, really versatile, and doesn't require too much yarn.  There are two variations in the pattern, and you could easily work out others, by changing lengths, openings, and sleeves.  It's a great jumping-off place for your own ideas, or you can keep it simple and make it just as directed for a relaxing summer project. 

Next week I will also be announcing the winner of the "Name the 6-Bobbin Kate" Contest.  It's not too late to enter - just post a comment or use the contact form to send me your idea of the perfect name for the wee beastie.

And if that weren't enough to fill up next week, I'm also off to the Black Sheep Gathering, to learn spinny stuff, and stimulate the economy Mary Scott Huff-style:  Fiber Procurement, Baby, and lots of it.  I have barely any stash at all, which flatly will not do.  I'm also going to play with my friends, and hopefully make some new ones.  If you are going too, drop me a line!
 

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.