You CAN Judge a Book by its Cover

Look what Phillip stumbled upon at Amazon.com!:
 

He claims to have been looking for something else, but I think he sorta digs it that he can look up his wife at the bookstore.

The official release date is April 24, but you can pre-order a copy HERE, if you'd like to save a bit.  Or, if anybody asks you what you'd like for Christmas...

Know what I love most about this cover?  It's not blue.  Take a quick survey of your knitting bookshelf (closet, room, wing, or outbuilding), and I bet you'll be surprised to find how many of your knitting books have blue covers.  I have no idea why this is the case, but you can bet that the publishers do.  There's probably some market research somewhere that says knitters are highly strung, and we need soothing colors on our book covers to keep us from running amok and poking people with our pointy sticks.  Like that would help.  Well, not only is this one not blue, it's all the way over into the Danger Zone of Orange and Purple!  Clearly the good people at Wiley Publishing are not afraid of what the knitters will do under the influence of bright book covers.

Those who have met me can probably attest that this cover is a good indication of the spirit of the author.  So while my input to the cover design was minimal, I did get to suggest which project should appear, and I think it really reflects my style.

Oh, and here's a bit of trivia for you:  Although photos of my hands appear throughout the whole volume, those on the cover belong to a model.  You can tell, because she's a Continental knitter, and I knit English-style.  Now you can really impress your friends with your inside knowledge.  Just one more service we provide.

Supplemental Bunny Update #2

I made Bunnies.  In like, one day.  I can hardly stand myself.

If you are really burnt out and in need of restorative knitting, this is your project.  If there is someone you love who needs a little reminder that they are dear to you, make these felted slippers.  If you have just refinished the floors and want to place a basket of house shoes near the door for your guests, knit these bunnies, and see if they multiply.  If you have a partial ball of wool that is the color of a wee wild rabbit...you know what to do.  For whatever reason you can come up with:  Take two of these and call me in the morning.

Supplemental Bunny Update #1

Oh, did I mention that I have never made slippers, or footwear of any sort, before? 

This is fun.  And by "fun", I mean "No chance of achieving anything more useful today than the making of Bunny Slippers".  Tomorrow's not looking good, either.  My experience is giving new meaning to the phrase "Down the Rabbit Hole".

Here are the bunnies after one trip through the front-loader, with hot water, and some jeans for company:

The transformation, while impressive, is not complete, in my judgement.  I can still see light through them, and the stitches are still fairly well-defined.  I sent them back for another wash.

While I wait to see what happens, I'm raiding the stash for more of this yarn.  It's Peace Fleece Worsted, whose mohair content is such that felting it results in uber-fluffy fabric.  Halo-y and fuzzy, and everything one would hope for bunny (or any) slippers to be.  I'm in love with it all over again.

Naturally, my brain is exploding with ideas for other, non-bunny, slipper applications.  Stay tuned if you dare:  It might get loud in here.