with heartfelt thanks ~ posted by Melissa

 

thank you everyone that participated in the Rachel's Shawl fundraiser

 

we raised $500 in two months ~ I'm speechless

 

 

the retreat will continue and even better, I believe we've raised enough money that the Virginia Piper Institute may have enough funds for two retreats in 2014

 

thank you thank you thank you!!

 

Melissa

 

(here's the link to my very own Rachel's Shawl project page ~ I figured it was time for me to have one for myself!)

 



Impromptu KAL for Rachel's Shawl ~ posted by Melissa

 

 

I was hesitant to do a knitalong since I decided to charge (and donate) the money from the Rachel's Shawl pattern, but enough people have voiced that they would still like to play that it shall be done!

 

We're starting now and it will go til...whenever it's done!  If you have yarn and pattern already, and are added as a guest blogger, you're good to go!  If you have never blogged along with us and would like to, pm me on Ravelry with your email address (don't do it here where it's public!) and I'll send you an invite so you have blogging privileges.

 

If you haven't purchased your pattern yet and would like to:

HERE'S THE LINK!

 

The link works even if you are not a Ravelry member, but you do have to use paypal to purchase the pattern.  Also, if you haven't been following along this last week, the information about where the money will be going is on the pattern page and can also be found in the last few blog posts.  It's a very worthy cause and will make an event happen next year that may not have enough funding otherwise, so we're doing a good thing!

 

I just got my yarn (I'm making an aran weight version with Rowan Felted Tweed in 'Pebble') and am casting on immediately!

 

Thanks again for such a supportive response ~ we've raised $200 $212 $276  $316(!) already!  You all rock!!

~Melissa

 

I've added some links for easy searching :

♥ Rachel's story & my inspiration

♥where to find Rachel's Shawl

 



Four, Three, Two, ONE!! ~ posted by Melissa

It's the official countdown to my first pattern release ~ it should be up momentarily!  I did decide to charge for the pattern after all, but I will be donating 100% of the proceeds through the end of October (which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month) to a charity near and dear to my friend Rachel's heart.  I hope to have Rachel introduce herself to you all soon so she can say 'howdy' and share a little of her journey if she'd like.  She's the reason this pattern came to be and I'm so thrilled to give back to a cause that has made a difference in her life, as well as the lives of others who have been affected by this horrible disease.

The money I raise will be donated to help fund next year's event but here is a glimpse of the good it will help do as shown on this year's pamphlet:

So, although I hope that anyone who spends their hard earned money on my shawl pattern loves knitting it, know that even if it's not the best thing you've ever knit at least your money went to a very good cause.

 

Thanks to everyone for all your super supportive comments and encouragement last week in getting this thing to actually happen.  If it wasn't for all your nice words, this whole thing probably wouldn't have come together and the way that it's all played out, I really feel like this is what was meant to happen with this pattern after all.

 

Happy knitting everyone!!  I hope you enjoy making Rachel's Shawl!

 

AND IT'S OFFICIAL ~ CHECK THIS OUT ~ GOOSEBUMPS :)))

 

~ Melissa

 

(Rachel, Jeff, Will, Annette, Penny and Lori ~ hehe! ~ you all rock! Thanks for everything!)

the cat's out of the bag ~ posted by Melissa

 

Remember this post from not quite a year ago?

 

 

The book may or may not ever get published (I'm still rooting for you, Rachel!) but my design was very kindly returned to me last night, along with some gentle encouragement in hopes that I would publish it myself.

 

I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with it at the moment.

 

Other than finally share it with you all! 

 

 

 

 

Just a teaser til I figure out exactly what to do.

 

It's exciting and daunting all at once.  I'm not sure I have it in me to be a designer so this may be the first as well as the last thing I ever create.  It's hard to put yourself out there (Will ~ now I know exactly what you were talking about with BRRH!!).  Is it worthy??

 

I have dozens of pictures of the ten samples that I knit and gave away as Christmas gifts last year, but for now, these are the only two I'm going to share.  (If you're wondering, this place is my destination on those daily walks, and I felt like Jared Flood the day I took the photos.  The weather was not the best, it was December and I thought the beach would be deserted but I was wrong.  I had so many people stop and ask me what I was up to...and where they could buy my knitting...I was embarrased and proud all mixed in together!)

 

So, what do you think?  I'm relying on some honesty from my favorite knitting peeps about whether to put it up on Ravelry or tuck it away and stay in the warm safety of total anonymity (which is completely my comfort zone!).  Should the cat stay out or shall I stuff the poor thing back in the bag and just let it be?

 

That's it for now ~ got some thinking to do...

ponder ponder ponder :)

~Melissa

 

edited to add: while I was writing this, it was raining so hard you couldn't see outside...and just when I posted, the house across the street's drain pipe to our shared creek plugged up, the creek overran and we had about 8" deep and at least 20 feet wide of incredibly fast river run across the road right into our driveway.  Our garage and shed and backyard...completely flooded.  Oy.  Life has it's ups and downs, doesn't it.  Glass half full, glass half full, Melissa ~ ok, the boat just barely didn't get knocked off it's stand & I was able to prop it back up til Jason gets home from the Seahawks game, Dozer didn't get swept away, I met our next door neighbor (finally) after 14 years (and she's nice) and I only got completely drenched from head to toe one time by a car that didn't bother to slow down thru the rapids that I was trying to take pics of for insurance (the man was nice enough to show me one of his fingers when I soaking wet hollered for him to slow down!!) :)



half-a-bag-o'-cat ~ posted by Melissa

I've had a secret.  A really, really, really big secret since last January.  And I managed to keep it for just shy of an entire year from all my closest friends and family.  I did spill to a few long distance internet buddies who I swore to secrecy and now I can finally share (at least in part) with everyone else who might think this is the slightest bit cool.

I got an email at the beginning of the year asking me if I had designed anything to which I replied, 'nope'.  And then another email followed asking if I would be interested in designing something to be included in a book.  Gulp.  To which I immediately replied, 'YES'!  I was given a few guidelines ~ a shawl, using about 450 yards of yarn, simple in nature that would fit the theme of the book.  Over the next couple weeks, I sketched and swatched and submitted and tweaked and resubmitted and waited for yarn to come in the mail and knit an entire shawl while I waited and then knit another to be featured in the book when the yarn finally arrived and wrote and rewrote and edited and rewrote the pattern and took some pictures of the final book piece before packing up the finished shawl and my pattern to be sent to a tech editor for more tweaking.  The pattern was test knit by 3 people and I knit 8 more over the course of this year so that I could give my mom, mother-in-law, sister, sisters-in-law, brother's girlfriend and my nieces each their own shawl for Christmas.  The picture off to the side is what I can show you of all 9 samples that I knit and gave away this week as gifts.

The best part of the whole thing was knowing I had this enormous secret that I managed to keep for 12 months and being able to include notes in the presents that the pattern was going to be published.  It's the biggest secret I've ever kept and definitely the longest.  I think in the end I was more excited about it than anyone else but that's okay.  It's been a fun year of knitting and planning and choosing yarns for each person.

The book is still not published, and I'm not sure that it ever will be.  That's as much as I can say about that right now.  It's completely out of my hands at this point so it's a waiting game.  The fun part is that the author is letting everyone keep copyright on their designs so we will eventually get them back whether the book sees the light of day or not.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be and I really do believe that it's just a matter of time.  I have complete faith in the gal who put the whole thing together and her message and her perseverance to see her dream through til the end.  I'm so glad she asked me to participate and I'm completely honored that she thought to include me at all.

Anywho, that's my big news and why the cat is only partially out of the bag.  Once the design is public, I'll let the other 1/2 cat out and share some photos of what I've been up to.  If you managed to read this whole post through to the end, thanks for humoring me and hope I didn't bore you to tears!

Wishing everyone a merry holiday week filled with a little rest and a little knitting and lots of family.  I'll update everyone about the upcoming New Year's Knitalong in a couple days.  Happy knitting!   ~ Melissa

Congrats, Tesia!

So, I'm sitting at work this week and a patient walks in with this amazing bright green sweater on.  You can imagine how the conversation went:

Me:  Did you make your sweater?
Patient: Yes.  Did you make your sweater?
Me:  Yes. (I was debuting my finished Mondo Cable Vest ~ I LOVE THIS KNIT!)

My Mondo Vest

Me:  Your sweater is so cute ~ what pattern is it?
And then she says.....

it's her very first published pattern.  She had submitted it to Three Irish Girls and they liked it and now it's available on their website.  It's called Green Is the New Black and I've seen it in person ~ it is a beatiful knit!  I'm so happy for her.  She's 'Tesia' on Ravelry if you want to find her.

She was also nice enough to offer her help if and when the time comes for me to try and get something in print.  I'm in the dark about sizing and how the whole process works and she gave me a link to a website for some info.  I may take you up on your offer somewhere down the road, Tesia!  Thanks for being so generous.

I'm sure getting to know a lot of really nice, and really talented people lately.  Life is good!
Melissa

My Latest Creation~

My newest Fish Tale scarf. The pattern is so close to being ready. I'm going to have my mom try knitting it. It's a super fast knit up.
As you can see I'm excited for spring, this reminds me of boating, which we are planning to do the first week in April, for Spring Break. I got my capri's and Keds ready. I'll be needing a warmer coat then this~

What's that saying about not being able to see the forest for the trees?  I think that's how it goes.  Tuesday night at the SKG meeting, one of my new friends asked me if I had ever written my own pattern.  I was a little distracted while I was talking to her since I had just cast on a project that I'm knitting up for a far away Ravelry friend that's going through a tough health battle right now.  I told her no, and that I probably wouldn't for a long time since I didn't feel like I was quite ready for that milestone yet.....and all the while I'm trying to figure out how to get the math to work so the lace pattern I'd like to use for this special project fits within my stitch count, and how many stitches I need to cast on to get the most use out of my yarn, and what my gauge is, and what I'd like to call this really neat thing when it's all finished and sent off in the mail for it's recipient.

It's now Thursday and, HELLO, I do believe that what I have been doing for the last 2 days, although unbeknownst to me, is working up my very first original creation.  Why am I always the last to know?  I'm often out of the loop on a lot of things but I don't usually leave myself out of said loop.  Good grief, I am a complete dork.

So, depending on how this top secret knit turns out, I think I may post it as a FREE pattern here on the blog.  It won't be anything stupendous but it's a start and something to be proud of, right?

The kal scarf is on hiatus until after our Portland trip this weekend.  Lace knitting just isn't conducive to visiting with 200 knitters while travelling and shopping.  We'll share our adventure and lots of photos when we get back!

Melissa