Hi everyone! I have been very busy lately with getting samples completed, edits finished and patterns launched. Over the next couple months I will also be making changes to my products. I’m going to only keep pattern listings on here, and all finished products will be moved to my Etsy shop. This will help me keep my inventory properly accounted for, and also makes it easier to deal with shipments. I will post when I have shop updates on Etsy going forward, so you won’t miss anything. Also, I’m going to be starting to have a serious of posts of my studio being built. Yay! The new studio is going to be about 75% of our basement. A few years ago we had 3 bad floods down there thanks to some very heavy spring rains. That has meant a ton of work has happened down there. First the furnace froze up in the summer because of the AC. Then we flooded from the rain, and the carpet came out, then the 2nd flood hit when the water came up through a crack in the floor. That meant a complete gutting of the basement, and all the exterior walls down there had the floor jack hammered out about 8″ back and an internal weeping system was installed. Then an entirely new HVAC system was installed. And now it’s dry and happy in there, and has survived a few seasonal changes, including 2 springs. Now we are ready to put it back together. We decided that it would become my studio. As an extra level of safety down there, we are installing dricore, which is a 2’x2’x3/4″ tile that sits on the floor and is plastic on the bottom. It allows for breathing room and if we flood again the damage will be minimal, as long as it’s not higher than the 3/4″. It also gives me extra insulation to keep my feet warm. We’ve already hired the contractor and are just waiting to hear from them about a start date. It’s looking like mid to late July, but since it’s actually a pretty small job, they may slip us in with other jobs when they have some time. It will take longer in general, but they will technically get it started and done earlier than just waiting for a time. I need to decide on paint colors though. I’m having a hard time with that. I’ve already received my lights, so that was easy, and I’ve chosen most of the furniture. But paint…it feels so permanent. lol Even though I could totally repaint whenever I want, it’s such a big part of the space.
Other than that, I’ve been working hard to get patterns released. First up I have my Diamond Hat. This hat is in 3 sizes, as always, and features a large diamond design on it. The diamond also fades into the crown decreases, without having it stop abruptly.
Next up are my Switchback socks. These socks are a lot of fun. They have decreases and yarn overs that create this meandering effect that reminded me of switchbacks you see running up the mountains. Because of the disconnect of the look of a chart compared to how it actually looks, you will need to pay attention to the chart. Once you see how it works in your knitting it becomes much easier to follow along. It’s not a complicated pattern, but you will need to count for the first bit.
Lastly, I released my Oak Island Scarf. I love this one. I’ve been fascinated by the mystery surrounding Oak Island off the coast of Nova Scotia since I was a kid. Growing up there it was fascinating to think there could be some place so close and so mysterious. That made this design a lot of fun for me. The tv show inspired me to do an acorn design, since the followers of the show call themselves acorns. š
Aside from that, I have a few other designs in the pipes, one of which is a sweater that with any luck I’ll be listing for testing in about a week. I am waiting for the last run of edits, and I’m also going to sit down and do a full recalculation of everything to make sure it all looks good. This one was one of my favorites, so hopefully this will start moving forward very soon. It’s been in limbo since October of last year. I can’t wait to show it off, though. š