Sharp Pointy Sticks

Wolf Moon Outtakes

My sister and I did the photoshoot for Wolf Moon the weekend before Christmas. The husband, kids, and I went down to my hometown to visit family before the holidays. Tracy and I got up early on Saturday morning and headed out to take pictures. This shoot was filled with a lot of hilarity. Our first stop was Harris Riverfront Park in Huntington, West Virginia. The park is on the Ohio River. We're in West Virginia and Ohio is on the other side of the river. Tracy mentioned that it was a perfect morning to find a dead body, but this shoot was great. There weren't a lot of bad shots from this location. I had a lot to work with here.

We packed up and headed to the Ritter Park Rose Garden in Huntington. When we pulled up, Tracy was confused as to why there weren't any roses. I believe my response was something along the lines of "It's December, dumb ass." I had high hopes about shooting here, but not one picture made the cut.

Too dark & a weird angle.

Not a great shot of the shawl. The arch is more interesting.

Then we got weird.

As we were leaving the park to go home, I screamed at Tracy to stop the car. There was another place to shoot! There is this log cabin on the edge of the park. I wanted to shoot there. In my head, I had visions of Little House on the Prairie meets werewolves. We had a pretty loud argument about whether or not this was a private house, right there on the front porch. We are not a quiet family. I got some nice shots here including the one that's the main picture on Ravelry's page and in the pattern. I also got some really silly ones too.

This is the "Laura Ingalls Wilder is being chased by wolves" pose.

There's a lot of work involved in getting a pattern ready for the masses, but there's no reason why there shouldn't be a lot of fun too.

 

 

 

Wolf Moon

Today is the date of January's full moon. Did you know that each month's full moon has a name? I'm sure you've heard of a Harvest Moon, but have you heard of the Wolf Moon? No? Let me introduce you.

January's full moon is the Wolf Moon and the inspiration for my latest design. Wolf Moon is worked from the bottom up and uses short rows to create its shape. I used Quince & Co. Osprey in Lupine (Lupine, get it? I amuse myself.) for this design. I loved working with it. Such a wonderful yarn! Osprey is listed as an aran weight yarn, but I think it's closer to a chunky weight. Almost all of the testers used a chunky/bulky weight yarn for their projects, and a heavier weight works just fine. Because it's a heavier weight of yarn, this project goes fast! It would be a wonderful project for yourself after all the frenzied holiday knitting of last month.

Wolf Moon

$5.50

Review and Resolutions

It's time to review 2011, including the resolutions I made at this time last year, and to talk about 2012.

The finished knits from 2011: Sweet Tea Scarf, Springwater Shawl, Cala Shawl, Sweet Tea Slouch, Norie, Haruni, a new design, Maia Shoulderette, and Toast Mitts. As I was putting that collage together, I thought I was missing something. As I'm sitting here at my desk, I see the Shawl Collared Cowl that I knit in the car on the way to New York a few months ago but never got around to photographing. There's another project I knit this past month that won't be seen for several more months too. All in all, a very productive knitting year.

Looking at the collage, the vast majority of my knitting was for my own designs. I also knit a lot of swatches this past year. Nothing worth noting at the moment. Some things worked out great, some not so much, but that's why you swatch, right?

I made a few resolutions last year too. I wanted to release 4-6 patterns of my own and to submit some designs to magazines. Done and done! I released 4 patterns this year and submitted to several magazines with some success.

For 2012, I'm shooting to release at least 12 patterns and submit to more magazines. Pattern number 1 of 12 is with the tech editor now and is set to be released one week from today. I've been swatching up a storm over the holidays too so I'd say I'm off to a great start.

Be Happy

As thanks to you for supporting me and my designs this year, I'm offering a sale on all my patterns.

From now until December 31, 2011, enter the code "behappy" when you purchase a pattern from my Ravelry shop and receive 25% off the purchase price.

Cala Shawl

Springwater Shawl

Sweet Tea Scarf

Sweet Tea Slouch

 

Peace and love to you and yours from me and mine.

Hints

Crescent shaped. Bottom up. Heavy aran or chunky weight yarn. Coming in January.

Belated

Liam turned five at the beginning of the month. Honestly, I was a little unprepared for how emotional I was at the thought of him turning five. Five years ago, my world was rocked. I'd do it all over again.

All of his Ohio cousins came to celebrate. He chose to have pizza and chocolate cake. He'd eat only pizza, cake, and ice cream if we let him.

Speaking of birthdays, that girl there will turn three in a few days.

The dog guitar was his favorite present. He loves music of all sorts.

I just don't know how it's possible that he's five.

A little maintenance

I've had to change how you leave a comment. For the past week, I've been spammed repeatedly on the same post. It's quite disheartening to wake up to comments numbering in the double digits, and it's all spam. From now on, you'll have to do one of those captcha things, and I'll approve the comments before they're published. I hate to do it, but that's the way it is. I don't have the time or the patience to deal with multiple spam comments.

I hope this doesn't stop you from commenting. I love comments! I may not respond to every one I receive, but I do read and cherish them all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Testing, Testing!

I need some test knitters! I'm working on a few designs for self-publishing, and I need a few people to knit my designs before they're released. If you're interested, here's what I'm asking you to do.

1. Get gauge. Tell me what yarn and needles you used to get gauge.

2. Follow the pattern as written and/or charted. Give me constructive feedback. If there's a problem or a mistake, I want to know! Tell me if something is confusing or not quite right.

3. Take pictures and put a project page on Ravelry. I also want you to link to the project once it's released. There's a chance I might ask to use your photo(s) on the Ravelry pattern page. I'll always ask you first before I do that though. Unless I say otherwise, you can blog about it, put it on Facebook, Tweet it, whatever you like.

4. Meet my deadline. I'll give you several weeks to knit your project, but I really want you to finish on time. Especially since some of the upcoming designs are tied into the date. I know that life happens and sometimes you're not going to be able to finish on time, please let me know ASAP.

How it works: I send out a copy of the pattern as a PDF to you via e-mail. The pattern will probably not be totally and completely finished (I tend not to have pretty pictures ready), but you will have all of the information you need to knit it. You e-mail me back with questions, suggestions, and your project info. Once you've finished the project, give me any feedback you may have. Put your project on Ravelry, and you're done.

That's it! I'm pretty laid back and easygoing so don't be afraid to let me know you want to be on my list of test knitters. It's fun, and as thanks, you'll get the final copy of the pattern once it's released. Leave me a comment or send me an e-mail at mindyswilkes AT gmail DOT com (change it up to look like a real e-mail address), and I'll get back to you soon. The first test pattern is going out this week!

 

 

 

 

Sweet Tea

I love tea. Hot or iced, it doesn't matter because I love it. My tea has to be sweet though. I can't do unsweetened tea. It's a crime.

When I started these designs, it was hot and sticky, and a big cup of iced tea was on my mind.

The Sweet Tea Scarf is an infinity scarf that can be worn as a scarf as above or it can be looped double and worn as a cowl.

The matching beret is what I look for in a hat. Simple, quick, and with some slouch.

Each pattern is available individually or together as a collection.

Sweet Tea Scarf

$4.00

Sweet Tea Slouch

$4.00

Sweet Tea Collection

$6.00

Happy Mail

I received my package from a swap on Ravelry. Allison sent me these lovely goodies.

The pumpkin cups were a hit with the kids. Juliana claimed the purple one immediately. There's an awesome pair of doily earrings and a tea towel. I haven't seen this Manos yarn before so I'm excited to have it. I think it would make an awesome pair of fingerless mitts. I really, really love the little teacup.

It's a little ball of yarn! Love it!