Is that it? Wow, I need to work on getting more knitting time in next week. This is not enough knitting!
Spinning: Alas, none to report for this week.
Stash Enhancement: I was very close to picking up some madtosh tml but resisted the urge. No other personal stash enhancement (I did get a big shipment of undyed yarn).
Designing: I released a new pattern this week, the Brangien Hat. It calls for fingering weight yarn and has a cable panel and then double moss stitch on the rest of the hat. On sale through February 27 using coupon code LovePotion on Ravelry. (I still need to post it on Patternfish.)
The Arcite Cowl KAL continues and this week saw two of the participants finish their cowls. So pretty! It's not too late to join (runs through March 6) if you're interested!
I have a test knit going for a new cowl (Brynhild) and have been pushing that one through so I can get it ready in time for DFW Fiber Fest.
I'm working on a baby blanket as well, so look for that test in the next month or so.
But after that, I didn't have any solid plans about the next design(s). Some vague sketches and ideas but no plans. I've been so focused on Round Table Yarns lately that I haven't been swatching and thinking about what's coming up next. So I took some time this weekend to do some of that and now have some more solid ideas for a few more designs, which I'm excited about getting started on. I think the next one will be a shawl, but I have some more cowls (as usual), a hat, and a stole in mind as well.
I also did a lot of thinking this week about my designing. In the back of my head, I've been worried that I'm "just" designing accessories and not garments (sweaters, cardigans, etc.). I've been struggling with the thought that I'm not a "real designer" until I do garments. And this week I had a lightbulb moment. I've been listening to Tara Swiger's podcast and one of the things she said (although now I can't remember exactly what it was or which podcast) got me thinking about my purpose in designing. And I realized that "just" designing accessories is not a bad thing and it's "okay" for that to be my specialty. I realized the type of knitter I am--yes I've knit garments, but mostly I knit accessories. And that's because of the type of yarn buyer I am. I always see beautiful yarn and can't resist so I end up with just 1-2 skeins of all this really great yarn, which is not enough to do garments. So I make lots of accessories. And it allows me to use a lot of different types of really pretty yarn and get to experience different colors and yarn bases and dyers and companies. And I like that. But sometimes it's hard to figure out what to make with that one skein of hand-dyed yarn. So that's what I'm doing. I'm helping knitters like me (because I know I can't be the only one whose stash has grown this way) find patterns for that special 1-2 skeins of yarn. It's truly who I am as a knitter and therefore really informs my designing and makes it more "real" for me. So I am a "real designer" after all!
This doesn't mean that I never knit sweaters or that I'll never design a sweater, but now I feel like I don't have to design a sweater. In other words, I won't design a sweater just to say I've designed one. I'll design one someday if I get an idea that I really want to work with and feel like I just really need to design a sweater. Taking that sweater design class did get me excited about designing a sweater, so I'm sure I will want to do it someday--that someday just doesn't need to be right away (unless I get truly inspired). This revelation has taken some weight off my shoulders that I didn't quite realize I was carrying around.
Dyeing: I've dyed all of my first shipment of undyed yarn and after taking an inventory and thinking about samples and some skeins that didn't turn out as intended (which are therefore Quest skeins), I realized that I don't have quite enough for what I want to take to DFW Fiber Fest. So I ordered more undyed yarn. It arrived on Friday, and I sat down and looked at what I've already dyed and what I have in the new batch of undyed yarn. Then I made a dye plan, listing out which colors I plan to dye on which bases. It feels really nice to have a plan! (I've also left back a few skeins of each base for experimentation/new colorways.)
Other than that, I've been getting into a groove with dyeing, and have been making steady progress toward building my inventory. But I have to admit that it's difficult to dye the same colors because I want to try lots of new things. So I think I may, every now and then, do an experimental skein to help scratch that itch. But I want to be able to offer repeatables and have multiple skeins available, so I'll keep going with the colorways I've already created. And I do love them (Tintagel is my favorite, which is in large part why it is named Tintagel), so it's not like it's a bad thing to keep seeing these pretty colors come out of the dyepot!
Reading: Okay, not fiber related, but I finished a really good book this week and wanted to recommend it. It's called Kissing Midnight by Laura Bradley Rede and is a mashup of fairy tales (mostly Cinderella and Bluebeard) but is a completely new and inventive story with some great characters.
For next week, I hope to have a lot more to post about in the knitting and spinning sections!
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