Has the weather been the strangest ever this early Fall season? I am getting emails from my stores all across the country telling me how hot it is there!! They're a little worried because you folks don't want to knit when it's hot! All I can say is "What goes up, MUST come down" and that includes the WEATHER! Before you know it you'll be shoveling our your driveway so you can get to work and you'll be wondering why you waited so long to start your holiday knitting! Visit your LYS today and grab some cool new J. Knits Yarns, ok? Just because we've broken about every single weather record on the books this fall isn't a reason not to knit ;-). KNIT to it (or CROCHET to it :-). You get my point!
Are you enjoying the Baseball right now? I live in MA and right now everyone around me is in super-duper RED SOX MANIA since they're still in the playoffs! It's pretty cool. I'm a New England transplant from New Jersey myself so that always kind of made me a Mets fan. But I have to tell you, the Red Sox are really an enticing team to watch! Everyone gets so nuts around here! It wore off on me and now I'm excited too... GO SOX!
I have to admit that I am really, really a Hockey fan! I am so glad that hockey season has started, you know? Hockey is great for knitting! When the game starts I know I have a couple of hours where I can have some undisturbed knitting time and I like that!!! It's a fun and fast-moving game that keeps my interest. I have to admit that I have dropped a few stitches during exciting hockey moments that I've had to go back and fix. I go to watch the Sharks' AHL team play In Worcester (<---pronounced WOO-STA I might add...don't ask. It's Boston-ese. They make up their own language). This is the team right below the NHL team. They call up their players from there when they need to! We usually sit about 5 or 6 rows up which is right where the Plexiglas ends to protect the fans from flying pucks! Needless to say, I don't knit while watching the game because I nearly got pegged by a flying puck a couple of times. You need to always keep your eyes pealed when watching live hockey! Now I only knit during the intermissions between periods. Go RANGERS and SHARKS!
Enough sports and on to J. Knits news:
1. I've been working feverishly on the Spring 2008 line. UGGH! Why the heck do I always wait until the last minute to finalize?? I'm happy to report that I have finally picked my yarns (2 of them) and I am deciding on the colors (possibly 6 of them?) and I will, of course, let you guys know 2nd (after my reps of course!). I'll report it right here. That will make 13 yarns and 1 roving we will have in the line. (GEEZ! If you can't find something in there you like, I guess I can't help!) I have some really exciting things to share with you... Can't wait! Look for that post around the 1st week of November! Oh, alright! Here's a little teaser:
A knitted swatch of one of them done in the AC-144 colorway.
And, here are cakes of the two:
I just can't tell you what they are yet! Sorry! Told you it was a teaser ;-).
2. You know how I have been promising, and promising, and promising a listing of J. Knits' stores on the website? Well...it's almost finished! WOO-HOO! I do the website myself so I have to find time to get that all done too. I'll send a quickie post to the blog when it's done so look for that. My goal is to have it up later on today or tomorrow. It will list my online stores too. Then you know where to go to look for us! And, if your LYS doesn't carry us, tell them to get up from their knitting and check us out! (alright... a little PR never hurt anyone!) Moving on...
3. NEW PATTERNS! Yup, we've got some....
How about:
Our new Kid's Knitted Car Coat. This is an awesome new design by Sarah Wright of Nantucket Needlework Designs! This design uses our Superwash Me - DK Yarn. Color shown: Newburyport. This is so ADORABLE! I cannot thank SUSAN enough for this knitted sample. She picked out the cutest little buttons in the world! She's really my best knitting friend and she's always there to share her needles and knitting expertise. Thank-you SUSAN!!!!
or....
This adorable sock and wristlet set done by Julie @ Buttonjar Knits! Love the name, love the designs! She's a new designer for us and her first creation is AWESOME! I'm already hounding her for more! This set uses our Superwash Me - Sock Yarn. Colorway shown: Miami. OH YEAH!
See... we've all been busy while I've been away! No loafing-around here! Just work, work, work!
You'll see these as soon as I get the pattern layout done. Oh yeah... I failed to mention that I do all the pattern layouts that you see on the patterns in the stores. I swear that I need a 29 hour day so I can get all this stuff done.
4. Just an assorted thing: At least one of the AC colorways will be added permanently to the J. Knits Color Line. I think 2 of the ACs will be discontinued though. See? You "vote with your dollar" (as Andra says) on those colorways and I listen! If you don't buy, you don't like and then it's by-by! Not to worry though! I'll be replacing a bunch of new colors in their place. Once a colorway is named a City or State though, it will never be discontinued (at least, I don't think they will :) so you can always get those. No discontinuing of those. Easy as pie!
5. I'm working on a nice ad campaign for Interweave Knits and possibly Vogue Knitting so look for us next year sometime in those publications. Of course, I'll keep you updated!
6. FREE Patterns. What? Did someone say FREE! Yup..it was me! I want to say thank-you to all you loyal J. Knits knitters by uploading some free patterns to use with our yarn! Look for that soon. Also, if you'd like to submit a free J. Knits Pattern using our yarn, you'll get FREE J. Knits products as a thank-you! Think about it and then email me if you'd like to participate!
7. I know a bunch of you have emailed me in response to our Jobs listings on the website. I am in the process of putting togther the details for becoming either a test knitter or sample knitter (or both) so don't worry! I'll be emailing you shortly with all that info! Thanks!
Moving on to other news:
WHEW! Too much coffee this morning I guess! On we go...
Yes, I've been working on a couple of designs too for your knitting pleasure...
See that swatch? Ok, well, if you CAN see that swatch. It's a little too light from my crappy flash...
I cannot tell you how much SWEAT and how many TEARS (maybe not real tears but you get my point!) went into that little sucker! I ripped and ripped and ripped until I got it just right.
That got me thinking about swatching in general. My thought process has definately changed about my little knitting nemesis. When I used to be strictly a pattern-knitter, the swatch was just an annoying part of the overall process. You HAVE to do it but you HATE to. And what happens when it doesn't come out right? All that ripping all over again and more swatching. It's so tedious!
But now that I design some of my own patterns, the knitted swatch has truly become my best friend. Yes, I know, I did say Knitted Swatch = Best Knitting Friend when you're a pattern designer. And why you ask? Because it literally tells you so very much. You can finally see what's been floating around in your head for so long appear, as if by magic, right in front of your eyes!
When I finally got this swatch right, I knew that: A: The yarn was right; B: The needle size was right; C: The color is right; and most importantly... D: I liked it! (And I'm the Queen Bee around here so I really, really have to like it!).
That little swatch is so important in designing. In fact, it's crucial. But wait! That's not really so different from swatching for existing patterns, is it? Doesn't that little swatch tell you so much? All those things plus more? Like, A: Do you really like the pattern you've chosen (if you're swatching in the pattern stitch); B: Do you like the yarn you've chosen? Let's face it! Yarn can be expensive and it might look a lot different in the swatch than it does on the hank; C: Is it really you? I mean, overall you? All these things put together? Are they what you expected when you picked it all out?
The moral to this story is simple: Love your KNITTING = Love your SWATCH! And in the words of one of the most important actresses of all times, Dory from Finding Nemo says "Swatches are friends, NOT food!". Ok, well, that's not a direct quote. I edited it a bit! But I think you know what I mean (I LOVE that movie!)...
Bye for now and, as you already know...
Have FUN and KNIT SAFELY!
Watch for flying pucks and baseballs!
Your friend in Yarn, Fun and Knitting Life...
Julie
J. Knits
http://www.j-knits.com/
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