Whirlwind of Happy
I’m sorry I’ve been MIA and have not kept up with my blog or website. Life has been crazy, but in a good way! I released my first pattern, gained a few tech editing clients, had a pattern accepted for a magazine, went on vacation and worked on another design in the sunshine...GREAT things have been happening!
Releasing my first pattern had to be the most nerve-wracking experience of my life. It is a lot harder than I ever expected to put a part of yourself out there for the world to see and judge. I kind of released the pattern by accident. Having never contributed to Ravelry or used Ravelry Pro before, I fumbled my way through getting my pattern published. I was planning to release it on April 1st but my test knitters finished early and the pattern was tech edited. So on Sunday, March 19th, I figured I’d set up the page, have my testers link to the pattern, get everything all set and ready to hit a button on April 1st Well in doing so, I had put my pattern up for sale. I realized…it was LIVE…for all to see…the panic set in! I was obsessed with checking my email to see if anybody had purchased my pattern. Luckily my good friend, Jackie, was kind enough to buy the first copy of my first pattern. For that, I will be forever grateful! So I posted on Instagram that I just released my first pattern and it was 20% off. Low and behold, I had some buyers! I posted in my favorite yarn dyer’s group that I had just released my first pattern ever and had a few more buyers. I am so grateful for the amazingly warm and supportive community of knitters I have in my life!!
Right after I finished the shawl, I started designing another pattern. One trip to Woolyn in Brooklyn, I found this yarn that I just had to have! It was cashmere and silk, felt like butter, in a fantastic charcoal grey and I just knew I needed it in my life. I had no idea what it would become. A while later, I was flipping through a stitch dictionary and I found a stitch pattern I just fell in love with and knew it would make the most amazing cowl in that gorgeous yarn from Woolyn. The cowl practically designed itself. I was browsing a group on Ravelry that had a call for magazine submissions. My cowl could fit into several of the categories. I toyed with the idea of submitting it but quickly talked myself out of it. Self-doubt is a killer! I would just release it on my own once I finished the pattern. A few weeks later I had dinner with my cousin and we were talking about my knitting. I showed her a picture of the cowl and she says, “I love the pattern of this (specifically naming one of the categories of the magazine submission mood boards)!” We agreed, it had to be a sign. The submissions were due just 4 short days after this dinner. She said I HAD to submit it and she would ask me every day if I had done so to help push me along. So I worked very diligently over the next few days to complete my very first magazine submission. After weeks of waiting and agonizing and resigning to release it myself next month….I got the email. My pattern was accepted!!! My very first magazine submission was accepted!!!! I will be published!!! A life-long dream come true. I’m still waiting for someone to pinch me and say it was all a dream, or they made a mistake.
After I had finished knitting the cowl, I started another design using my absolute favorite yarn, 80/20 Merino Silk Fingering from Duck Duck Wool. Sandra has amazing colors and the yarn is a dream to knit with! I came up with my design and was happily knitting away on my sample when the worst happened…I realized I didn’t have enough yarn to finish the pattern the way I wanted. I tried adding another complimentary color that was left over from another project…it looked like I ran out of yarn. I had 2 options: frog about 5 inches of work and end it how I wanted it or make a desperate plea to Sandra to provide me with more yarn (either praying she had some in stock or special order). I cried to my friend, Jackie, whom I am almost always yarn shopping with and she offered to check her stash. We both were doubtful as we have very different tastes…she’s a bright neon person and I’m a grey, blue, and purple person. Guess what…she had a skein!!! Even better, it matched since we bought it at the same time. So I was able to continue on my merry way. I decided to make a large version (~1,200 yards) and a small version (~700 yards). I brought these with me on my vacation to Florida and happily knit away in the sunshine. I finished the large sample except for the bind off and got more than halfway through the small version. Blocking the large took up half my kitchen, but it was so worth it!!! It is GORGEOUS (if I don’t say so myself)! I’m so happy with it! I used Hedgehog Skinny Single in Monet for the small version. They are both great but the same shawl looks completely different depending on the yarn. I can’t wait to release the pattern to the wild Friday, May 26th!! More anxiety and obsessive email checking to come.
That has been my insanely happy few months in the world of knit3together. As soon as I finish one thing, I’m on to the next. Dreams are coming true. It’s been hard work, a lot of very late nights, some anxiety, but it’s been more rewarding than anything else I’ve ever done. I have the amazing support of my family and friends. They have cheered me on and gave me the confidence I needed to do things I never dreamed of doing. Thank you!!! You know who you are. ;)
