I'm so excited to finally share my designs from Kat Coyle's adorable book, Boho Baby Knits.  Kat asked me to design five patterns for the book, and I had such a fun time working with her.  Kat is a good friend and a truly talented artist, and I really value all the feedback and encouragement she gave me.  I am a sappy person, and could gush and gush (I have already), but I know that it embarrasses Kat and I have some seriously cute baby pictures to post!

Sigh. That little girl makes me so happy. That's the Honky-Tonk Jacket, and it's a fun little cardigan with toggle buttons and fringe, knit out of Berroco Suede. In the book, it is also modeled by a boy, and I love that it's a nice unisex knit.

The Roadie Moccasins, also in Berroco Suede. Originally, I had thought of these with the cuffs rolled down, but when I brought the finished booties over to Kat's, the cuffs had unrolled in my bag. I remember we set the booties up on her kitchen counter and both said, "wait, I like them UP!"

The cuteness level of the kids modeling the knits in the book is very, very high. I mean, through the roof! The drummer is wearing the Garage Band Tee, knit at a very fine, soft gauge (size 2 needles) out of Brown Sheep Cotton Fine. I hadn't worked with this yarn before, and the finished fabric is very nice and soft - and I just love the colors. 

Oh, the sweetness. The Modernist Stripe Sleep Sacque - this was so fun to knit up! It is knit mostly in the round, so it goes very quickly, even though the body is pretty long. And I just love the look of a baby in bunting. So cozy. You can even see, in the picture above, a hint of my final design:

The Mobile Menagerie. I knew, when Kat and I first discussed this pattern, that it would be the most challenging design, and I was right! For that reason, I'm so proud of it. I think that the result was worth the struggles, and I'm pleased not only with the little stuffed hanging creatures (they're detachable, so that little ones can play with them!), but also of the construction - the mobile hangs and moves well from the crocheted ties, and the ties don't pull on the knitted cover for the hoop, so the mobile will look good for a long time.  It felt great when I brought it over to Kat's house - her son (and my little buddy) Felix zoned in on the bee sticking out of the bag as soon as I stepped in the door, and wanted to pull out play with the mobile creatures.  And I didn't even bribe him or beg or anything! 

The other designers in the book are Kat Coyle (of course!), Julia Trice, Marnie Maclean, Edna Hart, and Beth Abaravich.  They all created such wonderful projects, and I am flattered to be in their company.  Also - many thanks to Mandy, who was the tech editor for Boho Baby.  Her comments and changes in the flow of some of the pattern instructions were eye-opening - saying the same things, just in a different way - and I learned a lot. 

It really is a beautiful book.  Congratulations, Kat! 

This snuck up on me - but I am so happy to share:

First of all - what cute little ones on the cover!  Oh my goodness.  In Kat's bobble soakers... the sweetness is killing me!

Boho Baby Knits is an upcoming book which will be released in November, and it has some truly adorable patterns; I'm really honored to be one of the contributors.  Kat Coyle, my friend, is the author of the book - her first - and she did such an amazing job!  Kat, to me, has always been a huge inspiration as a designer.  (And yup, I'm going to gush for a second Kat... divert your eyes if you must.) When her first skirt came out in Knitty I loved it so much, and to this day I still have big plans to photograph something I knit standing in front of a crazy mural.  Her handknits are always stunning and right up my alley - lovely kidsilk lace, fun skirts, funky socks.  Kat is a true artist; talented, funny, and very encouraging.  When she asked me to be a part of this, her first book, I was so excited and flattered.  When the project ideas piled up until I was contributing five patterns (seriously - we couldn't stop brainstorming), I was surprised, flattered, and a wee bit scared.  The process of working with Kat was anything but scary - a great mixture of freedom, encouragement, and collaborative ideas with a designer that I truly admire - I couldn't have asked for a better experience!  Thank you so much, Kat!

Contributors to Boho Baby include Julia Trice, Marnie Maclean, Edna Hart, and Beth Abaravich (formerly of The Knitting Freak blog).  Their projects are so, so cute: fresh, fun, and original, and Kat's creative eye is evident throughout.  I can't wait until the release date gets closer, so everyone can see this book!

First of all:  Flickr.  I know I’m late with this observation, but holy cow.  I've been a member of Flickr for a while, but only in this past week have I really explored the site and begun to check out the different features.  Coincidentally, for most of this past week I've been up late, uploading photos and checking out the amazing images and groups.  Wow.  Good times.  I had a lot of fun uploading the “behind the scenes” photos I took at the photo shoot for Greetings from Knit Cafe.  The pictures sure brought back memories!  We all had such a great time at that shoot.  I created a Flickr set for the pictures, so you can check out some of the fun behind-the-book-shots pictures here: (Still in Bloglines? Click on over for the link!)

My elf socks are nearly finished… sock number two is at the peekaboo toe stage:

I love these stripes!  And also, I really hope my neighbors don’t think I’m crazy for lying down in the middle of a parking lot behind their building with one foot up in the air and a wayward ball of yarn rolling around me in order to get a sky picture without power lines or the edge of a building.  It was either the parking lot or the middle of my street, and, you know... safety first!

Way back when, well over a year ago, my friend (my boss-slash-friend at the time) Suzan got the opportunity to write a book of knitting patterns, edited by the incomparable (and, it turns out, incredibly warm and brilliant) Melanie Falick.  Knowing Suzan, I knew from the get-go that the book would be stylish, smart, fun, and filled to the brim with projects I was just dying to knit.  Coming up with terrific ideas is not an issue for Suzan.  Before long, she had a binder filled to the brim with sketches and swatches and photos and drafts of patterns.   I ended up lucky enough to have patterns accepted in this book... four patterns: a yoga bag, a Chanel-inspired cardigan, a pillow, and a reversible scarf.  I spent many a sleepless night last summer, swatching without end (Suzan might be able to tell you how many color schemes we tried for the jacket... I had to stop counting after a while, for my own sanity), knitting into the wee hours, checking and re-checking my math.  Then, as I mentioned in a previous post, there was the whirlwind of the photo shoot... and my work for the book was done.  For months afterward, I know that Suzan was still spending sleepless nights of her own, writing into the wee hours, tying up the loose ends, and finishing this beautiful book.  And it was worth every moment because now, here it is!

Clearly, I'm biased beyond belief.  I have no problem admitting that.  But the book, I've read it all, and it is truly wonderful.  Suzan managed to take the crazy good times we have at the Knit Cafe and put it on paper.  No small feat, considering we're all nutty, yarn addicted goofballs over there.  The first thing I think of when I look through the book are all the "behind the scenes" memories I have... being lucky enough to watch this book come to life was an unforgettable experience.  The second thing I think of, naturally, is how do I choose what to knit first?  The polo shirt?  The slouchy cardigan, that looked so amazing on everyone who tried it on (seriously... I've seen that sweater on at least 20 people, and it just works on everyone).  The socks?  If it's the socks, which pair? 

I can hardly believe it is here.  Suzan, congratulations!  And most of all, big public thanks... for allowing me to be a part of your wonderful book! 

Mason-Dixon Knitting arrived at my doorstep at the exactly perfect time.  Lately I've done so much evaluation of my works-in-progess, so much ripping out (usually accompanied by thoughts such as:  "I live in LA.  When on earth did I ever, ever think I was going to wear a horizontally striped turtleneck pullover made out of Silk Garden?  When?" or similar), so much  yarn reclaiming.  My tendency has always been, in knitting, to start whatever project I wanted, with no regard toward the finishing of everything else.  It will all get done.  Someday.

While this works to keep the inspiration flowing, it does nothing to improve my general stick-to-it-iveness.  Also, it does nothing times infinity to help me keep the percentage of square footage of my apartment that is occupied by yarn down to an acceptable level.  I'm not talking about acceptable to most people; most people don't understand the concept of stash, and the joys therein, and their level of yarn-square-footage-percentage acceptance most likely isn't actually acceptable at all.  I'm talking acceptable to me.  I love yarn.  I have lots of it.  I'm fine with that.  But when it isn't organized, when I don't even want to look over at the yarn area because of the almost finished projects that I really should finish because I want to start something new, when I start feeling guilt about knitting, it's time to rip.

Ripping out projects to reclaim the yarn is so freeing.  I can see what I want to work on again (I should mention, that Silk Garden pullover?  Did not make the cut.  Even though I loved Emily's so much, and was convinced when I saw it that the weather in my beloved former Bay Area really isn't that different than the weather down here in LA... love was not enough to keep the sweater together).  I feel all organized and spring-cleany.  I've been knitting more.  I am thisclose to being finished now in several projects that have been in progress for... well... let's just say I'm finishing up the baby blanket for my niece.  She's pictured in the last post.  I clearly am a horrible person with no fortitude or tenacity whatsoever. 

Which is why I was so pleased to read the Mason-Dixon book.  Because, as much as I'm enjoying this complete overhaul of my WIPS (since I already admitted the dirty truth about the baby toddler blanket, I may as well mention that I had 15 of them.  Works in progress.  Why would I have ever thought that was acceptable?), as much as I love spring cleaning, as eager as I am to go to Target and buy a million Rubbermaid bins in varying shapes to contain the yarn, I need a quick fix as much as the next gal.

So, upon opening my copy of the book, I was at first a little intrigued by the dishcloth.  Having worked for so long at my favorite LYS, I've seen many knitted washcloths.  I've helped select stitch patterns, I've found yarn that will go with various scents of soap, I've oohed and aahed at rolls of dishcloths in baskets.  But I've never really wanted to make one.  Why would I knit something and then use it to mop up spills and clean my dishes?  That makes no sense to me!  After reading the essay in Ann and Kay's wonderful book, I saw the light.  Seriously!  I want useful knits!  I want to be greeted with handknit goodness when I go to wash the dishes!  That sounds so much better than what greets me right now- which is dirty dishes.  I have loads of cotton scrap leftovers just begging to be used.  And, most importantly, most crucially of all, I really, really need a quick knit fix.  Big time.  So I grabbed my cotton, sat down, and a (satisfyingly) short time later hopped up again with a finished project.  Just a dishcloth, true, but it was DONE with the ends weaved in and everything.  I promptly filled up my washbasin and put it to use, too.  I only had to hesitate for a couple of seconds before I could bring myself to toss my knitting in with the dirty dishes.  Also, I admit that all the dishes got an extra rinse before I put them in the washbasin.  I didn't want them to be too dirty, not for this first wash.  I used my thrifty, quicky little knitting project to wash my dishes and I felt so Little House on the Prairie I was fit to bust.  So I promptly sat down and cast on another.