11.29.2012

The Never Not Knitting Podcast : Episode 68 : The Comedy of Errors Sweater


Episode 68


Click here to download the mp3 file for episode 68

Shownotes:



















Enter to win a signed copy of the limited edition Mabel's Closet booklet by Hannah Fettig by leaving a comment under this post by December 15th. Don't forget to leave your contact information!

The winner will be announced on Episode 69. 

Thank you for listening!




11.20.2012

Pleated Neck Scarf


Back in January of this year, Amy Clarke Moore from Interweave contacted me and asked if I might be interested in contributing a design to the ever beautiful Jane Austen Knits magazine. Being a fan of all things Jane Austen, I was immediately interested and started scouring the Internet for design ideas.




I then came up with this.

This Pleated Neck Scarf knit from two different colors of Rowan Kid Silk Haze and fastened with a crocheted flower button. It's ethereal, feminine and reminiscent of the ruffled collars commonly worn in the Regency Era.



Photos courtesy of Interweave. Photography by Christa Tippmann


Believe it or not.. this is my first REAL, ACTUAL published magazine pattern. (in print)
Kind of exciting! :)

Find the pattern in the latest issue of Jane Austen Knits Fall 2012.




11.12.2012

Last Chance!



Just a reminder that pre-orders for Annie and the Swiss Cheese Scarf will be ending on 
November 15th at the end of the day. (Please see below)

(Update 11-19-12: The pre-order promotion has now expired. Thank you everyone for your support! We look forward to shipping the books out to you!)


This is your last chance to order this
Price: $18.95



And get this,


 and this.

In this.

For only the price of this.


In all seriousness... the Deluxe Edition-Gift Set is only free for pre-orders. 
Once pre-orders are over (beginning on November 16th) 
the Deluxe Edition will go to it's regular price of $26.95.


That means that if  you order the book before the 16th.. you will save $8 on this awesome gift set!


The books are being shipped to us now and we are so excited to start sending out your orders. 
Thank you everybody for all of your support. :)





11.09.2012

A Day In The Life Of An Illustrator



In putting together our latest book, it was fascinating for me to learn of all the steps involved in creating just one book illustration. Talk about a lot of work! I had no idea what kind of labor and time went into this type of artwork. I now look at my daughter's picture books with renewed appreciation!

I invited Neesha Hudson, the illustrator of Annie and the Swiss Cheese Scarf
to share her illustration process with us. 
I hope you enjoy this journey of seeing one page from conception to completion.




"I start with a very rough, quick sketch to get the general feeling and composition."





"Then refine that sketch into a line drawing. 
This is exactly how the finished illustration will look."




"I then transfer the drawing onto illustration board by laying carbon paper underneath my 
line drawing and tracing over it."


"I then ink the line drawing with FW waterproof ink. Once the ink is dry, I apply thin washes of watercolor. The first layer is yellow applied to the whole image to get a base. While the paint is still wet, I dab some red in select areas, like noses and cheeks."


"Sometimes I have a little helper." :)


"Finished watercolor."




"I then scan the watercolor and paint it digitally. As you can see, lots of beverages are involved in the process!"


"Finally, the finished illustration!"




"And here it is with text."





From "this" to "this" in approximately 10 hours time. Amazing! Thank you Neesha!



11.05.2012

The Evolution of Annie



I am so happy to tell you that our new children's story, Annie and the Swiss Cheese Scarf, is now printed and our shipment of books will be on the way to us shortly. I can't wait to hold the final book in my hands and start shipping it out to all of you who have pre-ordered!

What a fun project this has been for us as a family. Starting out this project, I of course knew quite a bit about knitting and pattern writing, but nothing about the process of creating a children's book. I have learned so much about what all of this involves, and I found it fascinating to watch this project take shape.

As you heard in my latest podcast episode, I have Neesha Hudson to thank for the amazing illustrations in this story. She worked so hard on this book for us and I am amazed by her talent. 

The character development was really interesting. I would give Neesha a general idea of how my daughter and I envisioned the characters, and she would sketch out different options for us to choose from.

Here is Annie.


I wanted Annie to resemble my own daughter somewhat, but still be her own unique character.




After a direction was chosen, she refined the sketches more...



and more...



and more... until we settled on a final version that we were both happy with.




And I think she is so adorable!

If you are interested in learning more about the extensive process that Neesha went through for each and every illustration, be sure to check back soon for a guest blog post from Neesha herself.