I got my Knit Sock Kit Swap package from Diane today! It is fabulous and my camera is currently not speaking to my computer (how can you tell me you aren’t attached to anything when there is a USB plug shoved in your port?), so. Photos soon.

Okay, apologies to my camera – it was my computer that didn’t feel like communicating.

(click on the photo for a larger image)

Left to right: drawstring bag with a hard base and sides hidden between the layers of fabric. Next to it, the matching sachet (which was made using a pocket from a pair of jeans). Then, a pack of aluminum sock needles! 4 sets of 5! This makes me giddy – it’s hard for me to find metal dpns in fine gauges here, for some reason. Then, lovely lovely handdyed wool from Cloverleaf Farms – I *think* this colorway is “seafoam”. Note the pair of beautiful blue glass and silver beaded stitch markers on the yarncake to the left. Then the adorable sheep note holder, holding up the card that came in the package. There was a box of maple tea and a packet of maple sugar candy in the package too – the box of maple tea was already in the kitchen for iced tea, and the maple sugar candy was, um, somewhere else? Thanks again Diane – the colors are lovely and I know I’ll be getting a lot of use out of all of this!

That would be a box of beautiful, beautiful yarn sitting in the living room, just waiting to be sorted, wound into pull-skeins, and then mailed away. Yep, I get to swim in a heap of lovely Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton and Organic Cotton, only to send it away. Sound heartbreaking? Nope – it’s going to my pattern testers and sample knitters/crocheters!

I’m looking at this as a mile marker of sorts: this is for real, and getting serious. The knit version of the first upcoming pattern is just about done – the holdup is me getting good photos taken. The pattern layout, technical editing, and technical illustration has been done by Cindy Moore, a professional graphic designer who has also done a pattern layout makeover for Stephanie Japel. As you can see from the sample on Stephanie’s blog, the layout is not the norm! I like it a lot – it’s very user-friendly. I’m also trying to incorporate features that make Japanese patterns usable, like good clear illustrations, and I think Cindy has done a fabulous job with those as well. It’s the sort of thing that seems simple, but it’s like a perfect plain baked potato – it’s the kind of simple that takes skill and training. This first pattern won’t have a chart, as I’m still working on ways to make professional-looking, standardized charts. I’m hoping to use the Japanese standardized symbols, and have taken a look at Knit Visualizer, a software that comes in a Mac version. It looks like it might suit my needs, but I’d have to upgrade my operating system first, so that’s on hold for the time being. I might try to take an artsy-crafty attitude towards it and explore the charms of a handwritten chart for now.

Enough chatter! Off to wind yarn!