Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Knock, Knock


Hi Knitters!

Did you know you can now watch Knitty Gritty on HGTV? I caught another episode this morning at 10:00am central time today. I know that they are showing episodes every Monday at this time, so I was surprised to see it today. I'll have to check out when they are scheduling this throughout the week. It is fun to watch when they have fun designers on that I am dying to see. Have you been following the Yarn Harlot's sock knitting for the show? Nightmare!

Just now as I am writing I had to stop to answer a knock on the door. It was the FedEx man with my manuscript for book #2! I have editing to do. This is the first round. The manuscript is sent from me to my editor. After he goes through and makes sure it is all together, the manuscript goes to a technical editor for several weeks. Then I get it to go through the changes and answer queries from both of them. This happens 3 or 4 times total, and the editing continues right up until printing time. It is tedious, intense, and at times, really not much fun, but it is necessary to say the least. The amount of work that goes into putting a book together is staggering, but nothing is more rewarding than seeing the fruits of your knitting labor in a beautiful book. I love every minute of it, even the editing. I finished my Christmas cards this morning, and yes, my card included knitting in the picture. I don't have a scanner but I should share this because it turned out really good. I'll have to work on that. I still have a lot of shopping to do. It always works out in the end, so I am not worried yet. Maybe I should open the package before I make statements like that.

The Craftsanity podcast with my interview is coming out later this week (no later than Saturday) along with the Santa Baby ornament pattern. Jennifer took lots of pictures of me and my things when I met her in Michigan, so I have no idea what she will post from those. Maybe some, maybe none. I will let you know exactly when it is available. She just posted an interview with Betty Christiansen a couple of weeks ago. Betty edited Itty Bitty Hats, so it was especially fun for me to hear her interviewed. She did a great job.

I love knitted toys to no end. The shaping and seaming can be a lot, but the toys I make are always small, so the knitting is incredibly fast. This sweet bunny I knitted for my daughter last Christmas. The pattern is from Toy Knits by Debbie Bliss (j'adore!). This book is a must have for any toy knitter. Debbie's a genius at making these clever little toys beyond cute. Toy Knits is one of my all-time favorite books and was published in 1995. It is good to remember older books because they have continued value for today's knitters. All of my books bring back memories for me, and patterns for toys never go out of style, so these types of books remain current. In my book #2, there are many knitted toys and I got the biggest kick out of knitting them. I am pondering writing an entire book on knitted toys. It is one of the most enjoyable forms of knitting for me. I have a major thing for tiny knitted goodies.

Well, off to open that envelope...wish me luck.

best, susie