Home and away and back again

It's official -- The Garden is Bigger than All of Us. The peppers are especially prolific (and photogenic):Those are Super Chili (remember them?), Cayenne, Serrano, Jalapeno and Hot Portugal peppers. Someone may have gotten a little bit carried away in the hot pepper section of the garden centre.

There are also all kinds of interesting people to meet out in The-Bigger-than-All-of-Us Garden, such as this Fellow (Lady? I never can tell with bugs):
Hello! You have lovely beady-looking compound eyes, Mr./Ms. Mantis!

In knitting news, progress continues on the Strawberry socks:I'll also have you know that we are mere days away from their pattern release.

Progress has also begun on Clerkenwell, the new socks for Gentlemen:I've decided that just about everything looks three times better when it's photographed at Czehoski. Oh, and I kinneared Mick there (it was my first time):What a charming little place...and the fact that it's a mere three doors down from Romni Wools? You Torontonians really are fortunate.

Cupcakes v. Gnomes: and the winner is...

Thank you to everyone who helped decide the outcome to of that eternal question: Cupcakes...or Gnomes? Because of your participation, we now have an answer, and that answer is...

Gnomes! The Gnome socks will be knit and published first, and will be followed shortly thereafter by the Cupcake socks.

Having used a random number generator, I've determined that the winner of the copies of each pattern (when they are respectively released, is...

The Bon! Congratulations! I will be sending you the patterns as gifts on Ravelry when they are available.

Thanks again!

Get Balearique (Socks!)

The Balearique Socks' pattern has just been released!Believe me when I say that I am over the moon. This is the most fun you can have with teeny, tiny cables without driving yourself completely bonkers.

Please note that one gets a bit of (what I consider to be) a break while working the foot of these socks; the twisties get less complicated and are even easily-memorized.

The best part? These are sized for Gentlemen's feet (but easily converted to the Ladies' size by changing needles.) If you've been searching for that perfect pair of fancy socks to make for someone special (even if that person is yourself,) these are the socks for you.

As was mentioned in a previous post, this particular pair has gone off to live with Chris Coco, the inspiration for the socks, himself.

The pattern is available here on Ravelry (now,) and in my Etsy shop (soon.)

Cupcakes or Gnomes? Answer and win!

ETA: The voting is now closed. Thanks to everyone who participated!

The Strawberry socks are going to be finished today (and the pattern will be released very, very soon,) but one vital question remains:

Who would win in a fair fight..?

Cupcakes......or gnomes??I'm turning both mitten patterns into sock patterns (yup, you heard me!) and I'm trying to decide which to work first, but I just can't choose. I'm going to need your help on this one!

So! Leave your response to the question "Who would win in a fair fight -- cupcakes or gnomes" (and the creative reasoning behind your decision, if you like) below in the comments and I'll randomly select a commenter to win a copy of both sock patterns as soon as they are released (remember that each pattern retails for $6 USD.) The polls will close on Saturday, 24 July at 8 a.m. EST.

Who will it be? Cupcakes or gnomes?

Socks take flight

ETA: The socks have made it to their recipient and he loves them! I just heard (literally) this morning and you can too, as Chris mentions them (and me) on Melodica, his weekly online radio show. Listen here: Melodica 19 July 2010 (1st anniversary special) -- the socks and I are mentioned shortly after the 5-minute mark. We're also on his blog.I'm pleased to report that the Balearique Gentleman's Socks were completed(!) and duly posted off to England about a week ago. They should be arriving at their final destination shortly, if they haven't already (fingers crossed.)I hope their recipient is/will be as pleased with them as I am.

As for you, my dear sock enthusiasts, I hope to have the pattern out (featuring both gentlemen's and ladies' sizing, achieved by switching needle sizes,) this week (by 24 July at the latest.)

I'm in Knitty --> Mystery + Manners mittens

After waiting for what seemed like forever for the new Knitty to go live, I can finally show you these:These are Mystery + Manners, my first pattern in Knitty and the second of my patterns inspired by Flannery O'Connor (the first being Flannery, of course.)I am just so thrilled to know that they're out there -- wild and free, for everyone to enjoy. I hope you'll knit them and that they'll make you (or someone you care about) very, very happy.

Selling, socks, and sun

This July is proving to be a month of milestones for me -- a pattern to be published in the upcoming issue of Knitty and now this: The Purple Purl is now carrying SpillyJane Knits patterns in shop! This makes them the first Canadian purveyor of my patterns (other than me, of course,) so if you're in the Toronto area, stop by and say hello to my stuff. If you need another reason to pop in, all patterns by Canadian designers (including mine!) are 20% off for the entire month of July (as if you need another reason to visit a yarn store!)

Speaking of patterns, look who just needs their toes knit on:The Balearique Gentlemen's Socks are going to be finished today! Soon they'll be soaring across the ocean to their new home. I'll be working on the pattern this afternoon, as this heat wave we're having is making the even the thought of sitting on my porch unbearable. I wish I could bottle days like this and take the tiniest of swigs in the middle of a cold, grey November. That said, if you're an Achillea, you're loving this sun and heat. I, unfortunately, am not, but I'll endure it for their sake.

Snails and socks

I'm dressed for the garden and my tea's gone cold, but before I head off to deadhead the marigolds (and have more tea,) and ultimately end up back inside (knitting and listening to Melodica,) here's someone I met the other day out in my tray of sweet pea seedlings:Hello! He/She's looking at you with one beady eye-stalk! Cute!

I met another such fellow/lady last night as I was dividing a clump of Echinacea donated to my cause from my mom's back garden. I set him/her down in one of the mint patches for safe keeping. He/she can eat all the mint he/she likes, if he/she so chooses.

Plant-acquisition around here has been at an all-time high as we're finally working on landscaping the front garden. I've spent the past few days coated in a fine grime comprised mainly of dirt, sweat, sunscreen and bug spray (the latter two help the dirt stick better,) but the result is totally worth it.

Needless to say, all this gardening has cut into my knitting time. Still, I am dangerously close to finishing the (tentatively-titled) Balearique Gentlemen's Socks (which can be converted to Ladies' socks by going down a needle size. Or not, as you prefer.)When that occurs (oh, happy day!) they will depart to go live with their recipient, just in time for the summer months (my timing is impeccable.)

The pattern will be ready sooner than you think, should you be interested in acquiring a copy. I think I may actually have a wee contest with pattern giveaways to celebrate the release of this one. I'll keep you posted.

In other news, anticipation is high in these parts for the First Fall + Holiday Headstart 2010 issue of Knitty, (even more so than usual,) mainly because I have a pattern in it. You're going to want to check that one out. Don't forget!

Fancy some Mittens With Pints On?

It's been a while, but here they are:These are the long-awaited (and newly-released) Mittens With Pints On (Ravelled.) Available now, here, on Ravelry and here, in my Etsy shop (soon.)They're the ultimate accessory for that chilly pub crawl!

Also available in a fingerless version (instructions are included,) these are the perfect accessory for the beer lover in your life, whether that’s you or someone you love (or both.)

These mittens are easily sized-up, should a larger size be required.

These mittens would be an ideal first colourwork project for someone new to the technique.

...and there are Socks With Pints On in the works. Keep an eye out for those.

Today was tomorrow yesterday

I've been spending a lot of time on the porch lately, so I've been very keen on the aesthetics of the place. The space next to the door needed something, so this is what I came up with yesterday:Six containers of trailing nasturtiums (my favourite,) in both proper and found pots, on a plant stand that's been travelling with me for the past decade (previously silver, now white.) I think it really suits the space, and it makes me happy whenever I see it.

More than a handful of you will be thrilled when you hear exactly what I've been spending all that porch-knitting time doing...here, let me show you:It's the Mittens With Pints On, and I'm pleased to say that I'm frantically (well, not really,) working to meet my self-imposed deadline of finishing the test mitten TODAY. The pattern is slated to come out this Monday, 14 June 2010 (but may be out sooner,) so keep your eyes open! I'll keep you posted.

And for you sock knitters, hold on tight. That's all I'm going to say for now.