It's the new year...a few days late.

I feel like my new year started today. Yes, I realize it's the 11th day of the year. But I've been working on secret deadline knitting for over two months now (three separate projects) and I carried one particularly intense and stressful deadline into the new year with me. But I sent it off to its destination yesterday morning and I awoke this morning finally letting out a sigh of relief that was a long time coming.

It's a funny predicament I find myself in. I'm incredibly grateful that my work has been accepted to well-known and well-liked publications. It's very exciting to me that someone wants to publish my designs. But with it comes a lot of pressure....my inner obsessive perfectionist comes out with a vengeance and I put everything else in my life aside and put all my focus on the design.  Couple this with a stressful and time-consuming day job and you've got a recipe for a burned out, bitchy, unfocused, and downright cranky knitter. That was me most of November, all of December and most definitely the first few days of January.

So, my goal for the new year is balance. Balance in knitting, balance in work, and balance in life. How about you?

Thanksgiving Eve

....It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Someone around these parts might be very excited for the holiday weekend. I don't usually feel as in the holiday spirit as I do this year...not sure what's gotten in to me, but I like it.

I absolutely love the palpable excitement, anticipation, and, well, for lack of a better word, magic of the Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving. We always get out at noon (I mean, really, not much work would get done in the afternoon anyway, so it's good we're turned loose early) and then it's a flurry of activity as I run around town getting last minute things.

There's a very specific kind of panic that sets in in Skagway right before the holidays because our one main grocery store closes down for Thanksgiving and the day after. And for some reason, faced with eating the things that are already in my kitchen for two whole days with no way of buying anything else, I kind of freak out and go to the grocery store with no list in mind, but just the need to make sure that I have everything I could possibly want while they are closed.

This is what happened to me today. I did all of my Thanksgiving dinner shopping yesterday and I truly had all I needed and more (there is, after all, just the two of us and I could realistically feed about 20).  So, in theory, I really had no reason to stop by the store when I got off work.  

But I did...and this is what I walked out with:

Because you never know when you're gonna need a pomegranate, right?  I did actually need the cranberry sauce, because I had forgotten it yesterday, but the other stuff just somehow magically landed in my cart. Hmmmm....guess I was hungry for junk food.

And now I am happily ensconced at my kitchen table getting a head start on some pattern writing that is due soon, eating a yummy cheese sandwich on a fresh baked roll from the local bakery, watching a funny movie and drinking some coffee nog.  Lovely! (Just wish I hadn't eaten those jalapeno Combos...hello, indigestion.)

I am so thankful for so many things this year...and I've never been more thankful for a long weekend of knitting while curled up on the couch by the fire, watching the snow fall.  

I'm working on secret deadline knitting this weekend....what are you all working on? Whatever it is, I hope you enjoy!

Random thoughts on a blustery morning...

I'm really really having trouble concentrating at work this week...like, really.  It would be easier if I wasn't doing something so fantastically boring. (No, data entry is not what I'd call a good time.) 

I think my lack of concentration can be blamed on a combination of things: 

1. It's a 4-day weekend coming up and I can't wait to knit my way through it. I have a to-do list a mile long, but knitting takes precedence over all on a long weekend. (And, no, that's not really any different from a regular weekend.)

2. There is no one in the office right now. Everyone is either gone on vacation or working remotely. We have a year-round staff of about 17 and there are only 5 of us in the building right now. It's too damn quiet! I miss my boss singing Chaka Khan in the hallways.

3. I'm a week and a half away from leaving for a month: work conference in Vegas, visit with a dear old friend in Montana, and then Christmas in Ohio.  Too much travel excitement to think straight!

4. I have three secret knitting projects I'm working on for upcoming projects and they all have the same deadline that is swiftly approaching...yikes. I can't rest until they are blocked and on their way!

5. Thanksgiving Eve is one of my favorite nights of the year. No lie. I've always loved the anticipation of a holiday more than the holiday itself. And apparently, because I'm so looking forward to Wednesday night, the time between now and then will move at the speed of slugs.

6. And as if being stuck in my office wasn't torture enough this week, we've been plunged into a deep freeze and it's super blustery, snowy, and so damn cold that I don't want to leave the couch, let alone the house.  Perfect knitting weather but, then again, what isn't? 

I've been trying super hard to combat this sudden onset of ADD, but I've come to realize that I'm defenseless. Today I remembered that I had a bag of yarn in my office that I had not taken home yet from my trip to Juneau in early October...so I proceeded to take each and every skein out of the bag and admire/pet/drool over each one.  So much yarny goodness!  

Don't mind me....I'm just doing all I can to avoid doing actual work.

Thankfully, my days have been repeatedly brightened this week (and every week) by frequent texts from my sister. She knows if she doesn't send me pics/videos of my nieces and nephew daily that I will bug the shit out of her until she does. I've got her trained pretty well. ;) Some days my sanity is literally saved by these little nuggets of cuteness.

This is one of the gems that came in yesterday. Seriously. I can't handle the cuteness some days.

She really knows how to get me through my day. How can you not smile at that?! Consider my sanity preserved...at least for today.

Stitch and Bitch, Skagway style

For awhile now I've wondered what it would be like to have a knitting community in my immediate vicinity.  For so long I've been a solitary knitter and I prefer that, for the most part. Knitting is intensely personal for me: a time to really be still with my thoughts while I mull over every topic under the sun, from what I'm going to eat for dinner to what my life's purpose is (deep, I know).

I've grown in my craft for the most part by myself, with no one around to tell me that I'm doing something wrong, or that I'm doing something right. I kind of vaguely knew that there were others here in Skagway who knit, but it was never anyone who I felt like I would or could hang out with.  So my stitch and bitch nights consisted of me, myself and I. And I really started to wonder what it would be like to not have to bitch to myself.

So, to solve my problem of having no one to stitch and bitch with, I've been casually pushing my friends to learn how to knit.  A couple weeks ago, a lady in town offered a beginning knitting class and I oh-so-discreetly texted my friend Sarah and told her about it.  Sarah has been on the receiving end of some of my handiwork, so I knew she was at least semi-interested in knittery things.  I was so excited when she decided to go!

She learned the basics in the class and then came shopping in my stash last week for a suitable yarn for her first project (she chose a gorgeous blue alpaca blend yarn, by the way...a girl after my own heart). We then had our first stitch and bitch the following night at a local bar. 

We numbered only three but I'm encouraged that we'll have another very soon and hopefully our numbers will grow. It was surprisingly nice to knit in the presence of others...and I felt only a little bit self-conscious (mostly because of the curious looks we were getting from fellow barflies), but I'm hoping that will wear off in time. And I'm hoping that I can encourage even more of my friends to pick up sticks! Yeah!

Winter IK 2011 Preview

Be still my knitting heart.

I have been obsessively going to Interweave's website to see when the Winter IK preview photos would be uploaded.

I guess maybe I haven't checked in a day or so, but this morning I went to see if anything new had been put up and....it has!

My Offset Cable Mittens are included in this issue...my very first print publication!

Here's are some links you should follow right now!

Winter IK 2011 Projects Preview
Offset Cable Mittens - Extra Photos 

I'll give these mittens a proper post soon, but I just had to shout this from the rooftops as soon as I could. You understand, right? Right.

Twist Collective Winter - Swansea...New Design!

Okay, so the Winter 2011 edition of Twist Collective has been out a little over 24 hours now and I'm still not coming down from the high I got from leafing through the virtual pages.  What an amazing collection!  A couple of my favorites are Yukimi by Maureen Hefti and Bellevue by Robin Melanson.  But my jaw literally dropped when I saw Voluta by Rachel Erin. One word: Stunning.  But you really can't go wrong with any of the designs in this edition. I might choose to knit them all if I had the chance!  You definitely have to appreciate the amazing talent that goes into creating these unique gems.

Considering the caliber of talent in this issue, I'm so honored and excited to have a design included!  

Meet Swansea:

Photo by Jamie Dixon...Courtesy of Twist Collective

Swansea is a hat/mitten combo that combines twisted stitches and nupps, two of my hugest obsessions right now.  I liked the idea of the twisted stitch rib coming from different directions and then interlacing, ending in a cute little bobbly nupp...here's my original vision in the submission swatch, knit in KP Wool of the Andes.

Taking that idea and adding in some Quince & Co Lark in a vibrant green and you get the finished product below! While the stitch pattern covers the back of the hand, the palm and thumb are worked in the simple but lovely reverse stockinette.

Photo by Jamie Dixon...Courtesy of Twist Collective

 Now, my original submission was just for mittens, but Kate asked me if I could come up with a complementary hat.  An idea had been already bouncing around in my brain, so I naturally said I would and the resulting topper turned out just as I had pictured.

Photo by Jamie Dixon...Courtesy of Twist Collective

Although I had envisioned these designs knit up in a heathered yarn (when DON'T I envision something in a heather?!), I thought the solid effect turned out great and was a perfect fit for their Bright Spots feature.  

Photo by Jamie Dixon...Courtesy of Twist Collective

Let's get down to details, shall we?

Finished measurements:
Mittens: 
Mitten circumference: 7 ¾ (8 ½)" / 19.5 (21.5) cm
Length: 9 ½ (10 ½)" / 24 (26.5) cm
Shown in size 7 ¾" / 19.5 cm

Hat: 
Head circumference: 18 ½ (19 ¾, 21, 22 ¼)" / 47 (50, 53.5, 56.5) cm
Hat height: 8 (8 ½, 9, 9 ½)" / 20.5 (21.5, 23, 24) cm
Shown in size 18 ½" / 47 cm
Intended to be worn with 2" / 5 cm of negative ease.

Yarn:
3 skeins Quince & Co. Lark (134 yds / 123 m per 1 ¾ oz / 50 g hank; 100% American Wool ) in Parsley
Two skeins of yarn will make either the hat or the pair of mittens.

Needles & Notions:
Size 5 US / 3.75 mm needles in style preferred for small circumference knitting in the round and 16" / 40 cm circular needle.

Two stitch markers, tapestry needle, waste yarn

Gauge:
26 sts and 34 rows = 4" / 10 cm in p3, k1 tbl ribbing in the round
24 sts and 34 rows = 4" / 10 cm in Stockinette stitch in the round

Construction Notes: The mittens are worked from cuff to tip, and the hat is worked from the bottom up. The twisted rib and bobble patterns are presented in both charts and row-by-row instructions.

To purchase Swansea, please follow this link to the Twist Collective website.  Thanks very much for your interest!

Alluvia of a different color

When Alluvia was released last year, I really had no idea how it would do. It had been rejected from a couple print publications but it finally found a home in the Knit Picks IDP.  Once released, it earned its advance back pretty quickly and sales were fairly brisk. And then it was included in a Knit Picks email newsletter as the featured pattern and...well...things just completely exploded after that.

I've been so encouraged by the response to this design and it's been so fun to see new projects pop up on Ravelry and on other blogs. I especially love seeing what color combinations people come up with. I'm a color whore when it comes to knitting so some of the color selections that people have used have really made my heart squeal.

There have been a couple of the bags completed in the last few days that have really caught my attention... check out this Alluvia bag that Talitha Kuomi created.  Isn't it so effing lovely?!  She used KP Wool of the Andes as the original pattern calls for, but instead of having each ruffle be a different color, she just striped the yarn any which way she wanted as she worked through the ruffles and I positively love the effect.  She also didn't felt it and instead of i-cord she added a really cool belt as the strap, all of which contributed to a really unique Alluvia.  Love it!

As I was browsing through Rav this morning, I also saw this Alluvia from pansylane.  How cool is that?  She used KP Palette instead of Wool of the Andes and the result is a perfectly beautiful and lighter weight Alluvia.  I love how she styled her FO pictures as well.

Hmmm....I might have to order some Palette today and try that out for myself.  But Palette comes in so many lovely colors, I wouldn't even know where to begin.  And let's be honest...I have more than enough on my knitting plate right now.

Have you created an Alluvia that hasn't been posted on Ravelry yet?  If so, head on over there right now - HURRY! -  and upload some photos...I'd love to see them!

It's good to be home...

...as I was driving down the street today after running errands (the usual post office-grocery store-coffee shop triangle), it hit me how truly glad I was to be back home in Skagway.  Although I was only gone about a month, I realized it had been much longer than that since I had really looked at my surroundings and enjoyed what I saw.

It was a rough summer. Nothing truly awful happened to me, for which I am very grateful. But it was very intense and stressful and my job ate up way more of my personal time than it ever has. This not only made me very cranky and not very fun to be around, but also robbed me of my ability to be a good friend and girlfriend.  I don't want this to ever happen again. I don't like who I was this summer.

So, to quickly catch you up from all that has been happening over the last few months:  the summer sucked and then it was over. And that's all I'm going to say about that.

So, needless to say, it was with great excitement that I headed out of town for a few weeks to shake off the negativity that seemed to be clinging to me for dear life.

First off, I spent a week in Juneau attending a conference for work.  It's only a 100-mile ferry ride down the canal, but it's worlds away in terms of things to do, places to go, etc.

One of my first stops was Seaside Yarns, a new yarn shop in Juneau and what I now consider to be my LYS (since there isn't one in Skagway).  The owner, Melissa, and I have been Rav/blog friends for awhile and I was so very excited to finally get to visit her new store.

She had already adopted her winter hours and wasn't going to be officially open during the time I was in Juneau, but she told me to call her and we'd pick a time and I could come in to see the shop even though it was closed....UMMMMM, WHAT?!   My own private yarn store shopping experience?  Yes please.

You're not going to believe this, but I forgot my camera when I visited the store. I know, I know. So I have no pictures of the awesome space and my time there.  But you can imagine that it was glorious. I made about 50 rounds of the store, just looking at everything. It's not very often that I get to see yarns in person, so it was a treat just to check out the different brands that I only ever see on the computer screen.

And I might have spent upwards of *cough*a couple hundred dollars*cough* on new stash yarn. I don't know what got into me....just doing my part to support the arts, I guess. ;)  I also picked up some of Melissa's A Tree Hugger's Wife hand-dyed and am designing a hat and cowl pattern to sell in her shop.  Super excited to work with her! She's so awesome.

After Juneau, I flew to Ohio for a long overdue visit with my family.  I was super pumped to meet my sister's latest little one, Halle.  She is truly a little sweetie and such a cuddler. Well, not that a 3 week old has much choice when it comes to cuddling. They're basically stuck with whoever picks them up....and I picked her up a lot.

Nothing too crazy happened while I was home, which is just the way I like it.  Light on the plans, heavy on just hanging out.

Here are some shots of my visit....and, no, you won't find any of me. I like to be firmly planted behind the camera. :)

Zillsman and his mama at the Fall Festival of Leaves

Zills shows off his obsession with wooly worms.

Sassy being...sassy.

HalleBear showing off her new shirt.

We were trying to get a good shot of all the kids but...well... this is about as good as it got.

It was equally as crazy trying to get one with GG Ginny. 

We went on a snake hunt...and found some! Just little guys though.

Sassy enjoying a beautiful fall morning on the porch.

Jackson playing with a creepy antique fox fur that we found in the closet.

I think he was sick of me taking pictures of him.

We didn't know of any good hayrides going on, so we made one for ourselves with the four-wheeler and wagon.

Heading out for a walk in the woods.

Sassy loves Bapa.

So that's what I've been up to the last couple months of non-blogging. I'm very excited to get back in the swing. And next time, I promise more knitting content!

What have you all been up to the last couple months? Fill me in!

I've been away...but I'll be back soon!

I'm currently enroute from a vacation to see my family, but I wanted to say that I will be back to blogging again soon. We have lots to catch up on! Many exciting things on the horizon for Alaskan Purl Designs and I can't wait to share them all with you.

In the meantime, here are a few pictures of 3 really cute humans who have filled my time the past couple weeks. I can't wait to see them again at Christmas!

Jackson, aka Zillsman. Poor little guy had to get his tooth pulled a few weeks ago. (He's a rough and tumble guy and he bumped his tooth in a fall about a year ago and it eventually died and then recently became infected. So he got a visit from the tooth fairy a couple years earlier than usual.)

Adelyn, aka Sassy. She's our little charmer, always with smile on her face.

Halle Elizabeth, born just a few weeks ago...she does not have a nickname yet. ;)

Knitting in bed

It's been a rough last couple weeks. Work continues to be super stressful and unrelenting. And I was on a doubly intense knitting deadline for two different upcoming secret projects that coincidentally (and unfortunately) were due on the same day.  But I can happily say that everything was successfully shipped off and submitted, which means I no longer have to stay up until 3 AM every night knitting until my contacts are so dry that my eyes gum shut. Yeah!  It's the little things...

I've gone through a bit of limbo the last few days since the big deadline where I literally had an intense negative physical reaction when I thought about knitting. Just the thought of needles and yarn made me cringe and get a little dry heave-y. I've drained all the fun out of knitting over the last couple weeks by having to set aside everything else in my life in order to get things finished in time. But now that that strange (and unfamiliar) feeling has passed, I'm ready to dig in again!

Ahhhhh, this is my view tonight:

I'm laying in bed curled up with my favorite blanket, charting out some fresh designs and playing around with some stitches.  I LOVE this stage of designing...when everything is possible and the design has the ability to take on a life of its own.

Knitting in bed isn't the most comfortable thing, but I'm willing to give up some comfort for the luxury of being cozied up with my laptop, some yarn and a movie.  I've tried a few different knitting-in-bed positions, but my favorite is on my stomach with pillows underneath my chest so that I'm propped up enough knit in front of my face. Weird, huh?  It makes my neck hurt after a while though.

Anyways...I feel a change in the air the last couple days. Have you felt it too? Maybe I feel like I've turned a corner in the summer and feel the relative calm of fall moving in. Whatever it is, I feel like exciting things are on the horizon, both knitting and otherwise.

There's this song that has been stuck in my head the last few days, which I think has only heightened my feelings of change in the near future...This is by far my favorite verse of the song:

...Come writers and critics who prophesize with your pen

Keep your eyes wide, the chance won't come again.

Don't speak too soon for the wheel's still in spin

And there's no tellin' who that it's namin'.

For the loser now will be later to win

For the times, they are a-changin'....

A stitch for your thoughts

I've got nothing truly knitting-related to post today and yet I felt compelled to say something.  

All weekend I've felt like I was ready to snap. I've not been sleeping well, which makes me super cranky. I'm in ultra-crunch time for two different deadlines coming up on the same day and I won't be sleeping anytime soon until both samples are finished. I've been knitting so much for the deadlines that my hands are aching. And to top it off, work is still super stressful at this point in the year and I'm still working 70+ hours/week, when generally this is the time I can let my guard down a bit and relax and actually enjoy a weekend. I'm stuck in the tunnel with no light in sight.

So, yeah. I'll admit I was feeling a bit sorry for myself today.

And then I heard the news that the father of a former roommate, good friend, & fellow knitter had passed away this morning after a very short battle with a previously undiagnosed cancer.  And everything snapped into perspective.  Yes, the knitting deadlines and my day job are important to me, but nothing about them is life and death. Needless to say, I'm feeling a little humbled.

So, if you've got a few stitches to spare tonight, knit a few for a fellow knitter who could use some good thoughts as she grieves over the loss of her father. 

As for me, I'm going to be sending some stitches, love, and positive thoughts across the miles to her too.  

And I'll also be daydreaming of the fall when things are less stressful and I can play around with this gorgeous fiber from Blue Moon that came in the mail not long ago.  Those colors are enough to even bring a smile to my cranky face. 

Twist Collective Fall 2011 - Footsie

The Twist Collective Fall 2011 issue went live last night....and I am so in love with absolutely every pattern in this issue.  There are 38 designs (!) and a pattern by yours truly just happens to be one of them!

Meet Footsie.

Photo courtesy of Twist Collective

Footsie is a his-and-hers sock pattern that was worked up in two different yarns from the amazing and gorgeous Sweet Georgia Yarns.  The men's version (on the left above) was worked in BFL Sock in the Cypress colorway and the women's version (on the right) was knit up in CashLuxe Fine in Botanical.  Meandering twisted stitches surround a simple central cable panel that is mirrored on the opposite sock.  The central cable is repeated on the heel and up the back of the sock, with twisted rib on either side.

I had to knit up both of these pairs of socks in just about two and a half weeks back in April. Now that might be a piece of cake to some of you, but I'm a fairly slow knitter (well, more than anything, I'm a distracted knitter) so I literally spent every waking moment during those couple of weeks knitting these socks.  I probably got about 3 hours of sleep each night because I knew I had to use up every spare moment to get them finished by the deadline.

And use up every spare moment I did...I finished knitting both pairs the morning that I absolutely had to get them in the mail in order for them to arrive on time via 2nd Day Air.  I almost didn't have time to block them, but I wanted them to look their best, so I quickly dunked them in some hot water and then used the triple-threat method to dry them:  a combination of ironing, tumbling in the dryer and my hairdryer.  I was still trying to dry them 10 minutes before I had to be at the post office...it was a real nail biter but I pulled it off!

Both yarns were amazing to work with, but CashLuxe Fine has captured a special place in my heart. In fact, last night when I couldn't sleep because of the excitement, I did a little retail therapy and purchased some of my very own in the Raspberry, Orchid, and Black Plum colorways! I'm thinking some stripey socks are in my future.

Pattern Details:

Design:  Footsie  (Rav link)
Yarn:  Sweet Georgia Yarns in CashLuxe Fine (Botanical) and BFL Sock (Cypress)
Construction:  Worked from the toe up; The twisted stitch and cable panel is both charted and written row-by-row.
Sizes:  Foot Circumference: 7 ¼ (8, 8 ¾, 9 ½)" / 18.5 (20.5, 22, 24) cm, (unstretched)
Gauge:  36 sts and 52 rows = 4" / 10 cm in Stockinette in the round
Needles:  Size 1 (2.25 mm) circular, or size needed to obtain gauge.

You can purchase this design directly on Twist Collective's website by clicking here.

P.S. Can you feel fall in the air? I can!

Editing...or what I should have been doing on Sunday afternoon

I've been under a deadline the last couple of days...and not the fun kind. To clarify, the fun kind would be where I get to play with yarn and knit up a sample.  No, this is the kind of deadline I dread:  editing the written pattern for publication.

Now, people who know me in my everyday life know that I have the attention span of a squirrel on crack.  It's rare that I can focus on one thing for longer than a few minutes.  In my day job, this is a great trait, as for most of the day I have to be in several places at once, or at least my mind does.  But in my knitting life, this (self-diagnosed) ADD can be a real problem.

You see, just when I need to buckle down and edit 12 pages of charts and line-by-line instructions (gah, the horror!), I decide I want to organize my sock drawer. I mean, I can't possibly move on with my day until all my socks have found their mates, right? Right.  

It's also a struggle for me to edit because my computer has to be nearby, which means that I will inevitably wander off onto the internet and get distracted by anything and everything in my path.  And I do have a few good ol' tried and true sites that can always eat up half my day if I let them.  Let's take a look at my distracted afternoon, shall we?

Of course, I always start out with a little iTunes to keep me focused. I will neither confirm nor deny that I purchased the Dirty Dancing soundtrack to rock out to while I proofread. And, no, it did not help me have the time of my life.

Then of course I have to check the news (I use the term extremely loosely), because I can't go another minute without learning what Tori Spelling considers her best kept motherhood secret (nannies and lots of money) or what Angelina's kids eat for a snack (apparently crickets).  Oh, look, I also acquired a cup of tea along the way.

And then, to counteract all the brain cells I lost by consuming the drivel on UsWeekly, I take in a little NPR. But only for about two minutes before I get really depressed at the state of the world and move on.

Then, because all of the yarn in my stash will never be enough, I head over to ogle the deliciousness on my favorite yarn sites, starting with Blue Moon Fiber Arts.  Pictured here is my new favorite BMFA colorway, LL Cool Sock. I've already acquired two skeins of it and then also 1 skein of each of the solid colors that comprise the multi-colorway. Someday, when I have the time to devote, I WILL make the most colorful pair of kneesocks you've ever seen. Someday...

And then - surprise, surprise - I am drawn to Tanis Fiber Arts like a moth to a flame. I am so completely in love/obsessed with her colorways. I could buy one of each...and if I'm not careful, one of these nights of insomnia I just might be driven to that act of insanity pure genius.  I just love how she organizes her colorways. 

Oh look, I'm checking my work email. Something I do about a gazillion times a day, even when I'm not in my office.  Check out that clean inbox!  That's the result of years of hard work in cultivating an obsessive email ritual where I have to respond to/file/or categorize an email within the first 10 seconds of it reaching my inbox. Don't ask me why I do it...I really have no idea. I'm in therapy for it though.

Hmmm....I wonder what's going on on Ravelry....Am I the only one who compulsively checks out what their friends have favorited?  I find the best stuff that way. What can I say? My friends have great taste!

Oh, yes, back to editing...sigh.  Yeah yeah yeah. I know, it's got to be done.

So, there you have it. That was my minimally productive Sunday afternoon. What about you?  What are your favorite sites to visit to pass the time?  Do tell!

By the way, I DID get all of my editing done, thank you very much. 

{this moment}

{this moment} A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, visit SouleMama leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Nicknames and birthdays

Since welcoming my nephew into the world two and a half years ago, my family has really taken up the habit of bestowing strange nicknames on all the little people running around at our feet.  My sister is searching for the perfect name for my littlest niece that is baking in her oven, but I told her that it really doesn't matter what they name her since we'll never call the baby by its real name anyway.  Jackson is better known as Zillsman, or just plain Zills.  And little Adelyn Grace is known to everyone around her as Frassy, or sometimes just Frass.  I can't remember the last time that I called my niece and nephew by their real names.  Somehow their nicknames just fit them perfectly, even more so than their given names.

And yesterday my sweet little Frassypants celebrated her first birthday!  I can't believe how quickly this year has flown.  Zillsman's first year seemed to drag on (mostly because I had an agonizing 10 month wait before I could get to Ohio to meet him), but Frassy seems to have just sprouted up before our eyes.  She's gone from the very sweet and soft-spoken little 4 month old I last saw in the fall (seen here stuffed into the lamb costume I knit her for Halloween) to a crazy little screeching wildcat that gets into everything.

Happy birthday to the most beautiful little girl with the absolute cutest laugh in the world!  (Play the video if you don't believe me!)

A new look!

I'm so excited to roll out my brand new logo today!  I contacted Jill Zielinski of Jill Zielinski Designs (also of Kniterella fame!) back in March about creating a logo for yours truly.  I had a pretty good idea in my brain about what I wanted to convey....I wanted to combine my love for my surroundings here in Alaska with my passion for knitting.

While there are many things that come to mind when I dream of knitting in Alaska, the themes that kept coming back to me were mountains and yarn.....wait for it....MOUNTAINS OF YARN! Of course.

Initially I had pictured small balls of yarn that were piled up in the shape of mountain peaks...literally mountains made of yarn.  It seemed to make sense in my brain but it just didn't translate well on paper.  Jill, being the awesome graphic designer that she is, helped lead me away from that hare-brained well-intentioned really kind of strange idea and towards the awesome final product that you see today.

I think what I like most about the logo is that the ball of yarn seems to be writing the mountain peaks in cursive.  Such a unique (and much better) way to depict mountains made of yarn.  I can't even tell you how much I love my new look.

Ahhhhhh. It feels like a new beginning. So many cool things coming up in my design realm....and you can add another one to the list...just got another acceptance today!

It only gets darker from here...

...and by that, I mean daylight, of course!  The summer solstice has passed us by, which always makes me breathe a little sigh of relief because that means the summer is on the downhill slope and the wonderful embrace of autumn is that much closer.  The days get a little shorter as we march towards October and I can already envision how the crisp and beautiful fall weather will feel after a long and stressful summer.  It actually kind of even feels like fall today, with it being cold and rainy, and I'm almost tempted to start a fire in the fireplace...hmmmm, what a lovely thought.

After the intensity of my job the last few months, I was really in need of something that I could knit relatively easily (my mind has been picked clean of all creativity and motivation), had a purpose (my boss's birthday), and that I would actually finish in a short period of time, because I so very much needed a sense of accomplishing something...anything, really.  This hat fit the bill perfectly.

 To celebrate the summer solstice, I quickly whipped up a hat that was named in its honor ~ my Litha that was in the Summer edition of Knitcircus!  I had been sitting on some absolutely stunning yarn from Tanis Fiber Arts that I very desperately have been wanting to play with, so last weekend I plowed through the pattern in just one single day.  Of course, it helps that I designed it, which made it go very quickly, but the pattern is incredibly easy to memorize and is done in no time at all.  I made this one less slouchy than the original, but I think it will look great on her all the same.

It's made from Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label Aran Weight Yarn in Teal.  You can check out her other amazing colorways HERE.  Just one skein did the job!

All that was left over after I finished was this cute little ball of yarn yumminess.  If my love affair with Tanis' yarn goes on for as long as I think it will, I'll have lots of these lovely little remnants hanging around my yarn basket for years to come.

 I still have two more skeins of the Green Label that are just waiting for me to create something with them....I'm really into bright, bold, and saturated colors right now, can you tell?!

Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label Aran in Royal Flush

Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label Aran in Peacock

I'm sure I'll be making something with these soon but until that time, they will be perched on my knitting couch as I pour myself into some really exciting knitting and design work that I have on the horizon.  I've been unable to work on them for far too long and I'm really excited to get back in the swing!

Happy knitting, everyone!  What fun things are you doing this weekend?

Coming out of the tunnel

Well, today did not start out well. I woke up with a migraine, which is not surprising, as they usually like to strike hardest when I let my guard down after a particularly prolonged period of stress and/or lack of sleep.  It just so happens that today is my first true day off in about a month and a half.  I was so excited to sleep in, but amid my very early morning tossing and turning, I could feel the unmistakeable lightning bolt of pain searing through the right side of my head anytime I moved. Great.


I groggily hopped out of bed and made a beeline for the medicine cabinet. I popped a couple Excedrin and flopped back in bed, hoping to fall back asleep and wake up miraculously healed. I spent the next few hours in "twilight" sleep, as I like to call it:  halfway in between full sleep and wakefulness, but fully aware of the giant headache attacking my brain.  Finally I felt well enough to peel myself out of bed and start my day.

Even though I wasn't feeling 100%, I still decided to try to do everything I had planned because, darn it, I've freaking earned a good day.  These last couple months have been frustrating, completely soul sucking, physically and mentally draining, and have seemed to drag on and go by in a flash, all at the same time.  Yes, it's summer season startup time in Skagway and this year it hit me hard.

Between working very long hours, having some unexpected bumps in the road, not seeing my boyfriend much at all, and not having any knitting time, I've been quite the crankypants.  Yesterday, it finally hit me like a ton of bricks:  I had reached my absolute limit.  Fighting back tears, I told my boss that if I had to work today, I would probably rapidly descend into my annual midseason meltdown (and sadly, it's not even midseason yet) and that would not be a good scene.  So, I knew that I just had to not step foot in the Depot for a couple days so that I could hopefully gather up some of the pieces of myself that have scattered everywhere these last couple months.

Recently I was able to spend an afternoon out of the office to take one of our agents on a train ride. It was exactly what I needed that particular day.  I snapped a few shots with my cell phone as we rode up in the cupola, which offers a very unique view of the train journey to the Summit.

Going through my photos on my phone today, I realized how a particular series of photos I took that day really describe my progression over the last couple months from being completely drowning in work to today when I'm finally able to take a breath and do something for myself.

1. In the middle of the tunnel....mostly in darkness, but light in the far distance....this was me from late April to late May.

2.  Getting closer to the light....this was my mental state from late May to early June....

3.  Just about to exit the tunnel and let the light hit my face...this was me earlier this week...so close I could feel it!

4.  And, finally, where I am today. Finally able to take some time for myself and enjoy the view!....At least for a day or two.

 So, I guess what I'm trying to say is:  Sorry I went missing for awhile. This is a knitting blog, after all, and you probably expect a certain amount of actual blogging.  But as of today, I will be taking more time for myself. And more time for my knitting.  I've got lots of really exciting things on the horizon that I'm about two months behind on, so it's time to get cracking!  More to come in the very near future...

What all have you been up to in my absence?  Do tell!

And the Knitcircus Summer Giveaway winners are...

...well, before I tell you, I want to apologize for not announcing this a couple days ago! Been working crazy long hours at work and I did not even realize that today was the 11th already! And I only realized it because I'm laid up on the couch unable to work because my lower back decided to take a crap on me and cause a LOT of pain. So, I guess that's what I get for working those crazy long hours and forgetting to announce the winner on the 9th. ;)

Okay, drumrooooollllllllll.......consulting with the random number generator..........

The winner of the year-long subscription to Knitcircus is...comment #24: Debbie!  A fellow Alaskan. :)


And the 2nd place winner of a Knitcircus Summer 2011 Pattern Collection is....comment #3: Paula!


Debbie and Paula, please contact me at allison@alaskanpurl.com with your email addresses so that I can coordinate getting your prizes to you!

Thanks to all for participating!  Expect some more giveaways, fun surprises, and big announcements from me within the next few months. I have lots of secret projects I'm working on and can't wait to share with you all!

New Pattern in Knitcircus Summer! And a GIVEAWAY!

The new Summer 2011 edition of Knitcircus went live today and I'm SO excited to have a design featured in it!

Meet Litha:

Litha is a midsummer festival centered around the summer solstice that celebrates the warmth, abundance, and light of the long summer days. Named for this festival, this slightly slouchy hat is worked from brim to crown.The simple eyelet lace and twisted stitch cable repeat lends a breezy and casual air to any summer wardrobe. The yarn used for this piece provides excellent stitch definition and shows off an amazing shade of blue, the exact color of the summer sky.


It was a last minute opportunity to be apart of this issue and I’m so glad I was able to do it. This was a hat I had whipped up for myself and planned to eventually self-publish but it turns out the universe had other plans for it! 


Pattern Details:

Knitcircus Magazine, Issue #14, Summer 2011

Craft

Knitting

Category

Headwear → Hat

Published

May 2011

Yarns suggested

Sun Valley Fibers Merino Worsted

Yarn weight

Worsted / 10 ply (9 wpi) 

Gauge

20 stitches and 27 rows = 4 inches in Pattern stitch (Eyelet and twisted st cable)

Needle size

US 7 - 4.5 mm

Yardage

200 - 300 yards (183 - 274 m)

Sizes available

Women's Medium (20-22" head circumference) and Women's Large (22-24" head circumference)

And now for the giveaway details:


Leave a comment on this post before midnight Alaska Time on Sunday May 8 and be entered into a drawing to win some awesome Knitcircus prizes!


There will be 2 winners....The first person drawn will win a year-long subscription to Knitcircus Magazine and the second person drawn will win a Summer 2011 Pattern Collection!


Please make sure you leave a way to contact you in the event that you are the lucky winner.  I'll notify the winners on Monday and the link to the subscription and pattern collection will come directly from Knitcircus.

Happy Knitting, everyone!