O hai September!

I’m finally seeing signs of fall here and there. It’s still pretty hot here during the day but the nights are getting cooler and I can see the light and shadows changing outside. I love this time of year. August was unbearably hot, bordering on miserable.

But one highlight of August was winning a copy of Shannon Okey‘s new book The Knitgrrl Guide to Professional Knitwear Design.

I am LOVING this book! At first I tried reading it in bed before going to sleep but quickly realized that doesn’t work! I have to have a highlighter and pencil at the ready for notes and I have to have a computer nearby because of the helpful web links throughout! This isn’t just a passive read! The information is invaluable and this book is definitely a must-have for anyone wanting to write their own patterns and market them. I also signed up for Shannon’s Tech Editing class, which starts soon.

Speaking of classes, I’ve also registered for Stefanie Japel‘s shawl design class, which starts in November. So I guess this fall will be “back to school” time for me! I can’t wait! Does this give me an good excuse to buy lots of cool folders and notebooks and pens?

Of course, all of this knit education will lead to more designing, which will lead to more patterns from me! And speaking of patterns, I am excited to watch the number of people knitting my Entrelac Scarf pattern growing every day! As I write this post, there are 1,072 projects on Ravelry using my pattern. And as of this minute, there are 11,627 scarf patterns listed on Ravelry and my Entrelac Scarf is ranked #28 in popularity! #28 out of almost 12,000 patterns?! Unbelievable. ::so humbled:: ThankyouThankyouThankyou

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As for progress on my current projects, there is some to report!

Here is photographic proof that I have reached the ribbing on Orangina, which means I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

I also finished the back of Geoff’s vest and have started knitting the front. I need to get some pics of it. Since it seems to be going a lot faster than I anticipated, I’ve put it aside to finish Orangina. The weather won’t be cool enough for him to wear it until late October anyway.

I also accidentally cast on for the Echo Flower Shawl (mine will be a similar color to this one). I say accidentally because I really didn’t mean to. You see, Geoff and I headed home to SC for a week and I was getting my knitting projects ready for the trip. I was anticipating a ton of knitting time (it’s a 10 hour drive each way) so I wanted to make sure I had enough knitting to keep me entertained. I had planned to just knit the fiddly part – the provisional cast on and garter strip – so I wouldn’t have to tackle that part in a moving vehicle. But I ended up knitting the entire set-up chart.

Whoops.

These things happen.