Woot!

I told you I had happier thoughts on the way.  Here's one... my Armoirmeurs pattern is officially live!!!

I like to surreptitiously call them the anti-sweater - for those summer days that make packing a sweater seem revolting, until you feel the wonders of modern air conditioning.  The pattern is free, and while I don't hand you your measurements on a silver platter, I worked hard to make it versatile and fairly user-friendly.

One of the details I enjoyed using in the design is the tubular cast-on.  There are multiple ways to work a tubular cast-on, but have you seen Ysolda's video?  I found it to be wonderful, even if it's not state-of-the-art. The method she describes doesn't use any waste yarn, and is basically just a slight bit trickier than a normal longtail cast-on.  As one of my wonderful test knitters noted, this method is genius. Love it.  Go try it out!

Speaking of test knitters, I am very grateful to the people who have generously been extra eyes and hands and brains to help me sift through the mass of issues that came up during a process that I thought would be fairly simple to execute.  Writing a pattern is not a light task!  At least not for the way my mind works.  I have that much more respect for yarn shop owners and designers who somehow manage to turn out patterns that people actually knit, time and time again.  Kudos!  Me?  I need all the help I can get, so thank you, test knitters!

Also, a special thanks to dearest Kristine, who helped manage my iPhone like a pro.  Well, actually, she is a pro... check her out!  Isn't she so much better when given good subjects and a decent camera?  :)

Now is your chance to take the new pattern out for a ride and let me know how you like it.  It's nothing fancy, but I've been encouraged that at least a few people have found it to be both useful and enjoyable; maybe you will too!  Even if arm warmers just aren't your cup of tea, I thank you for stopping by and reading here.  Come again!