write and submit a pattern to knitty

I got a [nice!] rejection from knitty today:

Thanks so much for your submission! It’s really pretty, but unfortunately not right for Knitty.

Thank you for taking the time to prepare it and send it in and hope we’ll see something from you again in the future!

...alas. My toy patterns also got negged from my friend’s book—the technical editors thought it was much too difficult.

I’m marking this one done, but I need to figure out how to write better patterns that actually get published.

I just emailed my pattern to the girls at Knitty. They say on the website that I won’t hear from them right away unless they reject it, so here’s hoping that I don’t hear from them for a while!

I still have to mail them better pictures. My friend took pictures with her Holga, and I’d love to send them something with more atmosphere…

Yay! I’m done with this goal, but I’m going to leave it open until I hear from them… I did get a bounce-back email, so there’s that.

I have an almost together submission sitting in my outbox, waiting to hear back on how my model and photographer want to be credited… Such a relief to have this done. When I hear back from them, I’ll add their changes in, double check everything and then cross my fingers that the gals at knitty love it as much as the girls at my snb…

I wrote it out earlier this afternoon, but I still have a bit to go on this pattern… I just have a lot of holes that I need to fill in. I gave the muff and hat to a friend of mine, but these are all little measurements and things that I can figure out with some simple logic. I need to make swatches so I can finish off the math.

It’s really, actually almost there. Nice. I have the dealine coming up tomorrow, so I need to get cracking and really get these things done. I also need to get back to my real work, ‘cause, you know… work and everything…

I finished my muff, and it’s pretty delicious. It still has issues—I might redo the inside entirely, since it’s a little strange and wrinkly. I also need to pull at the shape to get it to look a little cleaner in the pictures.

I still need to write the pattern up and get everyone together for the shoot…

I had some time on my hands today, so I started work on the inside of the muff. I balled up both skeins of yarn. I’ve realised that I’m going to need another ball of the yarn—I’ll only make it to around 6” with the two balls I have now. My iPod needs to go into the shop, so maybe I’ll combine both errands tomorrow.

I also got in touch with the makeup artist I’m using, and she put me in touch with her photographer friend. I need to have everything ready ‘cause that April 15 deadline is coming up really fast…

I’ve been a little slow working on the muff, but yesterday at the snb I finished off the front. I also got some good tips on sewing it up. Today I’ll block it, and tomorrow I’ll start work on the inside. I also need to go out and buy some stuffing and ribbon for it. Yay for the light at the end of the tunnel…

When I do get closer to finishing, I need to get in touch with my makeup artist and photographer so they know what’s going on. I need to schedule a time for all of us to take piccys. I also need to write out the pattern bits that I have so far. I’ve been taking notes, but it’s almost time to really write them out.

My hat’s done! I finished it off when my real-paid-work project got a little slow… I need to weave in the end and then get going on the other part.

At my s’n’b on Tuesday I casually mentioned that I wanted to write more patterns to a friend of mine, and she said she would love to have them. Yay for genuine encouragement!

I started my hat on Friday night before my bf’s band wetn on and kept knitting at a friend’s party last night. I got through the first ball of yarn on the hat and now just need to finish it and swatch for the muff.

At the party, I ran into my friend Cecily who’s the makeup artist I’ve roped into the project. Her photog friend Nicole is also a knitter, so I’m hoping she’ll help with that end of things. I also agreed to make Cecily a hat in exchange for her work on the project. She wears her hair as ponytail puffballs a lot, and I’m going to make a hat that works with it. I love this whole rewarding people with something I love to do anyway thing…

Today I actually went out and bought yarn for my secret project. It’s all super yummy stuff, and I can’t wait to start this weekend…

Next comes swatching and then actually casting on…