Win the new color of The Knitter's Satchel! I'll be announcing the new color of The Knitter's Satchel next Friday, May 23rd. I must have received 1.23 million requests for this color since The Knitter's Satchel was introduced. People I hear you! To enter to win, follow this link, fill out the form and guess what color you think the Next Knitter's Satchel will be. Good luck!

Next Wednesday I've scheduled a photo shoot for the new color satchel that will be released later this month. I've mentioned before how much I love shopping for the clothes to be worn in the photographs. When else does one get to go shopping and call it work? I've always wanted to be the costumer for a television show, one with really stylish characters. Can you imagine the budget they get to work with and all the free stuff designers send them?

Anyway, the funny part is I usually spend so much time selecting the right skirt and then only the top half of the model is seen in the photo. Or, I'll find a super cute top to be worn with jeans and the bag will be photographed on the model from the waist down. For Wednesday's shoot I have a distinct look that I want achieved. I couldn't find the right dress to accomplish the look so I'm making it myself.

A couple weeks ago I quickly ran into Hart's and purchased some fabric, but it just wasn't right and was really bothering me. Today I went back and found the sweetest pink fabric. Of course I had to complicate the thing by selecting fabric with a scalloped edge for the hem. So, rather than just making it easy on myself, I now have to make sure that when I cut it out the length is exactly perfect.

Being that I haven't sewn a garment since high school and am a little rusty, this should give me a good challenge. I always do this when making dresses. Every year when I was little my Gran would make my sister and I birthday dresses. I would always manage to select a pattern and then come up with modifications to make it "better" and drive my Gran nuts. Looks like I haven't lost it, but this time I'll be the one dealing with it.

You may be thinking, "quit rambling about this dress and tell us about the new satchel color." My dear friends, you will be very happy with me. Tomorrow I will be announcing details on how you can win a free one. See you tomorrow!

The past few nights I've been knitting into the wee hours of the morning working on a cardigan I'm designing. Normally I wouldn't be able to tell you anything about the design because it would be for a book or magazine. Not this time! This time I can tell you all about it because it's going to be published by me.

For the past couple years I've been playing around with the idea of self-publishing my knitwear patterns. I've finally decided to stop thinking about it and do it. I'm enjoying designing so much. There's no one telling me what yarn to use, changing elements of my design or stressing me out with ridiculous deadlines. The designs come out exactly as I intended, even better because I'm able to make them up as I go.

So far one design is complete. It just needs to be test knitted, photographed and the pattern edited. I hope to have it available in June. I'm thinking of releasing the patterns monthly, but I'm not sure yet. We'll see how things go. If I make this commitment but then miss getting a pattern published one month, I'll beat myself up. This is one of the reasons it took me so long to self-publish. Maybe sporadic releases would be better for me.

Anyway, back to the design on the needles. Here's a couple peaks. It's a raglan cardigan knit from the top down. It was going to have 3/4-length sleeves, but after putting it on Fiona (my dress form) this morning I'm thinking little cap sleeves would be cute. Maybe I'll offer both on the pattern and let you decide.

A finished Trapeze Jacket! It looks great. This jacket is not a quick knit, which is probably why it's the first one I've personally seen finished since the pattern was published. But, the finished sweater is totally worth it. I've been wanting to make one for myself since I designed the pattern and just haven't had time. Firebrunette has inspired me to move it to the top of the "to-knit" list. I really like the green yarn she selected.

Also, for those wanting to see more photos of my design, Hot Cocoa, from More Big Girl Knits, Amy has uploaded additional photos on Ravelry. They're photos that aren't published in the book.

Warehouse Sale!!!

It's time to do a little Spring cleaning in the Jordana Paige warehouse. For the first time ever, you'll be able to purchase less-than-perfect Jordana Paige bags at 25-75% off retail. This won't be like those sales at stores where one item on the rack is 75% off and the rest are only 25% off (I hate that). Majority will be 50% off retail, so I promise it will be worth stopping by.

The discounted bags are not available online. Customers must visit our Santa Cruz, CA warehouse. Complete details can be found here.