Is it spring yet? And a hat-naming contest!

We've had warmer weather this week, with lots of rain in midweek. But the temperatures seem to be steadily inching up and the spring bulbs are pushing their first bits through the soil, so I'm wondering if we can really really declare that it's spring?

Yesterday was a truly lovely day, even if it was a bit breezy. I'd been trying to set up a date to photograph some small pieces I've been working on with the intention of writing up patterns if I liked them. Our younger son's girlfriend, who is a fantastic lady BTW, volunteered to stand outside in the shadow of our trees and model for me. It was challenging, especially with the neckwarmers, because the breeze would come along just as the shutter clicked. Meaning that either the edge of the neckwarmer would lift up in an unnatural way or her hair would stand on end--some otherwise nice photos ended up in the trash because of this! Here's a few that I've managed to edit and touch up this morning.



Hat-Naming Contest:
As far as names for the patterns, sometimes they come easy and sometimes I need a dictionary/thesaurus to find something I like. This hat pattern has completely eluded me though, and I could use some help with an appropriate name. Keep in mind that other knitters and spinners will come up with differently colored yarn for this pattern so it can't be based solely on my color selection. I'll take suggestions via blog comments until the end of March (midnight EDT March 31). All names will be given consideration and I'll choose the one I feel best fits the pattern. The winner will receive a credit line on the finished pattern AND 20% off their purchase in my Etsy shop (not including items already in the Sale category). Here's the hat in question:




Thanks in advance for your help with this problem hat. Let the contest begin!

In which I report on another teaching venue, my garden, and my knitting pattern revisions

New Teaching Venue
I've been going to Fingerlakes Fiber Festival for several years now. Last year, I bumped into the lady who organizes the classes and chatted with her for a bit. Sent in my applications this spring. And received word last month that all three classes were accepted! Their website is updated with the 2010 classes and there's lots of other stuff to do up there. This is a wonderful hidden gem of a festival, folks, about 6 hours from DaBurg. There's lots of wineries around, and I can tell you where the BEST Indian restaurant can be found. This is the area that inspired my Upstate Meadows batts (which are currently sold out of my shop, but more will be made soon). Come on up and spend some time in the country!

Garden
Speaking of the country, I started harvesting my garden a couple of weeks ago. Well, actually, much earlier than that because lettuce and spinach come up FAST. After the lettuce, rhubarb and peas, the garlic was the first crop to come out of the ground. And I made a garlic braid today! I'm so proud of myself! It's hanging in the kitchen right now, with some bits of dirt still clinging to the roots. Couldn't shake/brush all the dirt without losing the dried garlic leaves, which is what one uses to make the braid. Making some caponato tomorrow with fresh eggplant and tomatoes from a nearby farm, and have some whole wheat Italian bread in the breakmaker right now. Lunch is gonna be GOOD tomorrow.


Garlic braid


Garlic fresh from the garden last week


Fresh rhubarb, peas and lettuce, washed and ready to go!

My knitting patterns
Reading the always-active copyright posts on Ravelry, it occurred to me that I hadn't looked at my copyright blurb in some time. It used to read "Garments knitted from this pattern are intended for the buyer's personal use and may not be sold for profit without prior written financial arrangements with the author". And I realized that it did not reflect what I actually wanted to say. I have always been happy to see knitters make something for themselves or their family/friends from my designs. *I* know I'm not going to make a boatload of money licensing my designs, but I did want some type of control over the items made from my pattern(s) and offered for sale. After all, if my name is going to be attached to a handknit item, I want it to be high-quality and the sales handled in a professional manner--and so I want to talk with the knitter to get a feel for who they are. And I LIKE knowing other knitters, especially the ones who like my patterns LOL. So I have taken out the word "financial" in order to be clear that I'm quite happy to have folks use my patterns to make and sell items--just please ask first.