kcc3 | Pantsville Press

November 10, 2016

Last Call, Knitter’s Curiosity Cabinet Books Retiring Soon

Oh man, this is a bit tough, but it has to be done. All three of the Knitter’s Curiosity Cabinet books are almost gone. I have just a tiny handful of each left. Once those are gone, they’re gone. I won’t be printing more.

You may still be able to find them on amazon for a little while (looks like they a few copies of each at the moment). And of course you may well be able to find used copies out in the world. But I won’t have any more to send out to shops or individuals.

And of course the electronic versions will remain available for the time being. But I know a lot of you are like me and prefer to have the real book to hold and have on the shelf. So if you’ve been meaning to grab one, this might be the time.

I confess I’ll be sad to see them go. They were my first big project, and I’ll always have a soft spot for them (and for everyone who was brave enough to buy the patterns with the crazy names from the weird girl who decided to quit grad school and write knitting books instead of getting a real job). But I suspect it’s better to let everyone know and give you one last chance to grab them than to have them quietly disappear.

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July 19, 2016November 6, 2016

Three is the magic number

In February and May I talked about the first two Knitter’s Curiosity Cabinet books. it was unreasonably fun to go back and reminisce a bit about making them, and so I wanted to be sure to talk a bit about Volume III as well.

Just like last time, I’ve put both the paper book and the electronic book on sale for 25% off and made the individual patterns available on ravelry (normally it’s only the whole book that’s available). You don’t need a code or anything, the prices are already changed. They’ll be that way through the end of the month, and then they’ll go back to normal and the individual patterns will disappear.

So the first of these books used botanical prints. That was easy enough. Everyone likes pretty plants. And the second one used prints of butterflies. Again, easy enough. I know lots of folks aren’t crazy about bugs, but most of us will totally give butterflies a pass. But finding the subject for volume three was tricky.

I thought about birds. There are some lovely illustrations of birds (and, somewhat unexpectedly, of eggs) out there. But it was a bit hard to track down enough illustrations with enough variety to do what I had in mind.

I thought about doing bugs. I’d come across some astonishingly beautiful drawings of beetles as I’d sourced images for the other books, and I was mightily tempted. But I worried that, while folks might let me get away with butterflies, bugs in general might be a bit too much.

I thought about doing rocks. Yes, really. I’m awfully fond of rocks, and there are some marvelous illustrations to be had. But again, it just didn’t quite click.

Then finally, I stumbled on the idea of doing sea creatures. I admit, it was surprising at first. You hear sea creatures and think fish (and if you’re me, you think fish and go ‘eww, no’).

But the more I looked, the more I found.There were algae and shells and jellyfish and kelp and coral and all manner of lovely things. I pretty quickly realized I could get through the whole thing without using even a single fish.

Once I had that sorted, everything else just fell into place. By this point I had my team, and I knew what the schedule for a book looked like. It all just came together like magic, and I couldn’t be happier with the result!

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August 29, 2014

KCC3 Knit along, Planorbis corneus projects

The knit along for the projects based on the Fucus asparagoides print is starting over on ravelry. That’s this super curly shawl, and these lovely socks.

I am a huge believer in low-stress knit alongs, so this one is pretty laid back. Come, knit with us, chat, post pictures…I promise we’re friendly! Everyone is welcome, you can use whatever yarn you’d like. At the end of the knit along, I’ll find someone who has posted a picture of a finished project in the thread and send them happy mail. That’s pretty much all there is to it. If these are going to find their way onto your needles, I’d love to see you join us!

Oh, and for those who have been asking, these two projects are now available as individual patterns for those who prefer not to have the whole book. Just click through to the KAL thread for all the links!

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July 29, 2014August 29, 2014

KCC3 Knit along, Fucus asparagoides projects

The knit along for the projects based on the Fucus asparagoides print is starting over on ravelry. That’s this lovely curved shawl (I just love that shape far more than is reasonable, it’s so easy to wear) and these super lacy socks.I am a huge believer in low-stress knit alongs, so this one is pretty laid back. Come, knit with us, chat, post pictures…I promise we’re friendly! At the end of September, I’ll find someone who has posted a picture of a finished project in the thread and send them happy mail. That’s pretty much all there is to it. If these are going to find their way onto your needles, I’d love to see them!

Oh, and for those who have been asking, these two projects are now available as individual patterns for those who prefer not to have the whole book. Just click through to the KAL thread for all the links!

4 comments

June 26, 2014July 2, 2014

Pattern Spotlight and Yarn Giveaway

The last time we did this was so much fun, I can’t help but do it again! I happen to have a bit more yarn from KCC3 to give away, and I think you’re going to love it.

This time it’s the Bunodes crassicornis projects in Malabrigo’s delicious yarns.

That’s Arroyo on the socks, and Rios on the hat. I’ve got two extra skeins of the Rios (in the color used in the book), and I’d like to send them off to two of you. I like having two ways to win, so let’s do it again, shall we?

For the first chance to win, leave a comment on this post telling me what you love about Malabrigo’s yarns. Is it their super soft bases? Their beautiful colors? The way they tempt you from across the yarn store? There’s no right answer, just tell your story (and if you haven’t worked with it yet, that’s ok too)!

For the second chance to win, pin the picture in this post to your pinterest boards. To do that, you can either click the pinterest button at the top of the post (it’s red and looks like a p) or you can click on the ‘Pin it’ button that comes up when you hover your mouse over the picture itself. Just be sure you’re pinning the picture from this post.

Comments left and pins made between now and the end of the day (eastern time) Monday, June 30, 2014 will be entered to win. I’ll pick winners, contact them to get their addresses, and arrange to send the yarn their way. If you’re leaving a comment, be sure to use a real email address so I can contact you if you’ve won (I won’t do anything with those email addresses besides notify the winner). If you win by pinning, I’ll leave a comment on your pin letting you know you’ve won. If I do get in touch with you, I need to hear back from you within 72 hours or I will pick a new winner and contact them. Sorry, but I can only send prizes to US addresses.

P.S. The winners have been notified and prizes are on their way!

80 comments

June 25, 2014June 26, 2014

Busy busy busy

I’m just about to get in the car and head home (The Boy and I have been up in Toronto on an exploit which I will detail later). But before I do, I wanted to send one tiny reminder that today is the last day for the preorder discount on Knitter’s Curiosity Cabinet Volume III. Tomorrow morning the last of the preorders go in the mail (I know lots of you have already gotten yours!), and that means preorder special pricing ends.

So on the off chance you’d been meaning to order and hadn’t quite gotten around to it, today’s your last chance!

P.S. Aaaaaaand it’s done. Thanks so much to everyone who preodered. Now, I’m off to put books in the mail!

2 comments

June 20, 2014June 26, 2014

Pattern Spotlight and Yarn Giveaway

Picking yarns for a book is an odd task. It’s both surprisingly hard (there are so many choices that the pressure to find the one perfect yarn can be a bit overwhelming), and undeniably awesome (because for days on end, my job is to haunt yarn companies’ websites). Every now and then, during the yarn selecting process, you end up with an extra skein or two of yarn. This happened a few times with KCC3, and I totally want to share my good fortune with you guys. So over the next few weeks, I’ll be showing off a few patterns and giving away some yarn!

Let’s start with the Zostera marina projects with SweetGeorgia’s beautiful yarns!

That’s Merino Silk Aran on the mitts, and BFL Sock on the socks. I am absolutely mad about both of these yarns, and I’ve got a skein of each (in the colors used in the book) to give away! So, since I’ve got two goodies to give away, let’s have two ways to win, shall we?

For the first chance to win, leave a comment on this post telling me how you found out about SweetGeorgia’s yarns. Are they old favorites? New to you? On the needles now? Something you’re looking forward to trying? There’s no right answer, just tell your story!

For the second chance to win, pin the picture in this post to your pinterest boards. To do that, you can either click the pinterest button at the top of the post (it’s red and looks like a p) or you can click on the ‘Pin it’ button that comes up when you hover your mouse over the picture itself. Just be sure you’re pinning the picture from this post.

Comments left and pins made between now and the end of the day (eastern time) Tuesday, June 24, 2014 will be entered to win. I’ll pick winners, contact them to get their addresses, and arrange to send the yarn their way. If you’re leaving a comment, be sure to use a real email address so I can contact you if you’ve won (I won’t do anything with those email addresses besides notify the winner). If you win by pinning, I’ll leave a comment on your pin letting you know you’ve won. If I do get in touch with you, I need to hear back from you within 72 hours or I will pick a new winner and contact them. Sorry, but I can only send prizes to US addresses.

P.S. Thanks so much to everyone who entered, winners have been notified and I’m waiting to hear back from them with their addresses!

211 comments

June 17, 2014

Helper Kitten

The e version is live (meaning if you’ve bought it, you should get an email and likely a ravelry message saying you can update your file). I hope you all like it as much as I do!

And now that that part is done, the putting books in envelopes part can begin. Levon has graciously agreed to keep me company while I work on this…very kind of him, it’s a big project! (Don’t worry, he only plays in the empty boxes, he doesn’t get to mess with the books.)

Oh, and because someone will ask, even if you missed out on the early preorder, you can still get a special deal on the paper book. It’s available for 10% off the regular price (plus a free pattern of your choice, and of course you always get the eversion free when you buy the paper book from me) from now through June 26.

4 comments

June 16, 2014

Electronic version goes live tomorrow

This is just a friendly little reminder that the electronic version of Knitters Curiosity Cabinet Volume III goes live tomorrow! That means that today is the last day to get a 20% discount on the electronic version and get a free pattern of your choice with the electronic version. Tomorrow morning, those things go away.

The paper one will still be on sale (though at 10% off instead of 20% off like right now) and you’ll still get a free pattern if you buy it (and of course, as always, if you buy the paper one from me you’ll get the eversion for free). But all the special goodies for ordering the electronic one end tomorrow morning once I’m awake and have had my first cup of tea.

Just as a little temptation, here are all the KCC3 socks in one place. I’m rather smitten with them!

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June 12, 2014June 12, 2014

Did you see the new knitty…

So, did you happen to see the new knitty? There might just possibly be a sock in there I recognize!

Planorbis corneus Sock, from the new book, is in this season’s knitty. It seemed like a lovely way to share a bit of the fun of the new book with everyone (and maybe take the edge off while you wait for the electronic version to go live on the 17th and the paper version to ship a bit later in the month).

These socks are made with String Theory’s lovely Bluestocking yarn. And the inspiration for these socks was a print from William Turton’s book A manual of the land and fresh-water shells of the British Islands : arranged according to the more modern systems of classification; and described from perfect specimens in the author’s cabinet : with coloured plates of every species (and you thought my book titles were long…I’ve got nothing on this guy).

If you’re new to my Knitter’s Curiosity Cabinet books, each of the patterns in them is inspired by a print from a vintage natural history book. You can actually view the full text of this pattern’s source book online if you’re so inclined, it’s over here.

I’m delighted knitty is sharing them with you all, and I hope they find their way onto your needles soon. If they do, I’d be thrilled if you’d come show them off in my ravelry group. I promise it’s full of very nice people with excellent taste in knitting. I’d love it if you’d join us!

P.S. Knitty always gets lots of visitors the first few days after it debuts, so don’t be alarmed if it takes a while for it to load. If you have problems, keep trying, and it will come back soon!

2 comments