Lothlorien Errata

The numbering on chart 2 begins on the wrong number. It should begin with row 105, not 125.

PS - did not forget about sneak peek Saturday - just worked on nothing but In Dreams last week, so couldn't show you pics...

Together

"There is nothing more important in life than human beings, nothing sweeter than the human touch."

-Lee Aheater

In light of the severity of the plight of the Japanese people, I am raising the percentage of sales donated to the relief effort to 20% and continuing the promotion through the end of the month.

Thank you to all who have purchased patterns the past week. Your generosity is inspiring.

The free pattern give-away also continues: one each day.

Together we stand...

Home

When I think of home
I think of a place where there's love overflowing
I wish I was home
I wish I was back there with the things I been knowing

Wind that makes the tall trees bend into leaning
Suddenly the snowflakes that fall have a meaning
Sprinklin' the scene, makes it all clean

Maybe there's a chance for me to go back there
Now that I have some direction
It would sure be nice to be back home
Where there's love and affection
And just maybe I can convince time to slow up
Giving me enough time in my life to grow up
Time be my friend, let me start again

Suddenly my world has changed it's face
But I still know where I'm going
I have had my mind spun around in space
And yet I've watched it growing

If you're list'ning God
Please don't make it hard to know
If we should believe in the things that we see
Tell us, should we run away
Should we try and stay
Or would it be better just to let things be?

Living here, in this brand new world
Might be a fantasy
But it taught me to love
So it's real, real to me

And I've learned
That we must look inside our hearts
To find a world full of love
Like yours
Like me

Like home...

- The Wiz

This song has been running through my head for over 24 hours now. I don't believe in coincidence. I believe in "way opening".

I am so fortunate to have a loving home in which to ply my craft. It is filled with good things like my cat, my laptop, my grandson, my husband, my inspiration, and, through the miracle of the internet, my friends.

I have food to eat, clean water to drink, a soft pillow on which to lay my head at night. A peaceful & quiet space in which to work on the things I love.

In Japan, many are without even the most basic of needs.

Through the good graces of my In Dreams knitters (that means YOU) I was able to send off another check to Doctors Without Borders yesterday. It feels a little like spitting into the wind, but if we all do our part, we CAN make a difference.

I will donate 10% of all sales this next week to the Japanese relief effort. I call on others within the knitting & crafting community to do likewise. We are so fortunate. We have so much.

I will also be giving away a free pattern to one customer each day, randomly selected.

And one lucky person will get the entire Lord of the Rings Collection (all 3 years) for free.

I encourage you to give to the charity of your choice, whether that be the Red Cross, Knitters (Drs) Without Borders, Save the Children, or another.

Several organizations are helping victims of the Japanese quake. Here's how you can help:

• Using your cell phone, you can text-message donations of $10 to the Red Cross. Text the letters REDCROSS to 90999 to make the $10 donation, or visit the organization's website.
• The International Medical Corps is putting together relief teams, as well as supplies. The organization is in "contact with partners in Japan and other affected countries to assess needs and coordinate our activities,” said Nancy Aossey, IMC president, on its website. You can donate here. Or, you can text MED to 80888 to donate $10 to emergency relief efforts.
• Save the Children is accepting donations for its Children's Emergency Fund. "We are extremely concerned for the welfare of children and their families who have been affected by the disaster. We stand ready to meet the needs of children who are always the most vulnerable in a disaster,' said Eiichi Sadamatsu of the organization in a statement. You can also text “JAPAN” or “TSUNAMI” to 20222 to donate $10.
• GlobalGiving, based in Washington, D.C., is providing relief and emergency services to victims of the earthquake and tsunami. Text JAPAN to 50555 to donate $10.
• The Salvation Army, which has had a presence in Japan since 1895. In Tokyo, the Salvation Army "opened its main building to help shelter commuters who were unable to reach home. They served hot drinks and packed meals," said a spokesperson. You can text JAPAN or QUAKE to 80888 to make a $10 donation to the Salvation Army’s relief efforts.
• Mercy Corps is "accepting donations to help survivors of Japan's earthquake and tsunami through our longstanding partner, Peace Winds Japan." Donations will go to meeting the "immediate and longer-term needs of the survivors," a spokesperson said. You can text “MERCY” to 25383 to donate $10.
• World Vision, with a staff of 75 in Japan, focuses its relief efforts on children. Visit the website to donate, or call 1-888-56-CHILD (1-888-562-4453). You can text “4JAPAN” or “4TSUNAMI” to 20222 to donate $10.
• American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, a humanitarian assistance organization that also helped in Haiti and in countries affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami. The relief group "worked in Japan before the American entrance into World War II when the organization helped support Jewish refugees — including renowned religious leaders and yeshiva scholars — in Kobe, Japan who fled Hitler’s Europe. Today, several thousand Jews live and work in Japan." Phone: (212) 687-6200.
• Adventist Development and Relief Agency can be reached at (800) 424-2372, or text the word SUPPORT to 85944 to make a donation.
• The mGive Foundation, which helps with mobile donations, said these groups are also accepting text-based donations: Convoy of Hope, text TSUNAMI to 50555 to donate $10; World Relief Corp. of National Association of Evangelicals, text WAVE to 50555 to donate $10. "When prompted, mobile donors should reply with YES to confirm a one-time gift," the foundation says. "The $10 one-time donation will appear on the donor’s next mobile bill. All donations are tax deductible and receipts may be printed" from the mGive site. "Message and data rates may apply."
• Facebook has a Disaster Relief page with lots of good information about organizations that are offering aid, and that you can help, in turn.
• Habitat for Humanity; donations accepted at website, or phone donations can be made by calling 1-800-HABITAT.
• The U.S. Fund for UNICEF is raising funds to help children in Japan. Donations accepted at website, or by calling 1-800-367-5437.
• AmeriCares has dispatched a disaster relief expert to the region to assess the health care needs and is prepared to send medicines, medical supplies and humanitarian aid as necessary. Phone number for donations: 203-658-9500.
• International Rescue Committee, based in New York; Phone donations to: 1-877-733-8433. The organization is "dispatching IRC relief experts from our Thailand program to Japan to see how we can assist Japanese authorities in responding to the earthquake/tsunami disaster. We recognize Japan’s significant emergency response expertise, but will offer direct technical assistance and other emergency support."
• Microsoft has a Disaster Response Effort underway. "We are taking a number of steps, including ensuring the safety of our employees and their families and proactively offering customers, partners and local response agencies technical support to help ensure business continuity," the company said. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

The world indeed changed this week. It falls to us to look inside our hearts...

To show the people of Japan a world of love...

Like ours...

Like home...

Sneak Peek Saturday

"Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind."
-Samuel Johnson

"Curiosity is the key to creativity."
- Akio Morita

All too often these busy days, I get so caught up in the thrill of the ongoing design process, that I neglect to invite others into the studio and share what I am working on until the time comes to bring a pattern to market.

A great deal of my inspiration comes from the two words, "what if?"

• What if I used a different yarn?
• What if I went up to a much larger needle?
• What if I turned this pattern sideways?
• What if I combined cables with lace?

A healthy curiosity is indispensable in my line of work. And I am sorry I have not been better at satisfying yours.

So I am instituting (instigating?) aw crud...starting a new feature: Sneak Peek Saturday

(otherwise known as : what the hell has Susan been doing all this week?)

Both of these patterns are part of the new Two Towers series. And both are heading into test knit this coming week as the earliest releases.


Barad Dur shawlette in Rowan Panama (DK weight linen cotton blend) A quick little knit for when you're in the mood for something less fiddly

and the Mere beaded wrap in Sanguine Gryphon Gaia lace (will include directions for scarf & stole) for when you want something less structured


Other than that, I have been knitting on In Dreams (6th clue) and completed charting this week for the final clue (#7)

And I am about to head back into the final work on the Mithril Vest ( last remaining pattern in the Fellowship series) so I can get it out to testers the following week.



(these are old pics - am now up well past the division for the armholes - about mid-back)

Well, that's about it for me these days. Hope all is well with you and yours. Enjoy...

Lothlorien

"That is the fairest of all the dwellings of my people. There are no trees like the trees of that land. For in the autumn their leaves fall not, but turn to gold. Not till the spring and the new green opens do they fall, and then the boughs are laden with yellow flowers; and the floor of the wood is golden, and golden is the roof, and its pillars are of silver, for the bark of the trees is smooth and grey."
- Legolas



This forest, originally known by its Silvan names Laurelindórinan (Land of the Valley of Singing Gold) and Lórinand (Golden Valley), was renamed Lothlórien (Lórien of the Blossom) in memory of the Lórien the Ñoldor left behind; but the name was often shortened to Lórien ("Land of Gold", although it carried within it also the meaning of "dream"). Galadriel's magic, later revealed as the power of her Ring, enriched the land and made it a magic forest into which evil cannot enter. The only way that Lothlórien could have been conquered by the armies of Mordor is if Sauron had come there himself, for against his power the elves could not triumph. Other names given to the land include the Rohirric name Dwimordene (from dwimor "phantom", an allusion to the perceived magic of the Elves), and the Westron name The Golden Wood.

LOTHLORIEN CAPE
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING COLLECTION

Size: 21 inches long; 92 inches around at bottom edge
Materials: 1250 yds Unique Sheep Wild Thing
(color: Naturewalk Gradience) or other DK weight yarn
size 6 (US) needles or to obtain gauge
cable needle
Gauge (in pattern): 4.5 st = 1 inch
charted pattern - advanced intermediate

This stunning cabled cape’s design flows organically from the trees of the Golden wood at the bottom of the cape into an intricate twisted stitch pattern, sure to grace the wearer.

Eight twisted stitch panels are separated by a repeating cable motif.

Pattern includes directions for a frog closure and color blending with Gradience yarns.

In Dreams Clue 3 Errata

Orange line on chart should be row 104, not 102. Written directions are correct.

My testers may not be using gradience or didn't catch it because of the size of the chart. That being said, it really doesn't matter one way or the other , apart from the disagreement between written & chart.

The math I did based on Unique Sheep's website to determine skein changeover placement, came out at row 103, which is a right side row. As all changes are on wrong side rows, I had a choice between 102 or 104, so both are fine.

I forgot to change on mine until row 108 & decided it wasn't worth frogging back. Shawl looks beautiful & I had more than enough yarn to complete each section.

NO ONE NEEDS TO CHANGE OR FROG ANYTHING!

I have however corrected the chart, and if you wish you may download the new version.

Nature Lover

Who can explain the secret pathos of Nature's loveliness? It is a touch of melancholy inherited from our mother Eve. It is an unconscious memory of the lost Paradise. It is the sense that even if we should find another Eden, we would not be fit to enjoy it perfectly nor stay in it forever.

-Henry Van Dyke

I have been searching these last 2 days, for the right combination of yarn & pattern, to evoke the melancholy and lonely beauty of the dead marshes in The Two Towers. It is a vast & barren landscape, full of wispy grasses and pools of stagnant water. It glows with the light of "corpse candles" as Gollum calls them. We may be more familiar with the term, "will-o-wisp."

In working on this design, I also have had in the back of my mind the haunting and terrifying scenes as Frodo is pulled under the water by the dead warriors and that feeling of being trapped by seaweed like vines and limbs.

I wanted the beads to look like the lights and the entire piece to flow.


Today, I got there. I am in love. It is just right. When complete, it will be understated , simple, yet elegant. The design reminds me of my ill fated "Drizzle" design, the one that got away...

Make sure you click on the image to get a close up. This piece is subtle and, like the Mere itself, warrants closer examination.

The yarn is Sanguine Gryphon's Gaia lace; the color is Sunflower Sutra. the beads are Miyuke 8-0234

With a name like that, I just HAD to try it, right?

The pattern combines cables, beading and a little lace. I am going to leave mine unblocked to enhance the organic feel to it. I love the way the fabric ripples and twines, as is.

*****

In Fellowship news, Lothlorien is through testing. I am having a tech glitch with one of the cable symbols used in the charts. As soon as I can get that taken care of, I will send it out.

And now I should probably find something pithy or philosophical to write, some anecdote or observation to make myself sound all wise.

But I have itchy fingers and they are ready to cast on. I think I will go knit.

Two Towers

PRICING CLARIFICATION
$60 subscription does NOT include In Dreams
$52 Christmas gift certificate DID include In Dreams

If you purchased the $52 gift certificate and now purchase the $15 add on you will pay $67 for all 12 patterns in the series.

If you purchased In Dreams for $9 and now wish to subscribe you will pay a total of $69 - $2 more than those who bought the gift certificate.

The point was not to offer a substantially better deal for those who purchased the gift certificate, but rather to provide a "one click" option for those knitters who wanted to put the series on their Christmas list.

I am very sorry for any confusion this has caused.

"War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend."

-Faramir in the Two Towers

Well, we are well on our way with the In Dreams KAL. Third clue comes out on Friday. We have over 650 lovely knitters participating in this Knit-a-long.

In Dreams

(beaded semi-circular mystery shawl in Unique Sheep Eos - Abalone Gradience) $9

!!PRICED SEPARATELY!!

MAY JOIN AT ANY TIME - full pattern available in June

Lothlorien is due any day now, Kalkette is finishing her neckband today. Then I will write it up & get it out to all of the Fellowship subscribers later this week, or early next.

And my Mithril vest is nearing completion & heading into testing this week. It has been a real challenge, but well worth the wait. I am so pleased with how it has turned our Barring disaster, I should get it into your hot little hands in April.

Those two patterns will complete the first year of the Lord of the Rings Collection: The Fellowship of the Ring series.

And you know what that means...

I get to lie down and call, "UNCLE"?

No silly...it means it is time to continue on our way with the next series of patterns.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS COLLECTION
The Two Towers
$60

11 patterns - $76 if purchased separately

Helm's Deep

(shoulder warmer in Rowan Lima - Argentina) $6

Emyn Muil

( cabled lace kerchief in MadelineTosh Lace - Composition Book Grey ) $8

Ringwraith

(lace stole in Blue Moon Geisha) $8

Raven Clan- Corvid?

or Spirits - Jengu?

You decide...

Tree Beard

(lace smoke ring in Alchemy's Silken Straw - Forest Waltz) $6

Balrog

(mosaic cowl in String Theory Caper Sock - Java, Canyon, Garnet & Oban)$6

Edoras

(red, green & gold fair isle cape in Knit Picks Palette - mixed reds & greens) $8

Eowyn

(twisted stitch. lace up gauntlets in Woolen Rabbit Harmony sock - Scottish Heather) $6

Elven Woods

(lace ruana, based on the leaf brooch & cloaks in Unique Sheep Verve - Mirkwood Gradience) $8

The following three new patterns were not included in my $52 Xmas gift certificate, as I had not yet added them to the series, but

they are included in the $60 Twin Towers subscription price.

Those who purchased the gift certificate may purchase these 3 patterns individually as they come out or may choose to add them on in advance at a discounted package price of $15

Barad Dur

(triangular shawlette in Rowan Panama - Tulip ) $6

features lace border with the eye of Sauron centered between the U shape prongs of the tower

following picture is a WIP - not blocked yet, but almost finished...

Mere

(beaded lace stole in Sanguine Gryphon Gaia lace - Sunflower Sutra) $8

panels of sinuous lace, divided by beaded sections, representing the will-o-wisps (lights) or "candles of corpses" as Gollum calls them

Eleventy Seven

(Fireworks lace scarf in Enchanted Knoll Farm's Black Magic Woman handspun) $6

All patterns will be available for download through Ravelry and here on the blog. Subscribers benefits include:

• My endlessly entertaining (HAH!) personal messages by email full of tips & suggestions along with your download code. Unsolicited personal advice costs extra...
• Personal email notification of all errata or other pattern related comments & questions
• a savings of $16
• no need to check the blog or Ravelry for pattern releases; be the first to know

I do not have a firm schedule for the patterns, beyond a commitment to the first coming out May 1st and the others following every 4-8 weeks. Some will obviously take longer than others.

I want to be flexible - if a pattern is ready to release in four weeks, I don't want to hold it until a certain date. Conversely, if a pattern takes eight weeks to complete, I don't want to be pushed into release before it is truly ready. I hope you will understand my reluctance to place firm dates upon the series. Creativity is hard to structure.

I can promise you we will be done by the end of April 2012 and then we will move on to the final installment - The Return of the King.

It has been a year filled with challenges, friendship, and some great knitting. I hope those who subscribed last year, have enjoyed the Fellowship patterns. I know I had a lot of fun dreaming them up.

I hope you will join our merry band of LotR lunatics as we venture onto the plains of Rohan and continue our heroic journey.

Forth Eorlingas!