women of a certain age are like sunflowers; they know how to turn their faces to the sun.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Endings & Beginnings



In my beginning is my end.
-T.S. Eliot

This coming weekend marks both an end and a beginning here on the sunflower farm.

On Monday we say goodbye to your opportunity to sign up for the Evenstar Mystery Shawl KAL. The pattern will not be available for purchase again until after the KAL is completed in May. The pattern will be sold in it's entirety beginning June 1st.

Over 900 have signed up for this journey, which never ceases to amaze me. The second clue comes out this afternoon, but there is still time for you to catch up, should you choose to join our merry band of latecomers. The more, the merrier...

Of course, though sign-ups are closing, we are but a little way along our path. There are seven clues, taking us through April and into early May.

I am so pleased with this design. I have worked hard to make it worthy of so many people's investment of time and talent. I pray I have succeeded; time will tell...

Also on March 1st, sign-ups open for the next phase of our adventure together: The Fellowship of the Ring series. As previously announced, the series is composed of seven patterns (I forgot one earlier - d'oh!) , taken from the first book/movie of the trilogy.


Argonath
cabled stole in String Theory DK - Labradorite
The pattern features wavy patterns to evoke the river Anduin's course, and is framed on both ends by columnar patterns reminiscent of the statues outstretched arms.






Dwarrowdelf

lace shawl in Tanis Fibre Arts Fingering - Stormy

Design features arched lace -angular like the dwarves design for the great hall in the mines of Moria




Lothlorien
cabled scarf or stole in custom dyed Tamsie Gradience from Unique Sheep
color taken from Tolkien's description of the golden woods, rather than the night time palette suggested by the movie



Strider
unisex cowl in Blue Moon Fiber Arts Peru - Ravenscroft
less greasy than Aragorn when we first behold him, but just as yummy!




Bombadil
hat with fair isle band & twisted stitch top in String Theory Caper Sock - Blue Hill, Cobalt, & Melon
colors taken from Tom's daring fashion choices - blue & yellow - Fierce! (snap)



Mithril
beaded lace vest in Handmaiden Silk Twist - silver & straw
silver lace vest with drawstring and golden trim in a beautiful leaf motif
(and no teeshirt backing, unlike the costume picutured above)




Bag End
mosaic felted bag in Unique Sheep Gradience - Brew Pub
12 by 12 inch felted tote bag, similar in construction to bag pictured

These seven patterns will be available for individual purchase at $8 a piece, but I am offering a discount for those who subscribe to the entire series up front:$45 for the entire series. That is $11 in savings.

I do not have a firm schedule for the patterns, beyond a commitment to thee first coming out May 1st and the others following every 6-8 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 within the year (or sooner) and then we will move on to the next installment - The Two Towers - and the next mystery shawl pattern.

Sign ups begin Monday, March 1st, 2010.


And....just because I don't think anyone should have to wait till May to get their Elf on...

All sign ups will get immediately upon sign up, a little surprise I've been working on.



Legolas

a quick little weekend project done with sport/dk weight yarn on size 6 needles. The kerchief features an elvish twining leaf pattern that falls in lovely folds around the wearer's neck, and has lovely twisty ends to pull around to the front of your shoulders.

This pattern is not available for individual sale; it is my gift to subscribers only.

OK - I think that about covers it (whew!) Look for sign-ups over on the sidebar, come Monday morning.

Anybody wanna play?

29 comments:

Amy said...

I must bow to your awesome! You are an amazing designer, my dear.

Lynda said...

You are a temptress...an evil, evil, temptress but I'll be playing along fo sure, fo sure

Anonymous said...

Brin gon Tuesday for me! I've been waiting *forever* for the patterns signup!

:)

dove said...

Hi Susan,

You are indeed one to be acknowledged as one to be bowed to. I sincerely agree with what Amy and Lynda said above. You indeed a very creative person in many lines other than just designing. You seem to have boundless energy in areas of trying to make all of the people possible happy. A lot of for(sp?) thought is going into this series of patterns and most of all fun. I hope you are enjoying it as much. My feeling is that is definitely true!

Are the yarns colorways shown going to be made available during the time the patterns are available? I usually like to make my own decisions on picking out the yarn for projects, but your are so creative, I can hardly want to change any of your choices.

Sweet Caroline said...

I'm interested in the LOTR projects and was wondering if you have perhaps ball-park figure of total cost if your choices for fibers are chosen?

The initial cost of the patterns is very reasonable; I'm just curious to use new fibers and would like to budget. I realize any figure you give would be an estimate, since you can't control prices of other vendors.

Thanks

Susan Pandorf said...

From the US copyright website: "Copyright does not protect names, titles, slogans, or short phrases."

So I think that I am ok...but thank you for the concern.

All yarns used are currently in stock with the various vendors & I have tried to keep them informed so they can be prepared for extra requests for a certain color or fiber.

As to total cost, that will depend greatly upon the total yardage required, which I don't have firmed up at this time (but obviously will soon)

I have tried to stay away from egregiously expensive fibers like Artyarns, Prism, Tilli Tomas, & such. But the yarns aren't Red Lion either. You can go to the websites & check them out for yourself.

PFennessy said...

I just signed up for the LOTR series. Love it! Your work is so awesomely wonderful! Thanks!

madonnaearth said...

Awesome!!! Well done, you!

KarinKat said...

How do I get the Legolas, Mithril, Bombadil etc. patterns - I am a subscriber - a member of KAL Evenstar Mystery Shawl!
I am also member of the Danish Tolkien Society club of Bri. My elf-name is Caranduriel and I am the middle of three sisters, supposed to be the creative one!!!
Please help/advise!

Susan Pandorf said...

KarinKat: just click on the Fellowship of the Ring button on the sidebar to the right & I will email; the patterns to you as they come out.

Or you can wait and purchase individually, but they will cost more that way.

stephanie j. said...

These are GREAT! Thanks for posting (I found your blog on the Ravelry). Interestingly enough, my little girls are watching LOTR: FotR right now :) I will have to show them...

Connie said...

Hi, I am knitting the Evenstar. It is my first lace project and I really love the pattern. The lace has been quite a challenge but I have enjoyed it so much. Anyway, I really haven't watched the movies all that much and am wondering if the Fellowship of the Rings is the first series that you have done for this or if I have missed anything? I am considering purchasing the series but haven't quite decided yet. Your work is beautiful by the way. Sorry for your eye situation. My left eye is dry also and it's not fun. Restasis has helped quite a bit but yours sounds much more serious than mine. I hope they feel better soon. Thanks Connie

Unknown said...

I'm devastated (is that too strong?) to learn about this only today... *sigh* Will there be independent sign-ups for the later pieces? Or was it one big sign-up and I'm "screwed"? *smile*

I'm going to go right back to Ravelry and try to at least queue up the patterns, so I can purchase them when they are released. Thanks for getting an ad on Ravelry -- that's how I found these patterns!

Samsara said...

I, too, just discovered these amazing patterns. I wish I could join in the current KAL, but I am really looking for patterns to make in the computer-free zone of a Wilderness fire lookout. I fell in love with Legolas..... I look forward to catching up on your site in the fall.
Sam

Ida said...

Oh, iI would really love to knit the Legolas shawl, how I can get the pattern?

Susan Pandorf said...

Legolas is not available at this time. It was a special gift to FotR collection subscribers only.

Sorry...

Ida said...

Oh, thats really disappointing :(
Is it definitely too late to subscribe now?

Susan Pandorf said...

I'm a sucker for an unhappy knitter - email me at susanpandorf@comcast.net & I'll see what I can do...

Unknown said...

I've looked every where on this page over and over... and I still can't find that ring you talk about! There is only one ring I can see, and all it does it bounce you right back to this same page!!! So what gives???

How does one subscribe!??? This is the most cruel site I have ever seen! Help!!!

Susan Pandorf said...

Pat -

the button is at the top of the sidebar on the right - it is a gray graphic & says Fellowship of the Ring series. The patterns included are in the post.

Evenstar is a separate purchase. There will be 3 more KALs & 2 additional series: one for the Two Towers & one for The Return of the King.

Your profile was unavailable so this is the only way to reach you. Email me at susanpandorf@comcast.net & I'll be happy to assist you further.

Ariel said...

Aha! So this is where that beautiful shawlette came from! I've been browsing Ravelry non-stopped since I went to summer break (thank goodness college is done for a while),and I keep running into Legolas FO...Oh no, it's no longer available? Sadness! Is there anyway to subscribe still?

Susan Pandorf said...

Yes! I reopened signups - over on the sidebar to the right!

Ariel said...

Oh! I see. Subscription is $45 and your will begin releasing the patterns for individual sale in the future. Since I am a poor college student, I don't have $45 lying around, so I'll just wait until it comes out for individual sale. :D Thank you so much for your consideration.

Unknown said...

Hello! I've been watching this blog for a few weeks before deciding if I will join. I wonder if there will be more patterns added eventually. I am especially interested in the Mithril vest and the Legolas kerchief. I will probably subscribe for those two patterns alone!

jcwmarciano said...

Has subscription sign-up been closed again? The only button I see on the right sidebar is for the mailing list. I'm very interested in subscribing and getting the Legolas pattern.

Kim Burk said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kim Burk said...

Susan,
Arrggh! Is there any hope that you will re-open the Fellowship series yet again? I seem to have missed my window of opportunity! I purchased Rivendell a while back, but was too short of funds to justify the whole series at the time, when what I really loved most was the Legolas. By the time I was ready to just bite the bullet and go for the whole kit and kaboodle, your enrollment was closed!

Now, I'd really like to buy the Goldberry scarf, but should I hold out hope that you'll open the series periodically for newbies? Then I would add that pattern to my purchase. I am very patient, and your patterns are worth waiting for!

Kim Burk said...

Oops... I was the one who deleted that previous post. I wanted to edit it, but ended up just copying it into a new one. I thought deleting would make it go away. Sorry...

rebecca said...

Oh I'm so sorry I missed all this! I'm so impressed with your talent and inspiration -- I'm asking for your ebook on Ravelry for Xmas!