Don't stop believing, hold onto that knitting yeah

Let me start this post by saying that I am absolutely stunned. 

Not into complete silence, but I AM stunned...let me start over. 

So around December-ish I submitted my VERY FIRST pattern to be published in an online knitting magazine that I love: Knitty. This was a big step for me, because I'd only self-published on Ravelry before. 

I also tend to be "glass-half-empty" to the point of already imagining that the glass is empty, as I've accidentally spilled the contents, AND I've somehow managed to break the  glass while cleaning up the spilled liquid that the apparently expensive glass contained (it was probably containing an expensive anti-self-doubt juice). This little fantasy most likely ends with me unwittingly setting something on fire. 

My obvious point here is that I lack confidence, and THEREFORE, even submitting a design to a magazine that I revere made me vulnerable, and basically a trembling puddle.

I sat down with my pattern, made sure I have all of my submission contents (this took an entire Saturday, because I had to quadruple check everything, not in an obsessive way, but in a "Oh I probably did something careless" way), took a yogic breath, and hit "send."

I will admit to checking my email more than usual to find out if my submission had passed muster, and MUCH to my surprise, it did! I got in! 

I'm thinking that this must be beginner's luck, but I got into another magazine (who I am getting yarn support from). So expect more from me soon. I'm currently working on yet another piece for a May submission deadline. 

My point is that, you never know, you may completely shock yourself into submitting to the fact that maybe you're good at something. Nope. sorry for writing that. I can't uncross my fingers just yet, however...I encourage every knit hacker (you know who you are...you alter patterns to make them fit you well) to draw something, figure out how you might go about knitting it up, and just try. 

Submit your work! You never know!

Go here to look for calls for submissions:http://www.ravelry.com/groups/designers 

And remember, breathe. 

So very many things to knit (and my attempt to stay focused)

I've noticed that knitters come in all shapes and sizes (insert your own joke about gauge here). One of those shapes/sizes happens to come in EXCITED ABOUT KNITTING. What I mean by excited is that I have so much lovely yarn, ideas for designs and patterns I want to write, and of course there is an endless stream of patterns I want to knit (my ravelry queue is insanely long). Essentially, I'm brimming with things I want to knit, learn, say about knitting, and ideas and patterns I want to share.  However, I simply do not have enough time to do all of these things, so when I have a spare day/afternoon/evening, I need to make a choice in order to focus. 

Deep breathing really helps with focusing and making knitting choices (specifically, ujjayi breathing is really helpful when I'm over-excited...yoga in general is helpful for quieting and focusing my brain). 

I also think it's helpful to slow down and actually take stock of your projects, what you hope to accomplish in the time you have, and your ultimate goals. Ravelry has been such a wonderful resource for me because you can record everything you are knitting, tag projects (for easy searching), make notes, upload pictures, and stay relatively organized and on top of all of the projects you have going. I wish that ravelry had a blog function for users who wish to write about knitting/stitching in general, but that's why I have this external blog. 

So anyway, here are the projects I'm excited about:

My designs (pattern making)

• My Lady Verity Mitts are currently being test knit (I still need testers for sizes M-XL, so if you're interested, go here and make sure to follow all of the group rules!)
• My Icarus Tee is completed, I just need to finish the pattern draft, and I will post the pattern to the Free Pattern Testers group to be test knit. 

Patterns I am excited about (designed by others)

• The Stephen West 2013 Mystery Shawl KAL (my project page is here)
• I am working on the Prisma Dolman sweater published in the latest issue of interweave. I fell in love with the dropped stitches! I think I might make this a cardigan instead of a pullover. I haven't decided yet. 

Yarn I am excited about

• I bought 4 skeins of Noro Hitsuji on sale from webs, and it is so lovely, I want to make sure I use it in the best way!
• I have 1.5 skeins of Quince & Co's puffin left over from a cowl I just made. I'm on the fence about what to make. 

And that's not even everything! I'm sure there are quite a few people out there who feel the same. If you like, let me know your story of overflowing energy for knitting (I'd love to hear it)--comment, or PM me on ravelry (BrotherLadies). 

~Leah