I’ve been super busy designing lots of new patterns. There will be a handful of music-themed patterns, a few more animals, and a couple of party patterns just to name some.

But when you do this much designing, eventually you have to type them up. So today I have to type up EIGHTEEN patterns!! Yes, that’s right. Eighteen new patterns are coming. I should add a little side note — I’ll have all of them provided they all look good once they are knitted up. You never know exactly how they are going to look until they have been knit.

This next week will be a knitting week!

I’ve been hard at work designing a big pile of new patterns. I have had a pile of designs that have been in half finished states for a long time.  Some of them have been nearly finished for over a year! One of them has been half test knitted and still on the needles for that long. I don’t even know where it is. I’ve spent the week sorting them out, getting them all into some state of organization and then realized I had quite a large pile of designs that were nearly done. I might need to call on some test knitters soon!

I’ve also been spending a significant amount of time working to redesign the Dishcloth Calendar website. I not only contributed a pattern to this year’s Calendar, but I help out Janet by maintaining the website. I love this new shopping cart that I’m using on my website that I want to switch over the Calendar website as well. And at the same time I’m trying to design a funky new look for it too.  We’ll see what I can come up with. If you haven’t checked out the Dishcloth Calendar, you might want to head over to the site and take a peek. It’s a wonderful collection of dishcloth patterns. We’re already beginning to think about the calendar for next year!

Since we’ve had so much snow lately where I am, I wanted to look forward to Spring. I’ve put a selection of Spring related patterns on sale. I picked some flower patterns and some of my favorite Springy patterns to help banish these Winter blues.

In designing news, now that I’ve gotten the website up and running and all the bugs worked out (fingers crossed!), I can get back to designing new patterns. I’m currently working on a series of music related patterns. First up will be a series of music notes, followed by a series of musical instruments. It’s been a long time since I’ve worked on any new patterns and I’m really enjoying it. I hope you’ll like them once they come out.

But, it’s been on my mind.  And I do want to do another Challenge.  But before I do a challenge, I really, really need to get the Free patterns/KALs squared away for the next several months.  I think I will not start the Challenge until at least February.  Things have been a bit crazier than usual around here and I remember how demanding the last Challenge was.  I certainly cannot take that on if I’m not completely ready to focus on it!  First, I need to focus on the regular stuff like Free Patterns!!

That’s where I need some help.  I have a nice idea to add a pattern for December (I know it will be late, but better late than never) and I need some ideas for the next few months.  I like to have my Free patterns try to keep with a monthly theme.  For example I’ve been trying to think of something for January that will be sort of Wintery that I haven’t done already, but between my boys being sick and the bad weather knocking my head down every few days I haven’t felt very creative.  Any ideas?

Leave me some comments and help me come up with some ideas for the year for free patterns. I always feel like I’m playing ‘catch up’ with them and would love to get them planned and out of the way before I try to do anything else.  February will also be tricky because I have tons of heart related patterns and I’ve already tried unsuccessfully to do a groundhog.  I’m running out of ideas to keep the patterns to a monthly theme.  They may just have to start being random pictures which I suppose will be fine, but a bit….random!

In other chatty news, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season.  I had a great knitting related Christmas.  Between my hubby and my mother I am now outfitted with some very cool new needles and gadgets and lots and lots of miscellaneous knitting notions.

My hubby got me the Harmony interchangeable needle set from Knitpicks that I’ve been drooling over for a while.  i can’t wait to try them out.  I actually haven’t done any knitting since Christmas!  My mom got me a ball winder and a scale.  I spent an entire afternoon winding up all the half knit balls of yarn I could find and weighing them.  I found 39 half balls of dishcloth yarn that had knit one dishcloth out of and then left lying around at the bottom of my knitting basket.  I rewound them all and refastened the label so everything is nice and neat.  I’ll be able to get another dishcloth out of each one of those, so I’m all set for a while.  Plus all the new balls of dishcloth yarn that I keep buying because I’m never sure of what I have.  Because I use small needles (size 5 or 6) and because my cloths are on the smaller side (cast on 37 stitches) I can very easily get two cloths out of each regular 2.5 oz ball. 

Did anyone else get cool knitting stuff over the holidays? 

I’ll post again in a few days about my progress with planning for the KALs/Free Patterns for the next few months.

I’ve been working on designing one of my new projects and I’ve set my test knitters loose on the thing.  They are excited about it. But thank goodness for lots of testers because we’re still working out some of the important details like needle size, gauge and how much yarn.  It’s definitely different than a dishcloth so I’m not sure on some of those details.  Don’t expect to see it for a while yet though.  I’ve given them until after the holidays because it’s a bit bigger than a dishcloth and I know that we are entering into the craziest time of year!

I also need to get busy on designing a free pattern for December.  The 24th is rapidly approaching and the KAL will begin.  It would help if I had an idea!!  Don’t worry, I’ll think of something. 

Just a quick post today.  I’ve been on the computer too long as it is already fighting with my download software and my eyes are going buggy.

First, a picture of the completed KAL:

I have not yet added the completed pattern to the Free page, but I will get to it ASAP.  In the meantime, all the rows for the pattern can be found over the previous 6 days in entries in this blog.

Here is a picture of the pattern that I just added to the website:

I know that it has nothing to do at all with Halloween or Autumn or any of the upcoming holidays, but I thought it was cute. And he sort of goes along with the Happy Whale from the other day.  Plus, I have another sea animal themed cloth that I’ve knitted that I’ll be putting up sometime in the upcoming few days.  You can find the Seahorse Dishcloth pattern available for purchase on the “New” page for $1.49.

Row 46:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), K to last 4 sts., (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 47:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), P to last 4 sts., (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 48:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), K to last 4 sts., (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 49:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), P to last 4 sts., (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 50:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), K to last 4 sts., (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 51:           K1, P1 across, ending with K1

Row 52:           K1, P1 across, ending with K1

Row 53:           K1, P1 across, ending with K1

Row 54:           K1, P1 across, ending with K1

Row 55:           K1, P1 across, ending with K1

Bind off all stitches in pattern.

xxxxxxxx Dishcloth (x-ed out to keep the surprise for now!)

Created by Emily Jagos

Copyright © Emily Jagos October 7, 2008

Copyright Information:
This pattern is for your own personal use.  The pattern may not be sold, reprinted or distributed by any means without prior authorization.  Contact me at emily@designs-by-emily.com .

I hope you’ve had fun!

Row 37:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), P to last 4 sts., (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 38:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), K9, P11, K9, (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 39:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), P to last 4 sts., (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 40:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), K12, P5, K12, (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 41:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), P to last 4 sts., (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 42:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), K13, P3, K13, (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 43:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), P to last 4 sts., (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 44:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), K14, P1, K14, (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 45:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), P to last 4 sts., (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Check back tomorrow to get the last 10 rows!

Row 28:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), K3, P23, K3, (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 29:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), P to last 4 sts., (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 30:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), K3, P23, K3, (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 31:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), P to last 4 sts., (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 32:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), K3, P4, K3, P9, K3, P4, K3, (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 33:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), P to last 4 sts., (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 34:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), K10, P9, K10, (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 35:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), P to last 4 sts., (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 36:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), K9, P11, K9, (P1, K1, P1, K1)

I’ll be sure to post the next rows nice and early again tomorrow!

Row 19:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), P to last 4 sts., (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 20:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), K3, P23, K3, (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 21:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), P to last 4 sts., (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 22:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), K4, P21, K4, (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 23:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), P to last 4 sts., (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 24:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), K5, P19, K5, (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 25:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), P to last 4 sts., (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 26:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), K4, P21, K4, (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Row 27:           (K1, P1, K1, P1), P to last 4 sts., (P1, K1, P1, K1)

Check back again tomorrow!