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Like (how many) millions of folks, I just HAD to have an iPad. I told myself it would be useful but I am not sure I totally believed it, not 100% anyway. Sure , I read what the the naysayers had to say. It didn’t deter me. I really WANTED it.
Now, I happily and productively use my device , every single day! One of the most productive things I do with it is draw sketches. To keep organized here in the design office, we sketch everything we are making and put them all together on sheets we call croquis. I used to draw these with pencil on white paper held over a drawing of a model, so I could easily draw in the same scale and from the same viewpoint every time. 
That’s my model on the left. 
I’ve used her for a while. Years ago I used to print the sweater drawings on self stick paper and paste them over her, like paper dolls. I transitioned to just using the sweater. You may recognize the sweaters from our Blackstone booklet (#298).
I can still draw over the same model if I want to, its easy to get a scan of her into the iPad, but while trolling for new apps I tripped across the following method of making a sketch:
1 – I use teen targeted fashion app FashionSketch to make a model and outfit to serve as a base.
2 – Next I apply the photo editing program Photogene to transform the image into a black and white “drawing” and crop the image.
3 – And then I use SketchBook to draw a sweater and add a layer of white to erase the lines “under” the sweater.
–Norah
Just so you know, no one aked me to review my iPad or the programs and I paid for them all.
A few years ago I ran into the folks who make the Nantucket Diddy Bagg. They make a really cool, versatile canvas tote. The tool pockets can be on the inside or the outside.. You can use it as a backpack OR a tote OR unzip it and hang it flat on the wall. Originally designed for carpenters, someone cleverly realized that knitters and crocheters would love it too.
So, I instantly bought up 2 of them. One for John, since he was building our house, and one for me, because I needed something to wrangle a variety of needles, scissors and other paraphernalia along with a project or too and have it all easily portable.
The resulting house.
Well, those nice folks who make the Nantucket Diddy Bagg caught wind that was a fan and comped me the newest model I admired the most. It’s made from the super sturdy canvas, like my first one, but it’s shorter and has longer handles, making it convenient and comfortable to carry. I’m a little embarrassed that my longing look begged it off of them, but so glad to have it. Here it is in use:
As many of you may recall, I was all worked up a year ago when Mo Rocca declared, on National Public Radio no less, that he didn like home made sweaters because they are “always itchy”. Several fellow ravelers and I took quick action and that’s all documented in my earlier post here.
The sweater was presented to Mo at a taping of Wait , Wait Don’t Tell Me and the show posted a fun video of the sweater presentation on their site. Berroco gets mentioned here, as do I , but you have to really listen for it. When you get to the Wait Wait site, look for the video link, down a bit on the left.
Meanwhile, Mo was working on his other gig on CBS and produced a piece for CBS Sunday Morning. He even learned how to knit! So, FINALLY after a year of wondering if was actually going to happen
..and NOW you can watch our friend Andra speedily knitting the finishing on Mo’s sweater. I can’t seem to embed the flash video from the CBS site, so a link will have to do.
LENA!!
From left to right and top to bottom:
1 – Looking for new yarns to buy is fun any time, but imagine being able to gaze out this window at the same time.
2 – One booth at the yarn fair (Pitti Filati) was built around theme of kilims. I like the faded earthy colors.
3 – Beautifully and neatly wound pre-dyed top awaits its fate.
4 – Modern day spinning machinery, I love the repetition.
5 – Multiple vats of top are set in motion.
6 – Monanorah, or is it the Norahlisa? Silliness at the show
The highlight of my trip was the natural history museum. The special exhibit of crystals just may have had a great influence on NGvol7.
I have to show off some of the loot I scored at Christmas. When one of John’s daughters suggested that we all exchange handmade or recycled gifts (or any combination thereof) I wholeheartedly agreed and passed the idea on to the Gaughan side of the family as well. I made out big time.
Mom made me this cool, biologically inspired "needle" vase, which sits upon the GORGEOUS coffee table John fashioned from local oak slabs and planks.
The Ultra Alpaca hot pad Mom gave to John.
...and oh man, isn't this adorable? Mom's design for this "yarn ball" is simply brilliant. (That's Inca Gold being corralled.)
Our art director discovered a fun little program called Pixelmator, which can transform an image or a small bit of an image into an elaborate all over pattern or a kaleidoscopic wonder. I am totally mesmerized by it too. Check out these transformations of our free pattern Baby Ferris (shown unaltered bottom right). Those baby feet are cute and kinda weird at the same time.
Update from Norah:
It’s always a thrill for the design team to see folks knitting and wearing our patterns. Imagine how cool it is to see a whole group of knitters in one of our designs. The Purl Diva did a KAL using Ditto, a free pattern originally knit in Latitude.
Liz knit hers in Vintage.
…and Susan made hers in Ultra Alpaca (in one of my very favorite colors)
I love the sleeve length on Susan’s, especially for Ultra Alpaca and it’s perfect on her. A shop KAL encourages folks to make modifications to suit their own style and needs and I am all for that!. You can see more versions on the Purl Diva blog. For those of you who didn’t catch it the first time, here’s a link to a movie of me wearing ditto at the trade show in Columbus (TNNA), back in June.
Among the Dittos on Ravelry: Ultra Alpaca and Latitude.
I’d love to see images from some other Berroco KAL’s – send em along !
–Norah
Foreseeing that something BIG was happening, Cirilia brought Berroco to the Sock Summit. She’s not selling anything (we leave that to the shops). She IS promoting our sock yarns (Berroco Sox™, Berroco Sox™ Metallic, Comfort® Sock and Ultra™ Alpaca Fine, showing our audio slide shows, telling folks about the sock star contest and holding daily raffles. If you’re at the summit, stop by and enter to win a Saige poncho kit!
Cirilia took some intriguing shots at our recent Knitbits photo shoot.
