Posting what I'm doing

I'm working on top-secret stuff and it is hard to get out of that mode to post what I'm doing. I am quite intrigued that anyone cares what I do all day, or that what I do would be remotely interesting. That said, I must admit that I go to City Arts and Lectures, and haveas long as I have lived in cities that have them, because I am curious how creative people get from a creative urge to being successful. I became familiar with the man who has best described what reading fiction is at a panel of young-ish writers (boy were they all awkward), probably in the 90s. David Foster Wallace said he read fiction because it allowed him to crawl over a fence of intimacy that one couldn't ask even the people closest to them to open to another person. That's why I read--to know other perspectives. I am so grateful that people are willing to sit and write and explain to me how other people exist in the world. So maybe that's why people want to read blogs. I'm almost finished with this one.

I listen to books when I am knitting, ironing, drawing, and some

times cooking. It uses a piece of my brain that isn't used during those activities which otherwise gets bored and makes me look for other things to do. I've "read" some great books this way. Because I am always knitting, or trying to keep up with other reading, I don't get to read fiction the way I used to, so I really like this back-up method. While on vacation in December/January, I got to read a couple of books pretty much cover to cover which was a fabulous luxury, but also got to sit at the pool knitting and reading.

Okay, time to find shoes and pack my bag to go to Pilates.

New Y2Knit Logo

When Jill and I formed Y2Knit in 2001, one of our early projects was a logo.  Y2Knit was the project for a design class at FIDM in SF where Jill teaches. Students had to develop a logo based on company information provided by us.  I was able to be present for the presentation of logos.  There was everything from very techno to Hello Kitty style.  One stood out and we worked with the student to refine the original Y2Knit logo, which has served us for 10 years.  We always loved it because it looks like the knit stitch.



However, things change.  Think how the Internet and smart devices alone have changed our lives in the last 10 years!  Working with a marketing consultant recently, we were advised to update our logo.  I came to think of this as our makeover and it felt good, just like a haircut, fresh makeup and a new wardrobe.  The designer gave us some choices and we were both drawn to one.  Some refinements were made and we're now proud to be able to reveal our new logo.

Not so fast though, we decided to do this gradually over a few weeks, so you'll have to be patient.  So far, we've revealed a couple segments.  This also buys us some time to get everything updated.  I just remembered about business cards yesterday!

NBC: Patterns available soon

Jill Says:

While not much has been visibly happening, a lot has been going on. Here's a sneak peak of patterns that we've created for babies. The picture was taken at TNNA in January.

NBC stands for Natural Baby Collection, which currently stands at eight patterns and will soon grow to 20 or more. This started with soakers (wool diaper covers) that Susan developed with maternal feedback from one of her daughters-in-law while Susan's grandson was a baby. These soakers are so cute they might make you want to have a baby! If you're not into the concept of soakers, these are great pants or shorts. They come in three lengths: thigh (short), knee and long. Of course I had to inject some other things into the mix, but we think these 8 patterns will nicely outfit babies wanting the comfort of Mountain Merino (yes, it is soft enough for babies--wait until you see other pictures). If you've counted the pieces shown here you'll notice more than 8 pieces: the soaker pattern has all three lengths, and the hat and sock patterns each have three versions too.

These are mostly easy knitting and Laramie from Mountain Meadow Wool is a delight to knit with. If you've never thought of using wool for baby gear, here are a few quick tidbits:

• Wool doesn't soil easily and merino can be washed (gently--agitation is what causes felting)
• Wool is a great insulator. It has excellent wicking properties, meaning it carries moisture away from the surface of the skin. Light moisture will run off the surface of wool.
• Wool fibers are very durable.
• Wool is considered naturally flame retardant. It will burn but it does so slowly, and if the flame is taken away, it will usually extinguish itself.

New Looks

Lots of new things are always happening at Y2Knit, but we're really cranking it up right now. We are getting ready to unfurl a new logo. Yes, it's time for a change! Things have gotten so much more sophisticated since we decided to embark on this business in 2001--and we feel like we've gotten a little dusty--so we're freshening things up. We love our new logo, so you won't see us withdrawing it because of outcries that the old one was fine.

To support the new logo we're also re-creating our pattern format. This is going to be such a fabulous upgrade that we think everyone will love it. Patterns will be in letter-size format so they are easier as downloads and have a really new look. We're excited.

While we're excited, there is a lot of background work that needs to be done to make this possible. Patterns that we were in the process of completing have to be moved to the new format and patterns that are already in the old format have to be put into the new format. The new formatting has to be applied, new pictures added, and all of this has to be checked and rechecked. This also requires leaning new ways to use InDesign and Photoshop, then when everything is ready, will require replacing existing files. As I said, quite an undertaking. While we're at it we are putting some other new initiatives into play--so you'll want to keep an eye on what we're doing.

Snow: Great for hats, mitts and scarves

Great to show off our lovely hand knits when we're out shoveling snow.  I could hardly decide which hat to wear this morning, but went with this new fun one I made last weekend.  About 3 hours of knitting.  It's the Ozark Handspun yarn that makes it, and of course, the felt balls!

Boot Topper Emergency Photos

Jill Says:

We're standing at TNNA and a distributor tells us they need the pattern for the boot toppers ASAP! Neither Susan or I has a camera to take the kind of picture we need, to say nothing of the fact that we are both pretty limited photographers. Susan runs to the Ashland Sky booth to see if Michael Golden (creator of the KnitGauge App) had his camera. Michael is an awesome photographer so was clearly up to this more than Susan and I were. He thought he could do it with his iPhone because he didn't have another camera with him, but we needed someone with boots. So we were casing people walking by. It was Monday, and pretty slow, and mostly people's feet hurt by then and besides, it isn't cold. I kind of forgot about it and suddenly Susan said, "Boots!" I honestly didn't even know what she was talking about for a few seconds. We asked this lovely Japanese woman walking by if she would be a model. Indicating that any distraction was welcome she agreed and Susan ran to get Michael and I helped our model get out of her jacket and into the boot toppers. Did I say she had beautiful boots?

Michael arrived and we took some photos (and I remembered to get out my iTouch to take pics of him taking pics) then realized that having her sit was probably the best way to show them off. I've really never seen a

nyone be so serene while being photographed. Maybe it was because she knew it was only her legs. These are only temporary photos until we can get professional shots taken, but I love them!

It’s always intriguing for me to see what top sellers are and to see sales trends. For instance, I used to sell oodles of Hiya Hiya needles online, but now that more shops carry them, my online sales of them are down.

We’ll have a really popular pattern, which makes us think it got mention somewhere, but even a Ravelry search doesn’t give us a clue. Why has Summer Night Top been such a good seller in 2010? The pattern was released in 2005.

I just got yarn in from three different sources, all special orders for customers and all in the honey/sun gold color. And I sold another bag of gold yarn yesterday. It is a warm color on a cold day, so I’m enjoying looking at it.

EAR LIGHTS continue to go out the door with almost every customer and to be a favorite with online customers. Good for anyone on your gift list.

Another popular item is the Waterfall Kit. I’m sure the lovely colors of the Malabrigo Aquarella help sell this, and the fact that it’s a quick knit, perfect for getting a gift done fast. The summer interns chose that yarn as their favorite.

Pictured:  gold hued yarns, Aquarella Moldonado, Ear Light