First Book Signing!

Last night at Nicola's books

















"Listen my knitters and you shall hear how to hoist your boobs & cover your rear...."















Show and Tell














"Really, it's fabulous for boob girls"












There was trying on. Allie has already ordered the yarn to make this sweater!
















This is Claire from the UK (Hi Claire!). She flew in to visit her boyfriend, and he brought her straight from the airport to the signing.
I think he's a keeper.

Book Signing Tonight

I'm signing (Amy's still in Italy eating gelato) tonight at Nicola's Books, Westgate Shopping Center, Ann Arbor, 7-9 pm. Bring your knitting!

First BGK FO!

Check out Anastacia in her brand new Cherry Bomb tank.
She started with the pattern , but altered it with help from the book to fit her shape.
You look fantastic Anastacia!

If your mail isn't working as well as you think it should (i.e. shit through a goose fast), perhaps you might check your Sent Mail folder.
I was teaching my kids some new and creative cussing this morning while my mail timed out over and over. Why? I had over 3,000 sent emails hanging out - some of them huge!
I am a dumbass.


Becasue I know some of you are missing Amy, while she knits lace, eats gelato and Blackberrys me from cathedrals (is there a special circle of hell for that?) and Under the Tuscan Sun villas.
Here're a couple of snaps from her recent visit, where she discovers just how easy it is to work with wee ones around.













I'm reviewing a WooLee Winder for KnittySpin. I am in love. I've already ordered more bobbins. My half-assed spinning has never looked so good & it winds so evenly I fit 4 oz of merino (Spunky Eclectic Vineyard) on it with room to spare.

#88

Big Girl Knits is #88 on Amazon's Bestselling books list as of 3:45 today.
Not that I've been checking (every 5 minutes) or anything.

Also doing knitting needle recovery today:
A few from swatches and abandoned projects....

Peeky Peeky

This link takes you to a peek inside Big Girl Knits!

Publication Day - Hooray!

Today is the official pub date for Big Girl Knits! I'll be spending the day running to all of the yarn stores and bookstores in town just looking at it on the shelf, like the proud new mama I am.

Fleeces ahoy!

My NZ fleeces are back from being processed














Gotland: close, closer
plied, single.

Soft, yet toothy, a tiny bit like a mohair blend, but loftier. I can tell it would felt by looking at it cross-eyed. I want to blend some with alpaca



















Merino: closer, closer
plied, single.

Soft, soft, soft. Did I mention soft. Like no other merino I've ever touched. How soft?









This might come close.

Creamed herrring, grapes & bucket of caffeine

Who got their period today?
I also hacked down bushes, dug a small flower bed, invited my mother over for lunch (WTF? guilt) & ordered more fiber from Spunky Eclectic - silk, almost solid sampler (ooooooh) and a couple of others.
Let's call it a manic hormonal high. Love those hormones.

Blogger is being a booger & denying me picture posting. I have photos of the NZ fleeced that have been processed - spinning porn. But it will have to wait until Blogger gets over itself.

Knitting for the school

Remember those rascally first graders I taught to knit?

They've made a 3 pound ball of finger knitting.

They wanted to knit something for "someone who needs it" but they also wanted to be able to visit their knitting.

Soooooooooooo we're making.............
A blanket for the nurse's office at their school. For kids "who don't feel so good and are cold"
Love those first graders!


I'm doing most of the knitting, but every kiddo in the class will do a few stitches.

Big Girl Knits News!

Have you seen the reviews in Knit Simple, Vogue Knitting, Bust & Knitty?
They are amazing! Looks like it's going to be a hit.
Other signs of Hit Status -
Our publisher, Potter Craft, has already ordered a reprint - before the book is even out.
Potter Craft has asked Amy & I to do a second Big Girl Knits book!
Whoo-hoo!!!!!!



A few Big Girl events, in the Ann Arbor/ Lansing area:

April 27th, Thursday 7pm: Jillian-only book signing at Nicola's Books in Ann Arbor

May 13 Saturday time TBD: Jillian-only apperance & trouble making at the Ann Arbor Book Fair Lifestyles Pavillion, Shannon " High Priestess" Okey, will be there too. There will be trouble.

May 20, Saturday, 3-6 pm: Big Girl Knits Launch Party! Jillian & AMY! Threadbear Fiber Arts in Lansing. It will be so much fun, someone might just pee themselves!

Our Big Girl Knits website will be up & running next week, just in time for our Publication Date - April 18th.

Amy's celebrating our pub date by going to Italy. That girl knows how to party!

Check out Margery Winter's (Berroco's creative director & ex-Vogue Knitting editor) tour of Spring/Summer Pitti Filati ( huge amazingly cool yarn fiesta in Florence).

My question is - if all of the yarn companies go to this creative brainexplosion, why are all of their offerings so boring?

Hot Seat

Isobel's school had an Author's Chair day last week.
I spoke to half of the school - 9 presentations - giving my tips on being an author.
It hadn't really occurred to me until I was preparing for the talks that I AM an author. Dorky I know, but I usually say I'm a knitting designer, who wrote a book.

T-minus 12 days until pub date for Big Girl Knits!

Music thoughts?

It's Spring and I need new music. Plus I'm trying to bribe myself to finish a knitting project.
I'm trying to choose between:
Arctic Monkeys
New Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs
Rabbit Fur Coat

or any other suggestions y'all might have out there.
Recently have had new Cat Power, Beth Orton & Betty Lavette on heavy rotation.


Also need suggestions on good audio book mysteries, prefer those dulcet British tones, but a goodie is a goodie, either side of the Atlantic. Perhaps Alan Rickman could call me up and read to me while I knit?


New fabrics over to Reprodepot. Don't say I didn't warn you.