My friend Lorilee Beltman designed a skirt called “Bold Move“. Considering that I am about to unleash a book onto the world concerning intarsia (possibly the most maligned technique in knitdom), the name appeals to me. Plus, Lorilee has created a vertical stranding technique which is a sister to intarsia, and uses yarn butterflies to contain the contrast color. Totally up my alley.  As if that wasn’t enough, the skirt is fabulous, and I want to wear it everywhere.  Because I am essentially a monogamous knitter at heart, I finished the Pi Shawl first.  But this week, I got Bold Move on the needles.

One of the tenets of Annetarsia is to not use any yarn from a skein or ball.  The ball always gets in the way.  Unfortunately, Bold Move requires the MC be knit from the ball, because it isn’t really knit with intarsia, and there is only one yarn supply of MC.  This is slowing up my knitting, because the MC keeps getting tangled with the yarn butterflies.  I might think of a way to avoid this, and will share it if I do.  I plan on actually making 2 skirts (because the Plucky colors were so terrific that I couldn’t pick just one), so I will be getting lots of practice.

The pattern calls for all butterflies to be 8 yds long, but the number of rows are different for each section.  So, I did a calculation of Yarn Gauge (how to do this will be in “Annetarsia Knits”, and I am teaching a class on the technique at Interweave knitting lab, and Stitches Midwest), and made each butterfly the correct length for the work.  Saves yarn, and reduces the weight on the needle.

I’ve been told that authors don’t generally do personal knitting in the year that they launch a book.  Well, this won’t be the first time that I don’t follow the crowd!  I’m a knitter, and I love knitting patterns other designers created.  It is like a knitting vacation for me, and without that, knitting wouldn’t be as much fun.  Knitting work is enjoyable, as I love helping people and sharing my ideas, but it is still work. So, I am going to make a Bold Move, by knitting “Bold Move” while preparing to launch “Annetarsia Knits”.

I know that many of you are waiting for the book, and so am I!  I don’t want to set a launch date before knowing when the book will be at Unicorn Books & Crafts. I remember when I was pregnant, and the due date was like a contract.  When I went past the due date, it was maddening.  The books will arrive this summer, and I may be able to narrow the window for launch in a week or two, when they are shipped from the printer.  I looked at the final proofs again last night, and was really happy with what I saw, now that the urgency of proof-reading is over.  I can’t wait to see the real book!