This world just became a reality last week with the launch of CreativeBug.

I’m one of the instructors, and I’m thrilled to be a part the project. Here’s how it works: You want to learn how to knit. Once you’re a member, log on to CreativeBug and take my Fingerless Gloves class. (I’m wearing them in the photo below.) The class is split up into mini-videos that cover each step: cast-on, knit, purl, etc. Click on cast on, and I’ll show you how. Or if you already know how to cast on and just need a refresher on the knit stitch, click on knit instead. Replay the videos as many times as you need until you’ve mastered the skills. Learn at your own pace.

Let’s say as you’re learning the knit stitch, you decide you actually hate knitting. Stop my class right there, and move on to anything else that captures your attention … how about collage-making? Once you’ve paid your $25 fee, you have unlimited access to all of the classes on the site.

CreativeBug contacted me in early spring and asked  if I wanted to take part, and I jumped at the chance. They flew me out to San Francisco in April, and I filmed my three classes: how-to-knit Fingerless Gloves,  Tootsies felted slippers, and my Blooms felted bracelet. I blogged about the experience — which was nerve-wracking but totally energizing — when I got home. Next, they came to Vermont and filmed me with my kids (and cat) so they could put together an “instructor profile.”

The profiles are mini-film biographies that show the designers in their homes talking about their backgrounds and inspirations. View all of the instructors here, and while you’re at it, take a look at my profile. The bios are so well done,  each  is a little piece of art in it’s own right. You don’t have to be a member to view.  It’s worth a visit to the site just to get the backstory of people like fabric designer Heather Ross, clothing designer Cal Patch and Stitch ‘n Bitch author Debbie Stoller. Kudos to CreativeBug for creating a vehicle to capture and share the knowledge of so many gifted artisans. Take advantage and tell everyone you know!

I’m happy to have a departure from the knit and crochet world. Before moving here, I developed three websites, Knit and Crochet Now, One Stick, Two Stick and my own, Pick Up Sticks. I love them all, but man, I was ready to play around with designs that don’t involve yarn.

The inspiration photo shows felted clogs, but my editor wants mine to be just knit. How will I get them stiff enough?

Yay! I love it when I get new knitting projects that aren’t self generated. Not that I don’t enjoy coming up with my own ideas — but when other people give me a specific design direction, I find I stretch myself in surprising ways. Take my Your Knitting Life assignments, for instance. There are two. First, I need to make three pairs of Nordic inspired clogs, but they can’t be felted. I would never normally knit a pair of clogs that aren’t felted. How am I going to make them sturdy enough to walk around in? That’s challenge No. 1. How do I create a sole that will move with the foot? That’s challenge No. 2. How will I knit a traditional Norwegian style pattern that still has my design flare? That’s challenge No. 3.See how fun this is?!

My second project for YKL: embroidered mittens. If I can make them 1/2 this pretty, I’ll be satisfied.

My second assignment is for embroidered mittens. I’ve been embroidering quite a bit lately, but I still only have a few stitches mastered: french knot, blanket stitch, satin stitch. and I tend to fall back on them time and again. I’m going to use this opportunity to stretch myself and replicate some of the gorgeous stitching in the inspiration photo they sent me.

My third project is for Simplicty. I’ll be knitting a pair of felted mittens for an ad campaign they’re doing in the fall. This also has it’s challenges. Felted mittens can come off like oven mitts if you’re not careful. U-G-L-Y, stiff and totally uncozy. I think that one will take a few passes to get just right.

My final challenge: all five sets of finished samples are due the first week of June and my sister and her partner are visiting May 28. Can you say under the gun.

But then Elaine paid us a visit, and my mother-in-law did something I have never seen before. She cut into the GOOD fabric without a pattern. She laid one of Kendal’s dresses on top of the fabric to “get a rough idea” of how it should be cut and then she sliced away. She reminded me of the Grinch when he made his Santa suit. It made me catch my breath. Frankly, I’m glad you weren’t here, Mom, because I think you might have ended up in the hospital.

Turns out that loosey-goosey-ness provided just the breakthrough I needed to pay attention. You know I hate following rules. And you also know following rules is critical in sewing or the garment doesn’t turn out. Something about Elaine’s crazy-ass cutting gave me permission to BREAK the rules before I even began, which pulverized my road block to sewing. Thanks, Elaine!

So I winged it, and what I made wasn’t quite right. But at least I was finally engaged. Then I tried another project with a pattern and a book this time. I listened to Elaine’s instruction on how to install a zipper…which, surprise! was the same as yours. In the end, I made an awesome cheongsam for Kendal’s Mulan play ALL ON MY OWN. Of course, Mom, it turned out because I ended up following every rule you taught me. I ironed. I pinned. I cut out the pattern with precision. Somewhere in my subconscious your lessons broke through. Thanks , Mom!

Some people have great moms, but not-so-great mother-in-laws.Some people have not-so-great moms, but great mother-in-laws. The lucky, lucky few have great moms and great mother-in-laws. This week reminded me, I’m one of those lucky few.

This week I played around with making a pen and watercolor illustration using Illustrator. I thought it would be interesting to show the steps involved.

Step One:  Using watercolor paper, Sharpie markers and watercolor pencils, I created umbrellas, fans and three little girls. I painted them all loosely, without caring about going outside the lines.

Step Two: I scanned the illustrations, then cleaned them up in Photoshop. This is what they looked like after I tidied them:

Step Three: I placed each of the elements in Illustrator, where I could resize them, recolor them, repeat them and arrange them however I wanted. I played around until I came up with the final design. Here are some variations.

I designed this eyemask and teapot cozy for the April/May issue of Your Knitting Life magazine, out now.

Not that I would ever knit my mom a tea-pot cozy. She doesn’t even drink tea. But I’m sure there is some British mom out there who would really like to dress her tea pot in its own little sweater. While blinded by the matching eye mask.

A quick look on Amazon revealed 5 books on knitting teapot cozies. Really? I don’t get it.

Hey, what can I say? My editor at Your Knitting Life gave me the assignment, and I did it. The knitting’s cute, even if the concept isn’t, my, um…my cup of tea. YKLis a British magazine, after all. I may just have to take a hop over the pond to understand the teapot cozy craze. Whole books have been written on them, so surely it’s me who’s missing the point.

This, I am truly excited about: They published my concept drawing. My first-ever published sketch!

My sketch for the cozy.

Meet my new BFF: the cameraman.

I spent the last few days on a super-secret shoot for a super-secret website that is launching sometime in May. My job is to teach people how to knit and felt. I chose two of my favorite projects, plus a new one I designed just for the site. I truly enjoyed the process, but man, was it intense.

Imagine doing any task, say, making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then imagine breaking the process down into the most mundane steps: first, open the cupboard door, then find the jar of peanut butter, if right handed, use your right hand to twist off the jar top… you get the picture. Now imagine explaining those same steps 20 times with no script and this guy and his big camera in your nose the whole time. Then visualize a sound guy, another “long shot” camera guy and a “coach” all hinging on each word you say. While doing it, don’t forget to SMILE! At one point the producer said this to me, and I’m not making this up: “OK, let’s do that whole take again, but let’s try to have a face on that makes it look like you aren’t in so much…pain.”

That was on the first day, but by day three, I was a pro. I had gotten to know everyone. I picked up a feel for the pacing. I understood what material they needed me to deliver, and it turned out to be fun. When it was time to go, I was exhausted but sad to leave. I loved the producer and the crew, and I was so grateful that they helped me work through my jitters and goofy, strained faces. I think in the end they got what they needed. And I got what I needed, too. I learned that though I was nervous as hell, and sometimes stammering to get my words out,  I just kept on moving forward. The more I moved forward, the calmer I got, until I was flowing. I think that’s a great lesson for life.

I’ll keep you posted when the site goes live. I can’t wait to see how the footage turned out.

The beginning of my packing pile. Still need: fabric, more yarn, needles, patterns…and I leave for the airport at 1 pm.

I’m headed out of town to tape video classes of three of my favorite projects, the Wavy Flower hat, the Blooms Bracelet and Tootsies Slippers. I’m also doing a beginning, beginning knitting course that will feature a pair of fingerless mitts. As soon as I have more info on when and where the videos will be available, I’ll post.

For now, I’m writing so you can see the CRAZINESS that goes into a video shoot. Here’s the prep that’s required:

1. Knit all four finished projects for the beauty shots.

2. Knit the three felting projects AGAIN so they can be pulled out of the washing machine in front of the cameras.

3. Knit at least three “step outs” for each of the four projects. These  partially knit segments are used to demonstrate a technique specific to the project. For instance, the Wavy Flower has a tuck at the 35th row. That means I have to knit to the 35th row, so I can demo the tuck during the taping. The next thing I demo on the hat is switching to double-pointed needles at the top. That means I have to knit the whole hat again, all the way through the 100th row.

By the time taping happens, I will have knit all, or almost all, of the same project about six times. The beauty pieces and the felting pieces are complete, but I’m not nearly done with the step outs. Thank god for my 8-hour travel day and for the fact that I can take my needles on the plane!

Tootsies slippers

The slipper and about half of the necessary “step outs.”

"Knit me an apple," my editor said. So I did.

I wish I could participate in a knitting challenge fashioned after Project Runway, where I was given an assignment, a choice of materials and a deadline. I know I’d love it because of the freelance jobs I’ve done for My Knitting Life magazine.  Take this “challenge” from my editor, for instance. “Knit a giant apple,” she said. So I did.  I sent the apple off a few months ago, but the issue is out just now, and you can pick it up at any Barnes & Noble. It’s worth a read especially if you are a knitter headed to NYC. The article breaks down the best places for yarn-lovers to hit up when they are in the Big City. (I blogged about my creative process of making the apple when the project was due. The small, sad irony is that I was working on it the day Steve Jobs died.)

Past assignments have included creating a scarfed snowman, a squeaky mouse, a sweater for a teapot, and a gigantic rose.

The Snowman Challenge.

Every time I receive an email from My Knitting Life’s editorial department, I get a little thrill, like Heidi Klum is headed down the runway about to divulge the next challenge.  They’ve all been so strange, making me very curious about what’s next . . . will I be knitting a life-size hamburger? a sweater for a motorcycle? Anything is possible, and I say, bring it on!

The Mouse Challenge.

It's an awesome hat ... on an eight year old.

I tried to replicate it exactly as is, just make it bigger.

When last I wrote, I was madly working on my husband’s birthday present. The good news is, I got the hat done by his birthday, and he loved it. The bad news is, it looks way better on our 8-year-old than it does on him

My husband was so excited about the hat he tried to wear it for a day, but it just looked silly because it barely covered his ears. Not ready to wave the white flag on the whole “craft our own birthday presents” thing, I started him a new one right away.

Well, the white flag is waving now. I just tried V.2 on him. And this is what it looks like. Dammit.

WAY too big. I think I have to pull out at least 50 rows.