I was so pleased to walk into my local Joann Fabrics yesterday to pick up the latest issue of Belle Armoire magazine and see my own Rita Mae design on the cover!

They were also kind enough to give me eight pages of garments from my book Knitting Lingerie Style and a great interview.

I’ve always enjoyed this magazine as it’s full of fun design ideas, jewelry and essentially all the girly things I love.  I was very pleased to be included!

Take a look at us at my Rosie’s Yarn Cellar “Whip Your Knits into Shape” classes in Philly!

Interested in having me teach at your local yarn shop or guild?  Drop me a line at whitelies@yahoo.com .

…I will be on the East coast for some classes and workshops April 11-13th!

First stop is Rosie’s yarn Cellar in Philadelphia, PA on Friday the 11th for my “Whip Your Knits into Shape” class. A brief synopsis:

Adding designer shaping touches to your knitted garments is easy once you know a few simple rules and how to apply them. Flatter your figure by shaping any garment as you knit it. Darts, ease, and short row shaping are all important elements for a custom fit. Learn which ones to use to play up your specific body type to it’s best advantage. 3 hours.  Call Rosie’s to reserve your spot today! 215.977.9276

Atfer Rosie’s I’ll be off to Newton, Mass for two full days of classes with the Metro West Knitter’s Guild. They’ve opened registration to the public, so even if you’re not a member you can join us for these fun classes:

Registration for the Joan McGowan-Michael workshops sponsored by the MetroWest Kniting Guild is now open to the public. The workshops will be held on April 12-13, 2008 in Newton, MA. There will be four 1/2 day workshops, and participants are welcome to enroll in any or all of them. Workshop titles –

- Vintage knitting –Wondering what to do with all those old knitting patterns people insist on giving you? What’s old is new again and with just a little tweaking, knitters can use those wonderful retro styles to add vintage flavor to their sweater wardrobe. 3 hours 

- Crochet for knits– Sometimes knits cry out for the stability , prettiness or just the fine finishing touch of a crocheted edge. Learn how to handle a hook and work some simple crocheted finishes that lend added depth to your knitted garments. 3 hours

- Whip Your Knits into Shape!( see synopsis above ) 

- Beading for Knits —Learn how to bead embellish your own knitted garments to give them that glamorous touch.  A plain cardigan or pullover becomes a gorgeous heirloom in a matter of a few hours! Hand beaded sweaters sell for big $$.   Learn how to duplicate this luxurious look easily for very little money.  Don’t stop at just embellishing sweaters; apply these techniques to tees, hats , handbags or anything you like!

Contact person for this event is Wendy at gjan@rcn.com . Email her for a flyer and registration form.

So many knitting patterns out there are knit as straight, square boxes.

I don’t know a lot of women who are shaped that way. Even gals who insist they have no waist are not helping themselves by knitting their sweaters straight up and down. A little shaping at the sides of a garment can fool the eye into thinking it sees a waist where none exists.

I was very excited to find this nifty little tool on Knitting daily. Use it to add side shaping to any existing pattern.

One look outside here in Sacramento, and there is no mistaking that the weather is warming into a lovely Spring.

Just in time for the season are two new patterns from my White Lies Designs Line.

Here is Alyce, done in Cascade Pima Silk. Wear a pretty colored tank or cami underneath and let it show off your clever lace work. Finished bust sizes 33-54″.

Nanette is a curvy girl, with side shaping, short row gathering at the bust and a really pretty sweetheart neckline. Little knit-in cap sleeves keep you from feeling too bare.  Designed especially for our yummy hand-dyed Treasure Island Cotton, you can make her up over the weekend and have a pretty new top to wear to work or school on Monday. Fits bust sizes 32-50″.

Esteemed knitting teacher  extraordinaire Joan Schrouder and myself had a wonderful time on our Alaska cruise in 2006. Forty-six knitters joined us for classes and knit related shore excursions and overall had a stitchin’ good time!

We’re doing it again in the Fall (Sept 1-11, 2008); this time with a New England/Canada Fall Colors cruise!

Join us for a wonderful vacation full of great classes, beautiful scenery and an unforgettable good time with your fellow knitting enthusiasts with a top notch cruise line.  Seriously, it is the most heavenly way to vacation that I can think of.  I can’t wait!

People have asked me what goes into having a book published. I can only speak for my own experience, but one of the things I hear of  potential authors doing is essentially writing their entire book and only then when it’s finished, shopping it around to different publishers to see who might be interested.

Most publishing companies have a pretty good idea of the demographics of their customers. They shoot for a particular age group, income level , education level , etc. Consequently, while a publisher might like your concept in general, there might be a whole lot of re-writing to do before a book becomes suitable for their demographic profile.

This is why when shopping an idea around, it’s best to use a proposal to convey your concept rather than submit a completed manuscript. Writing a proposal is an art unto itself thatI won’t go into too much of here since I’m sure there are endless guidelines on the net as to how to write one, and each publisher can likely provide an outline of what they’d like to see for their specific customer.

When writing the proposal for Knitting Lingerie Style, one of the concepts I was to defend was the commercial viability of a knitting book with lingerie as it’s subject.  I did this by scouring the internet for trend reports , and current fashion magazines and recent runway shows for garments that used lingerie ideas as their inspiration. If  lingerie was happening in such a big way in the ready-to-wear market, there was no reason that the concept should not carry over to knitting.

I found the influence everywhere, from the runway to Sex and the City and places in between.

The unique part of this idea would be to use knitting to translate this trend.  I’d done it before in my own White Lies Designs line.  But could I do  whole book based on this ? I began to sketch and formulate ideas. Some of those sketches next time.

Just to let the local Northern Californians know, Stitches West in Santa Clara is coming up February 21st through 24th and White Lies Designs will be there!

Unlike last year, we’ll be easy to find this time.  We’ll be a few steps away from the Ravelry booth in  #97 against the wall that the entry door is on.

I’ll be signing copies of my book Knitting Lingerie Style and showing some of our newer designs. Stop by and say hi!

For those who would prefer to ditch their cars and have a knitty good time on the way over to Santa Clara,  the Capitol Corridor is sponsoring it’s annual Stitch ‘n Ride event  on February 23rd. Knitters and crocheters from Sacramento and the East Bay can board the capitol corridor train and breeze straight down to the Santa Clara Convention Center! This special train will hold 500 needle enthusiasts and if last year were any indication, it’s bound to be another sellout!

More than you ever wanted to know about me here at WhoKnits.com!

I’m not sure how many of my blog readers will be going to the TNNA show this weekend (Jan 11-13), but I will be signing copies of my book Knitting Lingerie Style at the Stewart, Tabori and Chang booth at 2 pm on Saturday afternoon.

White Lies Designs will also be showing in it’s own booth #2249 for the first time at TNNA, so you can drop by and say hello there too!

Looking forward to meeting some of the folks whom we know so well from the internet and putting some faces to the names. See you there!