knitting school dropout

i've been spending all my free time happily enjoying my (gasp!) almost 1 month old. being a first-time parent is all good. lots of happy tears. lots of cuddles. lots of tiny little diapers to change. she's so sweet. now, i just need to find ways to fit more knitting back into my day. i get a little done here and there.

but, during the last month a few of my designs have been released, and it's about time that i share them here. this is still a knitting blog, after all. :)

all photos are by the very talented and lovely carrie bostick hoge

recently released was wool 3, the 3rd in a serial collaboration between cecily and me for quince and co. i have 2 patterns in it this time.
meet lucinda, a top-down, open front cardigan that only covers the arms and back; perfect for covering up in an air-conditioned office.

and sid, a fingering-weight cowl/loop scarf, in a pretty, reversible knit/purl pattern.

right now, these patterns are only available as part of the 5 pattern ebook, which includes 3 beautiful patterns by cecily. the patterns will be available individually at a later date.

i have one more pattern that was recently released by quince.
here's willa, another fingering weight cowl/loop scarf. this time it's in 2 colors, with some stripes and a rippled edging. easy to make, and a fun little lightweight accessory.

and because of all the excitement that comes with new things, i'm having a little pattern sale. all patterns in my ravelry store are 25% off from now until the end of the day on may 27th. no code needed. the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.

Posted by melissa at 11:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

april 22, 2012 will go down in history as the greatest day of my life.

that's the day when my daughter, stella louise, was born.

she surprised us with a little bit of an early arrival (she was due in may), and her birth didn't exactly go the way i had planned. but, she's here, the beautiful, and healthy, little love of my life. i just can't imagine life without her anymore.

forgive me if i'm the world's worst emailer at the moment. i'm still trying to figure out how to get everything crammed into a day.

Posted by melissa at 11:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (41) | TrackBacks (0)

i'm happy to announce that starting this month, i will now be wholesaling hard copies of many of my patterns. they are professionally printed on lightweight gloss paper and each comes in a protective plastic sleeve. so, if you're a local yarn shop and would like to carry some of my patterns, you can email me for more details by using this email address: wholesale@knittingschooldropout.com

patterns that are available as wholesale hard copies:

avery
almost autumn
cecily
vine loop
skinner hat
november leaves
september circle
crooked paths

more designs will be added over the next few weeks, but those listed above are all on hand and ready to ship.

thanks so much!

Posted by melissa at 08:58 AM | Permalink

I have 2 new designs out in lovely yarns from spud and chloe.

The first is a warm cowl, with a reversible knit/purl chevron pattern, so it will also look good folded over. it uses 3 skeins of spud and chloe outer and size 13 needles, so it's a very quick knit! it's also a free pattern!

pattern for the swell cowl on ravelry: here
or on the spud says blog: here

The other is a bottom up, cozy lace and stockinette seamless cardigan in spud and chloe sweater. it's available as a single pattern from your favorite s & c stockist.

find the folk story cardigan on ravelry: here

well, i've got a sleeve to finish! that's all for now!

Posted by melissa at 02:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

thanks for all the lovely messages on my last post. exciting times here, for sure!

i've neglected to mention a few of my newest designs here. you can click through on any of the nemes to go straight to the ravelry pages and find links to purchase them.

cecily and i have continued to collaborate on the Wool series of ebooks for quince and co.

in book 2, our most recent release, i have 2 new patterns.

madigan is a short-sleeved, cowl-neck pullover that's a great piece for layering. it's a round-yoke style sweater, knit from the top-down. it's knit in lark, quince's lovely worsted weight wool, so it flies off the needles.

photo by carrie bostick hoge for quince

gladys is a long toque, knit in the lovely sport weight yarn, chickadee.

photo by carrie bostick hoge for quince

and last but not least... i have a pattern in the newest Wool People for brooklyntweed

Lawrence is another short-sleeved pullover meant for layering (can you tell i'm obsessed with these lately?). it's also knit from the top-down, in a raglan style, and features an off-center lace panel and welted trim.

photo by jared flood for brooklyntweed

lawrence is the sweater that almost didn't happen. i was knitting it during my first trimester and was so sick, and so exhausted, that i struggled to knit even a row or 2 at night. luckily, jared and co were super understanding, and helped me make it work. i'm so happy i powered through because in the end, i loved it!

happy knitting!

Posted by melissa at 01:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

a year has come and gone. i moved to a new apartment, after 14+ years at my last one. new designs have been released, without even a mention here. the truth is, i've been preoccupied. i even had to take an almost 3 month break from knitting (luckily, i've picked the needles up again). i've been 100% focused on my most important, and exciting, work-in-progress ever:

(ultrasound photo taken yesterday, at 23 weeks)

my partner brendan and i are expecting a baby girl in early may!!!!!

these days, it's pretty impossible to try on those handknit sweater samples that i send off. b took this photo 3 weeks ago. i'm even bigger now.

i'm home today, nursing a cold that i hope won't get any worse. it dawned on me that all this time on the couch would be well spent updating this ghost-town of a blog. i'll be back with a post about some of my newest patterns a little later.

xo

melissa

Posted by melissa at 03:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (36)

hey there!
i'm posting today with a kind of request that i haven't made here before. on sunday december 4th, 2011, i will be walking (and knitting at the same time) in the annual hot chocolate run in northampton , ma, along with about 40 of my fabulous co workers from webs. we are trying to raise money for a fabulous, local organization called safe passage, which assists victims of domestic violence. kathy and steve, the very generous owners of webs, have decided to match every dollar that we raise, so the whole group is even more excited to raise as much as possible now.
i'm asking if you'll consider making a donation of $5 or more on my page. any amount is very much appreciated. once you donate (please use at least a first name as your display name on the pledge page), email me at knittingschooldropout at gmail dot com and let me know that you donated. i will send you a one time use code good for a free pattern in my ravelry store.
as soon as i reach my fundraising goal, i'll be back with an exciting announcement!
xo
melissa

link:

my fundraising page

Posted by melissa at 06:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (56)