I did it!

I did it! I drove over 530 miles home from Pittsburgh yesterday, all on my own. When I was a kid, my friends and brothers used to joke with each other and say, sarcastically, "Do you want a medal for that?" Well, yes, I do, so I made one! Since you are all such kind readers, I know you'll understand my achievement. I'd never driven so far before in one day, on my own, and I'm proud of myself!

The wedding was lovely. I met a man named Ted who does animation with puppets and a fellow Cornellian, Arlia, who does costume design for opera at the Met in NYC. It's always great to meet other folks who believe that handmade, beautiful things still matter enough to create them for a living.

I got the husband off on his business trip to the UK, and all went well on his flight from Pittsburgh. I even managed to knit a fair bit of a sweater jacket I am designing. When I got home, I received two super bits of news. The first is that Becky and Sam emailed me, even before their honeymoon, to thank me for the wonderful wedding present. That really makes me feel good--sometimes handknitted things are appreciated, and for that reason, it is worth it to take the risk and keep making handmade presents...even if sometimes, just sometimes, the recipient doesn't appreciate your hard work.

The second bit of news is that a group I'm a member of, the Association of Knitwear Designers--web address: http://www.knitwear-designers.org/ has launched its new website. Here's the official description: The ASSOCIATION OF KNITWEAR DESIGNERS is dedicated to the promotion and accreditation of its professional members. AKD seeks to be the leading source of qualified professionals in all fields of the knitwear design industry.

Here's my page if you want to hop over and take a look. I support this group because it is a way to raise the profile of knitwear design professionals. I'm very proud of what I do as a writer and a designer, but it's amazing how pejorative some folks still are--despite the 50 million people who knit in the USA today, I hear comments like "Yes, I see lots of little knitters on the subways in New York." Yes, there are those "little knitters" who take these comments to heart... and disparage the fabulous knitting they create. I say, be proud of your skills to make things from scratch! Celebrate all the marvelous books and designs out there today...and support those professional designers and writers who make it possible.

Need more encouragement to support gorgeous knitting designs and designers? Designers buy books too...and I've been inspired lately by:
Norah Gaughan's Knitting Nature
Teva Durham's Loop-d-Loop
Cathy Carron's Hip Knit Hats