see the original post on blogger, with photos of the finished socks!

this week we are very lucky indeed- we have "professional" photos of the finished pink and green socks! jay took the socks (and his father) into his lighting class for a portrait/product demo shoot. we have the very talented student, angela lawson, to thank for these final shots of both jay himself and the hand knit socks. i don't (as of yet) have photos of jay's father. that's a post all it's own, and it may end up here in the blog. but i digress. on to the product photos!!

happy knitting!
tonks

see the original blogger post here!

hello, my knitterly few!

i have some wonderful news to share! i have picked up a small writing gig at examiner.com, writing articles and reviews about knitting. the first article was recently published! it's about using knitting to overcome addiction.

view the original blog post, complete with photos here!

recently, and after much initial hesitation, i jumped on the band wagon and bought a kindle. i must admit i didn't much care for the idea originally, as most of the books i read are on audio as to free up my hands for knitting time. this habit of reading made enjoying a paper book a rare treat, complete with the glorious textures of the paper and the smell of the binding. a kindle, said i? what use would i ever have for one? i would lose my favorite part of reading an actual book!

it didn't take long into actually researching e-readers before i realized just how much easier my life would be with one, and i must admit it had nothing at all to do with reading books.

patterns, my friends. knitting patterns. all in one portable, easy to read place. all neatly complied and categorized as i see fit, complete with the ability to add notes and adjustments as i go along, and even thereby allowing the sharing of said notes on facebook or twitter. patterns galore- and those digital files i had roaming around my hard drive that were not already pdfs were soon brought over to the dark side and installed on the device.

so i took the plunge. it's been just over a week since i purchased the kindle, and i'm hooked in deep. it's already become such a part of my daily life for both the novels and the patterns, and i often find myself holding it and wondering how in the hell i got through life without it. it's brilliant.

no, i must confess, it did not take long at all. in fact, i've even downloaded fictional books as well- even though i swore up and down that i would really only use my kindle for knitting. yeah... i'm cheating on my books. thankfully they, much like my yarn, will not resent me for this gross negligence. but i do wonder if they will get lonely...

do you own a kindle, or other e-reader? do you use it for knitting patterns? why or why not? if you don't own one, do you plan to in the near future? it's a marvelous time we live in, with the height of technology at our fingertips when and if we ask of it. it really makes one wonder what they will come up with next, and- more importantly- how we will adapt it to suit our knitterly whims.

happy knitting!
tonks

p.s. oh... n' also? my haiku book is now available as a digital download (pdf) and it reads BEAUTIFULLY with all of the original images intact. check the sidebar for a link, and enjoy it at a low price!

view the original post here!

good news, everyone! well, bad news, too. but then i promise i have more good news! here's what's up:

i received a reply from my publicist about the latest book pitch, and we have a winner! it goes before the acquisitions board on monday morning, and if they like what they see, we move forward and start bringing in other designers. i'll be sure to update just as soon as i can talk about it in more depth, as if we move forward, i'll be taking submissions from others instead of just making them myself. that'll be a nice change of pace. :) to answer the first question most hopefuls may have about their submissions- yes, you will be paid for your work. how much, as of now (as we're still in the preliminary stages) is as of yet unknown, but yes. designers will be compensated. i can't wait!

bad news bear- i messed up the ball of my foot and had to get a soft cast. no fun. it's just a little fracture, but it hurts like holy hell if i accidentally put any pressure on it. this really wouldn't be much of a bother... just an inconvenience, had the snow storm not hit as we were trying to get to the doctor. by the time we were done, getting home was very dangerous and the car was not able to get up the hill to our house. we had to park in a lot at the base of the hill and walk. ever walked through a blizzard uphill on a broken foot? i don't advise it. i hope i never have to do something like that again. but, other than that... yeah. no worries. i'll heal. always do. :)

more good news! i'll be showcased (more specifically, many of my chokers will be showcased) at the upcoming project TRONIK fashion show in march. there will be loads of lovely ladies from the dc goth and fetish modeling scene sporting my beaded creations. i can't wait to be a part of this, and i hope you all can come out and enjoy the show. it promises to be one hell of a party. :) plus there's sparkly things there. everybody likes sparkly things...

happy knitting!

tonks
the unhinged knitter

view the original blog post, complete with images over here!

happy new year, everyone! i know i'm behind on my blogging, but i have a very good reason. they don't call me the unhinged knitter for nothing, and when things go wrong, they really go wrong! shortly before the new year (and not soon enough after the crazy hustle of the christmas rush) my dear laptop, a faithful companion of five years, went to the tech graveyard in the sky. however, as faithful and wonderful a friend a laptop is, we must always be prepared for even the dearest of them to go completely psycho ex girlfriend on us. it pays to back up your shit.

that being said, the last two days of my life have been spent teaching my new laptop all of the wonderful things about my life. we've shared pictures with one another, told each other stories of our favorite knitting patterns and learned many things about each other through the marvelous tool that is a custom dictionary. :P

in short, i'm back and back at it. as i scrounge around the new tech, i'd learned about a very interesting drive feature. it's called lightscribe, and what it does is pretty damn cool! basically, once you've burned a cd or dvd, you can flip over the disc in the drive and have it burn images and/or text into the top of a lightscribe enabled disc. of course, i spent a fair bit of my evening playing around on photoshop for someday hopeful burns... but those things will simply have to wait. in the meantime, i'm moving forward with fraggle things, and am currently awaiting a response from my publisher about some very cool information. alas, i do wish i could share with you some of the photos of the fraggle knits, but they are off limits! instead, i shall (hopefully) appease you with an image of one of the lightcribe disc templates available online. i think it's awesome!

happy new year, one and all, and happy knitting!

tonks

find the original post with pictures here!

the holiday is almost upon us, and if you're a knitter, you're likely working your fingers to the bone in an effort to not be that person at the 7-11 at 3 am on christmas eve, looking for gifts as you didn't have time to complete your christmas knits. believe me, my friends- i've been that girl. it's not fun.

so, to help you with your holiday crafts, i'm giving you a free mistletoe pattern! this guy really is a quick knit. it's not like other patterns, such as socks, which claim to be a quick knit. this little bugger can be finished in about an hour or less. it's very fast, really cute and a perfect compliment to a variety of your christmas needs. work some up for gift ornaments, stocking stuffers, for you own holiday party to guarantee kisses or as a gift all on it's own. the pattern has clear instructions and variation options (for making a larger, fuller mistletoe, should you desire it) and comes all bundled up as a festive pdf file.

see the original post on blogger here!

hello, my lovely knitter fiends! i'll keep this one quick.

the fraggle book is, as we know, in the works and waiting for a release date on the movie. as the movie is having some sketchy conflicts, i still need to up the tonks name to a more epic standing. as such, i'm going to be multitasking my talents a smidge. the henson project is an epic one, and a few more rungs on that ladder couldn't hurt! as such, i've submit a few things to publishers to help build up my knitterly name.

first, a new article about using knitting for addiction has been sent off to the interested parties at vogue knitting. the response to the mental health article was overwhelmingly positive, and i'm very grateful to all of you for reading and enjoying it. knit simple magazine is a branch of the vogue knitting company, and i'm looking forward to a reply from vogue to see if they wish to delegate the article out to a branch of the company again. let's keep our fingers crossed!

secondly, i've put together a smaller book pitch for f+w media (northlight). never fear my fraggle lovers- i am NOT abandoning the fraggle book. i am, in fact, still working on it regularly. however, the amount of clout i need to ensure the success of the publication is still lacking in my professional life, and a smaller, less risky publication for the company is a wise move. i hope to hear back from them soon, and i do hope that this less demanding book idea goes over well. i know that it's something i could complete quickly, and still be able to give my fraggle yarn some love.

things are moving fast here in my little corner of the universe, and my knitting needles are flying around like shiny ninja darts. i advise caution when navigating through my living room. :)

i hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving holiday. ours was a delight, and the blackened turkey we cooked was amazing. so with a belly full of turkey leftovers, i must bid you adeau as i push forward with the latest projects!

happy knitting!
tonks

view the original blogger post here!

the vending event at the freak bazaar was great, and the good news just keeps on rolling in!  just in time for cyber monday, all of the chokers are available to purchase from my etsy shop!  There will also be a special bogo sale on ALL of my single patterns- including donation mittens!  yup!  that's right- even donation mittens, which i do not get a single dime from, will garner you a free single pattern of your choice.  it's cause i love ya.  :)

let's get ready for the holidays together

happy knitting!
tonks

find the original post and photos here!

the everyday civilian has no true concept of just what the american veteran's do to keep us free. most americans support our troops, but many of us forget just how much support they deserve. i'm not trying to go on a guilt trip about it or anything, but there is something, my knitterly darlings, that we can do.
today i'd like to focus on things you can knit for soldiers overseas. i have tried to make sure that the sources here are as direct as possible, such as from the marine corps museum, the ww2 museum or historical sites. i hope you enjoy these patterns, and be sure to knit some up for our veterans.

the usmc museum has a version of the knit helmet liner, along with free print outs of the pattern and yarn requirements right on the welcome desk. i love this pattern. it's probably my favorite of the ones i'm featuring here today. it's a simple knit, without being a basic knit, and i find that unlike socks and scarves, it's easy to actually finish. socks often fall prey to the second foot never being cast on, and scarves... they can get old fast- even for the seasoned knitter. (in my case, that should read as "especially for the seasoned knitter.") you can find the pattern on ravelry here.

the socks for soldiers pattern is a great way to show a soldier you love him. i know i just implied that knitting socks for soldiers is a "bad" idea, but the truth is that any soldier from any branch can never have enough socks. and of course, hand knit socks are always better than commercial socks.

knit your bit, easily found on ravelry, has a string of scarves for military support. pretty, isn't it? this is only one of them. i highly recommend checking all of them out.

the national world war 2 museum has a vast array of resources available, including a knit your bit blog! find all the history of knitting through the second world war you could ever wish to learn, and grab your needles while you're at it.

please take a moment and reflect on how these men and women give so much- even their lives- to keep us free. thank a soldier today. then, thank one tomorrow, too. and everyday thereafter. today is veteran's day, but it's not a holiday that we should only think about once a year. a veteran is not a veteran only one day of the year. i think maybe that's something we can all take to heart.

knit your bit!

tonks

view the original post, complete with photos, here!

hello, my knitterly little lovies! i've got some wonderful news! i'm going to be out in dc for the "freak bazaar" at "spellbound", up in northwest. i'll be there, selling patterns, books (and maybe just a few products, too!) from five pm on through the evening of nov. 27th. click on the picture to go to spellbound's site and learn more about the venue!

doors open at five, and all those who purchase something from one of the many vendors get mad discounts and drink specials through the evening. the club scene kicks up at 9pm, with a host of local dj's and a creepy goth/industrial feel. i'll be out all night with my own sales starting at 5pm, so come early to shop and stay late to dance!

hope to see you all there!

tonks