at last!

Remember all those annoying posts I dragged you through that hinted at things I was doing that I wasn't supposed to tell you about? I am excited to report that now (drumroll) I can finally unveil


The Book!

Beyond Toes: Knitting Adventure with Judy's Magic Cast-On (rav link) by the world-famous Judy Becker, she of the cast-on that has revolutionized sock knitting...and now so much more. The actual book does not come off the presses until the end of September, but I am officially allowed to give a little preview of some of its TWENTY THREE patterns. I will note that I had nothing to do with this book other than the photography (I have not even really seen any other part of it, I hear there are great tutorials and everything), all design credit goes to the many brilliant knitters who contributed to the project, too many to name here. Also, something funky happened during my shortcut version of converting CMYK TIFF to jpeg in an RGB system so the colors are a little, erm, bolder than life here, but I am fundamentally too indolent to do anything about it, so a little forbearance is appreciated. I tried to mostly include photos that didn't make it onto the Ravelry pages since variety is the spice of life. Without further ado:


(also, so delightful to remember these photoshoots from months ago and see my friends again!)






I want a girl like this one, she is every bit as serene and wise beyond her years as she looks, and sweet to the marrow of her bones.






of COURSE my son got to mix in there a little bit...






this project, by Judy herself, wound up being the most fun to photograph.




Lo, looking great in my clothes. Darn her.





I was impressed by the variety in this book -- I didn't even get into the shawls here -- which made for an unusually engaging photo project. I had boatloads of fun, I'd do it all again in a heartbeat, perhaps making sure to have warm drinks on hand for freezing models...

All my thanks to Judy, the designers, and the many beautiful people who let me tease, cajole, and beg into modeling for this, it was such an outrageously good time.