Summer Swatch Me!

A 2010 BadCatDesigns summer extravaganza! Starting right now you can join the party (see below.) We will be chatting and discussion materials from today until June 21st, at which point the games will begin in earnest.
This project will span the 12 weeks of summer. For each of the first 9 weeks, there will be a new lace chart presented. Each chart will be one stitch pattern in a 9 pattern lace sampler. But wait! Each chart will also come with a “one skein” pattern, so that each week you can add another stitch pattern to your sampler and also whip up a little something else. What else, you might ask…well, how about book marks, traditional socks, lovely fingerless mitts, scarves, cowls, and hats! Knit as little or as much as you like, because each of the nine stitch patterns can become any of the one skein pattern projects. But wait! At the end of 9 weeks, we will move on to a border for the sampler and some fun ways to vary the stitch patterns for different effects. At this point there will also be a few stole designs using variations and combinations of our stitch patterns and more than one skein of yarn. There will be optional beads everywhere (but of course!)

The process will be sprinkled with knitting tutorials, including some sock, mitt and hat construction tips and some designing tips. For those of you who are interested, there will be support to design your own stole. I will be posting a materials list in the next few weeks, but the materials discussion will begin right away at our project group. Project group?? Yup, and if you were part of The Summer Squares group in 2009 you know the deal. The group will be at YahooGroups, where my other groups live. All the project files will be available there for the duration of the project. All our discussions will be through group email. Photographs will be there too, along with some posted to my blog. The tutorials will all be available on my blog, along with project updates.

The project will begin enrolling now, really start the first day of summer and end the first day of fall. It is open to lace knitters of all abilities and there will be something for everyone. My patterns are well written and fully charted, but I do not provide line-by-line directions. There will be great support and friendly encouragement, so if you are just getting into charts you will get the support that you need to have fun.

Do you want in? The cost for 12 weeks of lace knitting joy and all the patterns discussed above is $16 US. You can join at any time, from now until the last day of summer. Once the group is over, all patterns will be available for individual sale. I am only able to accept payment via PayPal, sent to me at BadCatDesigns@verizon.net. If you need help with that or have questions, feel free to email me at the same address. Once I get payment you will get directions to the group and more details. I am so excited and hope to see you there.

I would like to thank the following people for their generous yarn and fiber support: LandOLace, Jade Sapphire, ArtYarns, Crystal Palace, Lorna’s Laces, Mountain Colors and FiberOptics. I would also like to thank Mary Rose and BadKitten. You know why…
Without them this project would not have been possible!

Meow,
BadCatDesigns