Upcoming pattern release and sale

I have several exciting things in the works right now. One of them is the release of my first ever shawl design, the Mirkwood Shawl.

This shawl came into being as the result of a casual email conversation with the owner of Sheepy Time Knits, an independent yarn dyer. I'd subscribed to one of her yarn clubs and was thoroughly won over by her yarns and colors. In fact, I'm working on a sock design with some of her Sheepy Feet yarn right now.

During our conversation, Mandie mentioned her upcoming Middle Earth inspired colorways. I asked if she'd be interested in a custom-designed pattern to go along with one of the colorways, and voila - a plan was hatched!

I'd originally planned to design a sock pattern. But as things fell out, I felt that the All Your Base yarn lent itself better to a shawl. I didn't let a small matter of never having designed a shawl before get in the way. I researched "Mirkwood Forest" (which for the first few days I kept calling Milkwood) for inspiration and browsed through hundreds of stitch patterns looking for ones that complemented the theme.

I spent dozens, upon dozens of hours figuring out how to turn stitch patterns into a triangular shawl. I charted. I sketched. I cast on. I tinked. I revised my plans. And I pounded my head against the nearest wall. And eventually it all fell together...

While I was waiting for my Mirkwood yarn to arrive, I began knitting one of the samples in some All Your Base, South Pacific that I'd previously ordered from Sheepy Time Knits.

Now, here we are,  4.5 weeks after the idea was born. A week before the pattern is finally published. The final test knitting is being completed. A few last tweaks remain to be made to the pattern. And the pattern page is up on Ravelry. I have a better appreciation for all the hard work designers put into a shawl design, and I've learned so much in the past month.

To celebrate the pattern launch, I'm going to be having a surprise sale on Monday, May 20th, starting at 11am EST (to give a fairer chance to multiple time zones).

Beginning 11am EST on the 20th, enter the code Mirkwood and receive a discount of 40%, 30% or 25% off! There are limited quantities of each discount available - the earlier you purchase, the higher your discount.

Separately, between May 20-27th, 2013, anyone who has purchased one of my other patterns will receive $1.50 off the Mirkwood Shawl. No code necessary!