I was trying to resist posting this announcement until we were a little closer to being done, but I got permission from Adam to start blabbing about it, so here goes:

WE'RE MAKING A VIDEO GAME!

My awesome husband is programming his heart out as we speak, and I'm doing the graphics stuff. He bought the domain name, so I guess that means it's official. The tentative plan is for a knitting-themed game to be played on the PC with an XBOX 360 controller. In the spirit of guitar hero, except instead of notes flying at you, you get stitch commands. We're also going to try to have people be able to "write" their own patterns and have a "fabric" graphic to show off when they compete it.

Now, we're not talking Halo-caliber animations or anything, so don't get your hopes up. Or maybe do get your hopes up, who knows, this could end up being the coolest thing EVER! Hopefully it will be ready to play in early '08.

I started work on a cowl pattern this week and got maybe a foot of it done already. It made for a nice distraction on the plane ride. Lots of bobbles and a cable on each end:

Not that I will ever need to wear a cowl. We live in a hot climate and we're moving to a hotter one next year. I just like to punish myself, I guess.

* Also, some new pics are going up in the photography section today, for those interested in looking.

Why do I keep making hats for myself? I keep saying that if I just make it the right size, shape, and color, it will look good on my head. Well, it ain't happenin'. I look terrible in hats. Officially. I made this one for the 'free patterns'  section of the site so I suppose that's ok, but I'll never find anyone with as big a head as me to sell it to in the store. Maybe I can starch it, turn it upside down, and use it for a fruit bowl. Not apples though, watermelon, because that's how @#$%&ing large my head is. I wonder if the culprit is my actual skull or my freakishly thick hair.

All I have left to do is embroider the silver X across the diamond and I'll be done. Then as soon as I get back from Florida (for Adam's mom's wedding) I'll take some good pictures and upload the pattern. At least it will look good on other people, so I may as well share the wealth.

Let's see, what else... I swatched with the Jaeger Roma I bought (now 50% off!) and I really like the feel of it. Good stitch definition, would probably work very well with a complicated lace or cable pattern. It's also very soft, so I might want to bobble or puff-stitch it. (Thanks to Lucy Neatby, I now know how to do a perfectly balanced bobble!) I've been meaning to design something to submit to the Pattern-A-Day 2009 calendar people, so maybe I'll crochet something up with it while I'm on the plane.

Tonight I started knitting a hat, to be posted as a free pattern on here since I haven't made one in a while. It's blue with one argyle diamond on it like the one Cho Chang wears in Hogsmeads (from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix). I'd like to make her scarf as well but that looks a little harder to do from this crummy little picture I found. I'm making it out of a new yarn I had never used before; It's a llama & silk blend make by Plymouth that's pretty soft. It doesn't have the same bounce to it that wool does, but I like it anyway. It didn't come in the exact right colors, so I'm using the light blue as-is for the main part of the hat, and Kool-Aid dyeing a skein of the darker blue to match the diamond colors. I was unsure if the 40% silk would prevent it from taking color, but it ended up working well. Here's a photo of what I'm copying:

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Also, I got my photography page up and running. Nothing much to scream about, just some artsy-fartsy photos I've taken recently. Check 'em out if you wish.

I'm making the switch to an Etsy.com store to see if it gets me extra traffic & sales. I'll still be updating the store items on this website, but the payment part will link to my Etsy shop. This way I no longer have to hassle everyone to purchase from me via email. This feels much more official.

I also got a whole slew of my Wabi-saBeads done this weekend. (The ones from the Scram-scarf.) I'm brainstorming about what to write in my "press release" for when I send them out. So far Knitty.com and Knit1 magazine are my main targets, and I might send some to Cloth Paper Scissors along with a "look what I did with your tutorial" letter. Here's a glimpse:

$12 a 4-pack, get 'em while they're hot!