Category Archives: Independent Designer Partnership

100K!

I realize that I shouldn't be shocked any longer at just how big the IDP program has gotten over the past 15 months but I just got some big news -  this past weekend we hit 100,000 pattern sales!  Wow!  That is amazing - and best of all, all of those sales went directly to the fantastic group of designers we have in the program so far.  As of last week, we have over 350 IDP designers - we generally add about 20 new designers a month in fact! Have you checked out some of the new patterns recently?  There's been so much exciting new stuff coming out - my queue grows larger & larger every week!  Here are some of my favorite new designers & patterns:  

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Fiddle Knits!

Being the coordinator for the IDP program has really introduced me to some great designers that I may not have been familiar with before.  I mean, I'm a knitter (and, as of late, a crocheter) and over the past couple of years, I've been getting many of my project patterns via the web so it was a natural fit for me.  So you can imagine how hard it is for me now to decide what to make next! One designer I was not familiar with when I first started on IDP back in November 2009 was Erica Jackofsky - but now she's become one of my very favorite designers and I get excited every time she submits a new design.  Her patterns are fantastic - not only are they super cute, but they are honestly really fun to knit (and now crochet, as she recently had a series of crochet patterns released).  I've made several of her patterns and they will certainly not be the last.  And I finally got pictures in between storms here in the Northwest! First, I had some Capra in Honey in my stash without project so I had to make Scalliwag because I wear a lot of hats & especially love slouchy ones.      

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Dangerous Contest

This contest is now closed.  Thank you so much to everyone who participated!  To find out who won, click here. Why is this Dangerous?  Because if you win this book you will be overloaded with cuteness! If you are a regular reader of the blog, you know that I love Rebecca Danger's creatures (and anyone who sees my desk can confrim it).  So I am so excited for her book, The Big Book Of Knitted Monsters - it's full of 20 awesome monster pattterns!

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Rainbow Fishies!

Since my Beer Pint Mitts, I've been on a SpillyJane pattern kick.  I made these for my niece for Christmas:  Made in Stroll Tonal Blue Violet and a bunch of scraps But honestly, they took me awhile - mainly because once I finished with the bodies I had something like a billion ends to weave in. So I threw them in a corner until I was ready to face them.  I mean I love how cute the colorwork mittens turn out but...the ends... Enter Chroma. We got our early shipment in and all of us were instantly in love - I had so many ideas of things I want to make!  But I ended up deciding on another SpillyJane pattern...and this went much quicker   Rainbow Fishies!

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The Bus is my muse

I am very excited because today I officially published my first pattern, Kitty Cat Paw Mitts and Hat, as an IDP designer, and I owe it all to my cat, The Bus (and Stacey!). I've blogged about The Bus before, he is my very charismatic and very surly Siamese cat. He is mostly brown with little white feet. This year when I was trying to pick a costume for Halloween, I was struck by a stroke of genius and decided to dress up as my cat. I had Marshmallow, Dogwood Heather, and Bittersweet Heather Simply Cotton in my stash, so I whipped up a quick kitty hat and matching mitts and dressed in all white and brown. I added some whiskers and a collar and presto chango- instant Bus costume.

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A Dangerously Cute IDP Pattern!

So on December 1, 2009, we launched the Independent Designer Partnership Program ...which means it's one year old this week!  I've been so excited to see this program grow & grow - as of today, there are over 700 patterns now in the program. It looks like it's been a big hit with both designers & customers, as each month we get over 100 pattern submissions and the pattern sales are going through the roof (we sold over 11,000 IDP patterns in November alone!). And not only that, we added our 300th designer to the program this week and I'm thrilled because she is has been one of my favorite deisgners for a long time - Rebecca Danger!

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Vampire Contest

UPDATE 9/13 - Contest is now over!  We've posted our winners here!   Are you a fan of Buffy, Twilight, True Blood, Angel and The Vampire Diaries? (or like me & your vampire tastes run classic like the orginal Dracula)  Do we have a book for you! Vampire Knits a brand new book coming out next week and honestly, I was so excited to see it.  Mainly because several IDP designers are featured in it!

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Crochet and IDP

One of my favorite things I've learned this year is how to crochet!  I've always been surrounded by women (and men!) who crochet more than knit, but for some reason I couldn't pick it up - I had some sort of mental block.  That ended back in May when my mom & I took a rainy holiday on the Oregon Coast - finally for like 20th she tried so show me, something in my brain clicked and I've been crocheting up a storm since then!  And since the IDP Crochet pattern selection has grown so much, I've been in heaven. My first big crochet project was the Adva Scarf by Lauren Osbonre.  This is her version:

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Interview with Amy Duncan

Amy Duncan joined us early on in IDP and I couldn't be more delighted to have her in the program.  Her patterns are all fantastic fun projects and give us a glimpse of her personality through them - can I just say I'm in love with her Laodice Shawl?  I have the sample here & I like to wear it around the office.  Though it does looks better on her: It been great to get to know Amy (we both share a deep love for The Amazing Race) and I'm so excited to share my interview with her!

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Yeah, my first IDP pattern

What an exciting feeling! to have a pattern you've created be posted on the web. Also, I now have a great appreciation for all the designers out there...  creating a pattern has been an interesting experience for me...  but I finally did it!!!  (and I have a great model, don't you think!!!)    

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