Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Snug as a bug...

...in a Trellis! Yup, that's right. It's a zillion degrees and I've got the air conditioning on full blast so that I can enjoy my little lemon drop in his trellis while it still fits!


I don't know why I haven't knit a trellis until now. It's a terrific pattern and is simply delicious knit from Rowan All Seasons Cotton. Bonus: it's a lot easier than it looks. Double bonus: it knits up surprisingly fast in aran weight yarn.


I knit the 6 month size with less than 4 balls from the stash and as soon as I finished it and ascertained that it was a little snug on my growing bundle of warmth, I did what any crazy obsessed knitter would do: I got online and ordered more of the same exact yarn so that I can knit another in the 12 month size because at this rate he'll certainly outgrow this one before the weather cools down enough to wear it ;0)


This little guy is growing way too fast. My knitting simply can't keep up. It's all 12 month plus sized knits for him from here on in. And it makes me really sad because there are so many cute little baby things that I wanted to knit for him. Then again, it's been so warm that even if I had knit all kinds of cute little baby things, they wouldn't have been practical to wear in the summer anyway so I really should give myself a break.


Ah, knitting guilt. Just like parenting guilt. With more fibre ;0)

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And now for something completely different! Many of you have asked about the mechanics behind self-publishing a pattern. I'm a complete newbie of course, but have managed to learn a few tricks already with my Buddy Bags pattern. So here's how I did it:

  1. I took careful pattern notes as I knit, then took a zillion shots and made a rough copy using Microsoft Publisher 2007. Once it looked the way I wanted it to, I used Publisher's "convert to pdf" feature to make a pdf.

    If you don't have Publisher, I've heard great things about Primo. It's a free download that allows you to convert documents from any program into a pdf. You can read up on it and download it here.

  2. Once you have a pdf of your pattern, you'll need a place to host it and if you are going to charge for it, a way to accept payments. You can easily do both for a minimal cost using the e-junkie service (there are others like payloadz, but my hubby and I found that e-junkie's offering was much more reasonable fee-wise).

  3. If you choose e-junkie, the rest is really easy. You upload your pdf, set your price and give e-junkie your paypal email. E-junkie gives you code for a "buy now" button you can post on your blog (in a post like I did or a sidebar button - whatever). And that's it!

    Buddy Bags
    an annypurls original pattern available as an instant download for $6

    Buyers click on the button, pay through paypal, and then are taken directly to a page where they can download the file (it is also e-mailed to them). All this takes but a few seconds and is completely automated so that you don't have to do anything else. The money is deposited in your paypal account instantly.

  4. That's all there is to it!
Hope this helps and inspires you to make your original patterns available too ;0)

Cheers!

34 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:34 a.m.

    My niece just had a baby girl last night, and I have to knit something pink (she's got two older brothers and nothing but blue on the horizon). This sweater sure is cute!

    Your buddy bags are adorable!

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  2. Anonymous12:41 a.m.

    Oh, that Trellis is just lovely! Of course you had to turn up the A/C. If you ask me, baby knits are plenty cute in 12 months +, too!

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  3. Anonymous12:55 a.m.

    Hey - fellow blogger here. Have been reading for a while without commenting... I already bought your lovely buddy bags. You do such great work! I would Like to offer you a free skein of 100% merino sock yarn from my site in the color of your choice. The Price being merely if you would knit something and post a pic, and send me the link. I would really like a review of my new hand dyed yarns. Feel free to stop by my store's blog and contact me thru there. I am offering this knit and review challenge to several bloggers, and hope to hear from you soon. Happy Knitting!

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  4. Anonymous2:11 a.m.

    Thank you for the tutorial on self-publishing patterns, I had been curious about that lately. It sure looks like a cute pattern!

    And your little guy is just adorable in trellis. What a great sweater.

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  5. LOL. Knitting guilt with more fiber! Heh.

    Your trellis looks so sweet! I made Beatrix the Cable & Seed Stitch jacket from Debbie Bliss' Baby Knits Book when I was pregnant. You should check it out for the winter! It was one of her most well worn garments last winter. I'm thinking about a second one in a bigger size.

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  6. The sweater looks wonderful! Thank you for the inspiration!

    And thank you for the publishing info. I have a new computer with Microsoft Publisher, and I wasn't aware that I could use it to create PDF files.

    By the way, your baby is precious!

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  7. What a cutie pie! And the sewater is cute too ;o) Thanks for the publishing a pattern info!

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  8. The trellis cardigan looks gorgeous. I've been wanting to knit it for a while, but I was afraid it would take forever with all the cables. I think you've inspired me to go for it!

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  9. You could always go for a more retro look and have the little fella wear the sweater with absolutely no additional ease.
    Well, I didn't think so; good thing you've ordered more yarn! lol

    Your buddy bags are cute - thanks for sharing the tips!

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  10. That sweater is so adorable, I think that might be my next baby project, now just to make some babies one of these days.

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  11. Thanks for posting about how to publish a pattern. I've never been able to figure it out, but it looks really easy.
    Look out, designing world! Here I come..........!

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  12. Anonymous10:27 a.m.

    Love the sweater. It's so sad to have them grow out of the baby sweaters. Almost makes you want to have another just so you can knit more! I have two boys about your age spread, and I'm almost to the point where I won't knit for the younger any more because I'm too practical. I do have one more Debbie Bliss 18mo size I want to do but I better get on it. The boy is 19 months now!

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  13. I completely understand about trying to get some wear out of that beautiful sweater, I knit the Tank Top by Debbie Bliss and it was really too heavy for little man to wear at the beach like I wanted...until it rained one day. My mother said only I could have been excited about a rainy morning while on vacation! (It only rained for a couple of hours, so that was fine by me). Thank you so much for the information about pattern publishing, that was really nice of you!

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  14. Your trellis is so cute! I love all the other baby knits you have listed. Great site!

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  15. Thanks for the information. It was so helpful.
    And those beautiful boys are growing up too fast.

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  16. Cuute cardi, I've made it too and will probably make more of them. Excellent pattern, though mine actually took quite a while to knit up. Don't know why. But the result ... ahh!

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  17. What an adorable little sweater! They do grow so fast, though, don't they? *sigh*

    THanks again for the tutorial on pdf files. That'll make things so much easier next time I want to put something large on the internet!

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  18. so cute! so perfect for the balls of ASC I have marinating in the stash too! I have already experienced the "too small" knit for my little guy. Started the 12 month size when he was 6 months old (for a DB sweater) and when he was 11 months old, I pulled it out of the knitting bag to finish it and saw that it was already too short!!

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  19. Anonymous3:50 p.m.

    Your children are beautiful and I love that sweater....no wonder you want to make him another.

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  20. The cardigan is gorgeous! And the buttons? Perfect. Great job.

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  21. Really, really cute. And I think you are being modest. If you designed the layout of your Buddy Bags pdf then you have a talent for design—not just anyone could have done that.

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  22. Anonymous9:31 p.m.

    i am having SO much trouble posting! i will continue to try and get in.... just wanna say, that the sweater is adorable and little mr.blue eyes is just a doll!

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  23. What a cute Trellis! It is a nice pattern, isn't it?

    Thanks for the publishing tutorial!

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  24. I saw the bags on Ravelry and had to order - they are adorable and what a wonderful baby gift. I have two that are long over due, now I know what I will be knitting for them. Great pattern.

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  25. Anonymous10:56 a.m.

    www.Knitterpated.com, since it didn't show up in my last comment! And for anyone else who is interestd!

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  26. Oh your boys are growing up so quickly. I too would make another Trellis since yours turned out so cute on him. At least he will get to wear it for a little while, and just remember, arent you supposed to have 5 boys, you can save it for the next one to wear.

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  27. Great sweater - you are master knitter, Anny!

    Your little one is growing so fast and my MY how he looks like his big brother in that picture. Cute!

    The buddy bags are so darling but beyond my knitting ability. I'll admire from afar :)
    Tanya

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  28. I can't believe how big he is getting! They grow much too quickly. I knit a lot of 6-9 month size stuff for my Bun. Hopefully he will get good use out of it all this winter.

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  29. He's so big! And totally adorable. :)

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  30. Congratulations on your pattern being finished! Those are very cute! And the baby sweater is gorgeous too!

    Now - I am relatively new to blogging, and I was tagged by the only person I know who reads my blog and blogs too for a meme...now I don't know who to tag, so I picked a couple of my favorite blogs to read (I'm a terrible lurker) and tagged you for one. I hope I didn't break any "blogging ettiquette rules". Apologies if I did. If you're interested, go check my blog at http://www.underafairymoon.blogspot.com/

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  31. love your trellis! your kiddos are so adorable. thanks for the pattern publishing info too.

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  32. There is nothing better than a beautiful baby in a gorgeous hand-knit. Ah. Will you please cross-post to the Pea Pod KAL so the others are sure to see it? :D

    Thanks for the self-publishing tips.

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  33. Trellis is my favourite sweater pattern for the little kidlets. I've got several friends with small children who are potentially going to get one from me!

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  34. Anny, I ordered your buddy bag pattern. it is so cute. I'm currently working on the draw string. 38 inches seems so short to me. Is it really just 38 inches? It is for a 5 year old little girl. She is a petite little one. Please let me know what the right number is. Thanks, Conny

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