Why I need a photographer :)

 I've had some visitors to my blog in the last week, so I thought we'd do a little review.  This young man is Alex.  He's my youngest son.  He's 5-years old, doesn't sleep well, is a very picky eater, loves Thomas the Tank Engine, his favorite color is green, and he's very particular about his hand knits.  He knows what he likes and what he doesn't, and no one's gonna tell him otherwise!  When I surf Ravelry, he likes to get on my lap and ask me to make him just about everything under the sun.  Sometimes he asks for things that don't exist.  Telling him that there are no patterns for that is not an acceptable answer to Alex.  That, my friends, is why Alex is one of my two biggest resources when it comes to my design biz.  If he want's a tie, I better design him a tie (and he's wearing it.  It's Shelby, and it's available in my Ravelry pattern store and on my sidebar).  Anyway, Alex currently has me running ragged on a hat that I've been having a hard time working out the details for, but rest assured that he'll eventually have his hat (because he checks in on it regularly).  I can't say here exactly what it is because of licensing issues, but I can say that it's a classic 64-bit video game that may or may not involve specters and eating stuff :) 

My other main source of inspiration comes from my pretty respectable knitting/reference library.  Honestly, it looks like a lot more when you're standing in front of the book shelf.  I've got design books, stitch dictionaries, repairs and technical info, volumes upon volume in Interweave Knits and Vogue Knitting, a ball winder, umbrella swift (in the box), blocking wires (in the tube), a tub of scrap yarn, three-ring binders with leaflets and printed patterns, a few works-in-progress, my Dooney & Burke bag serving as my spinning WIP basket, and my knitting bad.

Unfortunately, this is the most organized space I have right now for my knitting supplies and I'm realizing that I really need an office.  However, that's not going to happen anytime soon so I think I might need to hit IKEA for some small-space storage solutions.  That or I just need to stop buying yarn because let's be real for a minute...I'll die before I ever in my lifetime knit all the yarn I currently have, and we all know I'll probably bring some home in the next week.

So, you've seen two big influences in my design business (business?...really?...still getting used to that).  And you've seen a few examples of my lack of skill behind the camera.  That being said, I'm really excited because I discovered by accident today that one of my friends from church is a photographer with a great camera, and she's agreed to work with me when I launch my Altitude line!  It's all going right back to what  Kelly Rae Roberts has been saying her e-course.  Don't be afraid to put yourself out there and opportunities will come.  And three came just this week alone!  I can only tell you about one right now, but stay tuned because I'll be revealing the others soon enough :)