Well, at least I'm having a good time.

The AD originally wanted me to knit something to go across an entire spread in her magazine with the word "Fabric" woven into the weave. I was so excited to be using my "crafts as illustration" side that it took me a half a day to realize that the close up she wanted wouldn't allow enough room for the word to be knitted in and that even if I could do something, I wouldn't have the lens or ability to photograph it properly.

So, I sent her a sketch of a way for me to draw the weave large as she wanted and get the title on there. I would draw the fabric and add a satin label.

I started in Illustrator and messed around with it a bit more in Photoshop. My original plan had been to stitch out the lettering, but with time constraints, I decided to break out the clone tool rather than my embroidery machine. My favorite touch was the loose thread.

The art director was very pleased. Everyone was happy. A day or two passed. Then came the call..... the title of the article was "Fabric Fundamentals". Could I write that on the label, please? I asked her to let me see what I could come up with rather than squeeze all that on one line.

In the end, I decided to make it the care label. Or "made in...". One of those many add ons that scratch our necks. She liked the idea. I didn't have to ruin the lettering and a hush of peace covered the earth. The end.

Here is a glimpse into the world of computerized knitting. There is a program for PCs only (apparently works on Intel Macs, haven't tried it yet) called Design-a-Knit. That's what I use to draw out what the stitch pattern will look like. And why I have a PC laptop.

The next step is to download it to the knitting machine's computer with the teeny tiny screen. This is a photo of an early attempt. A failed design using the illoz logo is on the screen.

I don't have to keep my big mouth shut anymore when it comes to these stamps which are set to be issued next year.

Another pair set to come out next year are these wedding stamps. They take an image and a slight variation so that one can be used on the invitation and another on the response card. The one for the invitation is a 2oz. rate to account for the inserts. The return card gets a pink background 1oz rate stamp.

I hit the jackpot with these multiples, but not financially. The reward is getting mail with your own image on the stamp.