September Updates!

Long time no post!

Sorry for the radio silence, been busy with lots o' fun stuff! First has been the Four Elements Dragon MKAL, we've been having a blast over in the Epic Knits group. Check out the forum thread with spoilers to see what everyone has been making.

I also managed to finish my test of Sekiryu, the reversible kimono-style sweater I was working on.

Aw snap, all ready for winter already!

I've been doing updates on Kitsune over on my Tumblr whenever I manage to get work done on it. I was trying to have it done this last week, but it looks like it'll have to wait until next week. Ah well, life gets in the way sometimes.

Now for the tails!

Ended up winning 3 ribbons at the state fair, one for the dragon sweater, one for the Dragon Cowl, and one for my winged wolf scarf. Had a lot of fun going up to the fair and hunting down all of my pieces. Everything except for one of my hats made it into the top 25, so I'd have to call the fair a success!

Working on Drachen Jaeger, the companion sweater to Sekiryu. I'm just about filled up for testers, but I may be looking for one more interested in doing size L or XL. I'm also starting a list for earburns once the pattern is ready, I'm aiming to have it release either at the end of December or early January.

That's about all for now, remember to check out my Patreon for more behind the scenes updates!

Patreon Goodies, New Patterns, A Free but Awesome Cookbook, and Convergence Looming

I got my first deposit from my lovely Patreon backers and went out for a supply run. I ended up getting 3 skeins of yarn, a package of markers, and a package of colored pencils. Gotta love clearance sales ;)

I also released the third of the Uncommon Dragons series, the Eastern Tiger Dragon this last weekend. This magnificent creature will happily prowl around your neck in exchange for a feast of bad dreams!

In other news, I stumbled on this little gem~

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/490865454/good-and-cheap
A free PDF download cookbook that you can back to help distribute it via physical copies to people who need it? Count me in!

Finally, it's time to warn of the coming of the con. CONvergence, that is! We're 20 days away from the con, and only 19 days from when I need to have everything done. I still have a fair amount of work to do, not the least of which is finishing up A Dream of Frost and Fear.

Tadaaaa! His Frostiness shall stare regally at you for the next few seconds.

There will be a few livestreams this weekend. As long as my shoulder doesn't act up (like it did last night) I'll be streaming tonight, Saturday afternoon, and Sunday. Hopefully I will be ordering prints of it by next week!

In addition to everything else, I've also got a giveaway going over on my Facebook page for a free 4" x 6" print of A Dream of Flame and Fury. Anyone who likes, shares, and comments on this post will be entered. I've got a second giveaway going over on Patreon. Anyone who backs my Patreon at any level by the end of June will be entered into a raffle for a 12" x 18" print of A Dream of Flame and Fury on metallic photo paper.

Fantasy Art Scarves, Road Construction, New Prints, and Patreon!

Sorry this blog is so late! The last two weeks got a bit crazy, what with Memorial Day and the Winged Wolf pattern release.

Speaking of, here is the monster in all it's glory! This thing is huge, and took nearly twice the amount of time it was supposed to because of slippery yarn, but it was totally worth it.

Winged Wolf is the first pattern of the Fantasy Art Knits eBook, with new patterns releasing every 1-2 months. So far, these are the planned releases (subject to change upon the creator's whim ;) ~

• Winged Wolf
• Dragon Koi
• Kitsune
• Yggdrasil
• Ouroboros
• Winged Snow Leopard
• Snow Lion
• Peryton

I've been working on a few other projects, especially around the house now that we're out of freezing territory (yes, it did actually take until the end of May for that to happen. Now we're happily sitting in the 80's). First, I had two Artist Trading Card Illustrations to create for Patreon backers James and Michael. I got my first set of honest to goodness art markers, and they are amazing. These cards go out to all of my Patreon backers who pledge $15 or more each month, so if you want one of your own drop over to my Patreon Page! 

Don't they look like troublemakers?

Detail shot of dragon 1

Detail shot of dragon 2

Speaking of Patreon, we officially hit Milestone Goal #1, and all my basic monthly supplies are now covered! Thanks much to my wonderful backers :D We're only $8 away from hitting goal #2, which will cover the creation of a new scarf each month along with basic art supplies. 

I just got in a batch of new prints, including a run of A Dream of Flame and Fury prints. I finally got my 12" x 18" print. I'll be posting pictures after I mat it, but it looks amazing. I also got new prints of Vicious Sun and Suntouched. They didn't photograph well, but they look awesome. I may be addicted to metallic photo paper...

Shiny new pictures!

I may also be addicted to Coleus. I went out yesterday and ended up buying 8 small plants for a giant pot. Black Dragon Coleus is just too pretty. I can't wait to see this pot fill out!

Aren't they so pretty?

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. I promised on my Ravelry Group Epic Knits that I would post a sneak peek of my secret project. So, here it is (still not saying what it is, though ;) ).

Don't forget, if you back my Patreon you'll get full insider access to more secret projects like this! This includes additional photos of WIPs and screenshots of charts, plus the chance to win copies of patterns (and lots more stuff, like prints and finished knit pieces). I'll even tell you what this project is going to become ;)

I've also got the next of the Uncommon Dragons scarves going, that should release early next week, and I'm in the process of charting out the Dragon Koi (which is going to take a while. This is one very complex chart!).

Oh, and we have lots of road construction going on in our neighborhood. Here's a picture of a guy in a really big piece of machinery rolling down our hill while looking at something on his cell phone. Enjoy!

Patreon, New Moderator Status, and a whole lotta seedlings!

We're finally starting to see a little bit of spring in the air. The trees are budding, all my seedlings are sprouting, and construction has already on our road. It's going to be an interesting summer with the roads around our house getting completely ripped up and redone.

At least I have pretty green things growing inside!

I've been hard at work on the first of the Fantasy Art Scarves series, the Winged Wolf. I ended up pinching a nerve in my hand, so I had to take a few days off to rest up and dive back in! About 1/5th the way done, I'm hoping I'll have it finished by the end of next week (barring any other hand failures).

Now for something a bit different. If you've followed me on any of my blogs or social media sources, you know that I've been trying to do a Kickstarter for a while. I've wanted to Kickstart a few different projects, mainly books or illustration series. However, a new crowdfunding platform called Patreon recently opened up. Patreon is a bit different in that it is not a lump donation towards a single project, but instead allows for month donations to give the creator ongoing funds for smaller projects. This is perfect for me, as I'm doing a lot of knitting patterns and illustrations while still working on the 15 or so books I've laid out. The funds I raise through Patreon will go towards supplies, mainly yarn and art supplies such as pencils, markers, and paper.

You can sign up to give as little as a $2 monthly donation to get behind-the-scenes sneak peeks at what I'm creating, including progress on work in progress charts. Higher tiers equal more rewards, including dragon illustrations, art prints, the chance to vote on upcoming projects, and raffles for free patterns and finished knitted pieces.

Check out my Patreon page here - http://www.patreon.com/TaniaRichter 

Phoenixes, phoenixes everywhere!

The rainy days continue here. We've had a few times where it has looked like the sun might peek through, but for the last week we've had rain, sleet, and even some snow. Oh spring, you were good while you lasted...

In other news, as thanks for the Daily Deviation my Rise from the Ashes shawl received, I made up a little pattern that works well as a wall hanging! This guy is free through the weekend using coupon code MayPhoenix!

Mini Phoenix!

Isn't he cute?

Still working on the secret project, I may have some more updates on that in the coming weeks. I do have the first of the Fantasy Art Scarf series underway, I'm hoping to have that knit sometime in the next couple of weeks. Here's a sneak peak of the Winged Wolf scarf and my second Rise from the Ashes shawl.

So much knitting to do...

The Skoll MKAL will have its second clue released tomorrow. Pointillism in knitting is a pain in the bum, but so worth it.

Mosaic Knitting, Uncommon Dragons Scarf 2, and prepping for summer

First, the exciting news. Yesterday I received my first Daily Deviation over on Deviantart for my Rise from the Ashes!
http://aetherfang.deviantart.com/art/Rise-from-the-Ashes-Phoenix-Shawl-445104128

Original Rise from the Ashes Shawl

I just started playing around with Mosaic knitting to try and bring some new patterns that aren't Double-knit into my repertoire. I'll probably have a scarf pattern out in July!

I've started diving into my summer pattern plans. There's a big secret project, but along with that I'm planning an MKAL for August that will be a choose-your-own-dragon design scarf. More details once I've got the scarves mapped out, but it's going to be a neat project!

Not too much else going on this week, lots of rain so I'm sticking inside! But hey, 17 sprouts of arugula for my garden as of yesterday, so at least my seedlings are starting out well.

Of being sick and having way too many patterns to test knit

So, I managed to go and catch the plague sometime during the yarn shop hop this weekend. I've been down a fair amount of this weekend without being able to breathe, and now we're getting to a coughing stage. Hopefully this goes away soon so I can be at 100% again!

However, the yarn shop hop was wonderful! I had a great time meeting new people and picking out some great yarn for upcoming test knits.

The whole group!

Ultra Pima in Fingering Weight for a summer scarf

Kureyon Sock for an upcoming scarf pattern. This stuff is next to impossible to find in the US!

Malabrigo Finito in Glitter. This gets to go with some Finito in Black that I picked up last week for a matching hat with the Cloud Dragon Scarf. So much softness...

My only discovery from the second day of the Shop Hop, 5 skeins of Mal Worsted in Cypress colorway and one skein of Mal Chunky in Marron Oscuro. The Worsted is earmarked for a sweater.

Three skeins of Mal Chunky in Marron Oscuro and one skein of Mal Chunky in Beige. These are all going to be a wolf hat with earflaps.

And then there's this. I have been hunting for Kauni for so long! I finally found some in the colorway I wanted to go with some Malabrigo Arroyo in natural. I may dye the natural so that it's either a dark blue or black. These are being reserved for a shawl pattern I'm in the process of designing!

I've got three projects on the needles: a second knit of the Rise from the Ashes Phoenix Shawl in Malabrigo Sock, Skoll's scarf in Cascade Heritage Silk, and the Elder Dragon scarf in Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere. The Elder Dragon Scarf is the second scarf in the Uncommon Dragons series, and the pattern should be released by the end of the week so long as I don't lose any more days to being sick!

Elder Illusion Dragon in Glorious Merino/Cashmere blend. Better pictures to come!

MiniCon is coming up this weekend. Unfortunately, I will be unable to attend, but I will be putting some prints and fiber arts up for auction and sale.

The Metallic Photo Paper is amazing. You have to see it in person.

I'll be streaming tonight around 7 pm, Tuesday night at 7, and Friday night at 7, and possibly Saturday this week along with the normal Sunday afternoon stream. I may also have a few daytime streams during the week, follow @TaniaRichter on Twitter or AetherDragon on Tumblr.

I think that's all for now, expect some more updates soon!