Thursday, January 19, 2006

The Rejected Sweater...

Image hosted by Photobucket.comToday I got the letter from Interweave that my submission was rejected. I've decided that I don't have the energy to shop it to other magazines right now, so here it is. I'll be preparing the pattern for The Garter Belt over the next several days. While it's a little disappointing to get rejected, I still think it's a good design and I'm proud of it. And it's a bit of a relief not to have to drop everything and make a sample in the yarn and size needed on three weeks notice. So, back to Plan A, which is to continue self-publishing on my own schedule for now and work more seriously on print submissions in the fall, when The Little Emperor goes to kindergarten.

The Alishar pattern is available for immediate pdf download.
$5 US.
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27 comments:

Elisabeth Lincoln said...

That's gorgeous, Elizabeth! Is there waist shaping or is that just the model's pose?

Helen said...

*gasp*

that's SO nice, elizabeth!! wow. i'm quite impressed. you are a super-fab designer, and churning them out quickly too!

Elizabeth said...

Thanks ladies.

There isn't any waist shaping, but the folded hem does tend to cause it to flare at the hip a bit.

The sample was a little large for the model. She should have been in the next size down.

Jenny said...

!!!

I love it! I think it looks like something IK would have liked.

Once I am capable of something more complicated than an occasional stripe, I would definitely love to make this.

Ali said...

Elizabeth,

Simply stunning design. I am in awe at how you women do this and, like someone stated earlier, at how FAST you turn out these designs. IK's loss for sure.

Margot said...

Elizabeth, that's a great design! I really like that center motif. I am in awe.

If you weren't tired of shopping it, I'd sugest Knitter's. They seem to favor geometric styles. It will do well at the Garter Belt.

Yay for your mad designing skillz.

Jerry & Maxy said...

Wowee zowee, Elizabeth!!!! Gorgeous. Can't believe it was rejected...their loss, and TGB's gain! Yeee Haaaaw!!!!

Rock on you groovy-designer-maven!

DomesticOverlord said...

It's so amazing I could just barf. Oh the talent and patience I'll never posess! Ahem. I mean, it's nice.

Becky in Iowa :O) said...

Very very pretty. I think IK made a big mistake not snatching it up. It sure would make me pick up an issue if I had seen it in the mag. I just wish I was thin enough to even think of wearing something like that. hehe

Anonymous said...

They rejected that sweater? What's wrong with them? It is beautiful, and technically amazing (probably way beyond my skills and patience level at this point, but hey, a girl can dream!)

Terby said...

So that's the finished product!

It's a good design. I like the band motif a lot, and I'd love to see how you worked the patterning at the shoulders.

Zonda said...

That is sooo nice! Sorry about the rejection...geesh, some of the stuff that gets through and that didn't!!

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry to hear that it was rejected by IK. I have been waiting for the news ever since you mentioned you submitted it to them. Did they tell you why? I sure can't see anything wrong with that sweater. It's lovely.

Elizabeth said...

Thank you, everyone!
Laura, they didn't say why, other than the generic,"We can't use it at this time." It was a very nice rejection letter, and they encouraged me to submit other things in the future. I can think of many reasons why they might not have chosen it that have nothing to do with their opinion of the design. Maybe not fitting in with the stated theme as well as other submissions do. Maybe too much like another sweater and it was eeny-meeny-myney-mo. Maybe a certain style or story evolved as they looked at what they had and this doesn't fit in that mold.

It's okay. I'm eager to get the formatting finished and get it available on The Garter Belt.

gourdongirl said...

Elizabeth, Why has this wonderful pattern been rejected. It is amazing. Good luck in all you do in the future.

Miss Kalendar said...

Definitely IK loss!!!
This is the kind of pattern that would make the difference between me just thumbing through the issue and me running up to the counter to buy it. Simply gorgeous. Your patterns are stunning!

Pumpkinmama said...

That is just gorgeous - I cannot believe they turned it down. Their loss. Great work!

Carina said...

That's a gorgeous sweater and looks just like what they're looking for. What's their problem?

gale (she shoots sheep shots) said...

Really great sweater. Don't get disheartened!

Leslie said...

What a stunning sweater! I can't imaging having the talent to knit it, much less design it.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry, but that is nicer and more interesting than 2/3 of the stuff that shows up in most knitting magazines. They're fools for rejecting it.

Erica said...

To reiterate: Silly magazine people! This sweater is fabulous! Even though my skills aren't up to it yet, I may buy the pattern just to spite them. I'd love to see you make more off of selling it on TGB than you would have from the magazine. Of course, there's the publicity factor, but we can all link to it on our blogs to help a tad with that. It's gorgeous, Elizabeth!

Lisa P said...

Whaaaaa? It got rejected?! it's lovely!

Kucki68 said...

A pity they rejected it, this one unlike Veronique Avery this one I might actually do.

Landstown Poultry said...

I love this design and would definitely purchase it if it were available somewhere. Have you considered offering it via paypal or some other version of self publishing? A couple of my designer friends actually make decent money just hosting their own patterns for sale. Maybe even a collaboration with other "rejected" designers who actually have designs people would **gasp** want to make. I'd be willing to purchase the domain space and foot the hosting bill for a while if there was interest in doing this. Mostly because I adore this pattern and many others I've seen rejected.

Elizabeth said...

Kilsharion, actually, I have formed an online group shop with a couple other independent designers and this pattern is available there. Here is the link to the specific pattern page at The Garter Belt.

Thanks to everyone for all the kind comments. This sweater was made from worsted and dk weights with about 220 yards/100 grams. Not too demanding, gauge-wise, and a very fun knit.

Anonymous said...

So...are the magazines only including designs they think knitters would be interested in? Or, are they only interested in satisfying "outside sources"?

Your designs are wonderful--creative, classic and well-written. It would be an honor to be able to include them in The Knitting Vault's patterns. Just another outlet to show off and sell your work.

Keep designing!!!