The Bookmarked collection is in the shop
Tiny knitted books with secret compartments & antiquarian book-inspired yarn
Today is the day you become part of this wonderful collaboration between Hunter Hammersen and me to make tiny knitted books, book-inspired yarn and a values-laded shawl! This is my first Big Collection in more than a year, and I am so happy to share it with you. I’ll be sending a few more emails over the next 10 days, introducing you to all the different pieces of the collection and all the chapters of its story.1
Let’s start with the knitted books …
This is an utterly ingenious pattern by Hunter Hammersen, the beautiful human with whom I’ve created this collection. She walks you through absolutely every step of making these knitted books, from how to block your book-in-progress to how to attach the inner "pages" (which is actually your handy storage compartment).
I created a palette of hand-dyed yarn colors inspired by antiquarian books and used bookstores, and I have put together kits. I’ve worked hard to make kits at price points that will work for everyone, and here’s what I have:
An everything kit
This is my beautiful, signature style of kit where I have done all the over-thinking, testing, gathering, pondering, and magic-making for you. This kit is one-click to buy it, and you know that when it arrives, you are going to be over-the-moon and have everything you need.
Your kit is everything you need to make 1 sliding drawer book (the large one) and 2 altoid-tin style books (the small one). It’s $134 and includes the pattern.
Just think how adorable your two little knitted books will be, as they sit on your coffee table or desk, holding your knitting notions—or maybe a secret love note!
What I love about Hunter’s projects is that you can use leftover yarn and gather supplies from around the house, making her tiny adorable creations for very little or no cash-out-of-pocket. This is true for Bookmarked, too.
But, if you would like to have me gather the trickier-to-find items for you, I have a kit for you, too: The simple kit includes one 1 altoid-style tin, 1 large-ish matchbox-style sliding box, cardboard covers for both of them, and the magnets you’ll need. It’s $44 and includes the pattern.
Both kits come with a guided knit-along
I want you to knit with the yarn and kits I make for you. Stashing things is wonderful (I love my own stash) but making things is the point of our beautiful craft.
To encourage you, I will be running a two-session guided knitalong in January. Your kit includes two Zoom sessions with me, where I'll be making my own knitted books and can answer questions as you make yours. It’s not a teaching session but, rather, a peer-to-peer session where I’m available for questions, will share stories about how my books are coming along, and we can gather in community.
The sessions are scheduled for Friday, January 27 at 4:00p Pacific Time and Saturday, February 4 at 10:00a Pacific Time.
Why this is a preorder
Preorders are super helpful for me. I can order the right amount of supplies (and reduce waste), I can offer (relatively) unlimited quantities so that folks don’t miss out or have to be online for a specific drop time, and I can give you a nice window of time in which to decide if this is the right purchase for you. (I don't want you to miss out and likewise don't want you to make an impulse purchases you'll later regret!). All the product development is complete for these kits, my schedule is cleared for the making and shipping, and if there are any hiccups, I am well-known for my superior customer service.
Preorders will be open from Wednesday, November 9 through Sunday, November 20.
At that point, I'll tally and order all the supplies, drink lots and lots of coffee while refreshing my suppliers' tracking numbers, and, when everything arrives, start making all the yarn and kits.
Why have I set a January ship date?
Two reasons. First: Figuring out timelines in November and December is tricky. Things take longer to ship to me, there are holidays happening, and it's the rainy season here in San Francisco, which means yarn takes extra long to dry (sometimes 4-5 days instead of a single day). All this creates uncertainty. My tentative math (or, regular 4 to 6 week timeline) works out to be mid-December. That’s not the right time for any business owner to promise things, so I have pushed the promised deadline to January, so neither you nor I will be stressed during our Christmas (or other winter holiday) break. The second reason: I am hosting a guided knit-along, so I’d like for everyone’s kits to arrive in a roughly similar time period, so that we’re all excited to cast on and start together. (You don’t have to join the guided knit-along, but if you’d like to, I want to maximize the experience.)
That’s all for today. I’ll leave you with this gorgeous photo of my shop model and friend, Marjorie, who is modeling another piece in the collection (the Bibliophile shawl), which shows you the texture and depth of the color palette I’ve created.
I hope you voted yesterday and that your local election results help move you closer to the world we all hope to see—one with equity, racial justice, social justice, and dignity for all people. If it hasn’t, I hope you are able to find a small corner of peace and solace. We will rise.
With love,
Anne
If you would like to skip this launch sequence, for whatever reason, here’s how to do that:
Go to your Settings page
Scroll down to Subscriptions, and click on “Anne is Making”
In the middle of the page, under “Notifications,” untick the box next to the topic “shop updates” (or any topic you want to skip)
Will the Zoom sessions be available to watch afterward? I would love to participate, but am at work during those hours.