Stephannie Tallent is apparently really cool

So, I picked my parents up from the airport this week, and, after telling me all about my cousin's wedding, my mom told me about a conversation she had with a fellow passenger.

She saw a woman knitting, and they ended up chatting about knitting. Turned out the lady was headed back from Stitches Midwest, and she wasn't just a knitter, she was in fact a knitting author. And she showed my mom her book, which mom said was lovely, and then opened her bag and showed my mom the sample knits that had been photographed for the magazine.

Mom told me that it was amazing to see these gorgeous photos, and then, a moment later, see the even more gorgeous finished objects themselves.

Then she started to describe the designs to me, how they were inspired by California art and architecture, and that's when I had something to add to the conversation. I asked, "Is her book California Revival Knits?"

Mom said, "Yes, that's it!"

I remember California Revival Knits because I looked up the book on Ravelry after I heard Stephannie Tallent interviewed on a podcast (Knit Picks' podcast, I think). I loved the designs - they're bright and vibrant and really do remind me of the things I love about my home state - but I didn't queue any of them because I'm a bit colorwork shy.

But my mom made her conversation partner sound so cool that I went back to Ravelry and looked her patterns up again. Ooh, not just colorwork. Very nifty wrought-iron inspired cablework. And I messaged Stephannie on Rav, and she was lovely, and kind enough to recommend one of her patterns as particularly good for beginners to colorwork. (I like the fingerless version.)

Anyway. Enough to say: suddenly I'm a fan.

Annnnnd . . . I feel like I've had the pleasantest sort of lesson about how to be the sort of author that attracts new fans. Step one: make something good. Step two: be friendly to interested people. Step three: don't be afraid to pass your card on to relatives of people in your target audience. :)

Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell