Dandelions and Trains

 These two are of a set.  The pattern is essentially the same, except where the yoke has to be slightly different to accommodate the different stitch counts.  

They're knit using US 4 needles over Debbie Bliss Rialto 4-ply, a nice sturdy-feeling yarn.  The yoke is a variation on Elizabeth Zimmerman's EPS, and this, my first venture into designing with colorwork (real colorwork, anyway) gave me fits.  I spent hours and hours sketching these out before knitting them, and was so scared of them that before starting them I tried to talk my publisher into leaving them out (they'd been my idea in the first place, mind you).

But I survived, and while I will say that I still find designing with colorwork to be, um, not for the faint-of-heart, I loved putting them together, and oh, knitting them is just so much fun. And they represent the last of my series of book preview posts, because I'm all done!  This is the end, folks!

I have no idea what to do with myself now.