April 28, 2025, was the first hot day of the season in Maine and unfortunately my computer overheated and work hard drive fried. It contained all my designer files as well as Barnabas Notes & Barnabas Notes Travels card designs, freelancing (photo editing, schematics, and such), and the book I wrote (shh it’s a 2025 Christmas surprise) from 2011 onwards.
The Good News
Cameradad found an old external hard drive back up which restored up 2019 and then he was able to patch together old computer parts and slowly retrieved 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 before the patch job died.
All my available patterns on Ravelry, Payhip, Lovecrafts, KnitCompanion, and Amazon are stored on Ravelry, Payhip, Lovecrafts, KnitCompanion, and Amazon ! So if there’s a design you’ve had your eye on, it’s available!
The Bad News
We’re 5 months into 2025 and all the work that was done on those designs – the Meanwhile in Maine sweater, 4 group collection pieces, and the new red scarf that you saw the testing call for, as well as all of the Barnabas Notes Travels card designs, and freelancing are gone. He’s out of ideas and broke the news today for me to start recreating my work rather than hoping he’ll be able to retrieve it.
Given the space available, though all my previous years (2011-2023) work has been retrieved, I will only have access to my 2024 and Knit Eco Chic photos folders, until a more permanent solution can be found.
The Plan
The first group collection, in which I have 2 designs, is up first on the publishing calendar docket so that’s where I’m starting to rewrite! What I’ve found – the tech edited patterns (ya, for working a year ahead!), the unedited photos, and the unfinished layout. What’s lost – the edits from test knitting, which I’m hoping to find in an email.
Then the red scarf will take its turn in the pipeline – it’s a complete rewrite, but I did find an email with the tech editors notes so most of it will be copy and paste and consulting the testing site for what changes happened after the final edit.
The other two group collection pieces are sadly in complete shambles. The sweater lost the grading excel and pattern from about halfway down the body to the end, including the sleeves and trim. I can copy and paste from the tech editor’s emailed version. The matching accessory, I have nothing on my end of it. I’m hoping to find the tech editors edited copy somewhere in my emails.
The Meanwhile in Maine sweater, I’ll have to track down the edits from the TE, but am SO thankful because I misfiled the photos onto the family drive, so have the photoshoot pics, still! They will need re-editing.
The super-secret story (51,000+ words) takes place in a yarn shop. I’ve been engrossed in edits and recovered version 2 that was actually up to version 4. I’m planning on asking my writing group editing buddy for her copy since she has a more recent version, 3. That’s going to take a lot of little grey cells to remember the places I edited!
Barnabas Notes & Barnabas Notes Travels – is currently on vacation mode. The thought of recreating all those cards and the investment to repurchase proofs is too overwhelming right now. I decided to put it on the back burner until after the first collection is released.
To cheer along the process, when I was reviewing what was found I discovered a scan of a design from 2011 that I absolutely loved. It was written out in line-by-line directions (for a beaded lace scarf!) as it was before I had charting software. A few days of interpretative designing and I had a charted and written version ready to fill my naked needles. You can check out the progress on Instagram as this one will now have a release date later this year. Nothing like some stitching with beads to help re-inspire rewrites! God is so good, especially in the disasters!
Happy knitting
Update to the story: About a week and a half ago cameradad successfully restored all my files! I’m so thankful!!! It was a very long month+ without them, and I dove back right back in to designing. I’m still sorting through were everything is, but everything is somewhere accessible again!!