Rerouting.... 04/29/2012
Well, after having high hopes that I'd be able to submit some designs for a particular submission call this week I'm going to have to change directions. Looking at my "A" priorities it's pretty clear that I'm just going to make myself crazy (not to mention grumpy) if I try to do this too. There are only so many hours in a day and since I now find myself responsible for doing a major part of the training of new workkampers here at the resort, something else had to go. So I'm putting away my notes, stitch dictionaries, swatches and charts for the next few weeks and concentrating on getting everything together for my contract crocheters and then focusing on the training. While I won't be able to submit for this call or a couple of others due in May, I've found that calls for submissions are pretty steady throughout the year. Of course, not all of those would be a good match for the types of designs I do, but I'm sure another one (or two) will come along. And maybe I should just concentrate on working on designs to present at the Meet & Greet at the conference in September. After all, there will be a room full of editors & publishers looking specifically to meet designers & see samples of our work. I've already booked a week - ALONE - at a condo in Bend, Oregon about 3 weeks before the conference. I'll have 168 hours (plus or minus a few to maybe sleep) to work on designs. Can't wait. I think I've got it!! 04/26/2012
One of my BIG goals has been to first - learn how to read symbol crochet, and second, learn how to make my own symbol charts. I've played around with the (very) few software programs that do this (there are several awesomely fantastic programs for knitting, but crochet is late to the party). I've tried my hand at using plain old graph paper and drawing the chart myself. I downloaded a font package of crochet symbols and tried making charts using Excel. (That was fun. Not.) I finally realized that I can wish for a program that would do it ALL as much as I want. But unless I'm going to develop it myself, wishing isn't going to make it happen. So I went back to the available options, downloaded demos again, and got serious about it.  StitchWorksSoftware ended up getting my vote. One of the big pluses is the fact that the developer has a group on Ravelry so we (the users of the program) have easy, quick access to him for questions. He is currently working on a new release and actually asked everyone to list what features we would like him to work on next. Very nice. This chart is one of my first attempts (and as I look at it right now I can see an error - oops). The cool thing about designing patterns this way is the fact that you can SEE how the design will look. My scale is off on this one, but I know that as I become more familiar with the program and how to translate what's in my brain to the paper, it will help me immensely to work out a new pattern idea. I'm putting my new skills to the test this weekend as I work on some design submissions for publication. And even if these aren't accepted this time around, the time I spend making the charts won't be wasted - it's great practice! Does this mean I'm a "real designer" now?? 04/25/2012
 One of the cool little secrets of very prolific pattern designers is the use of 'sample knitters' (or sample crocheters in my case). A sample knitter/crocheter is someone you contract with to actually create your design from a drafted pattern rather than making it yourself. Obviously this allows the designer to get back to actually *designing* much more quickly. But it costs money. And it's a gamble - you could spend $100's of dollars getting samples made from a pattern and then it doesn't really sell well. Oops. Hopefully over the long run the successes outnumber the duds, but it can be a leap of faith to shell out that money months before the pattern is going to be ready to put up for sale. I am taking that leap this year. I'm currently getting paperwork from contract crocheters and will use them for several projects over the next few months. These projects have been weighing heavily and I'm thrilled that I will be able to 'outsource' some of the more time-consuming aspects. I can get my crocheters working on one thing while I go back to working on the next design in my sketchbook. Which means I'm finally going to be able to submit several designs to multiple publishers over the next few weeks - something that has been on my goal list for over 1 year. And THAT makes me feel like a 'real designer'! I was perusing the Etsy forums recently while working on a custom order. I've been so busy the past couple of months that I've only had time to quickly check in there and wanted to catch up a bit. Even with all the drama in the forums, there is often a lot of good information to be gleaned. I've learned a lot over the past 3 years from 'seasoned' sellers and when I can, I like to give some of that help to newer sellers. There was a post asking about pricing hand-knit items from someone considering opening a shop. This theme pops up quite frequently as pricing can be based on so many variables - quality and availability of materials, skill of the artisan, how long it takes to make the item, what the market will bear, and even the goals of the shop owner. But there also seems to be this underlying prejudice against calling something you love to do "a real job". As in "It's nice that you stay home and <insert specific creative process> all day, but when are you going to get a REAL JOB?" Excuse me, but since when did really, truly passionately enjoying what you do mean it doesn't count as a "real job"?? Since I'm supposed to be "retired" anyway, I don't get this attitude from others much but I sure see it directed at young whippersnappers who are trying to make their way in life without working a 9-5 job somewhere. Don't get me wrong; there's nothing wrong with a 9-5 job - been there, done that, reaping the benefits now. But if your dream lies elsewhere, then do what it takes to make it come true. If that means some schooling, if it's an apprenticeship, if it's just a lot of trial and error; then DO IT. And when you're able to spend the majority of your time doing something you love to do - then you've hit the jackpot. And the truth is that those naysayers are just jealous. Is it spring yet? 03/30/2012
It has been raining here on the southern coast of Oregon for days, if not weeks. No, really, it has. When I look at the forecast for the next 10 days it shows rain EVERY day. I don't mean 10% chance of showers; I mean RAIN. And it's been that way for 2 weeks. At least. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I hate rain. It's one of the reasons it is so gorgeous here - but after a while it really starts to wear on you. The effects tend to be magnified when you live in a small motorhome as well. And since most days the rain is accompanied by gale force winds, that means we can't have the awning up outside the door. So there is no place to shake off the water before you come inside. Yuck. Just, yuck. I've been trying to ignore the weather and stay focused on finishing 3 new patterns; 1 is through the testing process, 1 is in the middle of testing, and the 3rd will be posted for testing this weekend.  These half-finger, finger-tip, hobo gloves - whatever you want to call them - are turning out to be one of my favorite patterns. This pair was made by one of my testers - I love how the fingers are each a different color!! This pattern is now available on Ravelry to download immediately upon purchase. They are a quick project using a modified half-double crochet stitch that looks like the knit garter stitch. I always love to see pictures if you make a pair!! Any excuse works for me.... 03/18/2012
 The winter season is winding down here at the campground where we've been living the past 6 months. Winter workkampers are getting ready to move on, while the summer crew has started to arrive. Which means some of us look for excuses to get together for 'one more' potluck before we say goodbye. (Again I'm thankful for Facebook - makes it easy to keep in touch with those we've met along the way recently!) Our latest affair took place on St. Patrick's Day - it was a Saturday night; how could we resist?? I had envisioned rainbow banners with pots of gold (chocolate coins!), shamrock posters, and maybe even an Irish jig - but, alas, the local stores had nothing. I found lots and lots of bunny stuff for Easter; and even a fair amount of Mardi Gras decorations. But nothing to celebrate the wearin' of the green. I guess St. Paddy's Day has been relegated to the same status as Thanksgiving - stuck between 2 other holidays without much time to shine on its own. That's okay though, we made do. I crocheted a little leprechaun hat and stuck it at a jaunty angle on my hat mannequin, made a Blarney Stone from a river rock, and dribbled some food coloring in my beer. We had corned beef and cabbage, Irish stew, green potato salad, fish chowder, and lots of green cookies and cupcakes - and lots of fun and laughter. Somehow an Easter potluck just doesn't sound right, so we'll have to be more creative if we want to squeeze in one more party before it's time to hit the road again... Requests from the grandsons 03/06/2012
My two oldest grandsons (6 & 3) used to ask me why I was 'always doing stuff with that yarn'; they'd pick up the skein, poke it a bit and then wander off to create havoc somewhere else. Lately though, they've begun to figure out that grandma can sometimes make some 'super cool' things from 'that yarn stuff'. During my recent visit they each asked me to make them something - for Aiden it was a Spiderman hat (complete with a black spider). Jack requested a Superman scarf (what can I say - my grandsons are into superheroes these days). The hat was easy; I lucked out and found a pattern online that worked perfectly. The scarf presented a bit of a challenge and took a couple of false starts before I figured out the best way to do it. (For those who are interested, I made the scarf using a basic single crochet stitch and then 'cross stitched' the Superman logo using 1 sc stitch for each square in a graph. In my grandson's words: That's Super-cool!!) Now if I can just figure out a way to make a Darth Vader helmet....    Vacation is over... 03/06/2012
My recent trip to Alaska is history (although we're working on a way to return there to live!) and with signs of springs beginning to peek up here and there, I'm feeling refreshed and ready to tackle some new projects. I will have at least 3 new patterns available on KnitPicks in April sometime - the yarn for 2 sock designs and 1 'hobo gloves' design was waiting for me when I returned home. (Is there anything better than a yarn company sending you new yarn to play with??)  As soon as I finish those pattern samples, I'll be working on some ear warmer headbands, gloves and possibly small cowls with Qiviut yarn I purchased in Alaska. I'm making myself finish the KnitPicks samples first because I have a feeling I won't want to work on anything else once I start with the Qiviut! This stuff is SO luxurious - the skein on the left is a blend of Qiviut, cashmere and silk; the one of the right is Qiviut, merino, bamboo and nylon. I first saw the yarn when we were in Alaska last summer and decided I would get some on this last trip. It's pricey as Qiviut is rather rare; but everything I've read and heard says it's worth it. Never heard of qiviut? I hadn't either until last year. Qiviut is the delicate underwool of the Arctic muskox. It is one of the most sought after fibers in the world because of its rarity, softness and warmth. Qiviut is softer than cashmere and is light as a feather. It’s an insulating fiber and is comfortable to wear in any climate. Qiviut is rated eight times warmer than sheep wool. 100% qiviut is non-shrinkable, non-felting and safe for people who suffer from sheep wool allergies. Unlike wool, qiviut is not scratchy. The more you handle and wash it, the softer it feels. Any yarn-aholic would be salivating at the chance to play with this stuff! Flip Flops and Sox? 02/13/2012
I love handmade socks. Whether knitted or crocheted, there is just something very cool about wearing socks that are uniquely yours. Bright colors, stripes, lacy cuffs, perhaps even a Star Trek insignia on a pair of socks that will last years is something you just can't get at the local wally world. Shoes, however, are another story. I'm not crazy about shoes. (Yes, I know - I have a defective female gene somewhere). I'd much rather go barefoot or sock-foot than put on a pair of shoes - indoors or outdoors. Since that doesn't work for a significant portion of the year, flip flops are my next choice. Which works well a lot of the time. However. Then there is <cue scary music intro> Airport. Security. Flip flops are super easy to slip off when you're scrambling to get all your stuff in those conveyor belt bins without holding up everyone behind you. But walking barefoot on airport floors?? YUCK! So I decided I would make myself some socks that I could wear with my flip flops for my upcoming flight to Alaska. Easy to take the shoes off, and no bare airport floor touching my toes. Great idea!! I searched high and low for a pattern that I could use to make myself a pair and could not find a single crochet pattern for flip flop socks, split toe socks, tabi socks. Whatever you want to call them, apparently no crocheter has attempted to make any. Ooookay...I'll just make my own pattern.  And I have! It's almost ready to put out to be tested and I *WOULD* have had my pair completed and ready to wear if I had two right feet. <sigh> Yes, I've now made 3 of these socks as I've worked through the drafting and testing of the pattern but I neglected to take into consideration that these socks are 'foot specific'. You can't just flip them over and wear on whichever foot you happen to grab first. So it's T-minus 4 days until I have to get on that first plane and I still need to make a left footed sock. Eh...who needs sleep anyway...?? Say what?? 01/08/2012
 The art of crocheting and the ability to read written crochet patterns are 2 different skills. Perhaps because crochet is often something passed down by our grandmother or mother and it's a 'show me how to do that' kind of thing rather than picking up a book or taking a class. I don't know; but it's been interesting to me to hear from so many crocheters - when I mention that I am a pattern designer - "Oh, I can't read patterns." I actually designed a few basic patterns just for the purpose of easing crocheters into learning the language of written patterns. Like any language, there is a specific syntax to patterns as well as all those abbreviations to understand. Hopefully I'm becoming more and more proficient as I tackle more difficult designs! But since there are crocheters all over the world, and since not everyone speaks English, symbol crochet charts using universal symbols are becoming more and more prevalent. Nothing is more disappointing than finding an awesome design, tracking down the pattern and then finding it is written in Japanese. It's happened to me more than once. The thing is, most of those Japanese patterns have charts included. In fact, a LOT of 'other language' patterns have those charts. Seems the United States is a bit behind the times in embracing this way of writing patterns. (Reminds me of our reluctance to adopt the metric system, but that's another blog post...) As I research the guidelines for submitting patterns to magazines & publishers though I'm finding that they are encouraging charts to be included. I've tried to figure them out on my own, but once I'm past the first couple of rows I'm lost. I was hoping to take a class at a conference I'm attending later this year, but my online crocheting community is offering an online class this week! I'm planning to spend Monday afternoon & evening digging into the class handouts and tackling the charts. I have high hopes that this will finally get me going since there are also several videos to explain them as well. It's by far a better, more efficient way to design - you can *see* if your stitch counts are wrong when you're looking at a visual representation of the rows. Basically like a blueprint! I'm excited! |
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