A Quandary

Everything you see on my Ravelry designer page that says "journalgazette.net" is a free pattern. Come July or August, the Journal Gazette is changing over how it does its website, so all of those links might (or might not) stop working. There are ways to archive a website and keep old links working, but I'm not sure that a newspaper will want to do that. After all, yesterday's news is, well, old.

That's over 150 patterns. You can kind of tell which ones were from my really early days. A few are, frankly, embarrassing.

I was able to make them, and provide them for free, because my employer allowed me to use work time to write, format and post them. (They asked me to do all of the knitting at home, and I did. I also paid for my own yarn.)

I'll admit: some of them aren't great patterns. Even the ones that produce great finished products aren't written in the most standard ways. Only a few have sizing of any kind. Most of them don't even have page numbers. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but it can be if you're a little tired and don't want to think more than you have to. Many of them use handspun yarn or yarn that is discontinued.

I don't want the patterns to just go away. But...

To justify spending time reformatting, rewriting (using a real, live style sheet!) and suggesting alternative yarns, I would have to charge for the patterns.

I love the thought of updating things, and maybe offering them in collections.

But, will people hate me for what might look like charging for patterns that used to be free?

I End Up With Some Weird-Looking Notes

I'm not always great at visualizing things completely in my head, so I often draw "maps" of stitches to figure out how many stitches are in-between decreases. This is for the shaping of a sock heel that I thought I figured out a year ago -- but it turns out I needed to know more about it, so away I went!

What's In A Name?

Briefly, when I was a kid, I wrote poetry. I loved writing. I hated choosing titles for poems, though. When I became a photographer, I simply called everything by the numeric system I had developed for filing my negatives.

I worry about naming things. A lot. I know names matter, so I worry about picking a good one.

Fortunately, I have clever friends. I described the above hat, which is made in 12 sets of 12 rows, to one and she said, "Well, that's a gross."

There you have it.

The So Easy It's Gross Hat.

No one else has used it on Ravelry, either.

(Yes, I always check.)

The Long View & Trying Again

Chicken Dinner Socks

I don't know if it's because I come from a background in newspapers, where today's work is tomorrow's recycling, but the long timeline on some of my designs sometimes gives me pause.

I knit the prototype for my Chicken Dinner Socks in June of 2012. They were published 15 months later.

I just signed a contract for a (needs to be secret for now, sorry) project that is set to be published in September of 2014. The first swatch of what later became that design is from early July of this year. So, that will be 15 months, too.

Maybe 15 is my lucky number!

But three also seems to be my lucky number. I once asked a photographer who had won a grant to continue her work what made the difference between the two years that she was rejected and the third year she was accepted.

"Different judges," she said. That was it. She and her work were both the same.

When I develop a design idea I really like, I submit it to three places before I make a final decision to self-publish or scrap it.

I don't do them all at once (that would be rude!) and I don't just throw whatever I've been doing into the hopper and see what comes out (that would just waste everyone's time). I just usually have three or four ideas simmering that I think are ready to be seen. When I read a design call that sounds like it might fit, I polish one up (or cook up a new one) and send it.

Sometimes rejection makes me rethink an idea or change a design element. Sometimes I reassess and decide I like it even more than before. I always keep in mind that choosing a body of work has a lot of factors involved. Just because a design didn't work as part of a group (or doesn't match someone else's idea of an awesome knit) doesn't mean that it doesn't have merit.

More than once, the third publication I have sent an idea to has said, "Yes!" Again, I will never know for sure if the stars are aligning at that particular moment or if the previous two rejections made me sharpen my presentation/idea that much more.

After all:

"The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work."

- Thomas A. Edison 

Sherwood Slippers Are Out!

 

Sherwood Slippers are toe-up, lightly-felted slippers for when you need just a little extra padding and warmth - perfect for when you’ve kicked off your shoes at home. They are felted to fit the wearer.

There is no grafting and you can choose between two methods of casting on. It’s the best of both worlds! I made these slippers just to take advantage of the construction techniques I loved. After I made them, they reminded me of Robin Hood, hence the name. They fold very flat, so they’re great for when you’re traveling with your merry men and ladies.

The final slipper should be about the same size as the foot of the wearer. 

Yarn: Cascade 128 Wool. 128 yards (117 meters)/100 grams (3.53 ounces). 1 [1, 1, 2] skeins. Sample shown in Red, in Women’s Medium.

Needles: Whatever type of needle you prefer for working in the round in a small circumference, plus a spare needle. Size #10 (6.0 mm) needles, or size needed to get gauge.

You will also need: 4 stitch markers; a stitch holder or waste yarn.

Gauge: 15 sts and 22 rows in 4 inches/10 cm of stockinette stitch, after felting.

Sizes: To fit U.S. Women's Small [Women’s Medium, Women’s Large/Men's Medium, Men’s Large]; Slippers are meant to have 0 ease (in other words, actually be around the size of the foot) and are 8 [9, 9.6, 10.66] inches/ 20.25 [23, 24.5, 27] cm around and 8.66 [9.66, 10.66, 11] inches/ 22 [24.5, 27, 28] cm long. The length can be adjusted, simply look for the note in the pattern. 

Looking for Inspiration

I worry about writer's (knitter's?) block a lot less than I used to. Creative work takes practice. The more you work on it, the easier it is.

This isn't one of those swatches. I was too disgusted to take photos of them.

However, sometimes I just can't get the process to work. A design call went out a few days ago from a company that I love. They create truly delicious yarn and I would absolutely freak out if I got to design for them.

I printed out the call, looked at their inspiration boards, and sat down with my sketchpad and pencil.

Nothing.

"Ok, I can do this. I'll try again."

I read over some old knitting books that are full of techniques. Sometimes a technique is enough to set me off on the path to a design.

Nothing.

I swatched a little. It can't hurt. I made four different swatches in different yarns on different needles. A cowl? A hat? Socks?

Nothing.

Blugh. I guess working with this company will have to wait. Maybe I'll have a better time connecting with their next set of ideas. I don't want to force it and end up with something I don't like.

It Happens...

I have a new pair of slippers: Sherwood Slippers.

They are a little less structured than some of my others, but I really like them. I decided I wanted to offer sizes, this time. They go from women's small to men's large. Knit on large needles, they are a super-fast knit. (This is good, since every relative who has seen a pair wants some.)

I sent the pattern out to testers and got some notes back - the slippers were unusually large. Like, maybe a whole size larger than I meant for them to be. The ones I knit, in women's medium, fit my size 8.5 feet and Dee's size 6.5 feet (with socks), so I couldn't figure out what was wrong.

I popped open the spreadsheet and fiddled with numbers. I had accidentally figured out the circumference needed for the slippers by using the length measurement. Whoops! No wonder they were too big. I worked up some revisions and will try again...

Book Folder, #1

This is the first folder for the book. It's stuffed with yarn samples, swatches, and the scribbles of my notes on quasi-patterns as I knit through what I wrote. I hauled it around in my knitting bag. In quiet morning moments and during lunches alone, I wrote out, by hand, my ideas and formulas, trying to peel back three-dimensional shapes into sets of numbers that made sense.

Stapled into the front of the folder: every receipt for all of the yarn provided for Simply Socks Yarn Company. Stapled into the back: a chart of foot/sock sizes.

When I started revising the book, I made a new folder. It allows me not to be so overwhelmed, but I can still keep my old notes in case I need them for later.

Journalists are terrible about either keeping or losing everything. I'm trying to stay somewhere in the middle. Still, something tells me that I will hold onto this folder for a very long time.

Keys to the Castle Pattern Preview is Up!

The Keys to the Castle preview is now available on Ravelry. 

This pattern will retail for $4.99 but will be $3.99 to anyone who buys it through Ravelry during the preview period, which will end on Nov. 1. (You don't have to do the KAL to buy the pattern at the preview price, but why not do both?)

I will host a Knit A Long (KAL) within the I Dream in Color group for this pattern on Ravelry. (Consider joining, if you're not a member. It's free!)

KAL Rules:

- Any Keys to the Castle started after November 1, 2013 and finished on or before January 1, 2014 will be eligible for the prize.

- To be eligible for the prize, you must use any Dream in Color yarn and must post a photo of your completed project in the KAL thread on Ravelry.

- You can use the tag “DICcastleKAL” for your projects.

Prize: a skein of Perfectly Posh Sport in Heavenly, to be awarded at random amongst the eligible participants at the end of the KAL.

Here's how it works. If you buy the preview at the lower price (which is just one page basically saying what you need to make a gauge swatch), when the pattern goes "live" on November 1, 2013, I will send you an update with the whole pattern. Join in on the Knit A Long either way for a chance to win a skein of yarn.

P.S. - Until you have a project photo of your own, feel free to download this sleepy little guy to use on your project page. 

Getting ready to Dream in Color?

Folder As Timeline

I use physical folders to bring together the few non-digital things I create as I'm working on a pattern. It holds my swatches, my first draft of the pattern with my notes, and any sketches I draw by hand. All of the folders go into one storage file, so that I don't lose them. The patterns, samples, and swatches for my book are all in their own storage file box. (I borrowed this idea from Hunter Hammersen, and I love it.)

In theory, it could ALL be digital, but I still end up with some physical stuff because I find proofreading (and making notes while knitting) on paper easier.

As I near the launch date for a pattern, I like to use the outside of the folder to outline finishing-touch goals for myself, with deadlines. I have a terrible memory and if I don't write things down, I literally lose sleep because I'm so worried that I forgot something.

The pattern is back from the tech editor (the lovely Stephannie Tallent), so all I have to do now is add some finishing touches to get ready for the pattern's pre-release next week. 

Quick Video

I was going to edit this video and make it a little more polished, but it's only 19 seconds long.

This way, you get to see me mess up, get the hang of it, and slow down again.

There will be a link to this video in the Keys to the Castle pattern.

Adorable Baby and Lighting

One of my friends agreed to let me photograph her adorable 3-month-old in the sample of Keys to the Castle. We made a date for me to come over on my lunch hour one day. It was a fun shoot. He is a super-relaxed and happy baby. The weather was pretty warm - in the upper 70s. I wouldn't have been cheerful if someone wrapped me in a wool/mohair/silk/cashmere sweater!

The sweater was a little big on him, but I think it still looks really cute. That might all be him, though. I tried three different methods of lighting him. They all work, just in different ways.

From first set of photos, light from handheld strobe, bounced off white ceiling. Color on sweater looks good, but skin tones can get a little strange with this method.

Second set of photos. This is all natural light coming in through the front door. In many homes, this is your best bet.

I'm still using a strobe, bounced off the ceiling, here, but I've lowered the shutter speed of the camera to allow more of the room's light to come in.

This last method usually gets pretty good color, but a fit of the cute squirmies can lead to somewhat blurred photos!

Illustrator and the Self-Publishing Knitter

I realize that Illustrator is out of reach for a lot of people. I wouldn't have it myself if I didn't have the entire Adobe suite because I teach photojournalism at a local college.

I'm hardly an expert on that software, but I know Photoshop and InDesign pretty well, and a lot of the controls are similar, so I don't feel completely lost. I decided not to redraw the whole sweater in Illustrator. I wanted to see what it would look like if I took a photograph of the sweater and used it as a basis for the schematic. I also could have used my original sketch, but I think the photo looks better.

I pulled a flat photo of the sweater into Photoshop, turned most of the background completely white, and imported it into Illustrator. Then, I just drew the lines and ovals I needed to show the measurements and added a few numbers with the Text tool.

It looks pretty clear to me. Although, I should probably whittle away a little more at that background and add a measurement for the length of the sleeves. The arrowheads are also maybe a little too big?

P.S. - If you want to learn new-to-you software in a way that's fast and easy, I can't recommend Lynda.com highly enough.

Shooting (and Editing) Photos

The draft/test/sample version of Keys to the Castle knit up in a flash. I couldn't seem to put the little knit down, even when I was supposed to be doing other things at home.

After washing and blocking, I was ready for photography. I have a photo tiny studio in the corner of the living room. It's a little bit more sophisticated than this $12 set up, but it's not too far off. I have white paper instead of foil and two small strobes for lighting. (If you want info on how I choose strobes, I wrote about it here. One of mine was my mom's when she was in college.)

I shot the little sweater, along with all of the details I thought I needed, and one little one of it folded over that I couldn't resist. I am a huge sucker for detail and close-up shots of knitting and I always just kind of hope that people don't think that's really strange.

I pulled the photos into Photoshop, color corrected them and removed the spots that are a fact of life when you're using a 10-year-old digital camera. Then, I opened them all at once and looked at them, together, to make sure their colors match. Even in a studio-like setting, different angles will make the light bounce differently off of the fiber. I've noticed this is especially obvious with yarns that include silk, like this one.

Checking Color

Color is color and there's no such thing as perfect, but I want the colors to be as close to 1) reality and 2) each other as possible. 

I'm pretty thrilled!

So far, I've used Word, Google Docs, Adobe Acrobat, a Nikon D100, some really old strobes, an iPhone (to record video and shoot the first hand-drawn sketch), and Photoshop. I'm planning on using Illustrator to make a simple schematic, Premiere to edit the video, and a free Vimeo account to host the final video. Oh, and yarn, needles, and a little Soak. Does Netflix count as a design tool?

It takes a lot to do what looks so simple.

Coming Up: Illustrator and an Adorable Baby Model (not both at the same time.)

Casting On and a False Start

This is from the second try.

I churned through the first mock-up of the pattern pretty quickly. I was really eager to get this little sweater on the needles!

I like to have a rough draft of the pattern that is as complete as possible as I knit the sample. It's easier for me to take notes and make changes from that than to write out what I'm doing as I go.

I was working along, loving the yarn, and little questions kept nagging me, at the back of my mind. Had I accounted for the front band stitches? Was I really sure that the increase rows would work out well for every size? Did I have too many stitches on the back? Why were the smallest and 6-month sizes so close together in stitch count? There really did seem to be too many stitches being cast on all at once for the second tier of the neck for it to look right. 

I've learned not to ignore those questions for too long. A poetry teacher once told me to take anything you write and put it away, where you can't see it, for at least a day. A week is better. When you look at it again, all of the mistakes will leap out at you. 

I took a second look at the spreadsheet. I had forgotten to note where I was ignoring and where I was including the front band stitches. I needed some of them (but not all, because they overlap) for figuring out things like the real, final chest measurement of the resulting sweater. I didn't need any of them for figuring out if the 4x + 1 stitch pattern repeat right before the sleeves and body were divided would fit. 

Worst of all, I hadn't thought of it as a 4x + 1 stitch pattern repeat. I'd noted it as a 4x + 3 repeat. Two stitches may not sound like a big deal, but it mattered a lot, in this case. 

I struggled with it a little bit. This stage of design seems straightforward, but there are moments where it can feel like trying to make a bed with a blanket that's too small. I get it all good on one corner only to find that another corner is bare. I even went on Twitter and complained a little bit about it - and felt much better when other designers chimed in, saying that designing raglan-style sweaters is way harder than it looks.

I finally took out a pencil and paper and scribbled around a bit, writing down every decision I made about the math and why. That clarified things. I can get locked into the spreadsheet too much and lose sight of what I'm actually trying to accomplish.

I went through the pattern notes and inserted the new numbers, which now made more sense. I reprinted the pattern and started again, still madly in love with the yarn.

Swatches and Thanks

My bare-bones pattern is mostly a series of headings and questions to myself. This one started out like this:

Sizes To fit 3 [6, 12] months, although babies vary greatly. When in doubt, knit the larger size! Our adorable model is wearing the six-month size. (Does the family want the full name, first name, or just Adorable Model here?)

Finished dimensions Chest: 18 [19, 20] inches; Length: 9.74 [10.5, 11.75] inches.

Yarn Dream in Color, Perfectly Posh Sport, sport weight, 70% wool, 10% mohair, 10% silk, 10% cashmere. 320 yards/293 meters in 100 grams. Color A: Amber Glass; (HOW MUCH?); Color B: Heavenly: (HOW MUCH?). 

Needles #5 (3.75 mm) needles, or size needed to produce gauge. (CHECK THIS) Any kind of needle can be used, but you will also need two #5 double-pointed needles to make i-cord. 

Gauge 24 stitches = 4 inches in both one and two-color stockinette stitch. (CHECK THIS)

As it turned out, I was half correct about the gauge. 6 sts/inch was totally cool with #5 needles on the single-color portion of the swatch. The two-color portion, not so much.

I should stop here and say a big THANK YOU to Laura Ricketts, who became my instant friend in May when she drove up to see me on a personal mission to make me give up my fear of color-stranded knitting and intarsia. Her knitting is awesome and wonderful and almost as nice as she is in person.

Anyway, when I saw that the two-color portion of the swatch didn't succumb to my screaming at it and trying to block it wider (I don't know why that doesn't work), I did a second swatch with larger needles. That portion of the pattern changed to:

#5 (3.75 mm) needles, or size needed to produce gauge. (I needed to use #5 for one-color stockinette stitch and #6 for two-color stockinette stitch.) Any kind of needle can be used, but you will also need two #5 double-pointed needles to make i-cord. 

Swatches complete, I emailed a tech editor (Stephannie Tallent) to get on her schedule, messaged a friend who has an adorable baby about modeling for photos, and got to work putting together a spreadsheet to get actual stitch counts before casting on for the sample sweater.

Answering the Call

Magazine (and book) knitting projects usually have to be kept top-secret until they are published. For the last few months, I've been responding to more calls for designs from yarn companies. They can lead to really positive relationships for both parties. (As the designer, you really need to read what is wanted from you/what is being offered and decide if that will work for you. There are as many ways to do this as there are yarn companies!)

In this case, I sent a submission in to Dream in Color for their Perfectly Posh Sport yarn line. They offered to provide yarn support and some cross-promotion in exchange for running a knit-a-long of the design. 

I went to Paris in May on vacation and now I just can't shut up about it. Um, I mean I took a ton of photos and am turning to them for inspiration a lot, which probably bothers at least a few of my knitting-group friends. 

One was this little wood building on the grounds of the palace at Versailles, near where you can rent boats for the Grand Canal. 

I have no idea what it is. Guard warming house? Just cute? Anyway, I loved it. Looking at it a few months later with a knitter's eye, I thought it would be a cute baby sweater. I sketched a basic shape, figured out what sizes I wanted, and started writing a very rough draft of the pattern. In homage to the little building, I called the design Keys to the Castle.

This is the first page of the pdf I sent to Dream in color. 

They accepted my idea and suggested an alternative goldish-colored yarn to the one I picked off the website. I always bow to whoever has actually seen the yarn. Choosing colors from a computer screen can be a tricky proposition, at best. 

Tune in tomorrow for what happened when the yarn hit the needles...