DesigningVashti Website: Doors are Starting to Open!

You can actually see most of my website now, as long as you promise to ignore typos and "under construction" notes, and a few links that don't go where they should yet! (If you can't promise that then please don't click yet. I have more polishing to do today & tomorrow.)

http://www.designingvashti.com/

As of yesterday the site has its own cute search box! AND, the links to my patterns work! (See "Crochet Pattern Shop" in the left menu.)

I don't think I've shown off my pretty logo here yet. My fantasy is to see it on DesigningVashti Swag (project bag, stationery, crochet hook case, my morning coffee mug, & stuff), so I needed to have a logo I could love and I do.

I'm adding downloadable pattern PDF's to the shop on a daily basis. They are sorted into twelve project categories (it started off as six)! The benefit of this is that when I go on to add hundreds more crochet patterns, the shop pages won't become slow to load or too much to scroll through. Also, I just plain like to see patterns grouped by specific project types. The downside right now is that until I get more loaded, it looks like each project category has only a few patterns. In the For the Beach and the Shawls & Wraps categories, it looks like there's only ONE (The Weightless Tunisian Wrap is downloadable now!), but I've designed way more than that, so I don't like how empty it looks right now!

The site has its SSL (secure socket layer) Certificate installed, so it's safe for shopping.
Another thing I'm doing today is setting up a pattern support forum, and choosing the best way to create my new newsletter. (The sign up for the newsletter at the website works great by the way.)

I hope to add the logo to this blog as part of a gentle facelift! Maybe Blogger templates have gotten easier to customize since I checked about a year ago.

Fashiony Fearlessness

I aim to live up to this Fearless Leader Award for High Fashion! Isn't this year's award by Darlisa Riggs a soul-stirring design?

Behind the scenes here at chez DesigningVashti, I've been whipping up a crochet pattern menu. Some appetizers, some meaty main courses, an odd side dish or two (wouldn't be DesigningVashti otherwise), and some pure confections for dessert. By my next post or two I'll have a new lovely logo to unveil. Also probably a fun surprise by then.
pictured: "Mesmer"

So what's the main course and what's the side dish? Funny to think of crochet patterns this way, but it works (I love analogies and metaphors). For me, fashion designs are the main courses of my dream crochet dinner. For other designers and publishers, the meat and potatoes might be, say, afghans and baby layettes, right? I design those too sometimes, but a Fearless Leader Flamie for High Fashion? I feel a calling. Someone tapping my shoulder. A lightning strike, even.

Renee Barnes just posted an interview with me as part of her online Industry Insider Interviews series. I really enjoyed Renee's range of questions, so if you've ever wondered what strange skills I possess, or what my absolute first design proposals looked like, this interview tells all.  pictured: "Arrowhead"

For some reason I felt particularly free to spout off about some stuff--to come clean, to speak my truth, to tell it like it is from where I sit. I don't try to be provocative, but you know, just saying what one really thinks can be provocative by nature. If you like this sort of thing, esp. in the interview where I get on a roll about why I'm self-publishing, then you'll also enjoy the interview I did with Mary Beth Temple for her Getting Loopy podcast!

I suppose I'm feeling freer because I'm not actively seeking freelance work--traditionally in crochet world, freelance designers have had to be models of discretion. (By 'freelance' I mean selling all rights to my crochet patterns to publishers for a lump sum).

Surely I'm feeling freer because my 4-year term as national guild director ended on Jan. 1, 2010, so I am no longer an officer, representative & emissary of an organization.

And then there is the 6-year factor. Six years in crochet design: a lot or a little? Depends on who you ask, but it's definitely enough to know what I think about some things!

Here's a complete list of Flamie winners. Thank you to the Crochet Liberation Front and its Fearless Leader, Laurie Wheeler!

A Be-Ruffled "Craft Fail" in Slip Stitches

I love the CraftFail site! It has taken oh, 5 years or so for me to get ruthless about this craft fail:

It's a shrug crocheted in somewhat loose slip stitches. The 3/4-sleeves end with unusual linked and unlinked triple trebles--a swingy ruffled fantasy. In my mind.


The big reason for the fail is that I used a large crochet hook to make stretchy slip stitches in novelty chenille yarn. I can't think of a bigger invitation for chenille yarn to "worm". Even before the worming began, the stitches stretched unevenly, also thanks to the texture of the yarn. It was especially noticeable on the shoulders (ugh!). To top it off, the angora look turned into a ratty look.
After wearing once or twice, it looked as if an animal had chewed on it 20 years ago.


I couldn't face how fast it went downhill because the ruffles were so time-consuming! As a useful design experiment for me at the time, this makes the ruffle the same as a research swatch, but should I save the whole shrug for one ruffle?


OK yes, there's that whole "turning lemons into lemonade" virtue, and the CraftFail site inspired me to try every which way to make lemonade with this lemon. I tried blocking it, adding black velvet ribbon accents (see photo at right), even going so far as to consider: might this shrug be turned into capri pants? LOL, nooo!

But I will always have my memory of Marty trying it on one night at the 2005 CGOA conference in Oakland, CA. It looked better on her than on me!

Launch of My New Crochet Patterns Website!?

The new Vashti year has begun because my birthday was February 1st. (It was a blast! My husband and friends threw a surprise party for me and I was in a daze for the next half hour. Lots of birthday wishes rolled in on my Facebook page--I love that.) The next few weeks are all about the final touches of my website for downloadable crochet patterns, in time for the Getting Loopy podcast on February 22. Be sure to tune in, I will be the guest!

I've never done a big crochet website before so things take a little longer than I expect them to. For example, I know how long it takes to produce one crochet design; but I have six different categories of crochet projects, and they range from beginner level to advanced--patterns for clothing, accessories, children (including educational toys), home decor, etc. I'm looking forward to showing you my new Tunisian crochet patterns too (photo above is a sneak peek; does it look crocheted to you?).

I had to create a whole section just for crochet jewelry! Turns out I have a gazillion designs in me for crocheted bracelets, necklaces, rings, everything. I have tips to share and special projects for them that are unique to jewelry making. It's its own world, really.

Really Handy Gift for Crocheters & Knitters!

One of the most valuable tools in my crochet design studio is so simple and easy to find and use:

Why oh why did it take me so long to get a digital scale? How many other crocheters and knitters are in the same boat as me? If you think you might use one of these, think again: you'll definitely use it and wonder how you got along without it. It's so much easier to plan projects with whatever scrap yarns you have stashed away. Below is a mini-tutorial on one of its many uses for yarnies.

It needs to be reasonably sensitive and accurate. Of course the more so the better, but you don't need to spend a fortune. I'm happy with mine and it cost $30 at Target. It switches easily from ounces to grams. I prefer grams because 1 gram is a smaller unit of measurement than 1 ounce, so I get a more fine-tuned result.

The Urgent Situation Causing Me to Buy a Digital Scale: I wished to crochet a triangular neckwrap with one large skein of yarn (Misti Alpacas Handpainted Alpaca Sock). I planned to start at one top corner and keep increasing until I used half of the yarn, then use the other half of the yarn to decrease over the same number of rows as I increased.

The Crux of the Issue: How will I know when I've used no more than half of the one ball of yarn? Exactly when do I start decreasing instead of increasing?

First I weighed the total amount of yarn (with label, crochet hook, stitch markers removed). Yarn label says 100 grams. When I put both all yarn (crocheted and precrocheted) on scale with nothing flopping over the scale's edge, it weighed in at 103g. Isn't that nice? A 3-gram bonus.

Photo 1: When I weigh the crochet only, it says 55g! This means I need to rip out a few increase rows and start decreasing.

Photo 2: After ripping out 3 rows or so, the crochet now weighs in at 51g.

Photo 3: When I weigh just the unused yarn, it should say 52g, and it does.

I decide to flirt with danger and really put this yarn-weighing strategy to the test. Wouldn't it be deeply satisfying if I have exactly the amount of yarn needed to complete the triangle with none left over? I only gave myself a 1-gram buffer and have already started the decrease rows. I need to make sure that my gauge stays the same throughout!

Now to finish crocheting it and find out....

How Crochet Designers Celebrate

I've just mailed off a design that will appear in the Spring 2010 issue of Interweave Crochet magazine. I can blog some fun things about it as we get closer to the publication date.

Designers I've talked to celebrate after they mail off a design for publication because it's momentous! It means:

• completed item has all ends woven in, photographed, measured before and after being wet-blocked and completely air-dried, then boxed up and shipped off;
• the written pattern is completed, proofread, and emailed to the company;
• schematics and other diagrams are created in a format that can be emailed (I still draw them on paper and then upload a photo of them; others scan them in or draw with software)
• contract is signed and mailed or faxxed

A design event leaves behind a lot of clutter--rough drafts, submission guidelines, tools for finishing and blocking, yarn and swatches, candy wrappers.... so it's not surprising that most designers I know do a big clean sweep around their studio. That's what I'm going to do next.

Some designers go out for a nice dinner with their families. Do you know what else is common? Sitting in front of the TV totally vegging out! I don't need to do that this time because I didn't have to write the pattern for five sizes. Sizing crochet patterns turns the usual designer into a mumbling zombie LOL.

Others immediately begin their next design. This is the case for me this time, happily. I'm writing up lots of new downloadable crochet patterns to offer soon, and I love it! I love designing more than ever! I'm getting close to launching my own crochet pattern store so I can start blogging more about that.

About the Tokyo Jacket Free Crochet Pattern at Naturallycaron.com

I'm elated that I've been awarded the Set My Picot Free Award for Crochet Excellence and Phenomenal Fashion by the Fearless Leader of the Crochet Liberation Front :)

For the Tokyo Jacket design I actually have the "eureka!" moment on paper. Want to see it?

I remember that: "OO! OO! LACE SIDE PANELS!!" (dates from June 2008). You can see from that scribbly sketch that the construction is the simple & easy "T-shape," just like a traditional kimono (a cropped one). The lacy sections disguise this. So do my exaggerated corners. In other words, it's easier to make than it looks.

There's a Ravelry forum thread devoted to this pattern. I posted some comments there regarding the sleeves. Regarding adjusting the length of them, "The length of the sleeves is easy to shorten because they are crocheted from the shoulder down. Each row pair adds 2-3 inches as I recall."

Someone asked about making it sleeveless. My response was: "Normally [with T-shape construction] the shoulder seam lands part-way down the arm and looks bunchy or clunky, but here it’s all lace. So if you make the Tokyo Jacket sleeveless, the solid part will still land at your shoulder and look fitted to your size, but it won’t widen to fit your bust and hip. The lace takes care of that in the pattern. You could add your own lace panels at the sides to make it fit as a vest."

The yarn is Naturallycaron’s Country, which is the worsted wt. one with merino content (vs. Spa, which is the sportwt. one with bamboo content). Country doesn’t grow a lot from weight but it could from steam blocking (which I don’t recommend!). Spraying it with water to block is enough. Blocking photos and more in the previous blog entry.

Silk Crochet for the CGOA Conference

I'd better stop what I'm doing and blog now, before I get even busier! My dream is to have something really special to wear to CGOA's Crystal Jubilee 15th Anniversary festivities at the Chain Link conference in less than a month.

I finally decided what I want to crochet with my Tess Yarns Cascade Silk stash yarn: a luxe waistcoat-type garment.

I'm starting off with Tunisian Simple Stitch for the bodice, worked in one piece. I sketched out a paper pattern and am shaping as I go. The right front and armhole of the bodice are completed so far. I'm enjoying the shaping experiments. And, the feeling of silk flowing through my fingers :)

Next will be a marathon swatching event in which I try to create the exquisite edging that I picture in my head, bordering the whole bodice. I did something similar when I designed this published tunic, but I'm picturing a new kind of edging for this silk waistcoat. ::crossing fingers that it will only take 1 afternoon of swatching::

After that, somewhat long panels cascading from the bottom edge of the bodice; their length and specific shape to be determined later. I may embroider the bodice, I may not. Crystals may also be involved, or not.

Actually, the dream is to have something special to wear every day that I'm there but if all I manage to complete is this silk waistcoat, I'll be jubilant.

Crochet Foundation Stitches: A Beadwork Tip

Note: In the course of writing this post I explain two projects: a child's "hippie" headband and a hemp teacher's bracelet. They help me illustrate a new crochet tip, so I've turned them into simple free crochet patterns. I've put them into classic pattern format on my ToyDesigningVashti blog.



pictured: swatch of 5 heights of foundation stitches (no base chain used)




If you crochet with beads, you know there's a list of things to keep in mind:

1. The beads tend to fall to the back of the crochet stitches
2. The bead hole needs to be big enough for the crochet yarn/thread & needle
3. The beads often need to be strung onto your yarn in a certain order before crocheting
4. Non-round beads may settle into a crochet stitch at an unintended angle

Today's post is about #4. Yes, for those of us who have ever tried to....

• Line up alphabet beads just so (see 2nd photo)
  
• Make smiley beads look you straight in the eye, not tilt toward 3-o'clock or worse
• Have oval or tube-shaped beads lie horizontally instead of on a vertical angle
  

....Foundation crochet stitches can help! The Foundation Single Crochet stitch has also been called Foundationless Single Crochet, Chain-Free, Chainless Foundation, Double Chain Stitch, and Base Chain Single Crochet. I've blogged about them and designed with them. They're becoming hot additions to a crocheter's toolbox for at least 3 reasons besides bead crochet. They:

1. Eliminate the need to crochet the first row of stitches into a foundation chain (something I've never enjoyed!)
2. Are fabulous for fashion crochet because the starting edge of your garment is much more elastic (a big thank you to Doris Chan for teaching me this years ago)
3. Result in a stronger, nicer cord (or purse strap, for ex.), of any desirable width, instead of plain chain stitches
4. Are structured of vertical and horizontal strands that are easily beadable, unlike standard crochet stitches

(3rd photo: "Lunar Window" designed for House of White Birches in 2005, using foundation stitches of varied heights exclusively)

If you've been following me in Twitter, you know that I recently made small items with my fourth grader that his classmates can purchase with school dollars at their "Mini-Mall" event.

We settled on a '70's hippie theme and so I brought out my stash of hemp cord, rainbow yarns, and hippie-looking beads (smileys, peace signs). My son's first thought was "headbands"! My first reaction was, "Sure! Quick and easy, if I use foundation crochet stitches."

I simply did 45 fsc with medium-weight yarn and an I (5.5mm) crochet hook, slip stitched the ends together, and added colored wood beads to the two yarn tails (no weaving in ends). See what I mean? Get out of here with that "work a row of single crochets into a foundation chain." So old school.

Now let's add tricky beads. I made beaded hemp bracelets for a few teachers (using shank buttons as beads). I had to string them on before crocheting so that they were all facing the same direction. As you can see in the photo, you wouldn't want a peace sign or smiley sideways or upside down; the sunglasses would have ended up sideways in a standard single crochet stitch.
Show Tricky Beads Who's Boss
Here's the step-by-step on how to crochet 'em in, using the actual bracelet pattern I created:

String 6 beads onto hemp string so that they face the same direction. String on a 7th larger bead to serve as a clasp button.

1. Chain 1, slide large bead up close to hook, chain 1 (1 beaded chain made), insert hook in 1st chain made, yarn over and pull up a loop, ch 1 leaving 1 loop still on hook (this becomes the "foundation chain" of the next sc you'll make; pinch it with your fingers or place a stitch marker there), yarn over, pull loop through both loops on hook (single crochet made).

2. Insert hook in the next marked (or pinched) stitch, yarn over and pull up a loop, chain 1 leaving 1 loop still on hook, mark it, yarn over and pull through both loops on hook. You have now made 2 fsc.

Notice that when you make each fsc, first you make a chain and the 3 yarn strands of the chain will run horizontally along the row of fsc when you're done. When when you complete the single crochet part of the fsc, two roughly vertical strands, which are often called the two "legs" of a crochet stitch, can be seen on the front side of the stitch. Also created are two horizontal strands that are found at the top edge of every kind of crochet stitch. It is difficult and sometimes impossible to place beads on the top two horizontal strands, but you can easily place beads on a leg of any crochet stitch (they end up on the back). With a fsc, you can also easily add beads to the horizontal strand running under the stitch legs.

3. To bead a leg of the next fsc: Pull up a loop in the next marked stitch, chain 1 and mark it, slide up a bead close to the hook, yarn over and pull through both loops on hook. You have now made 3 fsc.

4. Work another plain fsc like in step 2.

5. To bead a lower horizontal strand (the chain part) of a fsc: Pull up a loop in the next marked stitch, slide up a bead close to the hook, chain 1 to make a beaded chain, mark it, yarn over and pull through all loops on hook. You now have 5 fsc.

In 5th photo, only the "u" alphabet bead on the far left is readable. That one is on the lower horizontal strand of the chain part of the stitch. The other 2 beads are on the back "legs" of the stitches.

6. Continue working a plain fsc, then a beaded fsc, until you've used all strung beads.

7. Work 2 plain fsc.

8. To make a buttonhole for clasp, chain 2 then work a fdc, ready? yarn over, insert hook in marked stitch of last fsc, pull up loop, chain 1 leaving 3 loops on hook, yarn over, pull through 2 loops on hook, yarn over, pull through last 2 loops on hook. Fasten off. Add small wooden beads to each yarn tail. (Last photo shows only 5 small beads; I think 6 is better)

I'll be uploading more photos to the ToyDesigningVashti blog and creating some Ravelry pages for these free crochet patterns.

Fun With Tunisian Crochet (a.k.a. "Afghan Stitch" or "Tricot")

Although I learned how to do tunisian crochet as a young child, I spent most of my years thinking of it as pretty much just one stitch. I wonder if others have too. That basic tunisian stitch, the Tunisian Simple Stitch (or TSS) is certainly special! (see 1st photo)-- but it's only a hint of what's possible.

I wonder what stitches haven't been discovered yet! I crave complete sets of tunisian hooks that haven't been invented yet! I fantasize about different stitches in weird or unexpected fibers! (for example, third photo below is batik fabric strips in tunisian. My friends prefer this side, usually called the "wrong side"). 

It wasn't until I started designing professionally

 that my creative imagination woke up to tunisian crochet.It's a rich alternate universe. Learning how to publish downloadable crochet patterns egged me on because now, tunisian crochet patterns can have space for step-by-step photo tutorials and other helpful information that might take up too much room in print media.

Yes, I have the tunisian fever and have been developing some new designs. For example, tunisian crochet roses (2nd photo). Another uses what might be a new tunisian crochet stitch, which I call "Wicker Stitch." (last photo below)

I'll be announcing new tunisian crochet patterns here as soon as they're professionally edited. I have my own storefront for downloadable crochet patterns set up in Ravelry now. I'll be making them easily available in other places too.

I'm inspired by these books, designers, and designs:

• Angela Grabowski's Encyclopedia of Tunisian Crochet (I'm anxiously awaiting vol. 2!)
  
• Kim Guzman's patterns, especially see all the pattern books she has done for Annie's Attic (righthand column); and Kim talks about Tunisian on the Getting Loopy podcast 
  
• Sharon Hernes Silverman's Tunisian Crochet: The Look of Knitting with the Ease of Crocheting, (c) 2009; or see the book's Ravelry page.
  
• Jennifer Hansen (a.k.a. Stitchdiva): see her tunisian tutorials, such as "3-Color(TM)"
  
• Josi Hannon Madera's "Tunisian Square Along"
  

Two great forums:

• Tunisiancrochet yahoo group
  
• Tunisian Crochet Ravelry forum
  

Fabulous for learning about Tunisian Crochet:

• Darla Fanton, one of CGOA's best teachers of tunisian, Double-Ended Hook crochet, and many other topics. See a tunisian "Magical Mitered Squares Vest" in progress.
• Basics of Tunisian Crochet for Beginners, published in Japanese! (c) 1997, ISBN 978-4-529-02928-5
  
• Carolyn Christmas, especially her "Easy Tunisian(tm)" crochet entrelac instructions.
  
• ARNie's (a.k.a. Angela Grabowski) ChezCrochet website
  

How to Journal About Your Crochet Ideas

Can you find my notebook in this project pile?

We crocheters are a creative bunch. With all the fresh yarn colors, new crochet hooks, free crochet patterns, and exciting crochet fashions on the runways, some days my problem is too much inspiration! A crochet notebook really helps. 

Do you already record your crochet inspirations somehow? If so, you know that there's more than one way to go about it. 

I used to use sticky notes of all sizes and then throw them into folders. 

I liked this because each design idea remained independent and

 recombinable; they were also easy to jot down anywhere at any moment. I still have sticky note pads in every purse, car, and throughout the house so that no inspiration is ever forgotten. 

The sticky note system is not ideal. I didn't like it because the ideas were less likely to evolve. They tended to remain just sparks, or seeds still needing to be planted. (Of concern to professional designers: no built-in intellectual property protection!)

I love my 8.5" x 11" thick spiral-bound blank notebook by Miquel Rius. I found it at the local Barnes & Noble. Its durable hard plastic looks good and protects well. The pages have faint graph paper lines. 

Here's my basic system:

• I number each page consecutively in ink.
  
• I reserve the 2 back pages for indexing by page number. 
  
• Each entry is in ink, dated, and initialed by me. 
  
• If I had to jot down something on a sticky note or scrap paper, it gets firmly taped into the notebook as a signed and dated entry. 
  
• No pages are ever ripped out.
  

I know what you're thinking: seems a bit formal. Hold that thought.

Other things that go into this notebook: 

• sketches, diagrams
  
• inspiring clippings
  
• samples of crochet stitches and patterns 
  

Not all of my swatching fits into a bound book like this but it's the ideal place to keep my thread crochet lace pieces. For sketches I've learned to keep colored pens nearby. Some ideas are just plain better drawn than written. Years later I especially enjoy looking at my quick sketches, even those that didn't seem like much at the time. 

At first this was a big change and did seem a bit formal to me, but it's an easy habit and well worth it. It's a fertile garden where I can watch the seeds that I've planted grow over time. The entry dating turns it into a lovely memory book. I love just paging through this notebook. A big bonus is that all of these steps help to protect my ideas as the intellectual property that they are.

Sometimes while crocheting I jot down into this notebook seemingly random thoughts or opinions I have that are in any way related to crochet--maybe about the yarn or hook or pattern or color I'm using. Later, these thoughts become useful. 

It's good for crocheters to recognize that what we naturally do generates intellectual property! Below are some links to descriptions of how design notebooks are used in other fields. I hope you are inspired to record your crochet stitches, experiments, observations, and daydreams.

I love seeing how Paul Hughes thinks in diagrams and sketches

A 3-ring binder system someone developed for home design ideas

College-level guidelines for creating design process notebooks, including graded evaluations, here and here. 

Designer's Pledge

I stand with Annie.

Friends, some of you may have noticed that over time, appearances of my new designs have dwindled. Something happened to my designing life last year: four years of selling all rights to my designs caught up with me and I couldn't bear it anymore. At first I wondered if I should stop designing altogether (horrors!). I actually tried that, but found out that I couldn't stop designing; I just stopped submitting proposals to print publishers.

Annie's pledge* is an easy one for me to make because I naturally made this pledge with myself in 2008, just so that I could enjoy designing again. I have so many fun new options for sharing my designs with you, so watch this blog!

*"Today I pledge that henceforth, I will only sign contracts that allow me the freedom of determining what happens to my intellectual property after the initial publication." Annie Modesitt's post is excellent reading for designers and their friends.

Please Help Indie Designers: Survey

Click
Here to take survey
When you have a moment, please add your comments to a survey created by Mary Beth Temple. It's short--it took me 2 or 3 minutes--and at the end you can also enter her contest on her next Getting Loopy podcast. The lucky winner receives a cone of the new LB Collection Wool Stainless Steel yarn in a pretty color.

Thank you! And now, back to my task at hand: rounding up years of my WIP's, PIG's, and FO's* to photograph and post on Ravelry. (Or, frog and recycle.)

*WIP (work in progress), PIG (project in grocery bag), FO (finished object), frog (to "rip-it" out).

2009 Crochet Manifesto

On this New Year's Day I'm reorganizing my "studio"--the creation zones in my house--and I thought I'd share with you a manifesto that I originally posted in my designing space on April 14, 2008. Doesn't "New Year's Day Manifesto" have a nice ring to it? (I also like how my 9 year old has always said New Year's "revolutions" instead of "resolutions".)

The original Manifesto, word for word, unedited:

Every stitch made is a treasure, not to have but as a record of an experience; it's the doing.

Each stitch is a microcosm; contains a world within; because it is the gestalt of a zillion choices and per-moment expression. It is a snapshot.

The goal is the experience of process. The process is the expression of is-ness. Expression of is-ness is creation.

Every kind of experience is possible; one is not more valuable than another*. Some may be more preferable, but perceptions change and the less-preferred can become the preferred. This is a mystery of creation/expression.

*Every kind of opinion is therefore also possible.

I remember that I was thinking about certain swatches I have lying around when I wrote that last one.

Time for me to go back to reorganizing. I was inspired to carpe diem and post this New Year's Manifesto after reading Kim Werker's post about the creative life.

Podcast Tonight! Join Me!

My good friend Mary Beth Temple created the Getting Loopy call-in podcast show a few months ago and has already built up a valuable archive of shows that you can listen to anytime. In my previous post I mentioned how she ramped everything up a notch by podcasting live from the conference!

Tonight, many of the designers who created the Crochet Belts from the Hip book together, including myself, will be on the show tonight getting all loopy about designing.

If you've already downloaded your raw, uncensored copy of the book, you'll know what I mean when I say, "Join us at the designer's table tonight" from 9-10pm while we're live. (If you can't make it, it will be archived and accessible immediately after the show.)

Orphan Works Bill: How it Affects You!

If you don't know what all the hubbub is about, please find out today because time is running out. Like many artists and designers I oppose this bill. Here and here are great sites that explain why. Here's one of five reasons: "Under current law, you receive basic copyright protection even if you don't register your work. Under Orphan Works law, your work could be declared an orphan even if you have registered it." (scroll down to the end of this page for the other 4.)

If you enjoy seeing new crochet patterns and other creative work (whether or not you design them yourself), an easy way to speak out about this bill if you're a U.S. citizen is to do a "click and send" here or here. Non-U.S. citizens can make a difference too.

Artists and designers everywhere thank you.
You can read the text of the bill here.

Swatching Storm Front

I've emerged from a high pressure inner-weather system with a report. It's similar to Robyn's latest entry about her designing process. Coincidence? Or does blogging about a Day in the Designing Life lend itself to blogging about the designing process?

I think I identified the sources of the pressure: there are 6 yarns I want to use first with equal passion + I'm making a personal garment but using a professional process (more on this below) + I have a tight time limit if I'm going to wear a new design (or 6?) to TNNA!

The 6 yarns that cast a spell over me: Kollage Yummy in Foggy Dew, Sirdar Baby Bamboo in a heathery metallic lilac (see both in 3rd photo below), Tess Cascade Silk in handdyed pewter, Plymouth Shire Silk in radiant tweedy aqua (both at right), Plymouth Royal Llama Linen in 3 earthy neutrals, and Great Adirondack Sierra (see above) in a painted rainbow. (These are on my Ravelry Stash page.)

I swatched 5 like crazy (the storm part) and noticed something new about that. As I mentioned, it's been 2+ years since I could design a sweater for myself rather than for professional deadlines. The swatching resulted in a number of good designs from a professional standpoint, but none that made me commit to making one now for me. It was weird--I enjoy a good swatching marathon in its own right and I've got a stack of some great swatches now--but for future reference. Huh? I need something now! What's going to close the deal?

Luckily I didn't stop swatching. I picked up the 6th yarn, Baby Bamboo, and magic happened. My fingers and eyes tingled (a personal response to the yarn). I tried a new stitch pattern that captured my imagination (I call it "Waterlily"). After two rows I was hooked personally, not professionally. I guess that after 2-3 years I forgot that there's a difference LOL!

A Day in the Designing Life

I love Robyn's "Day in the Life" idea, so here's mine. Good thing I committed to this particular day because if I'd waited for a "typical" day I would never have blogged one. There is no typical day and that's exactly what I like about designing! So here's how yesterday went:

7:10 a.m. - Today I woke up earlier than the usual 7:40-8:00 range. That meant that I could help Mr. Designingvashti get our 3rd-grader to the bus stop in time. He's excited about Field Day today. My beverage of choice is Yogi Green Tea Goji (I'm exploring the Japanese matcha tea scene). I'll be taking a brisk 45-min. walk so I nibble on mulberries from our tree, which I much prefer over raspberries or blackberries, and inhale deeply from our neighbor's true jasmine bushes OMG. Most other mornings I wake up with a design brainstorm or project that gets me out of bed so then I make a pot of my favorite jasmine green tea with some raw honey, and try to get a walk in later in the day. The jasmine and the frangipani smell different at different times of day :-)

9:30 - OK, back from a brisk preoccupied walk because I realize I'm in an end-of-week pileup. Listing them here might help:

1. Prepare for a crochet jewelry class I'm teaching at my LYS this weekend–I need new handouts and I can never have enough samples. Last night my LYSO said that more people signed up at the last minute, which is exciting!!

2. Write up two patterns for designs that will be in a book–can't talk about them yet.

3. Continue my marathon swatching for designs I have in mind to wear to TNNA in 3 weeks. This is the first time in 3 years that I have the chance to do this; usually I'm too busy working up designs for editors to make something special and new for myself. The last time I did this the Mermaid Shrug, my favorite, happened. Of course I have 5 projects in mind and that's just crazy.

4. Make decisions clustered around the issue of branding, which affects how I'll upload new patterns to Ravelry, how my site map would be laid out, etc.

5. Complete the teacher's gift I designed which will also become a pdf pattern that I'll offer for sale in Ravelry. (I always procrastinate when I have to put a face on something. The face is everything, you know?)

10:30 - Reality check during my mid-morning u-betcha espresso ritual: the class samples and supplies are rounded up. Who knows how long the handouts will take (always longer than I expect). I will carve items 3 & 4 into smaller steps; most of #4 can be tabled for a few days. I don't usually have a class weighing on my mind while having patterns to write. Item 2 must be completed today before Mini-D.vashti comes home from school--I need 100% concentration to write patterns. Item 5 except photography can be done tonight if I don't have a glass of shiraz with dinner :-). It's great that the phone has not been ringing.

3:30 p.m.- Emailed the first pattern complete with three variations just before the school bus comes. It won't be a problem to do the 2nd pattern first thing tomorrow, there are no variations and it's already mostly written. Rounded up all of my jewelry patterns which just makes we want to create more jewelry!

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The rest of the day is a blur so this is the gist: spent rest of afternoon making a poster of ways Mini-D.vashti can earn more allowance $. It's a new system I've been working out that involves crocheted allowance tokens {{giggle}}

Spent the whole rest of the evening crocheting new jewelry for the class (sigh. I couldn't help it).

Mulberry season wanes as LYCHEES prepare to take their place. As of today they're starting to turn red. Yay!

Local Design Inspiration: Peacocks

I was writing an entry for my other blog the other day, about peacocks that were born in our backyard. All this time I've felt a guilty pleasure when blogging about the peacocks (even over on my play blog) because they have nothing to do with crochet, toys, or designing! I simply love them and so does my son.

Turns out the peacocks have inspired my designing self for a long time in an indirect way. Most recently the influence shows when I design crochet jewelry such as in this post. Here's a different view of the same "Peacock Fan Stitch" swatch (in peacock blue thread with a test of iridescent beads in peacock colors)!

A few 2007 peacock males born with rich black and cobalt colors captivated my imagination and inspired this piece:

In my ongoing efforts to organize my crochet jewelry stash, I found out that peacock-colored beads, of all sizes and shapes, make up almost half of all beads that I own forheavenssake. My imagination is besotted with peacocks and I didn't even know it.

(Peacock at top of page: adult male at end of mating season--tail feathers are getting ready to fall out. Peacock at right: young male practicing his dance for when he has real tail feathers to show off.)

Icy Bling for Warm Climes

Crocheted this up and wore it with a white shirt and white shimmery eyeshadow for my first day of holiday shopping, humming "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" even though it was 82 degrees. Had worn its prototype to the CGOA conference and Deanna vanAssche said, "WILMA FLINTSTONE!!" and so we did a deal and she took it home. Made another, wore it to my son's school, and all the third-grade girls were mesmerized and asked if they were real (I said yes....). Made another with red and green crystal drops, and my neighbor, Kathy, took that one home.

I MISS SNOW! It's HOT here. I'm sorry to complain but it's been summer all year. People here are actually getting heatstroke and heat exhaustion. I have to remind myself to drink enough water. We need the A/C on to be able to sleep at night.

I have some mighty-fine alpacas, merinos, and cashmeres in my yarn stash but am nowhere near able to enjoy crocheting them or wearing them. I keep eyeing the linens and cottons.

Anne blogged the best list I've ever read of what is lovable about snow. I grew up in Wisconsin and her list brought back memories!