And don't we all need to keep our knits about us?
While this book is geared toward people who want to or are pursuing careers in knit and crochet design... I know there are many of you out there who love "being in the know" about the industry you love. YOU as consumers, are also part of this industry and you will be fascinated by the inner workings of the design world. You might also LOVE the chapter at the end that is nothing but interviews with professionals and their views of the knit and crochet world we all live in.
Shannon Okey wrote the book that so many new designers (knit or crochet) need. There are many important topics covered. Here's the list of chapters, all the comments that follow are mine:
1.
What does it mean to be a professional? (OMgoodness how useful is this! It even reminded me to get back into a few good habits that I have let relax a bit...)
2.
Social Media (Love it or hate it, it's here and if you want to write a book with or without a publisher, you'll have to know how to use it.)
3.
TCB, NO PB&J Required, or: The Business Side of Things This is a discussion on all the related activities to knit and crochet design that can also bring income.
4.
Send in the Lawyers Good basic information.
5.
Writing Patterns (Note to self...re-read this chapter a few more times! Don't we all want to be good at writing patterns?)
6.
Making Sales (This was so interesting to me! The nuts and bolts of which outlets garner bigger profits, at the same time, there are upsides and downsides to PDF, hardcopy and using distributors. Very interesting... note to self... read this chapter again too...)
7.
Proposals and Publishing (Don't be tempted to skip all the other chapters and go right to this one. I know it's an attractive subject and you'll want to read it for sure, but read the whole book).
8.
Advertising (You gotta do it one way or another, here are some options!)
9.
Further Education (I admit, this chapter, so well researched, just made me jealous for all these wonderful institutions who believe in making fabric from yarn through knit (and I assume, crochet). Ooohhh how wonderful would it be to take some classes at some of these domestic and exotic meccas of fiber learning? I wish I big ol grant would fall from the sky so that I could go! ...and take the family with me...)
10.
Professional Organizations and Associations YAY! She mentioned the Knit and Crochet Show, and
CGOA! Thank you, Shannon! She quotes
Robyn Chachula, who just resigned the post of Professional Development Chair, Tammy Hildebrand it taking over.
11.
Standing Out Isn't this a concern of of 99% of us females in a female dominated industry. It's easy to feel that you blend in with the crowd of other designers who all seem to be part of the same demographic. Standing out is important. (ok, ok, note to self... re-read this chapter again too...
12.
The Interviews The list of 32 industry professionals interviewed is like a who's who of the knit design industry... with a few cross-over pros (both knit and crochet) and several editor types. ALL the interviews are telling and fascinating to hear these women share where they think the industry is headed, what do they wish they had known when they began designing, what makes a great design, what do great designers have in common.... GREAT STUFF.
Between all my highlights and underlines in this book... I'm so glad I own it so that I can mark it up and USE it.
One of my favorite things about the book is the number of resource links Shannon puts liberally throughout the book. She gives you the exact web addresses to go and see for yourself and gather more information on the topics covered.
The Knitgrrl Guide is available at
Amazon.com but also, if you want the PDF, hardcopy, or e-reader versions, all three are available at
Cooperative Press.Hear Shannon interviewed on the
YarnThing Blog Talk Radio Show, available free on archives.
Last week in very, very hot weather, we went to an afternoon Cincinnati Red's Game. You can't see, but I had stashed little bags of ice under our ball caps trying to keep us cool! They lost but as long as there is cotton candy, you know the kids had a great time.
Grandpa Dave.... you probably don't want to scroll down after the photo of me with the kids... :)
Chickee feeding a lorakeet.
Well, hello, handsome fellow.
These crocodiles made me laugh! Sleeping in a pile like cats. (yes, they were sleeping)
I love the polar bears!
Me and the kids! I wish I had noticed sooner in the day just how many animals have a variety that is a black and white color combination... the zebras (obviously), lemurs, birds in the aviary, skunks, various monkeys... and our cat! Chief was so brave in this next photo....
It's a full-grown Brazilian Rainbow Boa. The handler was so interesting. Thanks again to the Cincinnati Zoo, every time we go, we are never disappointed and there is always more to see and learn.
(The above photo is by Rebecca Velasquez)
More photos have surfaced from the Knit and Crochet Show, CGOA conference in Manchester, NH, commonly referred to as "Chain Link". Above is me in the Fashion Show wearing Margaret Hubert's prize winning freeform cardigan design.
Here's me with Tammy Hildebrand wearing a dress of her design. This was taken at Professional Development Day. (Photo courtesy of Tammy Hildebrand). We had raffles to raise money for Lyme Disease Awareness. Tammy wore a Lime colored dress in honor of the event. 
It's time! It's time to do our mid-year check in on goals! Also, it's time to print/save the financial reports and receipts for the first half of the year! This shouldn't take but less than 5 minutes because you've been keeping up with it all year, right? :)
It's sneak peek time! It feels like a long time since I have had a sneak peek for you. I know that I just completed 5 major projects that I couldn't do sneak peeks on, so that is why there has been a big lag. Today is a 'no-stitching' day. Just sketching, if I get around to it. My hands need a break from the last several days. (Let's see if I can go a whole day without picking up a hook... I'll bet I won't be able to do it...)
Chief had great color mixing skills and found of way of pinching and pulling apart the balls of mixed colors before they got too muddy.
It was a fun easy project, but I wouldn't say that it is good for children who are perfectionists or easily frustrated. Luckily, Chickee and Chief were in an amiable mood and didn't compete or fret over who's buttons turned out better. We bought the clay at the craft store and used play-doh tools for rolling and shaping. We used a tooth pick to make the holes for the buttons. The baking sheet was lined with parchment paper. We baked the clay according to the package instructions, something like 275 F degrees for 15 minutes.
Look what Christine sent me! My first ever pair of handknit socks! And a pretty candle and a bottle of Euclan wool wash. Thank you so much Christine! These are going to become part of my have-to-get-major-crocheting-done ensemble along with my 'Crochet Rocks' t-shirt and shorts.
In the new issue of Crochet Today! WooHoo! It has pockets and a zipper and is so fluffy soft I hear the model didn't want to take it off. 
I promise, I'm almost done with the conference photos. Above is me with Tech editor, designer, teacher Susan Lowman
With designer, Rebecca Velasquez...remember her name, folks.
Karen Whooley and me after her Top-Down Raglan sweaters class. Thanks, Karen!
Kristin Omdahl signing her new book, Crochet So Fine.
A meeting of the minds... lunch! From left front... me, Tammy Hildebrand, Carol Alexander (editor of Crochet Magazine), Kimberly McAlindin, Brooklyn Yvonne, and Melissa.
Me with the legendary author and free-form Master, Margaret Hubert. I was thrilled to model her prize winning piece in the Fashion Show Saturday night.
My other roomie, Rebecca Velasquez and Margaret Hubert. I was thrilled to meet both of them. Rebecca has had designs published in Inside Crochet (in the UK), Petite Purls, and she had a design in the TNNA Fashion Show this past June for Bijou Basin Ranch. 
Me with the showstopping Vashti Braha. Vashti designed the Tokyo Jacket among many other great things. She also had a prize winning shawl in the CGOA Design Contest with a gorgeous white Tunisian Mohair confection.
Professional Development day seemed like a huge success! Here I am with Kristin Omdahl, Robyn Chachula and Kimberly McAlindin.
Kristin still looks gorgeous after a long day...me... well the ponytail went up... a clear sign of being tired!
Kimberly and Cari Clement, director at Caron yarn and Naturally Caron. Kimberly is wearing a design made especially for her for the event by Tammy Hildebrand. Cari is wearing a Bruges Lace shawl, I believe designed by teacher, tech editor, designer, Susan Lowman.
meeting great people who share your passion for crochet and knit. Here I am with Haley who helps me with my Ravelry group, but we've never met! She's wearing her blue version of the Whisper Wrap from the Whisper Wrap CAL. And me, wearing my purple one that I managed to finish (but not block) on the plane. Ok, more to come in the next several days.
Tech Editing is shorthand for "technical editing". Crochet patterns should be "tech edited" before they are published. Magazines and books, yarn companies and most self-publishers, hire a technical editor to re-check all the math in a pattern. They look for and fix errors. They look for the pattern to be written consistently in terms of layout, punctuation and language. The technical editor makes sure the pattern is written in the "style" of the buyer (bold in the right spots, italics in the right spot, items presented in the correct order, etc). For garments, they compare the gauge presented with the measurements that are offered to make sure that the math works. When I self-publish a pattern and say that it has been "professionally tech edited", it means that I hired a person to check all this for me. Usually, unfortunately, it costs more than I am going to make on the pattern. I go "in the hole" with the pattern, but I'm hoping over time and with the quality and timelessness of the design that eventually I will make a profit. So far, that has not happened, but it's critical that a pattern that is for sale be as accurate as I (with help!) can make it.