Chickee Crochets

Chickee's school PTA is sponsoring a "talent show" but they are including visual arts, as long as the entry is no thicker than 3/8". So, Chickee wants to do a crochet project, but since I have her using a "N" hook and worsted weight yarn, her project is much thicker than the limit of 3/8". I think she ought to submit it anyway, don't you think? How many crochet items do you think are going to be submitted? The teacher said that they are just discouraging sculpture and thick collages because of the limited "wall space" in which to display anything. We can pin her project to a piece of foam core/poster board and it should be ok. So here's a photo of her working on her project...notice she is changing colors all on her own! I only showed her once and she got it!

Clay handled hooks

Look at this great new hooks! I got them from ebay. The lady who makes them is a member of Crochet Partners! I love them! They are pretty and practical. So many crocheters like to collect fancy hooks, but I've never been keen on hooks that I'm afraid to use. These I can USE, and their fun! Check out her products
If you have trouble with the link, go to ebay, search "crochet hook stress" and it is the first choice.

Felted Spa Bag

I have some ready made bags available on Etsy. Soon, I hope to have the pdf instructions available for purchase. Here's a few other colors and the grey "Regency" one on the right side of the blog page. The blue-ish one above is "Palais", and the one below is "Harvest".

Becoming a Designer

Here's what I recommend you do if you want to become a designer (in no particular order):

1. Join the CGOA,


2. Subscribe to as many crochet magazines as you can (you should support the industry and see what else is "out there", and what the editors like, you should also study the pattern writing styles)


3. Have Internet access (yeah, you got that!)


4. Have a decent digital camera


5. read blogs of designers like Kim Guzman's Wips and Chains (at right), and Robyn Chachula's Crochetbyfaye (at right), and Designing Vashti (Vashti Braha) and others


6. Complete the CGOA's Masters' of Basic Stitches Course ($75, but you'll know if you have the foundation skills required to begin)


7. Read "Homemade Money" by Barbara Brabec


8. Get a copy of the latest "Writer's Market Guide" (it's for authors, but this is how I learned about submission guidelines, editorial calendars, query letters, etc) Don't buy it, get a copy from the library.


9. Make specific goals, for example, in 2008 I want to: design 3 projects and submit them, write your goals down and refer to them every so often.


10. Gather submission guidelines from various publishers/magazines, usually the contact info is in the magazine itself,


11. Read "Publish Your Patterns" by Nancy Restuccia, There's also stuff in there about copyright law


12. Hire/get a friend to make a model from your written patterns, BEFORE you submit them.
13. Then, after doing the above, ask for a mentor through CGOA.
14. Attend some CGOA and CHA conferences, meet editors and publishers IN PERSON.

That should get you started! Remember, crochet design is a BUSINESS, if you want to be a professional, always act like a professional.

These same ideas are good if you want to become a contract crocheter or tech editor, though those are different skills and we can talk about them another time.

Yarns and More

You've heard me say before, that I often buy my yarn from the "Yarns and More Yahoo Group" run by Jean Jezior. She is running a special for new members who join this free group. Check it out by clicking on the link at the right under the tab "Great Sites to See"

Here's her offer for new members:

"The new member gets:A 10% discount off any order, plus free shipping for any order of$50.00 or more during the Month of November."

To get the Discount: Tell her Ellen at GoCrochet sent ya!

For your patience, reading this advertisement, above is a SNEAK PEEK! I have no idea when or where this one will show up, only that it's name and how it got it, is interesting, though maybe the buyer will change it! Then we can have a discussion about how projects get their names and why they get changed.

Inspired by Eminem?

Ok, are you ready to have an open mind? I'm not saying that I like Eminem or anything that this controversial rapper stands for. I certainly am not pleased about his views on women and lyrics about violence and women. But I have to say, he has a song that has a verse that I like. For some reason, it sticks with me. First, if you take out all the lyrics, I love the rhythm. (Why did he have to ruin it with the lyrics?)

He has one song (and I would only recognize a few)... called "Lose Yourself" and it talks about his fear of musical failure and going up on stage and having no music come out. And the verse pumps himself up and says:

"You better - lose yourself in the music, the momentYou own it, you better never let it go (go)You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blowThis opportunity comes once in a lifetimeYou better - lose yourself in the music, the momentYou own it, you better never let it go (go)You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blowThis opportunity comes once in a lifetimeYou better.."

And this excerpt speaks to me, because I see this as kind of a good "motto" of sorts. the whole "Just do it", Virgil's "Fortune favors the bold". The truth is, we need to be active agents in our lives and make things happen for the best.

It really does reflect how I felt about designing in the beginning, I would tell myself, "what's the worst thing that could happen?" and I would answer "rejection", and I would think, "what would be so awful about that? So, I would waste some time and postage, I'm going to crochet anyway, my family still would be fine, my life could go on as usual, so what should stop me from trying? Nothing. There is no reason not to try that which you truly want to do. I kept coming back to "I'm going to crochet anyway...so why not try to sell what I make?"

The funny thing is... Eminem's wrong, we don't just get "one shot", we have infinite numbers of chances to be what we want to be, big or little chances. Crochet you can always frog out and do again.

Gauge Worksheet

Some designers do their gauge math on Excel, but I don't remember how to plug in the formulas to get the math to work out. You see, when I was in college, and I took what was "Lotus" at the time, my class met on Friday mornings at 8am. I wasn't much of a partier, but I am a sleeper, and I'm sure that while I was present for the majority of the classes, I may not have been fully awake.

Ok, back to the subject. I have a 'Gauge' worksheet that I use when I am trying to figure out the math on a swatch to determine my stitch counts for the project. It looks something like this:

Gauge Worksheet

Project Name __________________ ID #__________
Stitch reference: _____________________

Swatch #1
Yarn: _________________________________
Hook: ________________________________
Size: _________________________________
Rows: __________________________________
Sts: ________________________________

Row gauge = # of rows/swatch height = ______ =X 4” = ____
St gauge = # of sts/swatch width = ______ X 4” = _______

Each row is what fraction of 1”? # of inches / rows = ________
Desired height ___ / this fraction ____ = # of rows needed.

Each sts is what fraction of 1”? # of inches / sts = ________
Desired width ___/ this fraction ____ = # of sts needed.
Comments about drape, sleaze, squishiness, and softness: ________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

Danger!

Are you, like me, becoming a computer zombie? I know when it happened, it was the day I joined Ravelry. Are you on Ravelry yet? If you're not, be glad, because it is so addictive. I really am spending way too much time there and not enough time crocheting! I'm hoping that when I get my "notebook" page all filled in with all my stash, all my projects, all my patterns, all my photos, that it will slow down. What is Ravelry? It is an online community of crocheters and knitters where we can send messages, have forums, show photos, show patterns, keep track of your wips, keep track of your stash, etc. It is just fun to see all the photos that people have up of themselves. Very, very interesting to get to put faces with the names, well, the screen names. I'm going to have to go on a Ravelry diet, because I have been bingeing!

I have also been working very hard on items for the etsy shop. I'm pretty sure this beanie will be there soon. I'm planning to eventually sell both ready made staple items and pdf crochet patterns. I'll keep you posted!

Sneak Peek

Psst! Here's a sneak peek for you! I know it's hard to wait to figure out what they are going to be! It's hard for me to wait too! But this one is SO WORTH THE WAIT! Mostly because I took photos during the design process and I'm going to share it all with you when you can see the project and talk about how I came to this design and some of the tricks I use to make design decisions. Hmm? Is that intriguing?

Are you patient?

For some things, I am patient, very patient. I can wait, for example, for Chickee to become a teenager, and I can wait, for Chief to got to school full-time and leave me with a choice. But there are instances when I can't wait.

For example, I have sold over 30 designs that are in the hands of the buyers, I've been paid, but there is no schedule of when or where they will appear. I don't know if I should give you sneak peeks or not, because I don't know, will it take 6 months to have them appear somewhere? A year? A few of the designs I sold in Spring of 2006 and I have no idea what the buyer has chosen to do with them.... maybe they are placed and I just don't know it? maybe they are on a yarn band somewhere? maybe they are a free pattern on a website? So, Ill wait, anxious to share with you!

Halloween Part 2

What perfect weather we had for Trick or Treating! No snow, no rain, it's was slightly crisp, perfect! The top photo is from left to right, our niece (we'll call her Ann) in the ghost costume, then Chief, then Ann's brother (we'll call him Michael) is the buff SpiderMan, then Chickee.

I made Chief take off his mask so I could see his handsome face.

Chickee is wearing a crocheted poncho! I made it a couple of years ago for Halloween, and it has worked out great...mostly. She can wear regular clothes and just throw the poncho over the top and she's warm! Which comes in handy when in Ohio in October. The thing is, I made the poncho, then after it was all finished, she decided she wanted arm-holes through the front. So....be warned, this is the scary part...I CUT (gasp!) holes through the fabric and attempted to stitch them secure with sc around the openings, for the sc, I reached as far into the fabric as I could, and held my breath. It lasted about 5 minutes and a 18" tear rent through the front. Ugh. So I whipstitched that together like a really bad scar, and it has held now through 2 Halloweens. I figure all the odd stitching gives it character, and no self-respecting witch would wear a pristine cape/gown/dress anyway? Say it with me, "As long as Chickee is happy...everybody's happy". And she must be, since this is the second year she has worn it!

Halloween! Part 1

This is part one of two Halloween posts. I have to wait until tonight to take photos of the kids for Halloween so that I can post them here, so while you wait, here is the Demon Halloween Cat. He's actually very sweet and afraid of people who aren't family. Matter of fact, my brother in law calls him the "fictional cat" because he said in all these years of talking about Charlie and visiting our house...he has never seen him.

Here is 2006 photo of Chickee and Chief. That superman outfit is now 5" too short on him! Wow how they grow!

I know, I know, what about crochet? Well, if you can hang in there, tomorrow's post has 2007 photo of the kids Halloween, and one of them will be wearing SOMETHING CROCHETED!

Have I shown you this yet?

You may recognize this little wedding cake from the Accord Pattern-A-Day Crochet Calendar, 2007. It was so fun to make! When I was done, I think I brushed it with a white glue/water solution to help it stiffen up. It's tiny, like 6" tall. It's almost Amigurumi, only it's not an animal, so I guess it's not at all like Amigurumi. The very top is a little lid and the top "layer" is a secret hiding spot. For what? Well, the ring of course!

Fancy party

Sometimes, with my husband's work, we get to go to black-tie events. We had such an event this past weekend. I made this little beaded wristlet bag out of Moda Dea Beadnik for the event. The glass, is one that was my Mom's and I just love it, but rarely use it for fear of breaking it! This was taken at home before we left. The bag is just designed to be convenient to hold a beverage in one hand and shake hands with the other, or hold a cocktail plate or whatever. Because at these events, there is much time standing for cocktail hour, and it's just too hard, and not terribly graceful, to juggle everything.

Chickee took these photos of me and DH,

Free as a bird, and other myths

I may have given you the wrong impression....I may have made you think that when I design I am completely carefree and open to the possibilities. While this is partly true, many times I design with a more strategic plan. Really, I make GOALS, then I SWATCH, SWATCH, SWATCH, then I do the MATH, and then I do the MATH, again. I make sketches and diagrams, I make 'Project Summary' form that goes in a binder to help me keep track of all my designs. I assign the design a number and a title. I put a proposal package together with all of this stuff.

But today, let's talk about goals:

I really do think about drape, size, lacy-ness vs. dense-ness, I think about how colors will sit next to each other. I think about what hardware (handles, clasps) will look best on a handbag or tote, I think about closures (buttons, flaps, snaps).

Then I think about the art stuff:

repetition with variety

theme

rhythm

balance

mood

negative space

forground, background depth

texture.

See, I may seem all fancy free, but really, I'm a thinker.

Real Life

I'm thinking about selling these hats on my etsy store as ready-mades. What do you think? the flowers are removable and can be pinned on a coat or sweater instead.

Do you read Real Simple magazine? I like it. At the end of each issue, real women answer a few questions about their 'real life'. Here's my answers. (I was too lazy to submit my answers to the magazine).

What's Your Favorite Feature?

Probably my eyes. They've betrayed my emotions, but they've also shown my sincerity. I can keep no secrets with eyes like I have. I'm also a licensed counselor and I once had a client who refused to work with me at the first session because my eyes were too "sharp". I didn't get to work with him, so I'll never know how much of that comment had to do with his own thinking and how much was me. My husband says I have 'cat eyes'.

What Scares You?

The usual, my kids getting lost/taken/hurt. Oh, and turning on and off the garbage disposal when my hands are still wet from washing dishes. My Step-dad says it doesn't work that way, but I'm not so sure...

Someone should Invent....

a way to make all vegetables really, really yummy, without adding fat or cheese, or butter. I would really like to like vegetables, but I just don't. (I like a few).

What amount of money would make you feel as if you were set for life?

It would have to be enough to pay off the house, buy a new car for Captain and me, pay for the kids to go to the colleges of their choice, and allow us at least one great vacation per year.

How many books have you read in the past year?

Not counting a gazillion children's books, probably at least 12, (one per month on average)

My life would be simpler if...

my kids would eat what I cook....if Jazzercise were closer to my house...if I never had to return an item to the store....

The Big Decision I'm currently wrestling with is...

How to do everything at once....how to prioritze all the things I want to accomplish so that some of them actually get done! oh, and the clock is ticking...

Here's a photo for you...

Quotes

Remember a few days ago in my post about "Designer's Block?" I said that I just sort of trust that something creative will come out... I found this quote!

"Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work" Rita Mae Brown.

A woman of like mind! She just said it so much more succinctly!

Cool Gadget: Purse mate

One of the main arguments against a crocheted handbag is the lack of pockets... but just look at this what a great idea! Now you can get a purse insert from Joey Junior, it comes in several different orientations/sizes to keep all your "stuff" organized inside any purse. It would be especially awesome for crocheted handbags! Imagine, you can have your whole wardrobe of crocheted bags, keep all your "stuff" inside this purse mate, and you can just remove the whole purse mate from the bag and put it in a new bag DAILY! With ease, you can transfer all your essentials from one crocheted bag to another. Voila'!

Above, you see my "Zippered Satchel" which was published in Spring 2006 in Crochet Fantasy. A purse mate would be a great addition to this little one-shoulder bag!

60 Scarves all Wrapped up!

I finished my second scarf for Crocheting With Dee's 60 Scarves in 60 days challenge. Go see Dee's blog for all the details. This is the finished Bernat Glacier in lavender, knitted, scarf. It curled, of course, because it is in stockinette st. I tried to de-curl it by placing a row of sc all the way around, but that did not help. It was fun, and I learned some lessons, and Threads of Compassion got a donation, so it's all good. Isn't Chickee gorgeous?

Book Review: Designing Knitwear

Nope, it doesn't come with two Clover Crochet-Lite hooks, but it does come with a whole lot of design information. Written by Deborah Newton in 1998 for Taunton press, this book is really, really good. I found my softback copy on amazon used books. The retail price on the cover is $24.95. It's 263 pages with many color photos in addition to excellent sketches by the author (and a few others) and diagrams throughout the book.

Yes, it is a book based on Knit, but as designers, we are always changing the combination of stitches that make up the fabric of the design. Whether it be knit and purl or sc and hdc, it is still only one of many factors that go into garment design. Yarn choice, gauge, drape, the shape of the pieces, the method of seaming, all make the garment into the finished product.

She has a chapter on yarns, designing with yarns, and why that's different from designing with fabric. The most dog-eared section of the my copy is chapter 3, "Fit and Silhouette". The inventor of the "ease" chart on page 44, Deborah Newton describes how many inches of "ease" to add to a body measurement to achieve the type of fit you want. Just smart! This chapter is just magical in it's ability to communicate how body measurements are taken, where they are taken, and what to do with them! The explanation of sleeve options on page 48, 51 and 53 are a must see. I don't know if I could live without the neckline diagrams and measurements on page 56!


Are you getting what I'm trying to say? This book is more than a pretty book, it's an essential text for learning garment design.


Now, I don't think I can completely appreciate the knit/intarsia diagrams right now. I admit that I glossed over them with hardly a glance. But, as my knitting skills increase, I am sure that these sections of the book will become more treasured. For you knitters out there, you will like to know that there are actually patterns in this book as well, in addition to the lessons.


It's just a great book. The only thing that would be better is to have the book be crochet! Deborah are you out there? Do you crochet? I need to go back to Lily Chin's Crochet Couture workshop and see how they compare or if they are apples and oranges. I remember Lily's book to have more patterns with less text and Deborah's is more text with fewer patterns. I'll have to review Lily's for you sometime! (Assuming that you haven't already drooled all over your own copy).