As you all know (hopefully, anyway!) I've been working on a book of knitting patterns for the past year. I got a contract, and have been working on patterns and samples.
Until Monday night. Monday night, I was hoping to get shipping info for my yarn support (yarn provided by the publisher and a willing company to make samples, which are then used to promote both the book and the manufacturer). Instead, with no reason and no warning, I was informed that CENSORED has been cut.
That's right. The book has been dropped.
I don't think I have to tell you what a blow this is to me. I'm completely devastated. That's not just a credit I have to remove from my resume, that's the entire budget for yarn, photography, tech editing, and printing up in smoke.
I've put the last year of my life into this. I don't want it to die, but I can't do it on my own. I'm barely paying the bills from week to week; paying for everything else just isn't possible.
I've come up with a list of options here (Ravelry link). Take a look if you are so inclined, and weigh in with your opinion.
Showing posts with label patterns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label patterns. Show all posts
Friday, October 4, 2013
Friday, June 7, 2013
Bad Photography Friday
...also known as "Work in Progress Day."
Project the First:
Missouri informed me a few weeks (months) ago that she felt neglected because I'd never made her a pair of socks. So I bought some yarn (which she picked out)...and it sat in storage for a while as I tried to finish samples and The Socks That Never End.
I finally cast on a week or two ago. Mostly I've been knitting them at work, but then for a little while they were my only project (I know, right?) so they got knit on all the time...sort of. My hands have been a little sore from knitting so many socks lately. They really don't like the smaller needles.
Believe it or not, both of these are done using the same yarn, same colorway, same dyelot. The spacing of the colors, however, looks drastically different.
I'm working to get these off of the needles ASAP. Luckly, she only wanted ankle socks, so they're about halfway done. Which is good, since I've got two other projects on the needles, plus another sample.
Project the Second:
A nook cover. I'm playing around with the construction on this one, and I'm not sure how it will turn out. If it works, there will be a post on it. If it doesn't, I'll just rip it out and rethink it, and there will be a post about it...later.
Honestly, this is the project most likely to go on hiatus in favor of....
Project the Third:
Nope! Not telling!
All I'll tell you right now is that 1) it's a surprise, 2) This piece is about halfway done and it's part 1 of 2, 3) it's illusion, and 4) there's no profanity or text at all involved in it.
It will go up as a free chart (sorry, no written for this one) sometime this month.
So what are you working on this weekend?
Project the First: Missouri informed me a few weeks (months) ago that she felt neglected because I'd never made her a pair of socks. So I bought some yarn (which she picked out)...and it sat in storage for a while as I tried to finish samples and The Socks That Never End.
I finally cast on a week or two ago. Mostly I've been knitting them at work, but then for a little while they were my only project (I know, right?) so they got knit on all the time...sort of. My hands have been a little sore from knitting so many socks lately. They really don't like the smaller needles.
Believe it or not, both of these are done using the same yarn, same colorway, same dyelot. The spacing of the colors, however, looks drastically different.
I'm working to get these off of the needles ASAP. Luckly, she only wanted ankle socks, so they're about halfway done. Which is good, since I've got two other projects on the needles, plus another sample.
Project the Second:
A nook cover. I'm playing around with the construction on this one, and I'm not sure how it will turn out. If it works, there will be a post on it. If it doesn't, I'll just rip it out and rethink it, and there will be a post about it...later.Honestly, this is the project most likely to go on hiatus in favor of....
Project the Third:
Nope! Not telling!
All I'll tell you right now is that 1) it's a surprise, 2) This piece is about halfway done and it's part 1 of 2, 3) it's illusion, and 4) there's no profanity or text at all involved in it.
It will go up as a free chart (sorry, no written for this one) sometime this month.
So what are you working on this weekend?
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Progress!
Did I mention--this is going to be the first pattern released with the Post Club? I'll have some better photos and a few more details on Monday.
Friday, January 25, 2013
The KnotMagick Post Club
[A bajillion thanks to Rob Bowker, who inspired this]
In the knitting world, we have “yarn clubs,” in which
knitters sign up and for a fee every month for a set period of time they are
sent a skein or two of yarn, a pattern, and maybe some other extra goodies.
I am borrowing that concept now, and creating the KnotMagick
Post Club. This is how it works:
Every month, via email or post (or both) you’ll receive a
PDF chapter of an ongoing novel. In addition, depending on your subscription
level, you might also receive a typed copy of a short story, an exclusive
knitting pattern, or other goodies.
Below, I’ve broken down the 4 subscription levels:
Copper: 3 short
stories (1 hand typed*, 2 PDFs via email), delivered over the course of 12
months ($15)
Copper: 2 short
stories (1 hand typed*, 1 PDF via email), and monthly installments of the novel
(also PDF via email) ($30)
Silver: Welcome
packet, monthly installments of the novel, in PDF format (delivered via email),
1 knitting/crochet pattern, and 2 typed short stories over the course of 12
months. ($50)
Gold: Everything
in the Silver package, plus an additional swag bag**, short story, and pattern.
($75)
Platinum: (only 5
slots available) Everything in the Gold Package, plus an additional swag bag
and 2 surprises. These might be an extra short story, or another pattern, or a
handmade item, or something else altogether. ($100)
Sign ups are open now [all of this information and more can
be found on the club page], and will run through the end of February. The first
shipment will go out in early March. The club runs from March, 2013-March 2014.
Between now and the beginning of March, I’ll be posting
teasers of some of the things you can expect to find in the club—blurbs, excepts,
pattern photos, etc. Check back here every Monday for a new teaser!
Even if you decide not to sign up, I would appreciate it if
you spread the word about my little project, since this is my latest effort to
keep a roof over my head and the heat on (you don’t want to know what the
temperature in our house is right now. Suffice to say I’m shivering as I write
this).
Friday, January 11, 2013
Censored
I've been plugging away at the book. Initially I had wanted to have all of the patterns done before Christmas, but I realize that was somewhat overambitious. My new goal is for the end of April. So far all of the scarf patterns are done--a narrower version of the infamous "Fuck You" scarf, as well as one that reads "Adult Content", "Crime Scene Do Not Cross," and the title project, "Censored." Earlier this week I sent a shawl pattern off to a test knitter (if you are interested in taking part in the test knit please drop me a line.
I'm not quite ready to start sharing pictures. Maybe next month. I have, however, begun looking at publishers and am putting together a book proposal.
I know that this book will be hard to publish. For starters, most publishers don't like printing vulgar projects. Second, while I have a few publishing credits under my belt and the original scarf kind of went viral on Ravelry, I'm hardly the Yarn Harlot or Meg Swanson. I don't really have a following of any kind, and I haven't taught or made a real name for myself. In fact, as far as I can tell, my one and only print publishing credit thus far was canned and never even made it into the stores. It was supposed to go out in October, then got pushed back to December, and I haven't seen it at all or even received my author copy yet.
But that's a story for another day.
As I was saying, this book will likely be hard to publish. If that is the case, I might resort to Kickstarter. I'm just uncertain of how precisely to sell the books if I do, since I can hardly go door to door with them. Perhaps publishing through Amazon is a better route? I would prefer to have hard copies, but that might have to wait.
I talked a little about this dilemma last fall. Now that I'm getting a bit closer to completion, I'm looking at it in more detail. What kind of incentives could I offer for different levels of support? Is it even worth doing Kickstarter if I end up only being able to release a PDF version? How would that affect my end sale price? Would it? I might be able to use the money to hire a graphic designer, and a photographer, both of which would be a vast improvement to me doing the work on my own. I would also probably be able to pay a tech editor and some sample knitters to speed up production. I don't know if I could do that going the traditional route, or if the publisher would pay for it.
I guess what I'm saying is that I'm still on the fence about a lot of things, but that Kickstarter is beginning to look like (maybe) a viable option. I still would like to try the traditional route first, but at least this way I've got choices.
I'm not quite ready to start sharing pictures. Maybe next month. I have, however, begun looking at publishers and am putting together a book proposal.
I know that this book will be hard to publish. For starters, most publishers don't like printing vulgar projects. Second, while I have a few publishing credits under my belt and the original scarf kind of went viral on Ravelry, I'm hardly the Yarn Harlot or Meg Swanson. I don't really have a following of any kind, and I haven't taught or made a real name for myself. In fact, as far as I can tell, my one and only print publishing credit thus far was canned and never even made it into the stores. It was supposed to go out in October, then got pushed back to December, and I haven't seen it at all or even received my author copy yet.
But that's a story for another day.
As I was saying, this book will likely be hard to publish. If that is the case, I might resort to Kickstarter. I'm just uncertain of how precisely to sell the books if I do, since I can hardly go door to door with them. Perhaps publishing through Amazon is a better route? I would prefer to have hard copies, but that might have to wait.
I talked a little about this dilemma last fall. Now that I'm getting a bit closer to completion, I'm looking at it in more detail. What kind of incentives could I offer for different levels of support? Is it even worth doing Kickstarter if I end up only being able to release a PDF version? How would that affect my end sale price? Would it? I might be able to use the money to hire a graphic designer, and a photographer, both of which would be a vast improvement to me doing the work on my own. I would also probably be able to pay a tech editor and some sample knitters to speed up production. I don't know if I could do that going the traditional route, or if the publisher would pay for it.
I guess what I'm saying is that I'm still on the fence about a lot of things, but that Kickstarter is beginning to look like (maybe) a viable option. I still would like to try the traditional route first, but at least this way I've got choices.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Finished Object Friday
I have just a few things to show you today, a few things I finished up for around the house and as holiday gifts:
In total, I made six or eight of these towels, though a few are still waiting for suitable buttons. They all came from the same package, however, so the patterns are mostly the same.
Speaking of which, if you would like a PDF of the crochet tutorial I posted the other day, it is now available on Ravelry, here. The knitting one should be up shortly after the new year.
This took up most of my knitting/crochet time. I don't crochet much any more because it bothers my wrists, but the recipient of this was instrumental in making our new house livable in a reasonable amount of time, and it was hinted that she would appreciate an afghan. I used six balls of Lion Brand Homespun Chunky for it. It came together much faster than I expected (which NEVER happens!), and is just the right size for lounged on the couch or in bed. It's also super soft.
---
If you follow my Twitter, then you know that this year, for the second year running, I made my aunt socks that didn't fit, and she bought me something I'd just gotten for myself, thinking no one would get it for me for Christmas--a subscription to Vogue Knitting. What's more, my mom commented that SHE considered getting me one, too! And here people keep saying I'm hard to shop for....
We've decided that next year, we'll just go shopping together.
In total, I made six or eight of these towels, though a few are still waiting for suitable buttons. They all came from the same package, however, so the patterns are mostly the same.
Speaking of which, if you would like a PDF of the crochet tutorial I posted the other day, it is now available on Ravelry, here. The knitting one should be up shortly after the new year.
This took up most of my knitting/crochet time. I don't crochet much any more because it bothers my wrists, but the recipient of this was instrumental in making our new house livable in a reasonable amount of time, and it was hinted that she would appreciate an afghan. I used six balls of Lion Brand Homespun Chunky for it. It came together much faster than I expected (which NEVER happens!), and is just the right size for lounged on the couch or in bed. It's also super soft.
---
If you follow my Twitter, then you know that this year, for the second year running, I made my aunt socks that didn't fit, and she bought me something I'd just gotten for myself, thinking no one would get it for me for Christmas--a subscription to Vogue Knitting. What's more, my mom commented that SHE considered getting me one, too! And here people keep saying I'm hard to shop for....
We've decided that next year, we'll just go shopping together.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Nano Progress
Such an uncreative title, I know. But most of my energy has been sucked into NaNoWriMo. The counts are in, and in the past two weeks I've cranked out just over 24,000 words. People, I never write this much consistently in one go. I might write 5k one day, then 3 the next, and then I might not write anything other than blog posts and journal entries for a month.
Obviously, I'm not 100% satisfied with all of the words I've written, but the point is, they are down on the page now, where they belong, instead of floating around in my head where it's so easy for them to get lost. I've written an average of 2k every day for the past two weeks, and have only taken one day off (NaNo thinks it was two, but it wasn't. I just forgot to update my word count until after midnight).
There are a couple of problems with this: 1) it's taking away time normally spent knitting and designing, which is delaying the next pattern release and my Giftmas knitting. For those who have anxiously been awaiting the next pattern/the book I promised, fear not, it is still in the works. Realistically, though, I knew it would be a major challenge to get it out before Christmas, and now I see that it's pretty much impossible. The [Censored] pattern book shall have to wait until after New Years (this probably would have been the case even without NaNo, but this is just making it clear that there is NO POSSIBLE WAY for me to write the book, transcribe the patterns, create the charts, and do all of the necessary formatting--which is extremely fiddly, by the way--for 8-12 patterns in six weeks. Not on my own, at least.)
2) I am just shy of 25k, which marks the halfway point in the 50k that is NaNo. The problem is that I am 2/3 of the way through the book. I sense some serious word padding in my future.
Much as I would love to do NaNo on a typewriter, it is not practical for me to do so this year. I did, however, manage to resurrect my very first laptop (the one I got ages ago when I started college). It's slower than mollassas, but it gets me on NaNo, Google, and all of those other writerly time-sinks, and is just barely within the requirements for Storyist, which is the software I downloaded to write on (more on that next week).
It feels good to be this productive. I've struggled in a few paces, but I've discovered that I work best right after I wake up and right before bed. I usually do about 900-1200 words either before work or as soon as I get home. Then I hit a wall, start pulling my hair out, and go play Threads of Mystery on Facebook for a while. Then I'll come back, and tell myself, "You're only 400 words away from your daily goal," or "Another hundred words, and you'll break 24k" or whatever the next benchmark is, and I'll force myself to hit that target, even if the words are crap. And then I usually keep going and wind up with something close to 2,000 or 2,500 words when all is said and done.
The rampaging Rhino might still decide to scrap everything I've written, or to run down a completely different path. Or he might abandon me completely (he seems to be spending an awful lot of time with Theanab from the Typewriter brigade thread). But in the mean time, I'm going to ride this wave while I've got it, however small it is.
Baby steps. It's all in the baby steps.
Obviously, I'm not 100% satisfied with all of the words I've written, but the point is, they are down on the page now, where they belong, instead of floating around in my head where it's so easy for them to get lost. I've written an average of 2k every day for the past two weeks, and have only taken one day off (NaNo thinks it was two, but it wasn't. I just forgot to update my word count until after midnight).
There are a couple of problems with this: 1) it's taking away time normally spent knitting and designing, which is delaying the next pattern release and my Giftmas knitting. For those who have anxiously been awaiting the next pattern/the book I promised, fear not, it is still in the works. Realistically, though, I knew it would be a major challenge to get it out before Christmas, and now I see that it's pretty much impossible. The [Censored] pattern book shall have to wait until after New Years (this probably would have been the case even without NaNo, but this is just making it clear that there is NO POSSIBLE WAY for me to write the book, transcribe the patterns, create the charts, and do all of the necessary formatting--which is extremely fiddly, by the way--for 8-12 patterns in six weeks. Not on my own, at least.)
2) I am just shy of 25k, which marks the halfway point in the 50k that is NaNo. The problem is that I am 2/3 of the way through the book. I sense some serious word padding in my future.
Much as I would love to do NaNo on a typewriter, it is not practical for me to do so this year. I did, however, manage to resurrect my very first laptop (the one I got ages ago when I started college). It's slower than mollassas, but it gets me on NaNo, Google, and all of those other writerly time-sinks, and is just barely within the requirements for Storyist, which is the software I downloaded to write on (more on that next week).
It feels good to be this productive. I've struggled in a few paces, but I've discovered that I work best right after I wake up and right before bed. I usually do about 900-1200 words either before work or as soon as I get home. Then I hit a wall, start pulling my hair out, and go play Threads of Mystery on Facebook for a while. Then I'll come back, and tell myself, "You're only 400 words away from your daily goal," or "Another hundred words, and you'll break 24k" or whatever the next benchmark is, and I'll force myself to hit that target, even if the words are crap. And then I usually keep going and wind up with something close to 2,000 or 2,500 words when all is said and done.
The rampaging Rhino might still decide to scrap everything I've written, or to run down a completely different path. Or he might abandon me completely (he seems to be spending an awful lot of time with Theanab from the Typewriter brigade thread). But in the mean time, I'm going to ride this wave while I've got it, however small it is.
Baby steps. It's all in the baby steps.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Thanks.
Okay, so I didn't quite make it to the September 1 mark, but I just had to say: People are awesome. The FU scarf kind of went viral at the Ravelry level within the first 24 hours, and spent more than a day as the #1 viewed pattern on the site (out of 309,000+) before dropping down to #2. And since I love my stats, here are a few:
Comments: 100
Queues: 265
Projects: 16
Favorites: 657
Downloads: 1013
Knit-a-longs: 3
I also wanted to give a big, huge, massive thank you to Zephyrama on Ravelry, who has been instrumental in helping me fix some of my counting errors, and to everyone else who alerted me to my mistakes. I'm really sorry about that, and I hope to have it all smoothed out here in the next couple of days at the latest. Keep checking the pattern page for updates.
I really was not expecting this many people to like the pattern. I figured ten people might download it on the first day, and that it would slack off from there, but it's still going strong, holding on to the #2 position.
Unsurprisingly, some people have been upset about this pattern. I've been told that I am uncreative, produce trash, and that I should be ashamed of myself. I even had one person say that they are considering quitting ravelry because of the pattern.
Seriously? You would eschew one of the greatest knitting and crochet resources on the web based on a single pattern?
There are 309, 046 other patterns on the site the last time I looked. If it bothers you so much, go knit something else.
Also, this is what the pattern page looks like:
My pattern is a link and an itty bitty thumbnail in the corner. Both the title and the thumbnail are censored. The pattern is flagged as adult content. If you find the censored title of F**k You! offensive, then I suggest you don't click on it. It's that simple. That Mariposa looks lovely, why don't you try it instead?
But I digress. I'm not getting into a flame war. I've got over 1,000 knitters who love it. I'm not going to get upset by three or four people with delicate sensibilities and no common sense, and this is the only time I'm even going to waste my breath mentioning it. Because really, all I have to say is this:
Thank you.
If you would like to download the pattern while it is still free, you can do so here: download now
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
The Scarf that Shall Not Be Named
Long, long overdue, it's release day for the Super Secret Project, the Scarf that Shall Now Be Named (Warning: foul language ahead).
May I present: Fuck You!
This is a super easy scarf with a big attitude! If you can knit and purl, then you can make this scarf.
Extra wide for extra warmth, it's nice and long. From a frontal perspective, it's a plain-jane stripe--nothing special. But check it out from an angle:
This pattern is based on a project that Fynn works on in The Hanged Man's Ghost, and it's one I've been wanting to make for a while.
Even though it looks complicated, if you can knit and purl, you can make this scarf.
This pattern is available for free via Ravelry download (you will need an account to view the page, but they are free and they won't send you emails or anything).
The Night Wars books (The Hanged Man's Ghost, The Night Shift, and several short stories) are written by Missouri Dalton, and are available for download or purchase from Torquere Press, here. They can also be purchased from Amazon.com.
The pattern is a FREE download via Ravelry.com. Get it here: download now
ETA: This pattern is currently the #1 pattern on Ravelry!! Thanks!
May I present: Fuck You!
This is a super easy scarf with a big attitude! If you can knit and purl, then you can make this scarf.
Extra wide for extra warmth, it's nice and long. From a frontal perspective, it's a plain-jane stripe--nothing special. But check it out from an angle:
This pattern is based on a project that Fynn works on in The Hanged Man's Ghost, and it's one I've been wanting to make for a while.Even though it looks complicated, if you can knit and purl, you can make this scarf.
This pattern is available for free via Ravelry download (you will need an account to view the page, but they are free and they won't send you emails or anything).
The Night Wars books (The Hanged Man's Ghost, The Night Shift, and several short stories) are written by Missouri Dalton, and are available for download or purchase from Torquere Press, here. They can also be purchased from Amazon.com.
The pattern is a FREE download via Ravelry.com. Get it here: download now
ETA: This pattern is currently the #1 pattern on Ravelry!! Thanks!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
At Last
Currently Reading: Broken
Currently Watching: Pan Am
First, I moved. Then my camera battery died and the charger went AWOL. Then I had nothing to photograph on because my lovely model (aka, foam head) was still at my parent's house. And in between all of that, my subject itself went missing for about two months.
But at long last, I have finally managed to not only photograph but upload the pattern for my Qubecois Pride hat.
The pattern is available for free on Ravelry.
Currently Watching: Pan Am
First, I moved. Then my camera battery died and the charger went AWOL. Then I had nothing to photograph on because my lovely model (aka, foam head) was still at my parent's house. And in between all of that, my subject itself went missing for about two months.
But at long last, I have finally managed to not only photograph but upload the pattern for my Qubecois Pride hat.
The pattern is available for free on Ravelry.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Northman Pattern Now Available
Currently Reading: A Good YarnCurrently Watching: White Collar
The pattern for both variants on the Northman beanie are now available in the Ravelry pattern shop as a free download.
I tried a slightly different style of pattern writing this time; rather than the standard CO 100 sts, work k1p1 rib for 6 rows, etc I wrote it out in more paragraph style, a la Elizabeth Zimmerman. Do you like the change? Let me know what you think.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Something not so different
So the theme for today is "something different." The idea is to blog about the regular content in a different fashion. Quite frankly though, I don't have the energy to come up with a "different fashion" at the moment. It's been a weird couple of days at work with everyone grumpy or sick/suffering from allergies, on top of the cold, gloomy weather we've been getting. So you just get the regular content.
The winners of the Japan Relief Drawing were Clasina and NewbieKnitter84 (Ravelry names; comments 5 and 27). Congrats, ladies, and I'll be sending your packages out sometime this week.
In other news, I now have a Ravelry Pattern page! I've got two up right now (well, technically three, but one is a repeat because I had a technology fail and I don't know how to remove it), and another will be going up this week. Right now the patterns are all free, but I'll be adding some for pay later. (Also, can I just say how awesome everyone is who faved the latest pattern? 17 faves before it was even up 24 hours!)
At the moment, that's all I've got. I'm going to go put my feet up and not do anything resembling work for the next 24 hours and just enjoy my day off.
The winners of the Japan Relief Drawing were Clasina and NewbieKnitter84 (Ravelry names; comments 5 and 27). Congrats, ladies, and I'll be sending your packages out sometime this week.
In other news, I now have a Ravelry Pattern page! I've got two up right now (well, technically three, but one is a repeat because I had a technology fail and I don't know how to remove it), and another will be going up this week. Right now the patterns are all free, but I'll be adding some for pay later. (Also, can I just say how awesome everyone is who faved the latest pattern? 17 faves before it was even up 24 hours!)
At the moment, that's all I've got. I'm going to go put my feet up and not do anything resembling work for the next 24 hours and just enjoy my day off.
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