All sorts of things happening lately on the knitting front.
One super fun thing: there's a knit-a-long happening with one of my patterns, the Wildflower Socks. Check it out on Ravelry. I am amazed that two dozen people all want to knit one of my patterns, and all at the same time! Very humbling.
And in really crazy news: I designed a kids' fair isle sweater (seen above) of which I am unaccountably proud. And the pattern is for sale - it went up today on Knit Picks through their Independent Designers Program.
It's the first time I've ever had a pattern for sale, and I was pretty nervous about it. I am very committed to keeping knitting and designing fun by not turning it into "work." It's my escape from work! At the same time, I've heard from some designers (whom I admire greatly) that free patterns might undercut their ability to earn anything from their work, and I don't want that. So what to do? Putting fun free knitting stuff out into the world has been a wonderful experience for me that has let me hone my design skills by getting tons of great feedback from lots and lots of wonderful (and patient) knitters.
So the happy (I hope) medium I've come to is this: once in a while, if I have the urge to design something a bit more involved, I might sell the pattern rather than just give it away.
I did really enjoy having a more formal process of proof-reading and test-knitting and working with an editor and all of that, and I learned a lot about how professional designs take shape. I do feel that in this case, the final product is well worth the $1.99! For other designers out there interested in the Independent Designers Program, my experience so far has been really good - the staff at Knit Picks is great to work with.
P.S. That cutie in the photo modeling the sweater is the daughter of our wonderful former nanny, and the Little Pea's greatest role model. The Pea loves her so much that one of her very first words was this sweet girl's name. How about that for devotion?
