So this is a very overdue post. Because I am a horrible person who does not update my blog. But, on the up side, I actually have a lot to report this time.
First off, for those of you who might have been salivating over the PHuN the Chameleon kit (hey, I can dream, right?), the pattern is now available for sale on Ravelry. Eventually I also plan on making him available here on the website and on Etsy. He’s been available since May 15th, actually, which the 5th podiversary of the Pen, Hook, and Needles podcast, but other things kept me distracted and so I hadn’t posted an update here.
You know you salivated at least a little. Right? Maybe? Please?
And what things distracted me? Awesome things, I think. And I hope you do too.
Basically, a really big designing bug took hold and I knocked out two designs in quick succession. Meet Terra the Sea Turtle and Valeria the Dutch Bunny!
Terra has been complete for about two to three weeks, but Valeria is brand spanking new… and took two days to design and complete. Probably would have taken even less time if I hadn’t had to work one night during that stretch. Yeah, I was really on fire with her. That happens sometimes. And I love bunnies. Although Terra is very special to me too. I mean, look at her face and those floppy fins. I might be in love. Because I’m the kind of designer who falls in love with my own designs. What can I say? I love toys and never really grew out of that.
But this leads to the next exciting thing down the pike. If you haven’t started thinking about it yet, start thinking about Tortoise vs. Hare. We’re a little more than a week away from this, one of my favorite Crochet-along/Knit-alongs (CAL/KALs), starting. It is the brainchild of friend and fellow podcaster Laura of the CrochetingWhovian podcast. This is the second year for this CAL/KAL and I’m psyched! Hence the two new designs. And guess who should be in testing during that time and becoming available for purchase during that time. Yup, Terra and Valeria. So keep your eyes on the Pen, Hook, And Needles Ravelry group if you want to get in on the testing. New blood as well as repeat testers are welcome!
Happy Independence Day, everyone! Here in the U.S. of A., I can hear people setting off fireworks. But most of all I hear music in my head, first of all, Lee Greenwood’s beautiful “God Bless the U.S.A”:
And then, as always when I think of patriotic songs, I think of growing up on an Air Force bases and hearing the National Anthem played every day all over the base at a certain time. Even as a kid, I remember stopping what I was doing and standing stock-still with hand over my chest for the duration of the song. Only when the song was finished did everyone on the base continue what they were doing. And, sometimes, I miss that here in civilian life, hence the video below (note the car that does not start driving out of the parking lot until the song is finished):
So happy Independence Day and thank God for our men and women in the Armed Forces who fight to keep this country free.
But this is a knitting/crocheting blog (with occasional book-talk and tea-talk thrown in). So let’s get on with the crafting. And it is on with the CAL/KALs.
Tortoise vs Hare has begun!
Yes, the Tortoise vs the Hare has begun. And, yes, the mug above is real and made for the cohosts of the CAL/KAL as well as two possible winners of the the CAL/KAL (one from the Crocheting Whovian podcast and one from PHN) at the end of of the CAL/KAL at the end of September. Actually, I am drinking tea from my mug right now.
Actually, I sadly just finished my cup of tea. I need to make another cup.
Anyway, the Tortoise vs. the Hare is going strong. I have a Bitty the Bashful Baby Turtle and an Oops the Bunny started. I think I’m trying to go for the Bunny record. I think I’ve made seven to date. I am strongly Team Hare. I need to make T-shirts. But when I release PHN’s Episode 214, I talk more about that idea. I’d love to hear what you think. I’ll try to add in the link when the episode finally finishes uploading. My computer has been kind of slow lately with the massive amount of video content on it between me being the techie for the PHN podcast (God help us) and all my tutorial videos for my patterns.
Oh, speaking of tutorials, the tutorial Sparkle the Unipony is done! Meet Martin!
He’s the blue unicorn with the orange horn. And I’m keeping him. Which means that I will eventually being selling Sparkle (the original unipony). I just don’t have the space to keep multiples of my toys, particularly the large ones like Sparkle.
So, anyway, Sparkle is now officially in testing (and thanks all of you who agreed to test for me and/or showed interest in doing so!). All that is left is for me to finish getting my tutorials loaded and embedded in the pattern. Which takes much longer than I really like to think about. Like I said, this computer is really slow.
I know that y’all have been waiting for Sparkle for a long time. I’ve only been talking about this pattern for about 2 months. So what took so long? Well, first of all, Sparkle is a large toy. Definitely a good cuddle-size, but that also means that there is a lot of crocheting involved. And I have a bad case of project ADD anyway. Or would that be AD — Attention Deficit vs. Attention Deficit Disorder? Anyway, not congruent to my point.
So most of that two months were taken with typing up the pattern, then doing all the actual crocheting. Once all the crocheting was complete, I (thankfully) had a night off of work with nothing else planned. From about 20:30 to almost 04:30, I worked solidly on piecing together Martin and recording tutorial videos while doing so. All the videos have been recorded, but now is the long process of getting them all loaded, the sound tweaked (my GoPro records sound really softly, so I have to amp up the sound in editing), and embedding the videos in the pattern. So, yeah, an inside look at the process of putting together one of my patterns. More than you probably really wanted to know.
Anyway, what other news is there to share? The Ami-Along is still going strong, so if you are making Tortoises and Hares, make sure that you also double dip in the Ami-Along for a chance for prizes. I don’t think I can make my own toys for a chance for prizes and so I’ll be crafting along in the spirit of thing. I really do hate working with plastic eyes and really enjoy working my particular (unusual) brand of eyes, so I pretty exclusively make my own toys. But there are plenty of really cute toys in the Ami-Along. Kate E. Hancock, Vivian Clotilde, Justyna Kacprzak, Megan Barclay, and Alyssa Voznak are just a few of the many awesome designers involved in the Ami-Along. So you should really check it (and them) out. And I have a particularly special place in my heart for PatchworkMoose (Kate E. Hancock) and Stacey Trock (Freshstitches) since I feel like their influence started me off on this designing journey to begin with. Oh, and Stacey is also involved in the Ami-Along. Like I said, many, many awesome toy designers are playing in this thing. It’s a whole lot of fun.
Well, I’m craving another cup of tea (my fourth for the day), so I’m going to sign off. I hope you had a great holiday (those of you in the USA) and that you might have a great week!
Happy knitting and God Bless,
Tahlia
Don’t forget to knit something red for the Cardiac Red-Along!
Hi, guys, first night off after 3 nights on at work. So I haven’t had a chance to crochet at all. I knit a little bit, but I save my crocheting for my day off, usually late at night.
Anyway, since PHN is starting our annual Toy-Along, I’ve had several testers ask me questions about posting their pictures when they are testing my patterns.
I used to think that if I showed my finished toy anywhere prior to a pattern’s release, I was risking my pattern being stolen. So I had all sorts of rules about not posting finished object pictures until a test was released. After reading through several designer threads on Ravelry, I’ve changed my mind about that. Not only is someone unlikely to steal my design just by looking at the finished object (a person creative enough to figure out what I did from a finished object picture is creative enough that they really don’t need to steal my ideas), but I was denying myself some valuable promotion time. My testers are promoting my patterns when they show off pictures of their finished test toys and, really, doing me a favor.
I still ask that testers not show progress shots, though. Someone with nefarious plots to steal my awesome designs and claim them as their own (hah!) could have an easier time reconstructing the pattern from the progress shots before my test is finished and my pattern is released.
But I’m a newbie designer and I totally take any promotion I can get.
So if you’re on Ravlery and you have a knit-along/crochet-along that one of my tests fit into after you finish the toy, go ahead and put the finish object picture in! I think that we both could get a win!
God Bless,
Tahlia
(and thanks, testers, for being so awesome!)
Gratuitous picture of my prototype owl and tutorial owl. Because this post needs a picture.
Ugh. Mornings. The hardest thing about being on vacation is getting up when the sun is up instead of going to bed when she pokes her head up over the mountains.
What is this thing shining through my window?
Anyway, now that I’ve had a few hours of sleep and am eating my breakfast — and more importantly drinking my American Breakfast tea (read: caffeine) — I hope to be able to write about testing for my patterns.
I take whatever excuse I can to practice with my camera — hey, look, caffeine!
Anyway, testing. How I run testing for my toys has changed quite a bit over the year that I’ve been writing toy patterns. With Barry (I resisted the urge to post a picture of Barry, aren’t you all proud of me?), I just threw up a picture of my finished toy in Pen, Hook, And Needles Podcast group on Ravelry and prayed that someone who watched Mom and my podcast would be kind enough to test for me. Actually, my rules for testing were barely a paragraph long. A lot has changed since then.
Awww. There’s hardly any rules at all. Isn’t that cute?
Now I have a full form. Partially because now I know what I need from my testers (thank you, Creative Yarn Entrepreneur for your guidance on your podcast!) and partially because other testing groups I’ve been in have helped me develop a form. Oh, and I also allow people to post their finished objects on the Ravelry pages or show them on their podcasts. Because, seriously, I can use the publicity. The more people who are showing off my toys, the better.
Looks almost official, doesn’t it?
I’ve discovered, now that I am on my 7th design test, what it is that I really need from my testers. Oh, and I’ve now added a #7 to that list — What hook and yarn did you use and how much yarn did you use?
As mentioned in previous blog posts, I am a rather tight crocheter, so it’s important for me to know how much yarn my testers use. If most people more yarn than I do, the amount of yarn I suggest for people to buy, is going to be more than if everyone uses the same amount of yarn I do.
Why compensation? Well, my testers are valuable to me. They catch my mistakes, give suggestions, and provide pictures that get my patterns out there for others to see. I want to reward them for their time and support.
It was because of my testers for Barry the Cardinal that I have so many close-up pictures (for placement of limbs, etc.) at the end of pattern for my toys. It was because of my testers for the Tilly the Springer Spaniel pattern that I added video tutorials that have now become such an important part of my designs. It was because of my testers for the Selina the Cat pattern that I’ve streamlined my pattern writing. And many other small changes have come about in my pattern writing from each test.
My testers help me grow as a pattern designer and help me to make my patterns better. A year from now, my tests may look different, based on what I’ve learned and what I need for my patterns. But I will never cease to need testers for my patterns.
Pattern testers out there, I salute you — and whole-heartedly thank you for all your help!
God Bless,
Tahlia
Kitties! Because I can’t have a post without a picture of one of my toys.
Franciscangypsy Designs 