My Crochet Muse

"When the muse is with you, work with it."

Needless to say, looking at the date of my last post, my writing muse went away for a while. In one respect, I am almost glad that it did, as it created time for new discoveries.

After meeting Sarah Mutrix at the Vermont Crafts Council spring marketing event, I visited her at The Art House in Craftsbury.  I had gone with the intent of finding out more about their new fiber studio.  I left with an opportunity to teach a class on Etsy!

The crochet muse struck hard shortly after that.  I became so obsessed with a pattern I was working on, I even special ordered the yarn!  It was well worth the effort, as Mary Maxim purchased the pattern.

I also started working tech editing for a couple of new clients.  The crochet muse helped immensely there, especially with patterns that did not have pictures to reference.  It is amazing how many talented designers there are out there!

On the crochet design front, I have had more ideas and subsequently made more submissions in the past couple of months than I ever have before.  All of this hard work paid off when the CGOA approved my application for professional membership!

Now I have to dedicate some serious time to creating product for Open Studio Weekend in October.  This will be my first year participating, and I want it to go well!  Come visit me if you are in the area!

Celebrate Crochet!

Welcome to Day 9 of the Tour through Crochet Country!  Happy Crochet Month!

I have a lot of things going on, so let’s get started!  As a new crochet technical editor, I am accepting designs at a reduced rate to celebrate crochet month.  Not a designer?  How about an idea for what to do with scrap yarn to support the charity of the month, Project Night-Night?

Scrap Yarn to Afghan Donation

Start by going through your stash.  Pull out all the partial skeins, balls, partial cakes, etc. of the same yarn weight.  If any require hand washing, throw those back into your stash. 

Now sort those scraps by color.  Place them on a table, from left to right, in order of the rainbow:  red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.  Sort them again by dark to light within the same color group.

Working with 2 strands of yarn, starting with the reds, and a large hook (K/6.00mm or greater) make a 36” chain.  Verify the number of stitches can be divided evenly by 3.  Double crochet (dc) in 5^th chain from hook, chain 1, dc in the same stitch (V-stitch made), skip 1 chain,* (dc, ch 1, dc) in next stitch, skip 1 chain* across, dc in last chain.

All following rows:  Chain 3, turn, V-stitch in chain-1 space of previous row across, dc in top of turning chain.

When you run out of one strand of yarn, replace it with the next one in your color line up.  This will create a beautiful, one-of-a-kind rainbow afghan as the colors meld into one another.

The border can be done in your choice of grey, white, or black – whatever you have.  Sc evenly around, working 3 sc in each corner, and you’re done!

The Travel Afghan

As I do not have a picture of the scrap afghan described above (I donate them once they are complete), I thought I would share with you another afghan – one that my great-grandmother gave to me when I was a child in the 70’s.  She called it a travel afghan, as it was made while she was on the road touring the country back in the 1940’s.  When they came to a new town, she would pick up a single skein of yarn in whatever color caught her eye at the local 5 and dime, and work on the afghan while her husband drove.  This was the result:

The CGOA

While you are on your tour of crochet country, why not take a moment and check out the Crochet Guild of America?  They are an excellent resource for anything to do with crochet, for beginners and professionals alike!

A Crocheter’s Guide to Spring Cleaning

1. Announce to all occupants of the house that you are cleaning and not to be disturbed.
2. Gather together all of those unfinished projects (UFO’s).  Go through each one and prioritize when each will be completed (this year, next year, whenever).  If one catches your eye, it’s time to finish it.  Pull that one out, put the rest of them away.
3.  Gather together all of those crochet books and magazines.  Sit down and go through each one.  Bookmark those projects that will make perfect gifts, and also those that you just want to try. 
4.  Go have lunch.
5.  Look at your stash.  Feel the yarn.  Absorb the colors.  Organize it if you want.  Take note of what colors and fibers you are missing.  If you are lucky enough to find the perfect yarn in the right quantity for one of the projects you bookmarked in step 2, put the pattern with the yarn and go find a crochet hook.
6.  Make sure you have all your tools (crochet hooks, stitch markers, scissors, tape measure, pencil) next to your favorite crochet chair.  Chase the cat out of the room if necessary.
7.       Stash the stack of books and magazines at the bottom of the nearest bookshelf, put your stash back where it was, and sit in your favorite crochet chair.  Start on that pattern or UFO.  If anyone asks, you’re done with spring cleaning.  After all, anyone can do dishes.

More on the tour...

I hope you've had fun here at NEKCrochet!  Thank you for visiting! Don't forget to continue your tour - visit Angela Whisnant today.  Here is the rest of the tour schedule:

March 10	Andrea Lyn Van Benschoten	Renee Rodgers
March 11	Joy Prescott	Donna Childs
March 12	Pam Daley	Deb Burger
March 13	Tammy Hildebrand	Marty Miller
March 14	Jocelyn Sass	Jennifer E Ryan
March 15	Andee Graves	Kimberly McAlindin
March 16	Laurinda Reddig
March 17	Brenda Bourg
March 18	Rhonda Davis
March 19	Julie Oparka
March 20	April Garwood
March 21	Alaina Klug
March 22	Erin Boland
March 23	Margaret Hubert
March 24	Bonnie Barker
March 25	Kim Guzman	Susan Huxley
March 26	Susan Lowman	Michele Maks
March 27	Marie Segares	Brenda Stratton
March 28	Kathy White	Lori Carlson
March 29	Amy Shelton	Donna Hulka
March 30	Linda Dean	Kristin Dragos
March 31	Karen C K Ballard	Gwen Blakley-Kinsler

March is National Crochet Month

I have been spending the morning catching up on the blogs of the crochet professionals participating in the National Crochet Month blog tour.  Although today is only the 3rd day of the event, there is some fascinating reading to be done!

see the full tour schedule

It is amazing to me how many different niches there are to explore in the crochet world.  From the history to the future, from the tools to the runway, and everything in between, what I have read so far in this blog tour has been eye opening. I look forward to see what others are going to write!

My turn comes on March 9th, so please check back then for an update!

One year ago...

One year ago, today, I wrote my 12th blog post.  One year ago, this past week, I had sent in my application to the CGOA.  Part of that application was goals - what were they for 1 year? For 5 years?

What have I accomplished?  I have a blog, a website, and an Etsy store.  I have a pattern for sale on Ravelry.  I have a roomful of yarn and several notebooks with sketches and ideas.  I have a box of swatches and the look of total disorganization.

Well, thanks to the patience and guidance of my mentor, I have achieved my 1 year goal in regard to publication.  The routine of blogging needs work, as shown by my 86 posts in a single year!  With all that has gone on, any semblence of routine has evaporated.  The time has come to get serious.  Let's see if, in year 2, I can bring crochet from a hobby to a business.

Father's Day Fisherman's Hat

Almost a year ago, I started this blog. One of my first posts was about crocheting a fisherman's hat for Father's Day.  I finished the first hat in September, submitted it with a number of other such patterns for publication with a major yarn company for a proposed booklet.  Obviously, that did not pan out.

At the encouragement of my wonderful CGOA mentor, I figured out how to self-publish.  And tonight I finally figured out how to post it as a pattern for sale on Ravelry!

This hat has everything that the commercial ones do:  places to hang hooks and lures, a wide brim, and neck protection from the sun that can be rolled up and tucked into the hat on overcast days.  The tapered design allows it to fit a head circumference of 22" to 24".

The best part is that it works up pretty quickly.  If you are interested in ordering a copy of this pattern,

The Sting Of Rejection

The Yates Farm Yarn Sale Aftermath - Find The Cats If You Can!

Crochet design definitely has it's ups and downs.  One of the major downs in the rejection letter.  I received 5 of these last month, which naturally caused me to question myself.  What was I doing wrong?

Enter one very helpful mentor.  Anyone interested in becoming a crochet designer should join the CGOA and apply for a mentor.  Without her, I probably would have given up completely.  Instead, I am now looking forward to the next batch of submissions.  

I emailed my mentor, then, at her suggestion, I mailed the rejections to her.  She went through them and identified my weak points.  Then she emailed me a sample of what her submissions look like.  They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and in this particular case that is very true.  One glance at her attachment and everything she had told me over the phone clicked.  I got it.  

I learned that submissions are a lot like resumes - whoever looks at it should find what they are looking for at a glance.  This is something that I have to work on.  Due to the encouragement of my mentor, I am now re-energized and have direction.

Competition among crochet designers is fierce due to the limited number of publishers.  Thus, there are far more rejections than acceptance letters.  I am not alone, and the rejection no way indicates my designs are crap.  I simply need to convey my ideas better. 

Connecting With A Mentor

This week I have had a few discussions with my new mentor from the CGOA.  I think it's fabulous that I was assigned someone who is so different from me - there's so much I can learn!

I wasn't really sure when I signed up exactly what it would be like having a mentor in the field of crochet design, especially considering to qualify for one you need to know so much already.  As with anything, however, there is always more to learn! 

We have discussed goals, swatching, and submissions.  She suggested I visit several web sites I hadn't heard of before to learn more information.  I learned more about proposals and what editors are looking for.  We discussed size charts, fit, and drape of garments and matching them to the customer base of each publication.  She even told me what to expect for compensation!

We made a loose plan of action.  It's important for a new designer to get their name out there on line and in publications.  We discussed how to self-publish and the importance of great pictures.  Now it's up to me to use this information, learn, and act upon it. 

I am so happy that I decided to request a mentor!  Even though it took a couple of weeks, it was well worth the wait!

The Next Step?

Part of the purpose of this blog is to chronicle my efforts at making crochet a career.  I have found very little on the web on this topic, even after searching the early years of the blogs of the famous.  I started blogging a little over a month ago, learning how to tweak it from other online how-to sites to make it more accessible.

With that in mind, I must share with you my happiness at receiving an email from the CGOA yesterday.  I had mailed my application for associate professional to them on June 13, and they accepted me via email on June 21st!  I applaud how quickly they responded, and I am thrilled at being accepted.

What does this mean?  I don't really know yet.  My name and contact information are now on the CGOA website under "Professional and Associate Professional Members", so people know how to get in touch with me.  I was given (and accepted) an invitation to join an email discussion list.  I was given an email to contact about mentoring.  Finally, I was told to watch for details about Professional Development Day.

I now have a lot more web resources to explore and learn from.  It looks like I've got a lot of work to do!  My next step is to email the mentor coordinator, then explore the website and discussion group, and of course, continue work on my own designs!

Crochet Guild of America

I have decided to use this blog not only for tips and tricks, but to chronicle my journey into the world of professional crochet.  That being said, yesterday I once again joined the Crochet Guild of America. 

The first time I joined was long ago.  They were hosting the first CGOA conference in Manchester, NH and a friend and I wanted to check it out.  You needed to be a member to get in, but they were giving away goody bags if you joined, so we decided why not?  We spent a few hours strolling the vendor area, watching the speed competitions, and peeking in on the classes in progress.  It was all very interesting, but the classes were out of my budget range.  When I went home, I read many rave reviews about the conference, the classes, and the fashion show on my favorite discussion board, Crochet Partners.

Fast forward to 2011.  If you check out their website crochet.org you will see that the CGOA has blossomed into a true guild.  A one year membership costs $35, slightly more than a crochet pattern book, and I believe it is worth the investment.  After applying for membership online I printed up the contract crochet form and mailed it in.  I received an email this morning from them with a welcome letter and printable ID card.  I plan on filling out the application for Crochet Associate Professional and sending that in either today or tomorrow.  Perhaps I will request a mentor as well.

I lost touch with Crochet Partners when my day job changed from desk to field.  I understand that Ravelry.com is all the rage now for online discussion, but I personally find it to be a bit overwhelming.