Numbers aren't everything!
CraftDoodling KAL invite & other updates.
It is almost year-end and finally there is a marked drop in temperature. 🌡️ I am trying to finish the sample for a design. I am also doing some swatching and calculations, so I can get to some long stretches of mostly mindlesss knitting, for the colder days. :)
What’s on your needles nowadays?
I have talked earlier about the things that concern me in trying to be a creative - a knitwear designer. Once in this post and then in this one. Perhaps the most awkward and vulnerable part of it all, is the moment I send my work into the world a.k.a hit the Publish button!
Until that moment, it was me and my design:
I was working alone on it, overcoming obstacles and my own weaknesses, learning a thing or two in the process.
Often, my work has to reach knitters like you, through social media 📱 or a selling platform like Ravelry. Where everything is given a number and compared with everyone else's works. It is at this point that things get vulnerable for me, as a creative.
Firstly, these numbers are going to decide the fate of my design, my income and my mojo to continue my chosen work. And then, I also realize that my role as an artist and the connection and control I had over my design ends at this stage. ‼️
I don't have control over the numbers the design will or will not accumulate on various channels and platforms.
I don't have control over how other knitters will perceive it.
I don't have control over their decision to buy or not buy and then to make or not make a version of their own.
Realizing that there is so much out there I can't control is strangely calming in some ways. That means, out of what is left, I can focus on the things I care for.
I put in my best learnings thus far into work, when I write my designs.
I treat every setback as a learning opportunity.
I seek out and stay open for feedback and act with purpose.
I believe the cumulative effect of strongly caring for things under our control can eventually lead us to bigger and greater results.
What does all this mean to you as a knitter?
So how would you decide to knit a pattern from a low-key designer (like me!), vs some other designer with a big name and following on social media? What else can you look at other than just numbers?
Look into Pattern Information for gauge, yarn details , sizes and measurements. Are sufficient details provided? Does it look like it will yield you a feasible finished item? Are there pictures showing the item from enough number of angles to give a good idea? 🌌
Do you think you have to modify something in the pattern to suit the yarn you have or your tastes? Is it something you enjoy doing? Does the pattern state anything about possible modifications?
Testers are indeed the first customers of a pattern. Look into their projects and notes. Often, tester projects are the only ones available for reference in case of a small designer.
If you still have questions, contact the designer. More often than not, they are happy to provide help.
If you decide to try the pattern, share your work and feedback. If you have something negative to say, consider it well and do so with kindness and purpose.
Often, designers share more than just their work in their social profile - their other interests, opinions, things they go through, things they care about. You might find a kindred soul, a genuine person whom you might want to support.
A good decision is based on knowledge and not numbers.
- Plato(428-437 B.C.)
Numbers alone aren't enough to help with the complex process of decision making. 🧐 A good decision always requires gathering information, evaluating, and analyzing possibilities.
CRAFTDOODLING DESIGNS KAL ‘23 INVITE
This year I am trying to host a knit-along for all my patterns. If you have already purchased one or more, now is the time to knit them up.🤗 🧶 Please join in.
More details available on the sign-up form below.
Thank you to everyone who signed up already!! 💗
OTHER THINGS I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT LIKE
I loved listening to this latest episode from Making Conversation Podcast on “Size Inclusivity in the maker space”
I had shared these ideas for supporting small businesses, earlier this year. I thought it was worth sharing again today.
Yet another batch of beautiful Granny Square Bags made at my bag making workshop at Fillory Yarn.
This article from Designer Lauren Rad explores Round Toes for socks - How to knit a Round Toe two ways.
I finished reading these books recently.
📚Someone else’ shoes - Jojo Moyes
📚Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times - Katherine May
FEATURED PATTERN
Saurus Hood is a pattern I wrote when my younger one was 5 years old. 6 years later, it still gets a lot of attention and remains my personal favorite. 😀
You can find the pattern on Ravelry and you’ll find a link to a free version as well.
But what makes me so happy is to scroll through the projects on Ravelry and see knitters having so much fun with the pattern. :)
Until next time,
Kavitha. ♡
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Love your openness Kavitha about what it is like to be an artist and a knit artist in particular. All of life for any of us has its ebb and flow of energy, values, openness. It took me a while to become aware of how this effected my creativity. Along the way some things gave me hints of how to marshal my talents such as they are. One brilliant day a friend said, 'I don't think Van Gogh went to the local art gallery to get ideas for his next painting. ZING! Fresh ideas are not found in old thoughts.
This said, superb skills are built on lots of trial and error with the materials and techniques of your trade. IE, one needs to expose oneself to what others are able to do and how they do it. This is especially true with knitting, where there is such a tremendous history around the world of ways in which people and yarn have met!
Getting back to the ebb and flow issue, it seems important to find time to step back from one's art and take significant breaks from time to time. Think of it like how a farmer may give his fields a rest from producing for a season. Now, I know this may sound impossible for a mother who finds it difficult enough to find time for her craft. So, try baby steps, like 'No Art Mondays' for a month, or some such plan. Believe me I know how daunting this may sound. But a little stepping away can bring big dividends in renewed vigor! You may find yourself at a loss for what to do on a No Arts day. For me, I slide into housekeeping chores or some such mundane activity. Which can develop lives of their own, like making new curtains for the kitchen! After a day like this, the feel of yarn and needles will be like sitting down with an old friend. I seem to have gone on for a bit. I hope you find something here of use.
Really interesting post! I chose to knit the Shirin Shawl because I follow your Substack and fell for the pattern when you first shared it. Now I’ve seen it I am more likely to knit other patterns of yours as I like the way the pattern is written. (I have cast on the amethyst yarn BTW) I’ve got my eye on your sweater pattern next. Once I find a designer I enjoy I tend to knit several of their patterns and be fairly loyal. Size of reputation doesn’t interest me so much. Personal connection is more important to me.
Oh and I loved Wintering, hope you did too!