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.
Thank you Sandy! I agree about the periods of rest needed for creativity. Like you say, there is a lot to take in as inspiration and get exposed to. And at the same time not get overwhelmed by it. I do treat myself to rest periods thanks to an understanding family. :) Creativity is very much an act of balance too.
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.
Aww, thank you Linda! That is such a huge compliment. But I still do get curious about how I appear to someone as against the millions of choices they are presented with in their screens everyday. :) From yours and some others replies here, I think putting my work out there and doing my best are the answers I go back to. However unfashionably simple they sound. :))
There are a lot of popular designers, who publish even the most popular granny square with a small twist and call it their original and sell it at a premium. This affects small designers, who have already published the same pattern with the same twist for free on Ravelry. Just changing stitch numbers do not make an original pattern. This affects the morale of small designers. In such a world you come as a breath of fresh air and I love your patterns and test them albeit not finishing the test a couple of times for various reasons.
That said, I really do not have CCD a CD specific preference between small and big designers. If I like a design mostly I test for them to see if I like their pattern writing which is easier to read and not too hard on the head😅.
Awww, you totally made my day Vidya. That is such a kind and sweet thing to say. I have loved having you test and it's a joy to see your versions. Oh, you bring up another favorite question about "what constitutes an original pattern". May be discussion for another day. :)
Such wisdom Kavitha! Thank you as always for sharing your experience of being a designer. Your insights give me such appreciation of what it takes to create patterns. I agree that "strongly caring" and building on what you can control is so important. Thanks so much for your tips they are super helpful.
Jodie, I am so glad to have found people like you here, who resonate with these thoughts. This is huge for me. Thank you so much for your kind comments, as always.
I'm saving this post because I have shared a couple patterns I've written myself on my Substack. I'm not planning on posting them for sale or have any future plans to make an income off any patterns I write. It's more to share my love of knitting. BUT I do worry if other people can read the pattern well enough. I know how it's supposed to look and knit up, but did I miss a step or are my instructions confusion to everyone but me? Your list above has a lot of great details that I need to study so I can tweak past posts and ensure future posts are readable and doable for others.
Firstly, congratulations on getting your patterns out there. That is huge. I am so glad these lists are useful. It actually feels liberating to focus on things that matter to us, than random numbers. Like you say, "Are my instructions confusing?" - is a great thing to focus on and work for.
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.
Thank you Sandy! I agree about the periods of rest needed for creativity. Like you say, there is a lot to take in as inspiration and get exposed to. And at the same time not get overwhelmed by it. I do treat myself to rest periods thanks to an understanding family. :) Creativity is very much an act of balance too.
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!
Aww, thank you Linda! That is such a huge compliment. But I still do get curious about how I appear to someone as against the millions of choices they are presented with in their screens everyday. :) From yours and some others replies here, I think putting my work out there and doing my best are the answers I go back to. However unfashionably simple they sound. :))
There are a lot of popular designers, who publish even the most popular granny square with a small twist and call it their original and sell it at a premium. This affects small designers, who have already published the same pattern with the same twist for free on Ravelry. Just changing stitch numbers do not make an original pattern. This affects the morale of small designers. In such a world you come as a breath of fresh air and I love your patterns and test them albeit not finishing the test a couple of times for various reasons.
That said, I really do not have CCD a CD specific preference between small and big designers. If I like a design mostly I test for them to see if I like their pattern writing which is easier to read and not too hard on the head😅.
Keep up the good work
Awww, you totally made my day Vidya. That is such a kind and sweet thing to say. I have loved having you test and it's a joy to see your versions. Oh, you bring up another favorite question about "what constitutes an original pattern". May be discussion for another day. :)
There is no edit option.🤦♀️CCD etc is typo😅
Such wisdom Kavitha! Thank you as always for sharing your experience of being a designer. Your insights give me such appreciation of what it takes to create patterns. I agree that "strongly caring" and building on what you can control is so important. Thanks so much for your tips they are super helpful.
Jodie, I am so glad to have found people like you here, who resonate with these thoughts. This is huge for me. Thank you so much for your kind comments, as always.
Hit the nail on the head and i was nodding in agreement to everything you had to say about a low-key designer!!!
Thank you Vims!
I'm saving this post because I have shared a couple patterns I've written myself on my Substack. I'm not planning on posting them for sale or have any future plans to make an income off any patterns I write. It's more to share my love of knitting. BUT I do worry if other people can read the pattern well enough. I know how it's supposed to look and knit up, but did I miss a step or are my instructions confusion to everyone but me? Your list above has a lot of great details that I need to study so I can tweak past posts and ensure future posts are readable and doable for others.
Firstly, congratulations on getting your patterns out there. That is huge. I am so glad these lists are useful. It actually feels liberating to focus on things that matter to us, than random numbers. Like you say, "Are my instructions confusing?" - is a great thing to focus on and work for.
It was exciting to share the first one. =) I agree. There's more joy when you don't let the numbers bog you down.