David Loom arrives at a Michigan Shop

Look how cute these new Jul Pedestal Buttons are, patent leather with different colored centers! We have a lot of great new products coming out for next season. I can't wait to see everything myself!

I was so excited to see this post from Nancy at Woven Art in Lansing. I am not a weaver (yet!) but I still love the tools, looms and creative projects. The David Loom from Louet is assembled and ready for visitors at Nancy's wonderful shop. Last time I went to see her there were two weavers working on gorgeous projects in the back room. Very impressive!

I finally put all of the new patterns up on Ravelry. There are 5 now, with more on the way very soon! The Rivulet shrug is being test knit, and I will be starting a shawlette soon, and then getting back to more designs for fall. When I was in Maryland this week, Laura got an email from a famous-name designer with sneak peek pictures of pieces featuring the new Montreal Closures and Pedestal Buttons. Can't show them, but look for them at TNNA in Columbus in June if you are in the biz, otherwise they will be in your LYS for Fall 2011. So exciting!

Lately I have been thinking a lot about my "new work." I have been reading some articles about work habits and personality traits of creative types, and following some excellent blogs. I think I am looking for clues to help me get used to the different pace, and maybe figure out how this all might make sense.

Because I am doing so many new activities, and am trying to get quite a lot done, it has been difficult to know what is the best thing to be doing at a given time. And is it really okay for work to feel so fun? And when should I stop working? And what should I do when I am not working? And is there a better way for me to learn some new tricks besides trial and error? A lot going on up in the old noodle.

Juggling multiple projects, even fun ones, is hard. Sizing the new Rivulet Shrug pattern REALLY is hurting my brain, although I kind of enjoy it at the same time. I am learning a lot. I love novelty and the unknown, yet I feel a little queasy when I admit to myself that I don't quite have the pattern all worked out yet. There is no "powering through" this design, in fact, I decided today is an official "day off" and I am going to try not to do any work, so that I can come back to a few important tasks tomorrow and hope to be more effective.

With the designing, and working on a new business model for my yarn repping, I am working right past the edge of my comfort zone, the place where I feel like I have paid my dues, put in my 10,000 hours, and know what is supposed to come next. In my old sales job, I knew from experience what I should or could be doing to get the results I wanted. Now, not so much. Some things are taking longer than I would like. And a very strong and surprising sense of perfectionism is making itself felt, in the form of really worrying about the Rivulet Shrug design. It was hard to get started with it (since I don't love shrugs) and I struggled with every aspect--stitch pattern, construction method, writing clear enough instructions--all the while, ruminating over whether I would get it done in time, and once it was done, what if it sucked? A lot of unhelpful worrying that didn't feel good at all. I did not have much confidence in the success of this project until I saw it modeled by a person who looked great in it. I will post pictures once it is published. What a relief to see the garment look good on someone, and several people have said they liked it and would wear it "in real life." I don't consider it a masterpiece, but I do feel more satisfied that it seems to work as a design. I am still working on it, and still worrying, now that a test knitter will be trying to walk the path I lay out for her.

What is really strange is my assumption that I should be able to do something perfectly on the first try. Or that if my first effort is not the most fantastic thing ever, that it is the end of the world. Really, what would be so bad if the design (or whatever I am trying, especially if it is for the first time) didn't work? My mom reminded me that I always felt like I had to know everything. Kind of a strange contradiction--the person who says she loves the unknown but feels uncomfortable if she doesn't already know something. I guess the lesson I will take from all of this is to give myself a break if it doesn't always feel terrific as I keep tackling new challenges and exploring new ideas.

When I was a little kid, in first grade maybe, I became conscious that I was one of the people who regularly got gold stars on homework assignments. I have a visual memory of being a very small person, and looking out of those eyes at the paper with the star and a nice little note "Excellent Work!" from the teacher. I think it felt good to get those, but I also felt anxious. What if one time I didn't get the sticker or the "Great Job!" or even the check mark? Also, the schoolwork was usually pretty easy for me, and sometimes it felt like it was weird to have a big deal made of something that did not feel like such hard work. So I thought it was funny when I noticed these two gold stars that are hanging in my house. I think I will use them as a reminder that work does not always have to be so grueling, and that I am doing good work by trying new things, even if I don't get perfect results on the first try.

Pattern Support for Jul

When Laura and I decided to roll out the new Pedestal Buttons and other Jul Silver closures, very last-minute, for TNNA in Long Beach this January, we figured we would need some pattern support to help show how the things worked and how cool they were. We talked about how we wanted to keep the designs fairly simple, both to offer an accessible project for people of all knitting skill levels, and to best spotlight the hardware. We thought that all that would really be needed was a basic shape in an attractive stitch pattern--because of the transformative powers of the closures (they are movable, removable, reversible, interchangeable, require no sewing, pre-planned buttonholes, or commitment!) a rectangle could easily become a hat, a scarf, a cowl, an earwarmer, or whatever! We wanted to keep the instructions short, and decided if the whole thing could not fit on the back of a large postcard in 10.5 point font, then the pattern was too complex. We half-jokingly said the collection should be called "Barely a Pattern," and so far the name has stuck.

I rustled up some yarn and got busy swatching, knitting, and writing, while Laura worked around the clock (I think literally!) to finish preparations for the booth display and to get the new products, pricing, and everything else ready. I finished the Infinity Scarf and the Cowl in two Fibre Company yarns. My flight to Long Beach left Thursday morning. It was Tuesday afternoon and I was not sure who my models would be, but we sure did need the photos, and I had said I would take care of it. Out of necessity, I became much more comfortable both asking for help and talking to strangers.

These three lovelies are my first subjects. All attractive, open-minded, and willing to stand outside on a chilly day--great qualities in knitwear models! Seeing Manish in his cowl reminds me that I should work on more unisex designs. Doesn't he look great?

The first two patterns have done really well, and many shops are reordering, and in larger quantities than their first orders. (yay!) The Buttons are selling the patterns, and the button/pattern combination is selling more yarn for my LYS customers. The same is true for other shops around the country, and even internationally! This is what we had in mind, and hoped would happen. There are additional patterns now, for a super-slouchy hat, and another small, quick, and cute neckwarmer. Soon we will add patterns for a larger stole and a transitional-weather shrug. Stay tuned!

This is Christie's Swatch. Christie is a very helpful woman who is in charge of sales at the hotel I am staying at this week in Michigan. She happened to be at the front desk when I came by looking for some emergency label printing help on Saturday night. I told her what I needed, and it had to do with the printed patterns, so of course I showed them to her. She told me that she had taught herself to knit and enjoyed it, but had never knit from a pattern before. I told her that in exchange for the labels (Kinko's was going to charge me a ridiculous amount to do what I needed) I would give her an Infinity Scarf Pattern and give her a quick lesson on working from a pattern. We exchanged info, since I may find my self in need of some meeting space someday (or another model, she is gorgeous!) and so she could SOS me if she had trouble with the scarf. Good for her for doing a swatch--I never did them when I was a beginner, and only reluctantly and quite recently became more disciplined with my knitting habits. I was happy to have a real case study of a beginner tackling a Barely a Pattern project. I forgot to ask her what yarn she is using. I have requested that she keep me updated with her progress and I will share that here in the blog.
Here is Jade, pretending to text, and wearing the finished sample of the Infinity Scarf on another coldish February day (shown with the Spiral Bridge Closure, which has also been a good seller so far--it's jewelry for your knitting!) At some point, we will have an online gallery of all of the designs shown with different styling options.

In the meantime, there has been some back and forth about the collection name "Barely a Pattern." What do you think? Do you like it? Does it make you want to knit the pieces? Would you buy the pattern? Do we even need a name for the collection?

I would love to get some feedback in the comments :)