Hiatus

Well, I mean, obviously. In a nutshell, about halfway through February, my new studio got finished and ready for me to move in. So, I’ve been concentrating on getting everything set up in there and getting it functional to use as studio/crafting space/office/etc. I’m hoping to be completely set up by June. There will be pictures, eventually.

How that affects this space:
Clearly, I’m not blogging regularly at all. There might be some sporadic posts here and there going forward — especially since I have a few drafts that just never got posted — but I’m not promising anything. Once I get all set up, I’m mostly going to be concentrating on getting my designing back on track (since that’s also been pretty much shut down by not having a place to really spread out and work out of), but I’m also going to start working on a fancy new redesign for this space. More color, more features, more info. The plan is to do a big relaunch in the fall, which works perfectly since that coincides with knitting and baking season.

Make’n’Tell Days 11-14: No Work and All Nyquil Make Laura Something Something

Completely forget about MnT posts? DON’T MIND IF I DO!!!

Sorry about that…I did do some making every day, both on the sunset scarf and the Projects That Must Not Be Named. I’m actually a little disappointed in the scarf…I had planned/hoped for it to be a wrap, but underestimated the width I needed. So now it’s a scarf, which will probably be joined into a cowl. So we’ll see how that goes.

Oh! Speaking of cowls, as you can see in the picture I also started another All Seasons Cowl (will add link later, I promise). I can only do a few rows at a time because of the giant (size 50!) needles. But the stitches are so big it should still be a pretty fast project. I’m using this great Fettuccini that’s hot pink and kind of shaggy, and I’m pretty sure it’s going to make me feel like a rock star when I wear it.

I think the lack of variety in my projects is making this MnT less exciting for me than I’d hoped, so I’m going to mix it up a bit and impose an additional rule: at least three posts per week must be non-knitting OR brand new knitting projects. On that note, I’m off to the Pinterest boards!

Make’n’Tell Day 3: Oh, the Things I Will Make!

Remember back in January I said I was doing this Creativity Challenge thing, and then I never said anything else about it? Well, I kept putting it off and putting it off and then it just didn’t get done. But I didn’t forget about it, and I did/do really want to do it, so I decided to go ahead and finish it up now. I had done Day 1, choosing my one word theme for the year: Make. As in, stop just thinking about it and make it!

So yesterday, I did Day 2: my Creative Dream List. A list of all the things I want to create this year. I stuck to the concrete, mostly, but I wrote down everything I could think of from very broad categories to very specific projects.

When my studio is done, this is going up on the wall. And there’s plenty of room to add more! Doing this exercise got me so excited about the coming year…I think this very well might become a yearly exercise for me.

Make’n’Tell: I < 3 February

So, like I said in the first post of 2014, I want to really push myself to get back into creating and blogging regularly. I figure why not try another Make’n’Tell? In case you weren’t around the first time (back on my old blog), Make’n’Tell is a month long fiesta of creating and blogging, with a project and a post every day. There are rules to be followed, but since it’s a creative thing the rules have some flexibility built in. And if you want to play along but something in the rules doesn’t work for you, of course you should change it or throw it out! (If you played along the first time you’ll notice I’ve changed the rules slightly, for exactly this reason.)

Here are the rules, such as they are. If you don’t follow them, we will all point and laugh, just like real Show’n’Tell. Seriously, these are the parameters I’m setting for myself. If something in these doesn’t work for you, feel free to change it so it does. This is intended to help me focus and grow as an artisan, not be some kind of weird refuge for rules lawyers. Without further ado and in no particular order:

1. The Make can be in any medium, including but not limited to yarn, digital graphics, food, photography, drawing, painting, etc.
2. The Tell must include at least one photo (note: if I’m working on a design I can’t share yet, it may not be  much of a photo or may even be a photo of something else, but will still be a photo I’ve taken and I’ll try to make it relate in some way to the project. I’ll try to avoid this, but it’s possible it might happen).
3. The Tell will occur on the day after the Make, unless the blogger gives previous notice (for example, I’ll be out of town January 18th & 19th and don’t  know if I’ll be able to post. I’ll still Make on those days, but will post the Tells on the 20th if I can’t get them up while I’m away.)
4. The Make may be derivative but may not be wholly unoriginal. For example, the day I originally wrote these rules, I made Indoor S’Mores. I followed the recipe exactly, with no deviation or modification. I would not count that as a Make. I would totally count it if I had, for instance, made little muffin cup portions instead of just throwing it in a pan as directed in the recipe. (Note to self: do that next time. Brilliant idea. Did it, and it was totally a brilliant idea. 🙂 ) Generally, though, I want my Make to be even more original — the idea, after all, is to stretch my creative wings.
5. There should be a Make’n’Tell every day of the month, except as noted in Rule 3.
6. The Make should be either a complete work OR consist of at least 30 minutes of work on an ongoing project. I do a lot of bigger projects, and I don’t want to stop doing them, but I don’t always have time or ability to do a big project in a single day. On the other hand, if I have a small project in mind and it only takes me 15 minutes to complete it, I’m okay with that. And some days I might only have time for that one little thing. So I think that should count, too.
7. The Make can be similar to a previously completed project. For instance, I’ve made several dresses for my daughter. I use an original pattern and modify it pretty much every time. Each instance of dressmaking would count as a Make.
8. I ❤ February Make’n’Tell will last for the 28 days of February, commencing with the first Tell on February 1 and closing with the last Tell on February 28. (It’s my birthday! Maybe perhaps there will be a little something special and extra, because if you know me, you know I ❤ my birthday just a ridiculous amount.) (Oh! And this year it’s on a Friday! BIRTHDAY WEEKEND! But I digress.) So, start thinking about your projects and get your blogging fingers ready and let’s do this thing!

Starting the Year Off Right

Hey, there! How’ve you been? I’ve missed you! Seriously, I really have missed blogging and sharing all the fun stuff I get up to (and okay, having somewhere to whinge when projects aren’t working out quite right). So, even though I haven’t had a chance to do the big visual overhaul I’ve been wanting to do here, I’ve decided to start the new year as I mean to continue: with regular blog features, interspersed with the occasional off-the-cuff post.

I’ll be bringing back Tasty Tuesdays (something yummy and the recipe so you can make it yourself) and Found It on the Internet Fridays (a craft project I discovered on the internet — usually Pinterest), and introducing Inspiration Wednesdays, which will be all about the things and people that are inspiring my creativity.

I’m also going to try to get back into Fat Mum Slim’s Photo-A-Day Challenge…I did get an awesome new camera for Christmas, after all. I’m not sure I’ll be up to posting every day this month  (or every month — I’d like to continue doing the challenge all year long!), so I might do a weekly or monthly roundup of the photos I take instead. We’ll see how this one shakes out.

Last but not least, to really get myself back into the groove of creating and blogging about it, I’m bringing back Make’n’Tell in February. In case you don’t know or remember what this is, here’s what I wrote the first time around: Make something every day AND blog about that thing. Remember when you were in grade school and you had Show’n’Tell and you brought your whatever in and told everyone a little bit about it? Pretty much the same thing here, except the whatever has to be created by me and the telling is done with pictures on this blog instead of in a classroom full of snot-nosed kids. I’m going to follow the rules pretty much as they originally were set out, with the added challenge of keeping the aforementioned feature days intact — I’ll be doing a full post on this later in the week.

It feels good to be back!

First selfie of 2014! (Not taken with my new lens.)

Rewriting History

Back in the day, I wrote and published patterns mostly just as a lark. I would make up something off the cuff, scribble down the instructions, take a few snapshots, and put the patterns up for free. A couple  of years ago, I started getting a little more serious. I wrote more complicated patterns, had them test-knitted, and maybe charged a few dollars for the finished pattern. Last year, I finally got confident and motivated enough to start submitting to publishers, and I’ve been fortunate enough to be fairly successful with that.

However, looking back to my early work, I think much of it fails to reflect the level of skill and professionalism I currently bring to my designs…and that’s important to me. Effective immediately, I am making all of my previously self-published patterns unavailable (designs published elsewhere will still be available, obviously). I will be reviewing these older patterns and will edit, reformat, and re-release those that pass muster in the coming weeks.

What does this mean to you? Not much, unless you’ve been meaning to download one of my free PDFs and just haven’t got around to it. If this applies to you and you really want one of these patterns before it’s re-released, just drop me an email at tastefuldiversions AT gmail DOT com and I’ll be happy to send you a copy (this is true of any patterns I decide not to re-release, too, but be aware that I won’t be making that decision lightly, so caveat cerdo).

Things done, and not

I had Big Plans for blogging tonight. Of course I had to get the schematic done for Tantivy first…and that turned into a project and a half, let me tell you.  I’ll tell you all about that soon (and about my first tech editing experience, including my awesome tech editor, who has the patience of a saint). So I did finally get my schematic done, but now it is time for bed, and so instead of great new recipes (don’t worry — they’ll be coming soon!) you are getting stuck with this.

The good news is, this means Tantivy is finally, finally ready to be released. I’m going to write a nice, long, thoughtful blog about her and then release her into the wild sometime next week.

I’ll also be showing you some other projects I’ve been working on, both original and not. And did I mention delicious recipes? Maybe, possibly, there will even be a Found it on the Internet Friday post this week. Dare to dream. 🙂

Exciting and Delighting

Just a few upcoming things I’m finding exciting…

1. The upcoming relaunch of this here bloggy thing. I spent some time away, but found myself missing it, so I’m coming back. I think a couple of things contributed to my hiatus, mostly that I tried awfully hard to keep all of my posts mostly non-personal — which is really just not my style — and also that I wasn’t able to customize it the way I wanted to. Well, going forward I’m going to be a little less uptight about what I post (look forward to more pics of my awesome children and possibly responses to crazy people on the internet when they give me internet rage, but not at the expense of posts about food and crafts). And I ponied up so I can make the blog look and feel the way I really want it to (for starters, see the nifty pic of Pete the Owl there in the background?).

2. The sooper-sekrit project I just finished. Can’t show you pics of this one just yet, but trust me, it’s pretty awesome.

3. The pattern I have in the final stages of tech editing right now. My incredibly awesome and patient tech editor is doing an awesome job and I can’t wait to release it to you. I’m hoping it will be able to coincide with the official relaunch of the blog next week, and I’ll probably run some sort of special promo. This one, I can give you a sneak peek of:

It is called Tantivy, which means “At full gallop; at top speed.” and it is so named because it works up so quickly. It’s got bell sleeves, waist shaping, eyelet details, and a generous cowl neck. I really love this sweater, both the knitting of it and the wearing of it…so, so comfy.

4. Getting back to writing recipes and making fun little projects! I’m going to be bringing back Tasty Tuesdays and Found It on the Internet Fridays, and I’m super excited about both. My Pinterest overfloweth, and I can’t wait to share all the cool stuff I’ve found. I’ve already got several recipes that I’ve been working on over the past couple  of months, and I know at least one of them will surprise you if you know me at all (hint: it involves cooking veggies).

It’s so good to be back!

Well, hello there!

Yes, I did just fall off the face of the earth. But I’m back now, and I have things to show you! Up there? That’s the beginnings of a swatch for a new sweater design. Also, the Fall Jane Austen Knits is now available in electronic format, and includes my Maiden Fair Blouse design, so be sure to check that out.

More soon — I just finished up a supercute mod of a bulky intarsia sweater from the latest Interweave Knits, there’s been some sewing and baking happening (and there will be plenty more now that the weather has cooled off — I can hardly wait for fresh-baked bread!), and I’m going to try to get back to doing the photo-a-day project, too, not to mention fun Found-It-On-the-Internet-Friday projects. It’s great to be back!

Shifting time

So the project I’ve been working on for Found It on the Internet Friday this week is just not working out. And not even in an exciting “hey, check out my fail!” kind of way. But I have something else that I found on the internet that I’m going to be doing on Sunday, so I’m going to share that with you then, okay? I mean, Tuesday happened on Thursday this week, so if Friday happens on Sunday, then that’s about right, right? Right. And hopefully, this next project will have much less fail. Or at least more interesting fail.