27K Sheets of Toilet Tissue

Alternate Title: Becoming a Full-Time Freelance Designer

Freelance designing is a tough business. The work never seems to stop. You can work 14 hours a day, 7 days a week and never seem to be caught up. You can work that much and never seem to pay the bills. It’s just the way it is with crochet. Because that’s what I’m talking about: crochet. Whether you have an etsy shop and you’re selling finished items or whether you’re designing and writing up patterns for sale, there simply isn’t a lot of money in crochet, no matter how you look at it, unfortunately.

My biggest tip for emerging designers/pattern writers is “Don’t quit your day job.” And, I mean it! I’ve been in this business professionally for 15 years. In the beginning, it was loads of fun to get that extra paycheck from freelance designing so that I could buy those extra things that you never seem to be able to buy on the regular paycheck. I remember getting my first washer and dryer from a freelance check, after years of going to a laundromat.

About 9 years’ ago, I was sort of forced into transitioning to full-time designing. When I got pregnant with my third child, I was making the long-haul commute to a high dollar law firm in downtown Chicago. I had been working for lawyers for 20 years. The commute to downtown Chicago was grueling. First, walk to the train station, then take a one-hour train ride, then walk about 8 city blocks to the office. Yeah, winters were not any fun at all. And, one morning, I fell, while pregnant. That was the end of my working outside the home for the immediate future. I had to turn my crochet into a full-time job from that moment on.

And, I won’t lie to you. It’s been a tough transition! With freelance, you never know when you’re going to get paid. Or, sometimes IF you’re going to get paid. You learn to cut corners anywhere you can. Beans and rice may become the best you can do. It’s either feast or famine. Some days might be Hamburger Helper kind of days while other days are Tuna Helper days. Your 8-year-old may have to settle for the three-for-a-dollar macaroni and cheese instead of his favorite, made with Velveeta. There’s just a lot of give and take. Being a single mom is no picnic. Being a single mom working freelance is nearly impossible.

We are still cutting corners. And, I’ve been doing this for 15 years! We’re in a unique situation at the moment, though. I’m living in somewhat of a glorified living-with-your-mother situation in that she happened to have an empty building where she lived and I moved in! The building is my grandmother’s former diner/cafe/country store and it had been vacant for close to 30 years. And, I couldn’t be happier! Here are some photos of it back in the day.

So, what has that got to do with toilet tissue? Well, I’ll tell ya! I suddenly realized that you can chart the rise and fall of income coming into my household directly with the amount of toilet paper I buy at a time. So funny!

Sometimes, I can only buy one or two rolls of toilet paper at a time. Sometimes four at a time. But, this last trip to the grocery store, I bought a 27-count package, 1000 sheets per roll! I’m certainly not rolling in money (although I might be rolling in toilet paper), but I’m not scraping together every penny I can find in the couch right now either (or, going to my mother’s house to swipe some of her toilet paper.) And, I know that another famine will show up in this constant roller coaster ride of feast-to-famine so it’s a good idea to stock up on toilet paper now. Maybe I should buy some more.

Crochet-Along: Sapphire Wrap

With it being summer in the northern hemisphere, I thought it would be nice to do something smaller and more lacy for our planned crochet-along.

The Sapphire Wrap is a perfect crochet-along project because there are new elements which you’ve not seen before, most specifically, working in Tunisian crochet pineapples (or pinecones, if you prefer). I’m looking at you, Ambar!

This crochet-along will take place in my crochet-along group on YahooGroups here. (Yes, I know. It’s old school. But, it’s worked great and why change a good thing?) As always, everyone who completes a project and posts the photo in the group will be entered into a drawing to win a box of yarn from me. (Always a mystery; I try to make each specific box suitable to the individual receiving it.) If you are not a member of the group, you will need to request membership through the link above. Note that I keep my crochet-alongs separate from the main Tunisian crochet group. It is not a part of the main group. It is a spin-off group solely for my crochet-alongs.

The crochet-along will begin on July 1 to give everyone an opportunity to collect their tools, yarn and pattern. The pattern can be purchased several ways.

Individual pattern, PDF download, directly from the publisher here.

The book, Short Row Tunisian Fashion, PDF download, directly from the publisher here.

The book, Short Row Tunisian Fashion, hard copy, directly from the publisher here, from a trusted independent online vendor here, from Amazon here, from Barnes & Noble here.

For more research about the design before deciding on purchase, please view the Ravelry listing here.

I hope to see you there!

Ye Olde Giveaway!

Have you ever stitched up something from one of my patterns? If so, you qualify to enter in Ye Olde Giveway! The rule:

Post a photo of your project that you’ve made from one of my designs on my Facebook page here before the end of the day on July 8.

On July 9, I will have a randomly-generated drawing and one lucky person will win a Mystery Box from me.

What will it be? Will it be yarn? Will it be crochet/knit tools? Will it be a signed book? Will it be all three??!! You won’t know until July 9!

If you have not stitched one of my designs yet, not to worry. You have an entire month.

My portfolio of designs can be found on Ravelry here.

Remember that, if you post a photo and your name is drawn, please don’t freak out if I ask you for your mailing address, k?

One entry per person.

Because I Love Tomatoes

So, I thought I’d tell you a bit about my garden. Up until three years’ ago, I had never had a garden. It’s not been possible. But, once I moved out to the country, all things are possible. I’ve always loved homegrown tomatoes from my mother’s garden. But, I never grew them myself.

I’ve basically been experimenting for the last two years. I’ve been growing things from seed to save costs. And, I’ve discovered the wonderful tomato varieties available. There are hundreds and hundreds of different varieties.

Last year, I tried a lot of different varieties just to see what they were like. I tried some really unusual varieties. But, what it boiled down to was that I liked the really dark tomatoes. My favorites were Black Krim and Prudens Purple. They were so good last year, but I didn’t get very many in my experimentation project.

So, this year, I’ve got the following list of tomato plants.

2 Prudens Purple

2 Black Krim

2 Cherokee Purple

1 White Cherry

2 Yellow Pear

1 Arkansas Traveler

The Black Krim was the first to set fruit.

By now, they all have wee tomatoes on them.

I’ve also got some peppers growing.

4 purple bell peppers

2 sangria peppers

1 cherry pepper

1 jalapeno

1 poblano

My experience is that peppers like me a LOT and I get way too many. So, I tried not to start too many. The Sangria peppers were the first to set fruit. They’re small so they’re already starting to ripen.

I experimented with some potatoes last year. Because I don’t have a huge amount of space for them, I’m not sure they’re worth it. I had potatoes, yes. But, not enough to really make a huge difference. Nevertheless, I was wondering how to save the tubers without them going bad so that I would have some for this year. As it turns out, there was no need. I must have left some potato in there because I had these volunteers and it’s almost time to harvest.

I had an unusual development with the potatoes, though. When I went out to check them, the flowers had set fruit. It was certainly unexpected, so I had to investigate.

They look a lot like tomatoes. But, beware! They are NOT tomatoes. They are toxic. They are so toxic that ingesting them will make you very sick and, for children, it’s far worse. They produce viable seeds, but may not be the same as the parent plant. They look like tomatoes because tomatoes and potatoes are both a part of the nightshade family. Just don’t eat them!

I also have lots of other things growing, including flowers. Growing flowers from seed is a tricky business. They start off so small. I had to start them in February. My favorite is impatiens. But, this year, I may have changed my mind. I grew columbines from seed two years’ ago and it just finally produced flowers this year.

An amazing beauty!

I also have onions, melons, sweet potatoes, eggplant, asparagus, green beans, sweet peas, Christmas lima beans and cucumber. Oh, and basil. Lots and lots of basil. Pesto==very good stuff. Gardening is fun, but watering every day can be a chore, let me tell ya! But, I persevere in the hopes of awesome harvests.

And, as you might guess, it’s the tomatoes that I’m most looking forward to eating, all by themselves, sliced and still warm from the sun.

Where Has Kim Been?

Well, it’s like this. I’ve been sick. Bronchitis and sinus infection. The first round of antibiotics didn’t do it and I’m currently on the second round. I’m six+ weeks behind in my work. And, there’s no telling whether I will ever get caught up. But, I’m trying.

Right before I got sick, my daughter was hospitalized at 29 weeks’ pregnant. My little grandson, Ryan, is a very determined little guy and, he was born a week later, on April 15. So, my mind has also been a “little” preoccupied.

Sweet, sweet little boy.

Ryan is still in the hospital, but is doing better. He still has a feeding tube which is the last real obstacle he needs to overcome before he can go home. His actual expected date of arrival was June 10, so he’s still premature. But, he’s getting stronger everyday.

Here are more current photos.

I want to thank everyone for all their well wishes, thoughts and prayers for the little man. You’ve all been wonderful.

Learn Crochet Post Stitch Cables

Are you baffled by post stitches? Or maybe you want to learn how to do post stitch cables but they’re confusing for you? I’ve got a great article in Issue 3 of Crochet 1-2-3 magazine. If you were unable to purchase this issue. You can still purchase back issues of the magazine at the website here.

In each issue, I’ve provided a technique article to teach you something new, with three terrific projects so that you can practice the technique. In this issue, I have three cabled scarves to get you well on your way to learning how to do post stitch cables.

But, there’s more! There are also videos to go with the issue so that you can more clearly understand how to do the cables. Check out these three videos I’ve done for the issue and I’m certain you’ll be doing post stitch cables in no time at all!

Garments: Designing vs. Pattern Writing

So, you’ve decided to stitch up your own garment. That’s terrific! I know you will do well!

As you’re stitching up that garment from a pattern, you may discover little things along the way that may make you scratch your head. Things like “Now, why did the designer do that when *this* is so much easier?” may crop up in your mind.

The first thing you need to remember is that a pattern isn’t a bible. It’s really just a guide. You can tweak it along the way to suit your own needs and desires.

The next thing you need to realize is that there is a big difference between a designer and a pattern writer.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I feel like most crocheters are indeed designers, even if it’s just a tweak of a pattern and even if you have no intention of writing the pattern.

It’s not the same as coming up with a design for publication, of course. Those need to be original designs, not altered designs. But, you *are* altering patterns to suit your needs. Even changing a bow to a flower is a design element that you make on your own.

How many times do you start off making something and then change it along the way to suit your needs?

Even a simple hat. It doesn’t meet gauge so you don’t take it out, you continue increasing until you get what you want. Yes, I see you, my crocheting friends. I know what you’re doing.

It’s really no different with a garment. You may decide you want a few more rows. You may decide you would like to do increases in a different way. You may discover that you need a lot more width really fast because you thought you were on gauge, but you’re not. These are all things you can do to tweak a garment while stitching.

But, let’s get to the title of this post:

“Designing vs. Pattern Writing”

So, let’s just say that you get to a point in the pattern and you can’t for the life of you figure out why the designer did something a certain way. And, I’ll tell you. I’ll bet the “designer” part of the project thought the very same thing. But, once the “pattern writer” got finished talking, it had to be done a different way.

You see, designers and pattern writers live in the same brain. Designing comes so easy to me. I would love to design all the time without a care in the world about a pattern. I would love to have the uplifting freedom it would give to me if I didn’t have to write a pattern. I know it’s only in my dreams, but a book of one-of-a-kind crochet garments from the designers of the crochet world would be a truly extraordinary thing to behold if they could just design and stitch away, without worry about the pattern writing later down the road.

But, alas, I have to keep my feet on the ground. No freedom of design for me. While designing, I can’t do the stuff of dreams. I have to do the stuff that will actually work in writing and will actually make a pretty, concise pattern that will accommodate six sizes.

I can’t have a pattern that requires a separate written pattern for each size bodice. I’ve done it before and I can tell you that publishers would certainly frown upon me. I had to self-publish that one.

So, you see, you may indeed find a different way of doing things from the pattern. And, the designer may have seen that as well, but couldn’t implement it. But, that certainly doesn’t mean that you can’t implement it! Don’t hesitate to use that freedom and make your garment the best it can be!