This year was a big one for me. This was the year I really decided to buckle down and get serious about designing patterns. So, despite working full time and then later two part time jobs, I still found the time to design on the side. Sometimes I was definitely overwhelmed with deadlines, responsibilities, and whatnot, but I can honestly say that I can't see it any other way now. I love designing, and plan on continuing. :o)
My last pattern had been Consummate V's, which is a free pattern I put out for my birthday in October 2013. My New Year's resolution of 2014 was that I was going to put out at least 1 pattern a season (4 patterns total) over the course of 2014. I figured it was a very minimal goal, with lots of room for growth. When it hit around October 2014, and I hadn't put out a single pattern, I really sat down to think. That's when I decided that I would get serious and have the same goal of at least 4 patterns, but hoping more for about 6 patterns to come out in 2015.
While January came and went, February started me off with a bang! That Fall when I was pondering how I'd let so much time slip by, I stumbled upon an all call from Quince and Co for their Scarves, Etc collection. I was SO SURPRISED when they loved my Aviary pattern. It was such an honor to be able to design with their yarns as my first pattern of 2015. :oD
My next pattern was Rivoletto Mitts in March. The idea for them came from years previous, when I had entered and won a mitts design contest with A Verb for Keeping Warm. I never managed to write up that exact pattern, but I made a few minor changes to the basic pattern idea, and came up with Rivoletto. I am actually even more pleased with Rivoletto than I was with the original mitts. I suppose it was good to wait those additional years of experience!
In April came Candide, my simple hat pattern that maybe seems a bit more complex than it really is. Knit out of one of my favorite yarns, Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, and Cascade Heritage, Candide was a lot of fun to work up. What was more rewarding was when one of my testers told me that her teenage daughter had commandeered her hat and requested more. I think that is one of the best compliments I'd ever gotten!
A surprise pattern came out in June with my Gehry Wrap, a pattern I did for Unique Sheep's yarn club. While the 100% lace weight silk creates a gorgeous drape and a very elegant shawl, I can also see it in other fibers as well. The rights have been given back to me, and now Gehry Shawl is now available for download in my pattern store on Ravelry. :o)
In July came a pattern that is near and dear to my heart. Paulette came out as a collaboration with Thoroughly Thwacked. Her Vixen yarn was a dream to work with, and the final shawl came out even better than my initial sketches. :oD It was a fun experiment to work hand in hand with an indie dyer, and I can say for certain that there will be more designs with Thoroughly Thwacked yarns, as well as other indie dyers in the future!
Viola and Cesario came out in September as a set of hats that will become a part of my Twelfth Knits collection. Over the next year I will be adding more patterns to the Twelfth Knits collection, I hope you enjoy seeing it grow. As I tend to sometimes be a bit corny, I will say that I'm planning on having these pieces be mostly cabled work as I feel the cables symbolize the twisted roads that some of the characters' paths took them. Yikes, maybe that was too corny, even for me! ;o)
My favorite month is October for many reasons: birthday month, typically some of the best weather during the year, and this year was even more exciting with the publication of Around the Block Legwarmers in the darling collection Charmed: Whimsical Knitted Accessories. After seeing the full collection, I couldn't believe that I was included in this collection! So many cute patterns in the booklet, and I still am waiting for some free time to knit up a few of them. :o)
I talked with DragynKnyts about using some of her yarns to design with, as I have been loving her semi-solids. Her variegates are also lovely, but there's something very special with the way her semi-solids come out. I proposed the idea of Cunegonde, and she jumped on board with it. This cowl is interesting because it comes in two sizes, and done in either PendragynDK or Wyvern worsted. Due to the double sized skeins, even the longer cowl lengths can be done with a single skein. This cowl is the second piece to my Candide Collection that, similar to the characters of Candide, will be comprised of patterns that look more complex than they truly are.
This month has been crazy busy with gift knitting and trying to get a ton of designs all together ready for testing. Despite that, I couldn't get Hipstamatic out of my head. I absolutely had to get this free pattern together and so I put everything on hold in order to get the samples together and the pattern written up. In the end, I couldn't stop knitting them, and I have knit up four so far, and every time I see more chunky/bulky weight yarn I just want to knit up another. My next one is definitely going to have a pompom! :oD
My goal was 4-6 patterns, and I managed to get seven self published patterns and three more publications with Quince & Co, Unique Sheep, and Knit Picks! I have some more big plans for 2016, and I will give a little hint: 2016 is going to be the year that I start dabbling into garments. ;o) Stay tuned for some test knits to happen soon...