Apparently, I like deadlines.

I'm racing myself to see if I can finish a pair of socks in a month.

I'm also consoling myself that I couldn't afford a sweater's worth of All For Love of Yarn by making socks out of some I had in stash.  As you can see, it is stunning, even in a crappy webcam shot.  She's also having a massive sale on her DK and worsted weight yarn, and has some sweater quantities, so if you have cash money to blow on yarn, you might want to blow some of it on Angela's yarn.  I really like it, at least.

ETA:  Also, you can get 20% off your purchase with the code SH2013 through the seventeenth.  I picked up a lovely OOAK ball of RED!  My favorite color.  :)

Things I've Learned as a Designer

I haven't been doing this very long, but have already learned some significant (and mostly painful) lessons, which I thought I would share for everyone's edification.  Or for everyone to laugh at me.  You know, whatever.  So, in whatever order they occurred to me:

1. When you're making a sample, count the stitches.  This is particularly useful in the joining row and the smallest/largest diameter of any shaping.  It is really, REALLY hard to count those stitches once the sample is done.
2. Unless your stitch pattern is specifically designed to take advantage of pattered yarn, get a solid (or semi solid, at most).  Even tonal yarns can pool unexpectedly.
3. Save your ball bands, especially on big projects.  By the time you're done, you may or may not remember how many you had to start with.
4. Don't try to design something using a technique you're not super familiar with.  It doesn't matter if you can do the math and design aspects if the stitching makes you want to scream.
5. The job is a lot of fun... unless you over schedule yourself.  Have fun!  :)

Working at home and time management

Working from home is not a new thing for me.  I've been doing freelance editing and translation for home pretty much since I graduated, so incorporating design into my home work schedule hasn't been too big of a deal.  However, there are some issues with working from home that people who have never done it don't think of.  The main issue is time management.  People tend to assume that, since you are at home, you are going to watch the kids, clean the house, AND work a full day, all at once.  Because you are at home after all, doesn't that mean you take care of the home things?

I probably don't need to tell you that this is blatantly impossible.  Full time stay at home moms with no other job have a hard time finding enough hours in the day to take care of the kids and keep the house up, because those are HARD JOBS.  They are not things that automatically take care of themselves just because you happen to be at home.  And work at home jobs aren't either.  When I have an editing job, somebody has to watch the kids so I can work... just like if I was going in to the office.  Hours I spend writing up proposals, running tests, and making samples, likewise, are hours that I can't spend mopping or doing the dishes.

Why the office-working average doesn't understand this, I will never know, however when I first started this, I did get a lot of "since you are home anyway, could you..." "your house must be so clean since you work from home," and so on.  The assumption is that if you are home all day, you must not be working!  But you have to learn to set firm boundaries (no I cannot run errands for you I have to work!) and explain, occasionally, the realities of working from home.  Another useful skill is letting things like that roll off your back.  It doesn't matter what your neighbors think of your housekeeping!

The upside to all of this (and how we make it work) -- working from home is extremely flexible.  Because you have no commute, there's no wasted time driving.  Because you make your own schedule, you can take advantage of nap time and after the kids go to bed, and do most of your work then.  "But isn't that like working two jobs?!"  you may say.  Well, yes, it is.  But so is working at an office and having a family.  It's just a different method of managing your responsibilities.

Design break

Due to poor planning on my part, I am taking a forced break from actively designing anything.  (Altho I do still have one pattern in testing.)  That is not necessarily a problem, because all of a sudden, it has gotten COLD.  Bitterly cold.  Mazillions of snow cold.  They don't plow our street cold.  Which, of course, means everybody needs warm woolies.  Only to have me realize that my kids are distinctly lacking in what I consider proper winter wear.  Which means that I had to turn these out in a day:

Of course, they turned out too big in spite of my best efforts, but hey, that just means they'll fit next year, too.  And then this hat out over a weekend:

 And this, my friends, is why I need a stash.  Stash wool has rescued my children from certain chilliness!