sore but back in the game
Well, I'm in recovery from a bit of outpatient surgery (everything is fine, thanks) but I'm sore and bruised and all that. My nice mom came to visit in case she was needed. In the end, I spent several days absolutely drugged up, recovering from anesthesia and sleeping and eating. Husband helped, Mom helped, and then, Mom listened to books on CD and knitted. Mom knitted an entire Knitty Satchel for me and a scarf of her own design. The satchel is for my birthday on January 5th so Mom took it home to Virginia for felting.
I'm gearing up for the big Celebration on the Square and hoping it won't rain. Also hoping that some people show up. I had a reporter contact me and I encouraged him to do a nice write up after the big event rather than before... I'd like to protect the participants as much as possible, so I'm avoiding publicity or advertisements. It stinks to have to be this careful but I know it's necessary if I want a peaceful event.
One strange result of planning this event happened on the 25th. We got this phone call from a complete stranger-she said, "My college-aged daughter is in town. She is a recent convert to Judaism and is looking for a place to celebrate the first night of Chanukah. Do you you know of any public celebrations?" Of course, there are no public celebrations here other than the one I planned for later this week, so we invited her over to light the Menorah and have latkes for dinner. It was very fun to meet her and she has a brave and supportive mom! This is the good side of living in a small city...you can never tell who will get in touch with whom and give you a call.
On the knitting front (oh, yeah, the knitting and spinning stuff?) I've been doing a bunch of swatches to submit to knitting publication deadlines in early January. I've had a lot of designs rejected lately, so I'm trying to look into submitting to a wider variety of places. It's hard to keep up a positive attitude sometimes when you get a lot of random rejection. Plus, it's not like I get paid a ton to do designs; it's just that I find them a fun part of my overall freelance work. I've been thinking about doing some self-published designs, but I'm not quite there yet-technologically and professionally. I did however spend part of the morning emailing with the editor of KnitNet, who wrote THIS. Wow, what a great way to upset potential advertisers and lose subscriptions!
This is what I think:
1. Everyone makes mistakes...editors, designers, writers, graphics, everyone. The magazines and books definitely do.
2. Blaming one segment of the knitwear design industry for writing poor patterns is very bad form.
3. Knitters need to own some of the responsibility too--not every knitter is up for every pattern. If they have problems with a pattern, they need to email the designer or the magazine, ask a friend, work out a solution or admit defeat. It happens. I've certainly done all of the above. I get emails from knitters all the time, too. I think knitters are smart people who can problem-solve. I believe in knitters, but I believe in designers and editors too. Everyone makes mistakes...and everyone should own up to theirs, and fix them, as best they can!
I'm gearing up for the big Celebration on the Square and hoping it won't rain. Also hoping that some people show up. I had a reporter contact me and I encouraged him to do a nice write up after the big event rather than before... I'd like to protect the participants as much as possible, so I'm avoiding publicity or advertisements. It stinks to have to be this careful but I know it's necessary if I want a peaceful event.
One strange result of planning this event happened on the 25th. We got this phone call from a complete stranger-she said, "My college-aged daughter is in town. She is a recent convert to Judaism and is looking for a place to celebrate the first night of Chanukah. Do you you know of any public celebrations?" Of course, there are no public celebrations here other than the one I planned for later this week, so we invited her over to light the Menorah and have latkes for dinner. It was very fun to meet her and she has a brave and supportive mom! This is the good side of living in a small city...you can never tell who will get in touch with whom and give you a call.
On the knitting front (oh, yeah, the knitting and spinning stuff?) I've been doing a bunch of swatches to submit to knitting publication deadlines in early January. I've had a lot of designs rejected lately, so I'm trying to look into submitting to a wider variety of places. It's hard to keep up a positive attitude sometimes when you get a lot of random rejection. Plus, it's not like I get paid a ton to do designs; it's just that I find them a fun part of my overall freelance work. I've been thinking about doing some self-published designs, but I'm not quite there yet-technologically and professionally. I did however spend part of the morning emailing with the editor of KnitNet, who wrote THIS. Wow, what a great way to upset potential advertisers and lose subscriptions!
This is what I think:
1. Everyone makes mistakes...editors, designers, writers, graphics, everyone. The magazines and books definitely do.
2. Blaming one segment of the knitwear design industry for writing poor patterns is very bad form.
3. Knitters need to own some of the responsibility too--not every knitter is up for every pattern. If they have problems with a pattern, they need to email the designer or the magazine, ask a friend, work out a solution or admit defeat. It happens. I've certainly done all of the above. I get emails from knitters all the time, too. I think knitters are smart people who can problem-solve. I believe in knitters, but I believe in designers and editors too. Everyone makes mistakes...and everyone should own up to theirs, and fix them, as best they can!
posted by Joanne at 1:11 PM
3 Comments:
Joanne I hope you are feeling better. Good luck with your meeting tonight. I will be thinking of you!
feel better soon! and i'm also sending good vibes your way :-)
All your thoughts helped! There were 50 people on the Square, plus the reporter who came to cover the event. It only rained *a little!* Everyone had fun. However, I am worn out and am heading to bed now!
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