Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Catharsis
I read on a designing group about a way a lady used to handle rejections with her co-workers in a different field of work. They made a joke and assigned prizes, and it was cathartic. So that is what I am doing here. In the last two years, I have self-published eight patterns, submitted 18 for consideration, and there are two more I'm sending in about two weeks. Two of the 18 are still under consideration, and there is some overlap, as some of the rejections have been self-published, I'm working on four of them for either resubmission to another publication/yarn company or publishing myself, and one of them is basically the same pattern reworked in a different weight yarn. However, of the 16 that I submitted and heard back, only one has been accepted for publication. Over the years, I have submitted three more, and two of those were published, the third is something I gave to the girls and have no interest in reworking to publish myself or with anyone else. So, out of 19, I have a success rate of 3. I realize that for creative work, this is not that unusual and not bad, but it is a grinding work, putting yourself out there to promote and sell. So, here is a catalogue of my rejections from the past two years. There are four photos missing, because I am working on them actively for publication right now.
I've had two batches of rejections in the last month, and I just have to laugh a little about it and find some humor at this point. Several of these are going to become a collection of accessories that I will release as an e-book for a lower price than individually purchasing the patterns, and I will need testers for them, I hope, by January. More details will be forthcoming as I finish the pattern writing and so on for them.
So, here are my citizens of the Island of Misfit Knitwear.
Honestly, I think that had I submitted this set earlier, it would have been accepted. There was another set in the book that was visually similar, even though there were many other differences, down to a rather similar color choice, and it was probably too close. In any case, it has been published for sale, and you can find April on Ravelry, with a little burp cloth to match for free (through the end of this year).
Laetare is a pretty simple design, actually, but with a little twist. I'm not sure why it wasn't accepted, but when I wear mine (it doesn't have to be a nursing cover up!), I get tons of compliments on it.
This is a swatch for a drapey, turban styled headband that I will release in the spring or summer of next year.
This is a sweater design I have submitted to two different magazines, and it fit nobody's style. I thought of saving it for a later submission, but I think I am going to use it as a self-published design, perhaps next year. I started with a piece of painted Persian artwork and isolated the patterns, turned them on end to make them easier to repeat in knitting and graphed the whole thing so I could use it in a stranded piece of work. I added some more to the design so the knitter could carry floats instead of using intarsia.
This was submitted first as a warm, cozy shawl pattern knit in a worsted weight wool. I am actually pretty proud of the cabling detail I figured out and charted, and the math I had to use to get an almost circular shawl with the designs I wanted on it. This is definitely going to be used in the future.
Here it is in a dk weight yarn and different color. This yarn is a blend of wool and alpaca and created a lighter fabric with a little more drape. This was submitted as a shawl design to go along with a story on locally produced/sourced yarns. Again, this is definitely a design I will work out in the future, either in the worsted or the dk, or change an element and use the changed one in the dk and the original in the worsted.
This is a swatch for a flounced, middy skirt that I actually think is quite lovely and elegant, and it will be released next year as well.
These next four were submitted together, to be considered as a coordinating set, or individually, for a yarn club's pattern selections. I plan on putting these patterns together with another three that I have in various stages of completion for a collection that I will self-publish around March.
This is a hat that I am exceedingly proud of, actually. It will be available in four sizes: toddler/15", child/small adult/18", adult medium/20", adult large/23". I will want at least two testers on each size and hope to have the pattern writing finished by January if any of my four submissions from this month are accepted, earlier if they are not.
This cowl will also be available in four sizes, from toddler to adult, and I would like two testers on each size.
These gauntlet mitts will be designed for four sizes, from toddler to adult, with the same tester requests as before.
These have two options for the knitter. They can either be made shorter, as boot cuffs, or longer, as leg warmers. These, another design I'm still knitting for the prototype, and the gauntlets are the only designs out of the collection that I think aren't really unisex. I think the rest are all quite versatile for men or women, and depending on color choice, can be made more or less masculine or feminine. I'd want more than eight testers on these, or for the eight testers to be willing to knit both lengths.
I've had two batches of rejections in the last month, and I just have to laugh a little about it and find some humor at this point. Several of these are going to become a collection of accessories that I will release as an e-book for a lower price than individually purchasing the patterns, and I will need testers for them, I hope, by January. More details will be forthcoming as I finish the pattern writing and so on for them.
So, here are my citizens of the Island of Misfit Knitwear.
Honestly, I think that had I submitted this set earlier, it would have been accepted. There was another set in the book that was visually similar, even though there were many other differences, down to a rather similar color choice, and it was probably too close. In any case, it has been published for sale, and you can find April on Ravelry, with a little burp cloth to match for free (through the end of this year).
Laetare is a pretty simple design, actually, but with a little twist. I'm not sure why it wasn't accepted, but when I wear mine (it doesn't have to be a nursing cover up!), I get tons of compliments on it.
This is a swatch for a drapey, turban styled headband that I will release in the spring or summer of next year.
This is a sweater design I have submitted to two different magazines, and it fit nobody's style. I thought of saving it for a later submission, but I think I am going to use it as a self-published design, perhaps next year. I started with a piece of painted Persian artwork and isolated the patterns, turned them on end to make them easier to repeat in knitting and graphed the whole thing so I could use it in a stranded piece of work. I added some more to the design so the knitter could carry floats instead of using intarsia.
This was submitted first as a warm, cozy shawl pattern knit in a worsted weight wool. I am actually pretty proud of the cabling detail I figured out and charted, and the math I had to use to get an almost circular shawl with the designs I wanted on it. This is definitely going to be used in the future.
Here it is in a dk weight yarn and different color. This yarn is a blend of wool and alpaca and created a lighter fabric with a little more drape. This was submitted as a shawl design to go along with a story on locally produced/sourced yarns. Again, this is definitely a design I will work out in the future, either in the worsted or the dk, or change an element and use the changed one in the dk and the original in the worsted.
This is a swatch for a flounced, middy skirt that I actually think is quite lovely and elegant, and it will be released next year as well.
These next four were submitted together, to be considered as a coordinating set, or individually, for a yarn club's pattern selections. I plan on putting these patterns together with another three that I have in various stages of completion for a collection that I will self-publish around March.
This is a hat that I am exceedingly proud of, actually. It will be available in four sizes: toddler/15", child/small adult/18", adult medium/20", adult large/23". I will want at least two testers on each size and hope to have the pattern writing finished by January if any of my four submissions from this month are accepted, earlier if they are not.
This cowl will also be available in four sizes, from toddler to adult, and I would like two testers on each size.
These gauntlet mitts will be designed for four sizes, from toddler to adult, with the same tester requests as before.
These have two options for the knitter. They can either be made shorter, as boot cuffs, or longer, as leg warmers. These, another design I'm still knitting for the prototype, and the gauntlets are the only designs out of the collection that I think aren't really unisex. I think the rest are all quite versatile for men or women, and depending on color choice, can be made more or less masculine or feminine. I'd want more than eight testers on these, or for the eight testers to be willing to knit both lengths.
Labels: Design, Homemaking, Humor, Knitting, Misfits, Patterns
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This is a lovely collection of swatches and that hat pattern is beautiful, the view from above reminds me of a snowflake. Beautiful work :)
Thank you! I was especially proud of that decrease pattern, myself. I'm hoping to self publish much more this year than in years past. We'll see how much I can get done with my health issues on top of our normal family requirements. I am praying to publish well made patterns, no matter how many I manage.
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