Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 0: Introduction
213 Plays3 years ago
We introduce ourselves and let you know what the podcast, Knit Design Edit Sleep Repeat, will be all about.
Recommended
Transcript
Podcast Introduction
00:00:16
Speaker
Welcome to Knit Design Edit Sleep Repeat with Lisa Conway and Denise Finley. Let's listen in and see what's happening, who's happening, and what's new in their world.
Hosts' Backgrounds
00:00:38
Speaker
Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. Welcome wherever you are in this big blue planet to Knit Design Edit Sleep Repeat, a new podcast for crochet and knit designers and those of the creative mindset. We want to share how to go from create to manufacture to let's get this out there where others can enjoy.
00:01:07
Speaker
I am Lisa Conway. I am from Alaska. I am the mother of three and the loving wife of one. I hope only one.
00:01:19
Speaker
And we are here to welcome you.
From Creation to Production
00:01:24
Speaker
I'd like to introduce to you my partner. Denise, take it away. Hey, I am your partner in crime. I am Denise Greer Findley. I live currently in Portland, Oregon, the Great Pacific Northwest, where there is snow on the ground and we're just not used to seeing the app that sticks this early in the year. It's disheartening, people.
00:01:49
Speaker
I am the mother of three. I am the grandmother to eight. Mostly girls, lots of fun in that house. And I am also a voracious knitter, crocheter. And you know what? I've thought about designing and I even put some stuff on a legal pad, which is my trademark.
00:02:09
Speaker
last year, but I don't know where to go. So when Lisa talked about this idea, it was so exciting. And I was like, I want to be your guinea pig. So I think what Lisa has planned and what she's going to tell us a little bit about is exciting.
Lisa's Knitting Journey
00:02:26
Speaker
Well, Denise, what we're going to do is we are going to examine all of the pieces that go into being a designer or a teacher or a creator of patterns, articles, class ideas for
00:02:46
Speaker
the fiber artists in all of us, knitters and crocheters primarily. And we're going to talk a lot about what makes a good pattern, what makes a good piece of writing. And let me tell you, the reason I'm kind of into this is because I am a technical editor for the fiber world.
00:03:10
Speaker
I took the TKGA technical editor for knitters last spring, after 45 years of reading patterns, doing patterns, even creating a few patterns, although they never saw the light of day beyond what I did for myself. And I have
00:03:33
Speaker
really gotten into what it is that makes these pieces work and what makes people be able to read what you've written down, create what you've created and make it look the way you intended in your design.
Customizing Patterns
00:03:53
Speaker
Wait a minute. Let me stop you right there.
00:03:56
Speaker
I'm going to tell on you a little bit because I'm going to tell people what you did last year or was it two years ago? Good grief. Anyway, we had this pattern that we were going to make and it was a sleeveless little cap sleeve thing, kind of like a little vest. And you turned it into something like I couldn't have done that because it had a lace pattern on top of it. And you changed it around and it was beautiful. I still have that picture of you in my phone and I'm like,
00:04:21
Speaker
I could never do something like that. And that's what I think also qualifies you is you're like another person that I used to know that they could go, Oh, you know what? That's a beautiful pattern, but I like to make the collar a little different or maybe the bottom of the sleeve something else. So I just told on you.
Altering vs. Original Designs
00:04:39
Speaker
Well, you know, I hate to say it, but a lot of us snitters do that. We really do.
00:04:46
Speaker
We see someone else's concept and we think, but you know, that would look better on me if I did this, or that would fit my husband better if I did that. You know, Denise, your husband is a really big guy and I'll bet you, you have to alter pretty much anything you make for him.
00:05:03
Speaker
Right? Yeah, that was my idea last year, you know, big man sweaters, blah, blah, blah. And now he's lost almost 60 pounds. He's still going to be a big guy. OK, he's six foot, almost seven. He's got huge shoulders, you know, nothing off the rack looks very good on him. So, yeah, my knitting for him has been very limited, mostly because of the pattern selections. And I thought, well, that would be kind of cool to include things for people who have that like dad spread, they call it or whatever.
00:05:33
Speaker
And I just don't know how to go about that. That's why I want to be somebody that learns from you. Well, I appreciate the fact that you give me that kind of competence. I honestly, there is, however, a big difference between altering someone else's design and creating your own.
Design, Business & Legal Aspects
00:05:52
Speaker
Having just created my very first pattern,
00:05:57
Speaker
It's an amazing process and it's a process that I want to chat with you about and as more important is I want to chat to designers about it. We are going to be not only
00:06:12
Speaker
interviewing each other about these technical details, we're gonna be talking to people from out the fiber world, both crochet and knit designers. We're going to be talking to business experts, people who have knowledge in the various legal aspects of being a designer. We're gonna talk about taking that wonderful creative idea,
00:06:40
Speaker
getting it onto paper and how does that look right?
00:06:45
Speaker
And then how do you turn that into an actual business?
Tools & Math in Design
00:06:51
Speaker
Because as a designer, it's great to put it on paper, get it out there. But then what happens when nobody buys it? We can't keep on designing because we can't keep on buying the yarn that we need to design that next thing. So this podcast is all about
00:07:13
Speaker
figuring out what that creative idea is, getting that creative idea onto paper, and then promoting that idea and making it into a successful business. That's our goal here. That's what I as a technical editor decided I wanted to do for the designers that I knew are in so many of you that you've just not been able to explore properly.
00:07:42
Speaker
See, that's exciting to me. But tell me about all of this stuff that's out there, too. Are we going to be talking about, like, technical stuff and programs and wizzits and widgets and all that weird stuff? You know what? There are so many different options for software. I mean, a computer program that figures out what charting symbol to use, that's available.
00:08:10
Speaker
I'm going to be examining various options and we're going to be talking about those as we go along. We're going to be talking a lot about math.
00:08:19
Speaker
I hate to say it folks, but math is kind of the thing. And we're lucky in the fact that, you know, I had a dad that kind of taught me how to be good at math. He kind of pounded it in a little bit. And so I was in advanced math right up into early high school. So yeah, I'm, I'm right there.
00:08:42
Speaker
We're going to be looking at tools. We may even talk about various actual knitting or crochet tools that we run across. Who knows?
Denise's Personal Story
00:08:54
Speaker
But we're going to be examining how to be creative and build a business.
00:09:00
Speaker
Huh, so you can do both. That's exciting. My mother was a designer for years, and she kept a notepad next to her bed at night. And when I would go in to kiss her goodnight after I got home from work or a date or whatever, her pad would be empty. And when I'd wake up in the morning to go kiss her goodbye, because I was on my way to school or work or whatever, it would be full of these great designs. And I'm like, I don't even know how she does that, because she was a sketch artist, OK?
00:09:27
Speaker
But then for her to be able to turn it into, she did wedding gowns for a lot of people. And for her to be able to turn that into a beautiful piece of art almost, I didn't know the process at all. And she never explained it to me. So it sounds like maybe you're going to get into that process. I think you know more than you're giving yourself credit for. Nah. Oh, come on, Denise. I can't draw stick people. You may not be able to draw stick people. I can't draw stick people.
00:09:57
Speaker
You have created two beautiful wedding gowns in the last few years.
00:10:00
Speaker
This is true. And they did come out of your head. Yes. Right. The one thing you didn't do is get them on paper. Correct. And that's one of the things that I want to help people do because it may be that we can create these beautiful things. But how do we share it? How do we put it out there in the world? What are the steps that it takes to put it out there in the world and actually maybe make a little money off of it?
Market Entry Support
00:10:29
Speaker
Hey, even if we can only support our yarn habit, that's certainly better than nothing at all, right? But you can't even do that if you don't get it on paper. So if I tell you what to do and how to do it, could you do it kind of thing, right? That's right. It's how do you tell others what steps they need to take to get from that picture that they saw you create?
00:11:00
Speaker
to I have the same dress now in my wardrobe. I might be able to do that. You're giving me hope.
00:11:10
Speaker
I think you can do much better than you believe. I really do. And that's the lovely part about all of this is so many of our listeners are in the same boat. They are wonderful creative brains that have these beautiful ideas, but they just don't know what's the next step. They don't know how to protect themselves once they've taken that step because there are legal issues that we have to consider and we'll be talking about those.
00:11:40
Speaker
they don't know how to advertise and promote that design so that others know it even exists.
Engaging the Audience
00:11:50
Speaker
So we're going to be talking about that. We are going to look at every aspect of the business of designing. And so I really hope
00:12:02
Speaker
that our listeners will reach out. They can join us either through our Facebook group under Knit Design Edit Sleep Repeat. Please come and join us. Our Ravelry group, which is under the same name, Knit Design Edit Sleep Repeat. Listen to our podcast from your favorite podcast app, whether that's Apple or Spotify or Google or Amazon. Any one of those will be carrying our podcast.
00:12:32
Speaker
And if you have questions posted in our group or email us, and this is a little bit different, knit design edit at gmail.com. We had to shorten it up because it just got to be a little too much to type. So let us know, what are your questions? What is the first hangup that you have from getting that great creative idea out of your head? Onto the needles.
00:13:02
Speaker
and onto that piece of paper so that someone else could recreate it as well. Denise, have I forgotten anything? No, I don't think so. And I'm excited to get started. Me too. I'm really looking forward to this. And I can't wait to hear from our listeners. Me either. All right. Let's have a great day, all. So just to wrap up, remember you can reach us through our Facebook or our Ravel Regroup.
00:13:30
Speaker
at our email at knitdesignedit.com. And if you would like to learn more about tech editing or grading or other services that I provide, please visit my website at arcticedits.com.