Hi there,
are you awfully busy? In case you are, I’ll make it short and sweet today. - Okay, I knew I couldn’t fool you. I’m the one with lots to do on my list before I leave tomorrow for a week off over the holidays.
One thing *not* on my list is making new year’s resolutions. Maybe you already know I like lists, plans and schedules (made by me, not those coming from other people though). So why don’t I like resolutions?
First, I don’t feel the new year has to be celebrated. It isn’t a new start really, that’s not how time works. Time is linear and all those constructs of months, years, even days are there to give us a structure to measure time. As nice as that would sometimes be: There is no new start. It’s just one line.
Second, I experimented with making new year’s resolutions in the past. It didn’t really work for me. If I want to accomplish something or form a new habit, I work on that whenever I decide it’s time. But only after having the same resolution year after year and never accomplishing the thing due to interference from other people, I gave up.
Third, you don’t have control over everything in your life. And as well as destroying your hope to put that damn thesis behind you this year, this can also work in your favour. And that’s what I’m bursting to tell you about :-)
What about things you can’t plan, imagine or even dream about because they are so unlikely?
Do you have a model who you look up to? A favourite person in your field of expertise?
I’m sure you have a favourite designer at least.
I have one; very well known, very experienced, very “equipped with (a) tech editor(s)”…
When they looked for test knitters for upcoming designs, I applied because I thought I could add “being a test knitter for x” as proof of the quality of my work to convince more designers to work with me. I was lucky enough to be picked out of more than 400 applications. I had fun with the knitting, commented on everything I noticed in the pattern without doing a full edit and waited for the pattern to be published to be able to talk about it.
I was very happy about that and felt lucky because they usually don’t work with test knitters. Even if my story ended here, this would have been something I wouldn’t have had on any list because it was so unlikely to happen. Never in almost ten years of designing they looked for test knitters (as far as I’m aware of).
A few weeks after finishing the test knit, I had an email by the designer themselves (communication before was with one of their team members) asking if I had time to work with them over the next months on a couple of projects. And when I replied that I was interested, they thanked me and told me they were so happy and lucky. We had a Skype call and are now working on a big, exciting project.
From the moment they contacted me, it wasn’t a question of if we would work together but how we would do it. They had decided to work with me based on my test knitting feedback. And they think themselves to be lucky that I had time :-D
This is like a fairytale and more than I would ever have dreamed of! After a few weeks of working with them I can say that I believe it now but only just :-) It would have never have been on any list to try to get them to work with me, not even in a few years time.
So, I won’t start making new year’s resolutions again!
Tell me: what is the best unexpected thing ever happened to you (2018 or any other year)? Reply to this email and let us celebrate together!
With the best wishes for a quiet and restful holiday season for you and your loved ones
Frauke x
May 2018: mmm, what are you wearing now? ;-)
Hi there,
this second issue is a chatty one as well but for the next issue I am preparing a review which should be interesting.
So, it’s time again for the newsletter. That month went fast, don’t you think? And here we had quite a hot May over here as well.
As it is May: Do/did you take part in Me-Made-May?
If you don’t know it: This challenge was created by Zoe of the sewing blog "So, Zo - what do you know?" And in her own words:
"Me-Made-May'18 (#MMMay18 for social media interaction) is a challenge designed to encourage people who sew/knit/crochet/refashion/upcycle garments for themselves to wear and love them more. This challenge works on both a personal and community level. The participants decide the specifics of their own challenge, so that the month is appropriate and challenging for them (more on this below), and aim to fulfill that pledge for the duration of May 2018. Some participants also choose to document their challenge photographically (though this is in no way compulsory for taking part) and share them with other participants." (original blogpost)
As knitters we are makers and quite a few of us do a bit of sewing too; I know I do :-)
The appreciation of the things we make is a topic very near to my heart. I have friends who are makers and friends in the knitting resp. making world and of course we are all different and individual. This shows in our behaviour and attitude towards our making and the things we make. Some are project monogamists, others handle multiple projects at once. Some make what they know to make, others want to learn something new with every project. Some make one or two types of things (mostly socks, interestingly), others make what they want to have.
Personally, I make things I need and want to have. This means that soon I’ll have run out of things I can knit for myself but there are still people around me for whom I can knit (a still growing nephew helps a lot on that front). My sock and accessory drawers have been full for a long time because that was what I knitted the most.
So that was the situation when I first heard of Me-Made-May (2013 or 2014). In Germany, May is mostly too warm for hand knitted socks and shawls, so it would be difficult to challenge myself (as I am sure my colleagues did appreciate me not challenging myself to wear wooly things in every temperature ;-) ). I didn’t take part but decided to give sewing another try.
Even before I took up sewing garments I decided against buying things I can knit myself though. As I know which colours I want to wear and which styles suit me best I knitted several very similar cardigans in different but always (semi-)solid colours. But I am not easily bored by my knitting so that is fine. I wear these cardigans all the time and only have two RTW (ready to wear) cardigans in cotton left.
But the seed was sown and I wanted to make a bigger part of my wardrobe myself: I started sewing.
When the next Me-Made-May came around, I didn’t have enough things to wear at least one piece per day or weekday so I didn’t take part. What I noticed though was that I preferred my handmade clothes to RTW anyway. I was and am proud of every piece I sew and wear them all the time.
Last year I took part inofficially and I saw that I could wear one handmade piece per day for a whole month with a bit of planning. So that would surely mean that I took part this year, wouldn’t it?
No, it wouldn’t. I gave this a lot of thought and I really love the challenge Zoe created and the momentum it got (there are more than 1,000 people taking part this year).
And as I mentioned before: I don’t need help to appreciate what I make. Since I know what I like, I like all my handmade things and wear them as often as possible.
You can make the challenge about whatever you like. Some people use this month to see where the gaps in their handmade wardrobes are.
I know my gaps: I have not too many handmade T-shirts. But that isn’t a real gap because I have enough RTW T-shirts so it wouldn’t be sustainable to sew more.
At the core of the challenge is the appreciation of your handmade things and therefore of the time and work (and money) you put in them. I think it is sad to pour all those resources in creating things you thought at one time worth it but then put them away and not use them.
If you knit something for someone else and they don’t appreciate it and throw it away (happened to me once), that is sad and annoying. But if they aren’t knitters or makers themselves, they don’t know the amounts of time, love, work and money which go into our projects.
But we know it and that’s why it is even sadder if we ourselves can’t appreciate what we made.
So let’s think about it and put on our handmade things with pride and don’t let them live in a dark drawer.
Talk soon,
Frauke x
wearing a handmade jumpsuit which reminds me: Making things made me more adventurous regarding my style and I surprised myself quite a few times.
P.S.: I appreciate and respect your work as a designer when tech editing your patterns. And you show appreciation of your knitters if you get your patterns tech edited. I have open spaces for new tech editing jobs. If you have questions or a pattern ready for tech editing, don’t hesitate to get in contact.