Open the Window

This was my desk a month ago as I worked on my next new knitting pattern.

"Mitten Work Zone" I captioned it on Instagram... my laptop, my desk... the second mitten in a photographable state of "how to start the afterthought thumb"... a chart, a pad, a pencil... etc.

There is also the window. More of that window on Instagram here.

All of my workspaces have windows or I would not work in them.

I love spring and daylight and windows. In this wonderful season of window opening, I am almost ready to release a mitten pattern that I have named MULTI-PANE MITTENS. 

Follow me here, or on Instagram, to learn of an introductory discount (beginning April 26) on the pattern. Then, during the month of May, join me and my good friends (in person or virtually) at Gosh Yarn It! for a MULTI-PANE MITTEN KAL.

Open your windows and take a very deep and fresh breath of spring. Then join us in knitting a fun small project during our transition to longer, warmer days. (I am planning some tutorials on that thumb.) (There will likely be KAL prizes.)

May is my favorite month of the year! Did you open that window yet?
 

The Hat's on Me (Part 2)

I wear many hats as a knitting pattern designer.

The last part of every design release is what I tend to think of as "THE PROMOTION" and I need to get better at it.

FLORIBUNDA, (worn by me)

There are very many steps to writing knitting patterns...

1) THE SPARK!!! Some of my more popular blog posts describe design "sparks" and are worth revisiting:
Tartan Mitts Spark
Rosebud: My "Spark" & My Design Proposal
The Spark & The Reinvention: Opulent Cowl
Wearing my spark hat is all about creativity.  It is one of my favorite parts.

2) THE SWATCHING:  On occasion, the design begins with the yarn or a swatch made from the yarn... a swatch becomes my spark.
At other times, a "spark" leads to a swatch.
I have posted about swatching as well:
Some Things I Like
More of the Same 
I like to think of swatching as my R&D (Research & Development).  It is another of my favorite parts.

3) SKETCHES & SCHEMATICS and very often CHARTING:  Planning the design sample and how it will be made.

4) PATTERN ROUGH DRAFT WRITING & SAMPLE KNITTING:  The design sample gets made at this point... I write (most) parts of the pattern as I go. Sometimes I stop and do math, and sometimes I make new sketches. 

5) PATTERN WRITING:  With my finished sample and all of my notes and sketches around me, I write my "first best possible draft".
These last three steps can be challenging, but I love bringing my "sparks" to life. 

6) THE TECH EDIT:  I send my "first best possible draft" to my tech editor. My tech editor sends it back to me with at least one million edits. (Oh, my!) We send emails back and forth until we agree on all the edits.  (I always agree on most of them.)

7) PHOTOGRAPHY:  This is something I have been getting better at, but I still have a lot to learn. My models (recruited friends and family) work for free. Scheduling photo shoots (and locations) in various weather conditions can be a very bumpy process with prolonged delays.

8) FORMATTING:  In which I put the edited pattern and the edited photos together in a PDF document.
These last three steps are never easy, but I accept them as part of the process of pattern writing, and I have enjoyed learning more about them. 

9) RELEASING THE PATTERN:  Uploading my formatted and edited PDF pattern to Ravelry where I sell it. Then (the PROMOTION begins as) I create a pattern page on Ravelry with some release announcements in appropriate forums.

10) PATTERN PROMOTION:  This includes a blog post (here) and posts in some other social media places. (Right now I use Instagram and Pinterest.) I need to do more.

My last two patterns, JUST CHILLIN' and DOT ON, were also test knitted in a June Hat KAL at my LYS, Gosh Yarn It. I was grateful for that. I gave away several copies of each pattern for the KAL, which I do not regret.

Then I gave away even more hat patterns through an offer in a recent post, The Hat's on Me (Part 1). That was a promotional giveaway. But it has not helped me in selling any patterns. I kind of think it is better to get paid a fair price for my work. Next time I will stick to an introductory discount.     

My promotional hat is not my favorite.  (It does not fit me so well.)
I need to learn how to create ads on Ravelry and I need to figure out if it would be a good idea to sell patterns in other places. Indie knitting pattern designers I know of also sell on Craftsy, Etsy and Patternfish.  Do you ever buy patterns in any of those places?

I'm really hoping for a comment or two! Thanks for reading!
♥♥♥

The Hat's on Me (Part 1)

Earlier this month I wrote about my new hats.  As in: My Newest Hat Patterns...

There was this one,
DOT ON, (worn by me)

There was that one,
JUST CHILLIN, (worn by my dear Mallory)

In that earlier post, I said, "These new hat patterns will become available on Ravelry for $5 each in late June.  Watch this blog for the announcement of their release after June 20th."  That has already happened.

I also posted, "I will provide a coupon code for my blog readers to get one new hat pattern of their choice for free."  That is happening now.

The free pattern coupon code will not appear anywhere other than this blog post...

Dear blog readers,
Your coupon code is:  ThisHatsOnCarolyn

Click on one of the links (Dot On or Just Chillin') to find the Ravelry pattern page for the hat pattern you like best.  I hope that you have enough time to take a look around at my other Ravelry patterns.

Details (the fine print):
This offer has been extended to expire at midnight, Ravery time, Monday, July 4.
The coupon code shown above can be used one time only for one free pattern.  Chose between Dot On or Just Chillin'.

Thanks for your support!
♥♥♥

Something is coming...& Something is here!

WHAT IS COMING:

I am just about ready to release a new design. It is an infinity cowl that I have named "Seabreeze".

It has been over two years since I knit my "Seabreeze" sample (one of my personal favorites).  I have submitted Seabreeze three different times for consideration to third-party publishers with no success.  I have decided that, now, it is finally time to let it see the light-of-day!

Seabreeze is a completely reversible, two-color, garter stitch infinity cowl with a knit-as-you-go garter stitch edging.  You might notice that the edging is the same one that I used in my Paper Lanterns design.

Seabreeze and Paper Lanterns will always be linked in a buy-one-get-the-other-for-a-discount on Ravelry.  Stay tuned for more details.

WHAT IS HERE:

MY VERY FIRST TRUNK SHOW!  Now through next Saturday October 17, seventeen of my knit design samples will be on display at my LYS Gosh Yarn It! in Kingston, Pennsylvania.

I have to thank my good friend Catherine who works at GYI!  The Carolyn Kern Designs Trunk Show was her idea and she proposed it to the shop manager, Ann, without even telling me.  What an honor it was when Ann asked me if I would like to do this!

During the Carolyn Kern Designs Trunk Show at GYI! an advance copy of my next newest design called Floribunda Cap will be free with a yarn purchase.

BTW, this pattern will also be free to all students taking my Floribunda Class on two-handed stranded knitting at Gosh Yarn It! Saturday November 7, 1:30-4:00.  Last I checked there were still three open seats.  See Ann's September GYI! Blog Post for details on this and all of the upcoming classes at the shop.

Ravelry Indie Design 2014 Gift-A-Long

I would like to announce that I will be a returning designer in the 2nd annual Indie Design Gift-A-Long.  All of my Ravelry for-sale patterns are included in this promotion and all are eligible for the 2014 GAL KAL/CAL.  (My Ravelry patterns can be found in a bundle right here on my designer page.)

The Indie Design Gift-A-Long is a 2 month long KAL/CAL of holiday gifts made from patterns designed by an incredible number of (293!) independent designers from 21(!) countries around the world.

From Thursday, November 13th at 8:00 pm (EST) to Friday, November 21, 2014 at 11:59 pm (EST) tons of (293!) indie designers will be discounting from 4 to 20 of their patterns by 25% for this event (3822 patterns will be on sale!)  You can read all about the details in this Ravelry post.

Once you’ve got your Gift-A-Long patterns, you can join a relevant KAL/CAL. (For instance, if it is a cowl, please join the cowl KAL/CAL.)  To join, simply write a post in the KAL/CAL thread you want to join, including the pattern name you will be knitting, and a link to your project page.  KAL/CAL participants are eligible for lots of lovely prizes but you gotta post to win!

The KAL/CALs will run from Thursday, November 13 at 8 pm (EST) through a group New Years Eve party, Wednesday, December 31 at midnight (EST), plenty of time to knock out all your holiday knitting and crocheting.  There will be several games, tons of prizes, great conversation, and a whole lot of fun, so pull up a chair and join us!  Ready, Set, Gift!

It's Gift-A-Long Eve!

OK, Okay.  I do know that today is a real holiday.  Happy Halloween to one and all!

I would like to announce to all who knit or crochet that today is also Gift-A-Long Eve!

You may well be asking, "What is 'Gift-A-Long'?"

To jump start holiday gift knitting & crocheting, a group of over 150 designers who offer self-published patterns for sale on Ravelry, have joined together in a promotion named "Gift-A-Long".  The first phase of this promotion starts tomorrow with thousands of patterns being offered at 25% off after applying the coupon code "giftalong".  The official dates for the discount are November 1-15 (with most designers using GMT).  I am one of the designers, and all three (wish there were more) of my self-published, for-sale patterns are included.

 

Clockwise from top:
Two by Two by Two, Version 1
Jemma Cowl
Two by Two by Two, Version 2 (Both versions are included in one pattern.)
Fingering Weight TATU Socks (Four sizes included.)

There are soooo many wonderful patterns to pick from!!!  I now quote the group page for the "Indie Design Gift-A-Long" group:

"Prepping for the holidays as only fiber folks can, with special deals from tons of indie designers!

What is Gift-A-Long? It’s a multi-designer promotion to help you kick your holiday gift-making into high gear!

Put plainly, from November 1st until November 15th any pattern listed in the “List of Participating Patterns” thread is 25% off when you use the code “giftalong”.

Once you’ve got your Gift-A-Long patterns, we encourage you to join a relevant KAL/CAL! (For instance, if it is a cowl, please join the cowl KAL/CAL.) KAL/CAL participants are eligible for lots of lovely prizes (check out the Prizes thread for details) but you gotta post to win!
KAL/CALs will run until December 31st, plenty of time to knock out all your holiday knitting and crocheting.

On your mark…get set…. GIFT!"

Did you get that second part of the promotion?  Using any of the patterns offered in the Gift-A-Long (GAL) promotion, start a project (link it to the pattern page) and post about it in a relevant KAL/CAL thread on the group's discussion board.  There will be contests, and random prizes will be awarded to anyone who posts about their GAL projects in those threads.  When you finish a project made from one of the GAL patterns, post about it in the FO thread (one post for each FO, and one FO per post).  There will be two major giveaways (with hundreds of prizes) for GAL FO's: one in the middle of the GAL KAL/CAL and one after the December 31 ending date.  Please take a moment to join the gift-a-long group, where you can learn of any updated information.

Surprise!  Tomorrow is here!  I wrote this post a few days ago.  Then I learned that the organizers wanted all participating designers to keep it quiet until November 1.  Then I learned that November 1, 0:00 (midnight) GMT = October 31, 8:00 PM EDST.  So, (while I may be a bit late with my Halloween greeting;-) -- I waited to post this until now to be able to say:  The sale has just begun!  Here is a link to my post in the "List of Participating Patterns" thread.  From there you can begin your pattern browsing.  Enjoy!