CRAFTNICITY

Review of the Kneedle Pet

Kneedling Around, Inc. has designed this catch-all needle organizer for knitters and crocheters. It's called the Kneedle Pet. 

It is made of lightweight foam that holds your needles, hooks, and really anything with a pointed end.

You can get the Kneedle Pet plain (foam only) or you can buy it with the "Kozy," a crocheted cover with googly eyes. One other option is to get the Kneedle Pet Kit, which includes the Kneedle Pet and a written knit or crochet pattern.

At about 7L x 5H x 5W, the Kneedle Pet is actually bigger than I expected. In fact, it's pretty chunky. Because of its size, it is definitely an organizer that is best suited to stay at home. In other words, it won't fit in your knitting bag comfortably if at all. Since most "hard core" knitters and crocheters travel with their projects and extra needles, I'm not sure how practical it is to organize needles at home and on the go.

But it is cute and would probably make a good gift for that crafter who you think has everything. It could be considered a little kitschy. So before you gift this little guy out, I'd check the person's kitchen and bathroom first. If the person has a knit tea cozy or crocheted toilet paper cover, they'll probably like this.

Overall, I think the best selling point for the Kneedle Pet is its other uses: baby pins and other baby supplies, sewing pins, scissors, embroidery needles.

The Kneedle Pet starts at $9.99 and can be purchased directly from the Kneedling Around, Inc. website.

Amateur or Professional?

If you create

but don't sell your creations

can you consider yourself a professional?

Whassup?

What's up with me?

• I'm still sketching, doodling, reading, knitting, taking classes, and writing. The main difference in my life is that I've starting writing parenting articles and essays. I have articles coming out in regional parenting publications this summer. I'll make sure I share the links.
• I'm picking up my book proposal I started about 1-1/2 years ago. I think I've got a pretty cool knitting book idea. Hopefully a publisher will think so too. My goal is to finish the proposal by the end of this year.
• I'm a featured blogger at Triangle Mom2Mom on Fridays. My blog, Like Night and Day, gives a peak into my life with boys who are 10 years apart and who have special needs.
• I will be writing a guest column for the Durham News from time to time.
• Oh yeah. I bought a Mac. I have never used one before so I'm learning as I go. Plus, I always heard that once you go Mac, you don't go back. ;)

What's up with my family?

• You know, my younger son was diagnosed with a mood disorder last year when he was 4. He will start kindergarten this summer and we're working really hard to get him stable. What has helped is the consistency of following a daily schedule so he knows what to expect and following a behavior contract we came up with. It lists 2-3 goals, consequences, and rewards. It is still a daily challenge that I'm up for some days. Some days it wipes us all out.
• My older son started high school. Attitude + high school = teenage angst. Enough said.
• My mom is kind of in a holding pattern. Between dialysis and all her medications, she rarely if ever feels good. But she is a survivor and she will be okay.

What's up with Craftnicity?

• We've taken some twists, turns, stops and starts. Mainly the inconsistency is due to my family issues. But I still have plans that for the blog that I'll implement slowly.
• One change is the frequency of posts. The plan is to post 2-3 times a week. Posts will continue to be book and product reviews, interviews, some questions to ponder (think Arsenio Hall's things to make you go hmmmm...)

So, what's up with you?

Review of The Very Easy Guide to Cable Knitting and Giveaway

The Very Easy Guide to Cable Knitting by Lynne Watterson starts off with the basics: 21 lessons that include information on cable needles, yarn, knit and purl stitch combinations, and chart reading.

Once you've got the basics established, the fun begins with mock cables, cable panels and cable patterns.

Thirteen projects give you lots of cable knitting practice. Projects are beautiful and include accessories for the home, bags, a scarf and a baby blanket.

My favorite must-knit project is the beaded placemat and napkin ring set. This is one of the few books where I see myself actually making many of the projects.

The photography is beautiful and shows clear, actual size swatches. The details in the photos are the closest thing to actually knitting your own swatches. It almost makes you feel as if you can reach out and touch the yarn on the page.

I appreciate the clear instructions. And variations for each cable pattern are an added bonus.

I have always loved the look of cables with their textured elegance. I'm just not crazy about knitting cables. Lesson 10 on mock cables shows techniques that give the cable effect, but without using a separate cable needle (for us "haters").

This book did teach me a to respect the versatility and character of cables. Cables are workhorses and have the ability to make a simple pattern chic. I realize that even if it involves another needle, cables are worth the effort.

Are cables your friend or foe?

Giveaway: I have one copy of The Very Easy Guide to Cable Knitting to give away. Please share a cable-related comment no later than midnight (Eastern) on Sunday, April 11. I'll randomly choose a winner on Monday, April 12.

Productivity One Pomodoro at a Time

I've always heard people say that once you stop looking for love you find it. Well, the same must apply to productivity tools. After all the timers, planners, gadgets, and books, I had an epiphany.

Multi-tasking is for suckers.

While multi-tasking is heralded in our culture, it simply doesn't make you more productive. Once I stopped looking, I stumbled on The Pomodoro Technique™. Did everybody know about this but me? I may be late to the party, but I'm so glad to be here.



The Pomodoro Technique™ is simple (from the website):

   1. Choose a task to be accomplished
   2. Set the Pomodoro to 25 minutes (the Pomodoro is the timer)
   3. Work on the task until the Pomodoro rings, then put a check on your sheet of paper
   4. Take a short break (5 minutes is OK)
   5. Every 4 Pomodoros take a longer break

My tendency was to do five things at once and then wonder why nothing ever seemed to get finished. So I've been using this technique for everything from housework to sketching.

I've learned a few things from using this technique:

• You can be creative and productive at the same time.
• Single-tasking in this way won't impede flow, which is something creative types may be concerned about.
• It has actually helped channel creativity. After working with the technique for a while, I'm able to estimate how many Pomodoros a task will take and plan my day even better, making room for all the creative projects I've been putting off.
• The other thing I've noticed is that my posture suffers terribly when beading, reading, knitting, etc. A lot of times when I'm doing something intense, I don't notice that my back or neck is hurting.Hearing that buzzer after each 25-minute Pomodoro gives me the chance to stretch.
• Even creatives want to get things done.

Well, there goes the timer. Gotta go stretch.

(Photo courtesy of payhere)

5 Ways to Finish with Steam

Looking around at all of my unfinished projects is sobering. I see you and I know what the problem is. I have "startitis," craft attention deficit disorder, or what the Yarn Harlot calls "frenzy of intention."

And I am not alone.

I know of only a few crafters who complete a project before starting another. Most of us juggle between several projects, working on a little bit here and there. But that makes sense to me.

Small portable projects, like a pair of socks, can be worked on while in waiting rooms or in the car. Larger projects or those that require more intense concentration are worked on at home. Okay, it works when it's manageable. But that's not all we have going on.

The real issue is that we're over-stimulated. We search online communities, buy craft magazines, electronically download patterns and go on yarn crawls...a lot; always drawing our attention to the next project.


For those who'd like to curb this craving, there is hope, here are a five ways to manage "start-itis":

1. Reduce the Stimulation
   Limit yourself to reading craft magazines, visiting yarn or fabric shops, or pattern "window shopping" until you've completed a project.
2. Don't Queue
   I love the online knitting and crochet community, Ravelry. One of its coolest features is that you can find projects you intend to work on and queue them. But they end up sitting there ready for you to start, calling your name, (kind of the way chocolate chip cookies do when you're watching what you eat). Rather than have a long list of queued projects (or cookies in the pantry),use the favorite feature (another cool feature) and queue only the one that is truly next when you get to it. It's less tempting to stop what you're working on and start something new.
3. Cross "Train"
   I've found that I tend to put a project down and look for another one when I bored, e.g., doing repetitive stitching,or when the piece requires too much concentration, e.g., reading a colorwork chart. To stop the urge to start another project, We may want to take a page in the athletes' handbook.In the same way that bicycling may help an athlete's performance in skiing (building the quadriceps), reading a craft-related book or working in a different medium may stimulate you enough to come back to a project and complete it.
4. Make it a Game
   Create a challenge that rewards you along the way from start to finish. During the Winter Olympics, Ravelry ran its very popular and creative Ravelympics. During Ravelympics, which had the same beginning and ending date as the 2010 Olympics,knitters and crocheters picked a project or projects and entered events in the hopes of joining fellow crafters on the podium of finished projects.
    
   And, I did it. I'm a Ravethlete. I chose Eunny Jang's Endpaper Mitts and finished them, something I probably wouldn't have done had I not joined. Challenges like this are great fun and they work! It felt great to cross the finish line and get my medal. Look for fun opportunities that challenge you (and give out cool medals).
5. Anticipate Your Project's Goodies
   Carefully select or create projects that give you something to anticipate from beginning to end. If you love knitting lace, for example,work on a project where the lace comes at the end. With the Endpaper Mitts I just mentioned, the pattern called for beginning and ending techniques that I had never done before.

By developing a few simple routines and strategies, you'll be able to reduce the number of works-in-progress and create excitement about finishing.



(Photo courtesy of mdove64)

Kids Just Don't Understand

At home, I'm a free spirit. I laugh and joke and do silly dancing with my boys. It's freeing, playful and fun. My intention this year is to bring that sense of joy and abandon to my creative life.

But, that was until my 5-yo son got hold of some scissors and cut my knitting.

I knit a two-stranded hat. All that was left for me to do to finish it was to weave in the ends of many strands of yarn and make ties for the ear flaps.

It happened so quickly.

"Look mommy!"

He stood at the top of the steps -- hat on his head, scissors in his hand. He had cut off all the ends -- ends that will unravel the entire hat if you pull it just a little -- ends that were about six inches now cut down to one inch.

Okay, it's not that major. I looked up how to weave in the ends when they are too short. The instructions were to simply weave the tapestry needle through a few stitches and then thread the needle and pull through. Easy enough. But that's not the point.

I thought everyone understood the rule -- don't mess with mama's knitting.

My 15-yo understands. The other day he said, "I bet if I fell 50 feet, you'd say don't fall on my knitting."

Doesn't he know that I'd check to see if he was hurt after I rolled him off my knitting? Gosh!

Paper Crafts: 10 Stylish Cards to Make and Write On

Last week, I got a handwritten notecard from my younger son's teacher in the mail. In the age of emails and texting, it was a welcomed surprise. I was actually pretty tickled by it.

January 23rd is National Handwriting Day, a day observed on John Hancock's birthday to encourage handwriting. In its honor, I decided to act on my new respect for paper crafts and make a vintage collage notecard.

Tomorrow, I'll write the teacher a note and put it in the mailbox. I even plan to hand-address it (instead of using Stamps.com) and put a stamp on it -- gasp!

In case you're feeling a little vintage and crafty, I thought I would share the links to 10 simple, stylish cards you can create. There's nothing nicer than to hand-write on something hand-made.

From Craft Stylish:

1. Twirly butterfly cards
2. Fabric postcard party invitation
3. Button-embellished cards
4. Reuse and recycle note cards
5. Quilled note cards
6. How to embroider a greeting card
7. Super easy card
8. How to make collage cards
9. Extraordinary thank you notes
10. Add fabric to paper or cards

Review of Collage: Vintage Notecard Kit

Fiber or paper?

I've always thought I had to choose. And if I had to choose, fiber and fabrics would always win out. Thank goodness there is no winning in mixed media and collage.

Collage: Vintage Notecard Kit by Maryjo Koch includes all the tools you need to create unique notecards -- over 90 decorative papers, notecards and envelopes, an instruction booklet, and even a glue stick.

What really makes this kit unique is the proportion wheel.

The proportion wheel is a resizing calculator. So if you want to create a collage project that is larger (e.g., a placemat) or smaller (e.g., a gift tag), the proportion wheel calculates a percentage. Entering in that percentage into a copier or scanner tells it how much to increase or decrease the size of your original collage.

I love that Koch thought of that little detail, a detail that could have scared away inexperienced crafters (or me -- I can do without copy machine drama).

The instruction booklet gives instructions for 12 additional collage projects and decorative technique tips to try.

What I appreciate most about this little kit is the way it has stimulated my imagination. I now look at paper, wallpaper, buttons, stamps, ephemera, fiber, and other household flotsam in a much more creative way.

********************
Available from Amazon.com

What Does Your Most Creative Year Smell Like?

How creative do you want to be this year?

I guess the better question is how will you allow your creativity to manifest itself this year?

Creativity is natural, but we all know that it can get stifled by life's circumstances -- no time, no money -- whatever.

Last week, I listened in on one of Artella's member teleclasses called "Creative Calensure." It focused on ways to move intention to action in order to ensure that we would have our most creative year yet.

We were encouraged to look at what having the most creative year of our lives would feel like, look like, taste like, smell like, and then plan a variety of projects for each month. It was a cool way to look at setting intentions and goals.

It helps me move forward when I'm part of a group with one intention. I like the structure of having a group or class, as long as you can do what want within the group. Having a little bit of structure in my chaos works for me.

Here are 3 ideas that may help you have your most creative year:

Creative Every Day Challenge
What I love about this challenge is that it forces you to widen your definition of what being creative is. From the website, "It doesn't have to be something art-related. Your creative acts could be in cooking, taking pictures, knitting, doodling, writing, dancing, decorating, singing, playing with your kids, brainstorming ideas, gardening, or making art in the form of collage, paint, or clay...or whatever!" Love it!

Fiber Arts/Mixed Media 2010 Monthly Experiment
Play with a new art technique each month. If you have a lot of magazines and books, this is a great way to actually use some of the techniques to create something that stretches your imagination.

Set a Submit Schedule
It may be time to take your "big girl/boy pill" and submit your work (play). I have always been interested in the ArtBra calendar and exhibit by A Way to Women's Wellness. By the way, the deadline to submit to the 2011 calendar is April 1.

It seems like everyone is looking for submissions. Once you figure out things you're interested in, you can look for projects and check each one's submission guidelines.

(Photo courtesy of laffy4k)