What's New? An Open Letter to Peak Media Properties, LLC

The S-Curve Rug, my first design in the
2015 Interweave Crochet Home edition.

Dear Peak Media:

You are the “new” owner of many Interweave magazine titles, including Interweave Knits and Interweave Crochet. Purchased from F+W Media as a result of its early March, 2019 bankruptcy filing, you are also the owner of the online communities and other intellectual property associated with the titles. However, given that Terry O’Toole, the owner of Macanta Investments (the money behind Peak Media), was the chairman of the Board of Directors of the bankrupt F+W, Greg Osberg, the new CEO of Peak Media was the most recent (and interim) CEO at F+W, the sole editor posting knitting design calls was a former editor with an Interweave magazine title, and even Peak Media’s contracts administrator is the former contracts administrator for Interweave under F+W, I wonder, what, exactly, is new at Peak Media?

From your lack of clear communication with the design and maker communities, to your focus on padding your own bottom line (the only two avenues of electronic contact on Peak Media’s site are for advertising or media inquiries), this seems like business as usual at an F+W Media property – you know, the F+W that failed to listen to employees as it squandered millions in equity funding and imploded – the one that the former chairman of the Board is now in control of the investment money here at Peak Media Properties, LLC. If I was unsure of the exact posture of Peak Media, a recent email from you (addressed to “Dearest Contributor,” which elicited a hearty, ironic laugh from this recipient) made it abundantly clear: the communication stated it had good news – an expanded version of a program, in which I have no control over my intellectual property, and for which you provided absolutely no particulars, was in the works! Best of all, I had less than two weeks to opt out of all this good news. Wow. Insert so much additional hearty, ironic laughter right there.

Now, as an independent designer with 7+ years of design publishing (my own and with third parties), it would be easy for me to just let all this sit right here and marinate. However, as a proud female small (ok, micro!) business owner who has managed to survive the last almost eight years designing in a medium - yarn and textiles - that I have loved since childhood, I find it only fair to put out into the world how I might go about things in this “new” version of the F+W legacy. So … well … here goes nothing:

1. Please let Peak Media Properties, LLC find its humility muscle, like, yesterday.

2.  Once it finds such muscle, let it be flexed in the form of a DAMNED APOLOGY: to designers for squandering their good will and stomping on their intellectual property without any respect, and to the maker community at large for this lack of respect. I not-so-elegantly remind you that, if not for the collective intellectual property of the independent design community, there would be no publication foundation upon which Peak Media Properties, LLC could build.

3. Please publish this DAMNED APOLOGY not only in all of your publications, but also in your competitors’ publications. As I have stated previously elsewhere, we all rise and fall together. What you are doing right now, Peak Media, will have a ripple effect on the entire hand knit and crochet industry which, at its zenith, was a large portion of the income bread and butter at F+W.

4. Going forward, please be transparent in all communications with the design community. It is our intellectual property you wish to leverage for your own gain at, if the past is any indication, our direct expense. In case you were not aware, there is not one independent designer I know that can earn a living wage designing solely for third party publication. Not one. Yet, Peak Media personnel seem to be earning a living wage doing just one job.

5. Sort of in tandem with #4, and on the eve of the long U.S. Labor Day weekend, please pay a living wage for our designs, be transparent about that wage, and provide greater flexibility in sharing intellectual property rights with the independent design community. Interweave publishing titles provide compensation at the mid-to-lower end for independent designs and currently have some of the most restrictive intellectual property rights’ contract clauses in the industry.

At this point I sigh. When I first wrote about the bankruptcy, I was willing to keep an open mind, to see what would transpire, despite the fact that I am one of F+W's creditors (albeit a very small one - other designers were in for far more than me). I maintain that I, as an independent designer who erroneously believed in the good of being published in an Interweave publication, expected too little in the past. Not anymore.

Despite the above, Peak Media does have an incredible opportunity right here, right now. Start to rebuild the trust and good will that F+W eroded. It can be done. Don’t take a wait and see approach – seize the day! Truly lead the Interweave publishing titles you purchased to a brighter place where mutual respect might flourish instead of the muscular, opaque, and lop-sided approach of the past. That, of course, will take a significant amount of public courage and a willingness to think and do things differently.

As the organizational posture currently stands, I will not be creating submissions for any design calls issued by Peak Media titles. I genuinely need to see some deep, structural changes. I am happily close to self-publishing my second soft-cover publication, have third-party-published designs in the works, and consistently self-publish single designs. I have a small core of makers with which I regularly make garments and accessories, and to whom I am not only dedicated, but for whose support I am supremely grateful.  Nothing would make me happier than to augment the former with future designs published in titles run by a Peak Media that viewed me and my creativity as a respected partner and equal, not merely a “dear contributor.”

Very truly yours -

Independent Art to the Rescue … Cause It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over

My crafty friends, I am so thrilled to be able to announce, via revealing my newly created artwork, the world-wide independent designers and dyers who will be taking part in this summer’s Progress, Hope, and Happiness Year 3: Adventure + Renewal collection and maker event!

Kudos to each dyer who created new colorways and/or otherwise stepped up to the plate and willingly supplied yarn support to nine designers and their summer creations. Yarn support is currently winging its way around the globe so that creation can begin. The collection’s big reveal will occur May 31^st, which is also the beginning date of the related maker event, which will last until the end of July. Since dyers make their own design support decisions (I coordinate the call), even I have no current idea of the shape the collection will take. I won’t know until designers provide me with their sample photos in May so I can create this year’s look book (and the look books from the last two collections can be viewed here and here). I genuinely like it this way – some mystery built into the process is nice for me. Design revelation toward the end of May is always so thrilling and that joy is, hopefully, reflected in the final look book to which the public will have access.

I am also pleased that I have developed and continue to coordinate an event that is truly independent – independent designers, independent dyers, no outside money of any kind, participating designers and dyers do all the social media posting as a collective. I would be remiss if I did not talk about this week’s crafty elephant in the room – the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of F+W Media, the parent company of many magazines and book titles, including the entire family of Interweave knit and (sole) crochet magazines. This bankruptcy filing touches a large, large, swath of the design and maker community (and a quick look at the names on the almost 550 pages that make up the creditors’ list will provide you with a snapshot of just how wide a swath it is). I also feel for all of the day-to-day editorial staff at these publications – they work so hard, and their professional lives are currently in limbo. Since the bankruptcy pleadings have openly stated F+W will be looking to secure a sale of Interweave (among other assets) within the next 90 days to an as-yet identified buyer, not only do editorial staff not know about their immediate professional future, but the design community’s willingness to submit designs to current calls becomes a dicey proposition. For myself, I withdrew a submission I just sent in last Thursday, and I will not submit to any additional Interweave call until the dust settles on either an Interweave sale or a bankruptcy discharge, whichever happens first. At that point, I will reassess the facts on the ground to determine whether or not I will once again start to submit (although I want nothing more than to see a positive outcome so I can do just that). For the record, I am also on the creditors’ list, although I am only out some royalty amounts on four designs (and I am not planning on ever seeing any of that money). There are many other designers and contributors who have not, and perhaps never will, receive far larger sums for their unpaid-at-time-of-bankruptcy hard work.

I have written, both previously on this blog, as well as across most of my social media, that makers need to pay indie designers a fair pattern price for their designing work, and that my designing for individual publication as well as for third parties went hand-in-hand. There can be, unfortunately, no more excellent example of that inter-relatedness than this week’s events. We rise and fall together. In the initial dyer and designer call for this year’s Adventure + Renewal collection, I wrote that this year could be the most stressful of all of the last two previous years. Of course, I had more geo-political ideas in my head when I wrote those words. I never envisioned that the stress could and would hit so professionally close to home.

Businesses come out at the other end of a bankruptcy filing and continue to exist (just ask many a car company and/or airline carrier) – that’s what the bankruptcy code is there for, to provide a fresh start. I cannot, however, be optimistic about a company whose own bankruptcy papers admit (in an uncharacteristically honest assessment that I believe on its face) it managed to piss away $6 million in fresh capital, and who are searching for buyers in order to liquidate. I genuinely thought after F+W cleaned house at the end of 2017 it had turned a corner, but unfortunately not. I also noted to myself a concern about the lack/quality of the advertising in the winter edition of Interweave Crochet (although, editorially, I think the magazine is as strong as it has ever been). For my crochet-design loving heart, this bankruptcy also touches upon how consolidating crochet publishing into just a few voices has detrimental consequences. In the U.S., there are only two other major crochet publishers, and one of them is electronic, no physical publications. F+W had purchased a second crochet title and then proceeded to discontinue publishing it, leaving only three U.S.-based crochet magazines that potentially might be seen on the periodical shelves.

Nevertheless, just like Brexit – it ain’t over till it’s over. Yogi Berra was never so prophetic. My hope is that a strong publisher scoops up Interweave and, at least in terms of Interweave Crochet, re-imagines a more robust and forward-looking publication. There are many ways that might be accomplished, but no matter how, I hope it is accomplished with its current editor. I expect she may have good ideas on how the magazine could be tweaked and/or otherwise reinvented.

In the meantime, I am going to continue getting ready for this summer’s Adventure + Renewal collection. I cannot tell you how pleased I am to be in the company of these independent designers and dyers – artists all – whose work as a group brings much summer designing and making joy. I urge everyone to support independent designers. They are the collective designing voice that will keep craft and DIY/slow fashion moving forward and growing. DIY is here to stay and your support, in the form of pattern sales, keeps those independent voices steady and strong. I hope I see everyone take part in our May 31st maker event!

Ending the Year With Another New Design

It is December, everyone - and gifts are abundant. I am on the receiving end of a lovely publishing gift - as a new hat design (yes, you read that correctly, a hat design!) has just been published in Interweave Crochet's Winter 2019 edition! (The electronic version is available right now for download; it hits newsstands December 11th, although some LYSs already have it in stock).

Vanilla and Spice Hat, Interweave Crochet
Winter 2019 edition; photo courtesy of
Interweave/Harper Point Photography

I am not normally a hat-design kind of person. While I have published a few hat designs, I really don't wear hats (too warm for this polar bear), so they are not usually at my design ready. However, at the beginning of this year, the magazine's submission call (containing requests for designs with puff, bobble, and/or popcorn stitches) combined with all of my South Korean Olympic games-watching to create a perfect design storm for the Vanilla and Spice Hat to be created for release into the crafty wild.

While I will have more to say on the hat's design genesis in a subsequent post, I want to focus on the elements of Interweave Crochet's Winter 2019 edition, which is truly chock-full of crochet goodness. Can't you already tell????

Included with the Vanilla and Spice Hat are an additional 19 projects, many of which incorporate the awesome bobble, popcorn, or puff. Along those lines, I am all in with the Wintertide Sweater, the Snow Day Sweater, the Solstice Cardigan, the Cinnamon Cowl, and the Cedar Mittens. There is also a quick tutorial from Sara Dudek, the editor, on constructing each of these soft, textural stitches (and more on stitch construction a little farther below).

There are other designs in this edition that strike all of my favorite internal design bells and whistles: the Granny Hexagon Bag and the Nordic Tapestry Pouch both hit me in my bag-loving heart; and for those of us who love and appreciate history, Dora Ohrenstein has a streamlined crochet history article, coupled with projects from across the Interweave magazine library that underscore several crochet technique/tool firsts (and a shout out to Piecework Magazine as an excellent repository of crochet and fiber arts' history). 

As I mentioned above, cluster textural stitches like the puff, bobble, and popcorn, have not only shown up in my designs, but have been previous writing fodder for me. I wrote an article on the differences between them in an early edition of ILikeCrochet.com. Below I provide a slightly reworked version of that article, complete with a visual tutorial of all three stitches (in case you cannot wait for your copy of the IC Winter 2019 edition to reach your mailbox). 

******************************************************

Bobble, Popcorn or Puff?

(originally published August, 2014 by ILikeCrochet.com)

I use test crocheters frequently. All of my testers are well-seasoned crocheters and are invaluable to me. So recently, when two of my testers had questions concerning the bobbles and puffs I had in a few of my patterns, a green light went off – this was something I needed to investigate further.

As you can see from the makeshift bookmarks,
I consult these books frequently

Whenever I want to research a subject, the first thing I turn to is a book (oh, those humanities and literature majors!), and in this instance, crochet books from my own library that are relevant to the topic. While certainly not exhaustive (cause I’m a city gal and have limited space), you’ll see I consulted books written by industry professionals, all heavyweights and extremely knowledgeable. I admire all of these authors, and these books have been and continue to be incredibly helpful to me. But it wasn’t until I actually started to research this subject that I realized the extent of the inconsistency in the published material. Of these six books, only three directly address the bobble, popcorn and puff. Of those three, two are consistent in their approach and instruction; the third, while receiving an honorable mention was, shall we say, less than consistent (and no, I will not identify the publications). The other books either have different approaches to one or several of the stitches, or just didn’t cover them.

Please hear me: I am not knocking these designers/authors or publishers! I note that the authors who didn’t touch upon these stitches may have felt a discussion of them was beyond what they were attempting to accomplish with their respective material. Additionally, there is, unlike knitting, no cohesive crochet language. Stitches on one side of the Atlantic have a different interpretation on the other side of the pond. Season the above liberally with copyright issues every author faces when writing instructions, and the heat level surrounding all of this just went up by at least one chili pepper.

There are professional organizations one might turn to – the Crochet Guild of America, The National Needle Arts Association, and the Craft Yarn Council of America – and while all provide excellent training, there is no consensus for definitive answers (and this takes nothing away from the good work these organizations do every day for crocheters). Finally, while crochet symbols are universal, they are incomplete (although for my purposes here, well established), and not all crocheters feel comfortable with them. So, in the face of all this wishy-wash, what’s a hooker to do?

Focus on the stitches themselves, of course.

One of the ways to create crochet fabric is to work clusters of stitches. Clusters come in two basic flavors:

CLUSTERS

Clusters worked                     Clusters worked

over several stitches               into just one stitch

Close-up of the Vanilla and Spice Hat;
note puff stitches on brim of the hat.
Photo: Voie de Vie

Bobbles, popcorns and puffs fall within the category on the right – they each are worked in just one stitch. That’s the first main element to note: if the instructions say to work over several stitches, then it isn’t a bobble, popcorn or puff.

Next, the generally accepted symbol for each of these respective crochet stitches is instructive in showing the second main element – how each stitch is closed at the top. The symbol for bobbles and puffs have a short, straight line at the top. This indicates that for each, a number of incomplete stitches are held on the hook and closed at the top with a yarn over through the multiple loops on the hook. Popcorns are different – the stitch symbol is acorn-like because the stitches are completed and not held on the hook; as will be shown below, popcorns are closed at the top by removing the hook from the last stitch worked, inserting it into the first stitch of the popcorn cluster and pulling the last live stitch loop through the first stitch.

There is a difference in the size and texture of each stitch – popcorns are the largest and provide bold, textural interest. Bobbles and puffs are generally smaller, yet still pack an excellent textural punch This leads to the other main stitch element – while bobble and popcorns can be made with multiple types of stitches – double crochet, treble, double treble – puffs are usually made with half double crochet stitches. Of course I say usually, because there are exceptions to every rule, and exceptions to the exceptions.

Here is a quick visual tutorial of how to construct each stitch:

1. The bobble:

Work a partial double crochet into the designated stitch: yarn over,
insert hook, pull up a loop, yarn over and through two loops on the
hook. Two loops will remain on the hook.

Repeat the above instruction for as many double crochets
as is called for in the pattern instructions (in this instance,
I am making a three double crochet bobble).

Once you have completed the requisite number of
incomplete double crochets, yarn over and pull through
all remaining loops on the hook.

2. The popcorn:

Work a complete double crochet in the stitch indicated.

Repeat the above instruction for as many double
crochets as is called for in the pattern instructions
(in this instance, I am making a five double crochet popcorn).
Note they are all in the same stitch.

After the last double crochet is complete, remove
the hook from the live loop and place your hook through
the top of the first double crochet in the popcorn.

Now place the hook back into the live loop of the last
double crochet and pull it through the first double crochet.

After being pulled through the first double crochet.
Notice how the completed popcorn is raised up
from the crochet fabric. 

3. The puff:

Work a partial half double crochet in the stitch indicated: 

yarn over, insert hook into designated stitch, yarn over 

and pull up a loop. You will have three loops on the hook.

At this point, you will place yarn over hook and 

pull through all 7 loops. The partial half double crochet loops 

should be even and just slightly loose, so the hook will slide 

easily through all 7 loops. 

Here is the completed puff. It is shorter in hight than
either the bobble or popcorn, but it is cushiony soft.

These stitches provide loads of texture to any project, as well as enjoyment for the maker. Just remember to focus on the elements of each: all are worked in only stitch; popcorns are clusters of completed stitches that are closed at the top by removing the hook from the last live stitch and putting the hook through the first stitch and pulling the last live stitch through; bobbles and puffs are clusters of incomplete stitches that are closed at the top by pulling a loop through several stitches held on the hook; popcorns and bobbles are usually comprised of double crochet or larger stitches; and, finally, puffs are usually worked with half double crochet stitches.  Knowing the elements of each will allow you to easily identify the correct cluster used in any pattern.

What a Rockin' Start to Autumn ...

And it isn't even officially autumn yet! Nonetheless, it's been crafty busy here at chez Voie de Vie,  and I couldn't be happier. 

I am so thrilled with the response my Mixlace Poncho, published in Interweave Crochet's Fall 2016 edition, is receiving. All kinds of crafters are completing finished projects from this design - and many (including yours truly) still need to make one as part of my current Ravelry Wardrobe Weather a-long. Everyone seems to find the making easy and the finished poncho wonderful to wear. I thought I would show you a quick round-up of a few of the completed projects:

Clockwise from left: Micha of Stitches & Woes showing off, via 
Instagram @stitchesandwoes, her awesome teal version (all Scarfie),
Raveler Naptural1's version in the original sample Scarfie colors,
and Raveler Extremehaekllerin's all blue version worked up with 
Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball.

I have the yarn for my own Mixlace, which I will be tucking into just as soon as one of the a-long participants in Australia receives her magazine (but the wait? Ugh!):

My Mixlace will be green and cream/taupe (on the right), and the left stash yarn, which I am committed to using, will become another New Wave Skirt. I am also going to work up a Bomber-Inspired Hoodie Vest, and I had identified yarn in my stash that I wanted to use, but I am coming to a different yarn decision. There is still bucket loads of time to join us on Ravelry and work up a new something for your own fall wardrobe.

I do love Autumn!

It's A Maker's World

Happy September, everyone! Can you believe the end of summer is upon us? In the United States, we are about to enter the long Labor Day weekend that marks the "traditional" end of summer. We all seem to turn our attention to fall, new wardrobes, and fresh starts.

So, it is with amazement that I kick off the month with a little newsstand recap for makers everywhere. What a time to be a maker! If you love to crochet and knit, I would urge you to run - not walk - to your local bookstore and purchase these publications. Some of the freshest looks around can be found in them, all just waiting for your crafty hands to whip up. 

Now, I admit, I have a design in each of two of these fine magazines (!), but honestly, if I had the time, I could create a whole, new, vast wardrobe around so many of the designs in these three publications. The colorwork in the Fall edition of Vogue Knitting is, simply, breathtaking. As I have already blogged, Annie's special edition Stress-Free Seamless Crochet has no less than eight projects I could envision myself making, including my awesome design the Paisley Lace Shawl. And, finally, I can reveal the second design of mine to hit the newsstands this season, the Mixlace Poncho in Interweave Crochet's Fall 2016 edition. Worked up in two colorways of Lion Brand Scarfie, just two skeins makes a generously-sized poncho and, with a large hook, the making is quick and the fabric light and drapey. While this is a photo I quickly snapped prior to sending it to Interweave, the magazine has styled it beautifully to show off not only the awesome color changes but also the beautiful lace and texture. I could not, as a designer, be more pleased and proud to see this garment in print.

If you love to make as much as I do, get thee to thy local magazine stand, pick up these publications, and let the fall making begin!

I will also tell you I will have one more announcement at the end of this long weekend, so stay tuned. Yes, folks, it's a great time to be a maker. Yes, yes indeed.

So What's One More Finished Object ...

... this Fee-Fi(ber)-F.O. Friday, right? Well, only that it's a fantastic rug. And it's in the latest Interweave Crochet Home 2015 special edition. And that I'm so excited at how great it looks.

Photo (c) Interweave Crochet.
Used with kind permission.

My inspiration for this design came from my love of small, fast, cars. If you take a look at this Pinterest board of mine, you'll see a whole lotta great cars. I love their bold, sleek, curved lines (very closely related to my love of all things cats). Then, add some Bruges lace in a hyped-up proportion, and you have the design elements of this rug. Once I saw the Bruges lace possibilities in my head, the rest came fairly easily (along with some back-and-forth sketches to Interweave's editor, Marcy Smith - hat tipped to you, Marcy). I blogged about the red roving here back in April (and in fact, notice the colors of the two yarns in that post - definitely a trend). I took a few photos of the completed sample rug on my deck. The deck boards are slightly uneven in places, but I note how nice and symmetrical and flat the rug is laying. I think mailing and then having it kept folded for some time prior to the photo shoot must have done a number on it (as well as a few other samples in the edition). 

That small point aside, I cannot believe how beautifully every piece photographed. Irrespective of whether or not it's one's particular aesthetic, the home chosen for the shoot (belonging to someone on Interweave's creative staff) was the perfect backdrop for these designs. The rug, since it used the Bernat roving doubled, is actually rather soft and squoishy underfoot.

This is, actually, my third published rug design in little less than a year. Clearly, I have a thing for rugs.

Now don't forget to head on over to Andrea's place at Wisdom Begins in Wonder and see what's under everybody else's fibery feet.

More Blocks Have Leaped Off The Lily Pad

My frog-themed block making continues, and this Friday I have four more to share with you (all which have been sent out to their intended swappees) :

This is the Embossed Bunny block from Nicky Epstein's Knitting Block by Block. I would rate this an easy block - it's a seed stitch border, with stockinette and reverse stockinette stitch used for the subtle bunny shape. I think the button eye actually provides a huge visual aid in identifying the bunny. This pattern isn't yet in the Ravelry database, so I'll need to add it. Other than color, this doesn't have too much to do with a frog ... however, this recipient's blanket will be made for a child, so I'm hoping she likes bunnies.

This is the Framed Flower Block, another of Interweave Crochet's Chain Reaction block patterns from 2010/2011. This went with the Embossed Bunny block, so I do hope it's well received. The block looks a little wonky because I have it sitting on top of a bush, but it is square and I do love how the colors played nicely with each other. I'd definitely rate this block, as well as the final two in this post, intermediate level crochet blocks.

This next block is Amelia Beebe's Yarn Clouds block. I love her use of post stitches to form the "clouds," as well as the corner treatment. In these colors, it's very soothing. I modified the last round I worked, using stitches smaller in height, in order to achieve a 10" square. This is definitely one of my favorite blocks worked thus far.

Finally in this set, Robyn Chachula's Lotus Blossom block, another from the Chain Reaction project. One can't go wrong with anything Robyn Chachula, and this block definitely didn't disappoint. I love it in this green tea-ish color with a little espresso around the edges for contrast.

I am so enjoying making these blocks. I've been able to craft from my magazine and book shelf, as well as make blocks that have been in my queue for quite some time. For me, it's providing a sense of fulfillment to do the above as well as share them with others.

Now I do hope you'll hop on over to Andrea's blog, where I'm sure all kinds of fun projects are being discussed.

We Interrupt This Blog ...

... to bring you an unofficial message from the Fall 2012 edition of Interweave Crochet - Doris Chan's latest design, the Rockin' Red Dress, which is a take on Lt. Uhura's infamous Star Trek dress:

For those of you who are regular readers of this blog, you'll note here an Artfully Voie de Vie questionnaire response from one Doris Chan about her last design: a Star Fleet uniform done in Louisa Harding mulberry silk.

Well, this isn't Louisa Harding mulberry silk, but it's definitely the Star Fleet uniform. I'm wondering which came first: the questionnaire response or the design that's made its way into this fall's Interweave Crochet (the digitial version of which is here, on newstands the beginning of September)? Given the long lead time in publishing, I expect the dress design came before the answer. That oh-so-clever Doris Chan.

No matter, really. Just please tell me this isn't the last Doris Chan design?!!!!!