As a knitwear designer published by third parties I have to promote my designs on the social media I have a presence. I try to do that but sometimes Instagram gets left behind. In the past month or so I had several knitting patterns published and I was thinking about how to mention all of the knitting patterns without feeling like it's a promotion or an advertising.
Yesterday, I took this picture and posted it on Instagram. I did not know what I will write at first, and then it started to be a list of tools a knitwear designer uses.
The list:
Yarn
Knitting Needles
Sketch Book and notebook
Ideas
Swatches
Knitted Samples
Computer Work (pattern writing, grading, editing)
Photography
Patience
Responding to Submission calls
Acceptance
Persistence
Luck
Social Media visibility
If and when patterns are accepted more of the above
When patterns are published add pattern support
It's a lot to do for one person.
Even though it is a lot to do I continue to do that. Simply because I love what I do, knitting and creating.
Last week I have received an email from @Lovecrafts about another competition for Blogger of the Year 2020.
I have tried last year, and even though I did not win, my entry was interesting enough to be mentioned on their blog. I see that as a huge success. Links to the two are here:
I was thinking about what I would like to write for this year entry. I had so many ideas and I kept returning to the idea of dreams of our childhood and how we either pursue them or abandoned them.
I had plenty of childhood dreams that I wanted to achieve. I would like to mention one particularly. Growing up behind the Iron curtain was very restrictive and we were not allowed to travel outside the Eastern Block. As a child I read a lot and I dreamed a lot about traveling all over the world. Under the circumstances it seemed impossible. We were not allowed to do so. Yet the Velvet Revolution in 1989 gave us the freedom to travel all over the world. I studied and become a tour guide, a profession that allowed me to pursue my childhood dream of traveling. At one point as a tour guide traveling with a group of tourists we were in the Monument Valley and my group of tourists went for a tour with a local Navajo guide and I was left behind to wait for their return. At that moment I was approached by the owner of the company, a Navajo man and asked if I want to go for a horse ride while my group of tourists are exploring the beauty of the land. I went and it was magical. Unknown to him, he allowed me to fulfill my childhood dream of riding a horse with a Native American through their land. I cherished that memory and I have a picture of me on the horse in the Monument Valley to remind me that sometimes when we don't expect it our dreams can come true.
In the photo above you can see the image of me on a horse at the Monument Valley. You can also see a paw of my dog. Having a dog was another childhood dreams of mine, and I had to wait for it to happen for many years.
Another of my childhood dreams was to become a writer. I earned BA in Creative Writing, something I never expected to do when I was a child. I earned that degree in a non native language. I see that as an achievement on its own. During my talks with my school advisor I mentioned that I have been creating knitting patterns and that some of them were published in a book collections, or on websites or in magazines. My adviser told me that this is what being a writer is. Have your work published. I guess I have in an unexpected ways achieved another childhood dream.
Stana's Critters Etc is my personal adventure one stitch at the time.
So if you have a dream, a passion, keep on dreaming, keep on being passionate about it, you never know when the dream comes true.
Thank you for reading and visiting.
This is my entry into the Lovecrafts competition for The Blogger of the Year 2020. This is also my answer to the question Why I make.
I love to create and share my creativity and passion with others so they can learn, create, craft and enjoy the process one stitch at time.
#WhyIMake
