What's Your Patter? (Saponificozy™ Patterns and Commercial Licensing)

I finally did it. After a full year of requests and a lot of hemming and hawing, I've created patterns for my Saponificozy™ line of bath care. The Saponificozy™ Soap Sock and Face Scrubbies are now available with personal and commercial use licenses.

Patterns and Pricing:
* The Saponificozy™ Soap Sock Pattern is available for $6.00 for personal use and $50 for commercial use.
* The Saponificozy™ Face Scrubby Pattern (single and double-sided options in the same pattern) is available for $6.00 for personal use and $40 for commercial use.

Personal and Commercial Licensing:
* Both patterns are subject to United States Copyright, and the Saponificozy™ trademark and the overall trade dress for Saponificozy™ items are subject to state and United States Federal Trademark law. I aggressively pursue infringement of my copyright, trademark, and trade dress.
* The personal license follows the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/.
* The commercial license is a custom license. The highlights are:
I provide you the pattern and marketing materials. As long as you 1) sell them as Saponificozy™ Soap Socks and/or Saponificozy™ Face Scrubbies; 2) provide credit to me for the pattern and design; and 3) do not undersell my prices on individual items, you are free to make and sell Saponificozy™ Soap Socks and/or Saponificozy™ Face Scrubbies at your leisure.

Both patterns are now available in the Crochet Patterns Section of my Etsy Shop. Commercial use patterns can be requested by emailing me directly at kreations@kastroll.com. And all of my patterns can be viewed and reviewed at my Ravelry designer page.

Getting Felt Up (Baby Booties)

Yes, I'm still here. Yes, I still have the same excuses for not blogging: law school, a masters program, the military, a baby, a husband, life in general, etc. But those same excuses are no longer keeping me from creating new and wonderful things.

Like baby booties. I've had a lot of excess yarn around for awhile (what crocheter doesn't?), and I figured I could do a baby bootie purge of my stash. After all, you can use up a lot of scrap yarn on booties, and, since I tend to buy only animal fibers that aren't treated to be washer-friendly, I knew I'd be able to felt them. I've had so much fun with felted adult slippers that it seemed only fair to give felted baby slippers a try.

Of course, that meant turning to Fiber Trends for a crochet pattern. They have a Children's Crocheted Slipper pattern that very cute, and I purchased it as a starting point. I have to say that it is the first Fiber Trends pattern I've been disappointed with. The first slipper I test crocheted turned out just fine, but I felt the construction was clumsy. The pattern is worked in rows instead of rounds, and there's quite a bit of seaming that could be done with simple increases, decreases, and clusters.

Now, I've made all sorts of slippers - felted, not felted, booties, clogs, skimmers - and all of them have the same basic construction - a sole comprised of a chain worked on both sides with increases at the toe and heel and a body worked in even rows with some form of shaping (either through seaming or through stitches) to form the unique style of slipper. I decided to make my own baby bootie pattern on the fly.

I fiddled with the sole until it increased nicely in the toe. I worked in rounds and shaped with stitches so that all I had to do in the end was pop the bootie in a wash bag and felt it. I played around with double soles and contrasting colors. The end result: four sets of baby booties that I'm mighty proud of.

Lessons learned:
1) Different fibers felt at different rates.
2) KnitPicks Wool of the Andes is, quite possibly, the best yarn *ever* to felt with.
3) Sometimes, the original pattern may be a dud, but it might provide some great embellishment ideas.
4) Blogging takes time.

My original four booties are now online in my Etsy store. Check them out, or even better, buy a pair for the baby in your life!

Ghosts of Projects Past the Third

I'm running out of "excuses" on my bloggatory absences. The truth is that life is just getting in the way of keeping you, dear reader, up to date on my creative exploits. I have actually been quite busy creatively between classes, wholesale orders, book reviews, pattern trials, and creative stitchery - things I hope to expound upon here in the coming weeks. But for now, I have a growing list of "projects I must blog about", and so, here they are, in no particular order.

First, a set of scarves from October 2007. These are really rather simple scarves, but they are long, warm, and luscious. They were born from a trade with Etsian LOLBaby, a children's boutique. The bibs are amazing - I can't recommend them enough. Gabs *loves* playing with her bibs. But I digress. I created 7' long, 8" wide scarves out of a simple double-crochet fabric. The yarn is Knit Picks' Wool of the Andes, a yarn that I fall in love with more and more each time I use it. It's a worsted-weight, worsted-spun, Peruvian highland wool. I love it. It doesn't pill, it holds its color, it wears well, drapes nice, has a lovely sheen, is evenly spun (unlike some very popular feltable yarns I know of), and is surprisingly affordable. It has quickly become my yarn of choice - so much so that I'm planning on re-tooling my pricing structure to offer it as my default fiber option. In any case, the scarves are pictured here, although the pictures don't do them justice.


Second, a simple brown beanie from November 2007. This is also a project born from a trade with an Etsian, MooreTaste. Her jewelry is incredible - the reedy copper pendant that I traded for is fawned over every time my Aunt Nancy wears it! This is another Wool of the Andes project. It is a simple 23" beanie in half double crochet with a single crochet edge. My instructions were to make the plainest hat possible, and this is what I came up with. I actually like the hat a lot; there's just not much one can say about a plain hat.


Third is a baby boy's earflap hat from November 2007. Yes, this one is another trade project for Etsian TwistThis22501. She wanted a hat that was "masculine" enough for a little boy. This hat was fashioned out of Wool of the Andes and Heilo's DK wool. It required quite a bit of hook changing in order to keep the gauge consistent; I was switching between a 12 WPI and a 14 WPI yarn on each row so keeping the hat even was a small challenge. The hat is fashioned from half doubles and finished with crab stitching and slip-stitched cords with knots at the ends. This hat also serves as a model for a line of baby hats that were eagerly snatched up at Holiday Handmade.


Finally, a pouch from August 2007. Another trade project, another Etsian, ArialImages. I scored some fabulous photographs for this little gem - a drawstring pouch to fit the (then miniscule) Creative Zen MP3 player. The pouch holds a business card-sized MP3 player. It was fashioned put of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride worsted in plain ol' single crochet with a slip stitch chain closure. A quick little project that filled a niche.


And so you get a sampling of the custom orders I did for trades this past year. I love doing custom orders, and I love doing trades, so if you'd like to do either, please don't hesitate to contact me. In the meantime, I'm going to keep working on my next super-duper-secret-cool project!

Crochet Classes for the Spring

As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm onboard as a teacher at the TACtile Textile Arts Center. The Spring 2008 schedule has been released, and I am teaching the following classes:

Beginning Crochet, $30 members ($40 non-members) + $6.00 project kit fee
Friday, March 7, 6:00-9:00PM
Saturday, March 22, 2:00-5:00PM

Intermediate Crochet, $40 members ($60 non-members) + $7.00 project kit fee
Fridays, February 22 & 29, 7:00-9:00PM
Fridays, March 14 & 21, 7:00-9:00PM

Skills Refresher Workshop, $15 members ($20 non-members)
Sunday, February 3, 2:00-3:00PM
Friday, February 15, 7:00-8:00PM
Saturday, March 8, 10:30-11:30AM

You can sign-up by emailing Dianne or by calling TACtile at 720-524-8886.

What's even more exciting (at least to me) is that I'm going to offer my project kits for general purchase in my Etsy store. This means that anyone can purchase my fabulous pattern and fiber kits in my shop, follow the instructions, and make a sweet little project. I'll also be offering a materials starter kit featuring all the notions needed to get started as a hooker!


Look for these kits in the Supplies section of my store very soon! For now, I've posted a few photos here of sample projects so you can get a feel for what's in the kits.

In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle (Lion Layette)

I made a policy in my shop not to carry sewn items in my shop. Partially because I want my shop to have a uniform feel to it, and partially because the quality on my sewn items isn't near that of my crochet items (think journeyman compared to master). But that doesn't mean that I don't take custom requests for sewn items.

Take my layettes. They have always been popular - the first thing I sold out of my store, and the first thing to sell out of my store. So when I received twin requests for boy-esque layettes, I knew I had just the fabric. The flannel fabric is a cute, square block pattern featuring different jungle animals. I decided to back the layette with yellow flannel and topstitch in blue.

I ended up sending out two sets of blankets, bibs, and burps on custom orders, and even got pictures back from one of my customers with her new nephew wrapped in my blanket. That was a wonderful thing to see!

Lessons learned:
1) Keep Flickr up-to-date so people can order based on my past creations
2) I'm getting better at sewing
3) I still love crochet better
4) There is no better feeling than seeing my work on a happy customer, especially a 3 day old customer

So, if you happen to want a layette, feel free to contact me. I still take them as custom requests.

I'm Feeling a Little Froggy (An Army of Frog Hats)

Apparently, customers are crazy about frogs. Very crazy.

To date, I have made three frog hats, one just for fun over Thanksgiving break and two as custom orders. Where do I even begin?

We'll start with Jasmine's frog hat. Jasmine is the lovely, fashion-oriented, sweet young daughter of one of my favorite porcelain artists, Cindy at Colorado Art Studio (love her mugs, especially this one!) Jasmine wanted a frog hat with eyes. If I remember correctly, there was one like it in the movie Better by the Dozen. I hadn't seen the movie, and I don't care for Steve Martin (please don't flog me). So I improvised. I decided it'd be a fun time to play around, so I decided to try putting earflaps on it. But Jasmine hadn't asked for earflaps, so I decided to make them removable. Then I figured plain earflaps would be boring, so I decided to make frog hands for flaps. The actual hat was crocheted in Brown Sheep Lamb's pride, so it had a bit of fuzz. But I was pleased with the result. And, most importantly, Jasmine was, too!

Lessons Learned:
1) Frogs have 5 digits on their hands, not 4
2) Frog pupils are vertical, not horizontal (or, more accurately, diamonds, not slits)
3) Make sure your buttons are big enough to stay in the button holes
4) Anatomical correctness isn't necessary to make a freakin' adorable hat.



Second is the froggie hat I made over Thanksgiving break, just on a whim. It sold within two weeks of posting. This hat was just an excuse to get rid of the rest of my green cotton/modal Shine yarn from Knit Picks. But it was my first experience with beads as eyes. Still, it's an incredibly cute hat; no wonder it sold.

Lessons Learned:
1) Leave enough tail to sew on the eyes
2) Count your stitches before adding scallops
3) Cotton/modal = extremely slick. Too slick for aluminum.





Finally, a hat I *just* finished. A newborn frog hat with a button earflap instead of ties so as not to freak out the new parents (having a new baby, I can relate - I was paranoid about ties until I had to admit they saved sooooo much time). I made this hat out of Plymouth Encore, a fabulous acrylic/superwash blend. So soft, yet so durable, and very easy care. This being my third frog hat, it came together incredibly quickly with no major issues.

Lessons Learned:
1) You forget how tiny your baby was until you make something for a baby younger than your own
2) If you follow the ol' "1-inch less" rule for stretch, you end up with a very tiny baby hat
3) A large wine goblet = a great baby hat stand

And so my army of frog hats has been unleashed upon the world! Bwahahahahahaha! If you would like to be one of my minions, just drop me a line, and we'll make it happen!

(Many thanks to The Collective Noun page for identifying the proper collective noun for frogs.)

Put a Flower in Your Bonnet (Lilac Cloche with Flower)

Have I mentioned lately that I *love* to trade?

I love to trade. I find it an amazing way to get your work out there while getting something wonderfully creative in return. I love the way bartering smacks capitalism in its face by showing that there are other ways to get products in our hot little hands besides cold hard cash.

This hat was born of the desire of Deb of Blue Sky Pottery, a fabulously talented ceramic artist out of Steamboat Springs. I had asked her to custom make a moon pad jar for me, and the result was stunning. A squat little jar, not unlike a honey jar, in a lovely crimson and a simple handle to remove the lid. Perfect. I love my jar. If you are a moon pad user, I highly recommend splurging for one of these beauties from Deb. You won't be disappointed.

In return, I was to make a hat that matched her winter coat. She wanted something similar to my RAINNy Day Mohair Hat. I knew that Steamboat was much too cool to do something in pure mohair, and, serendipitously, I only had lilac and purple in Lambs' Pride, so I set about making her hat.

I carried a strand of Classic Elite Mohair in Amethyst with Lambs' Pride in Lilac, giving the hat a tweedy feel. For the scalloped edging, I carried a strand of Lambs' Pride in Cream with a strand of Classic Elite Mohair in Cream. The result was a thick, heavy, and, most importantly, warm winter hat in the perfect shades. All that was left was embellishment. I carried the Amethyst Mohair and both Cream fibers to create a big, fuzzy flower, and popped a simple white button in the center to finish it off.

All in all, a wonderful little hat. I can only hope that Deb loves her hat as much as I love my little jar.

Lessons learned:
1) Adjust your hook size accordingly when changing the carrying weight of your yarns
2) Weaving in the ends on mohair is much easier when there is a wool carrying strand nearby
3) I still don't like shank buttons, but I think they look better than eyelet buttons

As always, you know where I'll be if you'd like a hat like this of your very own.