ConnieLene – KnitDesigner

Using Google Analytics since 18th Nov 2009

It is one year and one day since I set up google analytics on this website. Since that time 11,556 people have visited. I am uncertain what to do with that information. I know I would like more visitors, and I can see the trends so more visitors will come.

My top posts were:

A-Z of the Vogue Winter Trends 2010-2011 A,O,K,E,P from May 28th has attracted the most readers 466.

Followed by the Category – patterns – Free Patterns which attracted 429 readers.

Then Beret Pattern in 8ply or double knitting is on Etsy now with 417 views.

This is a brief skim of the Analytics.

Maybe today I could have 444 visitors – isn’t that a nice number – to make 12,000 visitors in a year and a day. It would be interesting to see if that could happen.

Examples of my work

There it is, I have been blithering on about communication and I missed a really great question from a lovely artist/designer on Facebook. Today I did something I have not done on Facebook before – I checked the tab “Just Others” and there was the question from May 2010.

The question was “Where can I learn more about your method of intarsia freeform knitting?”

Now that should have sprung out and said “Hey, Here I am”!!!, and I missed it.

There are books out there and much on the internet explaining Intarsia, but my free form Intarsia, there is no resource available as yet that I am aware of.

And so there is no single easy answer to the question, although I am working on an answer to it as I am putting together a book proposal.

For the design on the piece I consider the shape of the canvas, which might be a sweater or a cloak, or a jacket; and the person or exhibition for whom this piece is being created, and then I work to the idea or concept. In other pieces I might simply change the colours and yarn types as I feel, as I view what I am creating.

Very very basically, I sort yarns by colour, texture and weight (more or less as I don’t let the weight drive my work) and then I knit (play) always with the idea or concept in my mind or on the sketch.

The biggest hurdle for most knitters is to plan too much, and while I do plan, that is I have a canvas, which is the shape of the knitted piece, and concept and colour group, then I just knit.

I would love to run workshops on working with intarsia generally and including freeform work, or on “Playing with colour and yarn”. I hope I will have the opportunity to do that when I return to New Zealand.

I am working on a proposal for a book which will have basic knit designs, Instruction on working in the Intarsia method, a planned intarsia design for each knit design, as well as exercises to play with the yarns and colours and so go on to work on a free form intarsia design within the knitted design.

There is a lot work even in putting together a proposal as I am sure you all know, and of course I have to convince a publisher that it is worth their while.

Only Thursday evening last I told Best Beloved that the 2 Etsy shops were a little difficult to maintain. That I would now continue creating patterns and sell them from Unique Boutique Knits as I do now, and I would stop trying to create new “One of a Kind” pieces for my other Etsy shop Connie Lene Designer Knits

Funky Fingerless Glove Pattern link

The reason being, I said – that when I create my OOAK (One of a Kind) pieces I really enjoy the challenge of doing that for specific exhibitions, commissions, fashion events and so on. Trying to maintain those connections as well as 2 etsy shops to sell OOAK pieces as well as my patterns – is just too much for me right now. So I want to concentrate better on my OOAK artistic creations.

OK, said Best Beloved, you do what you love.

He is a special man this Best Beloved – having supported me through a number of special creations for various exhibitions and he knows the stresses and lives them with me. That is he, our daughter and son, as well as several very supportive and creative artists in New Zealand.

What happened then?

Well yesterday (Friday) I sold 2 capes from ConnieLene Knits as well as a sweet little poncho and 2 patterns from Unique Boutique Knits. My very very best Etsy day ever.

SO WHAT SHALL I DO NOW??

ToftAlpacaShop 11:07am via Web sent message on twitter in response to “What is a Wimple?”

“so would a snood also be a wimple and vice versa? Curious, they’re all over the fashion mags this season though!”

So it looks like my wimple research might just provide me with a pattern or two opportunity. But in the meantime I checked Wikipedia regarding The Snood:

A snood is a type of headgear, historically worn by European women over their long hair. In the most common form it resembles a close-fitting hood worn over the back of the head. A tighter-mesh band may cover the forehead or crown, then run behind the ears and under the nape of the neck. A sack of sorts dangles from this band, covering and containing the fall of long hair gathered at the back. A snood sometimes was made of solid fabric, but more often of loosely knitted yarn or other net-like material. Historically (and in some cultures still in use today) a small bag — netted, tatted, knitted, crocheted, or knotted (see macrame) of fine thread, enclosed a bob of long hair on the back of the head or held it close to the nape. Modern hair nets, commonly in use where shed human hair may be undersirable, are often made of microfiber.

From this Wikipedia statement – I would say that a Wimple and a Snood are not the same. But then Wikipedia went on to state as follows:

In modern times the word also has come to be applied to a tubular neck protector or warmer, often worn by skiers or motorcyclists. The garment may be worn either pulled down around the neck like a scarf, or pulled up over the hair and lower face, like a hood.