All sorts of tribal fusion goodies! Please contact me there if you’d like a custom item/trade/etc.

I will be bringing cat hats back this year and posting them there. Also looking forward to designing some patterns for knitpicks in the fall!

HOLY SHIT.

“This garment defies categorization… Andalusia is a skirt, a cardi, a dress, a tunic, a poncho, a shrug, a cape – and more. Since it is created in crochet Hairpin Lace and Broomstick Lace, this garment is a very quick project for its size. We feature 10 different ways to wear Andalusia, but our suggestions are only meant to prime your imagination. Stretch your wardrobe with this versatile design.”

These are gusseted fingerless mitts with columns of lace that reminded me of art deco patterns, hence the name.

If anyone actually happens to be reading this, I’m also announcing my hiatus from knitting and writing knitting patterns. I will still be around for pattern support and whatnot, and who knows, I may get totally inspired and come back all blazing guns in the fall. But for now, I’m shifting gears big time. I’ve been getting really into tribal fusion dance and flamenco, and want to work on costuming and jewelry for both. This stuff is inspiring as hell! Heapieces, earrings, and fabrics, tribal metal pieces, feathers, lace, whee whee wheeee!

Very simple cabled belt modeled by the lovely Brittany. Pattern and such will be forthcoming, as I’m taking a big break from knitting.

(a WTF alchemy request)

There’s only one website that I check compulsively. I’m fairly certain I’ve read single every post, most of them several times over, and my favorites when I need a good laugh. Nope, it’s not boingboing or the Oatmeal, the HuffPo or the Onion. It’s Regetsy, and lately I’ve been asking myself why.

As an Etsy seller myself, I’ve been frustrated countless times by the ups and downs of trying to sell there. I was one the first one hundred (#85 to be exact) to open an Etsy account. I should be rich right? Nope, my sales have always been pretty tepid. One person can only knit so much, and I’ve always done better at trunk shows and consignment shops. I’m somewhat embarrassed by the items I first sold as a fledgling entrepreneur, and though I’ve honed in on my niche and have cat-hat-knitting down to a science, I’m still baffled by selling stuff on Etsy. And there are so many things that infuriate me because they make things even harder.

And Regretsy nails them all on the head.

My Etsy shop had been up nearly a year when my knitted cats got featured on the front page. I had learned to make them from a friend and did not yet know the etiquette of selling items knitted from someone else’s pattern. I had sold over a dozen when the designer of the knitted cats caught wind of me and asked me to stop selling them. Since I’m a decent human being, I did (after finishing up the orders I had already committed to). Little did I know that dozens of other sellers were also making and selling them, and still do. After I filled my shop with original designs, I noticed people were now copying ME, some of which even hearted my shop. I wanted to eventually sell patterns, but was terrified of having scumbags purchase and resell my patterns. I do sell patterns now, but only because I’ve grown thick skin to it- perhaps like musicians who don’t mind being torrented because it’s exposure, but dammit, at least they get to keep their name on the music. They say the imitation is the best flattery, but that’s little comfort when people are making money stealing your ideas. My strategy now is to keep things simple, and reassure myself that others may come up with the same ideas I have, I just need to be really good at making them, and making customers happy. And I still don’t mind if people sell the items they make with my patterns, as long as they’re not selling the pattern itself.

Now enter Etsy and their not-my-problem attitude towards rip-off artists. I’ve heard horror story after horror story of Etsy doing absolutely nothing to stop shop owners who are blatantly stealing, not even so much as SUSPENDING suspicious activity. Talk about disheartening. A recent post on Regresty showed a clear case of copyright infringement, and Etsy’s only response was “please stop flagging artists and read our policy”. I read the policy. It basically says “fuck you, you don’t know what you’re talking about” and “if it’s really that bad, get a lawyer”.

If you want an unfettered example of laissez-faire capitalism, look no further than Etsy. It’s a marketplace that is barely monitored, has very few rules (except for zero tolerance of criticism against itself), and now that it’s hit critical mass, anything goes. And as you might expect, the people who cheat can easily get ahead. This goes for resellers, frauds, and rip offs. And there’s nothing to stop floods of substandard crap from being listed. In fact, the easiest way to make a quick living on Etsy is to relentlessly list things for weeks at a time, which doesn’t bode well for true artisans who take months to finely craft a piece. And once you list an item, you’re not even really selling that item, you’re selling the photo. Apparently, the photo is everything.

I feel this is a casualty of hipster culture where image is held above quality or genuine value. I see it on tumblr and ravelry as well.

This is why we NEED Regretsy. April Winchell is calling out the bullshit, most importantly, the bullshit Etsy itself refuses call out. It is the one thing that brings balance to the behemoth that Etsy has become. I used to wonder if I enjoyed Regresty so much because I felt inferior on Etsy, but now I realize there’s so much more going on there, and not only is it necessary, but we can all laugh about it too.

I’ve been wanting to incorporate more math into my knitting, so I decided to use the math constant pi as a design element. The first ten digits were plotted out and used to switch between knit and purl stitches on a standard slouchy style hat. To make things even more interesting, I put rows of eyelets on either side of each section. If a person wanted to get REALLY nerdy, they could chart out pi to 60 digits. Maybe I’ll try it myself!

Well, things are going to change February 3, 2011, year of the metal rabbit. After the aggressive lashing out of the tiger, we will see more of the rabbit’s peacemaking and perserverance:

THE SIGN OF THE RABBIT

Rabbits, like their animal counterparts, are quite calm people who do not exhibit aggressive behavior and will avoid confrontation at all costs. When angry about something, a Rabbit will approach it calmly and considerately, hardly ever raising his voice or becoming visibly annoyed. Because of their serenity, Rabbits seem to miss things, whether they are confrontational in nature or not. However, the Rabbit is quite keen and pays close attention to the situations developing around him. He is intelligent and quick and can talk himself in or out of most situations with no problem.

WESTERN EQUIVALENT: Pisces

IN YOUR ELEMENT

The characteristics of the Rabbit are tempered by one of the five Chinese elements of Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth overlaying a 5-year cycle of characteristics on the original 12-year cycle.

THE METAL RABBIT 1951 AND 2011

Metal gives Rabbits a more resilient demeanor than the other more quiet Rabbit. These Rabbits are very ambitious and can be quite crafty in their dealings with others. They throw themselves and their emotions into everything they do, making them intense lovers, but not outwardly affectionate lovers. Their determination can affect their work as well, whether through personal relationships with colleagues or with the work itself, a Rabbit can be known to immerse himself in his projects…business and personal. (link)

A placid year, very much welcomed and needed after the ferocious year of the Tiger. We should go off to some quiet spot to lick our wounds and get some rest after all the battles of the previous year.

Good taste and refinement will shine on everything and people will acknowledge that persuasion is better than force. A congenial time in which diplomacy, international relations and politics will be given a front seat again. We will act with discretion and make reasonable concessions without too much difficulty.

A time to watch out that we do not become too indulgent. The influence of the Rabbit tends to spoil those who like too much comfort and thus impair their effectiveness and sense of duty.

Law and order will be lax; rules and regulations will not be rigidly enforced. No one seems very inclined to bother with these unpleasant realities. They are busy enjoying themselves, entertaining others or simply taking it easy. The scene is quiet and calm, even deteriorating to the point of somnolence. We will all have a tendency to put off disagreeable tasks as long as possible

Money can be made without too much labor. Our life style will be languid and leisurely as we allow ourselves the luxuries we have always craved for. A temperate year with unhurried pace. For once, it may seem possible for us to be carefree and happy without too many annoyances.(link)

So what can we expect? Digging in and working out the problems that exist instead of creating new ones.

Hope the rabbit treats us well!

(all images from bugknits/Althea Chrome)

From fiber artist Althea Crome who uses teeny, tiny needles and thread to knit ornate sweaters and pieces to scale:

In 2000, my fascination with this tiny scale merged with my love of knitting, and since then I have been pushing toward ever new technical and design challenges. Tough as it is to knit on such a small scale, the “bug-knit” scale has allowed me the freedom to create and experiment with designs which, on a larger scale, would be cumbersome and prohibitive. My success in developing commercial patterns and techniques for 1:12 scale gloves, socks and other garments has only inspired me to venture further into what I’ve come to think of as “extreme knitting.” Indeed, from the time I began my vocation as an extreme knitter, I have made very few full-scale garments.

In the past several years I have been incorporating portraits and images into my knitting. Inspired by my small collection of antique portrait miniatures and my love of ornament and art, I strive to capture the romance and allegory I find so playful and fascinating in the art I love. I use garments as my “canvas” because I find that it adds a dimension that is lacking on a flat surface. Many of my designs are created as a narrative, and by turning the piece and viewing it from sleeve to sleeve, you see not only a pattern emerge, but a story.

link!