Thursday
August 18, 2005

Keeping a blog is a new experience for me, although I do keep various journals in order to remember my train of thought when involved in puzzling out a new pattern concept. Paper-and-pencil journals are so much easier, because I always seem to be making little doodles and scribbles so that I don't forget my original visual image. Maybe I will eventually learn how to draw in the margins of my blog.

I teach knitting and crochet classes for several continuing-education school programs in my area, as well as presenting workshops for other interested groups. All of my presentation materials consist of original pattern instructions that I have developed especially for teaching purposes. I also have sold designs for publication, and hope to develop this part of my design business more fully.

Originally, I wanted to use this space to share some of my original patterns with friends and students. Often, I am asked, "How did you do that?" It would be so good to be able to say that the instructions could be found on my blog. However, after reading about some of the disappointing experiences of other designers who have tried this same approach with blogs and web pages--only to have their work pirated by pattern-swapping groups with no conscience for the time and effort that goes into producing an original work--that I will wait a while before actually going ahead with this idea.

Now that I have started this online journal, I plan to add to it every few days, and hope that my musings are of interest to someone.

Until next time . . .

B. J.

Monday
July 18, 2005

A new page opens.