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Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

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Plans & Goals for 2015

January 14, 2015 3 Comments

Plans & Goals for 2015 | Hands Occupied

2014 was the year I finally figured out who I am as a blogger and a creative professional. Even though I never explicitly shared a post like this one outlining my goals for Hands Occupied for 2014, figuring out who I am in the creative world was probably a bigger accomplishment than I even realized. If I’m being honest, I think I was working toward that goal since starting this blog in September 2010. I really did want to be a knitting and crochet blogger first, but naive, 23-year-old me thought I didn’t have enough of a point of view to sustain a blog with a more narrow focus. Last year I took the plunge and gave it a try, and it was the best decision I ever made in my creative career. I think creatively, I just matured at kind of a slow rate, but now that, 4 years later, I’m here and happy, why would I regret the steps that brought me to this point?

Other highlights of last year were improving my photography game, getting my first full-page magazine feature, contributing DIY designs to print books, and selling patterns for actual money, and not just yarn. Skills like these opened a lot of doors for me professionally. (PS: When I say professionally, I’m talking about my creative career and not my library career, but that’s a whole ‘nother blog post in and of itself – how I lead two careers simultaneously.)

I feel really good about finding my feet last year, so of course I want to keep growing and improving with this momentum. On that note, I have a few 2015 goals worth sharing with you guys.

Heidi from Hands Occupied

#adult 

Personal Goals

1. Be a more thoughtful consumer

I want to lead a healthier life. I’ve been vegetarian for 5 years, but being veggie absolutely does not mean you’re automatically healthy. It’s so easy with my dual-career lifestyle to eat quick food like a frozen veggie pattie or cheese and crackers. While I don’t want to be completely vegan, I’d like to eat more plant-based food, less processed food, and less alcohol.

In late 2014, I began to transition from being a coffee drinker to primarily a tea drinker. I might be drinking 4 cups of tea a day, but I limit myself to 1 tea bag (unless something gross happens to it like it hits a door handle or the floor). Limiting it to 1 bag means I can only consume so much caffeine, and by the third cup, I end up drinking more water. That makes sense, right?

2. Be more focused

Take a 30 minute walk every day. Knit, crochet and read more. Stay focused on one task at a time and avoid multitasking. Don’t check notifications when I don’t need to, like when I’m out at dinner with friends. Multitasking doesn’t do anything but stress a person out anyway!

3. Visit family more, travel more

All of my family (immediate and extended) live in a different state than my husband and I. With the right amount of focus (see #2) and planning, there’s no reason I couldn’t find more time to see my family and the sights of the world, not just the town in which I live.

Knit Along Tips, Tricks & An Official Schedule at HandsOccupied.com

Running a Business

4. Workflow

At this very moment, I’m at my buddy Kim from Yellow Brick Home’s home, which just so happens to be just a few blocks from my own. We’ve been experimenting with coworking on days I don’t work at the library or when we don’t have other commitments. We’re going to try coworking one day a week together, and for me, that will be the day I keep up with the biz, organization, writing and planning end of being a blogger & knitting designer. This is a business, I need to treat it as such. Maybe that’s obvious, but I think leading a dual career lifestyle involves lots of careful scheduling and planning, and I need to remember to put as much administrative work into the creative gig as I put into the bookish one. ;)

5. Design more

Using this coworking day to keep organized will dovetail nicely with this goal to design more. Designing more, especially when it’s for magazines and such, means I need to get my schedule together and keep ahead of submission deadlines. To give you an idea of what I’m talking about: I’m neck deep right now in putting together a summery scarf pattern for a magazine publishing in June.

6. Expand 

I think opening a pattern shop, whether that’s on this site or Ravelry or somewhere else or all of the above, would be a good idea. I can’t always give away designs for free (but don’t worry – I’ll still be posting free patterns here on the blog regularly!). I’d also like to release an eBook independently to try my hand at that whole design and production process. Am I a glutton for punishment? This list of goals has me seriously wondering…

7. Just one word.

Speaking of wanting to give myself a boatload of work, I’m only going to say one word about this goal because I’m afraid to jinx it: book. Ok a couple more words for clarification: a physical book with pages and pictures and a publisher and all that.

Knitting Design Process Instagram

via instagram

Blog content! Your favorite!

8. New Series: Knewbies!

Don’t worry, all of these goals do NOT mean the blog will be on the back burner. Based on feedback from last summer’s reader survey, one of the things you’d like to see more of  is knitting tips for beginners. You guys also said you’d like to see a stitch of the week-style video series. After thinking about that for a bit, I came up with something I’m calling knewbies.

Knewbies is going to be short little video lessons & blog posts on the nuts and bolts of how to knit from scratch, with new lessons once or twice a month. My initial vision: one post/video on how to do a new stitch, and a free, beginner pattern that uses primarily that stitch so you have something to practice it with. I think this will be fun! More will get posted on this as I think of it.

8a. Do more videos

Knewbies will help with this, for sure. But I want to do more videos featuring advanced stitches and requested stitches from viewers and readers too!

9. New tagline

No one probably cares about this, but I feel like I need a better tagline. I might need to have a contest for it or something. Right now, I’m feeling like “Make it. Knit it. Own it.” is a little vague. Let me know if you agree/disagree/have ideas for a new one!

10. Listen to you guys more!

After last summer’s reader survey, I dropped the ball on answering a couple of “ask me anythings” that were sent to me. My apologies! :( In the last two months, I’ve been really on top of reader requests, especially for things like video tutorials (the kitchener stitch video and last week’s brioche video for example).

Since yarn crafting is such a personal journey, I want to know more about what you guys want to see. If something doesn’t make sense in the way I’ve explained it, let me know. Everyone learns in a different way, and when you’re learning how to tangle yarn in three dimensions ( a.k.a. in real life), blog posts and yes, even videos, tend to flatten what you’re trying to learn visually, which can be frustrating. Whatever I post, I’m going to put a ton of work into producing, so why not help a knitting sister out if she’s stuck?

Knit Along Day 3: The Other Sleeve at handsoccupied.com

In conclusion…

This brings me to the reader survey. I did one last July, and if you’re a big reader of blogs, I know it’s totally reader survey season right now. I just really want to check in to see what you’d like to see on Hands Occupied this year. More knit alongs? Less? More videos? Less? More personal posts? I’ll be posting that survey in the next week or so, and will have prize boxes up for grabs for those who fill it out. They’ll be fun, I promise! ;)

 

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: blogging business, books, designing, goals, hands occupied, knewbies, Knitting, publishing, resolutions

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad (she/her) is a craft book author & designer specializing in yarn crafts. Her work combines vintage and modern design elements, prioritizing color and graphic motifs. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Comments

  1. Kim // Yellow Brick Home

    January 14, 2015 at 10:58 am

    Goal #4 is my favorite! :)

    Reply
  2. Amy Anderson

    January 14, 2015 at 6:08 pm

    It’s been fun to watch your blog and I’m so excited for your 2015! The yarn slant makes total sense. Yay for you!

    Reply
  3. Janelle

    January 15, 2015 at 9:44 am

    Half of the battle is just having the guts to write down a list of goals! Keep on making things and making things happen! <3

    Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), and I’ve been helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010. I got my start here, as a blogger, and since then I’ve shared more than a few tutorials here and on YouTube as I’ve grown as a pattern designer. 🧶 

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Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts

handsoccupied

Knitting & yarn crafts designer 🧶
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Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop new patterns ⤵️

POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern fits with no ease vs. 4” of positive ease. There’s a bit more length to the cotton (brighter color) sample, but both are cropped and feature shoulder seams designed to sit an inch back onto the shoulder instead of on top, giving it a little swing. Length is easily adjustable for folks looking for less of a crop. 
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Pattern: Bevelled Tank by @handsoccupied for @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn summer 2024. Available for free from Hobbii at the 🔗 in my profile.
Yarn pictured: @kelbournewoolens Skipper and Camper. 
Dress form is adjusted to a 36” chest and ~5’3”ish in height. 
Human has a 40” chest and is 5’5”.
Both skirts are vintage.
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #handsoccupied #intarsia #handmade #knitting #colorwork
Let’s talk about fit and ease! . During the Beve Let’s talk about fit and ease!
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During the Bevelled Tank design process for @pompommag, I knit 2 samples using 2 different @KelbourneWoolens yarns. One was in Skipper (100% cotton, second photo) and the other was in Camper (100% 2 ply wool). The Skipper sample was knit for a 36” bust, which measures in at 40” with 4” of positive ease. And I knit the Camper Sample for my 40” bust with a 44” finished measurement. (BTW, I’m 5’5” for folks that find that measurement helpful in visualizing fit.)
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Based on the size chart for the Bevelled Tank, that means I knit one size 3 sample and one size 4. As designed, I conveniently fit a size 4 as intended with 4” of positive ease. When I wear the 3, there is no ease at all because the garment and my body are both 40” in size. Comparing the 2 garments, you can see how the fiber content (cotton vs. wool) and fit (no ease vs. 4” of positive ease) makes a difference in the look and feel of the finished garment. 
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These samples are a great way to compare what ease looks like on different bodies. While I can fit both a size 3 and 4, the garment with no ease feels more like pajamas or a bralette when I wear it. On the other hand, when I wear the one with 4” of positive ease, I feel comfortable enough to wear it to work, even as a crop top. Plus, it leaves me with enough room to layer it with a nice button down if I’m not feeling the cropped look one day. 
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I’m curious - how would you style this tank? Would you modify it with a few stockinette rows for added length? I’m so curious now that this pattern is finally out in the world. :) 
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #bevelledtank #handsoccupied #knitting #intarisa #handmade #kelbournewoolens #croppedsweater #summerknits
After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m ba After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m back with a brand new pattern in 9 sizes, and it’s FREE as part of @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn’s summer design collection! (Link is in my bio.)
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In my December newsletter, I announced that I was soliciting test knitters for a pattern that had originally been selected for the summer ’24 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly magazine. However, the magazine ceased publication after its spring ’24 issue, leaving in-progress designs unpublished. (It happens.) As a result, I’d begun the long process of editing, testing, and photographing the pattern for independent release through the Hands Occupied pattern shop and Ravelry.
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Before I was done with that process, Pom Pom Quarterly’s former editors reached out with an exciting proposal for the pattern. Post-magazine, they’ve begun to partner with yarn companies to produce high quality pattern collections. They wanted to include designs from the would-be current issue of Pom Pom Quarterly in a new collection for Hobbii yarn, including my Bevelled Tank. I worked with the same technical editors I would have for the magazine on this one, and as you can see from the photos, Pom Pom’s team did an amazing job of styling the garment to the beautiful standards they’re known for.
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You can learn more about the pattern on my blog and get the free pattern from Hobbii yarn - links to both in my profile. I’ll post sizing info in the comments for quick reference too. 🧶
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #knitting #intarsia #sponsored #colorworkknitting 
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Photos: @dianascarrunz 
Model: @angel.jade_
Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vi Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vintage knitting pattern from 1938 called the Fernlace Pullover. A pattern so nice, I knit it twice.
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Yellow version 💛: knit with Despondent Dyes’ Vintage Vixen Sport after attending a @squidneyknits vintage knitting retreat in 2019 & learning *so much*. Paired with a self-drafted circle skirt pattern. 
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Blue version 💙: knit with @eweeweyarns Ewe So Sporty in Sky Blue. Paired with the 1940s Boardwalk Duet sewing pattern from @decades_of_style 
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Head to my stories for 🔗🔗 to the handmade wardrobe blog posts I wrote about each take on the Fernlace Pullover, working with a vintage pattern, where to find vintage patterns (including the one I used), & some thoughts on sizing. 
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Image descriptions available in alt text. 
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#handsoccupied #handmadewardrobe #fernlacepullover #vintageknitting #vintageknittingpatterns #knitting_inspiration
Frogging is a word in the knitting world that mean Frogging is a word in the knitting world that means to rip out your knitting. It’s called frogging because frogs say “ribbit,” and when you’re tearing out your knitting, you will “rip it” out, and that sounds like ribbit. No really. 🐸 Did you know this fun fact? 
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P.S. I did like this design concept, but to make the pattern more knitter friendly as well as more wearable, I am making some tweaks to the construction. Excited to share when it’s ready! 🥰🧶
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Yarn: @blueskyfibers Woolstok North in Morning Frost & Highland Fleece 
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#handsoccupied #knitting #frogging #blueskyfibers #knittersofinstagram #blueskymakers #knittingvocabulary #bsfmakers #knitdesign
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