Periodically, manufacturers, publishers, editors and distributors, MPED, issue a Call For Designs.

The good news is they can, cause we are still looking and nothing would help more than to find comments providing links to the information we need in support of Muench, or KFI, and Brown Sheep.

So, if you read this far, and have patterns that fit the criteria, you can use comments to leave me the details. Please note, they will not be made public but will be shared with the Retailers & MPEDs clients requesting we conduct the research for them)

Peace of the Season

Wheat

Something for you to listen to while we are out putting up the lights

It is one of my favorite mixes.

Because my family celebrates both “regular” Christmas and “Real” Christmas in January, we have always delayed setting up decorations until “just before” the 25th.

The off to the store for some last minute ingredients so we can include some of the recipes we found during the Arm Chair Chef’s Holiday Bake Along

Best Wishes for your Holiday Weekend

Peace of the Season

Wheat

Wow – was the original title “Tech Editors Come Second” badly written or what

A good Tech Editor is a treasure to be cherished and compensated to the best of your ability and kept forever supplied in Dark Chocolates and other treasures.

Or, as one Grande Dame of the leisure activity of NeedleArts suggested, is someone to be treated with every courtesy and care but kept locked in a closet so they cannot escape.

The Best of Tech Editors is two things, Invaluable & All too rare.

Okay so now we have a pattern written. What’s Next?

If the Designer also wrote the pattern, here is where they must set aside their ego enough to be willing to truly communicate and to be especially mindful of the need to listen. The best tech editors are going to question your methods and instructions from time-to-time. The Designer has to allow the Tech Editor to do their job to the best of their ability.

A good tech editor may be the most important business associate any designer can have. Much of the following is focused on Knit & Crochet, it applies to Sewing & Quilting and well, just about any Needle Art that uses String.

The first job of a Tech Editor is to determine if, the instructions as written, can actually produce the item described/pictured.

For Knit or Crochet, the ability to produce a gauge swatch consistently is essential, because that is the first step in tech editing. Can the recommended needle or hook produce the gauge required.
There is more to sending a tech editor just a page of written instructions, but that is not the issue here.
nor, is the fact that some articles do not really “require” meeting gauge, say an afghan or blanket, if you want your pattern to be considered accurate and well done, it ALWAYS has to be possible to produce an accurate gauge swatch within one hook/needle size.

A good tech editor can do sizing, taking into consideration that just increasing or decreasing is not always the answer – and certainly not in garment sizing. A good tech editor is going to catch that if you tell someone to cut a 6 inch square, and use quarter inch seams, that the resulting square will be 5 1/2 inches not 5 as it says in your “instructions”.

A good tech editor is extremely accomplished in the craft, so can, when needed “suggest an alternative” method to reach the same goal. But they also need to know when to back off and let the designer use thier own “signature method”.

A good tech editor does not have to execute the entire project, although they may make some portions to check the numbers, but generally, they do not.

One thing I can tell you, when a designer or publisher finds a Good Tech Editor, there is, to quote one of the Grand Dames of Needle Arts Publishing once explained, upon finding an outstanding Tech Ediotor, there is an almost irresistible urge to kidnap them, lock them in a closet and not let anyone else at them – cause they are worth their weight in diamonds (gold is too cheap these days) and more difficult to find than any other single service provider in the market.

What do you look for when searching for a Tech Editor?

Inquiring minds want to know

P.S. To read more posts in this series, select the category

It Is All Just Business
from the side bar or Search for Designer Resources

During a conversation yesterday, Tink made a few carefully worded comments on things she would have done differently with the set up of “What Wheat Wrote” and another blog-a-venture of a mutual client.

This time she explained a bit more and well, this morning’s project is rearranging of the furniture, notably Categories in the blog-a-venture and of course the living room so we can put up the tree this weekend. All the posts are still here – just a few have moved to a few categories. Fortunately for me, this blog is only a few weeks old and there are the huge number of blog entries that our friend will need to consider when she realizes that she has to bite the bullet and reorganize her entire blog.

Now to see how this “effects” the stats.

and to finally get the tree put up

Peace of the Season

For all those I am Holding In My Heart

Six -year-old Brandon decided one Saturday morning to fix his parents pancakes He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the counter, opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling it on the floor.

He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most of a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a floury trail on the floor which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten.

Brandon was covered with flour and getting frustrated. He wanted this to be something very good for Mom and Dad, but it was getting very bad.

He didn’t know what to do next, whether to put it all into the oven or on the stove and he didn’t know how the stove worked! Suddenly he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of mix and reached to push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor. Frantically he tried to clean up this monumental mess but slipped on the eggs, getting his pajamas white and sticky.

And just then he saw Dad standing at the door. Big crocodile tears welled up in Brandon ‘s eyes. All he’d wanted to do was something good, but he’d made a terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was coming, maybe even a spanking.

But his father just watched him.

Then, walking through the mess, he picked up his crying son, hugged him and loved him, getting his own pajamas white and sticky in the process!

That’s how God deals with us..

We try to do something good in life, but it turns into a mess. Our marriage gets all sticky, or
we insult a friend, or we can’t stand our job, or our health goes sour.

Sometimes we just stand there in tears because we can’t think of anything else to do. That’s when God picks us up and loves us and forgives us, even though some of our mess gets all over Him.

But just because we might mess up, we can’t stop trying to “make pancakes” for God or for others. Sooner or later we’ll get it right, and then they’ll be glad we tried…

I was thinking and I wondered if I had any wounds needing to be healed, friendships that need rekindling, or three words needing to be said, sometimes, “I love you” can heal and bless!

Remind every one of your friends and family that you love them.

Even if you think they don’t love you back, you would be amazed at what those three little words, a smile, and a reminder like this can do.

Just in case I haven’t told you lately…

” I LOVE YA! ”
Please pass some of this love on to others….suppose one morning you were called to God; do all your friends and family know you love them?

Send this to everyone you love, and send it back to the person who sent it to you.. And never stop

… anonymous…