PlanetJune Blog: Latest News, Patterns and Tutorials

I’m very excited to announce that my new book will be released on August 5th, 2014, and it’s already available for pre-order on Amazon! With my last book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Amigurumi, I created the ultimate reference book on amigurumi, and now I’ve turned my attention to all of crochet for my new book, Idiot’s Guide: Crochet…

Amazon doesn’t have much info up yet, and what they do have makes it sound like this is just a beginner’s book, but it’s actually much, much more…

Let me tell you about my vision for Crochet: I had three goals for this book, because I wanted to make an ambitious 3 books in 1 volume:

• The complete beginner’s guide: To create the clearest, most comprehensive learn-to-crochet tutorials, with ultra close-up photos of every single step, so people really can learn to crochet from my book.
• The crochet tips guide: To distill all the knowledge and tips I’ve picked up over my crocheting life into clear, easy to follow instructions.
• The beautiful pattern book: To create a collection of stylish original accessories and home decor patterns that would make perfect gifts, so you’ll want to make everything in the book! The patterns need to be simple to work (but not boring for experienced crocheters) and show some of the variety possible in crochet, so you’ll learn more as you make each pattern.

I was fortunate that my editors were happy to accommodate my vision, and I’ve crammed all of these goals into the 272 pages of this book! The Idiot’s Guides series has had a complete makeover and you’ll be very pleasantly surprised when you see the lovely design and hundreds of full-colour photos.

This book is different from every other crochet book on the market and excellent value for money, whatever your crochet skill, as it’s perfect for both beginners and more experienced crocheters. I hope you’ll find it a valuable resource, whether your goal is to learn to crochet, to improve your crochet skills and knowledge, to find a selection of clean, timeless designs to crochet, or all of the above 🙂

The tutorials have all the detail and clear step-by-step photos you’d expect from me, and the patterns include stitch diagrams and all the added tips and extras you find in my PlanetJune Accessories patterns. I’m so excited about this book, and I hope you will be too!

I’ll be revealing more details about the book and the patterns over the coming months, but if you’re already chomping at the bit, here are the Amazon pre-order links (US, CA, UK and DE):

And for Kindle (and other ebook readers and Kindle apps):

I’m still technically on holiday for another week, but in this age of smartphones and wifi it’s hard to ever take a complete break – there are always more questions to answer and people to help! I’m trying to keep work to a minimum, though, and enjoying some relaxing crafting time.

My Craft WIPs

It’s such a treat to have time to make things again! I’ve really missed this…

I’m making progress on my secret long term cross stitch project, which I started well over a year ago (and its companion piece over 2 years ago)! I don’t think I’ll be finishing it any time soon, but that’s fine by me – it’s a nice relaxing project to pick up whenever I have time.

I’ve been playing with my polymer clay for the first time in a couple of years. My FIMO is getting pretty old now, and took a long time to condition so it didn’t crack when I worked it. My hands were hurting after that, so I only got partway through sculpting the basic body shape of a chameleon before I had to stop. It was going well, but I don’t expect the clay to stay workable; I’ll probably have to ball up my efforts and start again from scratch for my next claying session (boo). At least I have a good chameleon colour mixed now, so I can get straight into sculpting next time!

I’ve also started crocheting a very cute new design – all will be revealed in the next few weeks… It’s lovely to have time to think about amigurumi again, and, yes, I count my designing as play, not work! Writing, editing, photographing and publishing patterns is definitely (hard) work, but the design and crocheting part is exactly what I’d be doing even if it didn’t pay – I love this part 🙂

2013 Designs CAL

The January CAL includes all 18 of the crochet patterns I released last year – a nice mix of free and paid, amigurumi and accessories, and (hopefully!) something to appeal to everyone:

If you’d like to join in, you’ll find the CAL thread in the PlanetJune ravelry group – I hope to see you there 🙂

Review and Win contest

I apparently completely forgot to do the monthly update in December (I can’t imagine why…), so I have 2 ‘Review and Win’ winners to announce today!

November’s winner is Aimee N, with her review of my Cascading Clusters Shawl:

I bought this pattern as soon as I saw it and put another shawl aside so that I could work on it. I like to work from charts, and the chart for this pattern was very clear and easy to follow. It’s a quick project too. I used an alpaca sport-weight yarn which drapes beautifully. I am so pleased with this shawl that I will probably make it again — and I rarely make the same pattern more than once!

And December’s winner is Jeanne S, with her review of my Christmas Trees:

Another great pattern from June. Very easy to follow directions, and the tiny star is adorable! I used white worsted weight yarn, red heart shimmer, worked really well. Then I had some finer weight pale blue glittery yarn. Made the small tree again. Stands on its own without being stuffed, and very quick to make up. Thanks again

Congrats to both of the winners – I’ll email you to find out which pattern you’d like as your prize 🙂

And now I’m heading back to a lazy afternoon of watching TV and crafting. My 2014 is going pretty well so far – I hope yours is too.

2013 has been one crazy non-stop year! I love making these annual reports – it’s a way to take a step back and really see what I’ve achieved in the year. Until I started this post, I felt like I hadn’t accomplished much this year apart from the new book (which will unfairly count as next year’s accomplishment even though 95% of the work was completed in 2013). It turns out that’s not true at all:

PlanetJune 2013 crochet patterns – if you’d like to make any of them this month, the 2013 Designs CAL starts today in the PJ rav group

I was surprised to discover that I’ve actually published 18 new crochet patterns – that’s about 3/4 of my typical annual average! If I add all the patterns I’ve designed for the book (which I can’t show you yet, but there are lots!), I’ve actually designed many more patterns this year than in previous years.

And I managed to squeeze in 9 craft projects – 6 crocheted, 2 knitted, and 1 sewn:

My 2013 craft projects

The rest of this post is long, personal, and introspective, but my life and my business are so closely tied that talking only about PlanetJune without explaining the changes I’m making for myself wouldn’t paint the real picture. I don’t like to overshare, but honesty is important – I want to explain the reasons for my big decisions. Feel free to skip it if you’re not interested!

Personal Report

2013 has been probably been the most challenging year of my life. For the past 3 years, since discovering we’d be leaving Canada for South Africa, I’ve been struggling against sickness, moving halfway around the world, culture shock, dealing with a growing business that takes more and more time, and constant other challenges that never let me take a breath. Every time one crisis was over, something else came up, but I felt like I just had to keep going, as there was no other option – things have to get done, and there’s nobody else who can do them.

Well, now, I feel like I have to not keep going – there really is no other option. I’d like PlanetJune to be around for many years to come and that won’t happen if I don’t start looking after myself. I’ve struggled for 3 long years and that’s enough: it’s time to take care of myself.

I’m absolutely worn out. I’m spread far too thin – the challenges of my life take a lot of time away from my business hours, and I’ve been forced to work longer hours than I’d like while achieving less than I want to. It’s frustrating when there’s so much more I want to do, but that’s just the reality of my life.

Taking on another book when I was already feeling very fragile (after a very tense few months of jumping through ridiculous hoops to try to get my visa renewed before it expired) wasn’t a healthy move, but you have to make sacrifices for things you really want. This was a book I really wanted to write, and an opportunity that wouldn’t come again. I’m very happy to have written it – I think it’s an amazing book! – but now it’s finished, I’m drawing the line. I can’t take on anything else, no matter how tempting. I’m not healthy and I need to change that, and I need to make time to enjoy the advantages of living in South Africa – good food, natural beauty, and wildlife galore!

We’ve already made a start on that over Christmas: a simple relaxed braai (barbecue) in our garden for Christmas, a trip to the Cape Winelands to go cherry picking; watching a sea turtle and rays being hand-fed at the aquarium; and an amazing encounter with a large troop of wild baboons (don’t worry, we were safely in the car at the time). I’ll be resurrecting my SA wildlife photoblog post series so you can share some of my nature encounters, starting with those baboons, coming soon 🙂

Business Report

Despite the fact that I’ve been pulled in multiple directions this year and haven’t been able to devote anywhere near as much time to PlanetJune as I’d like, my business income has stayed on par with 2012. That’s actually a huge achievement when you consider I’ve probably spent less than half the time on it than I have in previous years.

Looking back
In 2012’s review, I said:

This past year, I’ve worked harder than I ever have in my life… But the big goal here is worth it: to transition my business from a very hands-on one-person business to an automated one-person business, so I can spend the majority of my work time creating new designs and tutorials. I’m trying to… grow past the one-person level without expanding or outsourcing. I’m hoping that all my automation strategies will pay off in 2013, and I’ll have a virtual assistant (in the form of my own website and systems reducing my workload) instead of having to hire an actual assistant.

Although I anticipate another year of very hard work behind the scenes of PlanetJune, I’m giving this plan one more year to succeed. If it doesn’t, I’d have to either find a way to scale back my business, or take on minions (unless I can come up with another alternative, as neither of those options appeal to me).

I still think my plan was good, but unfortunately, all the unforeseen non-PlanetJune time-grabbers that came up in 2013 mean that I’ve barely had a chance to progress with it. It looks like I’d have another year of hard work ahead to get all my ducks in a row and see if I can really make my business sustainable for the long term without overloading myself or outsourcing. But I can’t keep forcing myself to maintain the pace I have been for the past few years, so scaling back some of my ambitions is the only way I can keep going.

What’s next?

These are the absolute requirements for 2014:

• Get healthy
• Make time to get out and see more of South Africa
• Enjoy myself creating new designs with no time pressure

And, if nothing else comes up, I hope I can manage these too:

• Complete the behind-the-scenes tech upgrades and pattern updates
• Continue with my pattern commissions with less-pressuring deadlines
• (Possibly) get the homepage and shop redesign completed

That list encompasses so much less than I’d like to do, but, realistically, even that sounds like a lot to take on, and I can’t push myself hard any more. There are dozens, or possibly hundreds, of exciting design ideas floating around inside my head, and some of them are desperate to get out! I need to look after myself so I can make that happen, and start enjoying my life again.

I’ve realised some things while working on this book: I don’t do well with deadlines. I don’t like working under pressure. I want my work to be right, not the best I can manage in the time available. While I’m very proud of the book, getting it to meet my standards in such a limited time pushed me almost to breaking point, and I don’t think I’ll repeat this process again.

I’m fortunate that I’m not motivated by competitiveness or money – I want the things I do to count; to hopefully make a difference to people, or at least to give me the satisfaction of having done the best I can. Of course, I’d like to make a good living too, but that’s really secondary to living a fulfilling life.

So, I will be true to myself. I will only take on projects I really want to do. I will let go of projects that aren’t working out. I will love what I do, and if you love it too, that’s even better, but being genuine comes before anything else.

This feels right: looking over all my designs, I feel that my work has a calm, tranquil aspect to it, and I’d like that to be a reflection of the real me too, not just the PlanetJune style.

Here’s to a positive and relaxed 2014 – let’s make it a great one!

Time for the final CAL roundup of the year! Take a look at the beautiful projects made from my PlanetJune Accessories patterns for this crochet-along:

Happy Christmas! Let’s celebrate with a look at the results of the 2013 PlanetJune Christmas Crochet-Along. Thank you to everyone who joined in; it’s always a pleasure to know my patterns are being enjoyed and to see how good they look in your choices of yarns, colours, etc! And it’s lovely to see that my new Mini Wreath pattern has been so popular 🙂

Before we go any further: don’t panic! This is not the start of a shift away from crochet and into knitting patterns – it’s just that my Poinsettia ornament happens to be knitted this year. As with my other Poinsettia designs, I’m making it available as a donationware pattern. Although I’m not ruling out the possibility of publishing other knitting patterns in future, it’s not part of my current plan 🙂

As you may remember, I have a little Christmas tradition of crafting a new Poinsettia ornament every year, and, although I’ve been madly busy this year, I’ve managed to squeeze in another poinsettia design so I can keep up the tradition. Now I’ve been doing this for 8 years, I have enough poinsettias to decorate a small tree! And that’s exactly what I’ve done for my Christmas decorating this year:

My poinsettia tabletop tree! Can you spot the new addition?

Here’s a closer look at the PlanetJune Poinsettia Collection to date:

Top (L-R): 2006 kanzashi poinsettia; 2007 crocheted poinsettia 
2nd Row (L-R): 2008 polymer clay poinsettia; 2009 punchneedle poinsettia
3rd Row (L-R): 2010 felt poinsettia; 2011 beaded poinsettia
Bottom Row: 2012 thread crochet poinsettia; 2013 …?

(You can find all my Poinsettia designs as PDFs in my shop, or use the links above for the free online versions.)

And now for the 2013 PlanetJune Poinsettia: the knitted poinsettia!

As I’ve been teaching myself to knit over the past couple of years, a knitted poinsettia seemed appropriate for 2013. This is a very simple pattern, provided you know how to cast on, make knit and purl stitches, and increase and decrease. If you don’t already know how, this is a nice small project for learning those skills! (And, although teaching you to knit is not something I can take on, there are many good books and tutorials, and I’ve linked to my favourite online tutorials in the pattern.)

I know we’re only a week away from Christmas, but this really is a speedy pattern, so I hope you’d like to try knitting one of your own – the link to the free pattern is below, and, as always, if you choose to thank me with a donation, you’ll get the handy printable PDF version 🙂

Go to the Knitted Poinsettia pattern >>

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PS – I’ve just finished my book – yay! – and I’m going to take a much-needed break for the next few weeks. I’ll just be popping in for minimal maintenance on PlanetJune stuff, so please be patient if I don’t respond promptly to your emails etc. I’ll be back with exciting new things once I’m completely rested. In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful festive season!

A couple of weeks ago, futuregirl blogged a photo of a selection of giant pine cones she’d gathered in the forest. I couldn’t get that photo of Alice hugging that armful of pine cones out of my head, and I kept reloading the page to look at them again – I had no idea pine cones could even get that big; did you?

With impending book deadlines and taxes to file and other commitments to juggle, I found myself in need of comfort, and the thought of a giant huggable pine cone suddenly sounded like something I had to make, as a fun little break from everything. And the result is a new Expansion Pack pattern: the Giant Pine Cone!

(Those are cones A and E from Pine Cone Collection, for size comparison!)

Giant Pine Cone is based on my very popular Pine Cone Collection pattern, but super-sized and with a few additions to improve the shape and appearance at such a large size.

It’s about 8″ tall and can be worked with 2 strands of worsted weight yarn held together (as I did) or a bulky/chunky yarn – the thick yarn not only makes the pattern work up more quickly, but also keeps the scales of the pine cone realistically proportioned.

Or you could make a not-quite-so-giant pine cone with just 1 strand of worsted weight yarn as usual (and a smaller hook – details in the pattern). The mini Giant Pine Cone option would be about 5″ tall, so it takes much less yarn, but it’d still tower over all the cones in my original collection!

The finished giant cone is wonderfully soft and squishy – the large yarn scales add a layer of plush cushioned padding that makes it really tactile to hug and play with (I’m speaking for myself here, but I’m sure kids would love it too), but it’s also weighty enough to stand up by itself – it’s even more appealing than I imagined it would be! Maui can’t resist it either – he’s already been snuggling up with it as a giant pillow…

If you’ve made my original Pine Cone Collection, you’ll know how easy and fun the scales are to crochet, and this version is no different – it just takes a bit longer because it’s so much larger, but, for its size, it works up surprisingly quickly.

What is an Expansion Pack?

• An Expansion Pack is an add-on to an existing PlanetJune pattern.
• The Expansion Pack lets you modify or add to the original pattern to create something else.
• You cannot use the Expansion Pack alone – you must also purchase the original pattern in order to be able to complete the pictured items in the Expansion Pack pattern.

You can buy the Giant Pine Cone Expansion Pack for only $2.50 individually from the shop, or, if you haven’t already bought the Pine Cone Collection pattern, you can select it as an add-on to that pattern before you add it to your shopping cart, and save 50c on the pair.

Launch Discount

If you’ve already bought the Pine Cone Collection, you won’t be able to save that 50c. But, for 7 days only, add the Giant Pine Cone Expansion Pack pattern to your shopping cart, together with anything else (totalling $5 or more), then use the code PINECONE at checkout and you’ll still get your discount! (Valid until next Tuesday: 3rd December 2013.)

Note: If you don’t need anything else right now, this also applies to Gift Certificate purchases, so you can pick up a $5 gift certificate now, get your discount, and have $5 in your PlanetJune account ready for your next purchase, or to send to a crocheting friend!

Can you resist making your own Giant Pine Cone?

PS – Don’t forget to share photos of your Giant Pine Cones in the Christmas prize CAL thread on Ravelry too…

Originally, I wasn’t sure I’d have time to design a Christmas pattern this year, so I thought I’d make a variant on my Twisted Chain Bangle pattern, to turn it into a miniature wreath ornament. But then, with wreaths on my mind, I came up with this completely new – and better! – idea instead, so we have a new PlanetJune Donationware Christmas design for 2013 after all 🙂

Introducing the Mini Wreath Ornament:

This sweet little pattern lets you make surprisingly realistic leafy miniature wreaths – at only 3″ across, they’d be perfect as Christmas Tree ornaments or seasonal decorations. A Mini Wreath works up in no time and comes together like magic with almost no sewing required – you won’t be able to stop at making one! Make them in leafy greens, or any pair of colours to match your holiday decor.

I’ve accessorised mine with a crocheted ribbon bow, but you could use a short length of real ribbon, or add beads and sequins to represent berries and miniature baubles.

Mini Wreath Ornament is a donationware pattern, which means it’s free for you to use, and if you’d like to say thanks by making a donation, you’ll get a handy PDF version of the pattern – easy to print or save to your tablet or e-reader 🙂

I hope you’ll enjoy making mini wreaths this holiday season!

Go to the Mini Wreath Ornament pattern >>

PS – Don’t forget to enter your completed wreaths in the PlanetJune Christmas CAL (on Ravelry) – there’ll be prizes for everyone!