PlanetJune Blog: Latest News, Patterns and Tutorials

Today is I Love Yarn day, and, although every day is I Love Yarn day as far as I’m concerned, I thought I’d take a quick break from book-writing to share a little of my yarny love, as evidenced by a few of my old blog photos…

As a crocheter, I love yarn. I love being able to turn this:

some of my amigurumi yarn stash

via this:

toymaking!

into this:

some of my amigurumi designs

and this:

mmm, laceweight baby alpaca

into this:

some of my accessories designs

But possibly the best thing about working with yarn is that you can fudge things and fix mistakes – it doesn’t always have to be perfect.

I’m a novice when it comes to knitting, and I must confess that I wasn’t quite delighted with my grey cardigan (the first garment I knitted) – stockinette tends to curl, and my i-cord edging wasn’t enough to combat that curl at the bottom. I found myself doing the Picard tug to the bottom of the cardigan every time I stood up…

I’d heard you can stitch a tape facing to the inside to keep it straight, but who has time to shop for tape? Then I realised I could make an afterthought knitted facing by picking up stitches all around the bottom, knitting a few rows, then stitching it a few rows up on the cardigan. I used some stash fingering weight yarn (left over from my Climbing Eyelets Shawl) and just did it without over-thinking the plan…

It worked perfectly! My cardigan now has a straight non-curling edge around the bottom. You can just see a dented line on the outside from where I grafted the live stitches from the top of the facing to the cardigan with duplicate stitches, but the pale green colour is totally invisible from the outside and looks pretty from the inside when I wear the cardigan unbuttoned.

With this fix, I now have 3 self-designed and wearable handknit sweaters, and they’ve seen me through the (southern hemisphere) winter nicely. None of them is 100% perfect, but that may just make them even more special because it reminds me that I made them and it inspires me to do better next time. Although I won’t have time to knit anything else until I finish my book, I’m very excited at the idea of having a whole wardrobe of handmade sweaters – and in another year or two of knitting that could well be possible! I already have yarn bought and earmarked for the next 3…

So, both as a yarny professional (crochet designer) and an enthusiastic amateur (knitting adventurer), I really do love yarn! It’s amazing that you can start out with a ball of yarn and a hook or a couple of pointy sticks, and make pretty much anything 🙂

A quick Public Service Announcement…

In an effort to streamline my business, I’ve decided to discontinue my popular Amigurumi Essentials Kit. I still have a large box of kits, but once the remaining stock has gone, that’ll be it!

Note: I’ll still sell my PlanetJune-exclusive tools (Detail Stuffing Tool and Stitch Markers), so you don’t have to buy a kit if you just want my exclusive products – they aren’t going anywhere for the forseeable future!

Think ahead to Christmas and buy a crocheter (or future crocheter!) on your list an amigurumi kit, or pick up one for yourself to test out a selection of black and clear eyes in all the common amigurumi sizes. Each kit also comes with the essential PlanetJune stuffing tool and a set of locking stitch markers. If you’re on the fence about ordering, here are some tips that may change your mind:

• Combine shipping and save! All my tools are very light, so shipping costs the same for up to 3 kits, or a combination of kits and lots of stuffing tools and stitch marker sets. (Just add the items to your cart and you’ll see the shipping fee right away – it’s the same cost for up to 100g of products.
• Take advantage of my free bookmark promotion (available while stocks last) to get a signed Complete Idiot’s Guide to Amigurumi bookmark in your package, to keep with your copy of my book. I’ll even sign it to you – or your gift recipient – if you let me know your/their name!
• Every order for one or more kits also includes an exclusive bonus coupon you can use on a future order from Suncatcher Eyes, so you can order more eyes once you’ve figured out which sizes and types you like best.

You’ll find all my shippable products (kits, bookmarks, stuffing tools and stitch markers) in the Crochet Tools section of my shop. Don’t wait until it’s too late – buy your Amigurumi Essentials Kit(s) before they’re all gone!

My book is half finished and it’s coming along well! While I’m busy working on the other half, I have no new patterns to announce, so I thought you might like to see some ideas for other PlanetJune designs you may not have tried before. Here’s a seasonal selection of my most autumnal patterns:

You can find all of these patterns by searching for ‘autumn’ in the shop (or just clicking here!) 🙂

New-To-Me CAL

The October crochetalong theme is New-To-Me – that means you can join in by making any PlanetJune patterns you haven’t tried before. Choose from any PlanetJune patterns in my shop (amigurumi and accessories), any free patterns from my website, or any of the patterns from my book – lots to choose from! Luckily Ravelry has a nice list of all 152 patterns on my designer page if you feel like browsing 🙂

Maybe the above collage has given you an idea of a pattern to try..? If you’d like to join in, you’ll find the CAL thread in the PlanetJune ravelry group.

Review and Win contest

August’s rollover ‘Review and Win’ winner is Jeanne S, with her review of my Sea Otter:

So realistic looking. A friend asked if I could make an otter for her dad. I looked all over and Junes was the best. Her dad loved it. The pattern was easy to read and the extra tips are great.

And September’s winner is Angela N, with her review of my Sloth:

I fell in love with sloths after my first trip to Costa Rica so as soon as I saw this pattern, I just had to get it. Like all of June’s pattern designs, this one really captures the animal’s uniqueness and personality and after seeing a number of other sloth patterns that are available, I have to say that for me, June’s design is light years ahead of the rest in terms of the realistic look captured in her design. The pattern is really easy to follow and June gives very useful tips regarding the placement of the eyes, attaching the limbs etc, to make sure you get the best from your finished sloth. You are a true inspiration June! I am now making a wish list of other pattern purchases from you!

Thanks so much, ladies (and everyone else who leaves a review in my shop); it means the world to me to get this kind of feedback on my designs! I’m sure it also helps other customers to make that all-important decision on whether my patterns are worth buying or not, so please do keep those reviews coming if you’ve enjoyed any of my patterns and would like to share your experience – plus you may even be next month’s contest winner!

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

And now, back to the book…

I’m sure you know by now that you’re very welcome to sell items you crochet from any of my patterns, provided you give me credit as the designer. But did you know that you can also get your online shop added to my PlanetJune Sellers’ List?

Every time I receive a request for a completed item, I point that person to the list at www.planetjune.com/buytoys and suggest they may be able to find what they’re looking for from one of my sellers. It’s far better for me than saying ‘no, I’m afraid I don’t have time to make crocheted items to sell’, better for them, as they may be able to find their dream amigurumi, and better for you, as you may sell a piece you’ve already made, or pick up a new custom commission!

PJ-designed items from some of my fabulous customers – your items could be here too!

Don’t miss out: this is the best time of year for sellers, as pre-Christmas sales are starting to ramp up. If you’d like me to add your shop to the list, please let me know – I hope it’ll help you to pick up some new customers! (The details for signing up are at the bottom of the Sellers’ List page.)

If you’re already on the list, please check your details are still accurate – I’m happy to update them if you’d like to modify your shop details or swap to a new photo…

Tip: If you sell on Etsy, edit your listings to add the tag ‘planetjune’ so they’ll show up when anyone searches for PlanetJune in the handmade category (i.e. they’re not looking for my patterns)! Every additional chance to get your items seen and (hopefully) purchased is worth a try 🙂

This is a companion post to the iDownloads+ tutorial I wrote for iPad users.

Note: Now that tablets are so popular, I intend to convert my shop to use straight PDF files instead of zip files. It’s a big job to figure out how to do that for my 150+ (without losing your old orders from your account), and one I won’t even have a chance to start until well into next year, so zip files it is for the time being!

My patterns are instantly downloadable after purchase, as zip files. Unfortunately, Android tablets and smartphones have no native way to handle zip files, so you need to either download your patterns to your computer first, and then transfer them to your tablet/phone, or use an app that can open zip files for you and extract the PDFs.

There are many app options for Android and they all work in a similar way. I’ll give you a brief tutorial on one I’ve tested that’s free and easy to use, called ZArchiver. This is one (free) way you can download and open zip files from your PlanetJune account directly on your Android device.

(Please note: I can’t provide support for apps, so please don’t ask me if you have questions about this – I’m just providing this information as a service to Android users.)

To view your PlanetJune patterns on your Android device

1. Download ZArchiver from Google Play.
2. In your browser (e.g. Chrome), go to your PlanetJune account and tap the download link for your pattern. Your zip file will be saved into your Download folder.
3. Open ZArchiver and browse to the Download folder. You’ll see your zip file in the list of files in that folder.
   
4. Tap the file name (XXX.zip). A menu will pop up.
5. Tap Extract here and the contents of the zip file will be extracted and saved into your Download folder. You’ll see the pattern PDF.
   
6. From here, you can open the PDF by tapping it in ZArchiver, or however you usually open PDF files. It’ll still be saved in your Download folder when you need to view it again, or you can move it using your usual file management app.

If you’re an Android user, I hope you find this information helpful 🙂

There’s been lots of customization fun with the entries in the Donationware CAL this month – take a look at the roundup below to see all the entries (and don’t forget to keep reading to the end for the October CAL details…)

I’ve now been running my commissions model for 18 months. Thanks to your pledges, I’ve designed 10 lovely new animal patterns so far:

…and everything’s going swimmingly! Or, it would be, if I hadn’t unexpectedly been offered a crochet book deal I couldn’t refuse, a couple of months ago…

My process, whether for writing a new book or developing a new design, is always thorough and meticulous. Everything I do goes through research, planning, testing, refining and editing until I’m satisfied that it’s exactly the way I want it to be, and the best end product I can create. That’s just how I work – it’s time-intensive, and there’s nothing I can do to change that. And while, in an ideal world, I’d take a year or longer to write my book in leisure while continuing PlanetJune business as usual, the reality is that the book has to be completed before the end of 2013.

I can’t not put my best effort into this book (just as I can’t not put my best effort into anything else I do), so I’ve made the difficult decision to suspend the commissions process until January 2014. If you’re paying for a commissioned design, you want 100% June effort going into that design, not whatever dregs of energy I can muster in rare moments when I’m not concentrating on the book! And dregs are all I could offer for the remainder of this year. I’m not willing to do that, and I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t want me to either…

The Plan

• My Commissions Page will remain open for new pledges throughout this time.
• All existing commissioned designs will remain in the waiting list until January. (Nobody has paid for anything they haven’t received, so I’m not breaking any promises – I just hope you’ll be okay with waiting a little longer for your designs to be completed.)
• If you’re unhappy and want to cancel any pledges, just let me know and I’ll do it – no questions asked!
• When I start back to work in the new year, I’ll email all pledgers to check they’re still happy with their pledges before I start sending any invoices.

I’m sorry if this disappoints you (I’m disappointed too), but, unless I figure out a way to clone myself, we’ll all just have to accept that there aren’t enough June hours to go around, and things will take longer than we’d like. Thanks for your understanding…

I am looking forward to picking up the commissions again next year, though – next in line is another African animal (meerkat!) followed by the camel (I’ve already bought real camel yarn for that one), so there’s lots to anticipate for 2014!

Book Report

I’m working hard on my new book, and, although I can’t really show you anything at this stage, I can say that it’s going very well so far:

• My trusty spiral-bound notebook (and my new virtual equivalent, Evernote) are full of my crochet knowledge and tips, ready to be shared with you next year!
• I’ve added to my photography and lighting setup and I’ve created the ultimate crochet tutorial photo studio, so you can expect excellent quality photos in this book (and it’ll make editing photos much easier for me in future too).
• I have a box of beautiful yarn (sneak peek of some of it to the right) waiting for me to crochet it into lovely things. I’ve already crocheted 14 skeins from it into secret projects…

It’s very exciting to see things starting to take shape after all the preparation and planning I’ve done over the past couple of months, but there’s still a long way to go. I’ll be spending all my time for the rest of the year writing, designing, crocheting, photographing – okay, that’s not much different from my usual work, but as I’m not working for myself, I don’t have the luxury of setting my own schedule.

Unlike my self-published work, book deadlines aren’t arbitrary and can’t be pushed back; I’m one cog in a machine that includes editors, designers, indexers, printers and more, and they’ll need time to work their magic after I’ve finished my part in the process. So, for me, everything else will be taking a back seat from now until I complete my author review in December and hand this baby off so the publishing magic can begin…

Review and Win contest

For the first time in the 3.5 years I’ve been running my monthly free pattern contest, there were no reviews left in my shop last month, so that means there’s no winner in the August ‘Review and Win’ contest. That’s good news for you though, because I’ll roll the prize over to this month, so I’ll be drawing 2 winners (of a free pattern of your choice) from the reviews left in the PlanetJune shop in September!

To be entered, just go to the page of the item you wish to review in my shop, click the Reviews tab and click write a review. If you’ve enjoyed any PlanetJune patterns and haven’t yet reviewed them in my shop, this would be a good time to do so… 😉

And now it’s time to play catch-up; I didn’t have time for a monthly update post last month, so I’m drawing the July ‘Review and Win’ winner today. And the winner is… Sarah M, with her review of my AmiDogs Chihuahua pattern:

What a great pattern! This was my first time doing color changes in an amigurumi pattern. Following June’s pattern directions and her online tutorials regarding color changes, it was so easy! Plus, it looks great. The directions on the pattern were very clear and easy to follow. I have made a handful of amigurumi animals before, but I would not consider myself an expert. I felt very confident following this pattern. The finished product looks just like the pictures! I particularly appreciate the detail regarding how to place the legs, tail, head, muzzle, and eyes. With that many pieces, it was nice to not have to debate how and where to attach everything. I also used June’s invisible join method for a superior looking finished dog. Can’t say enough about it!

Thanks, Sarah, and congrats! I’ll email you to find out which pattern you’d like as your prize 🙂

Donationware CAL

The CAL is already in full swing! I think the fact that these patterns are all fast and easy means we’re going to see lots of entries this month, and I’m looking forward to seeing them all. Please join us by making any of these patterns (including my brand new Twisted Chain Bangle):

…and posting your photos in the Donationware CAL Ravelry thread 🙂