♥A new pattern tomorrow...guess the pattern game today♥

Hi everyone :)

I am very excited to announce that I will launch a new pattern on Ravelry tomorrow in the afternoon (South Africa time)...in the meantime, I am holding a mini competition called "Guess the pattern"....
All you have to do is post on the thread here, what your answer is....what do you think this pattern is? The competition ends when the pattern launches...details are on the Heidi Bears Group page...
I will randomly choose three people who guessed correctly, who will each receive a free copy of the pattern...all you have to do is post your answer before launching time...*cough*...er...and guess correctly!)

I have worked very hard on this pattern and really, really hope that you will all love it!

Have a happy day :)
♥Heidi

♥ Heidi Bears Designs Ravelry Group Launch ♥

I have finally launched a Ravelry group for Heidi Bears Designs! In order to celebrate this, I am having a group launch promotion on Ravelry for my patterns...50% off the usual price. The promotion will require you to enter a coupon at the checkout stage (keep a look-out for a small tag icon with the legend "use a coupon code" at the checkout point, and enter the coupon code HEIDIBEARSLOVE, which should automatically deduct 50% from your purchase price! It's a small way for me to share the ♥ with everyone :) The promotion will run from Monday the 7th of January 2013, starting at 19H00 GMT and will end on the 9th of January 2013 at 19H00 GMT....so go and diarise it now folks! :)

I am very excited about the group...I will be launching new patterns, promotions and generally hanging out and living the yarn addiction life with all of you...

I have been working hard on several new designs, that will be rolled out over the next few months...today I spent some time dyeing a specific color set for one of the designs...here is a pic...can you guess from the colors what it will be? (Hint*: this little person can be found lazing about in parts of Africa...)

 

The yarn is a wonderful squishy, soft 100% superwash merino in a DK weight...it's my favorite yarn at the moment to knit with...

 

The reddish pink color is for a different design, and will be used most likely for shoes :)

  

It's a beautiful day here at the coast today and perfect weather for knitting and spending the last days of our holiday with family...

What are you knitting at the moment? 

♥

Knitter's Basic Design Template

I recently joined a Design Challenge on one of the groups on Ravelry.

The challenge was open to any type of design, the requirements being that it must be written up and made available to the other members of the Design Challenge.
It was a great experience and made me approach the whole design process in a very different way from the usual of messing about randomly with sticks and string :)

I am sure that deep down in all of our little knitter's hearts there lurks a budding designer that wishes for nothing more than being able to abandon the day job and spend all day doing happy things with yarn and color and adorable, magic handmade needles :) Of course the reality is such that designers have a tough time making a good living from their designs and mostly work hard to keep the yarn wolves at bay. However, whether you want to quit the nagging boss or buy the OOAK handspun mink eyelash yarn, there is really nothing to lose in designing a pattern or two and putting them up on Ravelry or Etsy or Craftsy or any of a host of other sites...after all folks, habits need feeding....so give it a try and see...you may find hidden talents you never knew you had :)

Although the design process may seem hugely daunting, all you really need to do is follow logical steps through a basic process....Sure, you may say, easy for you to say that but where the heck do I start and what if it doesn't work out, and what if no-one likes the design and what will I design and where will I get ideas from and what if tomorrow the sky falls on our heads...and...and...and...

With this understandable first time designer's angst that I want you to squash like a bug in a rug, I have put together a basic * design template that I use to go through to develop a design...this is my process, not necessarily the only/best/perfect etc, but works for me and is adaptable to different types of designs...you can download it , save it and use it for every new design you have that wants to burst it's way out of your imagination!

There are so many resources available to new designers, and so many groups on Ravelry that there is always someone willing to help and guide and troubleshoot or give tips and advice, that the only risk you run of trying is that it may become impossible for you to stop after your first design :)

I am in the process of designing several new animals for my menagerie and have found that the basic template allows for less schlepp in making sure you have covered all your bases. 

In future posts i will chat about some of the steps in the process of designing something relatively simple, perhaps a pair of fingerless mittens, a pair of socks, a simple shawl...something do-able and useable...

Do you want to be a designer? Have you designed knitting/crochet patterns? How have you approached the process? What would you like to know about designing?

Sleep tight folks!
♥

Design Template

No New year's resolutions methinks....

...and so a New Year is upon us...

Quite something folks...we are indeed living in historic times. After all the Mayan apocalypse hysterics, it seems we are to still trudge through the same-as-usual New Year's resolutions quicksand...I can safely say that my enthusiastically envisioned resolutions for 2012 died a quick and (in retrospect) merciful death...
It feels like a lifetime ago that I posted about the great plans I had to do more of this, and more of that, and even get this and the next thing done during 2012...hmmmm...



This year I will not make any New Years Resolutions...instead I think I will try to make an effort to achieve ONE thing a week...a DO-ABLE thing, something non-earth shattering that may be good for me/my family/others...something possibly unnecessary, but if achieved, very satisfying.
Life is so full of surprises and so unpredictable, that achieving even small things could be a big win :)

Are you planning New Years Resolutions? What do you think will make you achieve them?

Perhaps my goal for this week is to finish writing up a pattern I have been working on...a cute and fun knit...

Whatever your take on resolutions, I wish all my blog readers a healthy, blessed and calm 2013...

♥

Happy Valentines...and a Hearty Hexagon Pattern

♥♥♥♥♥Happy Valentines Day for tomorrow!♥♥♥♥♥

I have spent the weekend working on my Hearty Hexagon Pattern, hoping to have it ready for Valentine's Day, and happily, here it is! I must say, that when you have read a pattern a thousand times, and the words and symbols start blurring into a mass of scattered lines, then you need to have a break and step back...so please folks, if you buy the pattern and find a mistake, or typos or generally any things that aren't clear, please let me know... :)

Here is the link if you would like to buy a pattern:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-hearty-hexagon-crochet-motif

I spent weeks trying to find a design that makes a clean, clear hexagon shape without any distorted features or edges. I have a hundred half crocheted hearty bits lying around...my house looks like someone yarn bombed it :)

I hope you all have a Happy Day tomorrow, and get spoiled and appreciated by your loved ones :)

♥Heidi

Versatile Blogger Award

So today I opened my gmail and saw an email from Helen over at 26 minutes Past. She has awarded me a Versatile Blogger Award! Thank you Helen! Until now, I had never heard of this, being suspended in space between work and wanna-work stuff (I seriously need to get out more folks...), so it came as a happy surprise :)

There are rules to abide by when accepting a Versatile Blogger Award, and they are as follows:

1. Add the award to your blog
2. Thank the blogger who gave it to you.
3. Mention 7 random things about yourself.
4. List the rules.
5. Give the award to 15 bloggers.
6. Inform each of those 15 bloggers by leaving a comment on their blog .

Okkkkkkaaayyyyyy...so.....

Random thing No 1.

I LOVE almonds! Yes, l♥ve them...I will eat an almond every-time if given the choice between them and other nuts...

Random thing No 2.
Believe it or not ...one of my middle names is St John!

Random thing No 3.
I once had a total stranger ask me if I would be willing to do a photo shoot, of JUST my hair (it was for hair products).... (I said no...)

Random thing No 4.
I used to be quite involved with a form of hand to hand combat and self defence, called Kalah (loosely based on what the Israeli special forces use...). I don't have the time for it nowadays...

Random thing No 5.
I have an incredibly strong sense of smell, and become quite overwhelmed if anywhere near smokers or in a place where there are potent smells...

Random thing No 6.
I am totally, utterly, irrevocably creeped out by Parktown Prawns... they are like the spawn of hell...it's also almost impossible to kill the gross things! They jump at you and poop a black pooey substance...

Random thing No 7.
I am the very definition of easily bored...I have to do ten things at once (mind you...enjoyable things, like knitting, crochet, painting etc, not the daily grind stuff...)

Righteeeoooo! Time to nominate the 15 Versatile Bloggers!

The Adventure Blog
A Sonoma Garden
Natural Suburbia
Do you mind if I knit?
AC Engineered Knits
Little Cotton Rabbits
Colourspun
Petitefee
Haken en Meer
Vignette Design
The Inspired Room
Untangling Knots
Le Monde De Sucrette
Adventure Journal
The Cottage Home

All of these blogs are an inspiration! Go and check them out :)

On another note: the last few weeks have been bad for blogging...I just have too many distractions and happenings at the moment. I hope to have a surprise release for Valentine's Day...see you all soooooonnnnnn..........

Have a great evening folks!
♥Heidi