Friday, January 7, 2011

Two Things

Yep. I have two things I want to talk about today and I could work hard to try to connect them and actually it wouldn't be that hard, but I'm just going to lay them both out there.
Thing #1 :
I get the weekly Sew Daily email newsletter from Stitch magazine. I imagine the newsletter will eventually be a daily occurrence, otherwise what's the deal with calling it Sew Daily? Anyway, today they announced that Interweave Press, publisher of Stitch, Quilting Arts, Interweave Knits and Crochet as well as little ole me, is launching the Sew Daily Pattern Store. This store allows you to purchase patterns that have been featured in past issues of Stitch magazine...one at a time. That means you don't necessarily have to buy an entire back issue if you just want one pattern. Also, the patterns are downloadable, so it's instant gratification, baby!
In the interest of full disclosure, I will note that because I've been lucky enough to be published in Stitch several times, my patterns along with a bunch of others are for sale in the pattern store and I do earn a royalty from those patterns. But, you know what, that's not why I'm excited about this. I said this a week or so ago, knitters have had downloadable, instant patterns and a site(Ravelry) to share and compare those patterns for a while. Sewers of the world, it's our turn now! The world of downloadable sewing patterns is beginning to emerge and I think this pattern store is part of that.  I read the other day that C&T publishing is planning to launch a site called Patternspot which they're describing as, "a downloadable pattern marketplace." Now, I think we need a Ravelry-like site to bring all this together. A place for sewers to share their creations, link to their downloadable patterns, and create community.
I feel pretty passionately about this, so I'm jazzed about this new pattern store because it's a step in this direction.

Thing #2 :
This is perhaps loosely linked to thing #1 because it is sewn and it is a unique design and I may write up the pattern and offer it for sale over the intewebs, but it's also a totally separate thing so I'm giving it its own heading. That's a lot of build-up for this:
I altered the standard way I make my Patches Camera Straps based on a customer's requests and I think her suggestions are brilliant. She wanted a strap that could be worn across the hips as well as around the neck. That was simple enough to accommodate, but it was her other specifications that I've fallen in love with.
  She also wanted a pocket in the strap to hold the lens cap. Wow, so simple, yet really handy. If I'm shooting pictures and wearing something without pockets, I honestly don't know what to do with my lens cap.
 And she asked for a couple of pockets on the strap to hold extra memory cards. I love these additions.
To accommodate the lens cap I did make the strap 1/2" wider and had to redesign the end pieces that connect to the adjustable straps. I also lengthened the adjustable part of the strap to 18" so she can wear the camera as she chooses. All in all, I think these are terrific modifications and I can't wait to make one for myself...strictly for testing purposes of course.

14 comments:

nichole said...

that lens cap idea is brilliant! i'm always sticking mine in my jeans pocket and it doesn't always stay put when i'm climbing around taking pics. i love this!

Unknown said...

A lens cap pocket is a fabulous idea! I'll be on the lookout for Patternspot - I really wish Ravelry would license their backend for other sites to use, it is just so fabulous...

Marty Mason said...

Brillant ideas - kudos to both you and your customer for this perfect camera strap design. Now, Malka, a pattern would be nice!

Frogdancer said...

http://www.mysewingcircle.com

Ravelry for sewing people.

momto2wasd said...

I think downloadable sewing patterns are not as great as knitting patterns. I really don't enjoy taping together big pieces to make a pattern. It takes a lot of time and quite a bit of paper, so I'd rather buy a paper pattern. I think it works great for a lot of quilting patterns that are mostly just instructions, or even garments for small children though. Maybe that's why it hasn't caught on as well?

Neat idea for the camera lens cap!!

mek said...

Yes! Where is the quilter/crafter/sewer Ravelry?

Poppyprint said...

INteresting! My problem with downloadable sewing patterns is that I've downloaded 13 of them and only made one. Obviously I don't get around to printing them for use...and that one I did print, well it took me ages to figure out the correct sizing b/c my printer driver was determined to 'autosize' and kept reducing the template pages! Anyone else have this problem?

Unknown said...

I second the vote for mysewingcircle.com ! Very much like rav for sewing.

adnohr said...

Have you checked out mysewingcircle.com? It's early days, but if enough people get on there it could snowball like ravelry.
Love the lens cover pocket. I've bought the hardware to make one for myself but am still designing in my head. Lens cap pocket, remote pocket, and memory card pockets. I'm still trying to figure out the lens cap since my 50mm lens cap is a lot smaller than my big telephoto. Elastic maybe?

Nancy said...

I have to comment on your post from a couple days ago, about Josef and Anni Albers. You mentioned you didn't know how much cuddling they did, I found this related tidbit and thought you might appreciate it: When this handsome pair weren’t kissing—many archival photos show them in spontaneous embrace—.... Looks like you were onto something! It was found as part of this article: http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/architecture/reviews/10101/
I remembered studying Josef in college design courses and had to re-visit his work. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

Alice R. said...

Great idea for the camera strap BUT please consider that you may want to offer two versions of your strap pattern. I read your post going great, with a strap that holds my memory cards, thats all I need, but I have a point and shoot, and so have hesitated because I worried about the strap being too large already. It's a pretty sophisticated camera, so I need a real strap, but I'm trying to stay compact. Maybe two patterns in two sizes will be marketable.

Rachel at Stitched in Color said...

Hm... interesting points of view in these comments. I've never bought a downloadable pattern, so I don't know!

I do know that I love that quilt in your header!

susan said...

Not sure this is really on topic, but....I got your new book today. I already had the batik one which I love! Grat work and keep it up. I have literally thousands of yards of fabric...30 or 40 years accumilation of an old fabric whore. my so thinks i shouldnt buy any more and just use what i have. i really try and do this but sometimes you need just that one piece to complete the project. i am on way down tothe basement to load up the gammil to quilt a kingsize quilt for our bed with a beautiful wool batt i got from Dream Cotton...all in one piece. keep up the good work.

Kristine said...

I love the idea of patternspot. Will be watching that one for sure.