It was a dark and stormy night
It definitely looks to be shaping up to be a dark and stormy night. With the clouds rolling in and the Daylight Savings change, it is already pitch dark outside. Great for the Halloweeen mood, not so great for the trick or treaters. Guess that will probably mean lots of leftover candy to bring into the office tomorrow. The wind is starting to whip up the trees and I can hear the rain start to hit on the window. Thunder booms in the distance. Yay Thunder! Good thing my raincoat is still in the car since I have to run to the Post Office and the grocery store.
In stitching news, I think I'm suffering from inspiration overload. I have too many things I want to work on! I need a faster way to download them from my brain and get them out on paper. Of course, the translation from brain to paper could use some work, too, as things sometimes don't always come out the way I visualize. Ok, here's the plan (caution: Engineer at work): step 1) make sketches, so ideas are not lost 2) prioritize ideas (I'd like to have some small pieces for Nashville, then there's the time to fill for spring, then summer). 3) Work on bigger sketches of top priority pieces. 4) Don't forget to breathe in all the excitement. Whew. Ok, things can get done, we'll just forget about the laundy and buy new underwear when needed. Just kidding.
Actually I went this weekend into a (shh, don't tell anyone) scrapbooking store. Now, I admit, I do take time out from stitching to do scrapbooking on occasion, but it usually has to be an organized event - I don't just take my stuff out at home, unless I'm working on something special (Mental note to self - have just over one year for next special project). But after my trip to the quilt show, I was looking for cool, neat stuff that could cross from one craft industry to another. And I have some ideas that I hope to bring to fruition this summer. We'll see what happens. This is all very hush hush right now. I hope you understand.
I think I need to teach my cat to model stitch. After all, she just sits there on the couch while I'm working. Just think of the things that she could accomplish! I guess I should be thankful that she doesn't actually get into my stitching stuff.
Freebies are all the big broo-hah-hah right now in a couple of the designer groups. There are lots of differing opinions about freebies. One is that freebies on the web are bad in general, because some people just trade freebies and never buy designs, so having freebies just feeds that cycle. Another is that freebies devalue cross-stitch as an art form because the designer is giving it away and not charging for it. On the other hand, sometimes it seems that shop owners and consumers seem to expect designers to provide freebies (especially at trade shows). I think freebies can serve a purpose: they can expose stitchers to a designer's style, especially if that designer's style is outside the norm. I don't think that they devalue the art of cross-stitch by being free - I can go and look at art in some galleries or online for free, does that devalue the art of painting? I will probably continue to provide freebies through shops and the occasional online freebie (wait, that's complementary design). Especially since my design style is a bit different - lots of fractionals for the dragons, and a bit non-traditional subject matter with the fine art cats. Freebies do take time to design, stitch and develop, though, so there has to be a return on the investment. For now, for me, it is enough that they get people talking about my designs and mentioning my company name. Even if they often go looking for Cross Eyed Cat instead of Cross Eyed Kat. :)
In stitching news, I think I'm suffering from inspiration overload. I have too many things I want to work on! I need a faster way to download them from my brain and get them out on paper. Of course, the translation from brain to paper could use some work, too, as things sometimes don't always come out the way I visualize. Ok, here's the plan (caution: Engineer at work): step 1) make sketches, so ideas are not lost 2) prioritize ideas (I'd like to have some small pieces for Nashville, then there's the time to fill for spring, then summer). 3) Work on bigger sketches of top priority pieces. 4) Don't forget to breathe in all the excitement. Whew. Ok, things can get done, we'll just forget about the laundy and buy new underwear when needed. Just kidding.
Actually I went this weekend into a (shh, don't tell anyone) scrapbooking store. Now, I admit, I do take time out from stitching to do scrapbooking on occasion, but it usually has to be an organized event - I don't just take my stuff out at home, unless I'm working on something special (Mental note to self - have just over one year for next special project). But after my trip to the quilt show, I was looking for cool, neat stuff that could cross from one craft industry to another. And I have some ideas that I hope to bring to fruition this summer. We'll see what happens. This is all very hush hush right now. I hope you understand.
I think I need to teach my cat to model stitch. After all, she just sits there on the couch while I'm working. Just think of the things that she could accomplish! I guess I should be thankful that she doesn't actually get into my stitching stuff.
Freebies are all the big broo-hah-hah right now in a couple of the designer groups. There are lots of differing opinions about freebies. One is that freebies on the web are bad in general, because some people just trade freebies and never buy designs, so having freebies just feeds that cycle. Another is that freebies devalue cross-stitch as an art form because the designer is giving it away and not charging for it. On the other hand, sometimes it seems that shop owners and consumers seem to expect designers to provide freebies (especially at trade shows). I think freebies can serve a purpose: they can expose stitchers to a designer's style, especially if that designer's style is outside the norm. I don't think that they devalue the art of cross-stitch by being free - I can go and look at art in some galleries or online for free, does that devalue the art of painting? I will probably continue to provide freebies through shops and the occasional online freebie (wait, that's complementary design). Especially since my design style is a bit different - lots of fractionals for the dragons, and a bit non-traditional subject matter with the fine art cats. Freebies do take time to design, stitch and develop, though, so there has to be a return on the investment. For now, for me, it is enough that they get people talking about my designs and mentioning my company name. Even if they often go looking for Cross Eyed Cat instead of Cross Eyed Kat. :)
posted by crosseyedkat at 4:16 PM
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1 Comments:
LOL You're such an engineer! I list out steps like that myself for pretty much everything. Even my Christmas baking. Must be in the engineering genes ;)
Freebies... I can see both sides of that issue - even though I'm not a designer. I'll admit that as someone on a restricted budget, I truly appreciate freebies from a financial standpoint. But on the other hand, I also know how many new designers I've added to my collection (i.e. bought their designs to add to my stash) because I saw their free/complimentary designs. I don't know if they're as necessary as they used to be *before* the Internet. Now, if you're a member of a board, etc., you are exposed to designers through pictures of fellow stitchers finishes, etc.
One designer that uses them in an interesting form is actually Victoria Sampler - she appears to take small aspects of some of ther designs, and uses them as freebies. So it's like a small taste of one of the designs. I'm not sure if that's good from a designer point of view or not.
I'd imagine they're alot of work for designers to put together, and the ultimate in frustration when you see people trading/selling/photocopying etc. them when the idea was to draw them to YOUR site and YOUR designs.
No win situation I guess.
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