More patterns in print

To clarify: no, I have not struck a business deal with a commercial printer to get my patterns sent to the far corners of the world. I mean that I am incrementally making hardcopies of my thus-far-only digital patterns. I have no idea why I didn't think to do this years ago. Maybe it never crossed my mind that something in softcopy might be nice to have in some concrete, tangible form.  Or maybe it did, but after running some calculations and balking at how much it would cost to actually print full-color books, I decided to deprioritize it till later. 

Well, later finally arrived. Last year, I sifted through countless printing companies insisting on minimums of 1000 copies and found one willing to make single prints. Hurrah! I uploaded a few files as a test-run of sorts, and was very pleased with how they turned out. You can read about that here.

The impetus for finally getting all this printing done was Menagerie. So, as I've been saying for who knows how long, I'm in the (very slow but sure) process of writing Menagerie 2. In contrast to the original Menagerie which I wrote in a few months in 2015, the sequel is taking years. Partly because my life is - surprisingly - so much busier with teenagers than I ever was with preschoolers and elementary kids, but also because the animals of Menagerie 2 are exponentially more complex and ambitious than the ones in the first installment. 

Giraffe, for Menagerie 2

Whale, for Menagerie 2

Unicorn, for Menagerie 2

As I documented each new animal and its instructions, I referred constantly to the original Menagerie pattern in order to keep the terminology consistent. It got to the point where I was opening the digital file so frequently that I realized how ridiculous it was to be speed-scrolling between pages 1 and 87 or toggling between tabs. What I needed was a printed book on the desk beside me as I worked on the computer, whose pages I could flip, preferably spiral bound so it would lay flat or folded behind itself. That was the motivation for the hardcopy version. And then, since I had committed to printing one pattern, why not throw in a few more?

This year, I sent a few more patterns to the printers. I suppose I could've printed all of them in one go, but it would've been a splurge, so I figured I'd pace myself and do just a few each year. The goal is by the time Menagerie 2 is finished, all the others will have been turned into hardcopy, too. This is the haul so far: nine, which is not quite halfway through the whole collection, but in time, we'll get there.

And now, I'm packing kits for the upcoming workshop. It's a ton of work but unexpectedly fun cutting out all these multicolored shapes. The floor of our basement living room was a riot of color and fleece scraps all last week. 

And besides, assembling kits is always hugely entertaining. All those little pieces and components that get to be organized in self-contained sets!

I get excited anticipating the participants' relief that they don't have to cut stuff out themselves and can instead jump right into the sewing and constructing.

Hope you guys are doing well. November can be gloomy here in Minnesota - it has none of the crisp brightness of October nor the magic of December and its sometimes pretty and well-timed snowfalls. Sandwiched between two far superior months, November can kinda be a downer, so I hope you're able to get some sunshine and fresh air, maybe even a fun creative project or two to spike those endorphins! Take good care of yourselves, friends!