My PlanetJune story started as a very spontaneous idea but it turned into a long-term project. In November 2012 I learnt about an art contest for 10-12 year olds at the Polish Geological Institute – National Research Institute. The semi-finals were to be held in the Marine Geology Branch in Gdansk in May 2013.

Official logo of the contest “The predatory face of the Earth”

Some of the award-winning artwork from the contest

I’ve known and seen myself as a part of the Institute since I was a kid – my mother has worked there for as long as I can remember, I helped out there on several occasions during my studies, and I’m a huge fan of their Geological Museum in Warsaw.

As the subject of the contest was “The predatory face of the Earth” (Polish: “Drapiezne oblicza Ziemi”), I instantly thought about June’s dinosaurs making a superb addition and an extra prize for the winners. All I crocheted between November 2012 and April 2013 was dinosaurs – I ended up making 30 of them, and luckily this was enough for all the kids whose stunning artwork was awarded. Phew!

Thirty dinosaurs made by petrOlly as additional prizes for the contest

The thirty dinosaurs

Each dinosaur included a note with facts about it

Each dinosaur included a note with facts about it

Although I wasn’t there in person for the ceremony, it was a very exciting day for me as well

Vice-director of the Marine Geology Branch and the dinosaurs minutes before ceremony

The auditorium was full – a total of 780 entries were received, including 658 pieces of art!

Later that day I talked on the phone with co-workers at the Institute in Gdansk and they told me all about the ceremony. My dinosaurs were a huge hit! People (mostly adults – the kids’ teachers) were asking where they could buy more of the toys as they would like a whole set for the school. And – what was most important for me – the kids loved the dinos as well.

Contestants from a school in Elblag and their teacher asking the director of the Marine Geology Branch questions about the dinosaurs / More artwork awarded in the contest

One story touched me especially: a boy came to collect the prize his friend won, and he was sad, as he would have to give the dinosaur away. Luckily, there was one last dino left and he got his own toy, which he received with tears in his eyes.

Listening to this story gave me the most rewarding feeling. I could never have hoped my work would be appreciated that much. For that I have two people to thank: my mother, who taught me how to crochet, and June, for the awesome patterns.

I hope that – if I ever participate in an event like this again – I will be able to make it to the award ceremony

Participants and the co-workers of the Institute in the foyer after the ceremony – notice the great work from previous contests hanging on the walls

Winners and participants after the award ceremony in front of the Institute’s building in Gdansk

You can see all of the award-winning artwork here (PDF file, 12.6MB) and more photos from the award ceremony here.

(Back to me, June, again!) I love this story on so many levels – not only seeing my designs being enjoyed by petrOlly while she crocheted them and then by the award-winning children, but also that my work is somehow helping in some small way with education, and the children are learning and being encouraged to express that through creativity. Thank you, Aleksandra, for your generosity in giving away all your beautiful dinosaurs, and for sharing such a lovely account of the contest with us today Please leave petrOlly a comment if you’ve enjoyed this post!

Do you have a PlanetJune Story you’d like to share? I’d love to hear it! Please email your story to june@planetjune.com, together with one or more high quality photos showing what you’ve made from PlanetJune patterns. If I choose your story to feature here on the blog, I’ll send you your choice of pattern from my shop to say thank you!

And if petrOlly’s lovely work has inspired you to crochet some dinosaurs too, please join the Reptiles & Amphibians CAL - it runs for another month so you have plenty of time to make some lovely dinos of your own

You’ll find all these patterns here!

Ribbit, ribbit…

I made my frog in a bright golden yellow to match the beautiful Golden Mantella frog from Madagascar, but, of course, you can make frogs in just about any colour. You can also mix and match between the original Poison Dart Frog and this Expansion Pack, to make a singing Poison Dart Frog, or a non-singing single-coloured frog.

What is an Expansion Pack?

• An Expansion Pack is an add-on to an existing PlanetJune pattern.
• The Expansion Pack lets you modify or add to the original pattern to create something else.
• You cannot use the Expansion Pack alone – you must also purchase the original pattern in order to be able to complete the pictured items in the Expansion Pack pattern.

You can buy the Singing Frog Expansion Pack for only $2.50 individually from the shop, or, if you haven’t yet bought the Poison Dart Frog pattern, you can select it as an add-on to that pattern before you add it to your shopping cart, and save 50c on the pair.

Launch Discount

If you’ve already bought the Poison Dart Frog, you won’t be able to save that 50c. But, for 7 days only, add the Singing Frog Expansion Pack pattern to your shopping cart, together with anything else (totalling $5 or more), then use the code FROGLOVE at checkout and you’ll still get your discount! (Valid until next Thursday: 20th June 2013.)

Note: If you don’t need anything else right now, this also applies to Gift Certificate purchases, so you can pick up a $5 gift certificate now, get your discount, and have $5 in your PlanetJune account ready for your next purchase, or to send to a crocheting friend!

Pattern Re-releases: Gecko & Poison Dart Frog

I’m updating my entire back catalogue of patterns with extra information and tips and a new space-saving layout, and re-releasing them in batches as they are ready. Please see the Pattern Re-Release FAQ for more information.

Reptiles & Amphibians: now you can crochet a singing frog for this CAL too!

I realised that only 2 of the 23 patterns in the Reptiles & Amphibians CAL hadn’t yet been updated, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to rectify that. If you’ve previously purchased the Gecko and/or Poison Dart Frog pattern(s), the update(s) are now ready for you to download in the new format!

Log back into your PlanetJune account at any time in the next 2 weeks and you’ll see the download buttons for these pattern purchases have been re-enabled, so you can click and download the new versions.

I hope you’ll be tempted to join the crochet-along, if you weren’t already… Happy reptile- and amphibian-making!

PS – Yay! It feels so great to be back in action

Year 7 Review

This year has been all go, but since November my focus has been split by health problems, home problems (power outages, no internet service, water leak, being robbed) and immigration problems. These have consumed me for the past few months, but, hopefully, today is the turning point for all that

With all this clouding my mind, it’s hard to see what I’ve actually achieved with PlanetJune, so I’ve glanced back through my archives to remind myself. Surprisingly, despite everything, I managed to design and publish 24 new crochet patterns in Year 7 (exactly the same number as in Year 6):

That makes me feel pretty good! And I have over a dozen more designs in progress, so the coming few months should see many more pattern releases

I’ve also begun a project to reformat and re-publish all my older patterns, to add additional information and clarifications, and to save space and improve the layout. This requires concentration and meticulous checking to ensure I don’t introduce new errors into the new versions, so I’ve only been able to re-release 41 out of 124 patterns so far. It’s a huge project – I’m only 1/3 through it! – but I’m slowly working my way through the rest. It’s well worth doing though, so all my patterns will be standardised.

Goal Review

My Year 7 goal was to work on strategies to beat the overwhelming feeling of an ever-growing business with only one employee (me!) to do all the work:

I’m working on implementing [strategies] to make the ever-growing PlanetJune more sustainable with less work on my part: automating, prioritising, and re-energising.

Automating my business is still moving forward, albeit very slowly. Luckily my business growth has slowed to a more manageable level while I’ve been distracted, so I’m not completely overwhelmed, and the changes I’ve already made are keeping things in check.

Prioritising (and re-prioritising to account for unexpected incidents) has been critical in getting through the past months. My decisions are always based on keeping my standards high, which means I’ve been shifting due dates forward and planning for projects that I know I won’t even be able to begin until 2014! But there are no shortcuts to producing quality work: better to do it beautifully later than to produce something junky now.

Re-energising has obviously been a big fail over the past 6 months, but one I hope to make up for now – I’ll have more time to knit sweaters for relaxation and we’re planning some new wildlife-related adventures – yay!

What’s Next?

Now I should have more time again, so, once I’ve rested and got my health back, I want to get back up to speed and pick up all the PlanetJune projects I’ve had to abandon recently. Last year, I said:

Yes, I am slightly overworked right now because I’m in the midst of building all my new systems, but that won’t last forever and then I’ll have the payoff: being able to concentrate on the work I really enjoy: creating, innovating, and explaining crochet techniques. I can’t wait!

…and I still feel exactly the same way! I’ll get my new systems finished and the pattern updates completed, but I don’t want to set a time limit. I’ll work for as long as it takes to get everything finished without burning myself out in the process – I’ve had enough of being worn out!

After all the non-work-related stresses of the past few months, though, my work is going to feel like a holiday – I love PlanetJune and I’m very excited to get back to it

To You…

I’ve made some wonderful friends through these past 7 years of craft blogging – some have been my compatriots from the very beginning, and others I’ve only connected with recently; some have become my treasured customers, and others support me with comments and emails. Our global online craft community is a very special environment and I’m grateful to be part of such a kind, generous group of people.

Thank you for accompanying me on my continuing PlanetJune adventure!

I’m not telling you my current woe-is-me story to ask for sympathy (not that it wouldn’t be welcome!) but to explain what’s going on with PlanetJune, why I’m so quiet lately, why I’ve fallen behind with my design commissions, and why the situation should be improving very soon!

Last week, we suffered a burst pipe leaking through an electrical outlet at home, which threw off my plans for the whole week while the house was filled with first water (well, a flooded kitchen) and then plumbers and electricians, and we had no hot water, shower or stove for the best part of a week.

This couldn’t have come at a worse time, as I now have only one week left on my visa and it’s going to be a mad scramble for the finish to apply for the new one in time. All this stress and worry is affecting me badly, with crippling tension headaches, eczema, and insomnia.

My Red Panda design was actually finished a couple of weeks ago, but I can’t muster the focus I need to complete the pattern to the PlanetJune level of detail and clarity, so the only option I have is to delay – a sub-standard pattern is not an option!

I’ve decided to stop trying to work on the Red Panda until the immigration stuff is out of the way – the added pressure just makes me feel even worse, and I’m really not making any progress on the pattern. Instead, I’m working on several simpler patterns, and making gradual progress on some longer-term design ideas, so there will be more good stuff coming

And, once the visa applications are in, I won’t have to do anything else except wait, so I should be able to rest and rejuvenate very soon and then get back to business as usual – and a lovely Red Panda pattern! In the meantime, thank you so much for your continued patience.

Review and Win contest

May’s ‘Review and Win’ winner is Kathryn P, with her review of my Baby Cephalopods:

I love how quick these work up! I made all four in an evening while watching tv, and they are so cute! Patterns are straightforward and do not require sewing together a crazy number of pieces, plus the end product is cute and realistic. I definitely recommend this set!

Congrats, Kathryn – I’ll email you to find out which pattern you’d like as your prize

Reptiles & Amphibians CAL

The June CAL is an extended 6-week CAL to take us through to mid-July and give you plenty of time to complete one or more patterns. The Reptiles & Amphibians theme includes all my dinosaur, lizard, turtle and frog designs:

For easy browsing, you can find all these patterns in one place in my shop by clicking this special link: all PlanetJune Reptile & Amphibian patterns.

Please join us in the PlanetJune group on Ravelry for this 6-week CAL – I think it’s going to be a colourful one!

Now, roundup time! (And don’t forget to keep reading to the end for the June CAL details…)

This photo gallery is randomly ordered. For speed, I just give credit with participants’ Ravelry usernames.

Swaentje & Luna1130

samarara & aaBrink

DreamerAdri & MagicalAmigurumi

Swaentje & abjCrochet

CrochetChrisie & petrOlly

MagicalAmigurumi & Fatals-attraction

Swaentje & CranberryAmi

Fatals-attraction & Fatals-attraction

CranberryAmi & petrOlly

MagicalAmigurumi & klopferli

MagicalAmigurumi & petrOlly

petrOlly & klopferli

Luna1130 & abjCrochet

sujavo & petrOlly

aaBrink & MagicalAmigurumi

klopferli & klopferli

aaBrink & PixyKayte & Swaentje

Fatals-attraction & NinnysNiftys & MagicalAmigurumi

Lovely work, everyone – I think this is the prettiest roundup ever! Seeing them all together makes me want to design some new plant patterns

Reptiles & Amphibians CAL

As we’re heading into summer (for most of you) and people have less time and inclination to crochet, the June CAL is an extended 6-week CAL to take us through to mid-July. The Reptiles & Amphibians theme includes all my dinosaur, lizard, turtle and frog (the sole amphibian!) designs:

For easy browsing, you can find all these patterns in one place in my shop by clicking this special link: all PlanetJune Reptile & Amphibian patterns. If any of these designs take your fancy, I hope you’ll join us in the PlanetJune group on Ravelry and crochet-along with us for this CAL!

Continuing with my pattern re-release project, all the old-style AquaAmi crochet patterns have been reformatted, and any of these patterns you’ve previously purchased are now ready for you to download in the new format!

Log back into your PlanetJune account at any time in the next 2 weeks and you’ll see the download buttons for all your past AquaAmi pattern purchases have been re-enabled, so you can click and download the new versions.

Here are the patterns and sets included in this batch:

• Dolphin
• Sea Lion
• Beluga Whales
• Sea Turtle
• Polar Bear
• Emperor Penguin
• Baby Emperor Penguin

and the multipacks AquaAmi Set 1 and Emperor Penguin Family.

N.B. The 2013 AquaAmi releases (Baby Cephalopods 1 & 2 and Orca/Killer Whale) were published in the new style, so those patterns haven’t been re-enabled in your PJ account as they are unchanged.

If you have any questions about the pattern reformat project, or you received the patterns through a different mechanism (and so don’t have an order for them in the PlanetJune shop) but you’d still like the new versions, check the Pattern Re-Release FAQ for more information. I’ll keep the FAQ updated throughout this project and add any further questions that arise.

Tension is created by balancing the forward pull on the yarn from the hook (right) with the backward pull of your other hand on the yarn (left). Consistent tension keeps all your stitches the same size (middle).

Chains and slip stitches are different, though, because each stitch consists of only one loop. If you maintain the same tension as you use for single crocheting amigurumi, as well as tightening the stitch you’re forming, you’ll pull on the previous stitch and make that stitch much smaller and very difficult to work back into.

If you learnt to crochet the traditional way (working in rows to make scarves, afghans, etc) and then progressed to amigurumi, you’ll be familiar with making your starting chain loosely so you can easily work back into it (you can also achieve this by using a larger crochet hook, just for the foundation). But if you began your crocheting adventures with amigurumi, you may never have even made a starting chain foundation!

Problem: Too-Tight Stitches

In the examples of chains and slip stitches below, the ‘too tight’ photos show the results of using the same tension I use for single crocheting amigurumi, while the ‘just right’ photos show how your chains and slip stitches should look:

Chains:

Each example has 6 chains. The difference may not be clear for each stitch individually, but notice how short the overall length of the tight chain (left) is compared with the correct chain (right).

Slip stitches:

Each example has 4 slip stitches. In the tight example (top), the sideways Vs along the top of each stitch are noticeably smaller and stretched more tightly than in the surrounding sc stitches. In the correct example (bottom), the Vs of the 4 sl sts are indistinguishable from those of the surrounding sc stitches.

Not only do these stitches not match the rest of my work visually, but they are very difficult, or even impossible, to work back into: the loops are smaller than the head of my hook and there’s no slack in the yarn. Here I’ll try to work back into the slip stitched examples:

I can’t work back into the left slip stitches without a serious struggle! The right slip stitches are almost as easy to work into as a normal sc stitch.

Solution: Reduce Tension

The goal with chains and slip stitches is to have the sideways V shape of each stitch be exactly the same size as the sideways V along the top of a single crochet stitch (see the ‘just right’ examples above). That requires relaxing your tension considerably and may feel strange and wrong if you’re only used to tight amigurumi control. Here are some tips to practice:

• Slow down and pay attention to your stitches when you make a chain or slip stitch.
• As you form each stitch, don’t tug on the yarn with your hook; draw it through smoothly.
• Check the size of your stitch by comparing it with the Vs at the top of your sc stitches.
• Only draw the yarn back with your non-hook hand if the working loop looks too large; it should sit loosely on the throat of the hook so the hook can move freely within the loop.

Once you get used to it, chaining with low tension should become easy – it just takes a little practice to make your chains evenly sized. Slip stitching with low tension is slightly trickier when you’re used to amigurumi: the stitches are so similar to single crochet stitches that I still have to remind myself with every slip stitch to keep it loose, so my stitches don’t shrink and tighten.

If you’d like to practice these stitches, here are a couple of examples from my amigurumi pattern collection that make great use of chains and slip stitches:

These patterns use chains (Baby Cephalopods, left) and slip stitches (Magic Lamp, right).

With this low tension technique, you’ll no longer have to battle to work back into chains and slip stitches, and your work will look smoother, tidier, and more even. It’s one more step along the road to becoming an amigurumi expert!

I’ve been trying to put on a brave face, but I’m really struggling at the moment: my life, especially this immigration-related stuff, has got insanely stressful. I’m still doing what I can for PlanetJune, but stress and creativity don’t mix well, and my progress is frustratingly slow.

This situation won’t last forever (and I have lots of ideas waiting in the wings for when my mojo returns!) – I just wanted to explain why I’ll be unusually quiet for a while, especially on Twitter and Facebook.

Okay, enough about that!

Review and Win contest

April’s ‘Review and Win’ winner is Kim W, with her review of my Orca (Killer Whale):

This pattern is very detailed. The many color changes were very time consuming, but not difficult and the finished product was worth the effort. I appreciated the the tips on exactly where to sew on the flippers. I was able to get them to look right the fist time.

I’m glad you enjoyed it, Kim! Congrats – I’ll email you to find out which pattern you’d like as your prize

May Flowers CAL

Which of my botanical patterns (flowers, plants and fruit) do you like best? Why not make it for the May Flowers CAL this month? You’ll find all the details in the PlanetJune Ravelry group.

NB: All the patterns are available in the Flowers & Plants section of my shop, except the Mushroom and Toadstool, which are exclusively available in my book: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Amigurumi. And if you’re short on cash, 10 of the patterns are donationware, so you can use them for free (or pay what you can)!

I used the store-bought sweater to get the basic measurements, but I did make a few modifications so it would fit me better. I decided to create a pattern as I went – well, more of a recipe than a pattern – so I’ll be able to create knitwear for myself more easily in future.

(For example: Make paired decreases at each side, every other row for 24 rows would be a specific pattern instruction, but Decrease by 6″ width over 3″ height means I just need to plug in my gauge and I’ll be able to make the same shape and size of sweater next time, even if I’m using different needles, yarn, stitch pattern, etc – it just takes a quick calculation to work out how many decrease rows I’ll need over how many total rows.)

I know I’m making this sound like it was all easy for me, but it wasn’t! I don’t want to give the impression that I have an amazing natural talent for knitting or knitwear design; as I’m still an (adventurous) beginner, I had to reknit almost every stage of this sweater due to stupid errors on my part. But I actually don’t mind that – I’ve learnt a lot from those mistakes, and really, the knitting is about keeping my hands busy so I can relax in front of the TV instead of being tempted to work on a new crochet design. The finished sweater is just an added bonus.

Techniques I learnt for this sweater:

• Cable cast-on
• 2×2 rib for the collar and cuffs
• Transitioning from rib to stockinette
• Basic shaping (paired increases/decreases) at either side of the body
• 3-needle bind-off for the underarms and at the back of the neck
• A more subtle raglan decrease for creating the yoke and shoulders
• Shadow-wrapped short rows to create the shawl collar
• Stretchy bind-off for the sides of the collar
• Horizontal-to-vertical grafting to attach the sides of the collar

Confession time: the end result isn’t quite how I envisioned this sweater; I made a slight blip in my yoke calculations, and ended up losing a bit of length in my planned armhole depth and neckline depth as a result. It still fits pretty well though, so I decided it wasn’t worth reknitting everything from the armpits up. But I’ve learnt that lesson now, so I won’t make the same mistake next time.

I’m pretty pleased with myself for working all this out though; this sweater doesn’t look like I made it up as I went along, and I feel like it actually has some design to it! I love how the collar turned out – I wanted it to be narrow at the front so it wouldn’t overpower my frame, but wide at the back to make a snuggly warm collar. I’d hoped my first attempt at short rows might work to create the shape I needed, and the collar actually ended up working perfectly on my first try. This sweater is definitely going to get a lot of wear (I’m actually wearing it right now!)

I also intentionally made the sleeves extra long, for cosiness. I can wear them uncuffed and keep my hands warm – built in wristwarmers! – or turn the ribbing back to normal sleeve length for a slightly smarter look.

(Oh, and I didn’t bother to block it, so it may look even better after I wash and block it!)

What’s Next?

Now I have a basic template for a sweater that fits me, I’m definitely going to knit more of them, and learn some new techniques with each, so I don’t make the same design over and over again and I can keep advancing my knowledge bit by bit. I’m already working on my next design, with interior shaping and a subtler, less bulky ribbing.

After making it all up as I go along for my first two knitted garments, I’ve decided it’s time to find out how you’re really meant to go about designing garments that fit. I’ve bought a couple of Craftsy online classes (Custom Cabled Pullovers with Carla Scott, and Handknit Garment Design with Shirley Paden) that should help me understand some of the slightly more advanced elements of knitwear design, e.g. set-in sleeves, and I’m trying to figure out how I can get my hands on a copy of Amy Herzog’s new book, Fit to Flatter. (I’ll keep you posted with reviews once I’ve finished taking the classes, and if I can get the book!)

I love, love, love being able to make clothes I can actually wear and that fit me, and not having to worry about making patterns for them. Having a relaxing and useful hobby that’s completely unrelated to my work is so refreshing!

With no fast (or free) patterns on offer, I knew there’d be fewer entries than usual, but we’re definitely looking at quality, not quantity this month – looking at the photos below makes me a very proud designer!

And it’s interesting to see that, with all that choice, there were some definite themes running through the CAL – surprise favourites have been Aardvarks and Yetis & Bigfoots, as well as lots of Chunky Elegance Rugs made into surprisingly beautiful doilies (just use crochet thread and a steel hook if you’d like to try making one too).

Now, roundup time! (And don’t forget to keep reading to the end for the May CAL details…)

This photo gallery is randomly ordered. For speed, I just give credit with participants’ Ravelry usernames.

klopferli & aaBrink

abjCrochet & MagicalAmigurumi

haylzT & MagicalAmigurumi

abjCrochet & abjCrochet

abjCrochet & sujavo

haylzT & jukatca

CrochetChrisie & starlee

sujavo & abjCrochet

NinnysNiftys & CrochetChrisie & CrochetChrisie

MagicalAmigurumi & klopferli & aaBrink

I’d like to thank everyone who participates in these CALs! I know it’s fun for you too, but it makes me so happy to see what people make from my patterns – it’s really rewarding for me to look at these roundups each month, to know that my work is appreciated and that I’m helping you to make beautiful things.

May Flowers CAL

The May Flowers CAL includes all my botanical patterns: flowers, plants and fruit. When I came to make this mosaic of all the pattern options, I was amazed to discover I now have 20 of these designs (10 of which are donationware!) – they make quite a collection:

Although some of these patterns are a bit out-of-season for May, you’re welcome to make pumpkins and Christmas trees if they take your fancy – the choice is yours

NB: All these patterns are available in the Flowers & Plants section of my shop, except the Mushroom and Toadstool, which are exclusively available in my book: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Amigurumi.

I hope you’ll join us in the PlanetJune group on Ravelry for this floral CAL!