Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:07:08 -0800WeeblySat, 31 Mar 2012 09:13:36 -0800http://www.monsterknits.com/1/post/2012/03/twitter.htmlSo, I'm not one for blogging, but I do like to share interesting things via Twitter....so follow me if you'd like!  @MonsterKnits ]]>Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:05:59 -0800http://www.monsterknits.com/1/post/2012/01/officially-a-designer.html    As you can see, I've put my first free pattern online, and so far (since very late on the 19th) 6 people on Ravelry have favorited it!  I am now a Designer searchable on Ravelry!
    I am working on my book, which will probably take a long time to finish since I am doing all the patterns, artwork, and layout myself.
    But in the meantime I have a second pattern I will be posting soon, only this one took more effort to design than the Squid X (named after my son who LOVES squids and jellyfish) so I will probably test the waters having the Elephant Hat pattern for sale.  When it's up, it will be in the Etsy page, so check that one out too! ]]>Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:21:28 -0800http://www.monsterknits.com/1/post/2012/01/working-on-it.htmlI have been working on typing up some of my patterns, and perfecting them, which also means more knitting to double check things.  I went over the basic gauges that I make with my favorite yarns and needles, and am trying to organize all that information, including adjusting patterns for multiple sizes.  I have been reading about publishing books, working on creating PDF's, and I have yet to start on making videos.  I am thinking about trying to make the demo videos sound-free.  Sometimes, maybe you're at work or around your family who are trying to watch TV, and it's best to not have the volume on your computer.  However, since demonstrations are usually better with both visuals and audio, I am not sure if this will work out.  We will see! ]]>Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:42:42 -0800http://www.monsterknits.com/1/post/2011/12/cool-knitting-apps.html    I have an Android phone and like to browse the apps every now and then.  I found one a few months back that I really enjoyed, a free one called Knit Cards.  This app is great for designing patterns.  It had lines to plug in the size needles and type of yarn used, gauge, picture, and more.  But there are a few things I disliked about it.  First, when I took the pictures off my phone, they were gone from Knit Cards as well.  There is likely something I could have changed in the settings to keep the photos saved to internal storage rather than the SD card, but I didn't realize at the time that this would happen.  Second, KnitCards has a "notes" section, which is basically where you write your pattern.  It could be designed better.  It's just this small empty space.  Numbered lines for each row would be perfect.  This should actually be the MAIN part of the app, IMOAnd lastly, and this isn't the app's fault, my phone crashed and my memory card was wiped.  So I lost EVERY SINGLE pattern I made on the app.  Therefore, I reverted to using graph paper and notebooks for designing patterns.
    A second free app that I use is called County.  It's so simple, and almost needless, but it's a nice way to count your rows.  You just tap the screen and the numbers go up.  It's sometimes more convenient than using a piece of scrap paper to keep track of my rows.  If my pattern is up on my phone, I need to exit the pattern, open County, tap it, and go back to my pattern.  So it isn't better than using paper, but I still like to use it sometimes.
    Anyone have any apps they like? ]]>Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:27:20 -0800http://www.monsterknits.com/1/post/2011/12/first-post.htmlHello!
I am a knitting mother of 4.  I have taught people how to knit and am branching that out through this website.  I design a lot of my own things, but also love free patterns!  I am just dabbling in this for now, and my goal is to have most of it completed, to the point of being useful at least, by the New Year.  My goals for this site are to show some techniques, tips, share patterns, show off completed projects, and for it to eventually be useful to the beginner knitter and designer. ]]>