Mini-journals: How I Use Them

Organization! What an evocative word. I harbor deep in my psyche the Tupperware fantasy: with the perfect organizational system my life would be clean, effortless, and admirable. The reality is that I've never been able to impose organization on my life--all I can do is refine what is already working to make my life and the demands upon it easier.

In response to several queries, I thought I'd show you how I use the mini-journals I wrote about last year to keep my knitting from going off the rails.

1. First of all, I spend a few happy hours tearing pictures out of magazines and gathering colorful papers. I glue or tape these to the covers of inexpensive university exam books (popularly called blue books)--these 7" x 8.5" booklets are available at university bookstores or at my online shop (10 books for $5). When I'm done decorating the mini-journals I have a nice little row of empty books ready for my next brainstorm.

 

2. OK, brainstorm arrives! I pull out whichever mini-journal resonates with my concept. With a marker I add the working title of my design ("Top Drawer," in the example above, is named after the inspiration photo: my laundered underwear ready to be put away in the top drawer of my chest of drawers).

3. I put in the date (really, DO THIS! It is very helpful, and despite what you are thinking at the moment you start out you will NOT remember when you had this idea).

4. If the inspiration photo is available I paste it into the book (note underwear photo)--sometimes the inspiration is already pasted in my inspiration journal. I make a note of where to find it.

 

5. I pull out yarns that are in the color families of my inspiration. I corral them in tote box lids, which allows me to carry them around easily while swatching. Here are two new designs in progress:

 

6. I make notes about my swatches; which colors I used, what I liked and didn't like. I tape in bits of the yarns that seem to be working and write down their identifcation numbers.

 

7. I start to refine my vision for the garment, make little sketches and comments about the "feel" I'm aiming for. Bit by bit I'll add details, like measurements.

 

8. I begin to work on the motifs. I'll paste the motif into the mini-journal, identify the color placement, and then analyze whether it worked or not. I keep records on ALL swatches; the failed ones tell me a lot!

 
9. I now figure out the actual garment. The thing about knitting is that it is very pragmatic--you can't just wave your arms and have a grand plan: you need to determine how many stitches are used at any given point, and this is a very literal process. I try my best to keep my arithmetic clear and well-labelled so I can remember how I got from point A to point B--I am not naturally good at computation. NO photos because my calculation pages are such a mess.

10. The day has come to begin knitting! I gather the yarns for my project in a dedicated basket. The mini-journal stays in the basket. I keep only the balls of yarn I'm using at the moment in the basket--the other balls needed for the project are in a plastic bag to keep them out of the way.

 

11. What of the mini-journals that haven't made it to the actual knitting stage? These stand in an inexpensive little letter holder on my desk. Now and then I pull them out and add notes or just refresh my memory. Perhaps they will never see the light of day--the mini-journals are so inexpensive that it doesn't matter.

 
12. When the garment is finished and it's time to clean up (SO satisfying!), the mini-journal fits neatly into a zip-loc bag along with its related swatches.

 

Totally unrelated but fun news: Did you catch this mention of Fair Isle sweaters in the New York Times yesterday (October 21st)? Just think of how much money we save by knitting our own sweaters.....
 

Comments

[Cassie]

"you can't just wave your arms and have a grand plan" - I should probably have this tattooed somewhere prominent. Great post. I need to start doing this.

[StephCat]

so each idea gets its own journal?

[Colleen]

I like your little journals...they keep appealing to me...but I know me. I need a BOOK. One. With lines, with blanks, and with graph paper. I have been using the schoolhousepress ones, but I keep working out of order, because the pages are where they are...not where I am! So this book is almost full, then I'm going to a levenger address book, refilled with blank, lined, and graph pages, which can be rearranged. And it has a postit flag card that fits it, too! I love postit flags in my book!

But I keep thinking about your journals...they seem like more fun!

[Deborah (aka Mt. Mom)]

Cool! How many pages are in one of those mini-books?

[Gretchen]

I love all the swatches you've shown us here, Janine, especially the Yosemite swatch, the speed swatch at #6, and the magenta version pinned on the wall. Looking forward to more photos as the projects progress.

[Carrie]

What a great idea! I love it! Those swatches hanging on the board are gorgeous.

[Phyllis]

Thanks for sharing this! I'm "just" a knitter, happily knitting others designs. My creativity is/was never in the visual arts (DH, on the other hand, is a talented drawer and a color GURU!). However, we need people like me so you will have folks who will buy and knit your designs. 8-)

I do very much like your system and I will probably pull bits and pieces to use and try and enjoy.

Phyllis
:)

[pj]

Ahhh, I'm rereading your post. It's like being a bug on your wall with your fabulous ideas and methods! I have a black and white journal going with my favorite colors and home scenes (pillows, birds, fav. stuff, etc) It just makes me smile looking back and DOES give insirational ideas. I agree with the 'date' thing. Sometimes your just shocked you even liked it at all...and that's ok ;)