Missives from the Recovery Cave

Greetings, everyone. It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm not back yet, not completely, but I find myself in other gap between temp jobs so I am once again able to put all of my (still limited) energy into KMS. I am still planning on keeping a low profile, so to speak, until at least…

Publishing Roadmap Release!

It's a little late, but the Publishing Roadmap is out now and available for download from my shop. This booklet looks at Traditional, Small Press/Indie, and self publishing, as well as things like writing for websites and magazines. There's also basic marketing info, a guide to hand selling your books, and worksheets and checklists you…

Magic in the Headlines Release Day!

That's right, AJ's story is now out in the world. Currently only ebooks are available--I'm having some issues with Amazon at the moment regarding the cover for the paperback cover. They are coming, it just might be a little while before they become available. Because we will be moving at the end of July, I…

The KnotMagick Guide to Pattern Writing

This page from my knitting journal shows my sketch and initial notes for this hat, as well as a finished photo and the yarn label for the care instructions. SketchThis can be a rough as you want to make it, or it can be a finished drawing. No one has to see it if you…

Chronic Pain & Crafting, Part 4: Crafting Tools as Adaptive Tools

Part of the appeal of knitting and crochet is the way you can take some sticks and string and like magic turn them in afghans, sweaters, dresses, cushions, or anything your heart desires and your mind can dream up. At its core, yarncrafts require very few tools other than yarn, a selection of needles or…

Chronic Pain and Crafting, Part 3: Exercises and Accessories

While I myself am not a physical therapist, the exercises below are often recommended for crafters to stretch tense muscles and increase strength and flexibility, releasing tension and discomfort and preventing future stress and pain. These should be considered gentle stretches; you should feel a pulling sensation, but not pain. If the movement is painful,…

Hiatus

This is not a post I wanted to write, but if you've been following along on Twitter, Ravelry, or on Patreon, then you know that in the past few months my health issues have gotten to the point where I can no longer manage a "side hustle" of any kind; I'm barely getting through the…

Charity Check In

Every 1-2 years I like to have these check ins just to make sure my values and those of KMS as a company are still aligned with my readership. Since KMS began donating to charity, based on your votes, we've been supporting the Navajo Water Project, which provides clean running water to some of the…

Chronic Pain and Crafting, Part 2: Fibers and yarns

Let’s talk about fibers. Wool is know for being squishy and bouncy with natural elasticity that makes it perfect for both knitting and crochet. However, it’s not perfect for every person or every situation. Wool or wool superwash blends frequently retain that elasticity while reducing allergies from lanolin (in the case of superwash), adding loft,…

2023 plans

2022 was a weird year at Chez KnotMagick, and not in a good way. There were a lot of ups and downs, what with my employment situation, temping, and just the general state of the world. I even ended up scraping my Nanowrimo plans, and didn’t even participate this year, though it’s normally a regular…

Chronic Pain and Crafting, Part 1: Needles & Techniques

The days of only finding one style of needle or hook in the craft aisle at the local grocery store are long over. Thanks to the internet, international shipping, and several clever and talented independent creators, there are now a plethora of needle and hook styles available that can help extend your crafting time. If…

Vacation Mode

As we are wrapping up 2022, I will, as usual be taking December off. Normally I would just take two weeks off, but I feel like this year I just need to take the month to reset and come back in January with some fresh content. I hope you all have a wonderful month, regardless…

A Short History of Radio

I am fascinated by early electronic communication--telegraph, radio, the transition to telephone and television. How did people figure that out? I live in a world where I'm writing on a computer the size of a spiral notebook with internet that can send my words instantly around the world, and I'm still fascinated. How did we…