I’ve got that itch again. The one that says ‘burn it all down, start over’. So I’m changing some stuff!

TL;DR version right up top:

Turns out I get to feeling itchy when I have too many things available at one time. So I’m stripping the patterns down to a core collection of a dozen favorites. In addition, I’ll release rotating collections of related patterns every few months as I make new things and explore new techniques. Those patterns will be available for a few months, then the next rotating collection will come out. Once a year, in November I’ll bring (most of) the retired patterns back for a few weeks for anyone who misses them. I’ll also be reorganizing the patreon (making it so that Rampant Nonsense folks will get everything in the current rotating collection, and introducing a brand new tier that will get stuff in the mail).

I’ll do a post in the next few days with more information about what’s staying and what’s going away (so you’ll have time to grab any favorites before they go), but I intend to have patterns down by the end of next week with the new arrangement starting in February. Likewise, I’ll do a post with more details of the patreon changes in the coming days, and the new system will start in February.

Longer version for folks who want the details:

I have a habit of doing this. I start making neat stuff, make a whole lot of things I really like, then inevitably get completely overwhelmed by how to organize it all. Then that feeling of being overwhelmed makes it progressively harder for me to keep making new neat stuff.

This seems to be a consistent pattern and has happened several times. The last time (mid 2022), I took all my old patterns down & stared the patreon. Then I spent the next three and a half years writing new patterns and updating a few old favorites. And I love everything I have out now! But it’s starting to feel like a lot again. And I love everything I’ve done on the patreon, but it’s starting to feel a bit chaotic and hard to navigate.

It’s making my brain itch and taking energy away from some of the other things I want to do (like the kits and the gauge cards). So I’m going to fix it. That means three big changes for my patterns:

• I’ll have a core collection of a dozen of my absolute favorites that will be available year round (all for tiny things, all my most popular patterns, yes you can probably guess a lot of them, yes I’ll get you a list in the next few days once I’ve finalized it). The plan is that they will remain a permanent part of the core collection and be generally available (though of course there’s always a chance a new piece will come along and be so delightful as to claim one of those slots, in which case one of the existing ones will be retired).
• Several times a year I’ll assemble a rotating collection of patterns that all share a theme or technique and make them available for a few months. So when I have a new pattern (or series of patterns) coming out, I’ll pick several of my retired patterns that share something with the new pattern and make them all available for a few months while we explore whatever we’re playing with.For example, the Snowday hat I just released and the two hats that are coming next all used turned brims and do cool things with surface decorations in a contrast color. So the fist rotating collection is going to include those three new hats plus Expound and Delineated, both of which use turned brims and do cool things with surface decorations. So those hats will be available for a few months while the new patterns come out, then they’ll go they’ll all go away. The second rotating collection is going to focus on slippers, so I’ll bring out some new slipper patterns and make several of the existing slipper patterns available for a few months. When I’m done with them, they’ll go away again to make room for the next rotating collection.
• Once a year, in November, I’ll make (many) of the retired patterns available again for about three weeks. This is the best way I can find to strike a balance between my brain’s deep desire to have only the very newest, very shiniest toys available at any given time (which is absolutely what I’d do if I thought I could pull it off), everyone else’s desire to have everything available all the time forever and ever (which will stress me out to the point where I run away to start a moss farm and design custom terrariums and never touch yarn again), and my human body’s need to have some quiet time at the end of the year. It means I only have to turn them on/turn them off once a year, and having them up for the majority of the month means no one is rushed and you’ll have time make them for the holidays if you’re so inclined.

I’m also going to be making some changes to the patreon so that it better lines up with this new structure. The short version is that I’m going to combine the Sheer Nonsense and Utter Nonsense tiers into one tier. Then I’m changing the Rampant Nonsense tier so that everyone gets all the patterns in whatever the current rotating collection is (both the new ones that come and the existing ones that become available as part of that collection). Plus I’m going to add a (super fancy, veeeery limited) tier that gets cool stuff in the mail!

More details on those changes in another post in the very near future. Don’t fret, you don’t need to do anything right now, and in fact most people will likely not need to do anything at all! I’m setting it up so that current Rampant nonsense folks will get the fancy new version of that tier at the current price. I just need a couple days to wiggle it all around on the back end. But as soon as I have that set up, I’ll let you know!

Quick recap/what’s next:

• In a day or two, I’ll make a post announcing which dozen patterns will be part of the core collection and what will be in the first rotating collection. You’ll have a couple days to grab any other patterns you want before they go away.
• Next week, all the patterns not in either the core collection or the first rotating collection will come down.
• Later this week I’ll let you know more about the changes to the patreon. You don’t have to change anything if you don’t want to! But I’ll give everyone a few days to adjust things in case you want to switch Rampant Nonsense so you can get the fancy new version at the current price before the new stuff launches.
• Late next week, the new tiers will launch.

I’m excited about this! It works for my brain. It’s how I get to keep writing new patterns but also make new things things (like the kits and the pouches and the gauge cards and all the other ideas I have bubbling away in the back of my mind) without burning out. I’ve got all sorts of fun stuff planned for us this year…this is going to be fun!