Welcome to Week Three of the KNITSONIK Bullet Journaling Course; this week is all about Creativity.
I've called this section “Your Bullet Journal, Your Creative Tool Kit”
and I really like that association of a tool kit,
because when you think about a really good tool kit, it's full of things that are very useful;
it’s full of things that are very strong;
it's full of things that are able to fix things when they get broken.
It's full of things that are well-worn by use,
and which have, over time, come to fit the style,
and the hand, and the abilities of the person using the tools.
And that's exactly what I hope your bullet journal will become to you.
I also like the fact that tools -
when you think about “tool kit” - you think of something that's grubby;
and maybe it's got some engine grease on it;
and it's not too perfect and pristine…
and I think that's really helpful as an association,
when we think about our bullet journals.
So there's three main tasks this week. The first one is Building Your (Creative) Tool Kit.
The second one is The Dot-Grid is your playground.
And the third one is Creative Motivation and finding ways to motivate yourself.
Then there's there's two optional tasks that are sort of tacked on to the end of this week,
for all the Sewists, Knitters and Crocheters;
people who design or make their own clothes….
and people who are extremely enthusiastic about [knitting] Stranded Colourwork.
So there's two kind of like very, very specific creative tasks.
So in the first task this week, Build Your (Creative) Tool Kit,
I'm really looking at what can you put into the bullet journal that will massively help you,
and be really useful, when you're trying to do a Creative Project.
And I put… I talk a lot, about lists,
and about breaking down the task into little manageable chunks,
and also identifying barriers and,
and reasons why you're not getting the project done. And you may have noticed,
I've got my yarnn-winder here, and I'm going to start winding wool towards the end of this video.
And the reason why I'm doing that, the reason why this is here, will become
completely obvious to you, after you've watched the first [task] video
and done that first task, Build Your (Creative) Tool Kit
And I've actually… yeah,
I took two projects that are a bit stuck for me personally; one is the Missy Elliott jumper,
which is a jumper I designed and knit a few years ago,
and I just haven't got around to writing up the pattern
and so I've really sort of work-shopped,
”why is that? Why is it not done?” because I hope that's relatable.
And I think that the main problem with Creative Projects is when they get stuck,
and so that's when you need your Tool Kit!
So that's what I wanted to focus on in Build Your (Creative) Tool Kit.
But, if you're at the start of a project,
what I talk about in that will… will still be applicable.
It will still help you to sit down,
and work out what all the steps are going to be
for your Creative Project, between where you are now,
and the endpoint, and the deliverables that you're going to have at the end.
So obviously the example I'm using is a stranded colorwork sweater
and a pattern that I want to produce sort of in parallel,
but your example of a Creative Project could be in a totally different medium,
but that process of having all the information that you need
the - the kind of, the main bits of information -
and also all the steps between where you are now,
and finishing the project. That's going to be the same whatever the medium is.
So that's what we talk about in Build Your (Creative) Tool Kit.
Second Course Task this week is called The Dot-Grid is your Playground
and even if you're using a lined book,
it doesn't matter, because the… because, in a way The Dot-Grid is your Playground is, is, a metaphor.
Yes. It relates to the actual dot-grid that I like to use in my bullet journal.
But it also relates to the three main types of information that I think
are very helpful to any creative process.
And the first one is the formerly mentioned lists,
and I just love the way that the dot-grid lends itself to lists,
and making those little check-boxes,
so that you can always be seeing your progress,
and understanding the steps, and breaking down the task.
So the dot-grid lends itself to that. Then the second thing is Working Drawings.
So I talk a lot about Working Drawings,
and the importance of not being precious about drawings,
and not feeling like you have to make Pretty Drawings,
and not feeling like your bullet journal has to be full of, like, amazing illustrations
and I share lots of my useful, not particularly beautiful,
but very helpful Working Drawings as a sort of example,
and I really like how you can use the dot-grid to kind o,f
as a sort of scaffold, so you can get some sense of the proportions
of the things that you are drawing
but it's not… like, the dot-grid  doesn't interfere with your drawings.
So: Lists; Working Drawings;
and then the third thing that I talk about with the dot-grid is GRID grids.
The dot-grid is really helpful for,
as a sort of scaffold for,
any structure that you want to, like a table - any data that needs to be a table -
any, any instructions that need to be a chart.
Like I'm sure that it would be a fun experiment to knit from a drawing,
but I prefer a workable chart with rows,
and clear indications of which stitch relates to which thing…
and so that's the nitty-gritty of like, the three different main ways that I use
the bullet journal [dot-grid] to support me; Lists; Working Drawings;
and structure; like Tables and Charts; Knitting Charts,
and kind of, more structured ways of, like, structuring information.
And those different types of information which help us in Creative Projects
also speak to that idea that during our Creative Projects,
there are times when we need to just be very free right all over the page
and make sort of haphazard lists
and mind-maps and draw down our thoughts as they come to us,
and other moments where that is not helpful,
and we need to gather that information
and put some structure on it
and edit, and decipher, and clarify what we've done.
And I think it's really important to give equal weight
to those two aspects of the creative process,
because if I always just wrote down my thoughts freely,
I would never organize anything. I've never get anything done.
And, likewise, if you just… if I went in really hard with a lot of structure from the outset,
on every creative project,
and I would… then loads of things would not be allowed to flourish and grow.
When I talk about The Dot-Grid being our Playground,
I guess I'm really speaking to - first of all, practically,
what are the different ways that we can use this type of printed paper?
But then, also, what are the different things,
and the different stages that our creative projects need,
and how can we nurture them the best way possible
so that they can grow and bloom?
And speaking of nurturing things,
and letting things bloom, the last [main] part of Your Bullet Journal, Your Creative Tool Kit
is all about how you can use this space to encourage yourself,
and to motivate yourself, and to cheer yourself on. Because in every creative project,
there is always a SLOG PHASE.
There's always like this brilliant idea -
”I've this wonderful thing that I'm going to make”
and then there's this phase where you realise “oh, I have to knit this many stitches…
and it's going to take this many hours”
or “oh I have to make this many videos,
and I have to edit them all,
and it's going to take this many hours”
or “oh I have to write this massive piece of writing,
and I need to produce this many chapters,
and it's going to take me this many hours.”
And that section of the creative process, where you’ve just got to knuckle-down
and get the thing done, requires loads of kindness, and motivation, and warmth.
I think it's fairly well-documented that the more negative associations you have with a task,
the less likely you are to ever finish it.
So, in the last [main] task for this section where we're looking at motivation,
I'm really thinking about how can we use our bullet journal to build positive associations into
what it is that we're trying to do,
so that we can get ourselves through the the long sections of editing;
the long sections of writing; the long sections of knitting.
So I talk a little bit in that section about using stationery,
and your bullet journal as a sort of cheerleading space
for whatever it is that you're trying to make and uplift in your life.
And the last two Optional Tasks for this section look,
first of all, at creating really helpful drawings for yourself,
which reflect your own body and your own body shape,
and your own measurements
for… if you want to design clothes in your bullet journal which are going to suit you.
So, I've got inside the bag, here I have two different versions of Mini-Me!
So, in the first optional task, we're going to be talking about making realistic
little mini-versions of you that will help you to draw
and plan out your creative knitting, sewing, and crochet,
and build that around how your body actually is,
and your actual size. And I talk about the measurements that are really helpful to have,
because -going back to that idea of a tool kit -
I find it very annoying when I sit down
and I start to design something and, and if I'm making it for me,
then I always have to go through the process of just measuring myself,
and taking all the measurements,
and writing down all the measurements,
and I thought this is exactly the kind of thing where my bullet journal can help me,
because I can just have a page that has all of that information on it.
And next time I'm on Ravelry,
and I see a sweater, and I think “I really want to knit that” I don't have to go rummaging around
for a tape measure.
I can just go to the page in my bullet journal
and find which measurement I am,
and which size of thing I have to make,
and I just thought that's a really simple little thing,
which I just thought would be really helpful to share.
So we're going to be making Mini-Mes
and looking at different tools for measuring your body and making drawings,
which reflect your real body in your actual size, in your actual dimensions,
and which hopefully will will be very supportive to your designing process.
And even if you don't design things, if you like knitting other people's patterns,
I still think this is a very useful addition to your bullet journal
for helping you to plan those, those projects,
and those makes, in a way that's really celebratory of you, and your body, and your measurements.
So that's that… the first Optional Task.
And, finally, there's a, the last kind of Optional [Task]  is all about using the bullet journal
for stranded colourwork design,
because the formerly-mentioned dot-grid really lends itself very beautifully to charting processes,
and to the, kind of, whole design process of coming up with your own stranded colourwork designs.
So we're going to talk very briefly about that,
and just give you a taster…
and this is really aimed at if you already do stranded colourwork,
and you already know how to follow a stranded colourwork chart.
And if you would like to design more of your own charts,
or if you would like to change the colours of existing patterns,
this is kind of for you. So I'm going to be talking in that section about
how I use the dot-grid very specifically
for developing chart ideas.
So I really hope that you're going to enjoy this week's Course Tasks
and particularly the sort of practical, problem-solving flavour
of my approach to talking about creativity.
Most of all, I hope it's going to be really useful to you,
and give you lots of ways of kick-starting your creative projects,
and of lifting up and unsticking and getting excited about and practically planning,
and making-actionable all the amazing things that you want to make and create in your life.
I don't think there's anything more that I really need to add to this intro.
I think I said everything and, yeah…
I have a lot of yarn to wind as you will learn when you watch the first Course Task video.
So if you don't mind, I'm going to get on with that now,
and leave you to enjoy your own Creative Projects in this week's Course Tasks!