My craft fair is this Saturday! Eek! I’ve been so busy getting ready—I think I’ve made at least ten new hats in the last two weeks. I went through my for-sale items and pulled out a couple of older pieces I’m not as proud of anymore, and I pulled out all the things I’ve made since my last craft show, i.e. all the things that need tagged and priced. It was a bit daunting. 
Since I took that photo, though, I’ve gone through and tagged almost half of it. Of course, I’ve also made two earwarmers , a pair of bootcuffs and worked on a hat order. Like I said, I’ve been busy. And yesterday, a couple of flowers I ordered from Junie Balloonie arrived, and they got added to my bags. I love them! 
Speaking of flowers, I also knitted a new one yesterday. The craft fair asked for a donation, so I’m donating a purple and green beanie made with some gorgeous sparkly Berroco Brio. It should make some girl happy. It was originally unadorned, but since it was going to be a focus item, I decided it needed a bit of flair. And quick! Thank to the Rose Pin pattern, I had a little dusky-purple flower to sew to the hat. I like it. 
Today I needed a break. I needed to do something I wanted to do, not something I thought would sell, not something that was an order or a suggestion. I needed to make something that came completely from me. Of course that means a trip to the LYS, right? I came home with some rainbow Mochi plus, and it’s going to be a simple beanie with a ribbed edge. I love rainbow yarn, hats, ribbing, and working in the round, so this project pleases me. And I even learned a new cast on for it: the German Twisted. It’s so simple and fun; I can’t believe I haven’t done it before! I’m sure the hat will end up at the craft fair, but right now it’s serving its purpose: knitting as therapy. 
Tag Archive | crafting
A Wild & Woolly Weekend
Busy, busy weekend! Saturday was Homecoming for my freshman daughter, and since she’s in marching band it meant we started off the day with a parade. Who doesn’t love a parade? It wasn’t too big, just the band, the Homecoming court, and a few other floats, but since I only cared about the band I was happy. We took my niece with us, so she and my 11yo son were happiest about the candy they were throwing. The boy noticed that his cute 7yo cousin was getting more candy than he was; that’s a rough lesson to learn but he handled it well.
See that pretty girl grinning? She’s mine.
We had a brief respite after that, then it was time for the football game. We had to be there to watch the band do the anthem and the fight song, and then we had to sit through the *entire* football game. Because of all the Homecoming festivities at halftime, the band wasn’t doing their show until after the game. Have I mentioned I am not a football fan? It was a long game and our team lost 42-7, but at least I made a lot of progress on a hat order. And the band show was great! Definitely worth waiting for.
Mine is the grinning one again.
Finally, that night we had the Homecoming dance, her first high school dance. I thought she cleaned up quite well. She did go with a boy, but they’re just friends. (Whew!)
You’d think that’d be enough for one weekend but not for us! We had four tickets to the Kansas City Renaissance Festival from a silent auction, and this was the penultimate weekend for it. The weather was perfect and the day was unscheduled, so it seemed like a good time to go. Everyone else thought so too: the place was packed! But we had a great time wandering around, admiring the jewelry, woodcrafts and fiber arts. We played with chain mail, and of course the boys had to try it on. 
We stopped and watched a couple of shows, interacted with wandering cast members, and of course did some shopping. The best part for me came toward the end, when we found a pottery booth near the exit. We’d missed it in all our wanderings but my eye was caught by some gorgeous two-tone purple mugs. I had it in my hand, ready to buy, when I saw…a YARN BOWL. A PURPLE YARN BOWL. Decision made, yarn bowl is mine, I went home happy. 
OH! I almost forgot! I saw the coolest thing too! There was a booth with several ladies demonstrating spinning, and I admired them with their wheels, but it wasn’t anything new. Then I saw another woman spinning with what looked like a wooden toy top, and it was AMAZING. Apparently there are these things called drop spindles that I’ve never heard of because I’m not a spinner (yet?). It was fascinating to watch her and it looked so much easier and approachable than the big scary spinning wheels. I can actually see myself getting into spinning that way…if I can get my woodworking husband to make me a nifty drop spindle, maybe.
I even managed to get a couple of projects finished this weekend. The hat I finished during baseball games (GO ROYALS! TAKE THE CROWN!!) and the earwarmer I finished in the car coming home from the Ren Fest. 
So now it’s Monday, everyone’s back at school and work, and I have the house to myself. As tempting as it is to go back to bed, I have work to do. I want to make a couple more things before the craft fair this weekend to add to my inventory. I think I’m going to brew another pot of tea and curl up with some yarn and TV. What’s on your agenda this marvelous Monday?
The Boon of Buttons: A Crochet Newsboy
Buttons are amazing. They can add a pop of color, a flash of drama, or a touch of whimsy. They come in so many colors and sizes and styles that there’s sure to be the perfect button for each project. That’s the blessing of buttons, but it’s also the curse.
I love buttons. Adore them. I have two boxes full, buttons I’ve saved from my own clothes as well as buttons I’ve bought at estate sales and garage sales and antique stores. I’ve got vintage button cards with all the buttons still sewn on. I covet the box of buttons at my mother’s house, which contains buttons from both her and her mother. When I’m making something I know will need a button, I can’t wait to dig through the boxes to find the right button.
But which one is the *right* button? Sometimes it’s obvious; I’ve known which button, or least which color, I’ll be using from the beginning. And sometimes all I know is that I need a button and I have a heck of a time picking just one.
That’s where I am right now. I crocheted another newsboy cap last night, this one in some bulky gray Premier Yarns Serenity. It needs a button. This morning I went through my button stash, thinking it needed black. Well, I have a lot of black buttons. While digging, I found a few other options that are kind of nifty. So…which one do I pick?? The hat isn’t for anyone specific. It’s for my craft fair on the 11th, so I want it to have a broad appeal. It’s sized for teens/small adult. Here are the options.
Fuchsia
Purple
Ivory
Matte black
Simple black
Glossy black
Black anchor
Detail of black anchor
Little black
That’s a lot of choices, I know. Now it’s up to you. I need your help. Which one(s) do you love? Which do you hate? I know which one is my favorite but I’m not saying yet!
Never too busy for hats
This last weekend was full of physical labor, so very little yarning got done. We’re so close to being done with our flagstone patio, which we’re doing all by ourselves and I can’t wait to show off, but it meant that I spent Saturday shoveling sand and Sunday laying stones. But late last week and during the evenings the last few days, I did manage to work up a few more hats for the craft fair next month. I used up the last of my purple Caron for three more Princess Anna hoods, and I got one newsboy done. I want to do a matching doll newsboy with the last of the variegated yard. That might be all I get done before the show, and that’s okay. 
I did these hoods plain, no flowers, because that’s what Anna’s hood actually looks like. (And because the embroidery and sewing on of flowers was too time-consuming.)
Hopefully the patio doesn’t distract me too much, because I’d still like to get a few more hats done!
Crochet for a craft fair
I’ve gotten some good feedback about the upcoming craft fair, so I’m feeling much better about it, thank you! I’ve decided to leave my prices as is: they’re more than fair, and I’d rather hang on to my projects than sell them at cost or just above cost. If I don’t value my work, how I can expect a customer to value it, right?
With that in mind, I’m trying to think of a few fast projects I can make before the show. Hats seem to be a popular suggestion, so I’m aiming for three of the Princess Anna-inspired hood. I’m going to try to make at least two sets of owl hats, matching ones for girls and 18″ dolls. I’ll sell them separately, though. If I have time after that, I’d like to make another newsboy like this one. I really liked how the yarn and pattern worked so well together.
And then, if I have any *more* time (I’ll pause here for the laughing to subside. Okay? Okay.) I want to make some boot cuffs. I made some last winter and not only were they fast, but they were super cute and very popular. These were my faves. 
I think that’s all I can even dream to finish in the next two weeks, and I know, that’s stretching it. But a girl’s gotta dream. And if I focus on these projects only, I should be able to get a lot done. I can crochet a lot faster than I can knit. Now, I’ve got my yarn, my hook, and my wrist brace…I’m ready to get going!
Prepping for Craft Fairs (Oh no, the panic!)
I’ve gone and done something silly: I signed up for a craft fair next month. You’d think that would be a good thing, right? It is, of course: I’ve got a nice stash of lovely things I’ve made that have no home. And I’d love to make a bit of extra cash for the upcoming holiday. But as soon as I sent in the registration form, the panic set in.
What if I don’t have enough items? What if no one wants to pay my prices? Should I lower them a little bit, just to get some sales? Should I raise the prices on my very best items? What if I don’t sell anything? Maybe I need to make some new things just for the show, and if so, what would sell? The craft fair is an elementary school fundraiser, so I expect to see a lot of parents and grandparents who might be inclined to buy cute hats for their kids. That means the owl hats and Princess Anna hoods could be popular. Those don’t take too much time to make, and I’ve got the yarn, so now they’re on my list to make…in the next OH GOD TWO WEEKS.
The show is October 11. I knew that all along, but this is September. I thought, “Oh, October, that’s ages away.” Guess what I just now realized?? It’s not. And then do you know what comes after that? Christmas! That’s right! And I’m nowhere near done with my holiday knitting (although I did cast on for a gift last night). I need to knit all the things! Right now!
So yeah. Panic time in my head. I think I’m going to step back for a moment and make a cup of tea. And then I’m going to make some hats.
These owls are ready to leave the nest
It’s a cool, gray, drizzly day, and I’ve spent the morning with my fancy crochet hook, finishing up an order. That makes two that are ready to ship out tomorrow! 
Now the dog is impatient, so I’ll step away from the yarn and take him for a walk. When I return, I’ll be switching back to knitting to give my wrists a break!
Princess Anna crochet hats, and some mittens
Finally some FOs to show off! I worked hard last week on a proofreading job, but I had some yarn time too, and over the weekend I finished a few things. A friend posted a picture and link to a Princess Anna-inspired hat for girls from a blog called Over the Apple Tree, and my MIL asked for four of them for grandkids. How could I say no? These hats are too cute! 
The hat pattern originally came from Vallieskids and is flexible enough that it will fit a wide range of head sizes. The girls are similar ages, so I just sat back and cranked out four hats all the same. Then I had to learn how to crochet embroidery for the green stems, and it was a lot easier than I expected. The hard part is making them all look the same. The flowers came from my favorite flower pattern, called the Fabulous Flower. I could have done the smaller one to make it more like the original blog post, but I rather like bigger flowers.
I also had a request for a hat and mitten set, so I got to do my first pair of mittens! I’ve done fingerless gloves before, but never a whole mitten and a full thumb. Well, it was a piece of cake. And since they were for a young girl, they knitted up so fast. I did a whole mitten and most of the second yesterday, and this morning I finished up the thumb. I loved making these. I think mittens might be making an appearance this holiday season. 
Both the mittens and the hats were made with Caron Simply Soft. I love how it feels, and that it’s machine washable.
Swiftly Winding Yarn
Sadly, I don’t have any FOs to show off. No new WIPs, not really even much progress on current WIPs. It’s true: I have not had much time to play with yarn the last several days. But I do have some yarny things to show off! See, my birthday was last week, and thank goodness my family knows how much I love yarn stuff. So yay, I got the set of interchangeable 16″ circulars, whee!! As much as I love knitting hats, I think I’ll be using this set a lot. And I got several new books, which already have patterns marked with post-its, and notions like small mesh pouches that are great for organization.
Those are all awesome, but not the highlight. I also got the best thing you can give a knitter or crocheter. No, not time, that’s difficult to wrap. I got a ball-winder!! I already had a swift, a cool Amish-style swift that my husband made for me for Mother’s day, and it helped my yarn-winding a lot. But I didn’t realize how well the swift and winder would work *together*. It was amazing. All I had to do was sit and wind. So much fun. I must have wound eight skeins of yarn that first day, plus another three or four the next day. I love to watch the swift spin, I love to see the ball grow on the winder, and I love love love the final product! 
It’s fabulous. I think it will live on my dining room table for the next several…forevers. And another cool thing about it: the yarn stacks neatly when it’s wound, so maybe my stash will condense a bit and I can fit more on the shelves!
Progress Made (and a new WIP)
Yesterday was quiet and cool, so I spent much of the day on the couch with my yarns. I managed to frog the striped hat from yesterday’s post, so it’s all ready for a redo. I’m waiting until after I open my birthday presents, though, just in case there’s a set of interchangeable 16″ needles in one of them. (*fingers crossed*) I also worked for a while on my Quadratic shawl, and I cannot wait until it’s done and I can wear it. 
After lunch, I pondered the many WIPs I have, and the projects I need to complete soon, and I decided I could cast on for just one more. It’s for someone I like (okay, all my knitting is for someone I like) plus it’s an unusual project for me. It’s called the Spring Lace Infinity Scarf and with any luck, it will end up looking like this.
Spring Lace Infinity Scarf by Linda Thach. copyright Purl Avenue
This is fingering weight yarn (i.e. very skinny, i.e. not bulky at all, which is what I normally use) and it’s a lace pattern. It will end up being open and delicate and lovely (I hope) but it will knit slowly and will take much time and attention to detail. I managed to get through the casting on of 360(!!!) stitches and knitting of five rows. This is what it looks like so far. 
So yeah, it will be slow going on this one, but I think it will be delightful. I’ll probably spend some time on this today … or maybe I’ll spend the morning reading my new book! 
bonnyknits 