Tag Archive | makers making

Starting an Ambitious New Project

I want to knit a blanket. For myself. Starting today. I’m not sure what sparked it, but this morning I had a strong craving to make a blanket. Not just any blanket, either, but a blanket I’ve been planning for a while. When I first learned to knit, I bought some Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Cotton to make a tote bag, and I loved the yarn. It’s deliciously soft and so easy to knit with, and ever since then I’ve thought it would be a lovely blanket. I started stockpiling skeins of it, a little bit here and there, since it’s a bit expensive. I knew my blanket would be multicolored, so I bought random skeins in colors I liked. For a few months now I’ve had a good size stash: 14 skeins in 9 different colors, just waiting for me. I’m ready now.I left out two colors, red and a grayish purple, because they didn’t seem to coordinate with the others. The Mediterranean Blue is the main color; I have four skeins of it. And here’s my pattern, the Playful Stripes throw. The designer works at one of my LYS, and I always drooled over the one she had on display. So now I’ll make my own version. This will be a long-term WIP. I expect to be working on it throughout the fall/early winter, and that’s okay. It’ll be my TV knitting, or my “I need a break from fiddly little projects” knitting.

Sadly, it will not be my “watching tennis” knitting because I cannot currently watch tennis. I am distraught. We cancelled cable two years ago and have been fine without it, watching our shows on Hulu and Netflix, and I could watch tennis on the WatchESPN app on my Apple TV. Well, I don’t know when it changed, but when I tried to watch the US Open, the ESPN app no longer works without a TV provider. Sob. I’m not surprised; I was surprised it worked before. But I am sad. I have found no other way to watch my tennis without re-subscribing to cable. I never would have thought I’d be tempted to pay a monthly cable fee just for tennis and baseball, but I am. It’s tricky, though, because the US Open is almost over, and then the next Slam isn’t until January. Baseball season has what, a month left? Sure, it’s the best month, but still, it’s a month. Do we pay so we can watch our Royals from now through post-season, and so I can watch the last few days of the Open? Or do we suck it up and re-consider after the first of the year? I know what the logical answer is. I just don’t like it. What do you think, fellow tennis lovers? Do I give into evil ESPN, or be strong and resist?

An Epiphany and Finished Project Friday

Sep4

Earlier this week, I had a minor epiphany. I read a quote about writers, and how if they hope to succeed at writing, they need to treat it like a job. I’ve read it before but this time it really hit me, and I realized I haven’t been doing that, either with my crafting or my writing. How can I get frustrated if I don’t put forth as much effort as I can? I’ve been treating these as hobbies, which is how they began. I’ve been treating them as fun ways to spend my days, which they still are. But if I truly want to make some sort of business out of it, I have to treat it like a business, which means committing a good chunk of my day to it.

My first order of business was updating my Etsy shop. It’s been open for a while but got pushed to the back burner for a long time. But it’s the face of my business that most of the world sees, so I wanted to present the best face possible. I pulled out all my current inventory, took new photos, reassessed prices, and updated listings. I went from around 30 listings to the current, final total of 55. These are my best pieces, the ones that will travel with me to the big craft shows I’m doing this fall and winter. My photos may not be professional quality, but they’re lot better than they were when I began, and I think it’s a step in the right direction. This is my favorite photo, even though it’s not the best one to show off the details of the bag. I do still hope to do more photo shoots with my daughter modeling my pieces, but there are two problems with it. 1, she’s so busy right now that I hate to take up her time, and 2, she’s got a rather large head so I hesitate to have her model some of the size small/medium hats. But she’s great with everything else!

So I don’t have a finished yarn project, but I finished my Etsy project, and I’m pleased with it. I don’t expect big immediate results; it may never be a strong source of income for me, and that’s ok. But it’s a place to showcase my things, a place to point potential customers as well as judges for juried craft shows. My ongoing goal is to list new pieces more often, take new photos when I can, and keep up with revising/renewing old listings.

On a similar vein, I’m going to devote a little more time to my bonny knits Facebook page. Sure, I always post a link to my blog, but I need more. I need to post pictures and updates and personal thoughts more often. I’d love to drive more traffic to that page, but I can’t do that without giving people something good to look at.

And then, after I’ve done my social media “work” for the day, then and only then will I allow myself time to sit on the couch with my yarn and my Gilmore Girls. Obviously that’s important work too! Last night I started my Arizona Sunset cowl, and I already love it. Anybody else have good tips for using social media to support your business? What are your favorite sites and how do you use them?

Settling Into the New Groove

Aug25

4 a.m. comes awfully early. Grace is still thinking she needs to be an early riser, and it’s not too fun. This morning I got up with her so Alex could at least sleep until his alarm, and I didn’t even let them out. I just stretched out on the couch with a blanket, and Grace happily cuddled up with me, and Jack curled up on the floor in front of me, and we all went back to sleep. I guess she’s just lonely? I’d let her sleep in my room, except Alex isn’t a fan. Maybe we need to just put her upstairs with the girl and close the door. I don’t know. We’ll get some curtains for the dining room, and I’m seriously considering a noise machine for them, to block some of the outside noises. There’s got to be a solution, because I can’t get up at 4 a.m. every day for the rest of her life. Until then, forgive me if my posts are few and far between.

We’re all settling in nicely in our new hometown. The boy and I explored our local library recently and were delighted to find a TARDIS! That’s a good sign, for sure! The kids are happy with their new schools and teachers. We had high school open house last night and it was the first time I wished I could go too! The teachers were all so passionate and enthusiastic about their classes, and several were very blunt about saying their class would be hard, and the kids might not get A’s, at least at first. I don’t think that ever happened in our old district. Oh sure, we had some great teachers, but not *all* of them, and I only remember one teacher ever warning us that a class would be hard. I *want* the classes to be hard. This is why we moved; so the kids would be in classes that would challenge them, make them think and grow. The girl is in a Gifted English class that will actually read books! She had one class in either 6th or 7th grade that had her read one novel, and that’s it. That’s disgraceful, in my English-major book-nerd opinion. So yeah, I think this will be a good school year.

I spent another day in the yard over the weekend and cleared out one more side of the fence. Before:

After:And that’s the bulk of it! Now I need the husband’s help to clean out stumps and pull out the old fence, and we’ll do some tree-trimming, and then we can start building our new fence HOORAY! We will all be happy. See that water pump there? (No, it’s not functional.) The puppies are ALWAYS getting their chains wrapped around it. Then they get frustrated and bark. Then we have to go rescue them. It’s not a fun game.

Yesterday I sat outside with them for a while and let them laze in the sunshine while I worked on my newest project, another Hitchhiker. I have other projects on the needles, but none of them are as calming and soothing as this one. I’m in love with garter stitch. But I need to set it aside, because I have another request for a school-colors hat! The first three have been delivered and were quite popular, as I understand, and someone saw one of them and needs her own. How about that? My evil plan is working, bwahahaha! Give me time, and I’ll hat the whole school!

The Hitchhiker is DONE!

Jun4

Now I know why everybody has made one: it’s FABULOUS. The pattern is so simple, but the end result is just stunning. It’s absolutely perfect for variegated yarns, but it would look equally gorgeous in a solid too. I loved knitting this, didn’t get bored or tired of the endless garter stitch. It was perfect TV knitting, and even though Rafa lost (so sad!) I was happy because I finished this! The photos aren’t great, sorry. It’s raining and very wet outside, but someday I’ll get better pictures. I guess I need to paint my craft room so the walls are a better backdrop color. I wanted purple, but maybe I should consider white. Or maybe a very pale gray? That could be cool. Anyway. Love my Hitchhiker. Already perusing my stash to figure out which yarn to use for my next one.

Last night I decided I needed a super-fast instant gratification project, and I wanted to use my new Marblez straight needles. I chose this Leafy Washcloth pattern and it was done within an hour. I wasn’t crazy about it at first. But then I got it wet and stretched and tugged and flattened, and voila, it became a leaf!Mine’s not as dense as the photo, so I think I’ll use smaller needles for the next one. And as much as I love knitted washcloths and dishcloths, there will definitely be a next one. This is a fun, unusual pattern.

Our new sod is enjoying the rain, I think, but the puppies are not. They did get a walk yesterday but Grace still woke up with plenty of energy for mischief.
I’ll be going out today to buy a cheap rug for her, and she will be sad because she’s a spoiled little princess who thinks she needs a cushion to sleep on. Well, too bad for her! I’m not giving her anything else that can be torn open and have its innards removed.

Today is the women’s semifinals of the French Open and I think I will work on my black and white chevron scarf. It’s becoming the neverending project! How do the rest of you find the motivation to work on those projects that seem to take forever?

My First Hitchhiker

May30

Well, I broke my own rules. Instead of working only on current WIPs, I started a new project yesterday. I couldn’t help it. I’m going to a party tonight and I need a new simple travel project. (Yes, this is how you party when you’re old. You get together and eat, play games, and knit. I’m okay with it.) I also had a craving for garter stitch. The Hitchhiker shawl was near the top of my library and I had my new Frolicking Feet yarn handy, and before I knew what had happened, I’d cast on. It’s marvelous! I love that nifty sawtooth edge there, and the garter stitch is so squishy and dense with the size 4 needles I’m using, and wow those colors! This is my new favorite project and I’m sure it’ll be finished before I get back to those other, older WIPs.

But sadly, Hitchhiker is not a good travel project for me, at least not a good party project. You have to keep track of which row you’re on, and I’m not good at that when I’m distracted. So instead I’ll cast on for AndreSue’s KitKat Hat with some brown Malabrigo Worsted and that’ll be my happy mindless knitting for the evening.

And also sadly, I had another needle mishap. I have the worst luck with needles lately! Especially this set of Knitter’s Pride Trendz acrylic needles. I already have one with a broken tip, now I have one that came apart. Apparently you need to be very careful when you tighten these. I love the colors of these needles but they’re definitely not as durable as others I have. At least this one I can glue back together.

Oh, and big news in our house: the girl got her learner’s permit! Now I have to let her drive my car, eek! She’s been out once in my car and once in the husband’s truck, and actually she’s doing well. We’ll just stick to parking lots for a while, I think.

Two More WIPs Finished

May28

I’ve been on a roll lately! In the last couple of days I’ve completed two more WIPs, bringing me down to only three still on the needles. One of the new FOs was my Mother’s Day project, the Chocolate Cherries shawlette with the Baah wool. It hasn’t been blocked yet, so the yarnovers aren’t as open as they will be. I’m also hoping I can block it a bit longer, because I wanted to be able to wear it like this: I absolutely loved knitting with this yarn. The colors are so gorgeous, and the yarn is perfect, soft without being limp. It has great stitch definition. I have another skein of this, and I’m looking forward to finding the right project for it. My Ravelry project page for it is here, or you can go directly to the Find a Penny pattern page.

My other FO is another Oh, Helen! mesh scarf. This one I made in a silvery-gray Berroco Weekend. It’s a worsted, not DK, so I cast on fewer stitches and used size 9 needles. I rather like this one better than the first, pink one. It doesn’t roll quite as much so you see the pattern better. I made this so I’d have something versatile and lightweight to wear when I do craft shows so I can model my wares! I haven’t been knitting as much the last few days, though, because I’ve had another project going. For the first time in my adult life, the first time in the almost 18 years I’ve been married, I have an actual bed with a headboard and footboard! We’ve always just had the metal frame that comes with the mattress. We waited at first because of money, then the husband wanted to make them. I think he would still like to, but he’s got a lot of things going on, and it probably won’t happen for a while. Then a friend of mine mentioned she wanted to sell her bedroom set with a bed, dresser and nightstand. It just happened to be oak and the Mission style that I love and that matches the nightstands the husband made several years ago. She was asking a fair price and it just seemed like too good a deal to pass up.

The downside was that it meant quite a bit of manual labor, to move them home then clean out the bedroom and set up the new furniture. I took apart the old bed and set up the new one ALL BY MYSELF (okay, the boy helped a little bit) but I needed the help of the husband and brother to move heavy dressers. Last night it was all set up and I could appreciate my new grown-up bedroom! The dresser has a matching mirror, but the husband was too tired to attach it last night. Maybe tonight. Anyway, I’m delighted with it.

And last but not least, here’s a recent puppy photo. Remember the new dog bed Grace tore up? The one I mended and sprayed with the bitter apple spray? Yeah. Here it is. I give up. I mean it, I really and truly give up. No more new dog beds. At least now I can look at this and chuckle. This was Monday, and nothing’s been destroyed since then. Fingers crossed we can make that trend last a while!

The Secret Bag is Unveiled

May26

I have finally finished my sister’s project bag, and now that she’s seen it, I can show it to all of you! Voila…It measures 12″ across, 9″ tall and 4″ deep. Nice big button with tab closure.I love how the fabric I found continues the blue and brown theme.This might be my favorite bag ever. The pattern is called Retro Knitting Bag and the main visual element is the butterfly stitch. It was wonderful to knit, new and a bit challenging, but not so difficult to be frustrating. Once I got the hang of the stitch and the pattern, it was smooth sailing. I made a few modifications: cast on fewer stitches since I was using a heaver-weight yarn, made it 9″ tall instead of 10, and added the button closure. The pattern also said to sew the sides together, but I didn’t like that idea. I wanted my sister to be able to open it up wide and see inside easily. I used Berroco Weekend, an acrylic/cotton blend that should be durable. I already have plans to make one for myself!

Oy, What a Day I Had

May22

Yesterday was not a good day. Yesterday was pretty close to a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day. It was the last day of school so it was going to be my last day of peace and quiet, and I had high hopes which were quickly dashed. I woke up to find the 2-day-old $30 dog bed now had half its insides on the outside. Not only that, the charming dogs had also chewed up one of my smaller tote bags. Thankfully, it was a $2 bag from Goodwill, but still.

After breakfast, I had to cancel an Etsy order. I messed up when I created the listing, which was for multiple sizes, and I had no idea which size the customer wanted. Three emails had gone unanswered, so I refunded her money and fixed the listing. Maybe she’ll reorder. I hope so. Until then, there went that money.

I didn’t have time to sit around with tea and yarn, because I had an errand to run and I wanted to get it out of the way. The boy’s school said he still owed money on lost library books, and I had proof I’d paid for them a year ago. I get to the school…nope, I need to go to the elementary school since that’s where the fine was accrued. Fine. I went to the pet store and spent $60 on new puppy toys to hopefully discourage the darn dogs from chewing on inappropriate things. I went to the grocery store to get milk and bread for the mother, and discovered it was the day for everyone and their grandmother to shop. Seriously, so crowded, and they all moved SO SLOWLY. Plus, they didn’t have the exact bread the mother wanted, and she’s picky about her bread. One phone call later, bread was selected and I was on my way. I dropped off the milk and bread and got my first pick-me-up of the day: she’d made No Bake Cookies! Whew. One was consumed quickly and several were packed away for later. Off again, this time to the elementary school. Thankfully, they were very nice and took care of the problem quickly.

After that, the day improved for a good long bit. We had a nice dinner, started watching Shrek, then discovered one of the pups had an upset tummy and had been eating A LOT of grass. A fight ensued over which puppy would get to re-ingest said grass before we ushered them outside so we could clean up. Two more small puddles and a movie later, we went to the kitchen to get ready for bed and discovered the one remaining dog bed had a very large puddle/pile of…unpleasantness on it and next to it. I swear, what the heck was wrong with these dogs?? I was pretty sure it was Jack, since he was the one looking sad and pathetic. Dog bed cover was thrown in the washer, towels were laid down for them to sleep on, and off to bed we went, with hopes that surely things would look better in the morning.

Well. I certainly didn’t mean at 4:45, but that’s what the puppies thought. I really think it was Jack. He was probably starving after emptying the contents of his stomach last night. But, at least they hadn’t chewed up anything overnight. Small victories, right? Sigh. I am discouraged. Discouraged and frustrated. I’m trying to tell myself that I survived small children, so I can survive this. I’m trying to remember that my pups bring me lots of joy and love, they really do. I mean, look at this sweet guy. So let me end on a high note. My collection of chair socks has grown significantly. 18 made, only 14 to go! My sister’s project bag has been knitted and has handles attached. I bought the fabric for the lining and it’s GORGEOUS so now I only need to line the bag and it will be done and I can show it to you! And best of all, yesterday I booked a room for a short getaway next month. I get to go meet a dear Facebook friend who I’ve never met in person and I can’t wait! It’s only one night but it’s better than nothing and I think we will have a marvelous time.

Now, if you will excuse me, I’m going to go find a quiet place to play with yarn. I need to restore some sanity.

Crochet Chair Socks

May19

Yarn and I had some good quality time together yesterday. This time it was crochet, not knitting. My MIL requested some chair socks and even provided the yarn, so I’m providing the manual labor. I’ve got eight socks done…only 24 more to go! I’m using this pattern but doing variations on the stripes to keep it interesting. I’ll do two in each stripe pattern, and I’ll probably end up repeating more. The yarn is Red Heart, sturdy and washable. They’re super fast to make and make for great TV crocheting.

And here’s today’s puppy pic. Every morning they need to spend about an hour outside running around, then they come in and nap wherever I am. They don’t always nap together but I love it when they do.

Fine, you can peek

May18

Much progress is being made on my sister’s bag. I’ve got the body done and now I’m knitting the flaps that will be used to attach the handles. It’s not the most interesting part of the knitting, but it’s still kind of exciting. So close! Since I have no other knitting-related photos to share, I’m going to post one photo of the bag. It’s inside out, though, so you can’t really see what the pattern looks like. Or maybe some of you master knitters can, I don’t know. The main thing is, my sister won’t have a clue. I like to keep her guessing. I don’t have more knitting to show you because it’s May, y’all. And that’s a busy time of year for people with active school-age children! We’ve had so many concerts and orientations and end-of-year events, it’s crazy. Plus there’s Mother’s Day and at least four birthdays. This past weekend we started off with an audition for the girl. It’s her third year auditioning for the Kansas City Youth Symphony. The first year she didn’t make it, last year she was an alternate, so I have a good feeling about this year! She also auditioned for the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra this year for the first time, so I’ve got my fingers crossed that one of them works out. We only have to wait 2-3 weeks. (UGH)

That same night, she had Oscars night at school for the theater department. She was presenting an award with a friend, so they color-coordinated. And Jack had to be part of the party, too. Yesterday was her end-of-year recital. Her flute teacher partners with two piano teachers to present an afternoon performance, and it’s always fun to see the kids play. The little ones are so cute and earnest, and there are some older ones who are truly talented. (“Like mine,” she whispers) But now! Now I think we’re done. That was the last event of the school year. Now we can just relax and hang out, and I don’t have to drive 50 million people from here to there and back again. Whew. They do a lot of cool stuff, but by this time of the year, I’m tired. Not sure I’m ready for full-time at-home kids, though! I guess we’ll muddle through somehow. And I know the puppies will be happy to have their kids home. Speaking of puppies, Grace was at it again. Look what she did. Just look! Yep. Dog bed as chew toy. The worst part is, this was the second one she chewed up in as many days. Granted, these were both older beds and almost worn out and probably had a small hole here and there to tempt her. But still. These were Jack’s beds. Last night, I put them to bed and tried to get Jack to lay in Grace’s bed but he wouldn’t. He laid down on a towel I’d put down and Grace still got her bed. Such a gentleman he is. Now the question is, do I go to Costco and get another dog bed, or would that be tempting fate?