Tag Archive | puppies

Time for a Break

Saturday was craft show day. It was from 10-4 and it was in a more affluent part of town, with the promise of lots of shopping moms. I had a friend with me and she helped me create a more compelling table display than I’d done the last couple of shows. My hopes were high. Oh, and did you notice, I played with my hair again? Apparently I’m no longer a natural blond (I know, who knew?) so I’m trying to grow out all the processed stuff and find my real color. I had some leftover bleached blonde, so my fabulous hairdresser MIL gave me teal tips. Love them! Of course, my own mother’s reaction was different: “What happened to your hair??” LOL. Can’t win ’em all, right?

Anyway, yeah, I thought the table looked good. I had a selection of bags and lightweight spring hats, as well as spring mesh scarves and some cute baby hats. Too bad people decided they didn’t want to attend this show. It was slow all day long. I had three super wonderful friends from my old Coldwater Creek days show up, and that was such a treat. Plus they bought a couple of things! Other than that, I had ONE sale. Sigh. There just wasn’t much traffic. One vendor packed up and left at 1:30. But I did make table, and I had fun with my friends, so it wasn’t a complete loss.

It also clarified something for me: I’m slowing down on shows for now. It seems clear that spring/summer months are not good for the kind of things I love to make, and I don’t want to completely change my crafting outlook to cater to that. Plus, I was stressed out before these last two shows. I was worried about whether I’d have enough stuff, or whether it was the “right” stuff, and I felt guilty working on anything for myself or my family. That’s not what I want my knitting life to be, and I’m so grateful that I have the ability to step back. So for now, I’ll be knitting for fun. I’m still going to work on my Etsy shop, and I’ll still do the Etsy at the Exchange events when I can, but no more paid craft shows for now. I’m signed up for a big one in October and I might just let that be the next one.

I had another epiphany of sorts over the weekend, too. Another Creek friend, Terri, invited me to a dinner theater show, and we had a marvelous time catching up. We hadn’t talked one on one in ages, but she said she loves to follow along with what I write on Facebook so she felt like we were still close. At one point she asked me about the retail memoir I’d been working on. I’ve been working on that thing for that last four years, I think, and I keep working and leaving it and coming back and leaving again. But Terri’s question, and the fact that she’s not the only one who’s said they’d love to read it, made me realize that I’ve got something going on with this writing thing. No, I’m no literary genius. But I do love it, and I think I do connect with readers sometimes. So I’m bringing writing back into my life, more than just this blog, and I’m going to do my best to finish revising my manuscript. Maybe then I’ll be brave enough to start querying agents, or maybe I’ll just share it with friends and family. Who knows. I think for me, the process is the most important part.

Thanks for listening, friends. I know this was a more introspective post, less fun knitting talk, but I promise, there will be fun stuff in days to come. Still yarn, always yarn, but writing talk too, maybe even manuscript excerpts. And puppy photos, too. Today is Captain Jack, my furry little baseball fan.

I’m a Winner! And: Who’s that Maker?

Apr27

Seriously, I won some prizes. Remember I told you about the Meet the Makers event at Ugly Glass & Company? I got to enter a drawing for a $20 gift certificate just for attending, and then I got entries for door prizes for making purchases. Well! I got a call a few days ago that I’d won the gift certificate AND a door prize! How cool is that? (Spoiler: Very.)

First up: the door prize. I got four entries. There were several door prizes to choose from, and each one had it’s own jar. I could put all my entries in one or split them up. I was torn between a lovely handsewn tote bag and a wonderful rainbow dotted cup, and ultimately decided I have a lot of tote bags (I think it’s a legitimate addiction) so I’d go for the cup. With four entries, I felt pretty good about my odds. And I won it! See how cute it is?I’m pretty sure each little dot is hand-painted. I can’t imagine how long that took. But I absolutely love it. It was made by PiCeramics, and she’s got a lot of beautiful cups, vases, pitchers and more.

Then it was time to spend my gift certificate. That was hard. I looked at GeekChic because I just love her nerdy handmade bags. She’s the one who made my awesome Doctor Who tote. And I looked at PiCeramics, but I needed to stay close to my budget, and her pieces had a deservedly higher price. But I kept going back to this booth of infinity scarves made with soft jersey-type fabric. I covet them every time we go to Ugly Glass, so it just seemed like destiny. I picked out two. I love them. I put the blue one on right away, and I wore the gray/black one yesterday. I’m already trying to figure out what else I can wear them with. Sadly, I didn’t pay enough attention to the name of the booth, and the tags were removed when I bought them, so I can’t tell you the name of the maker, and I hate that.

I think more makers need to consider what goes home with their items. My cup came home with a tag that had a pi symbol on it, but I still had to go to the Ugly Glass website to get more information. For the scarves, I came home with no tags whatsoever. There are several clothing/accessory vendors listed on the website, and I have no idea which is which. I bought an adorable bag for my niece’s birthday at the craft show on Saturday, and I have no clue what her business name is. I think it’s so neat how she has the little slots for crayons on the front, and it came with a Frozen coloring book. Plus there’s room for a few other things, so it’s perfect to take to church or out to dinner, things like that. I wish I could direct you to her, but I can’t because I forgot to get a business card and the tag only has a price.

So, a note to vendors: think about attaching a tag with your information on it. Or punch holes in your business cards and attach one of those. I put two tags on my items, one with a price and description, and one with my name, email, website, Facebook and Etsy. I want to make it as easy as possible for you to find me later.

Today’s puppy photo is brought to you by Grace, who seems to think she must be higher than the rest of us and therefore claims tables.

Just keep making, just keep making!

Apr24

Well, tomorrow is craft show day! It’s a full day affair so I’ve got my fingers crossed that it’s a good one. I just keep making new stuff to sell, like this red cotton tote.I like the shimmery gray buttons a lot. They’re just decorative of course, but they add a nice pop of style to the bag.Then I whipped up this mini market bag. It took all of an hour at the most, and it was a great way to use up the last ounce of Berroco Weekend left over from the slouchy hat. I have no idea what it’s good for. Little yarn bag to hang on your wrist, so you can knit while you’re out and about, I guess. Hang it in your bathroom and fill it with hair scrunchies and headbands. Put some bubble stuff and plastic sand toys in there for a child to carry to the beach. Heck, I don’t know. But it’s little and it’s cute and I like it.I’ve got one more hat to finish today and then I’m calling it quits on making all the things. I’ve got to get the car loaded up so I don’t have to do it early in the morning. I’m so grateful I’ve got a good friend helping me with this show! She’s got a great visual eye, so I’m thinking my table will look pretty darn good. I’ll be sure to take some photos for you.

Puppy photo: Jack loves to nap on the couch next to me, and I thought it was so cute, with his head on the pillow. See, they’re not destructive *all* the time!

Crazy for Crochet

Apr22

I can’t stop crocheting lately! Ever since I learned to knit, I’ve preferred it to crochet. Knitting is easier on my wrist and I love the fabric it creates. But I do still love the quickness of crochet, and it’s the perfect way to use all my cotton yarns. I made another small cross-body bag, just kind of made up my own pattern, and this one has a flap and a button closure. I debated between a dark silver button and a white flower. The flower was cute, but made the bag seem more appropriate for a young girl, and I wanted this to be more versatile. It’s something I would definitely carry. I’ve been working on a custom order through Etsy, but the other day I got a request for a couple of chemo caps. In my book, chemo caps always go to the top of the list. I used soft, washable acrylic and made them a small adult size so hopefully they’ll fit snugly. This is the Shelbi Hat pattern, and I’ve made it several times now. It’s very quick but looks intricate and interesting. I especially like that the pattern comes with four different sizes. It’s not a free one, but it’s absolutely worth the money for me.

Oh, and I had a wee knitting crisis the other day! You know I’m making a bag for my sister, right? Well, I picked it up and (GASP!) found this: I have no idea what happened. These are fixed-tip needles from Joann, so I’ve asked my handy hubby if he can fashion a new tip on it. Nothing to lose, right? In the meantime, I switched to my Knitter’s Pride Nova interchangeables, and actually the metal works much better with the cotton blend yarn anyway. Knits much faster. THIS is why I have so many needles! (Well, that and they’re really cool and I just like to buy them.)

Finally, puppies. We bought a fire pit last year and it sat outside all winter long. The puppies found it recently and Grace has fallen in love with the basin. She pushes and pulls it around the yard, tries to flip it, and especially loves to sit in it. I’m not sure we’ll get to use it again as a fire pit.

Today it’s Two

Apr9

That’s right, I have two finished objects to present to you today! Thanks to my daughter, I finished knitting the honey cowl during flute lesson and cast off waiting for the band concert to start. Pattern is Madelinetosh’s brilliant Honey Cowl and I used MadTosh DK in Astrid Grey. Using one skein made a tall, cozy cowl, and I love it. Should be great for fall! I do apologize for the crap photo. I couldn’t find a good backdrop for the gray color (the grass was wet and I couldn’t bring myself to put the cowl on it). Yes, I know, the swing needs repainting. Sigh. Knitting is more fun. So, YAY, another WIP moves to the FO category and I’m down to only 4 WIPs. Feels good!

My other FO is a super super fast hat. It’s a special request and it was so fun because it combines both knitting AND crochet! Yes, both! How cool is that?? The body is crochet, and then you pick up stitches to do a ribbed knitted brim! Since it’s meant to be a summer hat, the body is all open and airy, which is why it went so fast. The pattern is the Combination Summer Hat and I used Knit Picks Brava Worsted but I want to do more of these in cotton. I might have a custom order coming in from Etsy, so I have a real reason to go to my LYS, and while I’m there I might just look at some cotton. Just look, mind you. Maybe touch.

So there you have it, two FOs in one post. I am a knitting fool, clearly. I have a craft show this Saturday and a birthday party on Sunday, so I need to do some shopping beforehand (presents, printable labels, change for the cash box). That means not as much time with my yarn, unless I’m really efficient.

Finally, today’s puppy photo. It does not include the puppies. It is more the aftermath of the puppies. Maybe I need to add a new curtain rod to my shopping list.

So Close to Two Finished Objects

Apr8

I *almost* had two things to show off today! I missed it by about three inches. First I’ll show you the hat I did manage to finish. You can’t really see the cool zigzag pattern very well, but it’s there and it’s neat. And it was really simple too, which is definitely how I like my hats! It’s Ravelled here if you want more details. I worked on this one outside part of the day, sitting on my patio in the sunshine. The puppies are loving spring too, if for no other reason than they enjoy my company in the backyard.I mentioned yesterday that this is a busy week; the girl has a lot of activities. Last night, we had a choir concert. She’s not even IN the choir yet and she wants to go, to “support the choir”, she says. Well, it’s a good sentiment, and I love music, so we went. It’s strange to be in my old high school, watching the choir that I used to be part of. Very nostalgic. I feel really young and really old at the same time. I can still remember so much of high school vividly, those strong emotions and complicated relationships and friendships I didn’t truly appreciate until years later. But then I watch my daughter and her friends and they seem so much younger than I am, and I realize that yes, I really am 20 years removed from that world. I also realize that it’s a lot of fun to be part of it from this side. So I’ll keep going to the choir concerts, and the band concerts, and the plays, and the football games, and enjoy it all over again.

Anyway! Sorry, got distracted, didn’t I? My hat was done and I needed an easy project for during the concert, so my honey cowl went along. The linen stitch is so simple, it was a breeze to work on even in the dim lighting. I really thought I’d gotten it done, but then I came home and measured. It still needs three more inches. Sighhhh. And there I was, thinking I’d get to cross off two WIPs in one day. Well, one is good, and there’s a good chance I can finish the cowl today. We have flute lesson (45 minutes of knitting) plus a band concert (60 minutes of knitting). No patio knitting today, though; it’s gray and rainy with threats of severe thunderstorms. So I’ll leave you with a pretty reminder of the *good* thing about spring!

I am not just a Knitter

Apr7

Again, another day with zero knitting. But it was okay, because I spent it doing the other thing I love: reading. I do a bit of freelance proofreading, and I’ve got one prolific author who seems to like what I do: this is the third book she’s had me proofread for her. Her name is Antoinette J. Houston, and she’s got two paranormal novels on Amazon right now. This third one is science fiction, which is not a genre I typically read. But I enjoyed this one, even if I was focusing mostly on grammar and punctuation and stuff like that. It took me all day to do my first read-through but I got it done!

Today I’m taking a wee break from the proofreading and spending time with my yarn (at least until I force myself to run my errands). I’ve got some Cascade Cloud on my needles, and wow, it’s nice stuff. Feels so good in my hands, dense but springy and soft. I’m making an All-Day Beret with it and enjoying every stitch.Of course I still have to fulfill my role as chauffeur. The girl has play rehearsal all week after school (almost Tech Week!) plus two nights of band rehearsal and one band concert. I have no idea how we’re going to fit in choir next year, but it’s a good problem to have.

Mostly, though, the puppies and I have been enjoying our downtime after nine days of spring break. Until next time, happy reading/writing/knitting/crocheting/puppy loving!

Spring Break in Photos

Apr3

Spring Break is almost over. It has been very quiet and casual, for the most part. Lots of sleeping in, hanging out in PJs and binge-watching Arrow and Sherlock, and quite a bit of knitting. Here are the highlights:

Lilac market bag in cotton/linen

My new fabric remnants for purse linings

Impromptu lunch at Steak ‘n’ Shake

Puppies got bored

I hate to end on a bad note, but that’s life sometimes, right? Two books escaped with just a few small gouges, one lost the dust jacket but is still a good reading copy, one is readable if I don’t mind a big missing corner, and two were destroyed completely. Sigh. At least they ignored the first edition of Cold Mountain. I’m trying to remind myself that we’ve gotten really lucky. Since we got the second dog, Grace, six weeks ago, we’ve left the two pups out in the house while we’re gone and for the most part they’ve been really good. I have no idea what brought on this little chew-fest, but it’s enough to make me decide they can stay in the kitchen while we’re gone!

Happy Blog-iversary!

Mar23

WordPress reminded me that a year ago today, I signed up for my blog and wrote my first post. Since then, I’ve written 179 posts and gained 154 fabulous followers. I’ve also found 115 blogs to follow, with so many delightful like-minded knitters and readers and nerds. I’m happy to be here, and I’m happy you’re all here too!

Now, on to the knitting. Alex and I spent the weekend in Lawrence and of course I had to go the Yarn Barn…twice. The first time, I just bought one lovely skein of Malabrigo worsted in blues and greens. Then we went to the bookstore and I found a book called Baby Beanies by Amanda Keeys. (This time I made sure the hats were knit in the round before I bought it.) With that, nothing would do but to go back to the Yarn Barn the next day and buy what I needed to make a hat. I came out with two skeins of soft acrylic/wool, Square circular needles and Square DPNs.I like the square needles but I’m not sure I notice I big difference. I do like the pointiness and the super-smooth finish. I also found these fun little socks and it was the last pair so of course I had to get them.They please me. It’s like I can have my secret superhero costume. That’s right, I am…Knitting Girl!

It wasn’t all knitting all weekend, of course. There’s also a great pet store, and we went in hoping to find something to prevent Grace from tearing the wood off the side of the house. Like any normal pet-owner, we found that and more. We got a bottle of bitter spray but we also bought a super Ruffhides chew toy. It’s made of really durable rubber and it has a tough Himalayan chew inside, but it’s designed so the dog can see and smell the chew but not chew on it! Hahaha! It drives them wild. My two puppies were going nuts trying to get to the chew…well, that and steal it from each other over and over. And guess what? They’ve been gnawing on it for hours and there’s no sign of any damage or wear. And these are dogs that can do this:I may never buy another brand of dog toy again.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go rest from my busy weekend and make some baby hats. Thanks for being part of my first blog year!

My new favorite WIP

Mar10

Yesterday was kind of a rough day. I had errands to run and insensitive comments to absorb, and the latter was a bit difficult. It didn’t help that I didn’t get much knitting time, and what time I did get was spent mostly frogging and starting over.

My newest project is the Hogan Infinity Scarf, which is this really striking cowl done in dark pink and gray with a lovely lacy chevron pattern. I happened to have some Rowan DK in my stash in just the right colors, and supposedly the right amounts. I immediately cast on the 198 stitches and set about knitting. It has a border of pink on both sides, and I noticed as I finished the first pink border that my ball of yarn was awfully small. I weighed it and discovered I’d used 35 of the 50 grams on just one border. Clearly I wouldn’t have enough for the second. Well. I had to think about this.

The pattern makes a rather long scarf, and it’s done in multiples of 9. I did some math that made sense at the time (but seems suspicious now) and decided I would start over with 144 stitches. So I frogged the 11 completed rows and now have 5 rows with the new stitch count. The nice thing is that it knits up quickly, so if I get more done and it doesn’t seem long enough, I won’t mind too much starting over again.So yeah, this bit of knitting didn’t do much to improve my state of mind. After dinner I decided to go to Joann for retail therapy. It failed miserably. They didn’t have the handles I want for my blue/pink silk bag. They’d sold out of the clearance yarn I wanted to get more of. And none of the full-price yarn called my name. I tried. I picked up skein after skein and nothing happened. I didn’t want to buy yarn just to buy yarn. I left the store empty-handed…but with the understanding that I would visit my LYS today. Good solution, isn’t it? I’ll let you know tomorrow what comes home with me.

I’ll finish by sharing some beauty shots. Puppies had a photo shoot the other day and they posed wonderfully.

Jack

Grace