Tag Archive | slouch hats

A little bit of knitting progress

I wish I had more exciting stuff to share. I mean, I’ve had a week now of extra knitting time while I rest my foot, and I’ve got almost nothing. I’m working on that mermaid blanket but it’s still just more of the same. And I’m working on my third candy cane scarf; it’s going pretty quickly.I should be able to finish that soon and beg my husband to mail it for me. I’m just really eager to be working on FUN stuff. Sure, all knitting is fun, but these two projects aren’t using my creative energies. I want to be playing with my pretty yarns, finding new and interesting projects. I want to make a Doodler. I want to make baby hats. I want to make cowls. And I will, soon. As soon as I finish these two commissioned pieces.

I did manage to take photos of the two completed Sarah beanies. Granted, they’re not great photos. In fact, they suck a little, but my mobility is limited so this is what you get for now. It’s a really fun pattern, and the hats are much cuter than my photos make them look. You can find the free pattern here. I would say that it comes out a little big as written. The purple-ish one I cast on the 100 stitches, and with worsted weight, it’s just a looser brim than I like. The turquoise one I went down to…80? stitches, I think. Either that or 88. And then I increased to 100(ish) stitches for the body.

I also learned the downfall to knitting while under the influence of pain meds. The other night I forgot and accidentally took an extra pill, and then I tried to knit a second Yoda ear. It didn’t end well. Those don’t match. In case you can’t tell, the one on the right is the result of the doped knitting. Sigh. Guess I’ll frog that one and try again!

That’s all the knitting to report. I’ve been reading After You by JoJo Moyes, which is great. I finished Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner, and while I enjoyed it, I don’t think it was her best. While knitting, I’ve started watching My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and it’s hysterical. Just quirky and strange and delightful. And of course cuddling with the puppies. I’m so glad I have the pups for company!

Down But Not Out

Nov8

Last week was full of bad. Like, really bad, and lots of it. First was this: Wednesday morning I was coming downstairs to say goodbye to my daughter before she left for school, and somehow I completely missed the last step. I landed hard on my foot, heard it crack, and knew it was bad. She got me an ice pack and I sent her on to school. Then I managed to hobble to the dining room, where my phone was, to call my husband to take me to the ER. X-rays confirmed that I’d broken the 5th metatarsal, which is the bone that runs along the outer side of the foot. I was given pain meds, a boot, crutches, and instructions to put no weight on it.Thankfully, I hadn’t messed up the ankle or anything else. But still, it’s my right foot, which means no driving. As a SAHM with two active kids, that makes life difficult. My poor husband is now having to take on a lot of chauffeur duties, as well as errands like returning library books and going to the grocery store. Ugh.

My first full day at home alone, I lost my balance on my crutches and fell. I protected my foot, which meant all my weight landed on the heel of my hand. My right hand. I *think* it just got badly bruised, but it made using the crutches even more painful, because that’s exactly where I bear the weight when I’m using them. The next morning I had my husband bring down the rolling office chair, and that’s made getting around downstairs much easier.

Thursday, my husband got a ticket for expired tags, which neither of us realized were expired and neither of us remember getting the reminder postcard in the mail.

Friday, my puppy Jack caught a nail on something, pulling it partway off. He needed to go to the vet but I couldn’t drive and Alex couldn’t leave work, not after being gone all day with me on Wednesday. Thankfully, my sister was able to come help us out, and we managed to get him to the vet where they removed the nail, bandaged his paw and gave me meds for him, all to the tune of $140. So yeah, it was a very, very long week. I am tired and sore and frustrated and poor. It’s a good thing I can’t drive to any yarn stores because we can’t afford it right now! Thankfully, I can still knit, and I now have LOTS of time to knit while I hang out on the couch. Sarah Beanie #1, which I worked on at the World Series celebration parade on Tuesday, before the foot fiasco.Sarah Beanie #2, begun the night of the foot fiasco when I needed something soothing and happy. It was happy until the next day. I’d dropped a stitch way back and hadn’t noticed. Fortunately, I was able to pick it up so I didn’t have to frog the whole thing.Butterfly Hat #2. This one I took with me on Saturday, when both kids were auditioning for the metro district band. I hadn’t planned on going, what with the foot and crutches and all, but my daughter was so disappointed that I decided to give it a whirl, hopping down the 10 or so steps outside our house to the car.I finished the hat before the auditions were done, sadly. Since I hadn’t planned on going, I didn’t have other projects ready to grab. Just another reminder to always have a travel project on hand! Still, I was glad I’d made the effort to go, even if I was exhausted by the time we made it home seven hours later. And hooray, the week ended on a high note: my son, a 7th grader auditioning for the first time, was selected as an alternate, and my daughter earned third chair in the district band! Now I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that I’m back in the driver’s seat by the time we need to go to All-State auditions! I go to the orthopedist on Tuesday to get more X-rays, check on the healing process, and see whether I need surgery to insert a pin. Hopefully I’ll have a better idea of how long I’ll be restricted after that appointment. And until then, I’ll just keep knitting.

A Day of Antiquing, and a Hat

Nov2

Yesterday was the husband’s birthday, and we started the day by going out for a BIG breakfast. Then he wanted to celebrate it by going antiquing. We managed to hit one huge antique mall, a tiny antique store, and a medium-sized antique mall in around four hours. No yarn, but that doesn’t mean I came home empty-handed. This coat tree is made with cheap “wood” and is a little short, but at $5 it’s a perfect display for my craft shows. It’ll be fantastic for scarves and bags. The top section even twirls!Vintage buttons!! Love them.These are my favorites. I also found a new Joseph Original figurine. (Sorry for the really bad phone photo.) They had four and I only bought one, but I’m really tempted to go back for the others. My first was the dark pink in the back, the one without arms. She was given to me by my mom’s mom, and somehow that started a wee collection. Now I look for them every time I’m in an antique store.

I did manage to get some knitting time in the car while we drove around. And during the game (WOOHOOOOO GO ROYALS!!!!), I finished it. I’m calling it the Pumpkin Slouch Hat and even though I don’t wear orange at all, I really like this hat. I especially like the reverse side!I modified my favorite Broken Rib Slouch Hat pattern for worsted weight, and though it came out a bit bigger than I wanted, I’m calling it a win. I’m a terrible mom, though: my daughter asked if I was selling it. I said yes, I need inventory for the craft show. She asked if she could buy it. I said no, she had more important things to spend her money on. BUT I did say if it didn’t sell at the show, it would be hers (for free, of course). I feel bad, but I’m just really low on hat inventory and I can’t make money without having a good selection of things to sell.

Today is sunny and warm so I’m going to take my yarn outside and enjoy the good weather while we have it. Happy November, and best of luck to all of you participating in NaKniSweMo!

Two Finished Hats

Oct31

I’m still working on the mermaid blanket, and it’s going as slowly as I expected, probably because I have to take breaks to work on something else periodically. My next craft show is the 18th, so I’m trying to balance getting new hats made for that with the need to get the blanket done before Christmas. That won’t be a problem at all; I’m over halfway through the longest part and soon I’ll get to start decreasing for the tail. It’s good baseball crochet since it’s so mindless right now, just row after row of shells. No new pictures, because it’s not really that interesting at the moment.

Here’s what’s more interesting right now: two newly finished hats! The first is the Butterfly Hat, which popped up on my Facebook feed recently and I thought was fantastic. I’ve done the butterfly stitch before, on my sister’s fabulous bag, and I really love the look. So when a friend asked me to make her a black one, I was delighted to try out the pattern. It came out a little more…bubbly than I expected, but I still like it. I think it’s because it’s a 5-strand butterfly, rather than the 3-strand that the bag pattern called for, and there’s more tension on the stitches. It might be kind of interesting to play around with it and see what happens with a 3-strand. I used acrylic this time, black Purl Essence Sincerely from Joann. It came out a bit big, but my friend has a big noggin so that should be perfect!

Last night, while I watched the Royals (it was sad, but we’re going to turn it around tonight), I finished my Spiralini Hat. I LOVE this pattern. Very simple, and I love how the spiral continues throughout the decreases. I also love the feel of the Knit Picks Preciosa. My only thought is that when I make this pattern again, and I will, I think I’ll go up a needle size for the body to give it a looser drape.

For my Halloween knitting, I’ve got an orange slouchy hat on my needles. My kids are too old for trick-or-treating, so I get to stay out of the rain and watch the game tonight. Wishing you all a safely spooky Halloween!

Craft Show Results

Oct11

This show freaked me out. Big time. I showed up to set up and it was in this BIG pavilion, and there were all these vendors with fancy displays and tons of product, people who clearly did this all the time. And then there was little old me, with my styrofoam heads and makeshift thrift-store displays and a wide variety of products. I was paralyzed for a little while, with no idea how I was going to do this. Thank goodness, my Knitting SIL showed up to help and jump-started my competitive nature. Between the two of us, we set up a professional, attractive display. The first day was disappointing. Big crowds for the first three hours or so, but over the course of the 8-hour day, I made less than $100. Plenty of people stopped and admired, but no one was buying. I was discouraged but still hoped the second day would be better, and it was! The crowds weren’t as big but I made some sales, enough to sell twice what the booth space cost me. Great? Nope, but good. The Royals hats didn’t sell as quickly as I expected but I sold four of the six button slouch hats I just made last week, so I’ll be making more of those.

Here’s the highlight of the entire show: mid-afternoon on Saturday, two women stopped by my booth and admired several of the hats. The older woman tried on a red slouch hat and liked it, the younger woman tried on a few, then they said they still needed to look around. About half an hour later, they were back. They’d seen everything, trying to decide what their ONE purchase would be…and out of 100 or so vendors, I’d won their business! That made the whole experience worth it to me. Two hats, not a huge sale, but it said huge things to me: they appreciated the work I’d done, they liked it enough to spend their money on it. THAT is why I do this. THAT is why I price my items as fairly as I can. I’m not in this to get rich. I’m in this to do what I love and share it with others.

It wasn’t just them, either. I got so many compliments about my display, my products, my fiber choices, my workmanship. People stopped and really looked at my pieces, felt them, and told me I did very nice work. No, most of them didn’t buy, but that’s ok. It was enough to tell me that I’m on the right track with what I’m doing. Enough people get it, get that my goal is to take a beautiful yarn and find the right pattern to show it off, and do it in a high-quality way to produce something that’s better than you can buy at Target or Kohl’s. I did have one person ask me if I’d take $10 on a $15 acrylic hat (I said no) but only one. That person is not my target. My target is the person who appreciates beauty and quality and is willing to pay what those things are worth.

So now I have to figure out how to reach my target. I’m not sure this show was worth doing again. I had a wonderful time, but the profit wasn’t huge. Am I better off doing smaller, less expensive shows? In the past, I’ve made almost the same amount of money at them while paying smaller booth fees. Do I search for shows in areas that are typically more oriented toward handmade/artisan/independent sellers? Areas that are higher income? Or do I just keep doing a variety? I’m not sure. I’m pondering while I start looking around for some more shows to do.

What’s my takeaway from this show? I need more depth in my kid hat inventory. People wanted them. They loved my Yoda hat, but since I only had maybe five kid hats available, they didn’t sell well. I need more colors, more styles, more sizes. And the button slouch hats will definitely be a staple. They’re quick to make, stylish, and the buttons add great flair. I want to have some chemo caps too, soft and snug acrylic beanies. I had a request for them and hated that I didn’t have anything that was just right. (Of course I also had a request for camo alpaca beanies/gloves marketed as “Hunters’ Special” but I don’t think I’ll go that route.)

I’m never going to be the both with tons of colors in only three or four styles. That’s just not me. But I think I can find a way to meet the customers’ needs and still make what I love. They want kid hats? I love making hats. Having a variety of colors and sizes is all I need; they don’t have to be the same pattern. They want slouch hats? Man, the possibilities are endless. I’ll be making slouchy beanies forever and be happy doing it.

Making money from yarn is hard. It definitely takes time and effort and patience. In the last month or so, I’ve been posting more frequently on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and it’s helping. I’m nowhere near a rockstar but I’m engaging with more people, and I think my visibility is slowing growing bit by bit. Now I need to to take the next step and be more present in person; i.e. do more shows/fairs. I’m looking at this as a job, but I’m still loving it. How lucky am I? Very! Especially since I had so much time to knit the last two days that I finished three hats, including this one.

Yesterday Was (not so) Awesome

Oct7

It started off pretty well with morning tea and knitting, but after lunch I went shopping for a few new clothes. Unfortunately, I needed a bigger size and only had one pair of jeans and maybe half a dozen long-sleeve shirts that fit well. The up side was that I found a few good things, but I wasn’t thrilled about the size I had to get. So I wasn’t feeling too great about myself after that, but I was trying.

Then last night I got in trouble. I got in trouble for letting my son order a shirt in a size that ended up too big, then for getting upset when he snapped at me about it. I got in trouble for running down the hill that morning to take him the frosting he needed for a class project (“Someone was THERE, mom”) and then found out that he was letting me walk with him to school not because he liked the time, but because he didn’t know how to say he didn’t want me to. I trust him to get to school safely, but it was one of the few times I got to spend with him alone, and I liked our little chats. Guess I was the only one. Then I got in trouble for not knowing where the rubbing alcohol was (“We have all these beauty products and nothing USEFUL”) and then in trouble for getting upset by being snapped at unexpectedly.

So yeah. Yesterday was SUPER. Maybe it was just a bad day for everybody. Sigh. Today I let him walk alone, I will email the band director about ordering a smaller size, and I’ll find the darn rubbing alcohol. AND I’m going to knit! That was about the only good thing about yesterday. I now have two finished Royal blue hats to take to the craft show, and I think I can get one more done today. It’ll be a beanie in super bulky yarn so it should go quickly. The brim on this one came out a little bigger than I wanted, but it should work well for those with slightly bigger heads, or with lots of hair. And if it doesn’t sell at this craft show, I might see about adding a bit of elastic to snug it up some. And I love how this one turned out! The gray and blue is a little less common for a KC Royals hat, but I love it. And I showed the side with the joining seam because I was pleased with myself. It’s still noticeable if you look for it, but overall it came out really clean and smooth. I just have to decide whether to add a blue pom pom. Personally, I’ll always vote for a pom pom. How about you?

Craft Show Madness

Oct5

It’s setting in, the frenzy of an upcoming craft show. I feel the urge to MAKE ALL THE THINGS that I think will sell because I’m convinced the stuff I’ve already made is not good enough. I know I won’t be able to put up an attractive display by myself so I’m crossing my fingers that my knitting SIL will help me out. I’m fretting about how to take essential breaks when I’m working my table by myself. So yeah, normal pre-craft show jitters.

All the broken-rib hats have buttons attached and yesterday I cast on for a new hat. It’s a simple slouch hat in stockinette but I’m doing red and white, a candy cane look for early holiday shoppers. I like it so far, and it’s going quickly. But this morning it hit me: WHY am I not doing blue and white?? My Kansas City Royals are heading into postseason baseball, and KC is baseball crazy this year. I’d be silly to not have some blue in my inventory this weekend, so I’m setting aside the red and white for now. Good thing I have extra circular needles!

The most exciting progress from the weekend comes from the husband. He got 36 of 41 fence posts installed! I am SO excited to see this taking shape. It’s going to look fantastic. Plus we’re all ready to retire these stupid chains for the dogs. The lack of running-around time is making Grace crazy, so that when I take them for a walk in the evening, she’s uncontrollable with energy. It makes walks miserable for both me and Jack, who gets tired of being pulled around when they’re on the double leash. So if the rain holds off, I’m going to see if I can handle taking both pups to the dog park to run off some of the crazy. Wish me luck!

Back to the Fun Yarny Stuff

Oct3

I am so humbled by the responses I’ve gotten to my last post about my fight with depression. So many people have thanked me and shared similar experiences, and though it saddens me to know that it affects so so many people, I’m encouraged that the more we talk about it, the more we heal and the stigma grows weaker. Thank you to all who liked and commented. You made my heart a little fuller and stronger.

But now I want to go back to a happier topic. I have lots of little knitty things to share. First of all, I’ve got FIVE new hats for my craft show! I’ve decided to add buttons to all of them. I was undecided at first, thinking they might discourage someone from buying one. But as my wise daughter pointed out, there might be someone who would be more inclined to buy it with buttons. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t looked at it that way, but it seems so true to me. The buttons make them stand out, make them more unusual. Sure, my button choice might not be what they would pick, but that’s okay. I only need one person who likes my choice. So now I have lots of buttons to sew on before Friday. Yikes! Friday. I’m a little nervous about this craft show. It’s a bigger two-day show at a popular venue. It should be well-attended, which is great…as long as I can put up an attractive display and a few people like what I’ve made.

Yesterday I got to have breakfast with my sister and nephew, which was delightful, and then we hit the thrift store to see what treasures we could find. I did well: I found a big stash of circular needles for only $2 each. I resisted the urge to BUY ALL THE NEEDLES and just came home with 5 sets. Sadly, in my frenzy I picked up two of the same, so I’ll probably just pass the extra on to my Knitting SIL. No, I probably didn’t NEED any of these, but they’re different lengths and it’s always handy to have a good variety of circs.I also found this gorgeous tote bag that looks kind of like silk. I have a serious tote bag addiction. I tried to resist but my sister encouraged me. “But it’s so pretty!” Yes, yes it is.
See, look at that hot pink lining! How could I resist? Definitely worth the $5.Later, the husband took the afternoon off so we hit a really cool vintage store downtown. I found another big stash of needles, both circs and straights, but this time I was strong and resisted. It helped that they were $4.50. Not a bad price, just not as cheap as $2. The only one I couldn’t resist was a fantastic set of bone knitting needles, hand carved in Nepal.It’s a more unusual size but seriously, how cool are they? They even have their own fabric zip-up pouch. The needles are a bit heavy but I’ll still be on the lookout for a project I can make with them soon.

So there you go, all the knitting stuff that’s made me happy the last couple of days! Now I need the time to actually KNIT.

Two Finished Hats

Sep29

“I like big sticks, and I cannot lie.” The puppies discovered they can reach the pile of sticks we made during our yard work and they’ve been having a marvelous time pulling them out one by one and fighting over them. Because as you know, just like with children, you can’t simply give each puppy a stick and call it good. No, one stick is clearly better than the other, and both must fight for the right to gnaw on it. Jack won this time.

In between taking the dogs outside in the gorgeous almost-fall weather, I managed to finish two hats. One is the Lunar Eclipse hat, which is even getting button accents. The other is a basic pink. It’s not quite as bright as it looks in this photo; it’s more of a dark raspberry pink. I’ll leave off buttons on this one.What color next: purple, teal, or green?

I also got to take the girl shopping for a Homecoming dress yesterday. The dance is this Saturday and the rest of the week is pretty full, so last night was basically our only opportunity. We found three great options. Two were full-length, gorgeous but more formal, more Prom-ish. One was shorter, with a swirly skirt, beaded waist and gathered bodice. It’s lovely, looked gorgeous on her, very feminine without being overly revealing. She wasn’t sure any of them were “the One” but with limited time, she had to pick. She picked the shorter one and by the time we got home and she modeled it for her dad, she was really excited about it, liked it better than she did in the store. So she had him take a photo and she texted it to some of her friends. Two of the three were supportive and encouraging, they loved it, so cute, she looked great. But the other one? She decided to tell my girl she looked like one of the Golden Girls, that the dress was pretty but it made her look older. Seriously?? If you’re shopping for a dress with a girlfriend and ask for opinions, I get it, this would have been acceptable. (Depending on the friendship. I definitely have people who could say this to me without fear of retribution.) But once the dress is purchased with no other options? That’s just mean, I think. Or thoughtless, I’m not sure which. Either way, my daughter was hurt, and I hope she’s able to set that comment aside and remember how she felt in the dress before. It’s just one more example of why it’s best to think before you speak!

It’s Cotton Season

Apr19

Everything I’m making right now is cotton. I’m so ready for warmer weather that I can’t stand the thought of playing with wool or alpaca. I think other people feel the same, so since I’m prepping for craft shows, I’m trying to make things that will be appealing. You’ve seen some of the hats, now four in all. But I also made a lightweight mesh scarf. It’s either TARDIS blue or KC Royals blue, however you want to think about it. And this morning I finished a simple little purse with a long strap so you can wear it across the body. It’s perfect for baseball games, theme parks, amusement parks, anything where you just need your wallet, phone and keys. It’s got a snap inside to keep it closed. Best of all, it’s cotton, so if it gets wet, it won’t hurt the bag! (Might hurt the phone, but that’s not my problem!) It’s cute by itself but it’s even cuter with a little flower. I’ve got some gorgeous raspberry-pink cotton that might become my next little bag, and I’ve got another custom order hat to do in a cotton/linen blend. Looks like my cotton fixation won’t be ending anytime soon.