A Little Big Discouraged

I try to be as upbeat as I possibly can on my blog, but sometimes that just doesn't work. This last week has bummed me out for some reason. I've just been in a less than stellar mood, and I can't figure out why. I think I'm getting a cold, so that probably has something to do with it, but it's not everything, I'm sure.
I haven't been working as hard as I could on my business, and I know that's a problem. I didn't do a Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday/whatever sale this weekend, mostly because I am lazy. I really could have done something, but I preferred sleeping and knitting. Last year, I told myself that I would do it this year. Well, that didn't work out. I'm really bad a pre-planning things in advance, I usually just fly by the seat of my pants and hope for the best.
I really need to figure out how to make this business work. I love working at The Beer Store, but it's not something I want to do forever.

It's not all doom and gloom here, though. I have a couple custom orders to work on! My friend Paul asked for a red and white Where's Waldo? style hat, and I am doing that on my Knifty Knitter. I just started into the white body of the hat, after knitting a wide red brim. I haven't knit on one of my looms in ages, so it took a little while to get back into a rhythm.
I was also asked to make a neck warmer similar to the eyelet neck warmers in my shop, just a different size. My mom is picking up the yarn for that from Michael's this week, and I will work on it this weekend when I am at my parents. I have to make sure I bring all my knitting tools with me, otherwise, I won't be able to finish it for Sunday, when Rosina will be picking it up.
The last custom order is for a woman named Cassie who owns Walkerville Soap Works. She makes baskets up with her amazing soap, and asked for a lavender coloured one to go into a lavender themed basket. I'm about a third of the way through that, and I plan on finishing it tonight when I get home from work.
In any case, I am going to try to put myself into a good mood. I'll work on this hat, and play some games online.
How are all of you doing?

Self portrait Monday: March 7, 2011

Today is Monday, so here we go with a self portrait post. I am going to continue in this schedule even if I am updating daily in another way. I feel like Monday's are "catch-up" type days where I can tell all of you what I've been up to lately.
I finished a burgundy cabled cowl this morning. I've been working on it off and on for the past couple weeks. I just had a few rows to go, one with the cables crossing, and about 2 more before casting off. It's a nice, thick cowl and the cables really stand out.

I also started and finished a baby hat on my Knifty Knitter. I am going to donate some hats, and some yarn, to a local group that makes hats for a NICU not far from Windsor. I've been looking for somewhere to donate more yarn, and this seems like the place to go. The hat in the photo only took about 45 minutes to make. Super simple!!! The only downside to using the Knifty Knitter is that you have to pay attention while you are knitting. It's not really something you can look up from, which is somewhat inconvenient for me, because I like to knit and read or watch TV at the same time. I'll just have to start listening to podcasts more and making the hats.
Not much else going on over here. Though, I do have a new model for my knitted stuff. Maybe I'll post a photo of her tomorrow. She can be kind of shy at times, but she is beautiful.

Self portrait Monday: February 7, 2011

Happy Monday everyone! I'm in a fantastic mood, and I hope I can spread it to anyone who isn't.
Last night, I finished knitting a hat for Rick's mom, Cindy. She bought a couple neck warmers from me the other day, and wanted a hat to wear when she goes out for her daily walks. Her hat is made from two strands of Homespun and one Red Heart Shimmer, which ads a little bit of sparkle. I did it on my green Knifty Knitter loom, and it only took a couple days of off and on knitting. The brim doesn't flare out when you wear it like it does in the photo. It's such an awesome snowy-white look!

Speaking of snow, this is part of the reason I am in such an awesome mood. I just got back in from taking Winston out, and it was ridiculous. We have to cross a boulevard that is covered in fairly deep snow to get to the park that we take Winston to so he can do his business. Lately, I've been able to walk across it and the snow was almost u to the top of my boot. No problem! Today, for whatever reason, the snow was deeper. It was fine a couple hours ago when I took him out! Both of my boots filled with awful, half-melted snow. I shook them out when I was standing on the sidewalk next to the park. Winston was an angel and waited for me to tell him it was ok to play. I decided to chase after him. We have a long retractable leash that we keep him on usually, and that's what he was on today. He darted back and forth and took off to the end of the leash. And then KAPOW I was down in the snow, shoulder first! It was hilarious! My boots refilled with snow, and I got quite a bit in my pockets, my hood and somehow, my bum. Winston came back to check on me, and sniffed a couple times before I grabbed at him and knocked him into the snow. It was great. Normally, I'd be a little upset over this, but just him coming to "rescue" me made it that much better.

In other news, Rick and I are working on a new site for me! We tried launching last night, and everything went KABLOOIE. I suddenly don't have email, and everything was down until almost 6 this morning. We're hoping the email issue fixes itself (as it should) today, or at the latest, tomorrow night. In the mean time, my email address is completely down, and I'm not sure if I will receive anything that is being sent to me during this time.

Sick Sick Sick, Hats Hats Hats

I seem to have come down with some sort of ridiculous cold. I don't remember the last cold I had, I get them so rarely. Because of this, I am a total wuss when it comes to dealing with them. Rick is over for a few days because I don't have to work, and he has been making me tea a couple times a day. I am currently drinking one that I made myself, and it's not nearly as good as his. Maybe I should get sick more often, he takes pretty good care of me then.j

I brought two hats into Made In Windsor today. One was green that I don't think I mentioned on here at all, the other was brown. I am working on a grey hat now. Homespun and the grey I got from Zellers recently. I am trying to figure out other nice colours to start on after I finish this one. I really like the look of the Homespun, but it's not the manliest of yarns.
I am working on a few small projects to hopefully sell at Made In Windsor in the near future. They use a small amount of yarn, can be finished quickly, and are pretty enjoyable to knit. They should be shown soon!

More hats made

Hats are starting to become my main project. I have had a few of them ordered, and the first one has been given to the recipient.
The upper left in the image is a beautiful dark amethyst Homespun hat, for Kara from work. I haven't seen her to give it to her yet.
The brown in the upper right is from some mill-end yarn I bought last week. I am pretty sure it is Bernat Harmony, but I can't be certain. I just finished a second on in the same colour a few minutes ago. So very soft.
The black hat hiding in the lower left is a plain black worsted acrylic paired with a strand of Bernat Boucle if I remember correctly.
The blue in the lower right is supposed to be for Billy, but I haven't seen him in ages. Also, not sure if it's a little too feminine for him.
The grey hat in the centre is pretty awesome. It is the one that James bought, and probably my favourite of the bunch here. Three strands of slightly-thinner-than-worsted yarn in a wonderful charcoal grey. The fabric is a little stiff, but I am sure it will soften up with time. I am going to make more in that colour when I get home and have access to my stash.
I really hope I continue to sell hats for a bit longer. I am going to make some out of thinner yarn so they're not as warm, and can be warn during the slightly warmer weather.

An other custom knitted item, and more cotton yarn.

I have the cloths all done for my aunt. Two tan, three yellow/orange and one blue/green are what I ended up with. I hope she is happy with the colour choices. If not, I can always make more for her.
I had my backpack in my department at work today. It's way too big to put in our tiny locker, and I feel safer with it near me. I was getting something out of it, and took out a hat I made a while ago that I was planning on frogging. It's a really nice purple Homespun yarn, but I used the HUGE Knifty Knitter loom, and it's really way too big. One of the girls at work really liked the colour, so I offered to sell her the remake as soon as I have it finished. I will start working on it as soon as the hat I have on the right sized loom is done. We work together on Wednesday, so it would be great to have it done for then.
 I bought some new to me yarn the other day. Three bags of Bernat Handicrafter, bought at Value Village for $3.99 a bag. They're all the smallest skeins of this type of yarn. Not sure how many I have, but I will photograph them in a few days (I'm at my parents right now)
I am progressing on getting a lot of my yarn used up. It's going slowly, but I am definitely starting to notice a decline in selection for my yarn bombs, and for pairing with other yarns for hats and scarves. The thought of eliminating large parts of my stash is completely mind boggling. I am so used to having a ton of yarn at my fingertips, it's going to be quite a change.

Busy busy!

I haven not been updating, once again. This time, it's for a few reasons.
I have been cranking out kids hats off of the knifty knitter. I've been working on some scarves. Finished a couple dishcloths. I have been very productive.
But. My wrists have been hurting. There is no denying that it is knitting related. Even if it's not, it is definitely being aggravated by it.
I've been trying to stretch my wrists often. And I've been taking a ton of breaks, but they still hurt.
I am going to try to take it easy with typing, knitting, and other such things for a few days and see if that helps at all.

New yarn!

I know I haven't been updating much lately, but fear not, I have not forgotten you!
The other day, I returned some yarn from the scarf I just finished for Rick. I know, returning yarn is sort of crazy, but I knew I could get other yarn with that money.
And more yarn is what I got.
I bought three skeins of Bernat Harmony, in different colours. One dark pink, a lavender colour, and black.
All I can say is this yarn is amazing. Super soft, has just the right amount of texture. If I double it, it's perfect for the Knifty Knitter.
And, best of all, it's affordable! Coming in at $3.99 a skein for 169 meters/184 yards, this will keep me going for a little while.

I have been working on a lot of craft show things lately. I have two in November that I at determined to do really well at. I am taking the day off work, risking losing a decent amount of pay. I'm trying to figure out a way to make deals on my product without losing a lot of money.
Have any of you ever done a raffle at a craft show? Give a ticket away with each purchase over $X and draw at the end of the show? The only problem with this is that I don't drive, and I wouldn't want to make the winner come pick up the prize.

I'm open to suggestions!

Made In Windsor Grand Opening Follow Up

Christine, from Made In Windsor, just got around to updating about the grand opening party. I did post a few things about it a little while back, but now I have more pictures, taken by Christine herself.
I spent most of the day working on hats on my large Knify Knitter loom. I guess I was doing a demo of sorts. I had quite a few young kids staring at me and asking what I was doing. I showed them a finished product, and asked if they wanted to help. Many parents were very hesitant, worried that the child would ruin what I was making. Little did they know that the task at hand was very simple. All I did was ask for help holding the yarn so it wouldn't roll onto the floor. This little boy (I can't remember his name!!!) was an absolute joy to hang out with. he would watch what I was doing, and then just talk away about something or other, and then gently pat the yarn and smile. He's a lot like me, now that I think about it! Several other kids followed suit during the day, content to hold some super soft yarn. A couple of the older kids helped me by actually wrapping the yarn or making the stitches. Knifty Knitters are great for kids, they're super easy to learn, nearly instant gratification, and inexpensive.
After a while, I went outside to enjoy the sun with Dianne, who I mentioned in the other post. She was making cookie pieces, and I started working on an other hat. Later that night, there were 3 of us sitting outside with our craft of choice: knitting, crochet, knifty knitter-ing. It was a lot of fun talking yarn with others, I saw spit-splicing up close (I don't use 100% often, if ever, and that was sort of a foreign concept to me. It just seemed like a ridiculous idea that would never work) we discussed various types of yarn, taking on too many commissions and a bunch of other yarn-y topics.
All in all, awesome day. I talked to a lot of people, networked quite a bit, and left with a smile on my face.

The scarf is finished, among other things

I finished Rick's scarf the other day, it's been given to him, and he's worn it a couple times. He loves it. He said he'd take pictures once he's figured out a creative way to photograph it.

I bought 5 small skeins of Bernat Handicrafter cotton to make dishcloths for a Christmas gift. Not saying who they're for, just in case she happens to read this. These will have to wait a while before I start working on them. I do have a good reason for this, promise! (I'll tell you more about this at the end of the post)

I started working on a Thick and Quick scarf in Fig. I love this yarn, I know I've said it before, but it's true. I love the colours it is available in. I love the way it feels. I love how easy it is to knit with. I may start ordering this yarn wholesale, if my sales at Made In Windsor pick up a little.

The reason I have to wait on the dishcloths for Christmas, is because I have my first craft show of the year! I'm back at Iler Lodge (where I did my first show) on the first Saturday of November. This will be the first time I go back there since almost a year ago. Both of my maternal grandparents lived there, and it is an amazing place. The way this show works is that each vendor donate a portion of their proceeds instead of paying a table fee, and those funds go to the residents activities. I enjoy the way this works. If I don't sell anything, it costs me nothing. If I sell a whole bunch of stuff, I donate accordingly. The Fig scarf is for this show, as is the Lion Homespun hat I have started on the green Knifty Knitter loom. Oh, and the 5 or so other dishcloths I have made in as many days.

This is starting to become addictive again! I have started knitting on the city bus more and more. And when I go to Phog, I make sure to bring knitting with me, even if it isn't craft night!

Is this officially an obsession?

I think I have a problem, ladies and gentlemen.
You see, I am currently working on a new hat on the Knifty Knitter, and my loom tool is all silly, and the rubber grip is sliding off the metal. The tool itself is only a couple dollars, but I would have to go into the yarn section at Michael's to pick it up. This would mean that I am tempted to buy new yarn. I never go to Michael's without the coupon from the flier. Ever since they started making them only available online, I haven't gone yarn shopping since I don't have a printer.

I then weighed yarn against getting groceries.

Am I crazy? I haven't gotten groceries in... Three weeks? I live on my own, so I am usually pretty happy with soup and pasta. But, I have hardly any fruit and veg, no bread/tortillas/pitas, no cheese, and very little of other things that I eat regularly.

I think I need to go get real food and check my head while I'm at it. Yarn shopping can wait.

Made In Windsor Grand Opening

Yesterday was the Made in Windsor grand opening! I was there from about 10 am until 10:30 pm, and had an awesome time.
I finished a black hat on the Knifty Knitter, then started a purple one, and finished that one by the end of the night.
Dianne Clinton of Off The Chain crocheted a pink bunny hat for my friend Amy and I offered to model it. Owen, of Windsor Visuals, made me laugh while I was trying to do some sort of bunny buck teeth something or other. Despite the fact that I look incredibly ridiculous, I do like this picture. The hat is adorable, and totally suits Amy. She came in and picked it up and was incredibly excited. Check out Dianne's website. She does awesome charity work, and crochets mittens for Mitts for Tits.

The Art Gallery of Windsor also had some activities for the kids, and bigger kids I suppose. We painted Plexiglas to turn it into a fridge magnet. I sorta just messed around with the paint and got this. It kind of matches my kitchen, but at the same time totally doesn't.
A few other vendors did their thing and demonstrated their craft. I answered a lot of questions about Knifty Knitters and knitting in general.
All in all, the day was a great success. As soon as Christine posts about the day, I will have more pictures, and an other post! Make sure you check that one out, there will be pictures of super cute kids helping me knit.

Still knitting the scarf!

But still no pictures. I think I may just wait until it's finished, with ends woven in, to show you all what it looks like. Just imagine the last picture, only a million times longer.

I am still working on hats on the Knifty Knitter. I haven't made much progress, though, since I've been so busy with everything else. I have been trying to find other interesting colour combinations from the yarn that I already have.

Otherwise, I have been working on my other blogs, DistillingWater and I Love Etsy. If you use tumblr, please follow!

Yarn Shopping!

I went to Michael's yesterday armed with a 40% off coupon and a sales flier.
Wool Ease Thick & Quick was on for $5 a skein. I am used to paying about $8 each. I purchased 2 skeins of Black and one Fig. I am planning on trying the yarn out on the Knifty Knitters to see how they look as slouchy hats.
Speaking of slouchy hats, Christine from Made In Windsor informed me that I sold one on opening day! This means that I have covered my cost for the first month (I purchased a half space, which is $10 a month) as well as covered the cost of yarn for that project. Any sales after this one are money in my pocket! If I can sell one item a week, I would be incredibly happy. I am also trying to finish items around that rate to make sure I have enough stock to keep my space filled.

If any of you are Etsy sellers, you should leave me a link to your shop here so I can include one of your items on my I Love Etsy blog.

It's Sunday!

I didn't start anything today, but yesterday, I did!
Like I mentioned in my last post, I am preparing for a small local show. I decided I'm going to make a few Knifty Knitter hats and see how those do. Nothing fancy, just straight tubes with 1 or 2 yarns at a time.
Short post today, I'm off to bed super early.

The Knifty Knitter at Craft Night At Phog!

Like I mentioned in the Craft Night post, I worked on a hat on the largest of the Knifty Knitter looms. It is a beige-ish colour paired with a pale olive green.
I love my Knifty Knitters. They are a bit of a pain to use at times, especially if I have been at it for a while, my hands tend to cramp up.
Hats work up rather quickly on them. I've finished 3 of the second largest hats in one day before. I'm not as quick with them anymore, but I'm sure if I tried, I could probably get bac to that speed.
I started an other hat on the second largest size with some of the yarn that Victoria brought into CNAP the other night. It's pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

Craft Night and other things

I've been away from my barely-working computer for a few days, and haven't had time to update anything!
Darren always has amazing pictures of craft night, Broken City Lab and everything else. Here is one of the group.
I got quite a bit of knitting done on my Knifty Knitter, and we goofed around and had a couple drinks as always. I helped Darren with his knitting, and his progress from the start to the end of his future tag is amazing!
We had a few new people join us, as well as some familiar faces. I'm thinking of starting group crafts in the near future.

Yet an other cowl

I promise I will start knitting more interesting things soon!
I started knitting an other cowl, this one in some left over Wool Ease that I've had laying around for quite some time. I'm not sure what the colour, but it is a nice sky blue. It's slightly smaller than the rest of the cowls I've been making, only because I don't want to run out of yarn before it's long enough.

I am going to start using my Knifty Knitters more often. If anyone has any patterns or ideas for them, please share!

I'm Back!

Mostly moved in, and I'm loving it!
I have put all my yarn into storage containers of all different sorts, and that feels great! Since I am using clear containers for most of it, it's easy to see where everything is without pulling it all out.
I have been knitting on many of my moving in breaks. A few dishcloths have been finished, but also blew the dust off of my Knifty Knitters. I have seen some awesome hats made on them by some friends of friends, and I decided to try some out. I used the green loom, 3 strands of yarn and made a slouchy hat. Well, attempted to make a slouchy hat. The resulting fabric was a little thick to slouch properly. And the hat is a little small.This photo was taken by Owen, an absolutely lovely local photographer who I finally met in person at Craft Night At Phog.
More posts and photos soon!

SO CLOSE!

I have around 90 stitches left on the needle for Louis' blanket. One problem... I'm running out of the cream colour...
I'm going to the craft store with Chris today. If the yarn is on sale, I'll pick up a skein just in case. If I don't end up using it, I will add it to my Homespun stash. If I do, I will still have some left over, and add the remainder to my stash.

In other news, Mom is loving the Knifty Knitter. Which is great. Now we just have to find somewhere to donate the resulting hats. Any suggestions?

And a question. In the next little bit, I know I will be headed out to the pub/bar with friends. I hate just sitting around while I'm there (especially the non-dance bars). Would it be a Bad Idea to bring some knitting with me? I'm talking like... A dishcloth here... Please let me know!