NaBloPoMo Day 3

Writing 1667 words a day is pretty tough. I only managed to surpass that number yesterday, and just by about 70 words, and the day before I was over 400 words shy of the daily goal. Like I said before, I don't want these posts to be all fluff and filler, I want them to actually be worth reading. I want at least part of each post to be about knitting. That desire is making it harder to write enough words to hit the quota. I check my word count obsessively. After every few sentences, I copy and paste the entire post into an online word count tool, and cross my fingers that I have made a significant dent. I try to keep myself from doing it so often, but I am just impatient, I guess. I think I might also feel like the words will somehow reproduce between the two pages, and add to my total. I don't know, I could just be crazy.

I woke up fairly early, for me anyway, this morning. Most days I'm in bed until 10:30, and today I was up just after 9:00. It's strange, how I sleep. It seems the later I stay up (I was up till about 2:00 when I'm usually in bed by 12:30) the earlier I can wake up. I don't understand at all. I'm going to try going to bed late again tonight to see if I can wake up at a reasonable hour. If that works, I'll be staying up late every night! I started my day off right with some scrambled eggs with mushrooms and shredded cheese on small tortillas. A nice filling breakfast that got me going. I don't often make a real breakfast, especially the past few weeks. I usually just settle for cereal and almond/soy/rice/hemp milk, if anything at all. I used to be so good at eating breakfast every day. I would make oatmeal or quinoa or toast with peanut butter, and honey or bananas.

I've been plugging away at the YarnYarnYarnYarn blog for a while today. It's easy work, just repetitive. Because I use Tumblr as a blogging platform, I can add tons of items to a queue, and have them post as frequently as I choose. I have it set so there are 11 new posts a day, which I think is a good amount. Lots of new stuff, but not so many that followers miss out on some of them. I have about two weeks worth of posts ready to go, and another month and a half worth that are saved as drafts to be posted at much later dates. It's going really well overall, I just want to find more yarn related Etsy shops to share, as well as cool patterns on Ravelry. Those seem to be the most popular posts so far. That's most of what I have been posting, but I have shared photos from Instagram, blogs, and Facebook pages. I went through some tumblrs that follow Y4, and reblogged a few photos from some of them. I also have some ad space through PassionFruit Ads available. It would be awesome if I could fill some of those, but I'm not holding my breath for it. I need to build up the audience before the sponsors come, that I already know. Once I've been posting for a month or more, I will be able to improve the ad description with the number of visitors and followers and what not.

I spent most of the time working on the Y4 blog knitting as well. I continued the teal shawl I posted yesterday, and got almost to the end of the first skein. I kind of got tired of the plain worsted weight, so I switched it up. I put in quite a few rows on a purple and white vertically striped shawl. Both yarns are from the huge stash I purchased from the older lady last winter. They're a sport weight 70/15/15 blend of acrylic, wool and mohair. Super soft, and slightly fuzzy. I really like the way this one is turning out. It's a looser knit than the other shawls I've done like this, but I'm sure it will still be cozy and warm due to the wool/mohair content.

If you've been eyeing something in my Etsy shop, now is the time to buy! You can get 25% off your entire purchase with the code Blog25. I want to get some older stock cleared out this season, so that in the spring and summer, I can really go at it, and knit lots of new things. Some of my stock has been floating around for a couple years, and that's what I really want to sell. Of course, selling anything would be great, but the older stuff is definitely higher on the priority list.
I'm going to be honest, and say that I haven't had any sales in a while. I don't want to complain on here, but it's getting discouraging that I can't seem to sell anything. I promote quite a bit, I have a mailing list, I do giveaways, I have a Facebook page, I comment on other blogs with a link to my shop, I have lots of "hearts" on Etsy, I just can't seem to get people to put stuff in their shopping cart! Do you have any suggestions for what else to do? I'll do just about anything!

Yesterday, I mentioned the Made In Windsor Show. It's coming up in just two short weeks, and I wish it could come sooner! There are going to be over 30 amazing vendors, some of whom have dome a MiW event before, and some that have not. It is a show that is 100% handmade, there is not ONE vendor who is a "consultant" or whatever for a big national company. I love this about these shows. It's a true craft show, and not a vendor market, which is often, in my experience anyway, synonymous with yard sale. If Facebook is any indication on how good this show will be, it's going to be great. There are already about 250 confirmed as going, and another 100 saying maybe. I know this won't necessarily be accurate, but it will hopefully be close. There will certainly be other people who haven't confirmed on Facebook who are out and about for the Walkerville Holiday Walk. This is an annual event where most of the businesses in the Walkerville BIA team together and have fun things going on for all the customers/visitors to the area. The craft show itself is going to be in Walkerville Brewery, and I can't wait to check out that place. It's going to be awesome! I've had a sample of one of their beers recently, and I liked it. I have a feeling I'll be spending some of my profit there! You can see a quick recap of last years show Here. I'll try to get more, and better, pictures this year.

My 365 photo for the day is just a simple close up of a Ferrero Rocher chocolate. These have always been one of my favourite types of chocolate, or really any sweet in general. I got quite a few a little while back, so I've been stashing them away and having one every now and again. I had a couple this afternoon when I was writing this post.

I haven't done much of anything today, other than knit, read blogs, chat on Facebook, and work on this. I'm worried that on the days I have to work eight hours, I'll come up short for words. I'll just have to get into a rhythm for writing, and then  hopefully the words will come more easily. I was also thinking about trying some of the word/theme prompts every few days, and write some sort of anecdote relating to it. Maybe I'll take suggestions for themes or answer questions you guys have. There are lots of options for stuff to write about, just nothing that can help me in the present moment.

I didn't really think this NaBloPoMo thing through very well. Normally, I try to at least plan out a little bit in advance. I'm not the most organized person, but I don't usually jump without a safety net. I am absolutely determined to make it to at least 25k words by the 15th. I will count that as a personal victory if I do. If I can actually make the full month, and 50k words I'll probably faint. I can yammer on about just about anything, but to have it be all coherent and organized is a whole other matter. Hopefully, I can make it!

I have a few ideas for the next couple days, but I doubt any of them will translate to 1667 words or more, no matter how overly flowery I get with my adjectives and adverbs. Some of the ideas are: 100 things I like, which would be split into groupings of 10 things posted every day for 10 days, 50 things I dislike (I don't want to do 100, because I don't want to get too negative and complain-y!) 100 facts about me, which would also be split up into groupings of 10 or 20, why I started eating meat again after 8 years of being vegetarian, simple knitting pseudo patterns I have in my head, and of course, more about the knitting projects I currently have on the go.

Now, this is where you folks come in! I want questions, word prompts or topic suggestions, or anything else you would really like to see. Want me to do a tutorial? Post pictures of specific things? Talk about Winston? Knit using a particular colour? Pat my head and rub my stomach at the same time, while whistling twinkle twinkle little star? Okay, I've run out of crazy suggestions. I hope you get the idea. I want YOU to tell ME what you want to see! Just leave a comment on here, send me a message on Facebook, or send me an email with anything you would like to see. If you want to be anonymous, you can send me a message on Tumblr here.

I hope you found something of interest in this post! Please come back tomorrow to see what else I have to say in an overly verbose fashion.

This post has 1716 words.

I am at 4686 total words for this month.

Eyelet Neck Warmers

Don't forget about my giveaway! Still a few days to enter.
Last Thursday, I first mentioned the new neck warmers I've been working on. I took a couple photos the other day with Instagram, and I finally have a chance to post them now.
This mustard one is the one I decided to keep for myself. I love this colour, and I haven't knit anything for myself in a while.
There are rows of eyelets, separated by panels of garter stitch. It's a super simple pattern, but I think it looks great. I may write this up as a free pattern to put on Ravelry, depending on the feedback I get.
I've made a total of seven so far. This second photos is only missing the brown one I finished a couple days ago. From top to bottom they are a gorgeous, rich purple (this one isn't quite perfect), snow white, magenta (from this post), variegated emerald-blue, my mustard one, and a really nice dark copper.
I'm currently working on a black one. After this, I am almost out of Homespun. Next time it goes on sale, I will have to stock up again.
What have you been up to lately?

Four Finished Scarves

Since I started my 101 list, I've started and finished four scarves and two dishcloths.

These are the four scarves. The green and black is a cone of green acrylic blend and a chunky black acrylic. The creamy, hard to see one is a skein of Wool Ease Thick and Quick in "Wheat" all done in seed stitch. The next one is the same yarn in "Charcoal" also in seed stitch. The last one is the same chunky black acrylic as the first, with a ball of awesome vintage Italian wool/acrylic blend that I've had in my stash for a while. It's quite long, and very warm.
As you can see, I still have ends to weave in. I will hopefully get those done today to bring them down to Phog. I haven't checked my sales there since my actual birthday. I'm 80% of the way to my low balling goal, and about a third of the way to my "wouldn't it be awesome if I sold this much!?" goal.

I am really happy with my progress on the "Knit 5 miles of yarn" goal. I am at just over 1400 feet, which is about a quarter of a mile. Not bad at all, considering this is only one week of knitting.

I have lots of project ideas. The one major thing stopping me is that my yarn stash is a complete mess. I know certain yarn exists, but I have no idea where to find it! I have sorted out a couple drawers in my storage area for yarn for charity knitting. Most of the stuff I do is for Lee Lee hats, so it's mostly baby yarns and small balls of various colours, too small to do anything else with.

Progress on the Purple and Cream Shawl

Back at the beginning of the month, I posted about the shawl I was starting for myself. I set it down for a little while to work on other projects, but I picked it back up tonight due to boredom. I have SO MUCH YARN but nothing is calling to me.

This is where I'm at so far. It will definitely need blocking when I am finished. I am loving this yarn, though. It's super soft, slightly thick and thin, and the colours are amazing. I would love to work with more handspun in the future.
I favourited a bunch of patterns on Ravelry tonight for my next projects. I still have some nicer yarns that I will be using for projects for myself. Other than Richard, I don't really have anyone in my circle who would appreciate hand knits. Most of the people who do would just purchase them from me before I even have the chance of giving one to them. Oh well, more hand knits for me!
Tomorrow, I am working at Trinkets, Treasures and the Truly Unique all day. I have a bunch of knitting lined up, and some knitting podcasts to listen to, as well. I am super excited for this.
What are all of you fine folks up to these days?

A Finished Baby Blanket!

The baby blanket has been finished! It was actually finished on Tuesday, but I've been working and puttering around, and I just haven't blogged about it.

I used two and a half balls of the pink yarn, and an equal amount of the white. I have TONS of yarn left. I was totally thinking I would run out. I probably have enough for two more of the same size. Another friend of mine is expecting, and I am waiting to find out what she is having.

I just realized this, but both of these lovely ladies are named Nicole (both different spellings than mine) Crazy, no?

The final measurement is right around 25 inches square. It is cotton, so that will definitely change.

When I do baby blankets, I do them just large enough to be used in a car seat or stroller. I don't want to do anything gigantic so the baby can't tote it around later in life. I never had a blankie, but I know many people who are in their 20s or 30s and still have theirs. I want to help comfort these babies when they start to grow up.

The final tally for this blanket is TWO balls used. Out of the NINE that were purchased. Holy moly, I was hoping I'd use more! It will all get used! Even if I have to make a million dishcloths out of it!

In other exciting news, a pair of my earrings was featured in a treasury today! It's called Let's Go Purchase Something. I am hoping people will do that!
I have been working on some treasuries, myself. I am really hoping that this will help people notice me and my shop a little more. I've joined a couple teams, and I have already gotten a few hearts because of that.

I hope all is well for all of you! There are just a couple weeks until we leave for Iceland now. I am getting really excited now!

Self Portrait Monday: August 15, 2011

It's Monday, and I'm having leftovers for lunch. Rick and I went out for fish and chips last night, and I am attempting to eat my coleslaw. I am really not a fan, but I wish I was! I also have a few fries left, so that's the other part of lunch.
This past week was pretty awful for the most part, hence the lack of blog posts. I considered just shutting the blog down entirely. No warning, just hitting the delete button. Then I realized I wasn't thinking clearly, and I am glad I didn't delete this!
I've been knitting exclusively on the baby shower gift. I couldn't keep a secret, and I showed the mother what I had done so far. She loved it!! I can't wait to finish it and give it to her. I'm two balls in for the pink, and I have no idea how many more I will be using. Another lovely lady I know is expecting. If she is having a girl, I will likely knit her a blanket out of the pink I have left, with another colour. Who knows, I might even have enough of the white remaining!
Later today, I am helping my friend Jodi paint her new office at The House. That should be a load of fun. She is the one that taught me how to spin. I am hoping to bring some of my hanks to have her help me wind them once she is moved in fully.
There are only 19 days until we leave for Iceland. I am getting nervous and excited.

Knitted Bracelets!

These are my new favourite thing to make, hands down.
I've been trying to figure out something small and quick to make that could be sold year-round. A bracelet was just the thing. I am using cotton so they are lightweight, and won't overheat your wrist if you wear a stack of them. And they have just enough stretch in them to fit over your hand, without being too loose when being worn.
I think I am going to have them all one price, and if you buy more than one, have them be cheaper. They look way better in groups.
These are the colours I have so far. I want to make at least two of each colour, and then have quite a few white ones.
I'm also trying to decide which colours to make for myself. Right now, the top three (dark and light pink, and white) are the winners.

Now for a little market research:
What colours would you like to see? How many would you like in a group? How much would you pay for 1? What about for 3?
If you could give me your thoughts, it would be much appreciated!!

The blue and white Shawl

Just popping up to say hello again!
I've been looking through some of the photos Rick took, and I'm realizing that they need to be shared. Some are on Facebook already, and others have yet to see the light of day.
I love this blue and white shawl. These shawls are a lot of fun to make. For some reason, I enjoy knitting longer and longer rows. I know there are some triangle shawl patterns that start at the widest edge and go to the point, but I don't like that idea. What if I run out of yarn? What if the point gets all stretched out because of the weight of the rest of the shawl pulling on it? Silly things, really, but things I still think about.

Now, I have a question for all of you. I want to start listing on Etsy (just going to sell there, for now, perhaps I'll sell on Big Cartel or Goodsie later on) The problem is, most of my stuff is winter stuff. Should I wait until the end of Summer to start listing them? Or should I get a jump start and promote in the southern hemisphere?

Scarves, Bows, Cables and Business Cards

Michael's had a sale on a few types of yarn that I use, so I bought some the other day. A skein of Homespun and some Vanna's Choice to match, as well as a skein of Thick and Quick. I also got a pair of short needles (7 inch, if I remember correctly).
I started a neck warmer with the Thick and Quick. It's in seed stitch, and a little larger than I usually make them. I like the way it looks so far. Just a few more rows and I'll have it finished. I also started on a kerchief/scarf sort of thing with some of the yarn that was given to me by my friend's mom. It's a light, airy, almost lacy triangle of goodness. It's a dusty pink, very fine yarn, and I am pretty sure it is 100% acrylic. I'm not sure, and I don't want to burn any of it to check. The only downside to this yarn is that is tangles really easily. I have to stop quite often to get enough yarn out to knit the rest of the row and untangle it.
I have also ween working on the hair bows quite a bit. I got some good reviews from some friends, so I will keep plugging away at them.

I want to learn how to do cables. Yes, I know, ten or so years of knitting, and I've never done them. I've watched videos, and read tutorials, but I just can't quite grasp it. I think I need a one on one teacher.

I need to get more business cards made. I am very close to not having any of the ones I currently use, which are horribly outdated anyway. I have no idea where to order them from. I keep being told Vista Print, but I've had bad experiences with them, as have some of my friends. Any suggestions?

One more dishcloth, just for good measure!

I have finished yet an other cloth. This one is in the same Celadon colour I used for the scrubby cloth a little while ago. I paired it with white to match my kitchen, and it looks awesome! So spring-y and fresh. I think it's the bright white that does it.
That may be what my next grouping of cloths is. Any random, bright colour paired with white. I would need to get a rather large skein of white to work through the amount of the solids I have right now.
I am still working away on hats. I am trying to keep enough ready to bring into Made In Windsor on a regular basis. I have about four at home waiting to have their ends tied in and be priced. I think I may raise the price on them by a couple dollars. The cost of yarn seems to be creeping steadily upward and I don't want to lose money on any of them.

A New Cowl, and New Yarn

I meant to post this yesterday, I really did. But my body had other suggestions. I was incredibly sick, and had no motivation to do anything but snuggle under blankets and sleep. And also whine to whoever was listening about how terrible I felt. I am feeling marginally better today. Enough to write a blog post and possibly even get changed out of my pyjamas before noon.

I bought a cone of yarn the other day at Value Village. It's a wonderful bright blue, textured, and quite thin. I plan on using it held double or triple. Which is what I am doing in my newest project.
Two strands of white worsted weight, and the fun blue yarn, on 8mm needles for a cowl. Fifty six stitches, k2p2 rib. The little red piece of yarn is my marker for the beginning of the round. I started this two days ago, and it's going quite well.
I have decided to continue knitting winter items throughout the warmer months, or for as long as I can stand them, to have stock ready for next year. I will, of course, knit other things, but I think one scarf every other week will be a good start for the winter craft shows, and Made In Windsor stock, next year. Sure, I'll probably look crazy knitting a scarf in July, but it will reduce my work load next year. And hopefully cause less stress, as well.
I now plan on laying down for a while. No need to over exert myself!

Christmas Gifts

I do believe I posted too soon.
I was asked on Sunday, by a particular person to knit his family members each a scarf for Christmas. Now, let's see, Sunday was the 13th, Christmas is the 25th. My very basic math tells me that makes TWELVE days to knit SEVEN scarves.
I may be crazy, but I started yesterday, and I'm almost done the first. It is knit out of Phentex "Fashion Twenty-three" in the seasonally-appropriate "Icicle White" colourway. I got this at Zellers
The next one will be In Lion Homespun, I can't remember the name of the colour, but it's a wonderful blue. Pictures of that one will come when I start it.
I have two scarves that I made recently out of Wool Ease T&Q that will be used. They were supposed to go to Made In Windsor, but are appropriate for the recipients.
Pictures of all of these will happen as soon as they arrive in my inbox. I took a couple pictures with my cell phone, and it's terribly slow sending photos.

I FINALLY got some of my dishcloths to Made In Windsor today. I sent in fourteen to be sold, and an other eight or so to be given away as gifts, or in gift baskets or whatever. They were significantly smaller than the other cloths, and I would have felt bad charging for them.

Some yarn bombing news

There is good news and bad news in this post, a fair warning.

The good news first! The Phog Video was featured on one of my favourite knitting blogs on Monday. I was shocked when it came up in my Google Following list. I had a huge grin on my face right away, and then Twittered about it pretty much immediately. It's crazy how far the internet reaches.

Now for the bad news. The Cheetahs tag was taken down at some point. I expected this at some point, but not so soon. It was a very pretty tag, pink/red sparkly eye lash yarn, wrapped around the fence at the far end of the patio. For those who are not locals or who are not aware, Cheetahs is an Adult Entertainment venue, as it says on their sign. Once Sam and I have more tags up, I do plan on hitting them again. Perhaps something larger, yet less visible would be appropriate.

I am still working on a few tags here and there, but I have been alternating between them and some scarves. I just cast off the white Phentex scarf, and I'm starting on a grey/black one right now. It seems odd to be knitting scarves at the beginning of summer, but I like to think ahead.

Full sized blankets!

I splurged again. Over $100 on yarn. This is getting to be addictive.
Here's a break down on what I bought:
3 skeins of Lion Homespun in Olive
3 skeins of Lion Homespun in Deco
These 6 skeins will become a blanket for my Ottawa buddy, Louis. They are amazing colours, and I really like working with this yarn for some reason. I've started it on the diagonal (my favourite way to do blankets) on 8mm needles.
4 skeins of Lion Homespun in Sunshine State
These were originaly $8 a skein like the rest of the Homespun, but they were marked down to $3 each. My Mom suggested i get 3 of them and make a baby blanket, but I noticed there were 4 there in the same dye lot. I figured I should get all of them for a couple reasons. First of all is my own security. I don't want to run out half way through. Second, I wouldn't want anyone else to find that one gorgeous skein and realise there's not much to do with just one skein.
3 giant skeins of Red Heart Comfort Prints in the 4026 colourway.
These, along with an other skein I already have, will become a blanket for my Ohio friend Rachel. This one will be the Ruffles blanket, with a few modifications. Mostly, shorter sections on the small needles, maybe only 3 rows.
1 giant skein of cotton.
This doesn't really matter what colour. I'm pretty sure it's Sugar and Creme, but its irelevant. It's going to be used for dishcloths. Obviously.

Looks like I have my work cut out for me for the next little bit.

I want to get into Harvesting The Fam, but it's a juried show, and I'm really nervous about that.

It's Summer!

Over the past few days, it's been high school exams all over the place. I was a lucky one, and only had 2; one practical, and one written. I aced the written, that's for sure, and I did much better on he practical than I had hoped for. The main thing: We had to be able to roll a perm in 45 minutes. It took me 38. I did a victory dance when I found that one out.

I have kept up with my knitting, which is a good idea. I have the pink and white striped blanket that I finished a few days ago. It's fantastic. I forgot to measure it, and I'm icing my knee right now, so if anyone is curious, I can measure it later.That's the one! Sitting on the ugly, over stuffed, under-sized couch. For size comparison, I guess? if it was twice as wide, I would consider keeping it for myself.

This is just to show the colour contrast. Its a very soft, really girly baby pink. I used one pink skein and one white skein of Bernat Baby Clouds. I bought them both on sale at Michael's.

I have something to request of all the readers. I want to know about how many of you come here regularly. If you could just leave a comment on here and state your name, and how you found this blog, that would be fantastic!

A few issues

I just changed the layout again.
I think I like this one beter. The colours are a little more fun.
There is something crazy going on with said layout. It could just be my computer... When I get home from school/co-op/work I will check again, hopefully it will have fixed itself.
In Knitting News, the Creamsickle blanket is just over half way done. I have about 3 inches knit since I joind the second skein. Also, the pink and white blanket is getting there... I'm not sure if I'm going to make that one a square, or continue till I'm out of yarn. I'll post a picture here when I get to that point, for sure.
I have 2 Grandma's Favourite cloths on the needles. They're my TV knitting... I don't have to pay attention when I knit those.
I'm looking for soap moulds online, in the shape of Awareness Ribbons. I think I'm going to make some up, and sell them with the ribbon cloths.
Thoughts?