Boo!

 

 I have a new item in the shop! But first let me back up a little, and take you through some trial and error.

I had this vision in my head for a new series of earflap hats with embroidered lettering. The hat itself was simple enough as I've made it in a solid color a few times before. The lettering....oh the lettering though. I knew the look of the lettering I was looking for, but I wasn't sure exactly how to achieve it. 

I started with the middle "o" so that no matter how big they ended up, the letters would be centered.

 

Looks ok from the front.....

 

But it looks like crap from the back. Not to mention that all that bulk would be pretty irritating on little foreheads! 

So I tore that out and went back to the drawing board.

 

I thought that embroidery thread might still be the right thickness so that the letters would pop against the crocheted background. Of course I couldn't find a needle with an eye large enough for the embroidery thread (and I broke my needle threader in the process of trying to make it fit), so I tried pulling apart the plies of the thread. This worked....but totally disappeared into the yarn of the hat. So I thought that maybe if I went over the stitching a few times.....well yeah, that looks terrible. (This experiment would be the center "o" in the picture above.) Then I tried again with the yarn to make the "b", but only went through the stitches on the front side of the hat. This at least smoothed out the back side, but was super bulky on the front, and not really the cursive look that I was going for. So I tried one more time by basically stitching the yarn onto the front of the hat using regular old needle and thread...and found a look I liked on the final "o"! This gave me the boldness of text I wanted, but nothing bulky or itchy on the inside.

It turned out pretty darn close to my vision! I'm loving the earflaps and straps in an effort to actually keep the hat ON those little heads! I fear the pumpkin hat might be a bit of a struggle in our case, though I will still insist on it for trick or treating at the very least! Please visit my shop to see more details!

The week that got away

I really thought that with a 4 day business trip, I'd be able to get so much done! I was wrong! Every night was spent doing the hours long "quick meeting wrap up" followed by dinner with co-workers. Call me what you will, but I really don't enjoy that part of traveling. After a long day interacting with people and being "on," I just really would prefer to go back to my room and be alone with my thoughts. Or the Kardashians or something lol.

I also thought that the 2.5 hour ferry ride would be a good time to get some knitting (or in this particular case, crocheting) done. Again, I was wrong! The ferry DID actually go this time around, but it was really, really rough. I think I was able to crochet for about 15 minutes before the constant rolling of the waves got to me, despite the dramamine I'd taken. (By the way, fun fact. Apparently dramamine comes in "drowsy" and "less drowsy," not the NON drowsy I was hoping for!) I put my work down and tried to focus on the horizon like they tell you to, and it was not doing much from my inside seat. I guess the whole point is to focus on something that is not moving, but when it's surrounded by a moving window, well, it doesn't work! Eventually I got up and went outside to the back deck which had the benefit of much needed fresh air, an unencumbered view of said steady horizon, and a lovely English (her) and Scottish (him) vacationing couple. Their lovely accents were apparently soothing to my upset tummy, because while I got nothing useful done, at least my lunch stayed with me. I was lucky I went out when I did because a bunch of other passengers were not so lucky. Once that motion sickness really gets hold of you, you're pretty much just a goner till you hit land.

Despite all of my whiny lack of downtime, I did manage to complete an Etsy order for the lovely Mari of Crab + Fish, as well as one half of one sleeve of a baby sweater.

 

The striped baby elf hat in gray and white is on its way!

 

I need to investigate some cuter packaging methods I think. It's one of those things I'm loathe to spend money on, because I'm never really sure what sort of difference it makes beyond a 3 second "oh, that's cute" reaction. I feel like I should also maybe make up some cards or tags or something for "branding," ha. I feel like I should see if this sticks more than a month or so though before investing any money beyond the basics. I'm a perennial under-spender though when it comes to my hobbies. Which I suppose explains why I still use a hideous knitting needle case that I got off Craigslist when I learned to knit....about 5 years ago. Self, I'd say it stuck. I will admit to having a sewing project on my list to take care of that though! Now if I could just find some time.....

Traveling

I'm on the road this week for work, living in what is surely the lap of luxury.

That's not a mirror. 

We were supposed to take a ferry, but the waves were too high so we had to drive around. Luckily I brought plenty of yarn to keep me busy!

Knit season

So strange that I was in a tank top earlier this week and yet today's casual Friday outfit of a sweater dress and leggings was totally appropriate. I wore flats without socks as I can't quite bear to break out the boots just yet because once you do there's just no going back. Yet it either didn't warm up much today or it had gotten cool again because I was SO COLD when I got home. I'm not ready to turn the heat on just yet, but I AM ready to pull out my knit cottage slipper socks. I made these probably 4? 5 years ago? And I just love them. They are so warm and cozy (and fit in rather nicely with the debris of a child who loves reading and stuffed animals lol) that I keep coming back to them every year. These are basically my test version. I've improved the way I handle the ribbing in such a chunky yarn, and subsequent pairs I've made about an inch shorter in the foot for an average (7-8) size because mine are ever slightly too large. But I never make myself a new pair. Must be nostalgic or something. I've given a few pairs as gifts that have been quite well received, and I put them up in my shop last year on a whim. And wouldn't you know, they've become one of my most popular and inquired about items. As the knitwear season rolls around again, I have to say, I can see why!

Knitting group

So I think I've joined a local knitting group! A few years ago I attended one at my public library, which was a super convenient location, but as it meets the same time and day as my book club, not so much a convenient group to join. As I'm getting back into crafting in general, and thinking about taking my Etsy shop semi-seriously, I felt like now might be the right time to reach out to the community. It would be good to be able to ask for advice, improve my skills next to women who have been knitting longer than I have, and get inspired to branch out and do different things!

And I think I may have found it! I mean, these women make sweaters for full grown adults! And more than one in a lifetime! As it is, I once bought enough yarn to make a cardigan for myself, and I got so intimidated by the size of it and how long it seemed it would take to complete it that I may or may not have many tiny sweaters in that color - and more to go - to use it up. I reached out on the forums on Ravelry because the group list for my area was overwhelming and I couldn't really tell which groups were still active. Within a few hours I got a reply from a really nice woman inviting me to join their group! It's about 20 minutes away from me so it's not the convenience of the library down the road, but it seemed like it might be a good fit. It's a diverse group, they come when they can and meet at a local coffee shop and bakery. They've been meeting for THIRTEEN years! That's impressive! My book club has been going for 5.5, and I thought that was a long time for a group to stick together.

Like I said, they have women knitting gorgeous sweaters, socks (another item I've been intimidated by for the opposite reason as sweaters - such tiny needles!), shawls, hats, etc. Some women even spin and dye their own yarn! For someone looking to be inspired, man, did I hit the jackpot. It can be hard to intrude on such a well established group, but I could tell that they are the type of group you'd want to join - they were great at pulling me into the history and long-standing stories. They also do a holiday party and charity project each year. This year is hats for a local shelter. As evidenced by my urban farming experience, I do like to try to make a difference where I live. I was a greeter and also knitted comfort shawls and chemo caps for a local hospice a few years ago too, but fell out of it when my schedule got busier, so I like the idea of joining a group with a charitable aspect to it.

So yay! Knitting group! And if you are a knitter or crocheter and you aren't on Ravelry, seriously, get on that. They have really active forums, not to mention a vast library of searchable patterns, a ton of which are free.