BriskMamma 01/05/2011
 

Hailing from Croatia, this new member of the HAF team definitely fits her name! BriskMamma is brisk and busy, indeed, as she creates retro-inspired home goods, cooks and bakes with wild abandon, and hand-drawn designs. But wait, there's more! She's also a mom. :)

I know Christmas is over, but I can't resist sharing these handmade gift bags and ornaments. You can see the detail she puts into these!

Make sure to check out her blog. You'll find tutorials of fun projects, artist features, and deeelicious looking posts about her kitchen creations. I'm feeling a bit like baking after seeing these tasty looking muffins.

Can you say yum? She even shares the recipes. ;)

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Step by step. 11/02/2010
 
After completing the last round of custom orders, I've actually started making forward progress again!  I packed up a footlocker's worth of yarn that'll go with me during our move, but I have another left to knit from for the next few weeks.  
In the meantime, I've broken out the kit I've made up for the second stocking for my brother and his partner.  I finished the cuff and plan on tackling some of the colorwork tomorrow while it's nice and rainy out.  It's a pretty quick knit, but it requires slightly more brain commitment than I usually need.  It'll be good to have those done, boxed up, and ready to mail out when the time comes.
After knocking out a pair of socks for my shop, I decided to make myself a pair of convertible mitts.  They turned out pretty kick ass, if I say so myself.  I originally intended them to be just red, but the cream and yellow jumped out of my scrap drawer and had to be used.  The cream and yellow stripes are at the top of the cuffs, the top of the mitten flaps, and two narrower stripes run at the base of the fingers on the fingerless glove part.  Pleased! 
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I guess I've been psyching myself out for the holiday season, because the past few weeks have all been about making changes and progress towards being the best I can for the holidays.

Some of that includes:

  • Planning a general reshoot.  I noticed a bunch of my former 'okay' pictures really need to be redone.
  • Making an effort to finish socks, rather than just putting them in my final touches basket.
  • Adding pictures of my packaging to listings with an empty photo slot.
  • Cutting out a bunch of paper for sock sleeves.
  • Making repeats of current listings, so I can relist immediately or fulfill custom orders.
  • Trying to knock out some of my personal projects before the end of the month.
  • Planning my purchases for the holidays, so that I'm not in a rush on the gift giving front when orders pick up.
I also think I've settled on a supply order, so I plan on making that in the next few days.  Yarny goodness is so inspiring and motivating!
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Knitwear is a cool-weather thang.  It just is, by nature, by assumption.  It's now August, and I know the last thing on most people's minds is Christmas, Hanukkah, or anything 'holiday'.

Well, for most knitters, preparation for The Season started months ago.  Ramping up on general shop listings, creating seasonal items, and moving back over to heavier knits and warm cuddly things.  Yes.  Knitting in August.  Yes.  Knitting when it's 105F outside.  It really is a special kind of madness.

My family celebrates Chrismukkah (my mom's Jewish, my dad is secular Protestant), and I planned on creating stockings for a few couples.  I started about a month and a half ago on this stocking, and finally sat down and knit it out today.  It only took me about two hours, so I have no idea why I've put it off for so long.  But there you have it.

As you can see, I changed tension after the cuff.  I'm going to try fulling it a bit before I work on the embroidery (holly leaves and berries), but will have to rip it out, if it doesn't tighten up any more.  I love it and plan on starting the second in a few hours.
Holiday Stocking
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I've reached an all-time high number of listings in my shop, so I've decided to slow down a bit on my tabi production.  I really want to beef up the number of traditional-toed socks before cool weather sets in, since they did so well last year, despite the limited colors available, and I was pretty stressed in getting them made.  I placed my order for the new yarn last week, so I've got awhile before I'm able to dig in on that.

While I wait, I've decided to work on some of my personal projects.  Things are pretty slow in etsy-land, so I figured it'd be a good thing to take advantage of.  I really want to crank out at least two sweaters before it gets cool, and have about six Chrismukkah stockings that I'd like to finish.

Knitting really causes a special kind of seasonal madness.  In June, the pressure starts to get warm woolies ready for The Season, so orders of wool, alpaca, etc. start arriving.  Thick sweaters, thrummed mittens, and warm slippers start production in the heat of the summer.  If you're not planning or already working by July, a little bit of a panic starts setting in.  By the end of August, you'd better have a nice bit of product stocked up, or the pinch is really on.  

And I'm a willing participant.  Below is the first repeat of the cabled cuff for a lovely, classic stocking.  I plan on making six of these, and I'm getting a head start!
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