Holiday Bootcamp: Mission Statement. 10/01/2010
I've decided to join the Etsy Holiday Bootcamp. Things have been a bit slow on Etsy, recently, for me, and anything to jumpstart my motivation has got to be a good thing. My passion for handicrafts has been a lifelong, thing, and I find myself fascinated by the skills and talents of other artisans. I've been spending some time reading the wants of other Etsians and have found a few other directions to take my work. I hope, this holiday season, to not only provide my current line of warm, cuddly socks to people and the people lucky enough to be gifted them, but I hope to finally put some prototypes out there. It's a bit late, but I think it can be done! Add Comment Warm feet, warm head. 10/01/2010
Since I mentioned the hat I made for the man-beast, I figured I'd post a picture of it:  I'm far from any hat genius, so this is the Marram Hat from Eskimimi Knits. I went with one color, this soft, lovely, extrafine merino that he picked out. I love the spirals around. It's way too warm for him to wear it, yet, but it's funny to watch him picking it up and putting it on. :) Personal time. 09/28/2010
The past few weeks have been very busy for us. Between some major home improvements, getting ready for a move 1200 miles away, custom orders, and every day life, it's been enough to make me scream, at times. :) Instead of really slamming on my shop, like I should be doing, I've been working on projects for myself. I've been fixing up my husband's winter sock drawer, knitting him some cuddly hats and gloves, and making a few cozy winter things for me. I've also started working on gifts for the holidays, again. I'll have to take some pictures, but I don't feel as bad about neglecting the shop when I have such delicious knitwear for myself! Cool weather is on its way! 09/15/2010
As soon as September hit, sales and orders started coming in. It's been a fun two weeks, and even more fun is the cooler weather outside. Of course, it's still getting into the 90s during the day, but it's such a relief to go outside in the evenings when it drops into the 60-70s. I'm overcome with the desire to knit stockings, socks for myself, and sweaters. Project ADD has consumed me and I have half a dozen things on the needles. Yay for fall! A shake of pure insanity. 08/24/2010
The man-thing started his job hunt about three weeks ago, and has finally settled on a position. As of 1 Sept., he is gainfully employed! Woohoo! He'll be working in NYC, so we're going to have a hefty dose of madness while we work on getting this place fixed up and closed. I've missed the city, and it'll be nice to be back. What I'm really looking forward to is the yarn!! So many places that have mill ends and mill-cost pricing. Total drool. Oh, that and the cool weather. I freakin' hate Georgia summers. Nice thing about anticipating cooler weather is the delight of knitting heavier winter stuff for us. I've cranked out two pairs of convertible mittens and get the magnets for the closures today. I may list a few pairs in my shop to see how they do, too. Woohoo! Fraggle socks! 08/17/2010
I'm a nerd. Now that we have that established, I'll disclose the fact that I'm a big Jim Henson nerd. Part of being a JH nerd means loving Fraggle Rock. A few weeks ago, the entire DVD box set came up for deep, deep discount, and I decided that I had to buy it. I watch it while I exercise. The last yarn order I made, I must admit, was inspired by the Fraggles, Gobo, namely. I have this sunny yellow yarn, but didn't have anything magenta-ish that was dark enough. Now I do, and I'm almost finished with a pair of 'Gobo's Shirt' tabi. They're yellow with a magenta stripe around the instep. So...dance your cares away...  There\'s never a perfect pattern. 08/10/2010
A few months ago, I started a pair of fingerless gloves for my husband, ones with fingers just missing the tips. The pattern that I started with worked out well enough, but something about it didn't groove with how my brain works. The first glove turned out fine, a bit tight, but fine. The second I started last week (yes, that long inbetween!), and I just couldn't get it right. So I went hunting for another pattern. I ended up taking a vintage pattern (knit flat) with ornate cabled cuffs and womens sizing and using that. Knitted in the round, without the cuffs, with entirely different sizing. It worked out quite well, so I'm working on the second now. It seems like, as I've gotten more confident in my spatial skills and pattern drafting, that I've been more and more unable to use patterns as they are. There are always a few tweaks that I want to make, and I almost always end up creating something that's entirely different, except in concept. I've never changed a glove into a hat or anything that obscure. :) I'd really like to return to the days where I could pick up a pattern and work from it. It was relaxing and...well, nice. Don't get me wrong, I love the problem solving, design process, and creation of something that's juuust right, but it'd be nice to try something new with the thinking cap off, again, and use someone else's knowledge and talent. I won't claim to have any mad design skills, but the busy body in me just can't leave a pattern alone! Winter overdrive. 08/07/2010
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:
Sleighbells ring... 08/02/2010
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.  Need...more...yarn! 07/28/2010
For the past couple of weeks, I've really gotten into scrap stripes for my tabi socks. While winding out yardage for my latest pair ('Firepit'), I realized how much of a dent it was making in my stash and how much old yarn has been made into finished objects. I usually buy a minimum of two skeins of each color when I make an order. I always have enough to make an extra pair, if one pair sells quickly or another size is requested, without having to reorder. That logic has worked out well for me over the years, but it's also resulted in stagnant skeins of accent colors. Usually, these are neutrals: grays, creams, tans, blacks, etc. Colors that work really well as a 'base' for stripe combinations. It's nice to see the 10-20 yd scrap balls in my scrap bag being incorporated into new socks, and it's equally nice to see the neutrals being given a punch of color. I know lots of people like neutrals and single tones, but they don't inspire me like contrasts and complementing colors do. This has turned out to be a great, useful project. Of course, now it looks like I'm crazy stripe lady! | AuthorI'm the brain behind twiddletoes. Read here about material experiments, projects, and my online adventure.  ArchivesAugust 2011 CategoriesAll |
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