It's Almost Christmas!!

...which means that I've smuggled in my illegal Christmas tree!
Because I've mentioned that I have a purple theme going on with my decorations, I thought I'd take a photo and prove it. :)
While I love that we've finally gotten a decent amount of show (although I'd love to see more), I could definitely use a break from this cold snap. Here's hoping that the temperature warms up a little soon!
(It's been -3o (ish) for the past 4 days, with windchills between -35 and -45!!! Right now it's -22, sunny, with very little windchill...things might be looking up!)

SYTYCD Canada - Last Dance-off tonight!

I can't wait! It's going to be awesome!!
I really hope they use the same format as the US show, and have each of the top 4 dance with the other 3 - I think it will be amazing to see Miles and Nico dance with each other, and likewise Natali and Allie.
I might even break out the phone and vote tonight!!!
:)

(image courtesy Winnipeg Sun)

100 things

I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd borrow this meme making it's rounds through the blogosphere these days...

Things I've Done (In Bold)

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars - in a tent, yes
3. Played in a band - does concert band in high school count?
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world - Yes, EuroDisney in France
8. Climbed a mountain - a small mountain not requiring any special gear...
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch - does 2-handed knitting count?
15. Adopted a child - through Foster Parent's Plan...
16. Had food poisoning - probably, haven't we all?
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables - (herbs, yes. veggies, no.)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - come on, we've all done this, right?
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon - a small marathon, the SuperRun
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (I've been to Venice, but couldn't afford €100 for a gondola ride)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (ice climbing? yes. Rock, no.)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater (I never did make it to the one here before it closed down...)
55. Been in a movie (nope, but I did watch them filming one. Or, 2, actually.)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business - sort of...I'm starting slow.
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason (Does buying them for yourself count? lol)
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma - althoughI can't anymore, because of having been in Europe for too long during the mad cow thing
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job - but it was a waitressing job that I'd had for only one month, and wasn't planning on keeping for very long anyway, and there was a pretty big personality clash
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous - I met Keifer Sutherland when he was in town for Canada Day a while back...we talked about how ride the table next to us at the restaurant was being (they were heckling him...)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone - yup, and it's my only phone!
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant

42 out of 100 - not bad!

My Weenie came!!!

Yes, the package from my weenie came today! (it's a knitty thing)

Check it out!!!



There's 3 different kinds of yarn, some mango tea, a few individual packets of hot chocolate and coffee, 2 project bags (handmade by my weenie!) and a Great Pumpkin notebook and post-it notes!
It's all awesome, and I can't wait for my next SnB to show off all my loot!
:)

I'm a Bette

Considering the quiz only has 2 questions, it's surprisingly accurate!

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Bette!

You are a Bette -- "I must be strong"

Bettes are direct, self-reliant, self-confident, and protective.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Stand up for yourself... and me.


• * Be confident, strong, and direct.


• * Don't gossip about me or betray my trust.


• * Be vulnerable and share your feelings. See and acknowledge my tender, vulnerable side.


• * Give me space to be alone.


• * Acknowledge the contributions I make, but don't flatter me.


• * I often speak in an assertive way. Don't automatically assume it's a personal attack.


• * When I scream, curse, and stomp around, try to remember that's just the way I am.

What I Like About Being a Bette

• * being independent and self-reliant


• * being able to take charge and meet challenges head on


• * being courageous, straightforward, and honest


• * getting all the enjoyment I can out of life


• * supporting, empowering, and protecting those close to me


• * upholding just causes

What's Hard About Being a Bette

• * overwhelming people with my bluntness; scaring them away when I don't intend to


• * being restless and impatient with others' incompetence


• * sticking my neck out for people and receiving no appreciation for it


• * never forgetting injuries or injustices


• * putting too much pressure on myself


• * getting high blood pressure when people don't obey the rules or when things don't go right

Bettes as Children Often

• * are independent; have an inner strength and a fighting spirit


• * are sometimes loners


• * seize control so they won't be controlled


• * figure out others' weaknesses


• * attack verbally or physically when provoked


• * take charge in the family because they perceive themselves as the strongest, or grow up in difficult or abusive surroundings

Bettes as Parents

• * are often loyal, caring, involved, and devoted


• * are sometimes overprotective


• * can be demanding, controlling, and rigid

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

Halloween knitting!

I know it's been a long time, and I'm not planning on updating this too often, but I thought I'd share some photos of halloweenie things I made for my knitty weenie!

First, a wee ghostie finger puppet!



And a skull dishcloth!




Also, a photo of my brother with his horse, Decker. Just because I really like this photo I took of him - he's such a cowboy! :)

New Stitch Marker Design!

I've been experimenting with wire stitch markers, and this is what I've come up with!
They're selling for $3 (on average, although sometimes it could be more, depending on the bead I use), and I hope to have some up in my Etsy store soon!!!

My first SP package finally came!

Man, the post office took it's sweet time in delivering this package! (And is taking even longer with another package I'm expecting, but that's another story.)

I got the first of 2 packages from my Summer Lovin' SP from the knitty boards!
I didn't even wait to get home before I opened it up, so I don't have any photos of the unopened package.
Here is what I got:

The backside of the note she (he?) wrote me (are the seashells a hint as to where she's from?):


Some super soft fibre samples:







Some handspun! What shall I make with this...something for me, for sure!!




And some samples of hand lotions, shampoo, conditioner and perfume!


I haven't used any of the lotion samples yet, but I think I'll save them for when I'm travelling. They're nice and small, and won't leak (unless, I guess, they get really squished...).
I have no idea if I'll ever do anything with the fibre samples - I just like having them to touch and rub in my fingers! (It's rather fitting that I grew up to be a knitter. My "thing" when I was a kid was lace: I'd use it as my "blankie", and rub it between my fingers. I really liked the texture, and I had a pretty big collection of lace bits!) I'm going to take the fibre samples to my Stitch n Bitch tonight and show them off to all the other girls. Mmmmmm...alpaca.

Thanks SP!

Moratorium on Blogging

So, I think I've lost the oomph to blog.
I've liked sharing this with you, but I just don't have the time or energy to put into it right now.
I'll still keep the address active for things like knitty swaps and the occasional post, but Facebook and Ravelry have taken the place that blogging once did.

Ta for now!

Finally, a proper kitchen light

Why is it that I'm always most productive after 10pm?
After 5 years of living in my apartment, I finally went out and picked up a proper fluorescent light for over my kitchen sink. I got home from the store at about 6pm on Saturday, made supper, and then started working on a present that I have to have done in early August. When it was tine for bed, I decided that rather than go to bed, as I should have, I would break out the drill and install that fluorescent light!
2 holes, and 2 screws later, voila!

With the light off:



With the light on:



Yay! Now I can see properly when washing dishes!

Folk Fest!

I'm off to Folk Fest in a couple of days...!
I can't wait - it's the first time I've camped out and will be attending all 4 days of the festival since volunteering there 5 or 6 years ago! (wow - I hadn't realized that it was that long ago!)
I'll be sure to post photos when I get back next week!

Summer is here, and blogging is going to suffer

Yes, it's been a while. It's because I've been busy - like, *really* busy.
I had a table at a craft show this past Wednesday night and I had so much to do to get ready for it. I didn't have any stitch markers made, since I had sold them all to local shops, so I had to make a bunch of those. And I had to finish up all of the project bags that I had bought material for (I ended up making about 12 bags), and make a bunch of pattern magnets. I did decide not to make any more photo cards, though, which was one less thing to do. I sold quite a few of those ones, though, and mostly the local ones, which means I'll have to make more of those soon.
I did fairly well at the show - I made back my table money, plus a little extra, so I'm happy about that. And now I have a bunch of stock, so that next show, I don't have to worry about rushing to get a bunch made, which is really nice. Especially considering I'm probably going to have a standing table at a local farmer's market this summer, and don't want to have to do more than play catch-up. Of course, I have a ton of beads, so I'm not going to stop making things, I just won't have to rush.
Check out my table:


I've also started spinning!!!
I got my first spindle in the mail on Friday, at work, which was perfect timing, as I have a 4-day weekend this weekend. This is the spindle and my handspun, made from pin-roving I bought on our SnB field trip to Sheeples, a local sheep farm and yarn mill.


And then, this morning, I got my other spindle in the mail! Yes, Canada Post delivered it to my door at 11:00 am on a Sunday morning. Wooohoooo!
This roving is the "normal" kind, which means I have to split and draft it before spinning it.


This undyed roving is supposed to be my "practice" roving, which is nice, because the fibre length of this roving is much longer than that of the pin roving.
Now I just have to decide about plying. Do I have to ply?
Everything I've read/watched on the interwebs has told me that I don't have to - in fact, pretty much all of the hand-spinning tutorials say to unwind your spindle onto a chair/niddy noddy and make a skein right away (to set the twist in hot water). But Kim, at Sheeples, said that we should be plying our handspun.
What to do, what to do.
I kind of like the pink/blue pin-roving spun as is, and am not sure that I'd want to ply that, unless I plied it with something like a charcoal or black roving. I think it would lose something if I plied it with itself.
But what about the plain white? Or the blue, or green, or handpainted roving that came with the second spindle?
I'll have to think about that...

Sad news

Wendy just wrote on her blog that Carrie, the person that she was making the afghan for, passed away.
Wendy wasn't able to finish the afghan for Carrie, but is going to put it together for her grandchild/children, as she would like to give the blanket to the family as planned. It was intended to wrap Carrie in love, and now it will wrap her family in that love, which is what Wendy feels that Carrie would have wanted.

I haven't been online much lately - work has been a little busier lately (and I was in charge of the office last week, which meant that I had a few issues to deal with that I wouldn't normally), and in my downtime I've been preparing for the Cordially Yours Craft Sale and Rock Show, which I have a table at!
It's Wednesday June 25th, from 5pm to 2am, at the Cavern (the basement of the Toad in the Hole Pub in my hometown).
I'm super excited about it, and am looking forward to seeing what sort of crowd comes out. I just hope that I do better than the first craft show I was at (the spring show in Beausejour) and that it's enough to make my table fee back!

I'll post pictures of the show later in the week...

Another square for Dame Wendy

This one was knit with yarn that came from my Grandma, and is the yarn that I wanted to use in the first place, but I was just too impatient to wait for my mom to get it to me.
I've already sent Wendy the first square, but I'm going to send this one too, and she can either choose one of the 2 to put into the blanket, or she can use both. It's up to her. This one is acrylic, and isn't nearly as nice a yarn as the merino (I think) that I used for the first one, but this one means more and has more history, so it's a toss up!

Field trip to Sheeples!

I organized a field trip this past Saturday to a local farm-based yarn manufacturer called Sheeples Fine Fibres.
It was an awesome day!
Baby lambs (one only hours old!!), sheep, fibre and roving, yarn and spinning...

We started the day playing with the new lambs while waiting for the rest of the crew to get there (that would have been us...sorry, we were really really early, so we stopped for coffee, which then made us a little late. oops).
Then it was off to the farm for a tour and to meet all of the sheep!
First it was the young boys (up to a year old, if I remember right):



Then it was the older males (1-3 years, I think):



Finally, the moms and babies!





After playing with the lambs again, we headed to the workshop for a lesson on yarn-making. Kim, our hostess, and Joe, her husband, told us all about the yarn-making process, from shearing through to spinning (mill or handspun). We got to touch fleece fresh from the animal (holy lanolin, batman!), and got to compare washed fleece from a few different kinds of sheep. It's amazing what a difference in textures there are, even from one sheep to another of the same breed!

Once we learned all there was to know about the process, it was time for lunch, and what a lunch it was!! Thanks Kim!!!!!

After lunch, it was spinning time!! (Forgive me if I get the terminology wrong - I wasn't taking notes...)
We all got started learning how to draft the roving - getting it prepared and to the right thickness for spinning.
Once it was drafted, then we took our drop spindles and started spinning. First with a partner, so that we either just twisted the spindle, or we just spun the fibre. Then it was time to try it solo. I think I did alright, considering that it was my first try, we were using all sorts of different fibres, and that the spindles apparently weren't properly balanced, so they weren't spinning as well as they could.
Here's the yarn that I made, some on my own, and some with my partner, Holly:



And the swatch that I knit out of the yarn!



All in all, it was a great day, although the tics were in high form, and I had the creepy crawlies all night and all the next day. I think I'm over them now, finally. :)

Here's a slideshow of all of my photos from the day:

Finished Square!

I've finished my square for Dame Wendy:



It's the cable pattern from Aileen (a purse from pieknits.com) that I modified and repeated, with a crocheted border.
I think it looks great, and I think my Grandma would love it!

Tee hee - I think we all knew this already...

Although, I'm not actually OCD. But to be in Quality, like I am, you do need to be just a little on the anal/picky side!

You May Be a Bit Obsessive Compulsive...

Meticulous and detailed oriented, you have some irrational obsessions. Maybe it's your super neat closet or washing your hands a gazillion times. You probably know it's weird, but you just can't stop thinking about it. In fact, the more you think about your quirks, the more you have to do them.

What Personality Disorder Are You?

Just for fun...

It's actually not too far off...! Go figure.

What Nicole Means

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Knitting a square for an ill stranger

I was browsing knitty today and came across this post.
Ok, so I can't find it anymore - not even a search worked, but this is the original post on Dame Wendy's blog, and this is the one with more details.

Her friend's mom, Carrie, an avid knitter, has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and can no longer knit, so she has decided to make her a blanket out of 9x9 squares. In order to get this done quickly, and to show Carrie some of the love and support that abounds in the knitting community, she's asked for volunteers to help her out by making a 9x9 square and sending it to her.
My Grandma, also an avid knitter, passed away from pancreatic cancer a number of years ago, and I've decided to make a 9x9 square in her honour. (Ok mom, you can dry your eyes now...lol)
As of now, Dame Wendy has about half of the squares spoken for, and I'm sure that she'd appreciate any and all of the knitterly love that she can get!

If anyone else wants to do this, and is local to me, we can arrange to put our squares together to mail to her in one package...

Check out what I've been up to!

I've been busy!

I made a storage bag for my yarn swift, complete with a little mini baggie for all the little parts (centre dowel, yarn post dowels, pipe and washers):


I reorganized my gift wrap, because I finally got the gift wrap organizer that has been backordered since before Christmas! (And I loooove it!!!)











And I made my first project bag! I still have to get a toggle thing to attach to the cord, but I love it! I'm going to add it to the things I'm selling at the craft show at the end of June, and if the girls at my SnB like it, I may just add it to my Etsy store, too!











I also managed to get a lot of laundry done this weekend, including all of my curtains, which, while they were down, I actually finished hemming (they've only been hanging on my windows for 4 years...)! Plus, I vacuumed out my car and armor-all'd it and windexed the windows.
All in all, it was a great long weekend!

Change of Name

So, I've thought long and hard about it, and I've decided to put all of my crafty business endeavours under one name:
Nicole Jeanette Creations.
This won't affect my knitting accessories, because they're already being sold under the Nicole Jeanette name, but it will affect my invitations and greeting cards, which I had been selling under "NJL Custom Papercrafts". I won't be retiring that name completely, as people already know me under that name, but I will be switching everything over from now on!
It just makes more sense, that everything I sell be under one name, and it will make the accounting/nitty gritty side of things easier in the long run!

Now to update/change the website!

Ram Wools too!

My Pattern Magnets and selected stitch markers are now available at Ram Wools!!! (1266 Fife Street)
They're going to be putting them for sale up on their website, too, so here's hoping they do well!
Woohooo!

Swift Details...as promised

Here's how I made my swift (photos in previous post):

Supplies:
- Two 4' lengths of 1"x2" (I used poplar)
- One 4' length of 7/16" dowel
- One 4' length of 5/16" dowel
- A short length of copper pipe (I used 4")
- Two washers with a centre hole of 7/16" (mine are 1/2", because those are the ones my dad had on hand)
- a Clamp
- a chisel
- a drill with 7/16" and 5/16" drill bits

1. Cut your 1x2 into the following lengths: Two 2' pieces for the arms and two 18" pieces for the feet
2. Mark the centres of each of those pieces and drill a 7/16" hole all the way through the 1x2 pieces. (We didn't have a 7/16" bit, so we used one smaller and wiggled the drill then used a file to enlarge the hole. It worked, but there are easier ways...)
3. Align the centre holes of the 2' pieces with the dowel, and square off the arms (the way the finished swift should be). Mark the 1x2's where the other piece sits, so that you know where to saw out the notch to fit the 2 pieces together.
4. Repeat step 3 with the 18" pieces.
5. Mark the vertical centre of all four 1x2 pieces between the marks made in step 3 (i.e. the 1/2" mark on the 1" side)
6. Cut out your centre notch using a saw on the two marks you made, and a chisel to remove the wood.
7. Mark out the holes for your yarn-support dowel (the 5/16") on the 2' pieces. I made mine 1" from the edge and 1 1/2" apart, four on each arm
8. Drill holes 3/4 of the way through the 2' pieces, on the 2" side.
9. Cut your 7/16" dowel to the length you'd like your swift to be high. I did mine 6.5", so that there is 1" of dowel sticking out the top of the arms.
10. Cut your copper pipe to the length you'd like between your swift feet and arms (mine is 4").
11. Cut the 5/16" dowel into 3" lengths. You'll need 4 pieces, but I cut 6, just in case I lose one along the way.

If I haven't missed anything, you should be ready to assemble your swift!
Fit the feet together, put your 7/16" dowel through the hole in the feet, and fit one of your washers on the dowel. Place your length of copper pipe on the dowel and fit your second washer on the dowel so that it sits on the top of the pipe. Now fit your arms on to the top of the centre dowel. Fit your 3" pieces of dowel into the holes along the arms, according to the width of the hank of yarn you have.

Ta-da!!!

Check out the yarn swift I made last night!

For $12 CDN!!





General idea was borrowed from Crafty Diversions. Thanks!!!

Display

Look at the display of my stitch markers at the store!!!
It looks so good!!!!!




And I went to the other LYS today at lunch, to pick up some yarn, and I got stopped by the owner, who asked me about the stitch markers, too! She asked me if I happened to have any samples on me, and when I said no, that I'd sold everything to the other store just yesterday, she seemed a little disappointed. She said that she would like to sit down with me sometime next week and work out an order!
I'm so pumped!!!

She bought them all!!!

I took my stitch markers to the LYS today at lunch, and sat down to go through them with the owner, Mona. I fully expected her to pick and choose from among them, and maybe take 1/3 or 1/2 of my stock.
Nope.
She bought them all! Every. Last. One. WOW!!!
She was even worried that she'd be taking all of my stock, but I told her that I'd be more than happy to sell them all to her - I can always make more!
She also bought 14 of my pattern magnets, which is all of the ones that I brought, too!
I can't believe it!

I'm super excited!!!
I hope that they sell well for her and that this is the beginning of something great!

On another note, this is the weather here today:



Don't the tulips just look sad, all buried in snow?



I took a walk this afternoon, and it's already beginning to melt, but still. What a way to end April. (Almost, anyway.)

Some knitting, for a change

I keep forgetting to post updates of my knitting here, because I keep thinking that if you want to see my knitting, you could just click on the Ravelry progress bar links on the right and see it all for yourself.
Silly me, I should remember that not all of you are on Ravelry!
And so, for your viewing pleasure, here is a photo of my Ribbon Scarf that I'm working on right now.



It's about 2/3 of the way done, and I can't wait to have it finished! It'll be done just in time for summer. Good timing. Although, if things keep on going the way they seem to be going, we're going to have scarf weather for a week or so to come. Apparently, we might even get up to 20cm of snow tonight!!!
It's the pattern from Knitty, but I'm making it out of Manos del Uruguay, and I'm only doing 2 pattern repeats instead of, what, 5 or 6 in the original pattern. I really like the way it's turning out!
I tried getting a better photo, one that would show the pattern off a little more, but it's really curling up, and I can't get it to lay flat enough to see the pattern without having both of my hands on it, stretching it out. I promise better photos once it's finished and blocked.

I've also cast on for Rogue, but I'm not working on that very much right now. I think it may go dormant while I finish my Ribbon Scarf, and while I cast on and knit a cotton tank top for the summer. Rogue can wait a few months; I just want to have it finished for August/September, when the weather starts turning again.

And in other news, I'm organizing a field trip for the girls in our local SnB! We started as a facebook group, and meet on Wednesday nights at a local pub. I was at a local conservation area a few weekends ago, and they had an "artisan and craft show" in their interpretive centre. One of the artisans was a lady who was spinning her own yarn, and selling roving, yarn and knitted/felted garments. I bought some yarn from her, and asked about spinning lessons and farm tours. Well, we're going to be going as a group on June 7th!! We'll car pool out there (it's about 2 hours from the city), have a tour of the farm, pet the sheep, have lunch, and then have a 3 or 4 hour spinning lesson. We'll be mainly working with drop spindles, but she'll have 3 wheels for us to share and try out. I really want to learn how to spin, and don't mind spending $20 on a drop spindle, but I can't see myself spending $1000 (or even just $500, which she says she could get us a wheel for) on a spinning wheel. Not unless I got really good, and could see myself being able to make some kind of money at it. Or got to the point where I really really enjoyed it, and had the room to store it. In a 1-bedroom apartment, it would have to become part of the decor!

Stitch Markers

I'm going to link to this post in the side bar, so that I don't need to post every time I have an addition to my stitch marker catalogue.
Thanks to everyone for their support and interest!!

I got my findings!

They were delivered yesterday, which means that I can start making the stitch markers that my LYS will buy from me!
I'm going to take photos of them all before I sell them, and will get them added to the album below as soon as I can.
Today is really sunny here, and while that's awesome in general, it's making a properly exposed photo hard to come by.
:)

Another LYS?

I took my stitch markers to another LYS today, and it looks like they're interested, too!
Things are really starting to come along...!

Stitch Markers!!

Check it out!!!!
Here's a link to some photos of my Stitch Markers!

Stitch Markers

I'm so excited that the LYS is going to be stocking them for me!!!
AND last night I donated some as door prizes at our Bobmas Eve meet-up, and everyone seemed to like them, which is awesome! Although I know that I like them, the same thing goes for these as for my photos - it's always nice to get some positive feedback from people "in the know".

I'm just waiting on a shipment of the findings, and I should have them in the store in 2 weeks!
Things are moving along nicely...!

Etsy!

I'm starting to get some of my greeting cards up on my Etsy site!!!

Check it out!

Custom requests are more than welcome!
I'm not sure how many to post up there, and don't want to put all 50...that would cost too much for me just to see if people are interested.
I'm also not sure how to put sets of cards up without limiting which cards are in that set...that's something I still need to think about.
I'm going to try and get a "catalogue" pdf file up on my own website, and maybe honour requests through Etsy, but not post them up "just because".
I don't know...any of you have any suggestions?

On another note, sort of, the LYS is going to stock my stitch markers and pattern magnets!
2 dozen sets of stitch markers, and 1 dozen pattern magnets, all bought outright!
I've also decided to not go with a set price per stitch marker, but to price them according to what they cost me to make. That way, I won't be limiting my choices to ones that would fall within that set price, but will be able to explore new options, even if they're a little more expensive.
I'm thinking that I'll sell them in sets of 2 and 3, and have multiples of the sets available if people want a set of 4+.
I was considering putting them on Etsy, too, but so many people sell stitch markers on Etsy that I think the market is a little flooded already. I think I'll stay local for now.

Thank-you to everyone for being so supportive of my creative endeavours!!!!

And a photo to leave you with: a scan of my most popular photo card:

As promised

Here is a photo of my finished Tree Jacket!
But first, a photo of the 2 different sleeves:

It's pretty obvious, but just in case, the right sleeve (left side of photo) is the huge one that I frogged, and the left sleeve is the re-knit smaller version.

This photo is a double-whammy: My finished Tree Jacket, AND my homemade Easter bread!


Pattern: Tree Jacket, by the Zephyr Girls
Ravelry Link
Yarn: Patons Decor in Chocolate Taupe
Gauge: No Idea
Size: Large (40" bust) with sleeve mods, and 0.5mm smaller needles for the waist-to-bottom portion of the body.

Love the sweater (now that it's finally finished)!!!!

What I would do differently: I'd knit more garter at the top so that the lace part started after my bust line. If I don't pull at it, the garter-lace line lies right at the middle of my boobs! Not ideal, but it doesn't bother me enough to frog and reknit, or to cut and knit and graft. It's done.

I'm getting there

Well, I've taken the initiative and started trying to get local stores to stock my photo greeting cards!
First I went to a hair salon/shop, and she's going to take one each of my local shots (so 14 cards) and sell them on consignment. A good start.
Then I went to another local shop that sells more cards than the first. They seemed interested, but already have a person who sells them photo cards, and the owner wasn't in, so I have to go back next week.
Same with the third store I went into, minus the already-have-a-person thing.
The last place I went into yesterday was a framing place that sells art. My mom goes in there to get things framed, and suggested I see if they'd be interested. The owner was in, and we talked for almost 15 minutes! I took my cards out, and he went through them all, spreading them out on his work table. He said a number of times that they were really good, and a completely different style than the photographer he currently works with (he already had some photo cards in stock, but they were very different from mine). Although friends and family have been telling me that they're good, and that I'm a good photographer with a good eye, it's always nice to get some positive feedback from a professional. He told me to come back at the end of April with all of my local shots, too, and he'll buy them outright from me. With the kind of inventory that he stocks, he's not worried about tying money up in cards, not when compared to oil paintings and pottery and such.

So, now I'm going to get working on getting some of them up in my etsy store! I have the store pretty much organized, and I have all of the cards scanned. The thing that's holding me back is figuring out how to offer "custom" card sets for sale, or offering multiples for less money. I don't know if I'm going to be able to do that, so I think I'll just have to get some singles up and see how that goes.
When the store is stocked, I'll put the link up for everyone to see!!!!!

(And I promise that I'm going to get some photos up of my finished sweater soon!!)

It's Done!!!!

It's done, it's done, it's done!!!!
And it worked and it looks good!

That's it. :)

(Pics to be posted later, when the light is better for taking them.)

Cursed Tree Jacket

I swear, my Tree Jacket is cursed! (Link to pattern. The Original.)
Either that, or there's some kind of force in the universe that doesn't want me to finish it while the weather is still cold enough to wear it this season. Which amounts to the same thing: a curse.

I have now knit 5 sleeves-worth for that sweater. The first one, I accept as pattern-modification testing. I decided to knit the sleeves in the yarn-over pattern instead of the garter stitch, and the first sleeve was a test-sleeve.
Fine.
So the second and third sleeves got me a completed sweater! BUT the sleeves were WAY too huge. They dangled, and really annoyed me. So I ripped them out and re-knit them, decreasing 12 sts in the 24 rows right at the underarm. (See mod description on Ravelry here.) Now that was better.
And then there were 4 sleeves worth.
(Note: that fourth sleeve took me a few months to work, as I couldn't decide how I wanted to proceed with yet more pattern modification.)
Now that I had the re-modification all worked out, I figured the fifth - and last - sleeve should go by in a jiffy. Well, it did! And I got it finished tonight!
Alas, when I went to take apart my Denise needles, I realized that the needle tips I had been using were the (smaller) ones I had used to pick up the sleeve stitches at the underarm, and not the ones I was meant to use to actually knit the sleeve!!! GRRRRRRRR!!!!
And RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPP!!
Again.

Now my Tree Jacket is waiting patiently for me on my footstool, waiting for me to start knitting the sixth (and f*cking LAST) sleeve.

*sigh*

Note to self: double and triple check the needle tips on the cord BEFORE stating to knit, when using an interchangeable set.

Yay vacations!

Yes, it's been a while. Sorry...!
I was on vacation for a week, visiting my sister in Pittsburgh for part of her spring break! She's taking her master's in clarinet performance at Carnegie Mellon, and I haven't yet visited her down there, so I thought it was about time.
I also....went yarn shopping!!! I googled yarn stored in Pittsburgh before I went down there, and there was one not too far from where she lives, so that was where I went! And I went 3 times in 5 days...teehee!
It's called Knit One, and it's an awesome store! I was looking for some yarn to make Rogue, but I had forgotten the pattern in my suitcase, so couldn't remember what weight or how much I'd need. I feel really bad, because I can't remember her name, but one of the girls at the store really helped me out! She went onto Ravelry and found the pattern, and got me all the details I needed in order to make sure that I bought the right yarn and enough of it! I went with Ella Rae (classic, worsted wool) in a nice steel grey colour. Hey - if I'm going to put that much work into making a sweater, I'm going to make it in a neutral colour so that I can wear it with everything!
I also bought my poor student of a knitter-sister some gorgeous Ella Rae Bamboo Silk. Mmmmmmmm. There's no way that she'd ever buy that for herself, and she's really enjoying making a scarf for herself with it. (My job as big sister is done. lol)

AND, I've finally made some progress on the sleeves of my Tree Jacket! I finished one last night, and I now have the alterations worked out, so the second sleeve should zoom by. That's what was really holding me up with the first sleeve...figuring out just how I was going to modify the pattern so that it would fit properly! In hindsight, I should have made one size smaller and used short rows to accommodate my bust, because it's folding a little at the underarms, but frankly, I'm just happy that I'm almost done! It doesn't bother me enough that I wouldn't wear it, so I'm leaving it. And my first sweater is almost done and wearable!!!!!!!
(pictures to follow. I haven't had time or daylight to take a photo of it yet.)

Upgrades

So, while I've decided that there was nothing particularly "wrong" with my table display at the craft show, it is a little "busy", and I have decided that some improvements are required.
Namely, the following:
- make a 6' tall pegboard instead of 4'
- install lights on the top of pegboard to properly illuminate photos
- paint pegboard black to better highlight the photos
- make a table runner to draw more attention to the table (lace? bamboo placemats?)
- buy little baskets and/or boxes to put the cards in, in categories, rather than propping each and every card up on the table all meli-melo (that'd be a French expression meaning all "mish mash", or "at random", or "with no particular order"). This also means that as I add to my collection, I won't run out of table space. Or at least, not right away, anyway.
- get boxes to be able to sell packages of cards, whether "custom" or "themed"
- make some "other" photo products, such as jigsaw puzzles, coasters, calendars, etc. to sell, so that people have more choice in how they display my photography
- properly print and frame my logo, pricing, themes, etc.

I also need to put together a price/product list and an order for. Before I go to stores and try to get them to stock (or outright buy) my cards. Because a) it won't look very professional to use post-it notes on the backs of the cards they want to order and b) then I can have a comprehensive listing of all of my available prints and products! And how is that a bad thing, right?
That's my goal for the weekend - get a product/price list together, and finish scanning the sample cards so that I can upload them to my etsy site. Which I will then provide a link to! (And also so that I can pass them on to my web designer so that she can get my website designed and up and running!!!!)

Things are coming along...

Disappointment

I had my first table at a craft show yesterday.
Everybody who stopped by my table (and that was pretty much everybody who came to the show) said that my photos were beautiful, or that I had a great eye for photography, or that such and such a photo was amazing, but NO ONE bought anything! One guy even asked to come around the table so that he could get a better look at one of my prints, and said (quite convincingly) that he'd be back, but I saw him wandering around for a while, and then he and his wife left!
Well, I didn't sell *nothing*. A friend came by and she and her boyfriend's son each bought a card, and I do really appreciate it, but that's almost like a pity-buy, you know?
It's so hard to put yourself and something that's so personal out there for the masses to either love or hate. And I almost think that it would have been easier if people *hadn't* liked my photos. At least then I'd be able to give up easily, admit that it won't work.
But having people say that they really liked my photos and then not buy anything, well, that makes it really hard to just give up. People DID like my stuff, but maybe it wasn't the right audience for buyers. I mean, for a 7 hour day, we only had ~450 people attend, and most of the day there were more exhibitors in the hall than there were buyers. And I do know that this show was a small show, and that it's not as well attended as the Christmas show in the same hall, which is why I wanted to get a table at this show, so that my name is on the list for the Christmas show.
But, but, but.
It's just so frustrating!! To get so many compliments, and no one buying.
Grrrrrrr.

Ah well.
Here's what my table at the craft show looked like. It's my first table, so I know that there are many things to learn, and ways to evolve to make it look better and attract more buyers, so I'd appreciate any constructive criticism that you readers have. (If there are any readers out there?? lol) The pegboard is 4' high, which is pretty much all that fits in my car's backseat. I'm going to see if I can fit a 6' length in my car with the seats down, but we didn't have time to work that out for this show. Oh, and the signage will be better and more professional next time. I actually forgot about making signage this time, and was rushing to get some made at midnight at my friend's place the night before the show.


I'm also working on scanning my cards so that I can list then on my etsy site. Maybe I'll get some interest there?

*sigh*