Monday 29 September 2014

Etsy

I have been working diligently on my patterns, and I just have one more to format.  I've decided to put them on Etsy as well so I've been working on that.  I have two already uploaded to Etsy (they're not visible yet, I'm going to wait until they're all up to launch it).

I don't know why but it is taking me forever to upload the files.  This may be something to do with my file size, which is what my husband says.  Apparently there's a way to change the image size but I'm not sure what it is.  I need a banner, and was telling my wonderful husband this.  The next morning he informed me that he had made one while I sleep, it needs a tiny bit of tweaking but I love it.  I am married to a wonderful man.

Thursday 25 September 2014

Yarn Requirements

Caleb totally needs mittens, it got cold so I finished the first and got the second half done, then it got warm again.  Mittens for one year olds are pretty little so I'm not worried, finishing the second one will take less than an hour so I'm back to knitting the blanket.

I measured it, and by surface area (and the amount of knitting) I am over one third done.  This means to finish I need approximately twice as much more yarn as I have used thus far.  I totally have less yarn than that.  By "less yarn" I mean I have less leftover yarn in the weight the blanket is.  I can absolutely just go and buy some but the act of choosing the next little ball will be lost if I just go out and buy new balls.

I'm going to keep knitting until I run out and see how far I get (my guess it to less than the half way point).

One of the things I've really enjoyed is the fact that I don't have to figure out the next project just so I can have something to knit has meant that I've been thinking about some other projects I've wanted to do but that require some musing before starting.  The metres and metres of stockingette are good for musing.  

Thursday 18 September 2014

I love starting things

I love new projects, they don't have to be new knitting projects, they can be just about anything.  Sometimes it means things get put on the back burner while I do something else and then gets a little bit forgotten about.  

I was making really good progress on finishing and uploading those knitting patterns when I took a break to research car seats (Caleb is close to the height limit on his current one, I'll need another one in the next couple months.)  Then I started planning Christmas, because that's SUPER-FUN.  I love giving people presents, I have even sorted out what most of them are going to get.  I just need to figure out what to get for my wonderful and completely not-materialistic husband, he says he wants hugs.  I think he should probably have something to unwrap too.

So I'm going to spend some time today on the next pattern to go up on Ravelry, and then I'm going to finish Caleb's first mitten (it got warmer, making it more difficult to put down the blanket, which is an odd exception to my love of starting things).

Monday 15 September 2014

Winter is Coming

I've been loving the blanket I've been working on, but this weekend made me realize that it is going to have to go on hold this week, until Caleb has mittens.  Fortunately, mittens for a one year old don't take very long to knit (I'm still irrationally fond of my garter stitch blanket on 2.25mm needles).

It's getting cold, although this week is supposed to be warmer than the weekend was.  One of the things I'm loving about the blanket is the lack of swatching and focusing on gauge, I can just knit.  I'm giving myself today, tomorrow I'll make mittens.

Friday 5 September 2014

Stockings are a go

Last week I got together with my talented father who graciously took pictures of my knitting while Caleb slept.  These are some of them.



Croix de Noel
Etoile de Noel
Fleur de Noel



I love how the photos came out, and I also love how they're now actually uploaded to Ravelry, you can find them in my Ravelry s store here.

They're $5 each and there will be an option to get all three for $12, which will hopefully up next week.

Tuesday 2 September 2014

Evolution of taste

As I knit up my leftover bits from the stash I've been noticing how the quality of yarn I've bought over the years has changed.  From my student days there's acrylic with maybe some wool, mostly from Michaels.  Since I've graduated there's been nicer yarn from local yarn shops.  As I've knit some of the leftovers of a friend I've really noticed the difference in quality.

I don't normally pay a lot of attention to how the yarn feels in my hands, especially if it's knitting from the stash.  I try not to complain about things I can't change and if it's in the stash I should use it without complaining or give it away.  I normally avoid cotton since I don't love how it feels and won't dream of using old plasticy yarns anymore (though I was once given an entire garbage bag of that), but usually choose based on what I need for a project, not the tactile sense of the thing.

My friend's leftover yarn may have changed that, it feels absolutely lovely in my hands.  I wonder if the simpleness of the pattern is helping me notice it as well, kind of like how they say that people who are blind and deaf have a heightened awareness of their other senses.