Playing with Fiber

I've moved!

2011-10-09T11:36:00.000-06:00

Thank you so much for stopping by here - looks a bit ignored, doesn't it? That's because I've FINALLY gone live on my very own website! All of my patterns, custom items, and my blog are now in the same place and I'd love to have you stop by and say hello over there.

PamDaleyDesigns.com

Just click the link above to go directly to the new blog page - see you there!!

Back to civilization...sort of...

2011-06-01T01:55:00.000-06:00

Well. That last entry was about the last time I had decent internet access. What a month! I don’t regret at all our trip through British Columbia and the Yukon Territory, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t frustrating at times. We found that most of the campgrounds we stayed at did not have wifi – even if their ads in the guidebooks said they would. And the further north you get, the less you see places like Starbucks or McDonald’s to stop at and get online. I’ll be better prepared for our return trip in September!

Now that we are settled in Fairbanks for the summer and will (hopefully) have reliable internet access, I’m busy trying to finish up my website. I have most of my patterns added and am working on configuring the whole shopping cart setup. Each time I think I’ve got it figured out, I find out there is another step. Eesh.

But I DID finish some more patterns/projects. One pattern is currently being tested for me - it should be listed by the end of the week. And I also finished the prototype for another hat -

I'm trying to decide whether to offer the pattern for this design or just sell the finished hats. I may test the waters a bit by offering it both ways for a limited time and see what the response is. One of my most popular patterns - the apple hat - has always sold even better as a finished item on Etsy, but who knows what this one will do!

I finished a set of soda or beer can cozies made with worsted weight cotton yarn - that pattern is free to download on my NEW website. Check out the Freebie Patterns page for that one as well as others - with more to come.

Over the next few weeks I will be transitioning to my own website - PamDaleyDesigns.com (that address links to my Etsy shop right now). I will have my blog located there as well as patterns & finished crochet items for sale. I'll also be offering free patterns for immediate downloading - I'm excited about the possibilities! My designs will still be available on Etsy, Ravelry and a select few also on KnitPicks; but a stand-alone website has been a dream of mine for a while. I will continue to post both here and there for a bit, but I hope you'll stop by the new place. For a sneak peek, click here!

Friday projects!

2011-05-13T13:08:00.000-06:00

Well, we made it across the border - even though a certain piece of paper we were told we needed is missing somewhere in this motorhome. (Insurance proof) We lucked out and weren't asked for it so here we are in Clinton, British Columbia.

We decided to stay an extra day here today - and we even have internet!! - so I'm catching up on a few to-do's. A lot of them have to do with regular 'business maintenance' stuff, but I did manage to actually finish a WIP that's been in the back of my closet *forever*.

Behold - my new felted Kindle case /slash/ crochet "to-go" kit!!

I went through a phase of making and felting lots and lots of cozies, gadget cases, even a purse or two. I love felting, but it's something I just can't do on the road very easily since you really need your own washer. It takes at least 2 or 3 restarts of the hot water wash cycle to felt something and that gets REALLY pricey at a coin laundry. (Although I could do some felting this summer since we'll be staying near our daughter in Fairbanks...hmmm)

Anyway, this particular pouch thing was created & felted before we left Colorado Springs over a year ago. I just couldn't find a way to finish it that seemed 'right'. This morning I spotted it behind my jeans in the closet and pulled it out once again.

I got out my button box and tried all kind of buttons to see if anything spoke to me. Nada. I was about to give up when I saw these wooden beads in the bottom of the box - perfect!!! Sewed those puppies on, cut the buttonhole and ta da! A finished WIP!!

Now I have another baby shoes pattern just about completed that I'd really like to finish today as well. I just need to do the math for the additional sizes, take some better pictures and then I'll add it to my Ravelry store. I think I'm going to call these Japanese House Slippers for baby. So far the pattern goes up to about 18 months; maybe I'll play with a slightly different version of it for bigger feet (adding to my list!)

Oh Canada!

2011-05-10T23:50:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow is the day! We'll be crossing the border into Canada on our way up the Alcan Highway to Fairbanks, Alaska. I'll be deactivating all listings in my Etsy shop tomorrow morning, BUT you can still purchase my patterns in my Ravelry shop (easier there anyway - instant download link when you purchase!) Just click on the link below - there are a few freebie patterns listed there that aren't anywhere else.

Pam Daley Designs on Ravelry

I've received quite a few new pictures this week from the modeling agencies I use - check them out! I especially love this one -

How cute are those little feet?? The pattern for those ballerina booties is available on Ravelry; it comes with directions to make the booties in sizes newborn-3 months, 3-6 months & 6-12 months.

There are other new patterns & photos too - fingerless gloves, chunky yarn infinity scarf and baby boat shoes booties! More to come soon!

Living on the edge

2011-05-08T21:34:00.000-06:00

The edge of the United States - the northwestern edge - that's where we've been the past few days. And later this week we'll be crossing the US/Canada border on our way to Fairbanks!

I'm beyond excited - not just for getting to see Canada and explore Alaska, but also because we'll be spending the summer with my oldest daughter and my adorable grandsons Aiden & Jack. And my middle daughter and adorable granddaughter will be coming up for a few weeks too! I mean, seriously, what could be better?? (Well, my son-in-law home from Afghanistan would make it better...)

But it does mean that things will be even more quiet here on my blog as well as my shop for the next month. Traveling through Canada means we won't be able to use our cell phones for getting online (international roaming costs!!). And since I've heard everything from "you'll never find wifi along that route!" to "we had no problems finding internet cafes", I've decided to play it safe and put my shop on vacation for the month of May. I'm just not into stressing about receiving orders and not knowing when I'll be online to send them.

Since my hubby is doing all the driving on this trip, I've found myself with several extra hours each day to crochet as I relax in the passenger seat of the motorhome. Bonus!! I'm working on a pattern set of soda (or beer!) can cozies as well as a set of coffee cup sweaters. And, as usual, I have a few other ideas for some new patterns that I'll work on as we make our way through the British Columbia and the Yukon Territory this month. Hopefully that will translate into a few new patterns ready to list when I'm back online.

June will also find me beginning to work on building inventory of the Santa diaper sets that sold so well last year. And since we will be right near THE North Pole in Alaska, I've *got* to find some way to tie that in this year. Just think - a Santa diaper set made in the North Pole; perfect for those first Christmas photos. (I've even found a professional photographer to take some modeled pictures for me - can't wait to make that happen!)

So until next time (whenever that may be) - keep on dreaming. :-)

Back to reality!

2011-04-27T23:30:00.001-06:00

Tonight is the last evening of my week-long retreat. As expected, the time flew by and I didn't finish everything I had hoped to - but I'm still feeling very accomplished with what I did manage to complete!

New patterns in my Etsy shop:

I also arranged for modeled pictures of all of the patterns listed above as well as a couple of other finished crochet items I'll be selling.

I made significant progress on my new stand-alone website. And even though - due to some <cough cough> user error <cough cough> - I'll be redoing some of that work, I'm still excited to be getting closer to a grand opening over there.

I also had a chance to visit with a few long-time friends and I'm looking forward to coming back to this area this coming winter. I have missed the Pacific Coast the past few years - there is just nothing like the beach. Warm, cold, rainy, sunny; doesn't matter. I love the beach.

Before heading back to Mike & Sarah tomorrow, I will take a quick run up to Gold Beach and meet the owners of the RV resort we'll be working at when we return from Alaska. Then it's back to Medford for a few days of final preparations before we take off for the trip of a lifetime - the Alcan Highway and Fairbanks, Alaska!

2011-04-22T17:56:00.000-06:00

I've been waiting for over 4 months for this week to get here! I'm 'retreating' away at a condo on the beach in Brookings, Oregon until next Thursday! My goal is to finish as many of my "PIPs" (patterns in progress) as possible and maybe even get started on building up some inventory of finished items (can you say Christmas??).

I love the Pacific coast - even when it's foggy and rainy, but this first 24 hours has been glorious weather-wise. The sort of days that those who live here (or used to live here) try to keep secret because then everyone would relocate to this area. I have a few 'dates' with friends planned, but my focus this week is work.

And here is the first completed pattern - in honor of my darling little granddaughter who LOVES all things quack, I made a duck bath mitt & little bath puff. Also on the project list for this week is a froggy bath set, some little girl purses, plus a pair or two of baby shoes. And since I never know when inspiration will strike - or *how* it will strike - there could be some other pattern not even on my radar at this point. You just never know.

And now I believe it's time to fix myself something for dinner. Like steamed asparagus & a piece of pie. :-)

My first CAL project complete!

2011-04-11T21:12:00.000-06:00

This past week has been brutal...we left Colorado Springs last Friday and have been on the road every day since. That's NOT our usual routine - I'm usually game for 2, *maybe* 3 days of traveling in a row, but then I want to stay in one place for at least 2 nights.

But we left COS later than we had originally planned - waiting for ME and my stupid teeth - which means we have to hustle a bit to get out to Oregon. I'm tired. And we have 3 more days of driving to get through before we stop for a couple of weeks. My retreat is 10 days away though, so that thought is keeping me going.

Since I haven't had much energy to accomplish a whole lot each evening, I pulled out my crochet-a-long project - socks - and finished the first pair tonight.

I really like them - they are basically ribbing all over except for the bottom so they are very stretchy. They feel nice - although I'm not sure they will actually work for socks rather than 'slipper socks'. We'll have to see about that. I have one more sock done, so I need to finish the mate for that one and I'll post more pictures whenever that happens.

Retreat!!

2011-04-03T08:54:00.050-06:00

In less than 3 weeks I will be heading to a condominium in Brookings - all by myself. Since I haven't been able to get to an 'official' crochet-themed retreat I just have to make my own. I get to concentrate on completing some new patterns, work on our family website (moving to a new web host!) as well as my Pam Daley Designs website (hopefully to go live by May 1).

Don't get me wrong, I love my hubby and daughter, but I am REALLY looking forward to the week away. I mean think about it - no stopping in the middle of a crochet project to make dinner! And I can make myself whatever *I* want without having to listen to a certain teenager whine about vegetables or me not making dessert. If I want to buy a bunch of asparagus and steam it for dinner - and nothing else - I can!! (That actually sounds kinda good...along with a glass of chardonnay...) I can stay up until 3 AM, and sleep until 10 AM without feeling guilty. I can spread my yarn and WIPs all over the place! Oh yeah....can't wait!

It's another week gone by?? Seriously??

2011-04-01T08:54:00.000-06:00

Today is April 1, 2011. I'm really not crazy about April - it's tax time! This year we have to file 2 different state returns since we 'officially' changed our residence to Florida on October 1 last year. (Note to self: next time we do that, we're doing it on January 1!!) I don't mind paying my fair share of taxes; what I hate is all the convoluted paperwork involved in taking care of my civic responsibility. I did finally purchase the software and am looking at it next to my laptop right now. Baby steps. Baby steps.

This past week I managed to send off 4 items to Ellie Bean models for pictures. I'm super excited to be able to add the pictures to my pattern listings - modeled items always sell better! Within the next week to 10 days I should have pictures of my ballerina slipper booties as well as 3 different hats - can't wait!! Next up in the queue for shipment to models will be my christening booties and some fingerless gloves. Hopefully before we leave Colorado Springs next Friday I'll have sent those off as well.

I'm working to finish as many projects as I can this month since May 1 will see us leaving our car parked in Oregon & heading north to Alaska! My car is currently where I store most of my yarn, so I'm doing some rearranging to find room in the motor-home for what I haven't used up for projects.

My week-long 'crochet retreat' is coming up on April 21st - that's where I'm really hoping to finish a LOT of projects. I already have a list of 10-15 patterns that I want to complete that week. As well as work on 2 new websites. When you don't have to stop and make 'real' meals for the family it's amazing how much you can get done!

Yarn dyeing!!

2011-03-26T18:21:00.000-06:00

One of the nice advantages of staying in one area for a month or more is being able to find & sign up for various classes. I wrote recently about a soap making class and today my daughter and I took in a yarn dyeing class.

I have a friend who hand dyes sock yarn and from the day I received my first package of beautiful squishy soft yarn from her I've wanted to try it. When I went to my 'yarn tasting' event a couple of weeks ago I asked - just on a whim - if they had any yarn dyeing classes coming up. When the owner said yes - AND the date of the class was still within our planned visit here - I was tickled pink!! :-)

So today we spent 3 hours hand dyeing 4 skeins of worsted weight yarn. I have to admit that I half expected that the skeins would be 'mini', but nope - full-sized, 4 oz, skeins. The teacher had several basic colors for us to mix, match and blend as much as we dared. I went to the class with only one color scheme in mind - Mardi Gras colors. Purple, green and gold.

I did one skein with those colors; and another with pink & yellow. The other two are blues and greens. Christa created a beautiful skein with a deep forest green with blues & creams (looks like the seashore!) as well as some pinks. The skeins are currently hanging outside to dry - I'll take better pictures soon and add them here. But for now - here they are just after being rinsed during class today -

A new website!!

2011-03-25T15:34:00.001-06:00

Have you heard of www.weebly.com?? Oh my goodness - I think I'm in love!! They are a web hosting platform - I first saw their name in a discussion over on the Etsy forums. I'm still wanting to redesign our family website and have had lousy luck in finding a place to host it that will give me what I want without costing an arm and a leg.

Weebly has zoomed into first place for me. Their free subscription actually seems to have everything I want, but I may go for the premium just so I can support their awesome work. Even at that, they will cost about 35% of what we've been paying for our other web host. It is SO easy to set up and the options for customizing are very intuitive. Plus they also let you tweak the html code of your chosen template so you can truly make your site OOAK. So far the ONLY thing I've found that I can't do is to schedule blog posts in advance. Definitely not a deal breaker for me!

And because I like how this is shaping up for our family website, I've decided to get started on my Pam Daley Designs website. Weebly's free subscription allows you to build 2 complete websites - no limit on pages!. The premium level allows you 10 websites. At this point, I really don't see myself managing 10 websites, but hey, you never know!

Right now my domain name of PamDaleyDesigns.com redirects to my Etsy shop; but soon - the end of April is my goal - it will point to my very own stand-alone website. And get this - weebly even supports a PayPal shopping cart (at no extra charge!) so I'll be able to start offering pattern sales right from my website as well. How cool is that?? I feel like a real business. :-)

2011-03-23T15:21:00.036-06:00

Well, my hubby comes home today after being gone for almost 3 weeks. He took his motorcycle and rode from Colorado to La Paz in Baja, Mexico and then back up to Medford, OR. He will be leaving his bike there (his mom lives there) and flying back to Colorado.

As is usually the case when he takes a trip like this, I have all KINDS of plans for things I will accomplish while he's gone. Yeah. You think I'd learn, wouldn't you??

Ah well...taxes still need to be done, but I did manage to finish one more pattern today and get it listed in the shop:

Noelani even accommodated me and allowed herself to be photographed wearing one of the pattern samples. I think I'm wearing her down with all the hats I make her try on. She's actually *wanting* to wear them these days - makes my heart glad. My older girls would NEVER let me put a hat on them and little girls just look so cute wearing one!

This pattern is #50!! They are not all listed in my Etsy shop (since some are freebies) but they are all in my Ravelry shop. My goal this year is to get between 75 & 100 patterns listed. Hopefully I'll be able to get quite a few more completed during my 'retreat' in April. I'll talk more about that soon. Only 29 days to go!!

For now, I probably should get busy on my crochet-a-long socks project this evening. Eh...we'll see.

Crochet socks!

2011-03-19T09:58:00.048-06:00

In an attempt to 'broaden my crochet horizons' I've signed up to participate in a CAL (crochet-a-long) to make some socks. In my experience, crochet socks are really better as slippers - I mean, they just don't turn out like knitted socks. (There; I said it.)

But I'm willing to give it another try. I sprang for some pretty pricey sock yarn (Poems sock yarn) - 2 skeins needed; downloaded the pattern and jumped in on the discussion group.

After looking at the pattern itself and reading some of the comments being made about the yarn (for one thing, that it does NOT frog well!!) I decided to make a sample sock to work out any pattern bugs before I started using the Poems stuff. I've a few balls of sock yarn in my (rapidly dwindling) stash and figured I'd end up with a mish-mash looking sock, but that's okay.

The pattern is definitely a bit challenging - not that it has intricate stitch details, but it's just different from any other sock pattern I've tried. It also doesn't have very many pictures to help explain what you're supposed to do, but I muddled through. I'm still not actually sure if I did the first few rows correctly, but as long as the sock turns out like a sock it really doesn't matter to me.

It took me 2 evenings to finish my practice sock -

I love how it turned out - it's very stretchy (basically it's a ribbing stitch worked sideways with the sole in flat single crochet). It takes a LOT of yarn so I think I will change the cuff portion to be shorter with no fold-over so I can use up some more sock yarn stash - after I make the pair with my Poems yarn.

But it's still a slipper sock - I don't really see myself wearing these with shoes. Then again, I'm not crazy about wearing socks to begin with (I like my feet nakie in my shoes). We'll see how I feel when I finish the 'real' pair though.

If you're interested in trying the pattern, check this page for details and a link to purchase the magazine.

Yarn Tasting

2011-03-18T09:55:00.045-06:00

Does the title sound intriguing?? 'Yarn Tasting' If you're a yarn-aholic I'm sure it makes perfect sense to you, but for my fiber-challenged friends let me explain.

Just like a wine tasting, our yarn tasting was an opportunity to sample new wines...er...yarns.

Held at Table Rock Llamas Fiber Arts Studio, and for a nominal fee, we each received 5 mini-skeins of yarn (don't you love the presentation??). I'm not sure exactly how many yards a mini-skein is, but they were enough to make swatches 5-7 inches square depending on your pattern. And of course, these are not your scratchy, run-of-the-mill acrylic yarns! We had a couple of organic cotton & linen blends, a cotton-silk-nylon blend, a 100% organic cotton sample, and (my favorite) a linen-viscose blend. I actually have no idea what viscose IS, but it makes a shiny yarn with the linen content. My sample is currently being used for a pattern idea I'm getting ready to submit to a magazine.

It was a fun couple of hours - I even won one of the door prizes: a full size skein of Kumara (made by Classic Elite Yarns). It's a blend of merino wool and baby camel - a new one to me.

I also signed up for another class later this month - I'm going to learn to dye my own yarn! I can't wait. (You can see a few more pictures in my photo album on Facebook!)

Baby Ballet Slippers

2011-03-17T22:48:00.000-06:00

This is another pattern that has been sitting half-completed for a while. I have a habit of making a sample, jotting down some notes, and then...the creative urge leaves me. I put it in my yarn tub and it sits until I can motivate myself to finish!

These little slippers have ribbon ties at the ankle and optional cross straps. There is also an option to substitute crocheted ties for the ribbon that are attached at the back. The pattern has instructions to make them in sizes up to 12 months. My granddaughter is definitely not the ballet type, but I'm going to see if I can get her to sit still for 2 minutes so I can get a picture of her wearing a pair of these. (Would be SO cute with a little baby tutu, but I know her mom's limits...) :-)

Soap!!

2011-03-16T09:42:00.001-06:00

I've become addicted to handmade soap - usually buying from a few different sellers on Etsy. Yes, it's pricier than the stuff in most stores, but to me it's worth it. It's just so much nicer to your skin - and at my age, my skin could use a little extra care.

I've wanted to learn how to make my own soap for a while - not that I'll be able to actually DO that on a regular basis while we're living on the road, but just to learn how. I've been checking here and there looking for a one day class and finally got the opportunity this past week.

Salus Soap in Manitou Springs gives classes and both Christa and I signed up. It was a blast!! Soap making isn't necessarily difficult, you just need to have the right equipment and supplies as it does involve using lye - pretty caustic and not something you want to play around with unless you use gloves, a breathing mask and even goggles.

Christa and I each made a 1 lb loaf of soap - mine is a lemongrass with poppy seed blend, and hers was vanilla and black walnut. We'll split them up and trade half so we'll each be able to have both types.

Right now the soap loaves have been cut into bars and are curing. They'll be ready to use in 2-4 weeks - I can't wait!!

And I have to admit that if/when we ever do settle down in one place for a while I may have to explore this soap making thing a little more. I don't think I'd ever try to sell them except to maybe to friends & family (too many FDA rules & regulations), but I'd love to make all of my own soap! If you'd like to see more pictures of the class, check out the photo album by clicking here.

Back on track

2011-03-11T13:27:00.000-07:00

After a couple of challenging weeks, I'm working diligently to get back on track and finish at least one on-going project a week. Still feeling a bit 'fractured' lately, but life goes on.

I've been trying to find some clear boxes for my christening booties and finally found some at the local Hobby Lobby. Once I tracked those down, I had to order priority boxes from the post office and work through the details of just how I was going to package these things. My goal has been to market these booties as an heirloom, so sticking them in a poly bag just wasn't fitting with my vision. :-)

Finally, this morning, I think I'm there. I've updated my listings on Etsy and looking forward to working on a few more designs to add this this series of booties.

Now all I need to do is work on getting some pictures of these booties "in action".

One step down...

2011-03-04T20:18:00.000-07:00

This morning was my big dentist appointment - it's about 12 hours later and my mouth is still throbbing. And the holes sure feel like they took more than one tooth out! Sheesh.

But at least this part is over. I will probably be having a partial denture made since the permanent bridges of so flippin' expensive. I'm not thrilled about the whole denture thing, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do, right??

On the positive side, I finally found some plastic cases to use for my baptism/christening booties. I want to 'class up' the packaging of these and market them as an heirloom purchase. Now I'm just waiting for my order of priority mail boxes to arrive and I can work out the rest of the packaging details. As soon as I do, I'll post some pictures - I'm excited about how they will look!!

Now to take some more Advil...

MIA

2011-03-02T22:59:00.000-07:00

Yup, that's me - MIA. I've been experiencing a bit of a 'creative funk' this past couple of weeks - but I have an excuse. I had to see a dentist last week and got a shocker of an estimate to have a couple of broken teeth fixed - $6,000! And that's AFTER insurance pays their part.

I've got another appointment this Friday to have those 2 broken teeth pulled (they are in the back) and then figure out what I'm going to do from there. Spending $6,000 is not an option - I refuse to go into debt for something like that.

And since dentists and I have serious issues, this has been one heck of a stressful week. I'm just focusing on getting through this Friday, sending my husband off to Cabo in Baja for 3 weeks on Saturday morning, then visiting with an out of town friend over the weekend. Monday after all that may be spent sleeping, but then I intend to hit the ground running no later than Tuesday next week!!

Just you wait...:-)

So THAT'S what it is...

2011-02-22T12:53:00.001-07:00

Like a lot of people, I've seen but not really understood what the whole 'steampunk' thing was about. The look of it is intriguing, but I just couldn't put my finger on what defined something as steampunk. Was it just weird gears & clocks jumbled together?? Something reserved for tattooed cyberpunks? (Oh wait, I have a tattoo...)

Nah. A new friend on Etsy explained it to me in 3 little words: Victorian. Science. Fiction. As I read her words, I thought - "Ah - okay! I get it!!"

It's stuff like this romantic, feminine cameo surrounded by tiny little gears (click the picture to go BallyhooJewelry on Etsy)

Or something like these Dr. Who-inspired bottled necklaces - (click the picture to go to AlteredEras on Etsy)

Victorian Science Fiction. Jules Verne. Doc's time-traveling locomotive from the 3rd Back to the Future movie.

Knowing me, I'm sure you'd agree that this video captures 'steampunk' in a way that I can relate to best. :-D

52 Week Challenge - Week 7 - Fail!

2011-02-18T08:41:00.000-07:00

Well, in marked contrast to last week's great show of productivity, this week has, well, sucked. The first few days were lost to a my-head-feels-like-it's-going-to-explode head cold; and when that started to wane I got hit with a killer toothache. Blech.

We are currently in northern Texas on our way back to Colorado Springs - another 900 miles, 4 driving days. And since my hubby drives the motorhome and I drive the car, that means I have to keep my meds 'drive-safe' (bummer). So I'm taking 1,000 mgs of acetaminophen periodically to keep the pain down to a manageable level hoping to hold off going to see a dentist until we get to COS. I know that I'm looking at several office visits and would prefer those all to be at the *same* office, ya know??

Today is Friday, so I still have until this evening to finish a project for this week. Hmmm...wonder if I could count just managing a blog post?

Week 6 has been very productive!

2011-02-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

This week has been one of those where a lot of things just 'fell into place'. We need these kinds of weeks so that when we're in the midst of one where NOTHING is going right, we can remind ourselves that it doesn't have to be that way. :-)

I mentioned last post that I'm taking a class on submitting patterns for publication. One of the assignments has been to contact publishers and yarn companies regarding their designer submission guidelines. Most of the responses I've received have been form letters with an editorial calendar and list of requirements; basic need-to-know stuff. But I received a letter from Caron Yarns that was a bit different.

Since I include my Etsy and Ravelry shop urls in my email signature, the design coordinator at Caron took time to check out my patterns and had some nice things to say about them. She mentioned some of them specifically and also asked me what my design type & yarn preferences were so she could note them for when they needed something specific designed. How seriously cool is that?? Maybe nothing will come of it, but it was very nice to be taken seriously!!

About 6 weeks ago I had a new logo made and finally sat down today and created files for new business cards, letterhead, fabric care labels, thank you cards, return address labels, stickers...on and on and on! And actually ordered everything. I've always been very pleased with Vista Print for my business cards and came upon an awesome sale there - I ordered $150+ worth of items for $30 - including shipping! Below is my new business card - *with* my new google phone number. (I feel so professional...)

And last - but definitely not least! - my daughter and I finished 50 baby hats for the Caps for Good project with Warm Up America!! We started on February 1 and finished yesterday (the 9th). It was a little challenging there a couple of days, but we persevered and completed the project!!

And tonight? I'm watching a couple episodes of Firefly and not even thinking about yarn. Well, maybe a little bit. You see, there's a new pattern I'm working on...:-)

Taking the next step...

2011-02-08T19:17:00.000-07:00

One of my goals for 2011 is expanding where and how I sell my patterns. In addition to continuing to add patterns to the KnitPicks website I am hoping to have a pattern published in a print magazine or book. (How cool would that be??)

I'm currently in the middle of a 3 week online class to learn about the whole process for submitting patterns for publication. Magazines, books, yarn companies - that sort of thing. Besides finding out where and how you actually send in a design submission, I've also learned that I've been very well treated by KnitPicks and their Independent Designer Program.

Since KnitPicks was my first experience with having my patterns published (by someone other than me) I guess I just assumed that their program was typical. Definitely not the case.

To be published in most of the magazines I've researched, I would be signing over my pattern forever - it would no longer be mine at all. I figured they would have exclusive rights to the design for x-period of time, maybe a year or two. But nope; they pay you your fee and it is theirs. Even if for some reason they decide not to publish it after all. It could be pulled for any number of reasons and never see the light of day and you can't do anything with it - ever.

Now, depending on the pattern and the amount they paid me, that might be okay. But learning this has definitely made me change my mind about which patterns I will be submitting. I will likely stick with seasonal or holiday designs - something that would have a short 'selling season' in my shops. Something like this hat and muff set -

- will probably be my first try at submitting to a magazine. I hope to have my submission packet all in order within the next week for the first publication on my list. Here's hoping!!

Week 5!!

2011-02-04T15:40:00.000-07:00

Boy - I wasn't sure if I was going to make my goal of finishing a project this week - but I did it! In between making baby hats, I've been working on a custom order for fingerless gloves and a cowl/infinity scarf for a customer in Tasmania and finished it up this afternoon.

I will also be adding the pattern for the set to my shop - probably tomorrow. You can see more pictures of this set here.

Caps for Good

2011-01-31T18:48:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is February 1 and my hubby will be working with the Saint Bernard Project in New Orleans for the next 2 weeks. Since helping on a construction site is not my thing, I will be spending the days crocheting caps for the Caps for Good Campaign. My daughter is also a crocheter, and we're hoping to each make 2 caps per day + a few extra for a total of 50 caps.

The project ends February 28, so if we don't get to that number we'll just send off however many we can complete.

I'm also in the middle of a custom crochet order, so I'll be finishing that up in the next couple of days as well. Busy week ahead!!

Week 4 and still going!

2011-01-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

This week we have been traveling more than usual - 3 days in a row. Our normal routine is to travel a day and then plant ourselves for up to a week before taking off again. But since my hubby has a commitment in New Orleans next week we're moving along a little faster.

The frustrating part of that is that it really messes with my creating and crocheting time. I love to stay up really late (like 1 AM or later) to work on projects. Everyone else is in bed and I have the 'whole motor home' to myself (said very tongue in cheek!!) :-) But if we're going to be driving the next day, I can't really stay up that late - makes it hard to be awake enough to drive safely. It's all good though - we're in Pensacola, FL until Saturday and then we'll be in New Orleans for almost 2 weeks. So I can deal with it.

I did manage to finish a new pattern and sample for KnitPicks this week - and even got it mailed off to them. (Believe me - a HUGE accomplishment!) The pattern should be listed on their website in the next week or two.

For my Twilight fan daughter....

2011-01-21T14:09:00.001-07:00

My oldest daughter has the Twilight bug, but bad. I don't understand it but she's a grownup so what can I say? :-)

When I came across a pattern for this 'Twilight-inspired cloche' I had to buy it so I could make one for her. I finally found somewhere to purchase the red ribbon needed (Hobby Lobby & Joann's stores have been few & far between the past couple of weeks!) and finished it up last night. Soon it will be on the way to Fairbanks, AK to keep another Team Edward devotee warm. :-)

52 Week Challenge - Week 2

2011-01-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

My goal this week was to finish one of my 'patterns in progress' and - happily! - I was able to do that. (Yay - cheering & clapping!!) This is a hat and scarf pattern that came about because I had this awesome chunky yarn and needed to DO something with it. This yarn is amazing - I bought it at a small yarn shop in Atwater, California way back in June last year. It's one of those yarns that you won't see in your local chain craft store - but it's well worth making the extra effort to locate it.

So here is my latest pattern currently listed in my Etsy shop as well as on Ravelry. It includes instructions for making it in size 1 year all the way up to adult. It uses front- & back-post double crochet stitches to make the textured design. It reminded me of something that a weaver would make on a loom - hence the name "Woven Look Hat & Scarf Set". Hopefully I will have some modeled pictures to add soon.

Next week's project is another pattern! Snow boot baby shoes!

Models!

2011-01-12T17:47:00.000-07:00

One of the challenges of creating patterns for little ones is finding a baby around to use for pictures. It's a fact that items shown being modeled just plain sell better. I have THE cutest ice cream sundae hat pattern that just does not sell well and I know it's because I wasn't able to get a good picture of it being modeled.

Not a problem anymore! While perusing the Etsy forums recently I came across a reference to "Ellie Bean Models" as a service quickly gaining popularity with knitters and crocheters. After doing some googling and reading all the forum posts I could find, I signed up with them.

They are basically a referral service - parents sign up their adorable kids to be models; boutique owners (me) request specific types of models. A match is made and the boutique owner sends the items to be modeled to the parents. They take photos - either themselves if they are capable, or have a professional photog do it - and send them back within a week. Payment can either be the items themselves or a monetary compensation. Since I really have no use (or space) for the samples I make for my patterns I'm more than happy to trade them for great photos. Definitely a win-win situation for all involved!

In all the research I did I couldn't find one single negative thing posted about Ellie Bean Models. I'm excited to finish up some projects and send off my first package!!

52 Week Challenge - Week 1

2011-01-06T08:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a productive week for me - I've crossed off several projects on my 'shop to-do' list! Some of them weren't really items I can post a picture of -

downloaded and set up an Excel spreadsheet to record sales this year
downloaded all sales & receipts records from Etsy and PayPal and organized them into an Excel workbook
finished assigning pattern numbers to all of my crochet patterns (making it MUCH easier to find the correct file and send it when customers make a purchase)

And I made new samples for my Quick & Easy Bulky Half-mittens. When I opened this pattern file (one of my really early ones) to update it with a pattern file number I was appalled at the pictures. Eesh! They looked like I had taken them with my cell phone or something. And since the original pair of gloves were long gone, that meant making up another pair. It's a quick, easy pattern (hence the name!) and an additional benefit was using up some of my yarn stash - an ongoing project. Here they are:

The new and updated pattern is now listed in my shop at Etsy! Yay! I've created several fingerless gloves patterns - some are finished and listed, and some are in the 'process' stage. Patterns that use any weight of yarn from bulky to sock yarns. (Thinking a multi-pattern ebook may be in the near future...)

Anatomy of a crochet pattern - Part I

2011-01-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

I was recently asked exactly how I get an idea in my head for a crocheted project to the finished PDF pattern file. As I sit here working on a new fingerless gloves pattern I thought I'd try to put down the steps I go through.

I do have a lot of ideas and sketches in a notebook that is always next to my laptop, but sometimes I just feel like 'playing'. I'll sit down, maybe put a movie on my laptop, pick up some extra yarn & a hook and start crocheting. That's what happened last night. Lately I'm intrigued with fingerless gloves and have already written a couple of patterns for them - but they are of the 'bulky' style and I wanted something more geared for being able to wear indoors and actually type or write while wearing them.

I started with the ribbing and just 'played'. I have a yellow notepad and pen handy and jot down notes on what I'm doing. That's probably the hardest step for me - I usually just want to make the item, not write down what I'm doing. I've convinced myself a time or two that I can go back later and figure out what I did and write it down then. Doesn't work and I'm ALWAYS mad at myself when I've done it.

So I write down each step - I don't worry about legibility and I use my own shorthand, but I write it down. I will normally end up with a VERY messy page, but assuming I don't put it away for weeks I'll be able to understand what I wrote. This first draft run through is obviously the most time consuming. I've frogged the glove I'm working on at least 3 times so far - first the wrist section was too snug (rippit rippit rippit!) Then the increase rounds weren't centered quite right (rippit rippit rippit). Got through that and then made the thumb opening a bit off-kilter (rippit rippit rippit) Get the picture? :-)

Stay tuned for Part II later this week...

Getting organized & being challenged!

2010-12-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

I'm one of those dorks who gets all enthusiastic about spreadsheets, charts & graphs, check lists, to-do lists...I'm sure you get the picture. Earlier today I downloaded a very cool Excel spreadsheet from Handmadeology to track sales information for 2011. In fact, it's so cool I'm thinking I will go back and use it to enter my 2010 information - just so I can see all the stats it will give me!

I'm continuing to work on a new business plan for this coming year - also in Excel and with several pages to write down all kinds of projects & goals. (I did mention that I'm a bit of a dork...) So when I came across a thread on the Etsy forums about a 52 Week Challenge, I was intrigued. Here's an excerpt from the original post:

For 2011, I propose to complete a new project each week. They don't have to be started that week. In fact, finishing up some UFO's is part of my motivation for this challenge. They don't have to be big projects, or sewing projects. Something as simple as completing a new recipe, or a child's craft project will do. I also hope to finish some bigger projects that will take longer than a week to do.

Fabric Fascination is the shop getting this started and I'm joining her on the journey. Each week those of us participating will post pictures of whatever project we completed that week. We'll encourage each other to hang in there and continue on! If you'd like to join in too, just visit her blog here and sign up!

Ready, Set....Go?

2010-12-28T08:51:00.001-07:00

After taking the past month quote-unquote "off", it's time to start putting things back together at my Etsy shop. I've been busy behind the scenes and am excited to 'open the doors' again!

Once of the most exciting things that happened was getting 2 new logos! One for my official business name (parent company, if you will):

And another one for the Playing with Fiber shops at Etsy (and Artfire):

Now I'm beginning the process of creating new business cards, care labels, advertising graphics, etc. using these logos to create matching (or 'branded') marketing materials. That in itself is quite a task! Since we will be on the move again in less than a week, I'll probably have to have the printed items sent on ahead to our next multi-week stop in Colorado. Which means I won't actually be able to start using them until late February/early March. I'm looking at that as a good thing though - it takes a bit of the time pressure off, you know? I CAN'T get them any earlier than that, so there is no need to hurry hurry and get them designed & ordered this week.

The other thing I'm excited about is some new photos for some of my patterns - along with adding a 'Pattern' text overlay to all of the main listing photos for the shop. Even though my titles and listing descriptions clearly state the it is for a PDF pattern and NOT a finished item, there is still confusion at times. (I actually had something think that I was selling a handmade pair of yoga socks for $3.99 - and no shipping - to Europe!) I also created two other text overlays - one for 'custom order' and one for 'ready to ship' - so that it is more obvious at first which items are patterns. Hopefully.

I sent several of my sample hats to my daughter in Colorado recently. She takes care of several toddlers and has easier access to little people heads than I do for photographs. She's been coming through for me and several of my patterns now have cute, modeled photos.

For when a model isn't available, I've ordered a small, baby-sized wicker hat stand to use. (I told you I've been busy!) I'm excited to try it out (but again, won't be able to actually use it until we get to Colorado!). I think it will work really well - it's only 10 inches tall and very lightweight since it's wicker. And handmade from Etsy of course!!

A new technique!

2010-12-06T19:09:00.000-07:00

Now that I've finished my Christmas orders and my shop is officially closed, I finally pulled out a crochet magazine that's been buried in my couch for a few weeks. Naturally there are a few patterns that I'd love to try sometime, but what really caught my eye was the article (and patterns) using something called 'flat slip stitch'.

If you're a crocheter, you know that the slip stitch is usually just a joining stitch. It's how you join the end of a round to the beginning to make a circle. The flat slip stitch is worked in just one loop of the previous row and this simple little variation makes for an entirely different look! I love it! The challenge so far (for me) has been making the stitches loose enough - it takes a very easy-going, loose tension to make these work. Almost sloppy (by my normal standards anyway).

This is how my first project turned out:

The original pattern was for an adult sized hat, but mine turned out perfect for a newborn. So I'm definitely going to have to play with the gauge on this, but I love the design. If I'd seen this I don't think I would have known it was even crochet - it almost looks like knitted garter stitch. I can't wait to play with this some more - I'm envisioning a head band (the type that goes around to cover your ears) for my next project with this stitch.

Almost there...!

2010-11-30T10:21:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are at November 30. I have just a few more Santa diaper sets to finish and then I can start working on gifts for my friends and family. As mentioned below, to make sure I can do that I'm closing my Etsy and Artfire shops for the month of December.

I'm working on an announcement and accompanying graphics and trying to make it as easy as possible for customers to be able to purchase & download any patterns they might want over on Ravelry (instant download there!) while Etsy is closed. So I'll be doing a little rearranging here on the blog - thank heavens we seem to have figured out a way to have internet access at home these days! Makes like so much easier when I don't have to go 15 miles away to work online, ya know?

My 'want-to-do' list for this upcoming month *off* (ha ha) has grown to include things I'm sure I won't get to at all. But one of those higher priority items is hashing out some details for my 2011 plans for Pam Daley Designs. Since I love lists (and Excel spreadsheets!) you can imagine how much fun I'm having just thinking about that particular project.

But today, laundry is calling. :-)

Radical...for me...

2010-11-11T10:54:00.000-07:00

Yeah, okay. I'm just going to pretend that the past 3 month blank spot on this blog isn't there and just go from here. We all okay with that? Good. :-)

I'm in the midst of a crocheting frenzy these days - my little Santa diaper covers, hats and booties have sold (and are still selling!) much more quickly than I had anticipated. These sets weren't even in my plans for Christmas ideas! I have a pattern listed for a Santa hat and booties and had a customer ask me if I could add a diaper cover and make the set for her. I'm thinking, hmmm, sure - sounds like a cute set.

Once I made that set and it showed up in my Etsy shop 'sold orders' I received 2 more requests for a set. Keep in mind, these were not listed for sale in my shop - you had to really go looking for them. I decided that maybe there was quite a market and went ahead and listed them for sale.

That was 3 price increases and 30 orders ago. And right now I'm in the midst of working on 8 orders to go out in the next week or so. That huge order of yarn that I purchased last month will be gone in the next few days. And so now my dilemma is where do I go from here??

While I'm thrilled at the response to these, I can only crochet so fast. And I do have a few things I would like to make for Christmas gifts for family members. I know these Santa sets are only going to be popular for a very short time as parents look for cute Christmas picture outfits and that window is quickly closing (44 days until Christmas!); but do I really want to be stressed out on December 15 trying to finish a rush request for an outfit to be overnighted? (I already have one being shipped express this next week.) I really don't.

I already am thinking about how I will approach this next year so as not to be so overwhelmed with orders in such a short time. (Building up an inventory is obviously a big step!) But that doesn't help me now. So when I finish the orders I have right now, I am going to decide how many more I want to make - and when I want to be done - and post that announcement in my shop. And I will 'close' my Etsy shop for the month of December. I know if the listings are still there I WILL get those rush requests.

I'm still thinking on the details of how it'll all work out, but I'm going to do this. I've been so busy since we arrived at our camp hosting location, that I haven't really had time to do much exploring or enjoying the area. Closing in December will allow me to do some of that, as well as maybe spend some time revamping our Daley-Travels website. Something I was planning to do last month during my retreat - but couldn't because I was busy with custom orders for these Santa sets.

I'm sure as my husband reads this he will have his doubts about my plan. He knows me and knows that it's hard for me to back off from things like this. I tend to *not* do things 'half-way'. (He's the same way, that's why he knows this.)

Loopy Knit & Crochet

2010-07-27T17:20:00.001-06:00

I found a great local yarn shop in downtown Missoula, Montana - Loopy Knit & Crochet. (And how nice to see a yarn shop with 'crochet' in the name!!) After having been through a drought and having to actually purchase yarn in WalMart, I was REALLY excited to check this place out.

Super friendly sales people; check out this new Etsy shop - LambsEnd - by a young man working at the shop who has only been knitting for a *year*! Gorgeous work - the sweaters he is selling were there at the shop and I can tell you, they were awesome.

My biggest weak spot when it comes to yarn is hand-painted sock yarn and there were SO many beautiful colors at Loopy. I kept having to remind myself that I do NOT have room to build up a big stash of yarn! If it doesn't fit in the back of my car, I cannot get it. I've been making progress using up my stash lately, so I do actually have a bit of room. I bought some blue and gold cotton sock yarn made in Chile - this is going to be a pair of socks for ME. Someday.

I also picked up some t-shirt yarn. What IS t-shirt yarn you ask?? Like 'plarn' - yarn made from recycled plastic bags, t-shirt yarn is made from used t-shirts. There is a great tutorial on the blog Polka Dot Pineapple if you want to see how it's made. I bought a total of about 90 yards of blue and cream colors - not sure what I'm going to make yet. Leaning towards making hot pad/trivets as I'm not sure it's enough to make a shopping bag. Still need to do some googling for ideas. :-)

While waiting for them to wind the yarn hanks into cakes for me (which I am SO grateful for!!) Mike continued to poke around the store and it's entirely HIS fault that I spent another $25 there. I've been wanting to learn more about Tunisian crochet and he found a book with lots of clear photos and easy to understand instructions. So I bought that too. I'll post about how that's going very soon - I promise!!

Just something to DO

2010-07-26T10:58:00.047-06:00

Sometimes I just really want to sit down and work on something that doesn't require a lot of brain power. I have all these WIPs but something needs to be rewritten, or stitch counts verified, or sizes worked out. I have to be in the mood to work on that kind of project and evenings aren't my best time for problem solving.

I especially find myself wanting to just mindlessly crochet when I'm sad or distracted. And that has been the case the past few days. Friends of ours lost their 13 year old son in an auto accident. And while I know Gabe is in heaven, it's still so difficult to watch my friends grieve the loss. I haven't experienced the pain they are going through, but I'm heartbroken too.

So I grabbed some yarn and made a hat and scarf for my Alaska-bound grandson Aiden.

I had recently found myself in a WalMart (under extreme duress) and found a skein of Red Heart 'zebra' yarn. I've been trying to find a black and white yarn that would actually LOOK like zebra stripes when worked up and hadn't seen this stuff before.

It was cheap, and I caved. I played with it a bit and realized it wasn't what I was looking for either. But it was perfect for my mindless project.

Simple back loop single crochet. Kept my hands busy and allowed me to do something while I cried and prayed for my friends.

Features & Giveaways!

2010-07-23T09:10:00.031-06:00

Interviews, features and the like take time & planning - it's not like you set up a giveaway and it happens right away. There are 2 that I've been working on and they've both come to fruition this week. I'm feeling pretty good!!

First off is an interview that is now up at the KnitPicks blog - feeling like a real designer these days. :-) You can take a look at it by clicking on the link just above.

At the same time is a shop feature and giveaway currently going on at Barefoot by the Sea. The blog owner - Jessica - wrote a really nice piece about my Etsy shop! Lots of pictures of current patterns and information on how YOU can take part in my giveaway. Stop on by and leave your comments there so we can add your name to the list of entries.

2010-07-22T11:10:00.000-06:00

It's been an interesting week - we've traveled a bit more than I like to so I'm feeling 'behind' on current WIP's. (Although I'm caught up on custom orders so that 'behind' feeling is totally self-imposed!)

The good news is that we are currently parked for an entire week so I'm looking forward to making a dent in my list! I found some black and white yarn that I'm *hoping* will look like zebra stripes on a hat for one of my grandsons. And then there is the green yarn for the background on a 'flower garden' hat idea. Oh - and the toddler poncho...the ponytail hat...

I did finish my new pattern for yoga socks though!! Sample socks and pattern have been sent in to KnitPicks; crossing fingers now that they will be accepted and added to the website!

I love working with colorful sock yarns - and this certainly qualified. Nice stuff - Stroll is the yarn.

Designer Samples and more

2010-06-29T23:03:00.001-06:00

You'd think that since we are 'just' travelling in our motorhome and don't have 'real' jobs that I'd find myself with lots of time on my hands. I'd be able to keep this blog up with new posts every couple of days. Yeah, right.

I don't know how more than 2 weeks went by before I found myself back here, but there you have it. We are currently in southern Oregon parked at hubby's mom's property and have spent a lot of time visiting (and meeting) relatives who were here for our nephew's wedding this past weekend. In between those I have been able to list several new patterns and have more yarn from KnitPicks to work up into new samples.

The cutest new pattern was one requested by a customer for her newborn son's christening. She wanted a pattern for her grandma to use to make a sweater vest; this is the final version -

I absolutely love that way it turned out! It's the first 'intermediate' pattern I've tried writing - this one uses lots of front-post and back-post crochet stitches to make the cable design on the front. I probably should work on figuring out the changes needed for larger sizes - it's on my to-do list.

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I've received all of my samples to date back from Knit Picks and am in the process of listing them for sale. I really have no use for most of them and just don't have the room to cart them around, so I'm listing them as 'designer samples' in my Etsy shop. The first one - the pumpkin hat - sold within just a couple of hours of listing. Hopefully the rest will sell quickly too - they are only $8.00 each.

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I've received several inquiries recently for custom crochet projects - a crochet bike seat cover anyone? I'm also working on a prototype for a couple of new infant hats - giraffe? PLUS it's almost time for Christmas in July sales to begin and I'd like to have a Christmas design toddler sweater to showcase for it. I have SO many projects that are 'in process' - I think I'm developing 'crochet ADD' in my old age!!

Undiscovered treasures

2010-06-11T18:20:00.001-06:00

When we left Colorado Springs this past spring, I had it in my mind that I would visit lots of local yarn shops along the way. Blog about them, maybe find some antique patterns, meet other yarn-a-holics. Sadly, I've found a definitely lack of the types of stores I was envisioning. (Although it could be because we've been mostly in the California desert - something about 100+ degree heat doesn't exactly make you want to curl up with a skein of yarn!) I did visit one shop in Santa Fe, New Mexico (you can read my post about it here), but there has been a drought since then.

When we were in Laughlin, Nevada, I visited the only yarn shop listed for miles around. It was an older storefront and very dusty and dirty. I don't think there was a skein of yarn that wasn't scratchy acrylic in the place. Needless to say I was really disappointed.

So when I researched local yarn shops in the Livingston-Atwater-Merced area of central California and found only one, I honestly expected the same. I was pleasantly surprised when I visited The Needle Nook this afternoon.

The shop is located at 1299 Broadway in Atwater, CA. Having worked in Livingston (just north of Atwater) about 30 years ago (ack!) I didn't realize that Atwater has morphed into a thriving metropolis of 27,000 people! Among all the little farming communities here, that IS a metropolis.

The shop also carried cross stitch supplies, silk flowers, misc craft supplies and handmade (knitted & crocheted!) gifts. And a decent assortment of yarns AND patterns. I bought some beautiful James C Brett Chunky Marble yarn in soft pinks, a skein of Baby Marble yarn, along with some sock yarn - On Your Toes by Kertzer - in a fuschia print. VERY funky. I also found a great Tunisian stitch directory - my next big learning project. Tunisian stitches look very similar to knitting, opens up all kinds of designing possibilities. :-)

All in all, a nice break from feeling sick and hanging out on my couch. I'm glad I made the effort to check out the shop. If you find yourself in the neighborhood with a little free time, stop on by. Nice, friendly little shop.

Ready to NOT be sick anymore!

2010-06-05T10:40:00.000-06:00

We've moved on from southern California and are now parked in a campground in Scotts Valley - just north of Santa Cruz. Yesterday was spent catching up on laundry and for the first time in a couple of weeks I even felt good enough to actually cook. (Pork chops in the crockpot, but hey! Took some mental effort at least!)

I was also able to get back to working on the Masters program from CGOA last night. I'm a total insomniac so once hubby and daughter go to bed I usually spend a few hours staying up and crocheting in the quiet. (Although it wasn't so quiet last night. Our RV neighbors were having quite a loud party until close to 2 AM - I guess they don't know what 'quiet hours' means in the guidelines.)

Even so, I did get through Part One of the program (five parts total). So far, so good! Next up is a section on working to gauge - always fun.

I also finished tweaking the new pattern for a cupcake beanie hat for babies. I've got so many patterns 'almost done' and I really need to work through them. I think I have crochet ADD though - I barely finish one idea before I see something else (usually sewn or knitted) that I want to try to translate to crochet! I have several sample items out to a photographer and hope to get some great baby photos in the next few weeks.

And then there is the baby blanket I need to finish for KnitPicks. I had worked out a striping pattern (it uses 3 shades of blue plus brown for accent) and do you think I can find it now?? No! So now I need to sit down and figure out how I'm going to do this - and keep the amount of yarn needed to what KP sent me. I'm totally frustrated at myself for losing my notes. Not much I can do about it though, so quit fussing and get busy - right? :-)

Love those little baby heads!

2010-05-29T11:13:00.000-06:00

I've discovered that one of the most challenging parts of designing a new pattern comes after the hard work of figuring out stitch counts, yarn yardage and charts are completed. It's finding a model for the finished photos. Especially when it comes to the baby hats I love to make. When my granddaughter was born last year I made lots and lots of hats - determined to take advantage of the built-in model while I could. But babies tend to grow - they just won't stay little! :-)

So now, as we travel around the US in our RV I keep a lookout for other families in the campgrounds who may have a little one with the right size head. And sometimes I get lucky and find myself near a friend, or a friend-of-a-friend who has a munchkin I can use.

Such was the case this past week. Meet Taylor:

She was such a sweetheart and very patient as her mom and I changed her clothes several times, plopped all kinds of hats (and socks!) on her and pretty much pretended she was a Barbie doll to dress up.

Thanks so much Taylor - and mom Sara - for letting me follow you around with a camera and getting some great pictures for upcoming patterns!

Nothing but crochet!

2010-05-27T13:22:00.000-06:00

I just sent in my registration for my first crochet retreat and I'm SO excited! Crochetville is having their first retreat August 12-15 in Huntsville, AL and I'm going. :-) We will probably be somewhere in Minnesota at that time, so I'll be leaving the family behind and driving down to Alabama by myself for the retreat. I have to admit that the road trip part - ALONE - is just as appealing as the retreat itself.

I'll be taking a couple of classes - one on double sided crochet (doesn't that sound intriguing??) as well as a short workshop to make some stitch markers. There will be other classes as well as a 'fastest crocheter' contest, a 'sock hop', some vendors, a fashion show and lots and lots of time to gather with other crocheters to work on projects. Sounds like heaven, doesn't it?? :-)

Working on my Masters...

2010-05-25T16:16:00.000-06:00

The Crochet Guild of America's course "Master of Advanced Crochet Stitches & Techniques" finally caught up with me this past weekend while we were at Fort Irwin. Last night I sat down and really started reading through it - I'm glad to see that I'm already familiar with the majority of the stitches & techniques. But there are some that will definitely stretch my skills - and I'm SO excited to get going on this!

The program consists of 48 different swatches to be made - each utilizing a different technique or stitch. There are also several questions to be answered to make sure the student (that's me!) understands why certain steps are done the way they are. Once completed, each swatch is labeled and put in a plastic page protector. When completed those, plus the questions/answers are sent to a reviewer. After I pass (thinking positive here) I'll get a fancy dancy certificate for my, um....ego wall if we ever get a stick house again. For now, I'll probably scan the thing and brag about it for a while.

Even though yesterday was a heck of a long day, I wanted to at least complete one swatch last night, so I jumped to Swatch #19 - crochet cables. My brain wasn't too sharp so I wanted to do one that I was already comfortable with. Evenings are usually my 'crochet time' - can't wait for tonight!

Back online!!

2010-05-25T00:02:00.001-06:00

We are back online! We had sporadic internet access this past week - mostly at our daughter's house. But when we were there, I really didn't want to spend too much time online - I wanted to hang out with my daughter and grandsons. But now we've said our tearful goodbyes and have moved to a campground in Seal Beach, CA with wifi. Just in time too - literally as we pulled into the campground I received a pattern order. I REALLY didn't want to have to drive anywhere else tonight to look for a stray wifi signal to send it out. Worked out perfectly. :-)

Now I'm in the midst of several crochet projects - I can handle having several items half-completed for only so long! We're quickly getting to the limit here. The up side of that is that once I get in the right frame of mind to finish them all up, I get a whole bunch done in just a day or two. THAT feels good. :-)

Later this week I will be visiting a friend here who has a little just-turned-1 year old baby girl. We're going to see if she will let me try some of my hats on her for pictures. I was able to get one earlier this week of the 'Square PomPom Hat', but I really want some of the new 'Little Bo-Sheep' hat. So I'm crossing my fingers that a) it fits her, and b) she'll keep it on for 15 seconds so I can take a picture.

Going 'undercover'....

2010-05-16T09:43:00.001-06:00

This morning we are moving our motorhome from a KOA campground to what is called a "fam-camp" on Fort Irwin army base. It's only 30 miles away, but we will be just half a mile from our 2 grandsons, so we're looking forward to being closer for the next week.

The downside is that this fam-camp is a bit primitive. They do have electrical hook-ups, but that's it. No water and sewer hookups, no bathhouses or showers, NO INTERNET - it's really just a big dusty parking lot. But it's super cheap and there's the whole grandsons thing.

So we will be going through some withdrawal not having 24/7 access to the web - we plan on spending a lot of time at our daughter's house and will be getting online there - but both my hubby and I are used to getting up in the morning and checking our various blogs and facebook while hooking up our daily coffee IV. This will definitely take some getting used to.

I also hoping that I can get a few more patterns finished since I won't be tempted as much to play online. I have just a few tweaks to make to the newest one - the Little Bo-Sheep Baby Hat. My latest yarn shipment from KnitPicks should be arriving in the next couple of days so I will also have those samples to work on.

See you in a week!!

Square hat with pom poms!

2010-05-12T21:32:00.000-06:00

Just another quick little baby hat pattern.

I was actually working on a custom pattern by request and this idea came into my head. Took maybe an hour to make it - so easy!! I just really need a baby (or a life-size baby doll!) to model these things. Hard to see how cute this will be on a little head.

Hopefully my photographer friend will want this hat in her next group of photo props due to go out this next week. Then I'll get some great pictures!

It's a cupcake! No - it's ice cream!!

2010-05-03T23:01:00.000-06:00

I love working on new patterns - especially when I somehow stumble into coming up with something that's just too cute.

I've been working on a cupcake hat pattern off and on for several weeks. I tried it with a baby yarn and just didn't care for how it turned out. So I put it away and tried to ignore it every time I went through my yarn stash. Then recently I got motivated again so I started over and made one from a worsted weight yarn I already had. This was how the first 'draft' turned ou.

I wasn't necessarily *unhappy* with it, but it was kinda boring. And it didn't really say 'cupcake' to me.

Then I found some bulky weight, slightly fuzzy white yarn and started playing with that. I made the body of the hat and added some textured stitches down the side. Then I made the brim with some brown. Finally I used some awesome red yarn for a pompom on the top. I loved how it turned out and everyone I showed it to had the same reaction: "It's an ice cream sundae!!" Which wasn't what I had planned at all, but they were absolutely right!

I may try to make a pair of baby shoes to match, but I'm totally delighted with how this ended up!! It's currently listed in my Etsy shop and on Ravelry and I'm hoping KnitPicks will want to feature the pattern as well.

Master of Crochet??

2010-05-01T23:51:00.003-06:00

I am a member of the Crochet Guild of America - CGOA. It's a great organization - lots of resources, an annual conference (which I WILL get to one of these years!), and local chapters across the country.

But one of the main reasons I joined last fall was to take advantage of their "Masters Program". It was a correspondence-type course that - when completed - gave you the distinction of being able to say that you were a Master of Crochet. I've been crocheting a LOT of years, but I know that there are a lot of things I *don't* know. And I figured that having this achievement under my belt would be advantageous for my business as well.

Wouldn't you know though, that as soon as I joined CGOA the Masters program was put on hold while they completely reworked it. Having never gotten to the point of actually seeing the details on it, I couldn't say whether it needed to be reworked or not. Regardless of my opinion, it was no longer available.

Until today. I have just ordered the materials to complete the new "Master of Advanced Crochet Stitches and Techniques". It is a series of 7 sections with 48 total lessons. Swatches showing that I can complete each technique must be completed and submitted to a reviewer within 3 months of beginning the program. Looking at the synopsis of each lesson there are stitches and techniques I've never heard of (the 'Golden Loop'??) but there are quite a few that I have heard of and can actually do.

I cannot wait until I receive everything and can get started!!

A special place in my heart

2010-04-27T17:29:00.001-06:00

Two of my passions are babies and crocheting. It seems that no matter where I am in my life , I always - somehow - circle back to those and make them a part of what I do. When my children were past the infant/toddler stage I did day care (babies only). Then it was foster care (babies only). And volunteering for organizations dedicated to babies.

When I opened my first shop 2-1/2 years ago, it was called The Crocheted Baby. And even though Playing with Fiber is mainly focused on creating original crochet patterns - most of those patterns are for baby. (See? I just can't get away from it.)

So when I heard about a photographer who gives the gift of free keepsake photos for parents of little ones - those who have been called home when they are not even full-term - I felt a tug on my heart. It takes me very little time to make a small hat for one of these babies. But it will hopefully be something their parents can keep to cherish and to help them feel connected to him/her.

Even though I love to create new patterns, sometimes I just want to sit quietly and make something without the tweaking and redoing that is a part of the development process. The act of crocheting, of feeling the yarn moving smoothly through my fingers and watching it become something soft and beautiful is relaxing. As I make these hats I can pray for the little one who will eventually wear it - for however short a time that may be.

I hope you have found some way to tap into the passions of your heart. To share your time and/or talents with others and give a little bit of yourself in the process!

It's just an observation, NOT a judgment...

2010-04-21T13:05:00.002-06:00

I was reading something on Facebook this morning - a person who had been trying to make a go of writing as a profession had received some crushing feedback on a current project. I don't know this person or how long she had been trying, but the criticism was causing her to seriously rethink her life goals and relegate the writing back to 'hobby' status.

The situation and all of the comments from her friends - most of them encouraging her to hang in there - started me thinking about how this applies to artisans as well. Specifically those of us with shops on Etsy or other online venues. While we cannot please all of the people all of the time, the reality is that if making money is a goal of our shops we DO need to please some of the people some of the time.

There is definitely a learning curve to selling online and not everyone is at the same place at once. But there comes a time when maybe you're not selling as you had hoped and you need to take a hard look at what you are selling. What if you've worked through the set up steps - you've analyzed your target market, you've advertised to that market, you've tweaked (and tweaked some more!) your photos, descriptions, prices, marketing materials - and your products are not selling? The hard truth may be that what you're selling isn't what people want. Regardless of whether all your friends and family say your stuff is awesome or not.

There can be all kinds of reasons as to WHY people don't want what you're selling. Maybe it's the color scheme, maybe it's where you are shipping from, maybe it's the economy, or maybe it's even the quality of the workmanship (perceived or other) - but there is a reason. And here's where you have to remind yourself - it's an observation, not a judgment of YOU as a person. The fact that maybe you need to either spend more time perfecting your skills or choose another product line altogether does not mean that YOU are worthless or no good. But it is what it is - if you want to sell and you want to make money at it, you need to find something people will want to pay money to buy.

I am in my 4th year of selling online and within the past 6 months have finally found my niche - selling original crochet patterns. I love to crochet and spent a significant amount of time trying to sell my finished creations. And while I know they were very well made, cute as well as useful they didn't sell quickly or at the price point I wanted. I experimented with other types of crochet items - same result. They did sell, but my shop was not meeting my goals. There were some other circumstances that also pushed me to step back and take another look at what I was doing and I started experimenting with creating crochet patterns. I began listing and advertising where my target audience would see me. I've begun submitting my patterns to yarn retail sites with success. And now I am confident that I have found a way to allow myself to use my passion for crochet to generate an income that will positively impact our lifestyle.

Have I met all of my business goals? Not in the least. Have I 'arrived' and now know all the answers? Of course not. But I would encourage you to make sure you are not beating your head against a brick wall (unless, obviously, you like that feeling). If your business is not meeting your expectations it may be time to step back and take another look at the whole picture. Whatever you decide, make sure you are confident in your choices - and don't let anyone else talk you into something you don't want to do.

Spa Washcloths Set

2010-04-19T10:43:00.000-06:00

I'm finally feeling settled enough to make some progress on the patterns/samples next up for the KnitPicks site. Finished the first one last night - a set of washcloths:

I have enough yarn left to make another set of 3 with different pattern stitches, so will try to get those done today too. Then there are 2 hat patterns that need samples made up - my goal is to finish those and get them in the mail to KnitPicks by the end of this week. Crossing fingers! :-)

My new shop!

2010-04-15T23:05:00.000-06:00

Well, not exactly *new*, but just a new location - the trunk of my car. While we are on the road, this is where all my shop supplies are kept - there are 2 rubbermaid bins (1 yarn, 1 fabric) and various small boxes with shipping supplies, a very small on-hand inventory, etc. You can see the box of KnitPicks yarn waiting to be crocheted into the next patterns they want to list on their site. Some of the supplies are consumable and won't be replaced (like that HUGE roll of bubble wrap - I couldn't bring myself to toss it!!).

Oodles Yarn & Bead Gallery

2010-04-15T14:02:00.000-06:00

One of my goals while traveling this next year is to visit as many yarn shops as I can. I mean the fun little locally-owned ones, out of the way, where you'll see the owner helping a customer figure out a pattern and rewriting it to make more sense. I was able to stop at such a shop before we left Santa Fe, New Mexico a couple of days ago.

Oodles Yarn & Bead Gallery was smaller than I expected, but still worth dealing with a tiny downtown area and scarce parking. (One reason I'm glad we are bringing my little car on this trip - some places are just not meant for a 31ft motor home!) The owner was super friendly - the right mix of 'can I help you?' and letting you browse and drool over the yarns. (While the name does say Bead Gallery, there isn't much of a selection of beads - go for the yarn!)

She had some hand-painted yarns that were beautiful - I've a soft spot for OOAK yarns like those. And bamboo blend yarns - if you haven't had the pleasure of working with one you owe it to yourself to go out right now and buy a skein. So wonderfully soft and bamboo has a sheen unlike any other.

Even though my shop space is currently limited to the trunk of my little car, I did buy one skein of yarn. One of those purchases where I have no idea what I'm going to make with it, but couldn't resist.

The yarn has a gold filament running through it that doesn't really show up in the picture - trust me, it's gorgeous!! If you find yourself in Santa Fe take time to stop by Oodles (411 W Water St.

Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505) 992-2678) - you won't regret it!

Pretty in Pink Baby Shoes

2010-04-11T21:28:00.000-06:00

I absolutely love how these turned out!! They are listed on Ravelry for FREE until I have a chance to work out additional sizes. Right now the pattern is written for 3-6 months size.

Just click on the picture to go to Ravelry and download YOUR free pattern!

There it is!

2010-04-08T15:25:00.000-06:00

My first published pattern!

2010-04-08T13:49:00.000-06:00

Woo hoo!!! My Apple Hat pattern has been posted on the KnitPicks website for sale!!

I feel like an 'official crochet designer' now! I have several more in the works (including the apple baby booties in the post below) so I'm hoping this is the beginning of a wonderful relationship with KnitPicks.

Check it out here: Apple Hat crochet pattern

Apple Baby Booties

2010-04-07T21:36:00.000-06:00

I've got several different patterns in various stages of completion in my 'to-do' work basket. There are a lot of steps to getting a pattern ready for publication and it is usually a several days long process for me. Once I work through the first version I usually go through it at least twice more - trying to catch any typos or errors as well as work out the different sizes.

Since we woke up to snow this morning, I used that as an excuse to stay in and was able to finish my pattern for Apple Baby Booties. They are meant to match the Apple Baby Hat, but they'd certainly be fine on their own. I think they turned out quite cute!!

The pattern is available in my Etsy shop as well as on Ravelry.

Hats everywhere!

2010-04-01T21:29:00.001-06:00

We've finally moved into our motor home and begun this new lifestyle. I'm still figuring out where things go and learning what I need to be stored within easy access versus 'deep storage' - stuff in tubs buried in the motor home basement. I'm betting it's a never-ending process though!

I did take a break today and stopped into a local yarn shop for some supplies to make a new baby hat. The first 'draft' of the pattern is already completed - made up in doll size.

Now I will make the hat again - in a newborn to 3 months size - and will use a white sport weight yarn (rather than the multi-color baby yarn for the prototype doll hat.) I think it's going to look adorable!!

I made up a cupcake hat prototype a few weeks ago; finally had a chance to try it on Noey this afternoon. She wasn't too thrilled about the whole idea and really wouldn't sit too still, but you can get an idea of how this one will look:

Could it BE any more chaotic?!

2010-03-27T21:55:00.000-06:00

I'm thinking probably not! But as my oldest daughter reminded me recently, nothing worthwhile is ever easy. So as we bumble our way through this last week before taking off full-time in our motor home, I'm trying to keep focused on the goal: living on the road, traveling this wonderful country and visiting lots of friends and family along the way.

You would think I'd have enough sense though not to take on any new projects while we're in this transition, but noooooo. I just last night accepted a custom order to create two new baby hat patterns - I couldn't resist! She has pictures of knitted hats and wants crocheted versions. Challenging, but I think they will be fun to create - and then to make!

I've also just mailed in my first completed sample to KnitPicks - hopefully it will pass their inspection and they will accept my pattern to be sold on their website. I've received the second batch of yarn from them to work on more samples & patterns. I'm hoping this is the beginning of a long and wonderful relationship with KnitPicks!

Pretty fulfilling day, if I do say so myself!

2010-03-17T22:40:00.000-06:00

We started off the day by taking out the motorhome out on a few 'errands'. As much for giving Mike some more practice driving the thing before we take off as for being able to cross off a few more to-do's from the list. We got it washed, weighed, propane filled and gassed up; rented a small storage unit for the items we're leaving here and even managed to find a restaurant with enough BIG parking to stop and have lunch.

But I also came home to some great news via email - KnitPicks has accepted more of my crochet patterns and will be sending me yarn to make up samples for them. This is actually awesome news - a great way for me to continue to get my patterns 'out there' and be encouraged to keep writing more of them. I have so many ideas that I've started a notebook with drawings and pictures of ideas for patterns. It's amazing how quickly it's filling up though.

Another boost to my ego today was an email from the editor of a soon-to-be-launched magazine geared for families who live & travel full-time in an RV. We had connected through an online group and I had applied to be a columnist for the publication. My column will be dealing with learning to cook in a tiny kitchen - and all that goes along with that. Recipes using items available in a stripped down pantry and such.

I sent her my introductory article earlier this week and was anxiously waiting to hear from her. Writing an article and then sending it to someone for approval can be a little scary. It's different than writing something for your blog. Your blog is YOUR blog, you can write/say whatever you want there without waiting for approval from anyone else. Sending off a piece of you via an article you wrote is way more personal. What if they tell you it sucked? That you really have no writing talent at all? Eesh.

But I dodged that bullet this time. I received the most wonderful email back from the editor telling me that my article was "PERFECT" (capital letters were hers!) and that my column was going to be a cornerstone in the magazine. She gushed a bit more, but modesty prohibits me from repeating anything else. Just know that I felt *great* after reading her kind words.

To top it off, I snagged a large ongoing custom crochet order in my Etsy shop today and I also may have found a buyer for ALL of the rest of my scrabble tile supplies.

I'm hoping to finish packing up my craft studio tomorrow. Clean out the room, vacuum and then close the door. Would love to check off that room as DONE.

14 days and counting!

300 sales and counting!

2010-03-07T22:55:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo!! I hit 300 sales in my Etsy shop today!! My shop has been open since January of last year with my first sale in early February, so I'm very pleased! It will be challenging to keep the same pace this next year as I will be switching to selling patterns rather than finished items. (Although I think I will still accept custom orders from time to time).

This is the last week of my clearance sale - still some facial and bath scrubbies available. After this week I will be taking them out of my shop and finding somewhere to donate them.

I've also taken down my listings for custom photo pendants and keychains. I kept going back and forth as to whether I should continue to make them once we move into the RV. They sell very well so it's hard to just chuck that product line. But tonight, as I was working on a current order, it just came to me that this should be it. I'm not undecided anymore; I'm done with them. Now to gather up my supplies and destash them in my shop for someone else to hopefully use!

I'm very excited to be able to be more organized about creating patterns - I have a small spiral notebook filled with sketches and ideas and can't wait to get to working out the details of them. I should also be receiving yarn from an on-line pattern sales site this week for a pattern they want to feature and sell. Hopefully it will be the first of many patterns listed there.

Time for sewing!

2010-03-05T22:21:00.000-07:00

Life is zipping by so quickly I can hardly blink without another week passing! We are deep into final preparations for moving into our motor home and hitting the road in 25 days. Goodwill has been the recipient of untold bags of 'stuff', Craigslist is experiencing higher than normal traffic as we list (and list) and list things for sale, and we are once again helping to furnish one of our daughters' homes with furnishing we no longer need.

My hubby will be leaving in the morning for a week - 10 days and I have high hopes for accomplishing a LOT while he is gone. It's just different when you don't have to cook a 'real' meal somewhere around 5-7 pm! Seems to add hours to the day.

I'm slowly selling out of the shop inventory I can't take with me, continuing to work on patterns here and there, but this next week is for sewing! I got rid of most of my fabric last month, but I kept a medium sized tub full of that I couldn't bring myself to part with. I've already cut out several pieces to make more shopping bags. I'm also hoping to make some small 'gadget' type purses - iPod Touch, Blackberry, Camera, etc.

I'm also going to make some 't-shirt' bags. You take a short sleeved T-shirt, cut off the arms and the neck - maybe enlarge the area you cut out a bit - and then sew the bottom closed. Hem around the neck and armholes you cut out and you have a shopping bag that will stretch to accommodate quite a bit of merchandise. I'm thinking that these bags will work well as laundry bags once we hit the road. We can put a load of dirty clothes in each one and then just toss the bag itself in with the clothes to wash. When all is clean and dry, fold and put the clothes back in the bag to carry back to the motor home.

Once I get them made I will post pictures!

Going 'green'...okay, maybe multi-color too...

2010-02-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

I've recently been trying harder to remember to bring my reusable shopping bags to the grocery store - seems like most of the time they were left at home as a mocking reminder of my good intentions. I moved them to the car and now I'm getting better at actually bringing them INTO the store to use. Old habits I guess.

As I've cleaned out my fabric stash I've been putting aside some of the pieces to make more of these bags - I know that when I get an afternoon free I can make several in an assembly-line process. They are just basic bags, nothing fancy.

Along those lines as I was cleaning out my yarn stash I've been trying to use up as much of it as possible. I've made lots and lots of cotton scrubbies, washcloths and kitchen sponges but I still have some left. So I decided to try some of the 'string' market bags. These work up very quickly - perhaps an hour or two while watching a movie - and they are a great way to use up lots of different colors of yarn. They stretch a lot, and I filled one with as many canned & jar goods as I would want to carry and it did just fine.

I don't know if they would be worth trying to sell in the shop - I mean, I don't think I would pay $5.00 for a bag like this, but then again, I crochet so my view may be a bit skewed.

I am going to work on the pattern a bit more though and list it as a freebie on Ravelry. I think it would make a great addition to my "Learn to be a Hooker" series.

It's not just about the money...

2010-02-17T13:24:00.000-07:00

Absolutely amazing!!!! Best etsy buying experience yet! Friendly, informative, and wonderful craftsmanship! My mom was thrilled! Thank you so incredibly much!!!!!! You are a true gem!

The above was feedback I recently received about a custom photo pendant I made for a Valentine's Day gift - absolutely made my day, that's for sure!!

That's one of the reasons I keep going back and forth about whether to continue to offer these once we hit the road in the motor home. I have switched to UV resin - it cures in a matter of minutes in the sun versus 2-3 days for the easy cast resin. I'm just not sure how easy it will be to find a work space to be able to put them together! But they are such wonderful little keepsakes - and the idea that something I have made is going across the country (and around the world!) is very cool. So at this point I'm thinking I'll give it a go - I can always pull them if it's just not working out.

Follow-up comments

2010-02-14T09:20:00.003-07:00

If you read my post on the 9th of this month regarding font usage and on-the-pain of using 'not cool' fonts, you must read this thread currently running on the Etsy forums!

Click here to read the thread!

A great, light-hearted commentary on all the things that people tend to get their panties in a knot about - and that really don't matter. If you're not familiar with the typical forum drama, a lot of it will probably not make sense; but I had to post this anyway. Just 'cause....

Destashing

2010-02-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

Oh boy - spent last evening going through my yarn - again - trying to decide what to keep and what has to go. I'm allowing myself a large plastic tub to fill, but that's it. I'm probably going to be using the trunk of my car as my 'mobile craft studio' so I need to be organized in how I pack ALL my supplies up - I really don't want to be opening every box looking for a certain item.

But as I'm working on creating more crochet patterns, I really do NEED to have an assortment of yarns to play with! Creating a new pattern means the item will be need to be made at least twice, and probably 3 times before the pattern is finalized and ready to list for sale.

But I know in my heart that I don't need 10 skeins of that Christmas clearance yarn - I'm probably not really going to make a Christmas afghan out of it . So I'm allowing myself to keep 1 skein of each color and will Craigslist or freecycle the rest. It wasn't near as difficult to get rid of the fabric I've accumulated the past year - but yarn? Ugh...that's tougher by far!!

Etsy forums - gotta love 'em!!

2010-02-09T13:58:00.001-07:00

I was browsing the foums at Etsy a few days ago and found this one to be rather interesting (in an 'are you kidding?' sort of way):

Fonts: A Rant (Or, Why your Papyrus logo is Hurting Business)

The basic idea of the original post that started this thread is that some fonts are 'passe' and if you use them in your marketing designs you will be perceived as old-fashioned, behind the times, not really caring about your business, etc. (Really - that's what it says!)

No denying that fonts, colors, designs can create subconscious reactions. Marketing and advertising consultants get paid big bucks to research all that I'm sure. Red and yellow make us hungry (McD's); blues are calming, etc.

But what is interesting to me is that this is still so very subjective. And in our oh-so-politically-correct world, we're all told to "be your own person - don't be judgmental of others - live and let live" - but there are still all these unspoken rules about what's okay and what isn't? And about what fonts we should use in designs?? (Mind you, we're not talking about using a simple, readable font for a book or magazine article. We're talking about logos, designs, etc.)

There is actually a website dedicated to this blight on society - the use of the papyrus font. Yes folks, you can submit photos of logos, brochures, store signs, anything you see that proves the owners of said signs are lazy, uncaring people. (Those adjectives were used by those posting in that original forum thread and the website alluded to here.)

Yes, I understand that we all have our passions. And there is absolutely, positively SOME group out there against every specific idea or choice anyone could possibly make.

But I really think some people have too much time on their hands.

Felted Soap!

2010-02-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

Last night I finally got around to trying my hand at felting a bar of soap. What the heck IS that you ask? That was my reaction the first time I heard about it as well.

A felted bar of soap has wool fibers (roving) felted around it so that you have a built in washcloth-scrubby when you take your shower or bath. (And no, the wool doesn't smell like wet sheep or anything!) It's actually pretty cool.

So yesterday as I was continuing to work on cleaning out my work studio, I came across the wool roving and soap that I had purchased to make these. I toyed with the idea of just selling it as a "DIY Felted Soap Kit" or something, but I really wanted to try making it myself.

So I hit google to refresh my memory on the specific instructions. It seemed I had everything I needed so I ignored all the other projects I was supposed to be working on and - with a trusty glass of wine to keep me company - dove in.

The first step is to wrap pieces of the roving around the bar of soap - completely covering it. (Since my soap had sharp corners, I did carve them off to make it rounded. Corners tend to peek through the wool.) I choose the yellow and orange roving and that part was easy.

Next step is to dribble hot water onto the roving and sort of 'pat' it to get it to start meshing together around the soap. I stood at the kitchen sink and patted my little bar of soap for several minutes before the roving would stay put. Now I'm supposed to put the thing into the foot of an old pair of pantyhose to keep everything nice and tight while I get down to the serious felting stage.

Pantyhose? Slight glitch. I don't even OWN a pair of pantyhose. And even though I'm old, I don't own any of those knee-high nylon things either. After poking around, I decided to use a piece of nylon tulle that I make scrubbies out of. I wrapped it around the soap and cinched it as tightly as I could with one of those twist ties doo-dads.

Now the fun began. While continuing to dribble hot water onto the wool you're supposed to rub this thing - pretty strongly - over something ridged to cause the wool fibers to begin to felt together. Basically you're trying to mimic what happens in the washing machine when you put your favorite wool sweater in the hot water wash. I didn't have a washboard but I ended up using my plastic colander (upside down) to rub the soap on. Back and forth, turning to get to all sides, I rubbed. And rubbed. It lathers during this stage, so I had really clean hands when I finished too.

I probably could have done this stage a bit longer, but when it looked 'good enough' I rinsed in cold water and then squeezed it as dry as I could. Now I went to take the soap out of my little make-shift pantyhose holder. And I found that the wool had felted right over the tulle in most spots. I cut off as much as I could, but my little soap will work even better as an exfoliating scrubby with the tulle in there! I think I might forget buying cheap pantyhose for this and just use the tulle again next time.

You're supposed to put the whole thing out in the sun to dry, but while we did have sun today, the temperature was pretty nippy. I think it would just have frozen the soap bar. So it's sitting on the heater vent to dry. I can't wait to try it out!

I doubt a person could sell these at a price point to make it worthwhile, but they would make some pretty unique gifts in a bath and body gift basket!

Happy Etsy-versary to me!

2010-01-15T09:19:00.003-07:00

Well, pooh. It used to be that on your anniversary of signing up at Etsy you got a little blurb at the top of your page that said "Happy Anniversary". One year ago today I opened this shop so when I signed in this morning I was all ready to see that little announcement, but....nothing. Fine! :-P

This 1-year mark finds me smack in the middle of transitioning my shop to mostly digital products. I'm working on finishing up all the crochet patterns that are 'mostly' done - doing a final test-drive, taking pictures and tweaking the page layouts. I listed the Sunshine Kitchen Set pattern last night - I really like how that one turned out!

I've also marked down most of my already-made bath scrubbies to clearance them out of the shop. I'm going through my craft studio and listing supplies to 'de-stash' and continuing to work on felting projects to use up the last of my wool yarn. Getting ready to live more 'simply' takes a lot of work!

Selling direct

2010-01-11T09:10:00.003-07:00

Over the next few days this blog may at times look a little funky - apologies in advance! I'm working on adding Google checkout here so that you can buy patterns directly off this site (versus going to my Etsy shop or my Ravelry portfolio). It's going to take some serious tweaking to get everything set up and looking the way I want.

So for the time being, just laugh at how goofy that box looks on the right side of this page. :-)

We all scream for ice cream!

2010-01-08T16:28:00.004-07:00

I've been working on putting the finishing touches on several patterns that are 'semi-complete' - hoping to get them listed in my Etsy shop sooner rather than later. One of the last steps in the pattern creating process is to make the item one last time - following the pattern to the letter to find any mistakes. Sometimes that is more difficult than it sounds though. I've made some of these things so many times that I'm not really following a written pattern anyway - I just know what needs to come next.

Last night I made another ice cream cozy to test my newest pattern - and I just love how this one turned out! I really think it's the best one yet!

I was going for the Neapolitan ice cream look and even had the right colors already in my yarn stash. Makes me almost wish we actually ate ice cream from those little pint containers just so I would have an excuse to keep this one!

A professional photo shoot!

2010-01-06T21:46:00.003-07:00

A couple of months ago I sold one of my apple baby hats and a pair of elf baby booties to a photographer in North Carolina. She wanted to use them as photo props for newborn photo shoots. Today I received the pictures from one of her sessions and I could not be more excited!! They turned out absolutely fantastic!

You can see all of the photos here, but for now I think this is my favorite:

(Photo courtesy of red leaf photography)

Both the apple hat and the elf baby booties patterns are for sale in my shop - you can also order a custom-made finished set for a special baby in your life. You can check out these and other patterns here.

A Pattern a Day?

2010-01-05T19:19:00.003-07:00

I'm not sure I can meet that goal - a pattern a day - but one of my priorities for my Etsy shop this year is to add more original crochet patterns for sale. So to help keep myself accountable, I've added a section on the right side of this page to list each new pattern as I put it up.

First on the list today? A super easy pattern to make a pair of those fingerless gloves that are so popular these days. This particular pattern uses bulky yarn to make a thick pair - I'm working on another pattern that will use sock yarn to make a pair that you could wear while typing, doing paperwork or - even - crochet!

2010!

2010-01-02T18:26:00.005-07:00

It's January 2 and I'm still tired - what a holiday season! It went way beyond my expectations (I even almost ran out of business cards!) and so I've treated myself to a new toy with some of my earnings - an iPod Touch! I'm still learning all the in's and out's of it, but loving it so far. It even found our wireless network at home with no problem and I've already watched a couple of episodes of The Tudor's on it. Very fun. :-)

I'm allowing myself one more day tomorrow to be lazy and then Monday it's time to get back to work. I'd like to continue to take orders for the photo pendants and keychains through January and then it will be time to clearance out most of my inventory of premade crochet items in favor of transitioning to an almost completely digital shop as we get ready to hit the road April 1. (Which means there will be some serious deals to be had very soon!)

I have SO many ideas for patterns that float in and out of my head - I tend to jot them down in a myriad of places though. So first on my agenda is to consolidate those ideas. I'm thinking my new iPod will be the place.

I've already had a request to add adult sizes to my elf baby booties pattern and I'm also thinking of adding more adult slipper patterns to the queue. Working on a piano scarf pattern, some kitchen ensemble patterns as well as a couple more baby/toddler hat patterns. See what I mean??

Another priority is to use up as much of my yarn stash as possible. The reality is that I won't have an entire room to store all my 'stuff' once we move into the motor home, so I need to get to the point where my yarn fits into one plastic tub. I have been diligently working through my wool yarn making purses, bowls and other small containers to felt. (As a side note - felted bowls make great little catch-alls for RVs! Lightweight, unbreakable and easy to store.. I may have to follow-up on this angle for them...)

The next stash I will work on using up is my cotton yarn. I'm planning to make a cache of dishcloths, facial scrubbies and may try using the cotton for small storage containers as well. If something turns out well, I photograph it and use as a sample for a new pattern to list in my shop.

Stay tuned - the best is yet to come!

Last Day to order!

2009-12-07T10:23:00.007-07:00

After about a month of making key chains and pendants like crazy - just over 100 so far! - today is the last day I'm taking orders for Christmas delivery.

I'll still take orders if the customer is willing to take a chance that they won't get there in time for Christmas morning (or they don't need them for Christmas gifts). As it takes a good week to 10 days to make these - one at a time! - orders finalized today will be shipping no later than the 17th. Anything later than that would be chancy to say the least.

As I've said before, one of the best things about making these pendants and key chains is getting to see all the adorable pictures my customers send me of their kids & pets. I can't really post pictures of other people's kids here, but trust me, there are some cute kids out there. :-)

I spent a good portion of September building up my inventory of crocheted facial scrubbies, soap savers, shower puffs, stuff like that. Those have always been my best sellers but not this year! I've got plenty of stock left and hopefully those will start selling too. Maybe as people wait too long to order customized gifts they will grab some of the bath sets I have listed.

In fact, if you'd like one just mention that you saw them on my blog (or on Facebook) and I'll refund 25% of your total purchase (not including S&H) on any crocheted bath or facial scrubbie set in my shop. Now there's a deal!

Always nice to hear!

2009-12-05T00:48:00.002-07:00

Sometimes I think I have one of the most fun jobs right now! People send me really cute pictures of their kids (and sometimes their pets) and I get to play with resin while making photo pendants or key chain charms with them. I'm really busy with Christmas orders right now and that does sometimes take a little of the fun out of it, but then I get feedback like this and I remember why I make these:

Got my necklaces!!! Oh my, they are gorgeous!!!! Can't wait for xmas to gift them, great quality, fast shipping, great customer service. I have been wearing mine since I opened the package!! Such a great gift, I'll be buying more soon, this seller comes HIGHLY RECOMENDED!!! And with a beautiful little necklace that is included free, how can you go wrong?? Thanks again!!

Thanks - you made my day!!

Seriously? It's December 4??

2009-12-04T11:08:00.004-07:00

I'm not sure where November went this year. Well, actually I do have an idea - I was participating in the National Novel Writers Month Challenge in November. That took a LOT of time - writing a 175 page manuscript (50,000 words) in 30 days.

Add to that the fact that sales at my Etsy shop have *exploded* in the last 3 weeks! I sold online last year, but didn't have near the surge in sales that I've experienced this year. I'm not complaining at all - just took me totally by surprise. I thought I had stocked up on everything I needed but am still finding myself frantically ordering last minute supplies for the custom photo pendants or key chains I sell.

I'm going to cut off custom order sales in the next few days - we've got our two little grandsons coming for Christmas (and their parents) and I want to be able to enjoy the holidays without being totally overwhelmed with my shop.

Want to learn to be a hooker?

2009-10-27T16:10:00.006-06:00

I've been having a great time lately experimenting with creating hats, gloves and scarves with some of the "someday I'll use this" yarn stash I've been accumulating. Since we will be moving out of our house and into a motorhome next spring to travel and live on the road, I won't be able to keep that stash and am working to transition my Etsy shop to one with mostly digital products - i.e., crochet patterns.

I currently have 20 patterns listed for sale, and another 4-5 written down on various pieces of scratch paper that need to be finalized. I found some glow-in-the-dark yarn last night and worked up a pair of super simple fingerless gloves for my daughter. She is also learning to crochet and I planned to write down how I made them to help teach her to read a pattern. And as I remembered how often I've heard from fellow yarnies that they don't know how to read patterns an idea for a new product line was born.

The "Learn to be a Hooker" series of crochet patterns will be super-simple and use only the most basic of stitches. Geared to those who are learning to crochet and want to make something besides a granny square. Or those who maybe know how to crochet already but have never really learned how to read patterns. They will be written without abbreviations so they don't look so much like they are scripted in another language. I'm also thinking I will add a few variations at the end so the pattern will be useful beyond that first step in learning to translate the written word into a finished item.

The first pattern will be available for purchase in just a few days at both my shops - Etsy as well as Artfire. Stop on by!

Such a deal!

2009-10-23T14:11:00.003-06:00

Score!! I went out this morning to look for some specific yarns for custom orders on the drawing board. I figured I'd end up at good ol' Hobby Lobby but thought I'd check out the local yarn discount outlet on the way.

It's a fun store to wander around in - they have all kinds of yarns from Italy and wherever. With the discounted prices, those fancy yarns are about the same price as the more well-known brands so you're not necessarily going to save money, but you'll get better yarn for the same price.

But today was different! The store is celebrating an anniversary (1 year I think?) and they were having a special 'stuff all the yarn you can into this plastic bag for $10.00' sale. Awesome! I was able to get 6 skeins of a soft, slighty fuzzy acrylic & wool blend yarn, DK weight imported from France and a cone of cotton thread from Brazil for $10 total.

The cotton thread is to make a basket applique for a bath towel (you put a washcloth in the basket) and the other yarns are for making fingerless gloves. I have some baby hats to finish and then I can't wait to get started on those!

Scratch-off Cards!

2009-08-18T22:06:00.003-06:00

August 18, 2009

Although "Moo cards" are a pretty popular item with sellers on Etsy, I hadn't jumped on that bandwagon until recently. They were offering 50 free cards - the catch being the cards would have a promo code printed on them - but I thought what the heck.

These are business card sized, so I designed a graphic to use as a 'scratch-off' discount card to send to customers with their orders. They arrived yesterday and since they were basically free, I'm satisfied with them. I purchased some 'scratch here' stickers to put over the discount amounts printed on the cards and fixed them up today.

I do believe that the 'Moo' people shrank my design a bit though - I had measured everything to make sure that my stickers would fit just right, but they were too big when I tried them today. So I had to cut the stickers to fit...but again, the cards were free so I can't complain too loudly.

I've put a few in my purse and I'm going to try leaving them in various places around town. Probably with the magazines in the waiting room at the midwife's office the next time I'm there with my daughter. And definitely in the hospital waiting room! Who wouldn't want a custom photo pendant with a picture of a new baby or grandbaby on it!

A new look

2009-08-14T23:58:00.003-06:00

August 15, 2009

I spent most of today tweaking the new designs for my business cards and then spending almost as much time shopping for the best online deals for having them printed.

In anticipation of the upcoming holiday shopping season, I also needed to reorder care cards (washing instructions for the scrubbies) and thank you cards. And of course, since I was ordering them anyway, I went ahead and redesigned them to coordinate with my new business cards. Boy what a time-consuming job!!

Since I have two pretty distinct product lines - crocheted bath accessories, patterns & other misc. crocheted items plus the resin jewelry and magnets I wanted to find a way to 'separate' them a bit in my marketing materials. I ended up with a single business card, but it will be printed on both sides. To the left are my new designs - the middle one focuses on the first product line; while the top and bottom designs focus on the custom photo pendants and other resin jewelry items. I just always felt funny about including a 'yarn' business card with a resin jewelry order; but now I can still use the same card for both and my customers can see that there is a whole other mess of stuff they can't live without!

In addition to the business cards, thank you cards and care cards I ordered a completely different design on a business card that I'll be using as scratch-off discount cards for the shop. I have the scratch-off stickers ready and I designed the cards with varying amounts of discounts and free shipping printed on them. I'll be sending these out with my orders to attract repeat business. A great idea I read about in the Etsy forums one day!

I think I'm just about finished with supplies orders - just a couple more things and I'm ready for the Christmas rush that's just around the corner!

My next order of business is to revamp the look of this blog to match the design of my business cards - probably the 'yarn' side. I'm toying with the idea of paying someone to do it, but I KNOW I can if I just sit down and work at it. And since I gave notice at my 'day job' yesterday, I should have the time to make it happen!

Quitting the 'day job'

2009-08-13T22:36:00.004-06:00

August 13, 2009

I gave notice at my job today; another 2 or 3 weeks and I'll be done there. It just became 'not worth it'. While earning a little extra money each week is almost always a good thing, there comes a point of 'diminishing returns' - i.e. the hassle isn't worth the money.

I've struggled seriously with this decision for about a month. I actually spent a lot of time on the drive back from southern California last month talking out loud to myself about it. Listing pro's and con's, trying to put my thoughts and feelings into some kind of coherent form, arguing with myself, on and on.

And then the past couple of weeks my Etsy shop has suddenly gotten really busy. Not "going to make a million $$" busy, but busy enough that I needed to make a decision. Do I want to pour some energy into the shop and try to make some money; or do I want to continue playing with it on the side and keep the 'day job' my priority.

Once I made the decision I then had to work through the guilt I felt at letting my boss down (I know, totally anal). So I threw my hat over the fence and sent him an email last night telling him I needed to talk to him this morning. He took it a lot better than I thought he might.

And then, the "sign"!! I received an email late this afternoon letting me know that one of my products was featured on the front page of Etsy. If you're not familiar with THE front page exposure, it is highly coveted in the Etsy community. While I don't believe it will make or break your shop, it is pretty cool. There are something like 165,000 active shops on etsy so to be part of a group of stores chosen for that front page exposure is pretty darn cool. And I took it as wonderful encouragement that I had made the right decision! (My items are in the second row, on the far right - you can click on the picture to go to that listing in my shop)

Vacation is over...:-(

2009-07-22T20:00:00.003-06:00

July 22, 2009

Back from vacation and time to get back into the routine of blogging, listing, placing ads, etc. I had my Etsy shop on vacation mode while I was gone and have only been back 2 days, but between my 3 shops I've had several sales already. And it always seems that once I get a sale or two, they start to compound or something. :-) I just wish I'd had more time to get more of my crochet patterns written up!! I'm still going to try to work on those - I have so many ideas rolling around in my head!

And even though it's only the latter half of July it's time to also get serious about Christmas planning for my shops. I've been working steadily on building up inventory and I've got my list just about completed with all the 'stuff' I need to buy/make/figure out. Things like make up little thank you cards (which I'm wanting to make myself - little origami things), get new business cards printed up, create some Project Wonderful ads, make sure I have shipping supplies - the list goes on and on!!

Seriously??

2009-06-24T20:58:00.003-06:00

June 24, 2009

So apparently the Kellogg Company thinks it is better to fill up the landfills with as much trash as we can than to try to recycle or reuse empty cereal boxes. Why do I say that? Read on...

I make these little notebooks and sell them in my shop on Etsy. They are made from little cereal boxes - you know, the ones that come 8 or 10 in a package? Once the cereal is eaten, I take the boxes cut them apart and use the front and back to make these notebooks. Fun way to reuse the packaging one more time before sending it to the trash. Or so I thought.

This morning I received a notice of 'copy infringement'. Basically a 'cease and desist' letter from a corporate lawyer at Kellogg Company telling me that I was using their 'pictures, symbols and trademarks' in an unauthorized manner. Seriously?? I would understand if I was taking their cereal boxes and running copies off and making notebooks out of those; but I'm using the *actual* boxes - trash! - to make the notebooks. That's crazy!!

Those items have been pulled from my shop and I've responded to the notice explaining exactly how I make these. I'm really hoping they just misunderstood the process! I have no issue at all with a company wanting to protect their trademarks from people just copying them and making whatever. But to tell me I can't make and sell something from the trash left over after I've consumed their product??

Good grief....

Winter weather? Okay, winter projects!

2009-06-15T21:20:00.005-06:00

June 15, 2009

Most of the time I think of crocheting or working with yarn as something that seems more appropriate for winter time. You know, cold and rainy outside, woodstove going, relaxing with something hot to sip - and working on an afghan.

Well, it's been rainy - not (very) cold - but definitely not feeling like summer here in Colorado Springs. So the past few days I was inspired to get into the wool yarn drawer and work on some felting projects.

Every time I make a felted bowl I tell myself to write down what I'm doing. I usually just 'wing it' and crochet until it's a big as I want it (or I run out of that particular color yarn). Consequently, I never make the same size bowl twice - they are each truly unique. But since I want to add to my crochet patterns for sale, I did write down what I was doing this time. And since part of making a viable pattern is to include lots of pictures, I was also pausing along the way to document my progress.

But I think my favorite one is this one taken after felting the bowls in my washing machine. I needed somewhere to set them up to dry in what little sunshine we see each day. So I got out glasses of various sizes to help the damp bowls hold their shape and lined them up.

There are actually about twice as many, but I couldn't get them all in the picture. I'll use these as samples for my patterns and maybe even list them for sale in my shop (if I decide I can part with them).

And now I need to wait for wool yarn to go on sale again...

Magnets!

2009-06-04T21:15:00.003-06:00

June 4, 2009

Introducing my newest excuse to play with resin - Scrabble magnets!

I've been making lots and lots of these little tiles and while they are cute, I've been thinking that they aren't necessarily something you would want to wear as a pendant. I think little key chain charms are fun, but not everyone loves to have dangly stuff hanging on their key chains.

And then someone asked me about a custom order that included magnets. Ah ha! Scrabble explosion refrigerator magnets were born! I've listed the first two sets of "hearts a-plenty" magnets on Etsy (click here to see them) with several more sets to come.

Since my inventory of these tiles is rapidly expanding I will be spending some time this weekend organizing them a bit. I recently came into a whole lot of little clear plastic boxes - they are the size of a microscope slide and hospitals throw them away by the hundreds! - so I will be sorting my inventory and putting them in these little boxes. Since they are clear, I can find what I'm looking for easily and the tiles will be protected from dust, etc. And the whole idea of them all organized and sorted rather appeals to my obsessive compulsive nature.

Tanning Tiles

2009-06-03T07:56:00.005-06:00

June 3, 2009

Resin doesn't like rain. AFTER it has hardened sure, no problem. But when you're mixing and pouring the stuff and waiting for it to cure completely? Rain and humidity are a bummer.

So, with the wet weather we've been having here the past couple of weeks I decided to pull out my little tanning light and let my scrabble tiles bask in the UV rays.

I know it looks a little silly - but it's working! The resin on some of these tiles has been trying to get to the completely cured, totally hardened stage for over a week. I can't put these things away in their little boxes until they are done or I run the risk of them sticking to each other. That would NOT make me a happy camper when I get them out for photos or to ship to a buyer!

I am thinking about making them take turns with me though...I could use a little sunshine myself.

Ladybugs everywhere!

2009-06-01T22:46:00.005-06:00

June 1, 2009

I've been working on several pendants / charms featuring ladybugs lately. They just seem to make you smile when one lands on your sleeve or your shoe. And I remember growing up that we were always excited when we say a ladybug - it meant you were lucky! So I wanted to make some ladybug charms that we could wear as pendants, use a charms to clip onto our purse or backpacks, or even just wear as pins.

This one may be my favorite. I love the black background against the white daisy! It's crystal clear and the resin coating acts almost like a slight magnifying glass.

One of the problems with making these resin pendants is that they are really difficult to photograph well. The resin is so glossy that it reflects light and causes a glare 99% of the time. It doesn't seem to matter which direction the light is coming from! I probably get 1 decent photo out of 25 taken. But I'm plugging along - I'm pleased with how the latest ones turned out of the Lucky Ladybug series.

You can see more of this series at my Etsy shop - Playing with Fiber

Starting over!

2009-05-29T22:18:00.001-06:00

May 29, 2009

After trying unsuccessfully to host a blog for my Etsy shops on my personal family website, I decided to just take the plunge and set up a completely different site. I kept thinking I was crazy since I already have a well-established personal website, but it really doesn't take any more work to keep these things separate.

So over the next couple of days I will try to tweak this blog, rummage around for widgets to stick on the page, play with colors and themes and hopefully get it looking at least semi-put-together.

Thanks for dropping by!

What a nice surprise!

2009-02-27T01:01:00.001-07:00

February 27, 2009

My new shop - Playing With Fiber - got an unexpected boost from the Etsy administrators today. I've been trying to move at least a few items over from the old store - The Crocheted Baby - to the new Playing with Fiber store each day and this afternoon shortly after listing some organic cotton cleansing cloths I saw that the views for that particular item were climbing rather quickly. Unless I'm doing some serious advertising, I usually average somewhere between 100-150 views in my store per day - that's total for all items. Within 4-5 hours I suddenly had over 100 views on that listing alone. I googled my shop, I checked the advertising I had placed on Project Wonderful, nothing. Strange.

Then this evening I was poking around the Etsy site trying to see if my shop was being featured somewhere and I found it!

I was featured in a Gift Guide! (See where it says "Pampering - Just Add Hot Water"? Those little facial cleansing cloths - those are mine!) The featured items are chosen daily (I think daily?) by the Etsy administrators from the thousands and thousands of listings. You can't buy a spot and you can't nominate someone either - it's totally up to the whim of the powers-that-be.

That little feature has brought me over 200 views of that specific listing so far, AND I won't know until I can look at the Google analytics stats tomorrow how many visitors clicked and checked out the other items in the store. I do know that I sold a set of felted bowls this evening and I'll bet anything the buyer was there because of that feature.

Thanks Etsy!!

Update on the CPSIA

2009-02-07T01:06:00.000-07:00

February 7, 2009

The CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) issued a press release yesterday regarding the new lead limits/testing requirements, etc. While it is ONLY a press release and NOT a change in the law itself, it does appear that someone has had a brain transplant there and is finally 'getting it'. (If you would like to read the entire release - it's not TOO long - just click here (it will open in a new window): CPSC News Release)

Here are excerpts from the release (emphasis on certain parts mine):

NEWS from CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs
Washington, DC 20207

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 6, 2009
Release #09-120 CPSC

CPSC Spells Out Enforcement Policy For New Lead Limits In Children's Products Effective February 10

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Starting on February 10, 2009, consumer products intended for children 12 and under cannot have more than 600 parts per million of lead in any accessible part.

In an effort to provide clear and reasonable guidance to those impacted by this important law, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is announcing its enforcement policy on the lead limits established by the CPSIA.

Manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers should also be aware that CPSC will:

*Not impose penalties against anyone for making, importing, distributing, or selling a children's product to the extent that it is made of certain natural materials, such as wood, cotton, wool, or certain metals and alloys which the Commission has recognized rarely, if ever, contain lead;

(Not impose penalties against anyone for making) an ordinary children's book printed after 1985; or

(Not impose penalties against anyone for making a children's product made of) dyed or undyed textiles (not including leather, vinyl or PVC) and non-metallic thread and trim used in children's apparel and other fabric products, such as baby blankets.

This enforcement policy will remain in effect until superseded by action of the Commission.

As announced on January 30, 2009, the Commission approved a one year stay of enforcement for certain testing and certification requirements for manufacturers and importers. Significant to makers of children's products, the 'stay' provides limited relief from the testing and certification.

It goes on to say that they will be issuing "further clarification" of the new testing requirements and hints at the probability of exempting certain materials completely - such as fabrics - that don't have lead and can't suddenly turn into lead when you're sewing them into a baby bib. (Sorry - a little sarcastic there.)

As I said, this is only a press release and not a change in the law itself - which is still desperately needed - but it IS good news for the handmade industry. I keep going back and forth about continuing to sell my baby socks - not that I'm worried about them containing lead or being unsafe - but just because it takes a lot of time and research to keep up with the continual changes in what's allowed and what isn't. It can get a bit frustrating and stressful to say the least and I'm usually about trying to stay away from things that cause me unnecessary stress.

So we'll see...I had already marked down my socks and baby items to clearance prices with the intent to pull everything by Monday. I will likely just leave everything on sale for a while and continue to focus on other products for a while. But if you're looking for a baby gift there are some serious bargains to be had in my shop - The Crocheted Baby.

Oh my goodness! Is that common sense I'm hearing??

2009-01-21T01:07:00.000-07:00

January 21, 2009

You've all been hearing me rant and rail about the new CPSIA regulations going into effect next month. It's been THE topic on forums and blogs around the internet wherever there are people who make handmade children's items or want to BUY handmade children's items. It's been a pretty frustrating fight - it seems that 99% of the letters and emails to our duly elected congressmen are ignored and a lot of people just don't seem to understand the scope of the law and what it will do to small businesses.

We had a glimmer of good news today though - it appears that our single voices ARE blending together and the THOUSANDS of voices are being acknowledged and heard.

You can click here: http://tinyurl.com/7r4nn4

to read a copy of a letter sent from Congressmen Joe Barton and George Radonovich to The Honorable Henry A. Waxman, Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

They have received 1000s of letters and emails, and are citing the cause of the independent producer. They are calling for a hearing to advocate a delay in implementation of the law, a "fine tuning" of the policies. If you take the time to read the letter, you'll see that they are actually LISTENING to us. It's the first bit of good news in quite a while.

SAVE HANDMADE - we ARE making a difference! If you'll added your voice to the 1,000's - THANK YOU! The fight is not over and we need to continue to write, call, email, fax, *whatever* - but they ARE hearing us!

So what if I'm allergic to wool!!

2009-01-16T01:10:00.000-07:00

January 16, 2009

I believe I've mentioned before that I'm really enjoying learning felting - what fun!! I've been experimenting with mixing wool feltable yarns with other novelty 'eyelash' yarns and so far it's working well. The fuzzy novelty yarns can give the felted project a little extra eye appeal - and they're just cute. :-)

I've been making bowls and these little mini-clutch purses. The little bags are so quick to make and I'm always a sucker for tote-type organizer things. These work great to use for business card holders, making a

mini-sewing kit for your purse, manicure kit, make-up kit - whatever! I love them! I'm also selling the pattern to make them yourself in my shop.

I also found some recycled cotton yarn at the store recently - I can't find any organic cotton yarn locallly, but recycled is good too! This is a 75%/25% acrylic blend so I need to make up some facial scrubbies with it and see how it feels - I've only used 100% cotton up til now. The yarn feels like it will make scrubbies good for exfoliating - it's not scratchy, but just a little hardier maybe. If I like how they feel you'll soon see them in my

store.

Going to Plan B

2009-01-16T01:09:00.000-07:00

January 16, 2009

Because of the new CPSIA testing regulations due to go into effect on February 10, as of that date I will no longer be selling baby or children's items in my shop. There is hope that eventually the whole mess will be straightened out but until that time I would be in violation of the law selling my little baby socks if I don't pay the $300 or more (EACH) to have them tested. And yeah, the odds are I probably wouldn't be caught by the big, bad "lead testing police", but the consequences are too high to take the chance.

With that in mind, "The Crocheted Baby" really won't be an accurate name for my shop anymore. Not to mention that anything with "Baby" in the title will probably set off all kinds of alarms in the Big Brother Computer. I'm not closing my shop as some on Etsy are doing, but I will be changing the name to better reflect what I'm selling and that it's not all plain crochet.

What do you think?

Update on the CPSIA

2009-01-08T01:11:00.000-07:00

There was apparently a meeting on Monday this week and 'supposedly' certain items are being considered for exemption to this new lead-testing law. Get this - UNDYED cotton and wool and certain electronics that have the lead in places unlikely for children to be able to access. This is not a for sure yet, merely exemptions being considered.

Don't get me wrong, it's a step in the right direction - a baby step, but one none-the-less. But think about it - only *undyed* cotton and wool?? That's going to make for a pretty bland looking bunch of kids. No colorful sweaters, socks, clothing etc. The Society of the Off-White. Doesn't matter what you used to dye the wool or cotton (yarn or fabric) - in fact, even if you use kool-aid to dye the yarn (which is very popular) it would then need to be tested. So....they're worried Kool-aid has lead in it? Shouldn't they maybe take Kool-aid off the market then?? (Which wouldn't be a bad idea, but I digress....)

At this point I am planning to take my baby socks off the market come February 10. At the same time I really do have hope that more exemptions will be in place by then and make that unneccesary. I'm already working on more patterns and sets of felted bowls (but certainly not ones that look colorful and like they may be geared toward children!). What a pain - and a completely unncessary one.

If you haven't done so yet, please take a moment to sign a petition here. Thanks!!

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (Ax?)

2008-12-30T01:12:00.000-07:00

December 30, 2008

I suspect that most of you reading have not heard of the new law and regulations scheduled to go into effect on February 10 this year. It is in direct response to all the lead-filled toys which were imported from China this past year - a knee-jerk reaction to a serious problem, but a really BAD reaction.

While I realize that product safety, especially for children, is of utmost importance, this particular legislation is reactionary and holds potentially devastating economic ramifications. It's a complicated, vague law and even the Consumer Product Safety Commission has tacitly admitted that by asking for comments and suggestions on how to implement it. (You can go here to sign a petition and read a bit more about this new law.)

Under these new regulations, we would be required to submit each piece that we create to prohibitively expensive government approved third party testing to be sure lead (and other chemicals) are within safety limits. From what I understand, each test would cost us anywhere from $100-400, for each COMPONENT of the finished item. If the item is a garment, that’s a test for thread, buttons and each fabric used in EACH different garment. If I crochet a pair of socks, it would mean EACH different color of yarn used in EACH different pair of socks would need to be tested. Oh yeah - the testing process destroys the item. If allowed to go into effect, you can see how it would effectively eliminate the ability to do business legally in the US for a LOT of people. We're not just talking about toys here - ANYTHING meant for children 12 and under including books. Books?? Yes, books.

There are no exceptions made in the CPSIA for quantities made, where the garments/products are made or anything else. This means that grandma selling handmade baby blankets at the church bazaar is selling contraband if she is unable to produce the required safety certificate. It means that for artisans and small businesses in America one thing... unless you are a multi-million dollar company, you have no right doing business in the US.

There are also no provisions made for items created/manufactured before the law went into effect - it is retroactive and specifically says so. And the most ridiculous thing of all; even if each component of the finished product HAS been tested and certified safe, once those component are assembled into a new finished product, the new product must be tested again - as if somehow lead magically appeared while sewing fabric into a dress or knitting yarn into a baby blanket.

February 10, 2009 is being dubbed "National Bankruptcy Day" by many experts in the apparel and toy industry. If this legislation is allowed to be enacted, it couldl affect everyone from port workers to parents looking for legal products. This law would even impact charities - they will not legally be able to accept donations without this new safety certificate. Thrift stores, second-hand children's consignment shops - none of these will legally be able to accept or sell anything meant or marketed for children under 12 if this law goes into effect the way it is written at this point.

My disclaimer: I am not a lawyer; these comments are based on my understanding of this law and after reading the comments and discussions of countless others affected. Part of the problem with this whole thing is that it is so vague and the CPSC has not been able to give answers to specific questions as to WHO this will affect, HOW we are supposed to comply, and WHAT items - if any - will be exempt. My 'pollyanna' side finds it hard to believe something this far-reaching would actually happen, but in today's world??

Happy New Year...