Knitting When Tired

Oh knitting when tired or distracted! All knitters and crocheters know what can happen during a situation like that. You think you know the pattern and then discover that you missed something critical and have to undo all your progress. I missed an increase in a very long row last night. (insert my sad face here) I tinked (tink is knit backwards) it this morning and now am ready to do the row correctly.

This pile of yarn all scrunched up on its circular needle is going to be a gift for my daughter in law. Green is her favorite color. She went through a double mastectomy earlier this year. Her dreaded BRCA Gene caught up with her. I want her to have what my granddaughter called a shoulder blanket before she learned the word shawl. I hope she sees it as a hug from me whenever she wears it.

I had every intention of having it done by the time we got to their home, I didn't make it. I will finish and mail it to her from home.

Back with more again soon.

Take care and stay cozy!

A Finish and a New Project Started

I finished my blue and white mini shawl. I say mini because it is really more like a triangular scarf. This piece was knit in garter stitch. I love garter stitch when I want to create a fabric that feels squishy. I think this is a very versatile shape to knit. If you wear the point in the back you have a nice accessory to keep your neck and shoulders warm. Is it just me or do you know that sometimes that is all you need to feel comfortable and keep you from tensing your shoulder muscles and getting sore? If you wear one of these mini shawls with the point in front under your coat on a blustery winter day you can keep the wind out and stay nice and cozy while "walking in a winter wonderland".

So moving on I have started a new baby afghan. Have to have something on a hook or needles at all times. It is how I get through life without hurting people. LOL. This is the third time I have made this pattern and certainly won't be the last. This time the yarn is a cheerful, sunny, you just gotta smile yellow. The pattern for the knit Free Sunny Baby Blanket can be found by clicking here. I like this pattern for its ease. It makes for great tv knitting. I also like solid rather than lacy patterns for baby blankets. This is so that little fingers and toes don't get caught. 

My triangle mini shawl all done.

Rows and rows of squishy garter stitch.

The next project (a baby afghan) cast on last night.

I have to end with a rant. I had a new version of blogger show up last week. It may be older than that but I didn't post for a couple weeks. I hate it. formatting with pictures stinks. I can't easily arrange text and pictures like I used to. Setting up labels for posts is not as easy as it used to be either. Before you typed your label and a comma, next label and a comma and so on. Now you are supposed to be searching labels. It is just clunky and wrong. Look Google, I do like learning new things, I really do but I don't see how you have made things better so I want to learn them. What are the wonderful benefits of this new design. These changes kind of remind me of Etsy and some of you may know exactly what I mean.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

Blogfire Blitz Cozy to Just Imagine Crafts

As the first snow fell this morning here in Jackson I was thinking about ways to feel cozy. Food comes to mind and I think about things like long simmering soups and stews on the stove or in the crockpot. What is cozier that a crackling fire in the fireplace and a soft chair, a cup of tea and a good book? Sound good to you? If so you might consider adding one thing to this picture and I have it in my shop.

This shawl is so soft and warm it will keep any fall or winter from your back, neck or shoulders. Since this post is part of a Blogfire Blitz I encourage you to check out the next blog that is part of the blitz. Just Imagine Crafts has a charming shop on Artfire that features among other things collars and leashes for your canine fur babies.

Is your dog a rockstar?

Feeling Good!

I think I have found a housekeeping method that will keep me sane. You would think at 53 that I would know all about how to keep a house but things have gotten out of control trying to have a craft business at home too. Let me just say that I shined my sink. If you google the phrase shine your sink you will find out what it is all about.

My hope is that using this method I can give myself permission to go to work without feeling guilty about my house. By breaking chores into small chunks and daily routines I can manage once the days tasks are done I can go to work. It is already paying off. I smile walking into my kitchen and have begun the task of decluttering and it feels good!


I used my time this afternoon to take pictures of a shawl that I have listed in my Art Fire shop. I had a helper with my photos today. This bird sat on top of his bush in the yard chirping at me while I was taking the shots. He seemed to be protesting me being in his yard and showed no fear as I moved around arranging the camera and mannequin so I took his picture too. He is the fella that you see in all my shop and blog headers.

PS- Happy Birthday Kevon! No picture for you because all of you guys seem to complain when I do that!

New on ArtFire!

Here is the hand knotted fringe on the Warm Cream Shawl I put up for sale today in my ArtFire shop. It joins the Warm Fog Shawl that is already in the shop. Do you notice a trend in names here? It may not be very imaginative but I have decided to name all my heavier shawls starting with the word warm.

If you live in a part of the country where winter is hanging on or in a place where you just need to keep the chill off your shoulders you may want to take a look at these. I have a couple more in different colors that will be joining them soon!

EditI am so excited! I just discovered that you can make purchases on Art Fire without needing an account there. This makes shopping so much easier. Of course if you are a regular handmade buyer you may want an account so that your shipping information is saved to make future purchases easier. For all the information you need about this new feature you can click here.

I Did It!

I am the world's worst when it comes to procrastination even to my own detriment. I can meet the deadlines of others with no problem but I cheat on myself. If I tell you for example that I will do something for you on Tuesday it will be done. I get distracted by the little details that can make things perfect rather than just going for it.

I have got my first listing up in my Art Fire shop. The intention was to list two or three things each week starting the first of January. You see what I mean about personal procrastination? I am behind.
The first listing is a shawl I named Warm Fog. Strange name, I know but it has colors of rusty orange and gray in it. The pictures are just okay and I know it. The colors are fairly true at least on my monitor but I want the shots to be better. I got to thinking about how I could take those lovely pictures where the backgrounds are blurred and softened and the product stands out against it and to get the best light of course I need to be outside. I really don't want the back fence to show so sharply. So after camera manual reading, online searches and hours of practicing in changing the depth of field I am closing in on the kind of product images I want for my things.
I plan the shawl above to be my second listing on Art Fire. I was pleased to get this shot late in the afternoon yesterday and then I ran out of light before I could pose it in different ways. The background is gently blurred and the shawl stands out. That is what I was looking for!

Practice and Learning

One of the things I am determined to do this year is make better use of our camera. We have a couple point and shoots that are light and easy to carry when traveling but I am not talking about those. We own a Nikon D70. Jim bought it for himself a few years ago. It can take stunning images if you know what you are doing with it. I believe that it is the best camera we own for taking product images for my shops but I have barely scratched to surface on how to use it to my advantage.


The technique I have been working on the past couple days is using depth of field to show off an item. The shot above is inside and badly lit I know. What I was pleased with was that the little vase it the star and the background it softly out of focus. I love to read but you have no idea how long it took with a strange new vocabulary in the camera manual to make this happen. FStops, aperature, focal points and so on until I just got the camera and started taking pictures. The little vase was even taken without a tripod so I am surprised at how clear it is.

However the real problem started when I didn't want a picture of an itty bitty thing sitting on a coffee table. Using our regular lens for the larger things like my shawls just wasn't happening. The background just wouldn't fade away like I wanted it to. I may have been able to stick with it but instead I decided to try something else. Looking online about how to get this type of image I saw different lenses mentioned and I knew we had another lens that Jim always told me was for landscape shots. So I figured out how to change the lens without breaking anything, put a shawl on Miss Molly, got out the tripod, set up the mannequin on the patio and backed up about 15 feet. I am so excited! This is the kind of image I have been looking for and trying to learn!

Take a look and let me know what you think. Today after practicing some more and getting some different poses this shawl will be my second item listed on Art Fire.

It's Tuesday

Yesterday my oldest daughter turned 30. If you ask her she will say she's 29. I don't know why because at each birthday I was always happy to have made it that far. I does seem like a very short time ago she was the age of her daughter(9).

As for my crafting-yesterday I finished the knitting on a shawl I designed. I think it turned out very well. I still have to get the ends woven in. The next step would be to photograph it and then get it listed on Etsy.

Because I always have something to do with my hands when watching TV I started my next project. It is a very thick and warm scarf made from Homespun. I am using a broken rib pattern and will fringe it when the knitting is done.

Can't Sleep

It has been hard to get to sleep this past week. I find my brain filled with plans and details for unfinished projects and things I want to do. I have a million ideas for new projects to list on Etsy. I also have a few personal projects that I need to do. If my daughter Cindy ever reads this - yes that means the runner for your desk and the gold shawl.

At times like this I have a terrible tendency to go in too many directions at once. The result of this is usually even more half finished projects. I have at different times kept little notebooks around. I used them to jot down designs and ideas for thing to knit, quilt, crochet or sew. It kind of helped me to let go of the idea until I was actually ready to try it knowing it was written down and was available for me later.

With the new year fast approaching I guess it is a good time for this kind of thinking and probably what caused it anyway. Time for some realistic goal setting.