Our First Sale!

by Kelly

Something I forgot to post about was our first Etsy sale. Yay for us! This occurred on August 16th, and it was a crochet afghan in various autumn colored yarns. I got the pattern from this book.

I included a little crochet bear with a note saying 'Thanks for being our first customer!'. I'm assured that the bear has a great new home in a log cabin, of all places. Lucky dog! Er...bear.

Now here's hoping it's not another six months before our next sale!

Long Needles and Amsterdam Lace

by Kelly

I'm working on a new knitting project.

The pattern is from The Knit Monster,  and it's called the Amsterdam Lace Scarf.  It's a really easy lace pattern, and gives a great result.

The beauty of this pattern is that you knit it in a triangular shape, so you can use just what yarn you have, without worrying that you're not going to have enough. Since this yarn was a gift from Donna, and I only have one skein of it, this pattern is ideal.

The only problem with this method of knitting is that your project outgrows your needles fairly quickly. I'm using my 14" needles, and am still running out of room. Luckily the yarn is really soft, so the scarf can be squashed to one side of the needle while I'm working.

And yes, I do have two stitch counters on my needles. The needles are really old, and don't have much of a 'bump' on the end. I was afraid the stitches would come off, so I put one stitch counter on each needle.

Little Crochet and Knits

by Kelly

So, we're planning a garage sale, now that we know when we're moving out. And I thought this would be a good time to sell all these little things I've made.

butterfly bookmarks

 

teeny sweater

flowers...lots of flowers

While gathering items for the sale, I was surprised by how many hand made items I had accumulated in the two years that I have been knitting and crocheting. 

Not quite as surprised by the four bags of books, though. No, I'm not selling the library. The library is 1,000 books and counting - getting rid of four bags of books hardly makes a dent. I blame my mom. She's the one who started my addiction.

I've been packing the library away in cardboard boxes and it makes me sad. Even though this is a temporary parting, I think I am going to miss them more than a normal person should. A year or so without my books really shouldn't bring a tear to my eye. But I am consoled by the fact that my husband feels the same way about his movie collection.

Pirate Craft

by Kelly

In honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day, here's a post all about piratey things.

For those of you who have the book Creepy Cute Crochet, did you know there was an expansion pack? Including a pirate captain??

pattern at Needle Noodles

From doe c doe  the embroidered/applique ship below.  Visit her blog to see more - including the inspiration.

 

Ann Wood has beautiful boats in her shop here. They sell out fast, so order a custom one in your favorite pirate's colors. Ironically, she has had some trouble with pattern piracy, and understandably so - her owls, songbirds, and other creations are amazing. Even more interesting is that she uses tattered antique scraps of ballgowns and other textile ephemera in her work. Check out her blog here.

custom boat

Yes, every pirate needs a ship - and a hat.

Pattern for the crochet hat available at Crochet Spot.Cost is about $5.

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day! Arr!