Week of April 30th - May 6th

The new Afghans for Afghans campaign is posted, and here are my pieces from this week. I have two hats that are a bit misshapen because I used bulky and thick-and-thin wools rather than worsted, but nevertheless they're toasty warm and perfectly wearable for an adult or older child.

I also have one completed pair of adult-size socks and another on the needles. Since I learned the two-at-a-time method I've been trying to develop the perfect design for worsted-weight socks - mine always come out too loose around the foot - and I think I've found it! By just adding a slip 1, knit one round every other round at the foot, I can get the foot to fit more snugly without making the rest of the sock too small. These pure wool ones are going to Afghanistan, but later on I'm going to knit some for myself in a washable wool blend.

I worked this week but got the weekend off. My husband and I went to see The Avengers on Friday, which was a lot of fun; it lived up to my high expectations of a movie written and directed by Joss Whedon! And superheroes aren't usually my thing. I also have to add with some pride that the outdoor scenes set in Germany and New York City were actually filmed here in Cleveland, mere blocks away from my apartment. I was working at Filene's Basement while they were filming last summer, and movie people would come in periodically and buy up tons of clothes and accessories for filming. They would never say what movie they were working on, but come on, we all knew! Stuff like that doesn't happen here every day.

Week of February 26th - March 3rd

Since Filene's Basement went under for good in late December, I've been down to one part-time day job. That has enabled me to throw myself more fully into my textiles, as well as reclaim my social life and joie de vivre. (That's not to say I didn't like my cashier job, because I did, and I'm sorry the company went under; it's just that shuffling between two day jobs while trying to be an entrepreneur and a human being on the side can be exhausting on a profound level.) I've increased my focus on designing, joined Twitter, Artfire, and Pinterest, and now it's time to reboot my blog.

So, this week. While the husband has been engrossed in grad school, I've been busily designing and knitting a vest in his size. I'm lazy with the camera and therefore don't have any pictures yet, but it's a marled light gray with a double moss stitch design. Finished the front (v-neck), and now I'm toiling away at the back. It's attractive but not too thrilling to knit, so thank goodness for Netflix.

Finished and listed some new men's hats, knit in Peruvian wool ordered from KnitPicks. I know it's only March, but I'm already stocking up for next fall and winter.

Went to a talk at Case Western given by Robyn Ochs on gender and sexuality. She's a great speaker, and I think I can safely say that it was the most fun two-hour lecture I've ever been to.

And, perhaps best of all, I found some more of my teddy bears on the Mother Bear Project site! There's one from Mali and the rest are from South Africa.

December

And it's feeling like it. It's been snowing lightly but steadily since yesterday, and I'm hearing the incessant Christmas music wherever I go. I just started a new job at Filene's Basement, which I'm enjoying so far. I'm still walking my dog friends every weekday around noon, despite the chilly weather. All the more reason to wear wool!
November was a great month sales-wise, and I'm hoping to reach 100 sales by the end of this month. I've got three women's hats listed, and I'm curious about whether or not they'll sell. So far I've had little success with women's hats, except for my tams - probably because there's just so much out there for women!