Week of September 19th - 25th

It's been a productive week. I finished the last headband of the current set; I don't expect to knit any more for a while. This one is dark blue, and you can find it here.

I also completed my cat blanket pattern, which is listed on Etsy, Ravelry and Artfire:

And I've finished my first necktie. I came across some trouble because the tie kept curling to the right; somehow the stitch pattern worked out so that the end of the right-side rows were looser than the beginning, no matter what I did. I solved the problem by whipstitching along the edges, so now it lies nicely flat. No listings until I've knitted one or two more.

Weeks of September 4th - 18th

I put off blogging last week because I didn't have any interesting pictures or new listings to show. Now I do. I was almost out of headband/cowls in my shop, so I got out a few pretty oddballs left over from my Mossy Jackets and knit three headbands in pink/orange, multi, and forest green. They're great for the fall and winter.

I have a new men's sweater design on the agenda, as well as a line of knitted neckties, which I'm working on now. I've never been a fan of machine-knit ties; while some guys can make anything look awesome, I think on most men they're irredeemably dorky (and this is coming from me). Hand-knit ties are a different matter entirely. There's a fine line between dorky and geek chic, and they tend to fall in with the latter. I seem to have found a good combination of gauge and stitch pattern for neckties, so I should have photos by next week.

Weeks of August 21st - September 3rd

We made it through the move and are now in our lovely new apartment, though it's still cluttered with boxes. Joann Fabrics has given me a ton of hours over the last couple of weeks - a bit ironic that it's now, but I'm not complaining.

I bought some pretty calicos from my workplace and I've been making half-window curtains with them. I started out on my Singer sewing machine, but we got into a fight pretty quickly and so I've been hand-sewing them instead. It kept jamming and breaking needles, and I need to get it serviced, but we're not currently on speaking terms. I don't mind hand-sewing; it takes longer, but my hands never jam and seldom break needles, and the finished effect is just as good.

Going to go unpack clothes and maybe put together a bookshelf.

Weeks of August 7th-20th

We're in the midst of moving and things have been quite crazy for the past couple of weeks. Our new place is literally just five minutes up the road - it even has the same zip code as our current address - but even so it's stressing me out! I do have another cute custom-order baby sweater, also in Vickie Howell Sheep(ish), to show for last week. The color is Chartreuse(ish). Here's the photo, and I'll get back to packing.

Week of July 31st - August 6th

The red sweater pattern is typed up, but I didn't get to the photos yet. However, I do have two sweaters that I completed this week. The first is a unisex baby sweater I did as a custom order. I used 3 balls of Vickie Howell Sheep(ish) in Yellow(ish). The cute cow buttons came from Fine Points.

After putting it aside briefly to complete the baby sweater, I finished my newest Mossy Jacket, also a custom order for a family member. This is the 5th one I've made, but since the yarn comes in so many pretty colorways, I haven't gotten bored with them yet! This one is in Trendsetter Tonalita color #2349 Bright Multi.

Week of July 24th - 30th

I mostly worked on the red lace sweater for the past week. It's finally finished, and I have a picture:

It's oversized and, meaning no offense to my dressmaker's dummy, generally looks better on someone with arms. I'll try to get some photos of myself in it this week while I write up the pattern.

Speaking of patterns, I FINALLY sat myself down and finished the men's vest pattern I've been sitting on for a while. It's listed here.

I have two custom orders on the needles right now: another Mossy Jacket for a family member and a baby sweater. The baby sweater is taking precedence right now; I'm hurrying to get it done by Friday.

All in all, I've been having an exceptionally good few weeks, sales-wise, for the summer. Most of my sales lately have come from Australia, where of course it's winter. I'm very grateful.

I sometimes worry about my international pattern buyers because I write all my patterns American-style, using the silly, antiquated English system of measurements. I've considered adding metric measurements, but I'm not mathematically-minded and the metric system is daunting. I didn't learn it very well in school and I don't understand it well. Also, every country has its own way of writing knitting patterns, so how can I accomodate every method? So I make sure to clarify US sizes and hope that my fellow knitters don't mind converting from inches to centimeters.

Week of July 16th - 23rd

This week I have one new addition to my shop: a skein of handspun wool made from Bluefaced Leicester top, soft white, 94 yards. It's a lovely, squishy yarn and very soft.

Otherwise I've been plugging away at the red lace sweater. Last week I got a last-call email from the current Afghans for Afghans campaign, so I put the sweater on hold and knit up two more hats. That's pretty much the end of my scrap wool stash, and two more people will have warm hats this winter!