Weeks of November 7th - 27th

I've been working hard this entire month, both in my shop and at Joann, and it has certainly paid off. It's been a great month for business. It also doesn't hurt that I often have my cat friend napping by my side while I work, interrupting me periodically to be petted. Having lived with us for over a month now, Teddy is settled in and seems perfectly happy with his new life as an apartment cat. Since he used to be a stray, I was a little afraid he'd try to escape, but so far he's expressed no desire to slip out the doors and only a little interest in looking out the windows. He seems quite content as long as he gets his daily doses of play time and affection. And he enjoys my cat blankets. :)

In knitting news, I finished a new baby sweater using Ella Rae Amity Prints:

Otherwise, it's been lots and lots of hats and gloves!

Weeks of October 17th - November 6th

Yes, I know it has been three weeks since my last post. I was distracted first by being sick (better now), then by being busy, then - the best by far - by adopting a cat! For the first time in our married life we're in a cat-friendly apartment, and on a cold, drizzly Friday a couple of weeks ago we went to the Cleveland APL and adopted a handsome 4-year-old tabby we're calling Teddy:

He was picked up as a stray on the west side and brought to the shelter. Though he shows signs of living on the street for a while, I suspect he started out living with people because he's adjusted so well to our home. He's still fond of hiding in corners, but he loves being petted and is quite playful. Teddy is a quiet kitty, but he purrs readily and he's learning to ask for what he wants - he has a tiny meow that sounds like a squeak! He's been with us just a week and a half, but we're already finding it hard to imagine life without him. He is just the best cat.

As for work - I've been knitting mostly shop stuff, but last week I made a couple of hats and a pair of mittens for the new Afghans for Afghans campaign:

I now have some custom orders to keep me busy over the next few days.

Weeks of October 3rd - 16th

I've put in a lot of hours at Joann Fabrics lately, mostly at the cutting counter - it has been so busy there! At home I've done a couple of custom orders, most notably this cute toddler sweater:

It's made with my new favorite non-wool yarn, Lion Brand Cotton Ease; it's for a two-year-old living in the deep South, so wool wasn't really an option! I borrowed the basic shape and added the wildflower knot design to the body to keep things interesting and to add a feminine touch. The adorable pink buttons are from my workplace.

Otherwise I've been stocking up on shop staples - gloves and such. I'm giving myself a refresher course in Spanish, since I'll be going to Guatemala for a week in December and I want to be somewhat functional! I know it's just a week, but I want to make the most of it. And it's good manners.

Week of September 26th - October 2nd

Fun stuff first. I spent a while going through the Mother Bear Project photo gallery and was rewarded for my efforts with three new photos of my bears with their children. These are in South Africa, Togo, and Mali:

Now the boring stuff. I was dedicated over the weekend and listed patterns for my red lace sweater (finally!) and my knitted necktie. Here's the red sweater on a real person - namely, me - and now I have to sign off and go work on a custom order. The holidays are coming!

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.