boy am I behind

I never think about his until I am no where near a way to update.
This month has been very busy. I had excellent sales from etsy, which is pretty good since I only have small items. Now that I'm past my December rush, I can focus on making other things which are fun. I want to make stuffed birds. My stuffed crochet animals are mostly only creepy looking. We'll see if that can change. My bunnies were so absurd that I labeled them zombies. I once sold a fairly ugly frog with button eyes. He was square. I guess if I made him nicer, I could sell more. He didn't have to be ugly, but the yarn was just disappointing.
I got my new spindle in the mail and spun up a little bit of yarn. I have to get on that fast because I have people I want to give it to soon. In fact, I wanted to give it to them in the past. Past due.
I found my crochet hooks! This made fulfilling my etsy orders much easier. I had listed some puppets I couldn't find from moving, but I won't specify which ones. I was surviving with an H, but didn't want to send out some of my products. Luckily, I found the rest and got to remake my dissapointments before shipping.
I have some new designs that are almost ready to go up. The unicorn was waiting for me to find the hooks, so it can be realised along with its breathren. This will not be the last.
I'm almost finished scribing some patterns. I have several finger puppets, and a sweater or two. Ravelry is pretty interesting. I'm not terribly into it yet, but I don't follow patterns that often. You won't find me making Clapotis, even though I have alpaca just for a scarf, or knitting Fetching, even though fingerless gloves are useful. When it comes time to use up my yarns, I'm just going to make things on the fly, like I usually do, and maybe write the directions down.
Knitty is a pretty impressive phenomenon. All these people are contributing patterns, which are destined to be available for free, and they are wildly popular. Ravelry makes this even more interesting. People have access to excellent patterns for free. Then you can go to Ravelry and see how many people report making it.
I pledged to do a handmade holiday this year. I'm number 6185. This way I got to shop tons on etsy and every time a package arrived, it was like Christmas.

Revien de la France

La droguerie 

I got to visit this store on Saturday and it was really crowded. I waited in line and took my turn. Looking at all the yarn on the wall had me wondering, just how popular is knitting in Paris? There were really only a few types of yarn to choose from. Plain wool, alpaca, cashmere, and bamboo lined the first section of wall. The second section held cotton, linen and a linen blend. Basically all the yarns were basic, standard solids. There was nothing I could categorize as novelty or art. While those are not the standards by which I base my yarn purchases, it was a little strange not to even see variegated yarn. The closest was three-ply bamboo which plied 3 colors together. Most of the yarn was DK to Aran weight. Across from the basic wool was a bulky wool. If you were seeking variety of color, you were set, If you needed variety of guage or texture, you only had so many options.

My french is pretty terbble in terms of understanding when people talk to me. I can read for myself, and produce functional sentences, but listening is a real challenge. And since I never talk about knitting in English, I didn't have anything as far as French knitting vocabulary to work with. I also never buy yarn with a plan or pattern. So when it was my turn, I had to make up a plan on the fly. Apparently, my celery colored alpaca yarn is going to be a lace scarf. This it probably the only way I would ever make myself a nice scarf, so so be it.

It's strange to buy yarn the same way you buy cheese. Both are great when you get them, though.

argh!

I can't find my crochet hooks. They are all together somewhere, lost to the move. The perfect pocket-sized tool is now an irritant due to its ease of hiding. I am so grumbly right now.

I'm in a treasury!

Someone likes my finger puppet enough to showcase it in a Cthulhu treasury. He was a great challenge to crochet, because I didn't want his wings to overpower his body. I also had to make sure his tentacles didn't make his head a weird shape.

Treasury of the Business

I'd like to believe we come from along line of circus folk. It's the family business. I've done my part to highlight what we might want the circus to be. Here's to three days of whimsy.

Giotto top finished

I have been slowly and indecisively working on this top made of Giotto for about 2 years. I didn't have a pattern, a plan, or a goal. My only real stipulation was that it could only take 1 hank, because that was all I bought. I knew I wanted to make it like a tank top. I really had no idea about the back, and I made it twice.

This is the final product. I split the front and made straps. The back has a single center strap and the three are grafted together. The side seams are sewn together with the tails from the cast on.

I have had this yarn long enough that I don't know what the color was called. I tried to locate it on the website, but I can't identify it. I don't know where the tag went, but I'd like to know what colorway this was. I remember I picked it out because it reminded me of apool of ink, with all the light reflecting off in different colors.

I Made It 3

I Made It 3 was today. We did fairly well. This show is well publicised, and therefore much more pleasant to be at. We were on the risers in the theatre part of the Brewhouse. They warned us that the lighting would be lacking. Even though the lights were on and you could see, everything had an eerie glow to it.

I am excited to go to the next one. I'll try to make new things. We'll have our cool weather tops, and hooded scarves. I don't intend to bring any skirts. Finger puppets are questionable. It depends on whether or not I can make some spooky ones.

Art Harvest 2007

Here is the table at Art Harvest, just before we open. We had a nice time. The people were nicer this year. There were two really nice tables on both sides of us. It's a welcome change from any show where you are flanked by an irritant. Emily made a few new bags, and the table was complete.
The music note buttons were a success, and I finally sold a skirt. I love making them, and I think I would like to just take custom orders. People know what they want, and it's usually not in their size. A woman tried on a skirt, and it fit her perfectly. She declined it, saying that it wasn't her size. My only job this week is to put size tags on all the skirts before I Made It next week.

A new age is upon us

Sewing and yarn-crafts can be balanced, and I have figured it out - finally.
Tomorrow is Art Harvest, and Next weekend is I Made It 3. If you're in Pittsburgh, check them out. Check my calendar or drop me a line for directions.

zootreasury

zootreasury
Originally uploaded by hairycarrot

Here is the treasury screenshot. The link no longer works since it is expired. In one of their threads they said they archived all treasuries. I wish we could see the archives.

I love Luxe

I just got my order yesterday from Luxe. It is absolutely gorgeous. I was really confused when I opened it, since the color was much richer than pictured. I imagined I was getting something tan with purple bits, and opened something purple with tan bits. It is the prettiest thing imaginable.

Love the Treasury

I made a treasury. This time the theme is animals at the fantasy petting zoo.
treasury_list.php?room_id=9483 Animalove Treasury

Success!

I just sold 10 finger puppets, all at once.
I love making my little animals, and now I have to hurry up and restock before next week, when I will be at a craft show.
Then, only a week later, I will be at another craft show. Oh, and I forgot to send the check. I know what I'm doing Monday!

Finally, a name!

Be sure to check my etsy store:
hairycarrot.etsy.com