Things that happened in October

My Arch Nemesis

Yep, I'm really that lame. It's November and I'm just now writing my next post. People, I'm busy! For instance, I have to take care of these beasts which continue to haunt my back yard.

Leo

And I had to get Ryan ready for his Masquerade Bash at school. Since Ryan is in the Science/Tech program, the class project for Halloween was for each kid to come up which a famous scientist, get it approved, and then write clues so the rest of the class could guess who they were. Ryan was Leonardo Da Vinci, wearing Daddy's bathrobe.

The Boys and Baby S

And of course I still have Baby S with me 3 days a week. Every Halloween Gilman Village has Trick or Treating for the kids. Which is great for families, but frankly, a nightmare for everyone who works there. Mara and I spent 3 hours, not selling yarn, standing in the freezing cold doorway handing out candy. Both of our Mikes brought the kids by for a visit.

Earflappy Hat

Of course, throw in about 74 loads of laundry and you can see I've got my hands full these days. I did manage to clean my master bathroom today. That, wow. It had been awhile.

I'm using my extra-awesome photography skills here to show you the baby earflap hat I'm making for a friend. They also want matching mittens, which I think will be cute. But I honestly don't know if I've ever actually made baby mittens before....can't be that hard, can it? The great thing about baby mittens--no thumbs!

Snowbird Mitten

Last, but not least, here is my crowning glory. The left hand part of the Snowbird Mittens.

SnowBird Mitten Palm

I have to say, I'm pretty stunned that I was able to do it. Once I block it, I think it will look great, and it actually fits!

I'm still working on my 3 different pairs of socks, all for 3 different people, who should know me well enough to know that I have WAY over-committed myself here, what with the chickens and baby hats and scarves and everything else I'm knitting. I've been blatantly honest about the shear number of projects I have going, so if these 3 sock people are reading my blog (and I believe they do...), then they've hopefully done the math and realized that I'm a bit behind. I just continue to work on projects as the spirit moves me and somehow they all eventually get done....although I'm thinking I need to have a no new projects policy until I'm able to check a few of these outstanding items off my list.

If I intend to write this post and publish it in one sitting (and I believe I do), then the time for me to go is now. I have to fix dinner and present it to 2 boys who have no intention of eating it. They can't start whining until they see what I'm making, so I'd better get the show on the road!

Take 2

My Etsy store is dead as a doornail right now. I am getting no traffic whatsoever. None. Zilch. I know these things come in waves and, with the end of school and the change of seasons, for whatever reason, it affects things like Etsy and Craig's List. Regardless of the reason, it is very discouraging for me.

So I'm trying something new! I'm of course keeping my Etsy store (although apparently no one would notice if it went away), but I'm going to consign some of my things at this great new shop in Ballard called Venue. It is a work studio and boutique and is a place for artists to sell their wares.

I love Ballard. It is an old scandinavian community located in North Seattle and it is where both of my parents were raised. My sisters and I were raised just a few miles to the north and we have always spent a lot of time in Ballard. My dad was born in Ballard Hospital and attended Ballard High School. His family belonged to Ballard First Lutheran, which is also the church where I was baptized. When I was growing up and in my college years (my alma mater, Seattle Pacific University, is just a couple of miles south of Ballard) Ballard was considered the home of the "newly wed and the nearly dead". But in recent years it has gone through a resurgence (as many Seattle neighborhoods have. Which is why no one can afford to live there any more!) and Market Street and the surrounding side streets are full of fun and funky shops and boutiques. Venue is one of these shops.

My sister, Emily, told me about it a couple of weeks ago and I sent Mike to check it out the other day (he does a lot of business in the Ballard area). He concurred with Emily that Venue just might be the right "venue" for some of my things and he brought home an application for me. I spent last night printing pictures of items I would like to sell there and hope to work on the application today. Mike is seeing a client in Ballard again tomorrow and I'm hoping to have the application ready for him to drop off. So I'm going to try and peddle some of my hats, cupcakes, felted pears, java sleeves, and Cinderella. And perhaps I'll make just enough money to replenish my yarn supply and start all over again!

Baby Hats

A little about me: My name is Jennifer and I have a store on Etsy.com called KNITTINGQUEEN2, selling hand knit baby hats and other adorable things.

I have been married for 17 years to a very sweet man named Mike and I have an almost 7 year old boy, Ryan, and a 4 year old, Eric. We live in a Christian, non-smoking, one elderly cat household. I am a stay at home mom and I do try to maintain my house, but with 3 boys, I'm having a hard time seeing the point. I do keep up with the laundry because, well, I have to. But unless company is coming, I'd rather spend time knitting than dusting. Knitting is more fun and no matter how often you dust, you'll just get more dust.

I learned to knit 11 years ago and took to it immediately. I don't know why--no one in my family knits. I was inspired by no one and whenever I need help, I am left to my own devices. And I have never considered myself an artistic or creative person. But for some reason I wanted to learn to knit. So I took a class and after the first session I knew it was meant to be.

Fast forward 4 years and I am pregnant with my first child. Suddenly a real reason to knit! An itty bitty thing to make itty bitty things for. I made him a sweater. I made the same sweater for my best friend who was also pregnant with her first son. The sweaters were cute, but something was missing.... and then I started making baby hats. Fruit caps, stripes, snowmen--I was getting crazy with the hats. I was giving them away. I was selling them at craft bazaars. I was knitting them for the sake of knitting them (you know you're a true knitter when you knit for the shear love of knitting and the fact that it will actually become a useful garment is really not a factor at all. When you are done you have this completely adorable cupcake hat and then it suddenly dawns on you--what am I going to do with this? I have two boys. And your husband just rolls his eyes because he tried to understand this years ago and knows it's better to just smile and nod. So you put it on the shelf behind your computer, and start rumaging through stacks of books and magazines because you remember that somewhere in your "office" there is a completely adorable pattern for a daisy hat...).

So here I am, 11 years later, trying to go public with my creations. I have yarn and patterns all over my house. All over. My family of boys just steps over it. When I get after my husband, for the love of all that is holy, to please clean up his clutter (!), he does it without ever mentioning my double standard. I think he knows I could use my knitting needles as a weapon. I did impale my hand the other day with a sock needle and made myself bleed, so he knows the danger is real. My 4 year old has asked on a number of occasions "why are you making more baby hats?". And I don't really have a good answer for him. But I am hoping that by getting my services "out there", I will delight someone to the point of actually wanting to buy one of my hats.

I am running out of shelf space, so I am begging anyone who reads this to help me clear out my inventory--I have more ideas just itching to be knit!