A Decision

I recently made an announcement on facebook that I think needs to be done here too (for all three of you who actually read the blog...)

I have decided to close down my Etsy shop. I'm going to allow the current listings to expire and will not be actively listing new items any time in the forseeable future (is that even a word?). I've decided that being a made-to-order person will be much better option for me right now. And not having the constant 'pressure' to create and list new items on Etsy will be a huge relief for me in my day-to-day life.

This is a decision that has been months, yes MONTHS, in the making. I've laid awake in bed late at night contemplating it. I've spent my lunch breaks and evenings brooding as I tried to finish Christmas presents or a new project for the shop. Finally, I asked a few people what their thoughts were.

While I will still be making items, it won't be for the mysterious 'target audience' that I still haven't been able to define for myself. The cost, financially, emotionally, mentally, and in time, just isn't worth it for me right now.

So, for those of you who have seen my shop, and have any of my items on your personal 'wish list', grab them now! I have a clearance coupon ready and waiting. Just send me a message on the Facebook page, and I'll get it to you.

Thank You All!

Gridelin Grows

One hour: I am loving this stitch pattern! (Hopefully it will last, on the other two, once I got about halfway through I got really bored with the stitch pattern and couldn't wait for it to be done so I could start something new.) 

One of the greatest things about this shawl pattern, in comparison to the prior two, is that you can actually 'read' the knitting on it very easily. The other ones were mostly a variation of stockinette stitch, but this one isn't. It's a mock cable (yes, you don't need a cable needle for it), so there is a good variation of knit and purl stitches that are consistent on each row. This makes it easy to see where I'm at on both the right and wrong side of the knitting. 

Eleven Hours:

I am still enjoying this pattern. I love it! It's simple enough to not need the pattern in front of me, but still interesting enough to keep me from getting horrifically bored like the last two shawls from this book did. 

One thing I'm really enjoying about this pattern is that I can easily see how I could incorporate it into a baby sweater, or an adult sweater, even into a hat as a lovely design element. I could totally do that! It would look super fancy but not be super fancy during the knitting part of the garment creation. 

By weight, I'm a little under halfway done with this shawl. It might end up being smaller than I would like when I get to the end of the skein, so I might have to go buy another skein if I can find it in the right colorway and dye lot. 

100 Days of Sewing- Sort of

So, awhile back I decided to sew every day for 100 days straight. And I almost made it.

You see, I started in the summer when things weren't as crazy as they could have been, so I did awesome. Then, two weeks ago, I started a new job. New job, new hours, new responsibilities. It was a bit overwhelming (and still is). On the night of day 72, I crawled into bed exhausted. As I drifted off to sleep I realized that I hadn't sewn that day. At all. Had this been a few months ago during school and all that, I would have dragged myself out of bed and sewn a seam, lost sleep would have been no big deal.

But I just couldn't. I was waaaaaay too tired, and stressed, and worried about being late to work and falling asleep in training, and all that stuff that could make the new bosses not look too kindly on me. I decided it was okay to take a break, and it's been a couple of weeks now.

Today is day 50 of no buying yarn (minus ones needed for a custom order placed). 50 Days! . And it's day 31 of no fabric. I'm on a roll! So I decided to go ahead and take advantage of the streak and start 100 Days of sewing again. I'm sure I can make it, no problem. I've got quilt blocks, quilts, a skirt, and an alteration already lined up to be done. Not to mention the giant box of stash that needs to be used too!

Here's a look at what all got finished-finished in the first round of 71 days:
(Not pictured, yet, a vest for myself and a bean bag that I will be posting on in the near future)