Holiday Bazaar

I decided to only participate in one holiday craft show this year. It will be at Kent Commons in Kent on December 1st and 2nd. I hope I will see you there!

Happy holiday knitting!

The holidays are coming too fast...

This is usually about the time I start thinking about my holiday gift-knitting. I've had my list ready for months now and I know what I'm making for each person on it, I'm just not sure how I'm going to fit it all in. Do you get that feeling? Right around the end of September? When you see the leaves changing you know its time to switch over to your cooler weather knitting and before you know it, the holiday season has crept up on you?

Now that I am gearing up for the holiday crafts shows and events, my personal gift-knitting seems to get pushed further and further down the "to-do list".  I could remember a time before this became a business for me that I enjoyed knitting to make handmade clothing and accessories for my family and friends, now I hardly ever get the chance to knit something that I want to give as a gift. I've found over the last two years that the business side of my knitting has increased astronomically and the fun side has declined terribly. Does anyone else feel like this during this time of the year?

I like to spend time picking out the perfect pattern and the perfect yarn for each person on my list and every year, I say to myself, I will start earlier with my gift-knitting so that I'm not scrambling at the last minute trying to get them done. But for the last two years business-knitting usually picks up considerably during the months of October, November and early December and I'm cranking out other people's holiday gifts that they'll be giving away instead of working on my own personal gift-knits.

The holidays in general can be a stressful time for everyone, what with the holiday decorations already out on display in many department stores as early as October! Then there is the the cooking and baking, holiday card sending, the list goes on and on. For some people this can a miserable time of year and it can put the perkiest, most upbeat person on the verge of depression.  So in light of this fact, I scoured the web to see what others had to say about the ways they deal with the holiday stress:

Nancy at A Rurual Journal writes about how she deals with stress this time of year in a post from last December, and I found after reading it, she had some really good ideas on how to de-stress and not let the holiday season become too overwhelming. One such solution she had was: "Knit. For the sake of knitting, with no objective in mind. Just knit."

Ah, what a novel concept, I haven't knit, just for the sake of it in over two years and during this season, I'm going to make a point to do just what she suggested. Something else, I like to do other than knit/crochet for relaxation is read and this holiday season, that will be on the top of my list of must do's. My son bought me a Nook Color last year for Christmas and I'm going to put it to good use!

Denise Dador on KABC-TV Los Angeles, CA wrote: Tips on how to de-stress during the holidays, December 2010. She gave tips on de-stress on the go by using accupressure: Dr. Lawrence Taw, an assistant professor of medicine at the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine showed us three accupressure points that reduce anxiety and promote calmness. The first is a well-known one found on your hand: the pressure point between your thumb and your index finger.

"The most effective way of finding it is putting your thumb and index finger together," said Dr. Taw.

Apply pressure for 15 to 20 seconds.

"You press until you feel a sensation, that's how you know you're stimulating the point. For some people, it's very minimal stimulation, for other people you have to go much deeper," said Dr. Taw.

Jennifer Walters at Shape Magazine wrote: 3 Ways to de-stress over the holidays, November 2011. My favorite tip she gave was number 3: Say "no." Most of us get stressed during the holidays because we're overscheduled and feel obligated to do things when we really don't feel like it (or have the time). So this year, make a commitment to do less and prioritize your time for only the events that are the most important to you. Do this, and you'll kick holiday stress to the curb.

Saying, "No", yeah I have an issue saying that word, too often I find myself overwhelmed because I commited myself to doing too many things at the same time, because I just couldn't say "no". Well that will be my buzz word this year, well at least to a certain extent it will...

Above are only three of probably hundreds of great articles on tips and solutions to deal with stress during the holdiays, I know if you type in your search engine "de-stress during the holidays" you will get hundreds more, but I would like to hear from you, what do you to de-stress, or not get too overwhelmed, or deal with the anxiety of the holiday season, leave me a comment, I'd love to hear from you.

Happy knitting!!!

It's Crunch Time!

I am getting down to the wire with the upcoming Pre-Black Friday Holiday Bazaar that I'm participating in again this year. I found out last weekend that they have extended the event to two days! Oh, I'm so not ready.  I've been working hard on orders from my Etsy Shop, that I haven't had any time to work on product for the craft bazaar!

I will be knitting every night until the day of the bazaar. Which by the way, will be held, November 19th and 20th, at the Kent Station Shopping Center in Kent. We will be located in the shop next door to Kay Jewelers. I'm very excited to be a part of this event again. I did fairly well last year with orders. Last year, due to our location we were hard to find, but this year we are in a better venue with a lot more exposure. The Kent Station Shopping Center has a lot of foot traffic and with the holidays coming there will be even more!

We are in a bigger space as well so there will be even more vendors this year!  Some of those vendors include: Andre Art (African-American artwork), Pearl Blossom (hair accessories), Handmade Jewelry by Amber Miller, Addie's Gifts (home decor), Scentsy (candles), Thirty-One (purses), Soap Society (handmade soaps & lotions), Miche Bags (purses), Mary Kay (make-up & skin care), Tupperware (cooking supplies, food storage, etc.), Dancing Light (crochet items), Pure Romance (adult items, lotions, creams, etc), Four Footed Fiber (hand-spun yarn and hand knitted items), Stella & Dot (jewelry), Cookie Lee (jewelry), Discovery Toys (educational toys, books, & games), Taylor Made Pantry (cake pops), Soul Boutique (vintage items: purses, jewelry, scraves, etc.), Hair Designs by Tracey (hair accessories), Dinner Pies by Carol (dinner pies), Usborne Books (children's books), Skarlet's Intimates (women's lingerie), and much more!

I hope I will see some of you there!  And now I need to get back to my knitting otherwise my booth will be very empty!  Happy knitting!

P.S. Anyone who places an order from my Etsy Shop between now and November 18th will receive FREE SHIPPING (to domestic destination only), use the following coupon code when placing your order: KMFREESHIP.  Thank you!

The Countdown Begins...Only 11 Weeks Until Christmas

OMG, I cannot believe we are already in October.  I was in Big Lots two weeks ago and the Christmas decorations are already out! There wasn't a lot, but the fact that they were out in September blew my mind!

My goodness I'm so behind on my holiday knitting. I got started on these colorwork team spirit hats just to try my hand at designing and knitting in more than one color and I've gotten so many friends asking me if I could make them a hat.

What am I going to do? I love that my knitting has improved to the point that I'm actually getting requests to create or design knitted items, but I always do this to myself every year, I get bogged down with special request items that I fall behind on my gift giving projects because well there are a lot of people who want to give handmade knitted gifts to their friends and family too and either don't have the skill or just don't have the time to make it themselves.

Also, I've been trying to get items done so that I can post them to my Etsy Shop for purchase and everytime I complete a new project, I get a request to make one for a friend and I end up not getting it into my shop. Which is wonderful and exciting but my online shop really suffers because it isn't getting the exposure I'd like to get because I'm not posting new product at least weekly. But on the other-hand I'm not complaining because with the requests from my friends and co-workers comes more orders from their friends.

I'm hoping at some point, probably after the holidays, I will have some time to write down the pattern for the ear flap hat that am using to create my custom team/school spirit hats so others can make it too!

Happy holiday knitting to you all, and I hope you have gotten started on your gift knitting or if you haven't you are planning to soon - Christmas will be here before you know it!

Finishing some long awaited UFOs

I was kind of at loose ends last night. I was really happy that I finished quite a few hats over the weekend and even tried my hand at a tri-color beanie on Monday night, but last night I was kind of lost and frustrated. I didn't want to start a new project or work on the current projects I have going right now.  You see, I have what one of my fellow knitters calls Knitter ADD - I start projects that I find interesting and then quickly lose interest in them when the knitting gets too boring. So I was afraid if I started a new project I was going to get bored with it before I could finish it and would be consigned to the WIPs bag sitting in the corner, which is already overflowing with UFOs.

I know many of you also suffer from this terrible affliction and I'd like for you to join me in stopping this debilitating problem - repeat after me: I [state your name] will spend the remainder of this month as well as the month of October diving into that seemingly bottomless WIPs bag to finish all those long-awaited UFOs that I have put off for far too long!

Now doesn't that feel better?  You have committed yourself to getting those UFOs finished and who knows, that shawl you'd been meaning to finish may make a wonderful gift this holiday season for your mother-in-law or that one sock who still needs its match could be a nice gift for your husband who has been waiting patiently for you to finish for him!

I have many such projects myself and I made mention of two of them in a July post, Heat Wave?! Not So Much in the Puget Sound. In this post I had finished The Big Bag that had been sitting around for about six months waiting for the handles to be finished and sewn on as well as sew in the lining. I also mentioned Cecil the Sockless Monkey, who has been sitting around only half-done for over a year.  Last night I was feeling really sorry for poor Cecil because he'd been waiting for me to finish his head and arms for so long!  I pulled poor Cecil from the WIPs bag and I worked on him while watching Ringer [new show on the CW with Sarah Michelle Gellar].

The pattern is stockinette stitch all the way, which is probably why I got bored with him, but I have gotten as far as the decreasing for the head.  If you don't remember from that previous post, this is what he looked like before:

I have to stuff him some more before I start decreasing for the head and once I have, I will have another photo after his head is complete.

Another UFO that I will be finishing this month will be the Men's Crew Neck Pullover (Rav link) I started last year. It was going to be a Christmas gift, but because I ran out of time, I just stuffed it in my bag to finish at a later date.  Now, almost a whole year has gone by and the size is all wrong for the intended recipient and I'm not sure if I should frog it and start all over again in the right size, or finish it and just add it to my Etsy Shop for someone else to purchase for their little one!  This is how far I've gotten with it:

As you can see I'm just past the point of separating front and back for the armholes and almost to the shoulders and neck.  It would be a shame to frog it, but its too small for my four year old nephew - who will be turning five right before Christmas. Hmmm....decisions, decisions!  I may have to come back to this one because it is a lot of work completed to have to start all over again.

Then there is the Basketcase Jacket (Rav link) that hasn't gotten very far and could very well be frogged and the yarn used for something else:

Would love to hear from all of you who took the oath to finish up their UFOs this month and October!  Happy knitting!!!

Update: Finished body and head of Cecil:

Cecil is almost complete, he still needs his arms, face and tail!

Only 157 more days until Christmas!

Are you counting down the days?  I don't like to but as a knitter who likes to give handmade items to family and friends during the holidays, I have to, I gotta set deadlines so I get all my handmade gifts done! Because, of course I'm thinking in my head I have plenty of time to get all done, but when October starts creeping closer, I realize I haven't started any of my holiday knitting and I'm in a state of panic, thinking "oh no, I'm so behind!"

So this year, like Santa, I'm making my list, checking it twice, trying to figure out which projects to start and which to put off til later! My goal this year is to try to finish at least one gift item between after every summer item I complete.  And this goal actually kills two birds with one stone, because I can dig into my WIP bag and finish gift items I didn't get done last year and give them as gifts this year.

This year's list includes: 

For my brother, I'd like to make him this really cool hat that I found on Debbie Stoller's Stitch Nation website of free patterns called New York State of Mind, its so appropriate for him, since he lives in upstate New York.  He is one of the only members of my family who has not been a recipient of my handmade items and I think I need to remedy that this year.  

Photo courtesy of Debbie Stoller's
Stitch Nation Free Patterns

For my nieces, the slouchy hats seem to be very popular. So I've chosen two different patterns and they include, another free pattern from Debbie Stoller's Stitch Nation website, the All-Day Beret and from the Knitty, Spring 2009 edition, the Reverie beret by Amy Swenson. For which I have already completed two, see my previous post Thinking about my holiday knitting already or my hats page for pictures of my finished objects.

For my five nephews I'm leaning toward hat and scarf sets, but haven't found any that have caught my eye yet.  I really should finish the Basketcase Jacket by Tara Jon Manning I started last November for the NaKniSweMo [National Knit a Sweater in a Month]  that was supposed to go to one of them last year for Christmas. But it is still in WIP bag. I think it may be time to pull it back out and finally finish it.



Photo courtesy of my November 2010 post:
NaKniSweMo - Knit a Sweater in a Month! 

Or I could finish the crew neck pullover that I also started last November for my littlest nephew who was turning four at that time. I am already at the separation for the sleeves and working the back of the sweater back and forth and then do the same for the front. But I'm thinking this might be too small for my almost five year old nephew. I had already modified the design to make it smaller for a child size but now I'm not sure. And I would really hate to frog this and have to start all over.

Men's Crew Kneck Pullover (Rav Link) by Kris Percival
published in Speed Knitting: 24 Quick and Easy Projects (Rav link)

In my queue, on Ravelry, I have Buddy Bear by Lion Brand a softie toy that I want to make for my grandniece. It is a crochet pattern, sometimes its nice to change up in my fiber crafting, just so I don't get too bored.  And this guy looks like he will be fun to make.

Photo courtesy of Lion Brand
Buddy Bear crochet pattern

Isn't he just adorable? I think he will be cherished and loved for a very long time and hopefully saved to pass on to her little one some day.

For my four sisters, I think I may make them one of my market bags. I know they really liked them when I posted them on Facebook. Or I could make them spa sets, I know two of my sisters really enjoyed receiving these as birthday gifts last year.

Whew, so many projects and so little time to do them all! When do you start making your list for your handmade gift items?  Love to hear from all you fiber artists out there, come on over and leave me a comment.

Holiday shoppers were out this weekend getting their early Christmas shopping done

It was a nice surprise to see the snow coming down yesterday afternoon.  It's still coming down right now like I'm used to seeing in my old hometown of Troy, NY.  I wonder if my family has gotten any snow yet?  If they haven't this will be a first that we got snow here in Washington before them.

But this little snow blip hasn't kept the shoppers home this past weekend.  I participated in a Pre-Black Friday Holiday Bazaar, my first in about 20 years, I evolved into knitwear.  Hats and scarves are a necessity for this first snow of the season. I began knitting about 4 years ago and have found a community that is growing in popularity among the young and the old, men and women, celebrities and just the average Joe.  Knitting is no longer a lost art, it seems to be coming back into fashion [Knitting: not your grandmother's hobby].

The Bazaar opened it's doors at 11:00 a.m. and were there until 6:00 p.m. and had a steady flow of shoppers which many of the vendors were very happy with overall.  Had the opportunity to speak with the event coordinator and she has already received requests for participation next year - so much so, she has to find a larger location.  I took a couple of pictures of the event seen below.

We had a little of everything for all the shoppers who came through: Discovery Toys, Taylor Made Pantry (tried her pumpkin spice pop - awesome!), Miche Bags, Cookie Lee, Adalynn's Bowtique, Cute as a Bug, Creative Memories, Blue Sky Foundation, AloeforMocha, Mary Kay, Tupperware, Greetings by Moe & Mora, Stella & Dot, The Finest Accessories, Addies Gifts, Soul Purpose, Hero on My Wrist, Xocai Chocolates, and Passion.  We had a great time!  I'm looking forward to doing this again.

I sold a few items - people loved the Fun Fur hats - they were a big hit! I have several orders for these in several different colors.  After I complete my orders from the bazaar, my charity donations, and my family's gifts, I will be taking a much needed break from knitting - give my hands and fingers a break.

Oh the weather outside is frightful...but the knitting is so delightful

I've been living in Washington now for nine years and I have to say living in the Pacific Northwest is very different from living in upstate New York, for one thing you don't have to shovel rain - thank goodness for that!  I admit during this time of year I miss the white stuff, but not enough to wish New York kind of snowfall on the unsuspecting Pacific Nothwesters of course.  What a disaster that would be!

But I love this time of year (with or without the snow), because I can sit by the fireplace with a Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas (24 hours of Holiday movies & specials every day) and my latest knitting project in my lap.  There's even a couple of radio stations (Warm 106.9 and KJRFM 95.7) that have already started playing Christmas music - I know it's a bit early but listening to the holiday music helps me to get into the spirit. And there is nothing like knitting a little love into a sweater, hat, scarf, or a pair of mittens for a family member or friend while listening to the songs of the season.

And seeing your knitted gifts being worn and enjoyed or receiving pictures from family members of them or their children sporting them is a real kick.

Christmas 2006

My niece Joi (right) pictured with
her best bud in Fun Fur hats
and matching ponchos

I also like seeing what others make this time of year too and my friend Erika made this cute little hat and scarf set for her two year old son for Christmas and it is absolutely the cutest thing - she designed it herself - I'm trying to convince her to write out the pattern...

Duck scarf and pumpkin hat
made by Erika

I have a sister who lives in Baltimore, Maryland and she has four children (Joi pictured above in the Fun Fur hat and scarf is one of them) and every year I send a big Christmas package to her for the kids and she told me once that her youngest daughter who was about four or five at the time jumped up and down when she saw the box that was delivered to their house - she was so so excited she ran to her siblings yelling, "Auntie Stacy's box is here!" she just knew there were all kinds of goodies inside.  My sister said she was more excited about the box I sent than all the gifts under the tree! Doesn't that make you just wanna smile?  It makes my heart sing to know that my sweet little niece looks forward to getting her annual Christmas package from her Auntie.  Last year's project was felted slippers and becasue I fell behind on my projects I wasn't able to send out the package until January. My sister said it was like Christmas all over again in her house - they were a big hit with all the kids. Matter of fact they were a big hit with everyone in my family and quite a few friends as well.

My son sporting his felted slippers

My friend Amber showing off her
Fun fur pair

Made for my friend Angie for her
birthday

Made for my niece Joi
last year for Christmas

This year's Christmas projects are a combination of different things, hats, scarves, shrugs, and socks.  Every year I try to learn something new so I can get proficient enough to mass produce for the holidays.  Learning this craft has brought back many memories for me, particularly during this time of year.  I remember watching my mom make us hats, mittens, and booties for our feet to wear around the house or to bed - they sure came in handy when the temperatures dropped below freezing and our house would get very, very cold - but those little booties kept our little tootsies nice and warm in our little beds.  I really miss my Mom, she passed away just three days before Christmas in 1992 and I often wish that she was still here so that we could sit and knit together, teaching, learning and just enjoying the time together.

In closing I want to wish everyone a season of great thanksgiving, joy, peace and happiness.  Happy holidays to everyone and happy knitting/crocheting!





The Holidays are almost here! Do you know what you're knitting?

Only seven more weeks (OMG is that correct?) until Christmas! Do you know what you're knitting and giving as gifts this year?  I have so many nephews and nieces I have to start knitting for the next year right after Christmas. 

Well this year as always, I have procrastinated and now am behind on my gift projects. I've been concentrating solely on making items for the Pre-Black Friday Holiday Bazaar that I'm participating in that I have completely neglected my family's projects.  My consolation is if my items don't sell then I can give them as gifts, which in my book is a win-win situation.

Last year's gifts for the fam were felted slippers - I made twenty-two pairs and was still mailing off slippers in March of this year. They were such a big hit that I have back orders that I still haven't filled.  So this coming weekend will probably be devoted to back order items and finishing those pesky unfinished projects hidden in my upstairs closet (you know the old saying..."out of sight, out of mind").  Well that's where they've been for a couple of years, out of mind - but not anymore, it's time they saw the light of day once again and finally get finished - no more putting it off...well that's the plan anyway.  Can you tell I'm trying to psych myself up for this endeavor?  Is it working?  Not really...but I know it must be done.

So last night I went through the bag I had hidden away upstairs and found that I had no reason to be intimidated - there seemed to only be crochet projects in the bag and only two knitted caps that I cleary had intended to give as a gift but never did.  Apparently this is my MO, I get excited about a new hat pattern, knit it, and then squirl it away in a bag in the back of the closet.  Well no more - these cute little caps will find a new home, once I make a nice matching scarf or fingerless gloves to go with them. So I pulled them from their hiding place and right now have them lined up across the back of my couch settled on styrofoam heads like the one you see here that a friend of mine is letting me borrow to display them at my table during the holiday bazaar.  They look really kind of cool - but my son thinks that I've really gone off the deep end when he saw the heads sitting on the back of the couch with all these hats on them!  He says I'm turning into a knit-a-holic, and that's a bad thing? 

Well it looks like this year, hats and scarves and/or fingerless gloves are on the agenda for the fam - my first attempts at making hats was when I first began to knit several years ago. I only knew how to work on straight needles and had to sew a seam up the back of my hats. Well I certainly hope that I've advanced a little since then.  When I discovered patterns that showed you how to make hats without seams using circular needles I was doing the happy dance - my hats now look so much better without the seam going up the back - as my mother (who was a seamstress that did piece work for a big manufacturing company) would attest I'm a terrible seamstress and I am very happy not to have to sew anything if I can help it.  Thank goodness for circular needles!

So I'd like to hear from you about what's on your needles for the holiday gift giving season, post a comment and tell me what about your favorite pattern or item you like to give as gifts.

Rolled brim skull cap - 1st time using
circular needles

back view: 1st time decreasing on double-pointed
needles (dpns)