It would appear I made a mistake in my last blog entry. I posted a link that would put Violeta in your shopping cart on Ravelry, which was not my intent. I just wanted everyone to see it was out there and could be purchased. So the better link is the one that goes to my store. I've also edited out the link in the last post.
Sorry about that folks and thanks to Janice for finding it!
Ok, I know that sounds a bit crazy, but hear me out. Back in Feb there was a whirlwind of designing to get Violeta out in time for Stitches West. Thanks to the deadline from Erin at Bobbin's Nest I was able to design and publish my very first for pay pattern. It was wonderfully exciting, but a bit rushed. Also, I didn't have time to develop a brand for Stick Chick Knits, so the pattern was on the generic side.
I kept meaning to actually get around to some site design and branding. After I started getting feedback from knitters I realized the pattern wasn't as clear as I would have liked either. So my wonderful little pattern was starting to make me a bit sad. I wanted it pretty and perfect and out on Ravelry and SCK and it wasn't.
It sat and sat as a weight on my shoulders for months. Then woosh, I quit my day job and could focus full time. But it wasn't until Wendee at Hazel Knits said she needed copies for a show tomorrow that I finally got off my duff.
So thanks to that deadline I hired Ada to tech edit for me and we spent the better part of this last week completely revamping the pattern. If you've got the old version, drop me a note and I'll send you a new copy. After that was done it was a crazy late night with Grant working on the layout. Today was fighting to get it able to print at Wendee's house.
But at long last it is done. It is pretty and perfect (to me). It's available for sale on Ravelry. When Grant finishes my site it will be available for sale there too.
So I say yay deadlines, without them I wouldn't get anything done.
Edited to correct Ravelry link.
I met five new folks that share my love of fiber. We chatted, knit and drank tea. It's interesting how one simple shared hobby can bring random strangers together. I had a wonderful time and look forward to going back next week.
Lest you think I didn't get any knitting done, I made some serious progress on my modified manitou 2, this time knit in the Vaa colorway of Malabrigo worsted. It feels very Seattle to me and that is a very good thing.
Zig, the cats and I arrived safe and sound in Seattle on Monday. Thanks to our friends Ryan and Sara I was able to tote the kid, the cats and my suitcases, claim my new home and stay sane. Yay for friends.
On Tuesday Grant and his Dad arrived. Our stuff, however, will not arrive until next week. So we're sleeping on an air bed and sitting on comforters as couches. Living with very little stuff makes me realize how much excess crap I've got. Really about all I miss is my desktop computer and my couches. Well, now that we have internet access that is. It's been a very long time since I went this many days without an internet connection. Some people say the internet isolates us, but actually, I feel the opposite is true.
For me it's a great way to stay in touch with long distance friends and keep up with what they're up to. It's also a great way to make new friends. I've got a new knitting group to go to this coming Monday all thanks to the net. Sure, you could argue that there are better ways to stay in touch and to meet new people. But when you're juggling a family and a new career you're not always free to pick up the phone and chat when you want. Compound that with the fact that your friends and family have lives and suddenly it's very difficult to stay in touch.
So hooray for the internet, it's great to be back!
Apparently, this is all of my crafting stuff (minus the aforementioned yarn). I expected the sewing stuff, but I did not expect even more yarn! Talk about a mess.
My next post will be after the move I'm sure. Be good, have fun and I'll write more next week!
I was talking to a friend online yesterday and realized that though I'd agreed to make a pair of socks for her mom, I'd never finished them. So I went digging through my stash yesterday and found this.
It's a pattern I was making up as I went along. Of course, I took no notes. So now I have to decide whether to plow on to the end (just have the toe left) and try to decipher my own knitting as I make sock number 2 or if I should just frog the thing and start over.
Here's my take, I like the pattern, mostly. Hate what I did with the cuff and am worried it will be too big through the leg. It fits my leg, but it's meant for a woman that is very thin and wears a size 5 shoe.
So do I cut off the cuff and work another cuff with smaller needles going up? Will a smaller cuff be enough to make this fit a small woman? Ugh, so much for a quick finish on a lingering UFO.
Last month the owner of our house advised us that she's selling the place. She then kindly offered it to us for $910,000. As we don't exactly have that kind of money we were forced to start looking for a new place to live. We discovered the rental market is abysmal right now. Our choices were back to apartment life (now with added kiddo), switch to a cheaper neighborhood (and give up all the things we love about the Peninsula) or pay $3500 a month in rent. So we voted none of the above.
We took a little trip and decided to leave the state. Here are some shots from our visit. Can you tell where we went? It's going to be our new home for the next year, and likely longer.
We've crunched the numbers and by moving I can now bring in $0 each month and we're still fiscally in the same boat. With the added bonus that in a couple years we could buy a house there (as it is about half the cost of the Bay). So for the first time in my life I get to choose what I want to do (as opposed to making the best choice of what will pay the bills). This is a huge blessing and I'm so excited!
I wish I could have done it here in California, as I'm a native and it will always be home in my heart. But I just can't pass up the chance to finally find a career that makes me happy. So once we move next month I'm going to put 100% of my efforts into Stick Chick Knits! I'll be designing and selling like a mad woman along with teaching at some of the LYSs. I'm also going to have a ton more time to spend with Zig, and that's a great thing.
For Mother's Day Grant got me the best gift of all, a new website design! We spent Zig's entire nap brainstorming and playing with colors and designs. SCK has a new face, but you won't see it just yet because he's got to write the code to actually make the pretty pictures come to life. I'm going to use the same design for my patterns as well to tie it all together. I'm so excited! But the icing on my Mother's Day was our trip to Cold Stone. Zig sat in a normal chair (no booster seat) and shared an ice cream with us. He fed himself using his own spoon. I almost cried. I can't believe at 15 months he's sitting in a chair feeding himself. He ate pancakes with a fork Saturday morning. It goes so fast.
Here's my new favorite photo of the little guy. We were visiting Tammy and her family and he fell in love with the princess chair. I died laughing when I saw this photo.
