Confessions of a Serial Knitter

Art Fire - the New Etsy?

2009-12-16T14:40:00.000-05:00

Does anyone have any experience, feedback, comments on www.ArtFire.com? It looks like the only thing that sets it apart from Etsy is the listing fee. The last I knew, Etsy charged $0.20. Artfire apparently charges nothing on the basic (free) account, which has a 12 item list max. But I could be completely and totally wrong. Chime in...

EWV 0926-2009, Baby Bunting

2009-11-20T05:00:00.000-05:00

Started: September 26, 2009Finished: October 9, 2009

EWV 0918-2009, Ruffled Legwarmers

2009-11-06T05:00:00.002-05:00

Started: September 18, 2009Finished: September 24, 2009With simple shaping and easy to follow instructions, this pattern made me remember how beautiful moss stitch can be! Now all I have to do is muster the ... strength to wear them outdoors. Apparently, they are coming back in style?

EWV 0914-2009, Blue Legwarmers

2009-10-30T05:00:00.000-04:00

Started: September 14, 2009Finished: September 18, 2009Now all that's left to do is build the courage to wear them.

EWV 0911-2009, Blue Raceback Tank

2009-10-23T05:00:00.002-04:00

Started: September 11, 2009Finished: September 13, 2009Lately, I've been falling back on a easy patterns that I've worked before. Going back to the beginning of the year, I decided to pick up the Cropped Vest pattern (EWV 0209-2009 and EWV 0128-2009). This time, I changed up the decreases and made it a little longer. Instead of performing the decreases two stitches away, I pushed it out one

EWV 0909-2009, Blanketed Blue Beret

2009-10-16T05:00:00.001-04:00

Started: September 9, 2009Finished: September 10, 2009I pretty much made this up as I went along, but based it off of a blanket pattern from my pattern collection. I messed up the back a little bit because I hadn't yet gotten the hang of altering a pattern. It took me some time to figure out the pattern repeat, and then apply it to knitting in the round. As a result, I have a small patch of

EWV 0906-2009, Cranberry Weekend Vest

2009-10-09T05:00:00.001-04:00

Started: September 6, 2009Finished: September 7, 2009I loved the Apricot Weekend Vest (EWV 0829-2009) so much that I had to make another. This time around, I made it a little longer partially because I wanted it longer, but also because I didn't want a lot of leftover yarn!

EWV 0905-2009, Blue Beret

2009-10-02T05:00:00.002-04:00

Started: September 5, 2009Finished: September 6, 2009

EWV 0904-2009, Apricot Textured Vest

2009-09-25T05:00:00.004-04:00

Started: September 4, 2009Finished: September 8, 2009It's a little chunkier than I thought, but I still like it. I'm still trying to figure out what color shirt to wear underneath of it. My first thought is black, with some jeans - but I could be wrong.

EWV 0829-2009, Apricot Weekend Vest

2009-09-18T05:00:00.008-04:00

Started: August 29, 2009Finished: August 30, 2009This vest was the ultimate weekend project; I started and finished it in one weekend!! Of course, it helped that it's super bulky yarn and size 15 needles - but we don't need to focus on that part; I'm trying to build up some knitting mojo. It was super easy and mindless knitting and went perfectly with Wrong Turn (yes, I know it's an awful

EWV 0320-2009, Horseshoe Sweater (Vest)

2009-09-11T05:00:00.000-04:00

I finished the little sweater that I started near the beginning of this year; but, unfortunately, I just don't like the way it turned out: I think (or at the very least, I hope) it turned out so poorly because it was a serious stash buster project; like ... the yarn was really crappy. Normally, I'm not a yarn snob and will knit with whatever I can get my hands on and/or can afford. But this

EWV 0823-2009, Mule Socks

2009-09-04T05:00:00.002-04:00

I had some leftover yarn from EWV 0314-2009 (Ankle Socks), but not enough for another pair of socks - at least, another pair of standard socks. So I decided now was the time to try to write my own pattern, and of course start with something super easy. Remember that video tutorial I posted about toe-up cast-on techniques? I used it to start my pattern for a mule sock. Something small. And

EWV 0314-2009, Ankle Socks

2009-08-28T05:00:00.003-04:00

I cast off the first sock of EWV 0314-2009 on August 15th; although, I didn't actually stitch the toe or weave the end until August 16th. And speaking of stitching the toe, I've said it once - and I'll say it again; I'd much rather cast off, then stitch than to do kitchener stitch for the toe. Cast off & stitch is just much easier and looks cleaner to me too. I'm sure there are some who can do

EWV 0216-2009, Mini Blanket

2009-08-21T05:00:00.000-04:00

As you may know, I've been really struggling to keep up with my knitting. While blankets take considerable longer to make than most other things simply because of their size, I still should be farther along than I am with EWV 0216-2009. I guess it's not a race though, right? Notwithstanding, I've only got about 11 inches of EWV 0216-2009 done. It's supposed to 40 inches if I remember

Toe Up Sock Knitting

2009-08-14T05:00:00.004-04:00

For about a year now, I've been curious about toe-up sock knitting. And I had even tried it at one point, but failed because I could not visualize the cast on. Why it took me so long to find this video is a mystery, but I'm glad I found it. The presentation is a bit ... cheesy, but the information is marvelous:

Sutter Mill Throw

2009-08-07T05:00:00.000-04:00

Lionbrands new Sutter Mill Throw is marvelous, and I would love to have one.Unfortunately, I don't have $70 to get the yarn. Perhaps more importantly, I don't have the motivation or will to pick up my needles and finish my WIPs - let alone start something else that will likely meet the same fate.I'm ready for 2009 to be over and done with. Will 2010 be any better?

EWV 0314-2009 - Ankle Socks

2009-07-24T05:00:00.000-04:00

I'm not entirely sure why I can't seem to get these made. The pattern is easy; you don't get much easier than stockinette in the round! Knitting isn't a time sport, so I'll cast off when I get there. ;)

EWV 0319-2009 - Palindrome Scarf

2009-06-26T05:00:00.000-04:00

I haven't been doing much knitting lately, so updates are few and far between. My Palindrome Scarf is coming along slowly despite the fact that the pattern is super easy. But then, winter is along way away - so I'm not pressed for time on this one.

Earn Money Knitting (Part II)

2009-06-12T05:00:00.002-04:00

I was surfing the interweb and came across something new: Selling hand-made items can be a tricky business. The market goes up and down, as well as the amount of competition. Figuring out how much to charge for your knitting can be a great guessing game that will leave you with nothing but headaches. Consider pricing carefully before you get started for best results.First, think about the

EWV 0320-2009 - Horseshoe Sweater

2009-06-05T05:00:00.000-04:00

Once again, this knit has no home yet. But it's something to knit, and use up some stash. It's basically the same sweater as EWV 0227-2009 and EWV 0108-2009, but with a horseshoe cable thrown in there. Maybe I should stockpile these homeless knits and saunter on down to a craft fair or something? Who knows, by the time the Sugarloaf comes around next year - I may have enough to get a booth...

Yarn Overcomers: Knitting Lessons for Recession Survivors!

2009-05-22T05:00:00.002-04:00

From the Lionbrand Notebook, I learned about YO! (Yarn Overcomers)."Right away I noticed whenever I started knitting and stuff and I would get my mind into it, it was the few moments that I had at first where I was relaxed and at peace,"-Gene McCrearyI have mixed feelings about this. Mainly, I think it's a wonderful idea and more power to Gene and other recession survivors. But the darker side of

Vera - (almost) 1 Year Later

2009-05-15T05:00:00.004-04:00

Vera is now a year old!!! While she hasn't been with me for a year yet (I picked her on June 26, 2008), she is a year old. And here's one of her very first pictures: Here she is now ... all growned up and poised for her Sunday afternoon walk: And check out my mother's creativity; she bought this for me ... from Ocelot and Vera ;) Here Ocelot relaxing after a hard day of sleeping :)

Ping.fm

2009-05-01T05:00:00.000-04:00

This is yet another non-knitting related post, but I wanted to share. I recently found out about Ping.fm. It's an all-in-one update application that makes it easy to participate in multiple social networking sites. To test this out, I've revisited Twitter and signed up for Plurk. With Ping.fm, I don't have to log into these services to update my statuses. With one simple instant message from

EWV 0216-2009, Mini Blanket

2009-04-10T05:00:00.000-04:00

For quite some time now, I've been telling myself to make a blanket. And I'm just now getting around to it. Technically, I guess it's a baby blanket; but it doesn't have to be in function. I'll probably end up using it to cover my legs & feet while I watch TV. Or, maybe by the time I'm done, some "Obama babies" will have been born, and I might know someone who has one. In any case, it will

Knitting Tax Break - How Much Do You Spend On Your Knitting?

2009-04-03T05:00:00.003-04:00

The Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers to follow appropriate guidelines when determining whether an activity is a business or a hobby, an activity not engaged in for profit.In order to educate taxpayers regarding their filing obligations, this fact sheet, the eleventh in a series, explains the rules for determining if an activity qualifies as a business and what limitations apply if the