Listed, finished and new

I just listed another item on Etsy. This little "Tea for Two" mini framed quilt really is very cute. I struggle with whether or not to sell some of my things. I can't use them or display them all and I keep making new things, but I become very attached to my creations.

I also finished this Market Bag. I sort of customized it so it could be used for a knitting carry all bag. A few girls at my knit shop said they would like something that they could attach to themselves, to hold their knitting, that they could actually walk around while they knit. So I made a pocket that I attached to the inside made out of a batik fabric that velcros closed. This can hold small items or scissors and knitting needles. Attached at the top of the bag by the shoulder strap is a charm clip that holds charm stitch markers. Then I put two snaps at the top of the bag. The shoulder strap stays on your shoulder since it's a yarn and not slippery. It works better over your head and shoulder. I've tried it out and it works well.

The latest item I've started is this little knitted rainbow beanie hat. It's made from a thin wool on size 6 needles. I think it's going to be very cute. I love little hats in late fall and winter.

As the nights get longer and the weather gets cooler, I get more done.

Fixing and Adjusting

I tried to get the business cards I designed printed at a local print shop and that didn't work either. I guess I'll have to pay an outside source to get these made correctly. I'm just giving up for now.

I'm also loving the Piknik picture editing site. Free at http://www.piknik.com/ It's so much easier to use than Paint.Net. My pictures on my Etsy site are getting better. Fun but, again, very time consuming.

I posted another item on Etsy today. This is a mini quilt pillow.

I need to be knitting or sewing during my evening TV time, though, instead of blogging. I was trying to schedule myself to blog during the day. There doesn't seem to be time during the day, either. I need to organize my time a little better, I guess. I have too many things I try to do, want to do, need to do, like to do, every day. I just don't understand people that complain of being bored. This never happens to me.

New Stuff

I put another mini framed quilt on Etsy today. I'm getting the hang of this Etsy thing, but it's taking a lot of my time. I know I'll get a better understanding of it as I go. Pictures are a major part of it. I just downloaded a free photo editing site called Piknik and have played around with it a little bit. It seems to be a little friendlier to use than Paint.Net, which I've been using.

I also tried to design and print my own business cards today and I got the design part done and they look really cute, but my printer (HP Inkjet) wouldn't feed the business card stock correctly and I wasted several sheets of that. I think tomorrow I'll go into Staples and see if they can print them for me. I get frustrated because this computer stuff is slow moving for me. And I know I'm not going to make a tremendous amount of money, but I'm really enjoying it. My Bob, though, is going to start to get impatient with me because I know I'm sort of ignoring other things. Don't you just wish that you could do your thing all day with no one bothering you? Not going to happen! That's why I stay up late at night. Bob not happy about that either.

I've also started knitting another Market Bag with a thicker wool yarn for fall/winter. I'm thinking of making it into a knit project carry bag. You know, to carry your yarn, needles, etc. I will put a fabric pouch inside for small items so they don't fall through the holes. But I'm running out of yarn so I hope my yarn shop has more of it.

The brighter colors showing is the bottom. We'll see what I end up with. Sometimes it's not always what I start out with in my head.

Etsy is Up and Running

Finally! I did it! I've been thinking about it and talking about it and making things for quite a while now. Then I procrastinated on actually doing it. Getting an Etsy site. For any of you that don't know what this is, it's a site to buy and sell anything handmade. There are some amazing things on this site for sale and some very talented people. I think that's why I hesitated so long. Everything on there looks so nice and professional, I hope mine measures up. So I decided to take the leap and we'll see what happens. It's been fun, even if I don't sell anything.
I've put up a link on the sidebar of both my blog sites if you would like to check it out. I hope to have more items on there this week. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. I figure I just needed to jump in and learn and improve as I go. In addition to my mini quilts, I plan on putting up some knitted items and probably aprons. The aprons I question because some of the other sites showing aprons are selling them for so little that I don't know if it's worth it if I keep my prices the same as some of these other ones. I'll have to think on this.

Creating My Little Heart Out!

Another apron and a knitted bag. I've been busy and having fun. Although it's been taking time from my blogging. It's just so hard to do everything. I started this hostess apron before we left on our trip to Spokane and didn't have that much more to do on it when we got back last Monday. There are some projects that I just become obsessed about when I start them and this was one of them. It was a lot of fun. I thought it would be cute to wear while preparing a girl friend's luncheon or afternoon tea. Now if I only had time to do either of those.

Here's a close-up to show the lace and button on the pockets.

I bought this yarn before I left for Spokane and wanted something to knit that would be rather simple knitting that I could do while riding for 36 hours in a U-Haul. So I decided on a Market Bag that I found a pattern for.

The plain lavender was used for the bottom and trim around the top. This was a great travelling project.

But, this bag stretches, especially after putting stuff in it, and I didn't allow for that. I was just enjoying the knitting and just kept going, so it got a little longer than I really wanted. This bag is great for carrying knitting projects, groceries, beach or pool bag, overnight bag, use your imagination. Because of the large open knit you can't put anything too small in it, so I sewed a small fabric pouch that I attached to the top of the inside to put any small items in. It actually shows prettier and brighter in person than in the picture. I can't wait to make another one that's not quite as large.

New Award, Thank You Charmine

Thank you, Charmine, for this adorable award. You are also one of my top ten so I pass right back to you. It feels so good to know that my ramblings that sometimes go on too long and my creations that bring me pure joy, are at least looked at by a few others.

The one rule is to pass on to my favorite top ten. I really can't do that. I have to pass on to all of you wonderfully creative people that are sweet enough to follow this blog of mine. So if you are one of my followers, please accept this award and please check out each other's sites if you aren't already familiar with them. I hope I'm not cheating by breaking the rule just a little, but that's the only way I can do it.

Thanks again, Charmine. I am very appreciative.

More Aprons, Coming Up

My first apron is finished. I've always had this desire to make aprons and now I know why the thought appealed to me. You can be so creative with them. The pattern is really pretty basic and easy, and then you add, change, embellish, etc. and each one is unique and fun. So this is the first and while making this one I had many more ideas come to me, so I'm on to the next one.

Here it is showing it tied in back. I need to get a dressmaker form to model this better or model it myself, I guess, but that means I should dress up a little and put on some make up. I don't have time for that.

Then here it is with the long ties wrapped around to the front and tied.

And here's a close-up of the button and lace embellishment I did on the pocket. I inherited a big tin of old buttons that my grandmother had collected over the years and another tin from a good friend of my mother's. I love just going through these tins to see what's there and how I can play with them.

Now I'm so inspired I have the fabrics picked out for my next one. I think this one will be a hostess or half apron with this whimsical hat fabric as the main body and the green, yellow and pink stripe maybe for the tie and either one of the greens or the pink for the pockets and trim. It will come clear as I move forward.

I think I am going to sell these, but I don't know where, or how, or how much yet. I don't want to have to get into sales tax and that kind of thing just starting out so I don't know how that works if I take them into a few little boutiques that I know of, do they take care of that? And do I need to bother with any legalities or taxes on Etsy? Then I have to account for S&H and what to charge for that. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.