Knitting on Etsy



Good Afternoon!

I am so behind the eight ball today.  Here it is 1:30 Eastern Time, and I am only posting this now.  My morning has been so taken up with the boys and trying to combine it with my work....not always a good blend.  Mason is climbing so fearlessly, I believe that he thinks he has bungee cords attached to him.  That is, if he even knew what they are....wish he did have them, I would feel better.

Beyond that, I have been working on setting up my Etsy Shop on etsy.com.  First I spent most of the morning reading up on all of the procedure and policies, the where and wherefores and the whys and why nots.  Phew!  So much to digest all at once.  So I said to myself, just get to it. Get started. You don't have to finish it today. There is such a thing as a SAVE button.

I dove in and edited my profile and then on to the store itself.  I have learned to not answer any questions or give additional information if it is optional, at least right now anyway.  The reason being, is that you get side tracked, forget that you didn't save the latest information that was added and now you are starting again.  Dang. Side tracked is not good.  Staying focused and on task is so much better, but sometimes this gal just needs a set of blinders to keep that focus.  Keep your eye on the goal.  My short term goal is to get my Etsy shop finished. 

Time for me to get to my Nanny chores.  The dishes are calling me and then I will have some lunch and then back at my new Etsy store for some more data entry. BTW, the hat above will be in my Etsy store.   Hope everyone has a wonderful afternoon and Happy Knitting!

You Have Permission to Change the Pattern

Good Morning!


The new week has started and here in New York it is a grey and drizzly day. All the better to knit my dears!
All of those daily chores can wait while we take some time to knit a few rows. Grab your beverage of choice, shut off the phone and computer and enjoy the silence. The only sounds heard is maybe the ticking of a mantel clock and the gentle "click" of needle tips as they touch one another.


I wanted to talk about making changes while knitting a comercial pattern. Yes, it is allowed and as a writer of patterns, I would encourage you to do so. There are many reasons why it is a good idea. First, it gives you the opportunity to make it yours. You also might know a better way of doing something that makes more sense to you.
There is also the learning aspect as well. What I mean by that is, maybe you need to have more or less shaping in that sweater you are knitting. This "need" might require you to do some research in order to execute these changes.


This is a good thing. Do what you fear and courageously pick up your yarn and needles and make the leap of faith. What have you got to loose? I don't know about you, but I find myself ripping out stitches or rows because the change I planned didn't work or maybe I didn't think it through enough. Whatever the reason, ripping is not a totally a bad thing.


Let me give you an example of a simple change. I recently finished a baby blanket for a co-worker who is expecting. It is a log cabin style blanket which is similar to a log cabin quilt. I'm sure most of you have seen one. I did purchase a pattern on line, so I didn't have to think, just knit. I also like to support other people who sell their things on line as well. Anyway, I didn't even read it, just went to the yarn shop The Perfect Blend, yarnandteashop.com and picked up some wool and jumped in.


The pattern was written to bind off stitches and then pick them up again. I chose not to do this because this method will create a bump or ridge that really doesn't need to be there. I gathered up some extra needles 24 inches and longer to hold the stitches that were to be bound off. That way when I came back around to them, I had only to knit them off their "holding" needles with no stitches to pick up.


The second change I made was to add a border all the way around the blanket. The resulting frame really looked like a quilt block. These were small subtle changes that made my work a little neater, but also, so much faster. Let's face it, binding off and picking up stitches is time consuming.

JT is getting ready to have his mid morning snack, toast with cream cheese. I put it in the toaster oven and he turns it on "by mines self!" Got to go, toast is ready!