Working in Public More than Just Guerilla Marketing

So, I was sitting in my favorite WIP-it Friday spot outside Hyperion Espresso on the bench facing William St. (for folks familiar w/ F-town) and I was knitting away on a net scarf that I'm having lots of fun making. I'd been there for over an hour and a half without talking to anyone. It was cloudy last Friday, so I wasn't surprised that the usual F-town tourist crowd was pretty sparse. I had just about decided to chalk it up to a pleasant Friday afternoon knitting in a nice spot with a cup of coffee and no contacts when a couple of ladies came around the corner having left the tables on the other side of the coffee shop. 

The older of the two ladies (in her 70's I'm guessing) spoke first. "I just had to tell you that we've been sitting over there having coffee and watching you. Everyone who walks by is looking at you, and it's just so nice to see someone knitting." She went on to tell me about her sister back home in Sweden who had recently taken up knitting again after a decades-long hiatus. She said it was just serendipity that she had been thinking about her sister knitting and there I was knitting on the street corner.  The three of us went on to talk about my business and etsy and the market for hand knits. 

It was a great reminder of the power of handmade goods and handcrafting traditions. I work in public in the hopes that people will ask about what I'm doing and I can tell them about my business. This situation was a perfect example of that, but it was so much more. By reminding that woman of her sister who she missed I touched her, and I'm so glad that she told me because it touched me too. I've talked before about the zen of knitting, but there is also a certain level of giving that goes with any hand craft or artwork. We're giving of ourselves. Who knows how it will touch people or who it will touch. Handmade means so much more than just made by hand. It means someone has poured their heart into that piece. 

So don't shine your light under a bushel basket. Proudly show off your handmade goods, and if you are a crafter and your craft is portable get out there and show off what you do. Whether you make sales or contacts or not you may touch someone and remind them of the value of handmade.

Thanks,

M

Filled with Hempathy

I just wanted to say a quick word today about one of my favorite yarns, Elsebeth Lavold's Hempathy. It's 34% Hemp, 41% Cotton 25% Modal and 100% fantastic. 

I just started a scarf w/ this stuff last night. I've used it before, but it's been a while and I had forgotten how much I love it. I'm not a fan of big yarns. Chunky, bulky even worsted are a bit think for my taste. So, this DK weight wonder is just my size. In fact it's even on the thin side of DK, almost fingering weight. The texture is fantastic. It's soft without being fuzzy. and heavy enough to make a beautiful drape when it's worked up.  It also catches light beautifully to give stitches real depth. 

One of it's best features though is the price. I've seen it between $5 and $7 a ball. If your local yarn shop is anything like mine, $5 balls of yarn are usually only found on the discount shelf. And these balls aren't silly 75 yard balls that you can't make anything with either. They're 153 yards/ball. I have made decent sized scarves with 2 balls and even had a little left over. So, with all it's great features this yarn is a bargain. I am notoriously cheap. Seriously, I cringe at paying any more than $2.50 for Caron's Simply Soft at Micheal's. So it's not often that I label something a bargain, but this is a really high quality yarn for a good price.

Finally, there is the added benefit of supporting the use of hemp, a much maligned but extremely useful plant. Contrary to what pharmaceutical companies would like you to believe not all hemp contains THC in euphoria inducing quantities. In fact, hemp can be used to make rope, fabulous yarn, cloth, and hemp seed oil is great for skin and is often used a nutritional supplement. Unfortunately, our government doesn't recognize non-medicinal uses of hemp and limits its growth. I have a suspicion that a lot of farmers could be making a lot of money growing this useful plant, so I like to support hemp products when I can.

Other notes:

• Today is WIP-it Friday. I plan to be working again at Hyperion Espresso in Fredericksburg and anyone with a portable craft is welcome to join me. 
• The much blogged about Plarn Messenger Bag is off to its new home w/ my friend TrueConvert I'm thinking of selling the pattern for that one. Just need to get it written up properly and take some pics of one in progress.

Thanks all, and have a great weekend.

Meredith

Fiber in the Blood

This grainy photo is one of the few that I have of my grandfather smiling. It's kind of odd, because with his grandchildren he was often joking and laughing. But he didn't care for having his picture taken. He wasn't much for crowds or meeting new people. What he was was a good hearted, incredibly strong and smart individual but he didn't broadcast it. He just was all of those things and more.

My grandad was a weaver. He started working in the Glen Royal textile mill at the ripe old age of 12, and worked in textiles most of his life. He worked his way up to being a weaver at the Royal mill and when the mill closed he found jobs at other mills and eventually worked in the Textiles School at NC State. He found a home there and worked there even part-time after his retirement. Having worked to support his mother and younger siblings through much of the depression, he was always thrifty and as the textile students experimented with spinning yarns of different materials and textures, Grandad salvaged most of that yarn the would otherwise have been tossed and brought it back to my Aunt Matt and others who would find uses for it. To this day my grandmother, mother and I have cones and cones of yarn that was saved in crazy colors or unexpected textures. 

I am not a weaver, but I have always been fascinated by the workings of large looms, their speed and complexity. There can be something hypnotic and fascinating in a well woven fabric. That's something that I'm sure I come by honestly. I was lucky enough to have my Grandad until I was an adult, and I wish every day that my husband and children could know him. The many photos of him unsmiling or looking away from the camera just don't show the kind of open-hearted goodness that he spread to those of us who knew him. I still feel it every time I feel thread slide through my fingers.

M

Quick Update

Just a quick post today, because I'm a little behind in production, and need to make the most of nap time.

I'm celebrating my 2nd sale in the shop, and like the first it wasn't to a relative. Wooohoooo!! Not bad for the first month. I'd love to list a new item, but DH is on the computer where all the pics are and he's working so I can't disturb. Maybe this evening or tomorrow morning. I'll get it out there.

I really want to make a scarf, but I can't seem to get off the jewelry. The ideas just keep coming and they work up so fast. It's hard to resist. I've also got 2 clutches in my work room waiting for liners, but I can't make myself stop hooking long enough to get out the sewing machine.

Add to that we're less than 3 weeks from vacation and it's a happy chaos in the handfashoined household. So, I'll have to come back w/ a better post tomorrow.

thanks all,
M

Friday Roundup

Busy week that just flew by, but I've learned a lot. Thought I would update on a couple of items from this weeks earlier posts and general biz stuff.

Wednesday I blogged about my new Dozen Roses neck piece that I was working on. And here it is. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I think some lucky Mama's going to have to get this for Mother's Day. I'm still not sure what to call it; scarf, scarflette, lariat, necklace, all I know is it's pretty.

I'll be listing this in the shop next week.

Yesterday, I posted about the plarn messenger bag that ate my brain. Since then there has been much love on Twitter and elsewhere for plarn and this concept in general. The body is knit and the strap is crocheted. I'm thinking of selling this pattern. It's super simple and will get knitters crocheting and crocheters knitting. I'm all about the crossover.

Here's a pic. It just needs a couple of buttons or toggles for fastening, and it will be ready to go.

I think I'm starting to get the routine down with this and setting my daily and weekly goals. Every week I should make enough items to post one per day for the following week. Take pics on the weekend. Blog at least 3 times a week. Every day I need to list one item, update facebook fan page w/ listing, update flickr w/ new photos and follow at least 25 more people on twitter.

Much thanks to CatherinetteRings for sharing an awesome Twitter strategy, very helpful.

Thanks all,

M

Had to be said...

It's not my usual day to blog, but I just had to get this out, because only crafters would understand this and I'm the only crafter in my house.

Did you ever start a project that proceeded to own your brain? It's all you can think about, it's all you want to do. Just that thing whatever it is. I'm having one for those projects now. Since I started the shop, I've pretty much been thinking of 4-5 projects at a time. I'll be working on a necklace and thinking about the next scarf, or how I'm going to finish that purse, or where would be the best place to get more silver findings, etc. I'm that kind of gal. My brain tends to run on several different tracks at once. It's rare that I find something that so absorbs me that I'm not thinking about anything else, which is why what I'm working on now is so refreshing.

So, my friend D asked if I could make a plarn messenger bag. Naturally, my answer was yes, even though I've never made one before. It's a pretty simple concept, so I thought about it for a few days and came up with a design that I really like. I started it Tuesday night and it was the perfect project to be working on for Earth Day. In fact once I got going with it I just didn't want to stop. I've been crocheting so much on little projects that require a lot of counting that I had forgotten the simple zen of knitting. No counting just stockinette stitch until the panel is the size I want. It's the most calming thing in the world.

Now, I find myself working on this bag all the time. I'm knitting everywhere. Fitting in a few stitches while the computer boots up or a page loads, while I'm waiting for water to boil, preschool to let out, the kids to tire out on the playground. This morning I even threw my knitpickers project bag over my shoulder and knitted while I followed my daughter around the yard as she played. In fact, I'm just about finished with the body of the bag and ready to move on to the strap, but I don't want to stop. I'm thinking that I might need a plarn messenger bag too, and maybe my son will need one to carry his sunglasses and autograph book in next month when we go to Disney world. Maybe my 2 year old needs one! Suddenly my other projects have moved to the back of my brain, which is bad because they would all make good Mother's Day gifts. But will I be able to go back to the dainty beaded jewelry when the peace of the zen messenger bag beckons?

I just had to say thanks, D, for asking me to do this. Thanks for giving me of the inner peace that can be found in creating something through the simplest of movements. Thanks for reminding me of one of the reasons I do what I do.

Crafters, I want to hear from you. What projects own your brains? What can't you get enough of making?

A Dozen Roses

What is this silly mess of string? Believe it or not, it's a new lariat that I've been working on. This is it in it's crudest form, a long chain stitch dotted with leaves and what will be pink rosebuds. It looks sloppy and a bit hopeless, but I do have a plan.

I started out with this idea of getting roses for mother's day. They're lovely, but they wilt and fade. Lately I came up with a little rosebud pattern that I used to make the brooches in my store and an Irish crochet scarf that is stunning, but too toasty for warm weather. (Keep an eye out for that one in the fall.) I just can't get enough of these cute little bids that work up fast, so I thought I would make a long lariat that someone is sure to want for Mother's Day.

The construction is similar to a lot of Irish crochet pieces. I made the motifs and attached them to the "ground" in this case a single long chain. I also made some Irish leaves to go with the buds. Then I crocheted green leaves around the buds and did a single crochet "stem" by using the thread ends and the long chain as packing cord. I'm pretty pleased with the result. Keep an eye out in the shop next week for this one.

Will post pictures of the finished product soon.

M