New Items in the Etsy Shop - and Free Shpping!

The holidays are right around the corner, and if you're looking to avoid the craziness at the mall, there's no better place than your computer!

Not only will you save time and gas, you can buy US made items from small, independent artisans, and give gifts that are unique and most often, one of a kind.

This weekend I added two new items in my Etsy shop, perfect for the holidays. The first is a baby cap and booties set in rainbow colored machine washable wool. Suitable for either a boy or a girl, this set should be a good match for any color of winter coat.

The other item will help with holiday decorating. This is a set of 8 handknit Christmas stocking ornaments, in various colors and sizes. I have made dozens of these over the years, and I add new ones to my tree every year. I also like to hang them on cabinet knobs, door handles; anywhere that needs a little holiday cheer. They could also be used as gift holders, for those precious little gifts, or tucked into Christmas cards for folks far away.

These ornaments feature my special technique of a 'knitted-in' hanging loop, made so the loop will never detach from the stocking. Most knitting patterns have the loop added as an afterthought, and often it will detach if any weight or strain is placed on it. Not these!

As always, the kitties think the catnip toys are the best, and I think several of my repeat customers agree. Even cats that don't normally play get excited about these!

Take a look at these or any of the other items in my etsy shop. Many now feature free shipping to the United States, and will be shipped in time for the holidays. 

Alice Starmore Aran Knitting Book for Sale – AKA Back in the eBay Saddle Again!

Since 1998, I’ve had a little hobby of selling on eBay. I started out small, with just a few items, and then quickly jumped in with both feet. That spring, a local shop sold me their inventory of cook books and booklets. It was a literally a pickup load full. I had a great time, sorting through them, listing them, and being surprised when some went for more than expected. This was back in the day when I didn’t even have a photo of the item, just a good description.

Little by little, I made enough money to buy a scanner, and adding the pictures really boosted my sales. Soon I was able to go back to that local shop and buy the kitchen hutch that had caught my eye.

Over the years I’ve sold lots of odds and ends, but concentrated primarily on books, cookbooks, and needlework items, specifically yarn and knitting books. It’s been a fun pastime, and I won’t deny that it’s helped me through some rough financial times.

But lately it seems like eBay has changed from the “odds and ends” type auction site, to a site promoting more retail businesses. I still think it’s a great venue for collectors, but it’s difficult to wade through all the merchants who are using eBay to boost their bricks and mortar stores. I felt like my little “one of a kind” items were getting lost amidst the bigger liquidator type auctions, and the eBay stores. And books, well, with sites like Paperbackswap, who needs to buy books anymore? Unless it was something hard to find, my book sales dwindled to almost nothing.

I took a few months off from selling this summer, but now I’m ready to give it another try. And for my return to eBay, I have a very special item. A copy of Alice Starmore’s “Aran Knitting”. This hardcover book is out of print, and sought after by knitters. As I looked through the book to write the description, I realized that the book is rich in history. As someone who is interested in the United Kingdom, I look forward to sitting down with my own copy and reading this section and learning about this fascinating land. And the sweaters! Cable knitting has always been one of my favorites, and these patterns are stunning. And unlike the Starmore Fair Isle books, you don’t have to worry about not finding the proper yarn or colors to knit with. Most any worsted or DK weight yarn can be used to knit these masterpieces.

I’m very happy to have a copy of this book that I can offer for sale. I also currently have a few other new knitting books, and will be adding some yarns and other items in the weeks ahead.

Please take a look at my auctions, and at my Etsy site as well. You never know what treasures may appear. Maybe something you’ve been in search of for a long, long time!

What I'm Thankful for...

Ok, I know it’s a little early for Thanksgiving, but something happened this weekend that made me think about this. One of those family challenges that put me in an awkward spot, and made me think, and think, and think...

And what I realized was the following:

I’m thankful that I have a roof over my head that is mine. Well, mine and the local bank’s, but I’m able to afford the payment each month, and even though sometimes I feel like the house is falling apart around me, it’s my cozy haven, and I love it and enjoy it so much, that I hate to leave it.

I’m thankful that I’m able to keep my head above water financially. Not much above, but I’m not drowning. Last week I sat down and wrote a fairly long list of how to cut costs and save money this coming year. I hope I can stick to it, because if I can make some headway, the impetus should help keep me on the path to success.

I’m thankful that I don’t have an addiction, well, other than yarn and books! I’m not overcome and consumed with drugs or alcohol or gambling ruling my life, making my decisions for me, and robbing me of my independence. I’ve never had this problem, other than yarn and books, but I can see the havoc it causes in other lives, if only from a distance, and it’s not pleasant.

I’m thankful that I have the ingenuity and skills to be creative. These were a gift from both my parents, and I can’t imagine my life without them. Not only does creativity entertain me and challenge me; it’s helped me be resourceful and helped me feel like there is always hope – always a way to solve a problem or get out of a jam. I have an Etsy shop because I like to make all sorts of things, and selling them gives me an outlet so that my house isn’t covered in an over-abundance of knitting. It also makes me feel resourceful, and even though I could never make enough money with it to give up my day job, the extra income does help in its small way.

I’m thankful that I have some family nearby. As we all age, it seems more important to connect with each other and spend time together. I’m especially thankful for my brother, who can fix anything, and does it for a spaghetti dinner!

I’m thankful for distant friends who are coming to visit for Thanksgiving. I’m such a homebody, and haven’t made any trips in several years. But I’m tickled and delighted that they can come here, and look forward to entertaining them.

And of course, I’m thankful for the three kitties that share my life and home. Rusty, Rollie, and Lily provide such good companionship, entertainment, and the unconditional love that makes every pet a treasure. I can’t imagine a day without them.

So there it is. I could probably come up with more, but this is the core. In a world that can seem so overwhelming, and so disheartening, it gives me great reassurance to feel that there are riches well beyond money, and reasons to treasure each new day.

Swaps Galore!

A couple of weekends ago, I received a wonderful box from Linda (Bartons15) in the Ravelry Flat Rate Swap Box group, and I’ve been drooling over it ever since. This time the swap had an Autumn theme, and my box was full of cold weather goodies. I received three balls of yarn, all of which were new to me brands: one Elann Highland Wool Chunky and two shades of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes…. all are very soft! I also received a hank of Linda’s wonderful handspun, which she claims is “leftovers”, but I believe it was really spun especially for me – the color combinations are fantastic, and it’s so soft. My first thought was “neck gaiter, because I want to keep this yarn as near as possible, and I’ve already found a pattern in the “One Skein” book that should work. The last fibery thing was a braid of hand dyed blue faced leister roving in my favorite colors. How did she know I’ve been getting ready to tune up my spinning wheel and start spinning again? I just got a new drive band and bobbins, so I should be all set.

There was also a cute pumpkin decoration, some hand lotion and a soap sample from Linda’s neck of the woods . Very nice, and you can’t have too much lotion this time of year. Especially for spinner’s hands.

For treats, Linda sent Dove Chocolate (yum) and Godiva hot chocolate mix (double yum)! Also including were a church cookbook (love it!), a knitter’s reference card, notecards, and sticky notes. Perfect!

I definitely feel pampered with this box, and ready to hunker down and enjoy some quality knitting and spinning time. Thank you so much Linda!

And earlier this week, I received the swap box from the second round of the Flat Rate Swap Group. My original partner from this swap flaked out on me, and Fotopet was kind enough to come to the rescue and be my angel. And it was worth the wait. The theme for this swap was “Something from your Queue”, and Fotopet sent a pattern that was on my list for a lacy crocheted sweater, with beautiful teal blue yarn, and all the tools necessary for making the cardigan, including some larger stitch markers, crochet hook, and tapestry needles. If that weren’t enough, she included a great project bag with all sorts of compartments for gadgets and accessories, a journal, notecards, candles, special tea, and chocolate! There were even treats for the kitties, and as soon as this picture was snapped, the cat toy disappeared!

I am going to have lots of fun knitting, crocheting, and spinning with these items, and I want to thank both bartons15 and fotopet for being so kind!

Music to Watch Leaves By...

So, it's a gray Sunday, and I'm knitting and looking at the Innerwebs, and watching the squirrels jump from the house to the walnut tree. And I have the Windham Hill Thanksgiving cd on the stereo.

And the big yellow leaves are falling from the maple tree, just drifting down slowly to the ground. The track playing on the stereo just perfectly matches the leaves falling, that slow twinkling piano music. That piece ends, and the next one comes on, another slow, twinkling piano piece, perfectly matching the leaves drifting down. That's Windham Hill for you...

Clever Cat Bed

I’ve mentioned before that the cats have been after me to provide them with some adequate sleeping equipment for some time now. This past spring, when I was cleaning up the house, I took all the fur-covered rugs and blankets and hid them away to be laundered. Then summer came, and I didn’t think the cats wanted to curl up on wool afghans. I think I was mistaken. There must be something unappealing about smooth upholstered furniture. I guess they need to nest more than I realize.

Last weekend, I came up with a new cat bed that I thought was quite clever. I was trying to straighten up the laundry area in the basement, when a blue plaid wool mini skirt popped to the top of a pile. Where did it come from? I can’t remember – either from a thrift store, or a free box at a rummage sale, or it was given to me by someone who knows I can use wool material for weaving.

The skirt had a short back zipper, and a lining. I realized that with some simple sewing, I could have a new cat bed pronto.

I took out the bottom hem of the skirt, and turned it inside out and sewed a new seam across the bottom. Then I turned it the other way, and sewed the bottom of the lining shut. My plan was to top stitch across the top of the skirt, which lacked a waistband. I would leave a small gap where the hook and eye closure was.

Unfortunately, the skirt top was too bulky to fit under the sewing machine presser foot, and after a few failed attempts, I gave up, and just whip-stitched the top closed with a doubled length of sewing thread. This worked very well, and I got quite a feeling of satisfaction from doing the hand sewing, which made me wonder why I don’t do it more often. The zip opening was too small to fit a pillow form through, but my plan was to use loose stuffing. Somewhere, I have a pillowcase full of second cuts of raw wool that I thought I’d wash and use for stuffing. Could I find it? No.

Rooting around in the basement, I found the next best thing. I’ve had a particular ball of space dyed roving for over 15 years. I got it in a swap at one of the local Spinners and Weavers meetings. At the time, I didn’t know any better. However, I soon realized that whoever dyed this roving had half felted it. I couldn’t draft it no matter how hard I pulled. I didn’t know if there was any way to save it, but I hung on to it anyway.

After messing with it for a while, I realized I could pull it apart widthwise, instead of lengthwise. So I pulled tufts and tufts, and stuffed them into the cat bed. I kept checking to see if it felt hard or lumpy. It didn’t seem to, so I used the whole ball of roving this way. It took half a day for the cats to notice it, but now it’s the best new thing on which to sleep. I’m sure it will be warm, with all that wool. And I can pull the stuffing out for easy washing. All in all, a good project: recycling, making do, and above all, keeping the kitties happy!

Halloween is Near...

Either that, or the neighbors have some explaining to do...

Lullaby, and Goodnight...

When I was a little girl, my mom used to sing Brahms’ Lullaby to help put me to sleep. Sometimes she’d sing the words, sometimes she would just hum, and I remember being curled up against her and feeling the vibrations in her chest as she’d rock me and sing. It was probably the most comforting feeling I’ve ever known.

Oh, how I could use that now. I have not been sleeping well this summer. Some nights, it’s too noisy. Some nights, it’s too hot and stuffy. Some nights, it’s too cold and clammy. I wake up at least three times most nights. If I’m lucky, I can calm myself back to sleep. If not, I don’t fight it – that just makes it worse. That’s when I put the light on, and do some knitting, or work a puzzle, or read until I feel drowsy. Unfortunately, that doesn’t usually occur until it’s almost time to get up. This week, in addition to the all the above, I’ve been having nightmares. Not just bad dreams, NIGHTMARES. All-out, Technicolor, terror-filled, traumatizing nightmares. And not just one. Multiples: three on Wednesday, three on Thursday. There were several earlier in the week, but luckily I can’t remember them. In addition to the psychological messages prevalent in these dreams (anxiety, fear, etc.), there are vivid images to rival any horror movie: an inferno of trees engulfed in flames, and dead kittens crawling with maggots, to name a few.

WHY? What did I do to deserve a subconscious like this? Was it something I ate? Drank? Didn’t drink? Didn’t do? Life is stressful enough just now, thank you very much. I don’t need be run ragged while I’m unconscious. Sleep should be a period of rest and renewal. It’s been ages since I’ve awoke in the morning refreshed, and got out of bed without feeling tired and uncomfortable.

I blame it partly on the weather. It was such a mild summer, but the nights weren’t always “good sleeping weather”. Now it’s the end of September, and we’ve been in the grip of extreme humidity, and temperatures above average. I’m hoping this weekend that will finally change.

I don’t know. Now that the weekend is here, I hope I can relax, both while awake, and especially while asleep. I can't remember the last time I had a good dream. Maybe what I need to do, is get the rocking chair in these photos back from my brother. Maybe that’s the key to a good sleep. Sure looks like it…