Hobby vs Business

Recently, people have been asking me why I don't set up a business selling my items, or alternatively, if I can make them something, which I have declined to do.

Firstly, because I got back into knitting as a way of creating some work/life balance - knitting on demand would turn my crafting into another job, and would take away some of the pleasure that I get from the process.

I also mainly knit for myself. When I do make something for someone else, it's because I have chosen to. Perhaps if I was a faster knitter, then I could justify using some of my precious knitting time on making items to sell, but instead I prefer to use what time I do have to make things either for myself, or for someone special.

If it was viable, then of course I would love to make some extra money from something that I love doing. But until someone finds a way to add at least 10 more hours to every day, then I'll stick with what I'm doing.

2011 Wrap Up

2011 has now been and gone.

There were some large and small changes throughout the year.

I made a concerted effort to get out more and spend time with people who enhance my life. I managed to attend most of the Richmond and Kensington SnB's, and love the group of friends that I'm establishing through these.

22 projects were finished during the year, and I made my first sweater and socks.

I attended Knit Camp in Daylesford, attended the Bendigo Sheep and Wool show, and Vogue Knitting in LA, and definitely want to continue to attend knit/crochet retreats and conferences.

My role at work has also changed, and I have made a promise to myself that I will not let work rule my life this year. As a result of this promise, I have also made a commitment to myself that I will find time for crafting at least 5 times per week.

Hopefully, that means many more finished objects for 2012!

Super Simple

I'm making a concertered effort to get all of my WIPs completed and was able to get two shawls off the needles last month. The first, Azzu's Shawl was a gift for a friend, and she absolutely loved it. It also served as my 'A' pattern for the A-Z Stash Down group on Rav.

The second was the 3S Shawl, knit with Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock Yarn (a new favorite). I absolutely love the colours, and bought several different colourways from the Eat Sleep Knit Black Friday sale last week.

Opposites

So both my Ravelry queue and my stash continue to grow.

In an attempt to try and get a handle on both, I have joined the Stash Down A - Z group.

Each month is assigned a letter and you choose a pattern from your queue (or a yarn from your stash) which begins with that letter and away you go.

This month was A, so the Azzu shawl that I was making for my friend Claudia fell nicely into the criteria. For B next month, I'm going to get myself organised and finish my Bandwagon Socks.

Of course, now that I have a plan to get both my queue and stash down, along comes the sign up to the Cookie A Sock Club for 2012. And having no willpower, I of course signed up :)

Holiday Yarn

As previously mentioned in my earlier post, one of the highlights of my trip to the US was drooling over all the yarn available.

I took advantage of the abundance of yarn at Vogue Knitting Live, Knit Culture and Wild Fibre to further increase my stash (not that my stash needed increasing!!!).  Here is the first installment.

Poems sock yarn

Fleece Artist

Wollmeise

Mini Mochi

Unfortunately the photo's don't clearly show the colour of the yarn, which is much richer IRL, but it's fair to say that there's a theme (with a couple of exceptions), and I mainly stuck with blues, teals, greens and purples.

Yarn Envy

I love knitting, but while I was in the US I came to realise that I love yarn almost as much - the colours, styles, variations. All hold such possibility. The potential of what a skein can become excites me almost as much as the knitting process.

And I will admit to suffering from yarn envy while away - the variety of yarn available and the ease of supply was staggering. Since returning home, I've been longingly stalking yarn websites and looking at all the pretty's.

Then yesterday my first installment of yarn from the skein sock club arrived, and some of that envy dissipated. While we may not have access to the same depth of variety as other countries, our indie spinners and dyers are amazing, and their products rival yarn from around the world

VKL Changed My Life

Vogue Knitting Live was everything I expected and more.

Thanks to John Brinegar, I will now be tackling garments with seams, without the disappointment of uneven finishing ruining the final look of the garment.

And thanks to Amy Singer I'm well on the way to completing my first ever pair of socks.


Wandering around the marketplace gave me a chance to fondle a huge variety of yarns (and admittedly several skeins made their way into my suitcase for the return journey home!)

And in Santa Monica, I fell in love with Wild Fibre, a gorgeous yarn store with a fantastic range, and once again, several skeins called my name (including one gorgeous skein of Wollmeise). Photo's to be uploaded soon.