This post in the knitting community made me feel all better. I think I will re-write that Poof pattern, and maybe send it back to the straw.com people. And post it to our fabulous
…but I didn’t exactly help. It’s this baby hat pattern from Crystal Palace, calling for their extremely soft and chunky “Poof” yarn. It’s kind of like Berroco’s “Plush” on steroids with dark hair growth as a side effect. I realized last night that a friend was throwing a birthday party for her 1-year-old daughter and I had nothing, and I wanted to do something slightly different than the 50 bazillion Jayne hats I’ve done mostly in a row. The pattern calls for size 13 needles, so I knew it would be quick. Unfortunately, I made some basic mistakes.
Someone posted the hat she made from a kit today. That’s the second one I’ve seen from the “live” version of the pattern. I’m relieved to see that these look very good, and that the yarn and instructions are working out well.
I always wind off more yarn than I probably need to, because I don’t want the person to get nervous that they’ll run out, and also to give the knitter the opportunity to make it super-big if they want. I also stick in a tiny little secret toy surprise, usually a sticker or something else very compact. I guess I just like picturing the person as they’re opening the package and making the item. Feels like we’re all part of the same community.
Which, technically, we are, I know. 🙂
ETA: If you’re looking for the kit, it’s $17 and you can see some info at http://www.wearwithstyle.com/hat5.html Or drop me a line at style at booboomonkey dot com . It really is a good deal – if you bought three skeins of Lamb’s Pride bulky retail, you’d pay $7 a skein. You don’t need a full skein, so why pay that?
Ten Jayne hats and ten Jayne hat kits in the queue.
It’s like Adam Baldwin exploded all over my work space.
I swear to God, I thought demand would go down after the premiere. I’m glad to be wrong, as I believe it means people are getting into Firefly as a result of Serenity. Which, by the way, was excellent, and you should go see it if you haven’t already done so. And even if you have.
I’m not complaining about the work, I’m just saying. Five more orders until we’re at 100 Jayne-related sales. Unbelievable.
In business news, an old work friend from WJZY’s business office is helping me out by looking into what all is required to go totally legit. She’s a good person whom I like and respect, so I’m glad to have her input. Yay for contacts!
In Dragonrealms, we’re gearing up for some end of October parties that look to be tres fun.
I have GOT to order up and then sell some Dharma patches. The trouble is… where to market?
Charlotte Yarn is going to offer me a 20% discount on needles and stitch markers for the kits. That means I can drop my prices on the needles. Not so much on the kits, though, since the stitch marker packets were already such a tiny expense. Still, it’s good news, and I’m very happy! Charlotte Yarn is a fabulous yarn store that deserves wider recognition than to be Charlotte’s best kept fiber-arts secret. The lovely ladies of Charlotte Yarn rock!
The more I investigate sole propietorship, registering under an assumed name, SE tax, county licenses, etc., the more I come to come to one inescapable conclusion:
Jesus Christ, this shit is complicated.
Wellp, looks like it’s time to get that business license. I just got an e-mail from the Charlotte Observer wanting to do a very short sidebar in the Style section about me.
I have it on good authority from a friend who used to own a bookstore that the city business office reads the paper and looks for these things soo… time to go legit.
I’m gonna be a star, baby, a star!
Cribbed from
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You scored as Hoban ‘Wash’ Washburne. The Pilot. You are a leaf on the wind, see how you soar. You have a good job, and a stunning wife who loves you (and can kill people). Life is good, which is why you can’t help smiling. Now if you can just get people to actually listen to your opinion things would be perfect.
Which Serenity character are you? |
NOTE: Please avoid any spoilers if responding to this post – poor
…and that’s when I realized it might be time to get a wholesaler’s license. I mean, I’ve run through a good 8000 yards since May, and there are times when I have a hard time laying hands on bulk quantities of some colors and have to go to my local yarn store, which is always a crap shoot in terms of availability.
I’m running low on orange cotton for cotton Jayne hats. There’s enough to take care of current orders, but beyond that I wouldn’t feel comfortable telling someone I could get them their hat or kit in a timely fashion. A local yarn store has the cotton in stock, but the dye lot is different and it looks a little more melon than I’d like. So now I have to choose whether to go with the more melony shade or maybe find somebody to dye some orange for me. If I go with ‘dye’ then it’d be a hell of a lot cheaper if I could buy my yarn wholesale.
I guess I just have to figure out if the fees are worth it. And really, I’d prefer to have someone dye it – I’m a stickler for accuracy. So I guess I need someone who can dye some cotton “Jayne-hat orange!” I’ll pay!
