Off My Needles: Hats for Sell

I was invited by a friend to sell hand-knit items at a local Christmas Craft Bazaar. I chose hats, and for a month all I knit was hats...30 hats total. I was surprised that I was able to knit that many hats in so short a time. It proved to me that I can do hard things and succeed, and revealed that knitting doesn't feel like work to me.  The hats were fun to make, so soft and comfy. The result? Over the past two months I sold 20 hats! I'm considering opening an Etsy shop. I've got to overcome my fears and set aside the time to do it, but my mind is racing with plans for items to sell and patterns to design, Watch for updates!

Off My Needles: 30 HATS!

I knit 30 hats in the past five weeks! My arms and shoulders were sore, but my heart was happy because I was doing what makes me the most happy. Knitting.

My friend had a table at a craft bazaar and invited me to use half of it. And I said, "YES". It was one of the scariest things I've done. I said yes to a dream. And then I got busy and knit, and knit, and knit.

The hats were soft and beautiful.I was so proud of them, but also scared that no one would like them. But I worried in vain because several people admired my work and commented on how beautiful they were. The crowd was small and mostly not the type of people who wore hats. So I only sold six.

Even though I didn't make enough money at the bazaar to cover the cost of all the yarn and pompoms, I had a blast fulfilling my dream. And I'm not one bit sorry that I have a bunch of hats to figure out what to do with or that I didn't make a boat-load of money. Why? Because I said yes to something big and scary. I said yes to a dream.

Here's what I learned. Saying yes is scary. But doing the work is life-giving. Success is found in the doing, not in the result. And now I am ready do say yes to the next dream, and it doesn't seem so frightening to me.

Off My Needles: Clapo-Ktus Shawl

Recently I finished this shawl for a friend. As I knit it I prayed for her and her mom who is battling cancer. I bought this special yarn at my local knitting shop, River Knits, not knowing what to do with it. But after a few days, it came to me. This is the perfect colorway for a dear friend.

It's a yarn from a promotion that Dream in Color Yarn is doing. Every month they send out special Club colorway skeins to o participating shops  to sell. The color combination is brilliant. Pinks, green, yellow, orange. It vibrant, cheerful, yet somehow fallish.

When you buy a skein, you receive a free pattern. I ditched the pattern for the Clapo-Ktus.

Years ago I knit the Capotis shawl and last year, the Baktus shawl. This pattern is a combination of the two - pure genius!

It was so much fun to knit, and I'm not a big shawl knitter. I get bored with them. But not this one because just when I started to get bored, the decrease section began. And with the decreases came the dropped stitch. How fun to let all those purl stitched fall off the needle and watch the shawl open up. I couldn't stop knitting. I wanted to watch the magic happen over and over again.

Off My Needles: Barley Baby Hat

I'm officially old. Not only do I have one great-nephew, but I have three great-nieces. The newest is a few weeks old. I love these little ones, but I wish they didn't come with the title, Great-Aunt.

Anyway, despite my annoyance at what this newest one will call me, I knit her a teeny, tiny hat from the Barley Hat pattern. This is a super, simple pattern to knit up, but looks adorable. Try it, and you will fall in love with the pattern too.

Now, if I can just remember to mail it!