Commissions! Commissions!

Although I've not been "here" for a few years (I was sick, I've moved 2x, the kid went off to college, the dogs got older, the cat crossed over, the other business started booming - busy - just like you)





I have been knitting and crocheting consistently.

I've been haphazardly uploading photos to Facebook and Ravelry, but promise that as the new year comes in, I'll do a better job of keeping updated here.

The holidays are coming and that's a busy time for commissions. Mostly hats, mittens and slippers this year.  Here are a few that are being shipped out today.

There once was a bunny

Remember how I said I'm not so good at finding the right words in emotional times? 


My friend has had a rough week - okay - year.

She recently lost a childhood friend to cancer.  It was unexpected and heartbreaking.
I didn't necessarily know what to say.

I do, however, know what makes her smile....bunnies.  Easter is her favorite holiday and little bunnies just seem to cheer her up.

So, I made one.  I found a pattern at www.bysmallmeans.com and got to work.  To be honest, I'm not much for sewing up and I refuse to make clothing for toys or dolls.  Still, I had a good time knitting and stitching goodwill into this little critter.

He's far from perfect (as is life) but he's soft and all ears -- a perfect friend.

There he is hanging out in the most beautiful tree in the neighborhood!

The challenge of gifting

Don't you love it when someone you care about opens a gift you've painstakingly found for them and they smile broadly, look at you in the eye and say, "How did you know?!"

That moment to me, is priceless.

Still.  I hate shopping.

Always have.

Go ahead, take away my "girl card," but it's the truth. 

Racing through malls and shopping centers, in a desperate panic to find THE gift for the birthday, anniversary, shower -- you name it -- has always caused me to break out in hives.

There are few reasons for this:

1. I pick up other people's energy.  They say it's because I'm an intuitive and I guess that's true.  So you can imagine heading to a place full of people who are desperate to find something to fill whatever need they have is, at the least, stressful.  (yes.  I also know how to "protect" myself from all this energy and how to "decontaminate" when I get home.   The thing is - I forget.)
2. I need to be clear and focused on the recipient.  Sadly, I'm often in a last-minute panic at times like Christmas when there's an onslaught of people to gift with the perfect present.  I put a crapload of pressure on myself to do it just right.  I want the recipient to know how much I really do care about them and I have been known to spin out of control and then threaten to buy everyone the "fruit of the month club".
3. So many commercial trinkets and things are simply pricetags to me.  My friends and family are not just a number.  Yet I get all wigged out if the widget I found for my sister is less expensive than the doohickey I found for Dad.  It seems wrong that I do this, but still, I do.
4. I need to be in the mood to get this whole gift thing going.  I have a classic Earth Shaped heart line.  That means I may not be so good at using the perfect words to tell you how I feel, or to express joy, celebration or even heart felt condolences -- but I'm great at creating something with my own little hands that can express it all for you.

What about you?  Is gift giving fraught with angst or is it (like it is for Michael) a time of great happiness?

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FINISHED!

The Kindle Cover!

Overall, I'm pleased with the way it turned out.  Still I'm calling it a prototype - there are some things I'll change in the next go round.

What do you think?

Of Festivals and Fibers

Last weekend Michael and I went out to the Vienna Community Center to attend the Uniquities Fiber Festival. 

I've never been to an event for knitters or yarn people.  (remember, I've only been knitting regularly for 15 months or so).

Long fascinated by people pursuing their passions I've lurked and watched from the sidelines (i.e., internet) events like Rhinebeck and the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, but I've never ventured out there.

As outgoing as I seem, I'm really quite intimidated by going someplace where everyone else is (in my opinion) more "in the know" than I am.  Maybe it's an inferiority complex, but I really hate feeling like I don't fit in.  I worry all the time that I won't have anyone to talk to (except the animals) and that everyone around will see that I have no idea what I'm doing.

Plus, I'm just a homebody.  My astrologer says that has something to do with my Cancer rising.

Still.  I had mentioned to Michael that this Fiber festival was happening and he urged me to go - insisting that he would come with me to see what all the fuss was about.

It was the perfect event for a newbie.  Small enough to make a quick lap and not feel intimidated.

While I had zero budget for any of the yarny goodness, I intended to learn about the dying and spinning process and to simply breathe in the yumminess of the yarn.  Michael had other plans. 

He surprised me with the insistence that he'd gift me with yarn - if I agreed to use it for me. 

I was like a three year old on Christmas morning!  We made several laps around the tiny space before selecting

The dark blue is "Nona" a merino, cashmere, bombyx silk Lace weight.  Approximately 630 yards from Spirit Trail Fiberworks in Sapphire.  I'm making the Anya Scarf by Zari Zamen of Panda Bonzai! in it for me.

What they say is true -- working with something this luxurious just really changes your life for the better.

The light blue and the pastel are 100% Baby Alpaca ~ 200 yds each. Light blue is color 1257 1 of 5 and multicolored is color 1151 1 of 5.  I got two of the multicolored - the second skein is 3 of 5.

I'm thinking a smooshy cowl and mittens with that.

This was a great experience and really lit my fire to make my way to some of the bigger festivals this year.

Want a list of festivals around the world?  Check out the Knitter's Review listing.

What festivals do you attend?  What's a must see for a newbie like me?

Working for Yarn

This is what happened.

Last week, I sent a little email to a list of friends letting them know that I'd be opening up my intuitive knitting business and asked for their support.

Mostly I was thinking in terms of moral support. 

My friends have always supported me.

Not one of them snickered when I told them I was leaving a corner office and a six figure salary to start a business walking dogs and picking up poop.

They weren't even surprised when that business grew to 6 figures in 4 months and I started hiring help.

I'm the one in most of my circles who does her best to "just leap."  Meaning, after a bit of thinking and planning and blueprinting, it's time to take action.  I have a strong urge to simply move forward with my life.

Not ignore the past, nor avoid things in the present...but live big and on my terms now.

I believe we all have magic inside and that somehow society has done it's best since we were teeny tiny things to knock that magic out of us and get us to conform.  I suspect that was a good idea back in the Industrial Age, and the advent of corporate thinking.

It's stifling though.

Part of my life's calling is to prove that you can live on your own terms.  And in doing that you can actually change the direction of your life and the world around you.

Think about it.

When you move forward, directly in alliance with your deepest truth and your passions, you're going to make decisions that are for the highest good.

Back to what's happening here.

Two peeps asked for commissioned pieces.

One wants a Kindle cover and another wants a hand-crafted heirloom baby blanket for a shower coming up.

WOO HOO.

First the Kindle cover.

I searched around a bit on Ravelry and the web looking for a pattern to inspire me.  There were several that were intriguing but none really wowed me.  (although I did get a good idea of gauge and such).

Instead, I devised a Kindle cover based on the slip stitch hat I just completed.  I pulled out a self striping yarn and a solid and set to.  Here's what it looks like so far.

What pleases me most is that the inside will be cushy - an added bonus for those Kindle screens I think.

Essentially this is a tube that will have the bottom sewn up and the top will be secured with a velcro closure.

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The baby blanket.

The parents are having a little girl and they are decorating the nursery in a jungle theme.  The gifter asked for something mostly pink with perhaps some green.

I spent a few days searching for inspiration.  Babies are so precious and such a joy that it seems very important to spend much time thinking about the perfect pattern or inspiration.  Since I do not know the parents it was harder to intuit the perfect look than it is for me when I know the recipient.

This process made me realize that up til now I've been essentially knitting intuitively.  It's a big part of how I do all my work, so it wasn't all that surprising.  I think from now on I'll ask for a photo of the recipients if I don't know them.  Looking at photos turns on my intuition and makes it easier to do the design.

After some meditating and swatching, I remembered that one of my closest friends gave me an antique pattern book that had been her mother's.  (It was one of my most precious gifts this year!)

I pulled it out of the plastic casing I'd stored it in and flipped through.  I found the perfect crochet design for this little baby!

Here's what it's looking like so far.

This is a pretty basic crochet shell pattern. Keeping the stitches tight is important -- we don't want little fingers or toes to get snarled in the holes.

I'll add a lacey edging in green and variegated stripes.

That's where I've been.


So y'all, what are YOU up to?

The Usual Way

It happened in the usual way.

I opened my mouth.

That's where all the adventures in my life start.

For several months now I've been knitting away, crocheting away and just plain playing with yarn and have the best time.

In between yarn times, I've been providing hand analysis readings for private clients, leading a group coaching adventure and meeting weekly with creative, juicy and brilliant one-to-one clients.

The work I do with these clients usually revolves around them recognizing their innate power to make their dreams come true.  So whenever a client says something like, "I wish I could get paid to...." our work starts to focus on the making it happen portion.

It was bound to happen then.

I heard myself say

"I wish I could get paid to play with yarn and create my own designs."

Sitting there with my honey and a friend, munching on organic chips and vegetables and it just slipped out.  I don't know what we'd been originally talking about to be honest - I'd been in my head trying to figure out a better use for this yarn

(Dragonfly fibers Djinni Sock: Ode to Sock Summit)

than the design I'd originally conceived.

it just wasn't working for me. and the eyelets just looked like holes.

When the two of them stopped talking and looked at me I just blurted it out.

Over the weekend I thought of a conversation with a colleague who is also a coach and intuitive.  What stuck out was our topic "Taking your own advice is hard!"

True that.


My clients trust me. When they do the work that I request of them they start to make a living doing that thing that they love.

What would happen if I just took my own advice?

• I'll get paid to play with yarn
• There will be a neat and useful home for all those design ideas I wake up in the middle of the night to  jot down
• The journey - all by itself - is going to be a great adventure
• Showing, rather than telling, is priceless for helping others live the dream they've got in their head (after all, if I can do it, so can you)
• This is going to be more fun than even I imagine

My plan:

•  Share the journey with you - right here at 2Knits&aP.  I'll post pictures, share the good times and the challenges and include you in the entire process.  Not because I'm the expert but because I'm a yarn-head like you.

• Tell the story in the best way I know how.  Writing is cathartic for me and it's the best way I know to work out challenges when I come across them - there will be updates here (of course) and in the 2x monthly ezine (you can sign up in the box on the right there =>)
• Show the cross-pollination between my life as an intuitive, a hand analyst, a coach and an ordained minister and this creative process.  I believe it's all part of the Cosmic Influence - and the process is pretty awe-inspiring.  If you start looking at your creative process differently too - that would be cool
• Ask lots of questions and share lots of resources.  As you can see, while I spend some time in thought before taking action - I'm all about action (I have action-oriented thumbs in case you're interested).  Taking action is intimidating for lots of us.  I often jump in the deep end and then realize I don't necessarily know how to swim back to the pier.  So when I don't know what to do, I'll ask.  I'll be honest about it and I'll let you know what I learn - so you don't have to jump off the deep end alone.

There's the dream.

The big goals and interim goals are being committed to paper and I'll reveal them all to you too.  I'd love your moral support and inspiration.

Vine Cloth Pattern

I've been in the repetition of the Quaking Aspen Shawl and felt the need to deplete my stash, make something that could be finished quickly and would be easy enough to cut my design teeth without too much pain.

What took care of all three?

A very simple washcloth/dishcloth design.

Everyone knows that handmade dishcloths make great little hostess gifts or other little "I was thinking of you" goodies.  Not so true if you went out to Target or the local pharmacy and picked a stack of those scratchy cloths and gave them to the hostess -- right?

I'm thinking of making a stack of these for favors at my next wine and cheese gathering - I'll adapt the colors to a theme for the night and everyone will have a nice little gift to take home.

Right now  - I'm the only one who has knit this pattern up.  I'd certainly appreciate it if you'd let me know about any errors (or feel free to ask any questions).  And I'd be really tickled if you'd send me photos of your finished pretties.  (I'll also post this on Ravelry, so we can all gather there -- okay?)

 

Vine Cloth

By Peggie Arvidson based on Hanging vines stitch pattern found in the daily stitch a day calendar 2012

(perfect hostess gift for the wine lover on your list)

For the green/yellow: I used about 1/4 of a skein of Peaches and Cream multicolored cotton yarn.  For the Blue and brown, I used less than one quarter of each the brown and Blue.  Both Peaches and Cream cotton.

Size US 8 needles.

You can adjust your needles to get the "feel" that you want in your cloth.  If you're a tight knitter like me 8 or 9 probably would be excellent.  If you are a loose knitter?  try a smaller needle.

Additionally -- if you'd like this more in a towel size -- cast on more.  The pattern is in a multiple of 8 plus 6 for the 3 edging stitches on either side.

Cast on 34

Rows 1-4: Knit

Row 5: K3; (K2, K2Tog, YO, K3;) 4times;  K3

Row 6: K3; purl 28; k3

Row 7: K3; (K1, K2tog, YO, K4) 4 times; K3

Row 8: K3; P28; K3

Row 9: Knit across

Row 10: K3; P28: K3

Row 11: K3; (K3, YO, SSK, K2) 4 times; K3

Row 12: Knit across all 34

Row 13: K3; (K4, YO, SSK, K1) 4 times; K3

Row 14: K3; P28; K3

Row 15: Knit across

Row 16: K3; P28; K3

Repeat Rows 5-16 twice (or as many times as you want to get the length you prefer)

Repeat Rows 5-14 a final time

Knit 4 rows

Bind off

You can embellish by adding stripes and adding a little crochet “rope” at the corner to hang the cloth!