Shawls for Sale & Taking Commissions!

Well, it's almost been a year since I posted...again. I have to break that trend. Anyway, the main reason for my post today is to sell some of the shawls I've knit and introduce my new commission order form. I've made some beautiful shawls for test knits because I love knitting shawls, but I don't wear them. There's something about watching it grow as you knit it -- you start with just a few stitches and end with a few hundred! Below are the shawls I'm offering:

First is a test knit I did last year: Bellatrix

Cost: $60 OBO

Measurements: 41.5"x17"

Next up is Betelgeuse (from the same designer)

Cost: $60 OBO

Measurements: 36"x14"

This was a fun knit and it's super cozy: Halona 

Cost: $50 OBO

Measurements: 66"x18"

In addition to selling these, I'm also starting to offer commissioned pieces. Basically, you'd pay me to knit or crochet something you'd like. :) I'll provide a quote before you pay anything and if you're on a budget, we can negotiate prices. Fill out this order form and I'll get back to you within 1-3 days (it will take some research). I am skilled at making socks, shawls, mittens, fingerless mitts, cowls, scarves, hats, boot cuffs, and other small things. I'm an advanced knitter, but there are some things that are beyond my skill level. Please do not order a sweater...I am not very good at making them. :/ 

If you'd like to buy one of the shawls or have questions, contact me at bekknits14 AT gmail DOT com. Also, please share the word! I appreciate it! Thank you!!

Pyrite & Shawls

I thought it was time to update on what's been going on in life. Last time I posted (August) I was going through a rough time but getting by with a lil help of my friends (sorry if you have that song stuck in your head now). Things are getting better though; I got back together with Steven (again) and hopefully this time it'll stick. We're working hard to make this long distance thing work. I'm on some new meds which seem to help my day to day functions. Work is going really well; we'll be fully staffed soon! I adopted a kitty, Pyrite, from the Humane Society who's adorable and super soft.

Bubba & Pyrite Cuddle Time

I finally finished (August) and took pictures (October) and uploaded pictures (December) of the test knit Bellatrix shawl. Here's a couple of the good ones:

Jen and I went up to Door County for my birthday weekend. We discovered an amazing yarn store -- Spin of Door County -- where we fondled lots of amazing yarn and discovered a bunch of great patterns. It's the best yarn store in 50 miles I'm pretty sure. While we hiked some bluffs near the top of the peninsula, I took some pictures of the shawl. It turned out well and is currently decorating my office. I think I'm going to take a break from test knitting for a while since I completed this nearly a year after the designer wanted. :/ 

Other things I'm working on: a shawl for Steven's grandmother (hopefully completed by Christmas), socks for his mom (so not going to be completed by Christmas); the Squall Line Shawl; my earth stole; Kyle's socks; and my sweater. I'll post pictures soon.

That's about all I can muster for now. I'll try to post more regularly in the vain hope it helps my knitting mojo. I really need to find a knitting group...or start one. Happy Holidays everyone!

Socks, Blankets, and Kittens!

Haven't posted in a while (again). Had another bout of depression (again). Lost my mojo (again). But things are looking up (again). This last year has been extremely difficult. Between moving, starting a new job, the one-year of my dad's death, breaking up, getting back together, then breaking up again with Steven, and just all the other stuff life throws at you it's no wonder I've been all over the place. But let me focus on the good things: I spent a lot of time cuddling with my cute furball, Bubba. I went to see my friend Megan and managed to give her completed (!) socks!

After spending some time with Megan, her bf Burrito (my nickname for him) and her friend Apryl, I went further up north to visit my brother, his fiance and their son, Wyatt. I met a lot of cute kitties and reminisced about my parents while going through boxes of stuff. It was a short trip, but it was nice to see the lake and to catch up with one of my favorite library ladies, Elizabeth, from Northland as well.

I also went to State Fair and ate way too much greasy food. It was a blast and I definitely got my steps in that day (I was sore for about two days after). Then I wandered down to southern Wisconsin and visited some college friends who I haven't seen in a while. I met their critters, walked along the beach, ate delicious German food, drank hard root beer (amazing!), performed/received tarot readings, and had deep conversations about life with my old roomie Brad. <3 It was just what I needed. I saw my ex, Steven, on my way back home and we had a great conversation about life and love. I feel like I'm in a better place now to reinvent my life. I've felt so lost since my dad's one year death anniversary. And I was handling the grief reasonably well in Iowa, but then the move happened and when his one-year death anniversary came up I just kind of lost my ambition. I'm on some new meds now which should help me focus and take on the day. I feel this renewed energy to live life, not just exist. My parents are dead (lots of people lost their parents younger than I was, so I'm grateful for the 24/27 years I had with them), but that doesn't mean I should stop living my life. I need to move on and learn to live without them. It's hard, no doubt, but they wouldn't want me grieving so long and hard for them. They'd want me to move on, fall in love, explore, travel, and create memories of my own. So that's what I plan to do.

I've noticed the new meds are helping me focus on things I enjoy but gave up. Before, I'd get so overwhelmed because I couldn't focus on anything for any amount of time so I'd just do nothing. I stopped knitting, reading, writing, walking, and even watching shows I enjoyed because I couldn't focus. It was bad. Now I can focus longer so I feel that drive coming back. I want to read, knit, and walk more. I'm not 100% yet, but things are improving. And I can tell they're improving because this past weekend I finally finished that test knit shawl from last year! Well, technically it's not finished finished because I still have to block it, but it's off the needles! It was the first time I'd knit in a while and the first time I'd completed something in a long while. I think Bubba missed me knitting too:

I also finished an afghan after trying to figure out how to widen it. I tried picking up stitches off the side, but it didn't really work. So I single crocheted the edges in gray then built on that. It's not the prettiest fix, but it's just for me so I don't mind. Bubba enjoyed cuddling up with it while I was working on it; he doesn't seem to cuddle up in it now that it's done. Silly cat.

 

That's about it for the last few months, but like I said, I feel the mojo coming back as I start to feel better and more productive.  I'm even heading to the Humane Society tonight to find a lil furry friend for Bubbs. He's been acting rather clingy lately and I think it's because he's lonely. He's alone from 7:40-5 everyday so it's no wonder he cries and wants attention when I get home. I'm hoping a kitten will keep him occupied and give me another fluff to love. :)

Keeping Up with the Kelley

Jen posted again after a while, so you know what that means...I have to post to try and keep up with her. Seriously, when she posts it reminds me I have a blog and should maybe write in it from time to time. I get discouraged after a while because I know this blog won't become something huge like YarnHarlot or something, but 'eh. At the very least it organizes my knitting thoughts. So let the organization begin...

Last night I finished a cowl for Lauren and it made me wonder what other projects I have lying around unfinished. So I took stock and realized there are a lot. This doesn't even count the items I've promised people and haven't cast on yet. These are projects on the needles/hooks and languishing in baskets and bags around my apartment.

Jen's '70s Sweater started in...oh...2011?

My spinning...started in 2013?

Super secret fingerless gloves started 2014.

Capelet for Mary started 2014.

Stole for me started 2014

Mountain afghan started 2014.

Megan's skyp socks started 2013.

Bellatrix test knit started 2014.

Plus size sweater started 2014

So there we go. There may be one or two more hiding in the craft room but this is the bulk of it. Now the big question...what to finish?

Something Productive

Okay, I'd like to point out that I'm anything but original. Jen started up her knitting blog again and made into a spinning/knitting blog because she's just that caliber of awesome. I'm not. But since she revitalized her blog, I figured I should follow in her footsteps and do the same. What can I say? She inspires me.

I'm not sure why I stopped posting. Maybe because things got too hectic. I graduated, moved back to Drummond, worked at APIS for two months, then moved to Iowa. That's a lot in two months. So I didn't have time for knitting. In fact, I think I've only completed two or three projects in the last six months. Which is pathetic. But I also have other reasons for lack of inspiration. My father passed away in October (the morning after my 27th birthday...birthdays suck) so I've been going to Northern Wisconsin and Peotone and Milwaukee and every which way the last couple months (I can't believe it'll be two months this 15th). The grief hasn't made me especially keen on my usual hobbies. But, I want to get back to knitting because when I do and when I work a pattern I love and when I'm watching something lovely and Jane Austen-y or Downton Abbey-y I almost feel normal again.

So let me tell you about my job, because it's pretty spectacular. Well, spectacular for a recent grad anyway. I'm incredibly lucky to be offered a job doing exactly what I hoped to do: Reference & Instruction. That's my title btw...Reference & Instruction Librarian. Doesn't that just make you smile? It makes me smile. I'm in North Iowa in a little town called Forest City at a little college named Waldorf College. It's about the size of Northland which I'm thankful for because it allows me get a well-rounded experience rather than just being a one-trick pony. When it comes time for me to move on, working at a small library will work in my favor. I'll be able to present myself as flexible and experienced. I work with a great group of people. My director is a riot and wonderfully supportive. I get to try new things, learn, fumble, and make a difference (hopefully). The campus is quiet and it has that small, campus family feel. Even though I'd only been here less than three months when my dad passed away, the outpouring of support and love was heartwarming. That's how I know I'm at a good place.

I started a knitting group on campus: The Knit Wits of North Iowa. It's an open community group and we meet in the library every other Thursday night. I was hoping more students would be involved, but it's still early. Maybe we can gather some more interest next semester. The library team was really supportive of me starting this group and we have a good 5-6 people who regularly attend. Everyone's really friendly and it keeps me on my toes. The first night I had to teach two people how to left-hand crochet. Thank God for Google.

Projects. Well. I kind of gave up on the New Years Resolution thing. Maybe I'll finish one project per year until I'm all caught up. That's the rate I'm going. Not even that rate really. I'm not done with Andrew's Socks.

It's still mostly a Soc...I have to finish the gusset and the foot and the toe. And then the other sock. Maybe I should try knitting English and see if that makes the pattern any easier. It's the twists that get me down. My tension is so tight that it's hard to get my needle under the stitch for the left and right twists. Which makes up the bulk of the pattern. Yay. They're pretty though.

I did a test knit to try and get me out of my funk. I figured having a deadline would help. I made Halona by Allison LoCicero. I chose simple colors and really enjoyed the edging. And I love the wingspan because I'm fat. It can actually wrap around my shoulders. :)

I also made a lace shawl, Cassiope by Alexandra Beck, in my beautiful fall yarn that I got at Yarn Harbor in Duluth, MN with Madeline. (Yarn Harbor is one of my favorite yarn stores. What more could I ask for? Yarn and Lake Superior!)

So I'm really into shawls lately. I'm thinking of starting some mittens for Jen and/or Mary's capelet which is kind of like a shawl.

So what's on my knitting needles? Well. Andrew's Socks. A stoll  from Loops & Threads in my beautiful forest green graduation yarn. And I still have a sweater on my hook for Jen. I hit a road block months and months ago and never figured it out. I should look at it again and call Megan, my go to crocheter.

That's probably enough for tonight. I'll try to post more regularly. It'll give me something to do anyway and maybe it'll help get me out of this funk.