Hooked On Hats

Long time, no blog

2009-12-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

I haven't had much time lately for crocheting, which has been very sad. However, this weekend I will be selling some of my hats and scarves at Browse and Brunch at the Boozefish Wine Bar! I am very excited, as I haven't had much experience with selling things in person.

Speaking of selling things, I've put my etsy page in vacation mode until the end of the semester. I hated to do it, but I knew I couldn't handle trying to get things to people on time for the holidays along with getting my final projects finished for school.

Did I tell you I'm graduating? Yep, December 19th! After five and a half long years of aimlessly wandering around English departments here and there, I will finally graduate with a BA in English.

After graduation, I'll be in the KC area for a month or so to help my mom out with her business as she is starting chemotherapy. Hopefully you will see an update from me very soon with pictures of new crocheted items!

Craft Fair Virgin

2009-08-30T18:39:00.001-07:00

So, I've never participated in a craft fair before, and I have two opportunities coming up. I have been to a gajillion of them (who doesn't love a craft fair?), but I am becoming anxious. When I first started planning to participate, I made this massive list of hats and scarves and mittens and shrugs and shawls that I would crochet between then and a few weeks from now, but with school starting and other such obligations, I've hardly made a dent.
Not only that, but I've never sold anything face-to-face before. I've made plenty of things for people I know, but always as a gift or request.
In other ways, it could be a really good experience-- people are there to buy handmade things, and sometimes a picture (like on my etsy site, for example) doesn't do an item justice. I think once a prospective buyer actually touches my shell afghan, for example, they will realize that it is more than worth the cost and purchase it instantly!

In other news, here are some new hats!

Drawstring Bamboo Hat, Finished Mitten, and the Use of Patterns When Making Items to Sell

2009-08-11T18:56:00.000-07:00

I have a problem with using patterns. I get bored with them-- following instructions can be so blah. Who wouldn't rather start a project and use their experience and creativity to come up with a beautiful and impressive finished project? In addition to offending my creative sensibilities, if I do find myself following a pattern, I get unreasonably upset if it doesn't turn out the way I want it to.

This is where compromise comes in. I've been crocheting long enough that I've gained a kind of intuition when it comes to which stitches to use, when to start increasing or decreasing, etc., and I've never been patient enough to count every single stitch, so often, I wing it. I usually start off following a pattern, but end up using the picture as more of a guide than the actual written instructions, which only works out if the photo is an accurate representation. I've found that pattern books often do the same thing that clothing catalogs do-- they try to make the person in the photo look good, rather than give an accurate representation of the item.

Over the past few weeks, I've been exploring my stack of pattern books for interesting hats I've never made. Since I'm selling these items now instead of just giving them as gifts or keeping them for myself, I find that following a pattern offers a beneficial level of uniformity, but also takes some of the fun out of it.

Some people have a problem with selling items they make from a pattern. I do not, so long as I purchased the pattern. If I pay money for a pattern, I have the right to make the item and do with it whatever I please, including selling it. However, if I go to Mary Jo's crochet blog where she is sharing the greatest beret pattern ever, it would be wrong for me to take it-- her creation-- for free and make money off of it. Does that make sense? Does anyone have anything to add to this discussion that I haven't already thought of?

Onto the hat! I made this hat with a blue, brown, and white speckled bamboo yarn. It is probably the softest yarn I've ever encountered, and it is definitely the softest natural fiber I've ever used. The top of the hat closes up with a drawstring with two wooden beads at the ends. I really like this hat. I did follow a pattern to make it-- for the most part! I ended up improvising a bit, but the hat is definitely better for it. The picture I have posted right now is from my camera phone, so it is a bit grainy. I will be breaking out my actual camera tomorrow and I'll post some better pictures then.

Oh! I almost forgot! I have revived my dignity and finished the damn mittens! The thumbs turned out very well, and I am looking forward to making a few more sets!

Thumb Wars

2009-08-04T21:10:00.000-07:00

Thank you for stopping by my blog! I am hoping that this will be a place where I can showcase items that I have for sale at my etsy shop as well as share new patterns and tips with other crocheters (I've also heard us called "hookers." Should we be offended?).

I decided a few months back that while I still wanted the focus of my shop to be hats, I also wanted to make some other crocheted items such as afghans, scarves, shawls, and even clothing items. My first project was a beautiful shell afghan which cost a fortune to make and more time than I was planning on, but I was extremely pleased with how it turned out. I will eventually make a blog post about it, but for now you can see it at my etsy shop: http://www.hookedonhats.etsy.com.

Another project that interested me was mittens. I decided to make a set of winterwear-- hat, scarf and mittens. Now, the hat and the scarf were easy-peasy and turned out beautifully, but those damn mittens have given me such a headache!

I've made mittens before and not had any problems, so I'm not sure yet whether it is just this pair or perhaps the pattern that is giving me trouble. It isn't even the entire mitten-- just the thumbs! For some reason, I cannot, for the life of me, get them to turn out. They either end up pointy, too skinny, way too wide, too short, or the reduced stitches are way too obvious for my perfectionist's eye.

I will figure it out tonight, and you can bet you will be seeing them soon on my etsy page!

In the meantime, does anyone need any thumbless mittens?