So, what is this OpenSky business I keep seeing?

You may have noticed that as of this week, there has been a pretty blue countdown clock on my blog.  If you haven't noticed, then you should drop by more and make yourself at home :)  I won't have tea, but there will be plenty of coffee, yarn, and unnecessary sass.

In any event, that countdown clock is doing just what it's supposed to do: count down to something exciting.  "But Jenn," you say, "Your blog is about yarn and cats.  And sometimes you throw in random wedding pictures of people we've never met, too.  Can it get even more exciting?!"  Oh, it can!

I am more than jumping-out-of-my-skin excited to announce that I will soon be opening my very own OpenSky shop!

For those of you who haven't heard about OpenSky, then you absolutely have to check it out.  Especially for beginning crafters, it can be hard to know where to begin.  You walk into a chain store like ACMoore or Michael's, stand in the yarn aisle, and become overwhelmed at all the different-sized hooks and needles that hang before you.  Some are tiny and come in groups of five; others are ginormous and are attached in the center by a cord.  And let's not even talk about those ones with hooks on both ends.  What do they do?!

If only you could buy something based on a recommendation...

That's where OpenSky comes in.  If you read my last entry about Independent Crafters vs. The Super Store, then you know how I feel about places like Wal-Mart and other overly-popular chain stores that kill local economies (okay, it's gonna take awhile to ween me off Target, but you know...).

I think it's time we all get back to our roots, support the people behind the products, and make buying a personal experience again.  I'm not talking about direct-selling, either.  I'm talking about being able to go to an online shop maintained by someone you trust and knowing that what you're buying is the right product for your needs.  It's being able to speak with people who have used the products before and can give you their honest opinion about the best ways to use them.

OpenSky is about connecting people, making buying something less of a chore and more of an experience (or maybe I'm the only person who looks at driving to our local densely-populated park-five-miles-away-just-to-buy-a-book mall as a chore).  That's why I love it, and that's why I'm opening my own shop.

So, I know what my goal here is: to bring the best-of-the-best kniting and crochet supplies to you.  My favorite yarns, gadgets, etc, are all items I hope to feature.  But forget all that - what would you like to see in my shop that you're just not getting anywhere else?  Or what's a fun feature of your local yarn shop that I could incorporate?  Because even though this shop will be under my name, its purpose is to make sure you guys have everything you need to make your hobby even more enjoyable.  So let me know :D

Okay, enough of that, and back to teh kittehs:

Independent Crafters vs. The Super Store

Hey, everyone!  As most of you know, I'm working toward my MBA with a focus in Marketing.  As part of that process, I have to take pesky classes like Economics, haha.  Okay, so it wasn't that bad.  Anyway, my final project for class was to pick a topic related to economics.  Some examples given were how knock-off handbags affect the fashion industry, talk in-depth about Reagonomics, and all that good stuff.

Of course, I chose to write about the craft industry and its effect on the economy.

I'm really proud of this project, and I learned a lot about small businesses.  I thought I'd share my paper with you because you might be interested (and maybe it'll give us all a little boost to update our Etsy shops more often :P).


Independent Crafters vs. the Super Store

Insert some stuff here about how this is copyrighted by me and you can't plagiarize my project, blah blah blah :)

My First Doily - And It's Purple!

My First Doily - And It's Purple! (detail), originally uploaded by jennlikesyarn.

Any normal person would decide to make a doily, pick up some white thread, and get to work. Me? I chose purple.

Which means my first doily doesn't match anything in our house, so I'll probably have to sell it or give it away or something, haha. In any event, I'm really pleased with the result.

So yes, this is my first attempt at a doily. I'd stayed away from them in the past because hey, doilies are for old people to make, right? Plus, I really, really used to hate working with thread. I'm used to it now, but in the past, I couldn't stand how it would saw through my fingers.

But I was inspired after my bridal shower last summer when a family friend crocheted a doily for me. I hadn't had much chance to sit down and actually make one, though. But there's been a two-week break in my traveling scarves group, and I had a week off from classes recently, so I decided to pick up some thread and go to town.

I worked this up over a couple nights. I probably could have done it faster, but I lacked ambition and I've been exhausted from working, classes, and having somewhere to go pretty much every weekend since the end of May. Not to mention, I had to rip back a couple rows at least twice because I added an extra stitch here and there. Then toward the end, I thought I was going to run out of thread, so I just wanted to stop, and the picot edging was becoming tedious.

But I made it through (with the help of several True Blood marathons)! And I'm so happy I did.

The photos were taken with my new iPhone :D Not too shabby! As you can see, I have yet to block the doily, but I'm usually too lazy to do the blocking I should. Maybe someday :)

If you'd like to make your own pineapple doily, visit this Ravelry link to access the pattern, or visit my doily on the Project page!

Hand-Dyed Sock Yarn

Skein of hand-dyed sock yarn, originally uploaded by jennlikesyarn.

I hadn't bought myself a skein of yarn in a really long time. I promise. I randomly found myself in possession of some money (some freelance work I had, plus my birthday that was coming up on the 16th).

Why the fascination with sock yarn? As part of my traveling scarf group, one of the ladies had chosen to do a length-wise scarf in crazy colors of sock yarn. I was able to use some from my stash (amazingly, for never completing a sock, I had a couple skeins of sock yarn), and was surprised at how little I used, and how fun it was to work with on a longer project.

So imagine my glee when I checked my Ravelry's friends' blogs and came across this little gem? It's hand-dyed sock yarn, and the colors are great. I thought that since I enjoyed working with the thinner, soft yarn so much, I'd try to get back into making socks, and buying some new yarn would be the perfect way to do that.

We'll just ignore the fact that when I went to go buy new circular needles for this project (I'm done with DPN's - DONE!) that I bought two skeins of some Red Heart Heart and Sole. And that I picked up some purple crochet thread to make my very first doily. And some bobbins. ACMoore is a money pit.

Anyway, you can buy your own hand-dyed yarn from Lyse Artistic Creations Hand Dyed Yarn.  The specific blog post where she was selling these is located here.  It's very high quality and comes highly recommended by me! And we all know I'm picky :)

Hope you are all having a great week!

Happy Father's Day - Knit Welsh Dragon Square For Dad!

Knit Welsh Dragon Square (detail), originally uploaded by jennlikesyarn.

Presenting the Welsh Dragon I knit for my dad for Father's Day!

Lately, I've really taken to knitting gifts for people. I've been completely neglecting my Etsy shops, which makes me feel guilty and stressed at the same time, but that's okay - I make hats and it's summer :) However, I've found that making gifts for people is a fun way for me to relax, and I've been so super happy with the results that I'm A-OK with my shop taking second fiddle.

Anyway, I purchased this pattern for the really good price of $2 on Ravelry [Ravelry Link] (9/18/2012 ETA: this pattern is now free). The pattern was easy to follow, even for someone like me who has barely touched intarsia in the past (in knitting or crocheting).

I made the mistake of thinking I could totally do this without buying new bobbins (the few I had were lost years ago), but I was so wrong. I didn't feel like venturing out of the house, so I just wound some balls around my hand and tied a loose knot. That didn't work too badly. Turns out I was just really bad at intarsia, haha. I pull the yarn too tightly, which made the fabric pucker a bit. I'm sure I'll get better with practice, and it didn't look awful. I was more than pleased with the result, so I'm not letting that bother me.

I did discover something interesting, though. I post knitting and crochet tutorials on YouTube because apparently I need yet another project to stress over, and someone commented on my "How to Purl" video that the stitches were twisted when you'd go to knit back. That's something that, in my 16 years of knitting, I had never noticed before. It was how my oma taught me and I never questioned it, but the commenter was absolutely right!

I always wondered why my knitting looked "lumpier" than everyone else's. So I'm not sure if you can tell from this square, but my stitches are so much more even than my previous projects (even if the dragon is puckered). For a small square, I learned quite a bit making it! Mission accomplished.

I have so many other projects to blog about and have just been going nuts with finals week coming up and my job exploding around me, plus some freelance design work that's been sent my way. Hopefully I'll be able to update more in the next week or two!

Happy Father's Day!