I really WANT to enjoy knitting... but it just doesn't do it for me. 

mr p probably cringes at that statement considering how many skeins of yarn I have stuffed in baskets in the living room...  but it's the truth.  it makes my arms tired, and I work so hard for so long to produce so little progress on the darn things I make.

however, I do it anyways. I put myself through the boring nights knitting in the living room while watching jeopardy (no, i'm not 80 years old, i'm 26), knitting at the laundromat (hoping I don't see anyone I know), and knitting in the car on roadtrips (annoying mr p with the light on the whole time). 

but why?



I love GIVING handmade things.  anyone can pick a gift off a registry (not ragging on you, they made the registry for a reason, right?), but giving something that's handmade is just a little more sentimental.  I know that when someone puts in the time and effort to give something handmade, it means more to me, so I want to do the same for others.  I once made a whole, adult-sized blanket for someone (then vowed never to do it again, it was the worst misery ever!), but now I stick to baby booties, slippers, and the occasional scarf (but only if I use fat yarn on giant needles so it goes super fast).

last weekend we went to a baby shower, and I whipped up some adorable, TINY baby booties while waiting on my laundry a few weekends ago (they literally only took me an hour a piece, start to finish, find the pattern here! ).  i always bought yarn at ac moore or Michael's, or some other "big box" store, but this time i wanted to "choose local" after spotting a yarn shop in jersey city.  mr p and i went into 2 stix and a string after breakfast at sam a.m. one weekend.  feeling a bit overwhelmed, the owner welcomed us into the store and helped us find the perfect shade of purple for baby gabbie!  the yarn is certainly more expensive than your average "red heart" brand, but hey, it's handmade, the store is a small business, and now i know i'll use EVERY LAST INCH of the stuff knowing the investment i put into it, so i didn't mind paying a little more ;)

we've only got a "few" babies coming into the world in the near future.  i might be able to make a dent into the rest of the yarn stash if i'm lucky!!

cheers.
jenn

...ok so maybe the title is a little ambitious, but I at least want to give it my best shot! 

I've been pretty obsessed with a website called "Etsy" for a long time.  If you are not familiar with it, it is basically the "Buy it now" section of Ebay, but for handmade and vintage items as well as supplies.  I've bought a few things on it, and look at it multiple times a day.  Its on my daily list of facebook, ApartmentTherapy.com, TheKitchn.com, craigslist, and Hoboken News sites that I go through almost religiously.  I've always thought myself to be crafty, but I would have never thought to try to sell any of my crafts and goods online, or anywhere really. 

Etsy is the perfect solution! It only costs me $0.20 to post, and they get 3.5% of the sale, not bad!  Last night I finally posted an item!  I posted slippers that I knitted.  They are made from a pattern given to me from my grandma, a pattern that she has used to knit slippers for all of her grandchildren, and even some of my friends (well, before I learned how to knit).  They are cute, fun, SUPER comfy, and so simple to make.  I always asked my grandma to put a puff ball on the ones she made for me, but I wasn't sure how people would like it, so I left it off of the ones I posted (maybe I will post another paid WITH a puff?).



Though my store on Etsy looks a little grim, with only one post, I hope to increase the inventory (haha, I have to use business terms in this newly found business).  Many stores have hundreds of items, but I hope those people either craft for a living, or have helpers, because that's just nuts to have so many things for sale!  Can you imagine if I had 100 pairs of slippers for sale in my apartment!? They would all probably get thrown away in my other half's decluttering rampages.  None the less, I hope people begin buying my knitted goods, it would be nice to have a little extra income! If I do the math though, I only make about $4/hour doing it, but it's ok, I enjoy it! 

For those of you who saw pictures from Santacon, I will be posting Santa beard hats around the holiday season, so keep your eyes out for them!  I need to perfect the pattern a little more before doing so, but it's only summer, right? I have lots of time!

Here's the link to my (only) post on Etsy, and maybe you can peruse to millions of other items posted, and help support small businesses alike!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/76920826/yellow-knitted-slippers?ref=pr_shop

Toodles.
J&H