Thursday, December 25, 2008

The Beginning

I have been knitting and felting (technically fulling - the art of shrinking knitted animal fiber until it resembles a fabric) for awhile now. I have long given these creations to family and friends as gifts. It was last Christmas that I was encouraged to try my hand at selling these creations. So, over the past year, I have planned, thought, created a website and entered the world of home craft busines. It's been slow, but I know that everything takes time and there is a learning curve to this whole experience. I don't do it for the money, I do it because I love to create things.

I guess you could say I'm a planner, but I also like to fly by the seat of my pants. Rarely do I knit a swatch. O.k. I think I've done it only once. My first creation was a pair of slippers that did not even remotely turn out. They were too big, too small, too thin, too thick, and just not right. And no, I had not knitted a swatch. I had never even made socks before, I just went for it. Since then, my skills have much improved. I create bags, socks, belts, mittens, hats, dolls, and just about anything else I can think of. This Christmas, I made a slew of hats and purses, finishing them just before my washing machine decided to go caput. So, now I'm in knitting mode, but won't be able to felt until we get the machine functioning again. Hopefully it will be up and running soon!