Wheel Love

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Happy Valentine's Day world. Nope, still not a big fan, but I love all of my readers and followers, so gush, gush, kiss, kiss.

Now that that's out of the way...

Last year I made it a resolution to learn how to spin. I spent part of my very short summer vacation trying to learn just how to do that. All I had was a spindle from Craftsy and another I'd obtained from somewhere else I can't quite remember. Anywho...it didn't work out too well. I did spin some fiber, but the spindle was frustrating to me because of the back spin, the constant starting and stopping, the multiple coordination skills involved... Basically, I just decided it wasn't for me! 

So I went on about my way, feeling that I had at least tried something new. But there was an empty place in my heart. A place that could only be filled with wool. Wool spun into yarn. And I wanted to do this special spinning using a traditional wheel. Which, in the world of wheel spinning, is called a Saxony. There are many different styles available; everything from modern electric spinners and pvc wheels, to more traditional castle and Norwegian styles. They all pretty much do the same thing, but it depends on what you're willing to learn and what you find attractive. 

I love the look of an old-style wheel. Rumplestiltskin always fascinated me (straw to gold? yes, please) and Sleeping Beauty is my all-time favorite Disney princess. Yes, I have some femininity in there somewhere. I even have a daughter named Aurora, though my intention was not to name her directly after the princess, it was just a happy coincidence. So I searched long and hard for my perfect match. Bearing in mind I only had around $450 to spend. I finally found her. 

I chose a Kromski Interlude for many reasons. 

A. She was priced just right at sale price of $460. These generally run around $529.00. I picked mine up at the Woolery on sale, so keep your eyes open. You can still pick up the smaller "Prelude" for about $399 unfinished at KnitPicks.com. 

B. She was beautiful. I would have to stain her, since the sale price was only reasonable on the unfinished style, but I could pick any color I wanted and bulk up my wood staining skills. (no, it wasn't fun. yes, I would do it again.) She was also in the traditional Saxony style I wanted without the huge price tag. 

C. The Interlude is a good beginner wheel. Easy to learn, single treadle, single drive, good size bobbins, and a good low to high ratio with expansions available for faster flyers. 

D. It's size means that I can travel with it fairly reasonably. The wheel comes off easily and remounts just as quickly. So I'm looking for that perfect, secluded place where I can meditate and spin. 

So after choosing my wheel, I was so pleasantly pleased with the customer service from the Woolery, their super-fast shipping, and excellent interactions that I have to put a little plug in here for them. They're on my list of go-to places for future shopping, since they carry a lot of accessories and wool.
It took me 2 days to stain it after I got it.

Out of the Box and ready for staining

 I chose a light pecan to go with the floor in my craft room.

Partially stained. 

After staining it, I used a lot of Yosemite Sam cussing, a video on YouTube, and the instruction manual to put it together in about 3 hours. I could do it in probably 20 minutes now, but I had NO IDEA what all the pieces were and where they went, so it was difficult to say the least! If I had to do it all over again, I would do a "dry run" on assembly, so I at least understood where to put everything and what portions should NOT be stained before they are put together. That was one of my downfalls, because I had to sand off some of the stain. The pieces are perfectly fit and even a 2 layer stain causes problems.

finished and put together

I also purchased a video on Craftsy called *Foundations of Spinning. It was fantastic and helped me learn not only how to spin, but about my spinning wheel.

The results of my first roving hank spun

 I'm about half way through it right now and have spun 2 1/4 bobbins from some roving I had on hand. Yes, you can find 100s of free videos online and countless books, but I always find that my Craftsy videos give me the most information and help me learn how to do something right! Plus, there's no searching around for it, it's just right there when I sign in. 

3 bobbins full 

First time the roving went ON the bobbin

The yarn isn't pretty and perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it's taken me about an hour a day over the course of a week to get to this point. Not too bad, really. I was getting much better by the end of the third bobbin and spinning more consistently. Now I get to learn to ply!

If you really want to do something, and your heart desires it all of the time, you CAN do it. It takes practice, dedication, and persistence, but that's all in your desire to learn it. Anything you really want to do, and find worth doing, you can learn. 

Craftsy's Big Fall Course Sale

It's that time again! The time for hot cocoa, crisp and cool mornings, walks along paths littered with colored leaves, and knitting. If you're lucky enough to live in one of the cooler climates, you can knit by the fireside or bundled up in a blanket. Or maybe you like to sew, decorate cakes, crochet, and a variety of other crafts to keep you occupied on those chilly fall and winter days. If not, but you've always thought you might like to learn, now is the time!

Craftsy's BIG Fall Course Sale! (sponsored post) Have you heard Craftsy's BIG Fall Course Sale is happening now? Learn from the world's best instructors in the comfort of your home, when you shop up to 50% off ALL online classes! Once you enroll you can watch your classes anytime, anywhere, forever. Hurry, offer expires September 22, 2014 at 11:59 PM MT. Shop Craftsy's BIG Fall Course Sale and save.

You can never go wrong with a Craftsy class. Great for watching on those days you just want to be creative, or any time you feel the need for more crafting. Get inspired! 

Big Changes, Knitting Shawls, a Craftsy Sale, and Art, of Course

Good day to you all! There have been some major changes in my life as of late. First of all, I'll be closing down my t-shirt quilts for a while. I'm just tired of peanut butter sandwiches and want to explore some more exotic tastes. An eclectic person like me finds it somewhat difficult to continually pursue the same thing day after day. The joy is gone, so now I must move one.

With that comes the pursuit of something new! And I'm very excited about it. I decided it was time for me to go back to work. So after a few weeks of filling out applications and taking those repetitive employment tests, I found a great job through a Facebook contact of mine. It is working with students at our local art center after school. It's only part time and minimum wage, but I love it! The kids are great and I get to be in a teaching position at least in some aspect. I also get off all of the school holidays and the summer. Unless, of course, I can find something else to do there during that time...

On top of that, I'm also assisting with our Charter School's drama class. I also work with students there in an extracurricular session and the teacher has some really cool things planned. I don't get paid for that one, but the benefits are amazing.

A possibility also exists - pending approval from the governing board - for me to teach a knitting class on the last 3 Saturdays of the month at our library. I really love being involved in the community and some of the main social centers of our little town. Being an avid book lover, working at the library and teaching knitting is awesome. Can you tell I'm geeking out a little?

So with the possibility of teaching a knitting class, I decided it was time to step up MY knitting prowess and take another Craftsy course. After learning how to spindle From Fluff to Stuff this past year and working on Stupendous Stitching as an addendum to art quilts, I decided to head back over to Craftsy and take a course on Lace Shawl Design. I have been designing some hanging plant baskets lately and publishing patterns for them. Lace shawls (really lace in general) always intrigue and fascinate me though. So I thought this would be a good direction to take my newest pursuits and continue to produce some patterns!

Right now, Craftsy is having their Dog Days of Summer Sale and ALL CLASSES are up to 50% off until August 11, 2014. I just bought the Lace Shawl Design class for $14.99. It is normally $49.99 - so that's more than a 50% savings. If you've been itching to take a new class or explore deeper into a craft you already know, now is the time to do it!

So here is the announcement:

August Big Course Sale at Craftsy: Save 50%! (sponsored post) Don't miss Craftsy's Dog Days of Summer Sale happening now! Enjoy up to 50% off ALL online classes! Take advantage of big savings today. Hurry, offer expires August 11, 2014 at 11:59 PM MT. Shop now and save! And I hope you take advantage of it. There is nothing like learning a new skill or improving on one you already have. I wouldn't recommend it if I didn't take advantage of it myself!  Here's to you, my friends. May you be ever artful and happy in life.  I am a paid affiliate for Craftsy.com and clicking on any banners or links in this blog post will take you to the Craftsy site. The affiliate commissions add no extra charge to you whatsoever. I will never recommend a site or a sale that I have not first tried and am happy with. Thanks!

Why Pattern Designers Should Sell on Ravelry or Craftsy

Do you design knitting or crochet patterns? Have you ever tried to sell your patterns? What outlet do you use to sell your patterns through?

If you said Ravelry or Craftsy, you're up there in the top percentage of very smart and thrifty designers! Ravelry has been around since May 2007 when Casey and Jessica Forbes decided to found a social networking site that allowed fiber artists a place "...to keep track of their yarn, tools and pattern information, and look to others for ideas and inspiration." (Wikipedia, "Ravelry." 28 February, 2014.)

In comparison, Craftsy has only been around since 2011 when it was launched by Sympoz (former eBay execs John Levisay and Josh Scott) but had over a half million enrollments in its first year. (Wikipedia, "Craftsy." 24 November 2013.) Craftsy is popular for their video tutorials teaching people various crafts such as sewing, quilting, knitting, crochet, cooking, and painting. But did you know they also have a ton of patterns released by independent designers? Everything from sewing to crochet and knitting? Did you also know that it is free to sign up, free to sell, and you keep your profits? http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/sell

Neither Craftsy or Ravelry charge fees. Ravelry gives you up to $30 in sales a month before they charge anything, and then it is only a very small fee. Craftsy makes the explicit statement that it is your pattern, your design, and they do not take any of your profits. To make a long story short, Craftsy and Ravelry allow me to keep most of my profits (there is always the Paypal factor) but I lose out big on Etsy! If you want a break down, read on.

Now why am I saying all of this? Because I am also a vendor on Etsy. I sell my patterns there. To sell my patterns, I have to pay a $.20 listing fee, then another 3% +.25 if they are buying through direct checkout. If they buy through Paypal, I lose an additional .5% on Etsy then 2.9% + .30 on Paypal. So if I sell a pattern for $2 on Etsy, it costs me $.57 ($.06 is 3% + $.25 + $.20 listing fee) just in fees, making my grand total of profit $1.43. If I sell through Paypal, I lose an additional $.31. This takes my profits down to $1.12 Etsy and Paypal are collecting a tidy little profit off of me at this point. 

Now granted, if I sell through Craftsy and Ravelry I will still lose a portion of my profits through Paypal. I have a business account on Paypal, so my fee drops down to 2.2%. Which is only $.04. I can handle that. I would rather lose $.04 than $.88! Now, I know I'm going to lose out somewhere along the way and I can't make 100% profit, but the alternatives to selling on Craftsy and Ravelry seem better to me than paying Etsy!

 I'm not an Etsy hater. In fact, I adore Etsy and credit their venue for providing 90% or more of my sales. I can sell through Craftsy and Etsy at the $2.00 rate and still make $1.96 on each of my patterns because they don't charge fees for selling. But on Etsy, I have to charge $2.50 - $3.00 for those SAME PATTERNS just so I can make close to the same profits. 



I'm not going to go into the details of what is involved with pattern writing and production right now, but unless I sell A LOT of patterns, I won't become rich or supplement my income in doing it. I basically do it because I like to and can make a little change here and there. Ravelry and Craftsy are two of my favorite selling venues. If you're looking to sell your patterns online, try out one or both of these sites and see what I mean.

*Disclosure: I am a paid affiliate for Craftsy.com and will make a small commission from sign ups generated through clicking on these links. However, all opinions expressed and recommendations are based on my personal experiences. I do not sell for vendors that I do not use or have experience with. 

Saturday Musings: Resolutions Report

So how have your new year's resolutions been going? Have you had successes or failures? Are you still working on them and not giving up, or did you call it quits by January 15?

FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I have to say, I'm actually pretty happy with what I've done so far. I had a lot of plans and resolutions, and I've tried working on some of them throughout this month. I posted about also keeping up and organizing my blog better. I haven't given up on any of them, except maybe the Christmas craft one. I've been doing other crafts, though, so I can't say it's entirely a loss.

My list of resolutions was to

1. Learn to spin by wheel and spindle,
2. To make at least one Christmas craft every week  
3. To save money 
4. Spend more time doing outdoor activities such as gardening, hiking, biking, camping, etc. 
5. have all of my Christmas shopping done by November

While I have not yet attempted spinning, I did finish watching my Craftsy class Spindling: From Fluff to Stuff. I took a lot away from the class and have two skeins of roving and a spindle ready for when I have a moment to try it.

Saving money? Yes and no. I'm trying the 52 week savings plan and hoping that I can keep up with it. The first few weeks after Christmas are always very tight for us financially. Which is why I'm trying to save money. So if I can break the catch 22, I'll continue to save. Power bills go up from the cold, we have bills that have piled up because we bought Christmas instead, and my husband loses a good chunk from not working overtime on the holidays. I DID catch up and threw a little extra in the savings account last week, though!

Did I mention it's been cold? With ice piling up this last week, I've been a little hesitant to go outside and attempt any activities. Brr. Biking in 23 degree weather? No thanks. It will get done once it heads back up to the 60s and 70s, though.

FreeDigitalPhotos.net/ Paul Brentnall

Of course, along with those bills in January, I really haven't done any Christmas shopping, either. But I have Pinterest lists and ideas, and getting ready to do a few layaways. I still have 10 months.

One of the things I'm most proud of, however, is that I have kept up on my blog posts for the past 3 weeks! I'm so excited about some of the things we'll be doing. I really hope that you take the time to try out some things I post about and that this blog will become more interactive. If you've missed any of the posts, just click on the page links in the header and find what interests you.

I did dispose of my intent to do a blog for Sunday. A day off sounded much better. It also gives me a day to work on the rest of the week's posts. I've missed the deadline on a few, but the posts are there!

So I'd love to hear how your resolutions are coming along. Did you lose 2 lbs? Get something organized? Spend some time with family? Attempt a new craft?

Please comment below and let me know how you're doing! The worst that can happen is you'll get encouragement to keep on going.

Happy New Year and a Giveaway!

First blog post of the 2014 year! I'm very excited to start the year off with a contest. Every year I make a New Year's Resolution to do something new in the craft industry. Because of this, I've learned so many new things and expanded my skills. I don't know as if I would try the new things as frequently if it wasn't for the incentive of a resolution to do so.

I think it's important to set goals for ourselves. This year, I've decided to learn how to spin. I've played around with the idea for years, but think this is my year to take out the spindle and try my hand at making yarn. I've also researched some wheels and think I'm headed toward a new one of those too! So I also want to know, what is your Crafty New Year's Resolution? Do you want to learn to crochet, knit, quilt, weave, spin, or decorate cakes? Or maybe you want to build skills you already have. This is the opportunity for you to take any Craftsy class worth up to $20.




Simply enter your comment below, telling me what you want to pursue this year. Then, like us on Facebook and enter the link for the Craftsy class of your choice. You can also follow on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway to earn extra entries. PLEASE DON'T FORGET to leave me an email address in the comments! I need to be able to contact you if you win! If you don't want to leave it in the comments, you can simply email it to me at freckledotsquilts (at) gmail (dot) com with your name.

Good luck, and craft on!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Creating a Sewing Machine Stitch Bible

About 2 posts back I talked about a new class I was taking through Craftsy, called Stupendous Stitching. One of the first lessons in the video encourages you to make a Stitch "Bible." This is basically a personal reference for all of the pre-loaded stitches on your sewing machine - most notably those of the decorative stitches. My Janome came with 222 decorative stitches. The other 48 are utility and bridge stitches. There are also 5 different fonts included. So my Stitch Bible is going to take me some time to finish. I spent 4 hours on it today and got up to #84. I wanted a reference to my utility stitches and buttonhole stitches as well.

The first 6 pages!

So my book is going to be laid out in stitch order. The class suggests you can do it in any order you like, but since mine are arranged by stitch type, I figured it would be best to stay sequential! I decided I wanted it to look somewhat neat and tidy, too, so I first started by choosing to run an outline stitch every 1 inch. This made it look kind of like notebook paper. The awesomeness of the Janome is that the extension table and the throat plate have ruler markings, making it easier to measure up to 10" past the needle. I also decided that instead of using a marker to number the stitches, I would use the embroidery fonts for the numbers - meaning one less page of references.

Markings every 1" 

Numbering the markings

I set up one page at a time to break away from the monotony of straight stitching. I also wasn't real sure how many pages I would need and no, I didn't feel like doing the math. I left the first section of each one blank - no number or stitches, so that I have room later on to put in grommets and tie the whole thing together. Beginning on #5 (since the first 4 are straight stitches with different back stitch choices), I started my utility stitches.

The difference between what the machine illustrations show and the actual stitches is pretty amazing. It is also fun to see how different the stitch is when messing around with the length and width of them. 

What the machine shows and what the stitch actually is! 

Adjusting length and width of stitches

I haven't finished it yet, but when I do I'll post it. I have to start a new quilt tomorrow, but that's the great thing about Craftsy. I don't have to complete my class during a webinar, or adjust my schedule to attend one. I also don't have to haul around materials, forget what I needed, risk taking my machine with me, etc., etc. It's right there, online, when I want it or need it. There is a material list and I can re-watch anything I might have forgotten. It's just this side of heaven! So it may take me a while, but I'm not rushed and I don't have to put anything aside right now. If you make a stitch bible or reference, please share it with me! You can upload to my Flikr group. Also, if you're taking this class I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts on it. 

What are all those pre-loaded stitches for?

In my recent review of the Janome MC8900 I mentioned that it came pre-loaded with over 250 decorative and utility stitches. So what in the world are they good for? Many things, actually. If you're a beginning sewist you'll probably decide you don't really need them and you're good with just a basic machine that has basic utility stitches (ie., straight lines, satin stitches, zigzags, etc.) and you'll be right. However, if you do invest in a machine like the 8900, you'll see that it has all of these fancy stitches and start thinking about putting them on dresses for little girls, shirts for boys, edgings on jeans and shorts, along curtain bottoms and insets in panels, table runners, pillowcases and on and on and on.

If you're a quilter, your mind will probably start to wander toward art quilts. Craftsy has a great class on how to use these stitches for your quilts to create fabulous works of art that are original and beautiful! The class is called Stupendous Stitching and I have recently enrolled in it, as art quilts are on my bucket list. And for the remainder of the day, this class is on sale for $19.99 - $10 off the original price.

I don't get in to hand embroidery much, but I do a lot of machine embroidery using my Brother SE400. The designs for them are fantastic and numerous, but I'm really limited on what I can do with a hoop and a pre-made design. I don't have design software, so I use what I find on the internet - mostly at Embroidery Library or Urban Threads. So the ability to combine stitches and make visual interest in quilts and other items is an attractive option. Janome also has a circular sewing attachment that lets you make these stitches in circular patterns. They even have a video about it. With only a 4" x 4" space available in my hooped embroidery machine, 10" seems like a big deal! Oh, imagine the possibilities: Framing a picture transferred to fabric, designing intricate circular motifs, creating quilted patterns, and probably more than I can think of!

The projects that have shown up through this Craftsy course are fantastic. I wish I had permission to show them, but you'll just have to follow the link to see. These folks let their imaginations run wild and created visually interesting and useful items. So take a look, enroll in a course, try out those stitches, and discover what you can do today!!!!

Knit in Public Week

It's time to knit out loud! June 8-16 is Knit in Public Week. We're encouraging all of our crafty friends that love to knit (or crochet!) to get out there and knit in public. Tell people what you're doing, share your craft, and invite questions. Sure, you may be counting, but if someone is interested enough to ask questions, write down your count and answer them. They may be joining you one day. Knitting is one of those crafts that draw people in and get them hooked when the discover the possibilities. Little kids' eyes will grow huge when they see someone using 4 (or more) needles to knit in the round. To them, all those spiky rods are cool!

So come on, don't be a prude. Gather your knitting friends, hit the local coffee shop, fast food resty, book store, park - wherever, whenever - and knit out loud!

Continuous Learning

I'll admit it, I'm a bit of a geek. I love to learn new things. I especially love to learn new things about crafting; knitting, quilting, crochet, DIY and others are my passions. Once I've learned the basics of something, learning to improve your skills can be so beneficial to your future work. YouTube is a good resource, but you could cycle through 20 videos before you find one that actually answers the questions you have. Or, you can try to find a class somewhere, pay for it, buy all the supplies, tote them with you somewhere, and try to keep up with everyone else. But you may also be one of those people that just can't squeeze in an hour or two a week to learn something new or the classes move to quickly for you and you give up. Or you forget something but there is no resource for you to go back to unless you took scrupulous notes during class and neglected the actual project. Hmmm...what's a person to do?

Craftsy. I absolutely, 100% adore Craftsy and their classes. You can take as many as you want and take all the time in the world to watch the videos, get your questions answered, go back and see what you missed or forgot, and stay right at home to do it. The best part of these courses is that they are yours to keep, forever, and you can watch them any time you have a moment to do so!

You don't even have to invest any money up front to try one of their courses. Craftsy offers free mini-courses that are led by other students. I'm taking two of them myself:

The next 2 free Craftsy mini-courses I'm going to take are: 

1. Creative Quilt Backs
2. Short Rows

There are tons of others on many different subjects, even cooking. Craftsy also offers supplies and kits for the classes. Have fun and continue to learn. It keeps your mind active and your heart happy!