7 years!

November 6 will mark the seventh anniversary of Fuzzy Mitten! I'm not sure how it's all lasted this long, but I'm so grateful that so many people enjoy my patterns - enough to keep me going longer than I ever expected, and hopefully for a few more years to come!

Did I ever explain how Fuzzy Mitten got started? I used to work as a gardener, at a garden center. However, being in Canada, I had a few months off over the winter. I was bored, so I started knitting little toys just for fun, and to use up bits of yarn I'd found. Each toy had it's own character, and it was very satisfying to see how many variations I could make on one basic shape. The clothes were a big part of the fun too. I'd only been knitting for a couple years, and hadn't tackled anything like clothes for myself. Tiny toy outfits were a great way to experiment with garment shapes, stitches, and yarn types.

A friend suggested I try selling the toys on Etsy, since they were just sitting around my apartment. It seemed like an interesting idea, and setting everything up, while challenging for someone who wasn't really internet savvy, was also a good use of spare time. (If you're curious about my shop name, you can read about it here). Within a couple weeks of listing my toys, knitters found them, and started asking for patterns. I was quite hesitant at first, because I didn't consider myself an experienced knitter, and certainly not qualified to be a designer.

But the interest was clear, and growing, so I thought I would try. I wrote out the instructions for all those first toys I had made: a polar bear, a squirrel, a tabby cat, a puppy, a lamb, and many others. The patterns were rough, and I needed help with a lot of things, but they were popular! By the middle of the next summer, I was so busy designing and running my Etsy shop, I realized I would have to cut back the hours at my regular gardening job if I wanted to keep Fuzzy Mitten going.

It hasn't always been an easy or smooth journey since that day, but I don't regret giving my business the chance to grow, and giving myself the chance to grow and change along with it. I've been given some great opportunities, met a lot of lovely knitters, and overall had a wonderful time designing cute toys for others to knit.

Now, as a treat for reading all of that, here is some lovely news: I'm having a sale in my Etsy shop and my Ravelry shop to celebrate it's 7th anniversary!

EDIT: The coupon code I'd posted earlier for Etsy was causing problems, so I've simply reduced the prices of all the items. I hope you enjoy trying some new patterns, or giving them as gifts to fellow knitters!
In my Ravlery shop, you'll get 20% off when you check-out.

kyr at 2

Happy second birthday to Kyr! You are an interesting and complex little boy, and I'm not sure I quite know you yet. I love how you chatter, and are so friendly with other people. You adore your big brother, but you also know how to stand up for yourself. Daddy is by far your favourite person, but I'm the one you ask for in the middle of the night (I'm not sure who is luckier). Right now your favourite toys are puzzles, anything on the ipad, and your Pinkie-Pie doll. Your favourite show is Blue's Clues. You are starting to learn numbers and letters, but colours get you very confused. You love almost all kinds of fruit, but you dislike meat, except a bit of fish sometimes. You could play in the sand and water for hours, but I'm pretty sure you could do without snow. I love how you cuddle, and laugh so hard when we're silly together, and how happy you are to see me.

happy birthday, Lev

I'm been super busy sewing and knitting gifts for family and friends, so I don't have much to show you right now. I hope you're all enjoying the holiday season! I've also been trying to keep things under control, despite solo-parenting for a week, various people being sick, parties to organize, cook for, and attend. (But I imagine life is like that for many people, at this time of year). In the middle of all this, my first son Lev turned 4 today!

Here he is, a few weeks after he changed my life forever. There was no way to know what sort of person would develop out of that tiny, sleepy baby.

Today I know that he is sweet, loving, silly, courageous (but cautious), smart, and fun. He is as good a big brother as I could have hoped. He loves throwing balls and frisbees, playing in the snow, and will happily go for long walks (especially if there is water and a rocky beach at the end). His other interests change from week to week, but that keeps life interesting. I'm sure he'll grow and change just as much in the next 4 years, but hopefully he will always be these things that I love most about him.

Etsy shop update coming soon

Wow, I can hardly believe how many people have entered my contest already! I guess everyone likes gifts, especially when they're cute and cuddly, right?

Thanks so much for all the birthday wishes! It was a quiet and relaxing day, as the weather was terrible and we had to put off our original plans. Even though I had to make my own birthday cake, it was delicious and well worth the effort. I made orange-almond cheesecake, and there is still more than half left :) I even had my sister and brother-in-law there to sing me a very silly birthday song, and my niece to make funny noises and faces (7 months is a very cute age).

Taking a look at my completed poll about the Fuzzy Knits kits, I now have a much better idea of what people would like me to offer. I think I will take the votes as an indication of the relative amounts of each type of kit I will make, rather than just offer the most popular kind. I will also be making a few tote bags to sell on their own, for those people that already have my pattern book. Looks like I still have some work to do!

As for my Etsy shop update, I'm waiting for the contest to be over, and my orders of yarn and books to arrive. I hope it doesn't take too long, but the wait also gives me time to make more tote bags and finish off a few toys I have sitting around in pieces. I'll be sure to let you know when I have a more firm date in mind.

happy (un)birthday!

So here's the big surprise: another give-away contest! In celebration of my birthday, and the un-birthday of everyone not born on this day, I'm giving away one of my toys. If you win, you get to choose one of the twelve cuties in the photo (but not the cake, it will shortly be consumed).


To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post, telling my about a very special birthday present you received. It could be something you got as a kid or as an adult - anything that really sticks out as a gift that was super awesome, made you smile or cry (in happiness), or was just exactly what you needed at the time. Don't think too hard about it! I just thought I would ask, because I think good things are better when shared :) For example: my most special birthday present ever was being asked to marry my sweetie, which happened just after my birthday last year.

Also, please leave your name with your comment, and email address if you feel safe doing so. It would be difficult to give something to "anonymous." The contest will end next Sunday (May 25) at midnight. The winner will be randomly chosen, and announced here the next day. I'll also send the lucky person an email (if I can).

Good luck!

P.S. I am now on Twitter as fuzzymitten. Please add me to your list, if you feel like keeping up with what I'm doing. Also, the pdf file for the Fuzzy Knits cover is now available from my website. I thought this method would be much easier than emailing it to those who remembered to ask.

hrmmm...

I was supposed to hear by now if I got into the craft fair. Maybe my partner was just busy today, and didn't forward the email. I haven't totally given up yet. On the other hand, it means I wouldn't have to work like mad over the next 6 weeks in order to make enough toys. Well, I'll keep busy tomorrow so I don't worry too much.

I made another fabric toy today: a denim coloured bunny with a dark green vest. He's very chipper looking, and was named Sven by my husband. He has no explanation for the choice, but it stuck. I have come to the conclusion that my choice of fabric determines the final shape and character of the head. It something useful to know, so in future I can choose the right fabric for the toy I want to make.

I'm so pleased that so many people have voted in the poll! I'll wait until it's finished before making any conclusions, though. I noticed later that my choice of post title was pretty funny, and wondered how many of you read "pollo numero uno" on the first go, and thought I was going to write about chickens :D

I finished reading "Bridget Jones' Diary" this evening (I know, super exciting life I lead, isn't it? After that, we watched an episode of Star Trek) Can't understand why I've never read it before, and now want to watch the movie again (and not just to see Colin Firth). Has made me write with no nouns to start my sentences.

In other news, I turn thirty on monday. Horribly exciting, no? I had thought of planning a big birthday picnic and inviting all my friends, but chucked it to spend the day at the Montreal Botanical Gardens with my hubbie. I think I'll pack a lunch of yummy and terribly fattening food (too bad we can't have wine with it) and slide into my next decade without a worry about wrinkles, cellulite, white hairs, or any of that other horrible aging stuff. My husband loves me just as I am (am allowed to be horribly sappy when turning thirty, to take the edge off. Now look at pretty flowers)