happy day

This made my day, and really, makes all the work I put into Fuzzy Mitten worthwhile.

"hi, my name is Dani, I run a coffee shop inside a hotel in Morgantown, WV where I used to occasionally sell a hat or pair of socks I'd knitted, but I wasn't terribly skilled and what I really wanted was to knit toys that looked nice but were not too complicated...I ran across your books while searching for patterns and they are just perfect...my bosses love them ( and buy them sometimes), they have given me a table to display them though lately they are requested or sold before I can get enough made to put on the table...my knitting has improved a lot...I just wanted to say thank you..I really love your patterns (I have festive knits and the larger pattern book) I have never really had a place to display or an interest in my knitting outside of my family..so this has been a really amazing experience. Thanks again..dani"

Thank you, Dani! When I started designing patterns, I never dreamt this is where I would end up, and things just keep getting better! It makes me so happy to know that people love my patterns, and get so much enjoyment from them. What better thanks could I get for my effort, than to know I helped a little toward someone learning new skills and finding a creative outlet they never knew they had?

scraps chaps kit giveaway

Holey moley! I must say, the last three days have been rather spectacular in my shops! I wanted to say thank you, and send out a huge hug to all of my wonderful customers. With a new baby, and having just bought a house, a little extra money is much appreciated in our house. I never thought that I could design and sell knitting patterns for a living, but my loyal customers have made my wishes real. I hope you all have tons of fun knitting scrappy chaps of your own, or for your loved ones. And if you need a little extra money too, remember our policy on selling toys made from my patterns.


Also, I've put together an extra kit to give away, as a thank you for supporting my little business! I don't have a photo of it, but it contains yarn and the extra bits to make a chocolate-coloured Scrappy bunny or puppy. I might throw in a few other fun things too. To enter, just leave a comment on this post, and I'll draw the winner on Friday morning (March 27). Include your name, and email address if you like (if you don't leave an email address, please remember to check Friday's post and email me if you get picked).

Edit: the giveaway is for anyone to join, Canadian (I'm in Canada, btw), American, and international too.

As for the kits and things, I have the tote bags all cut out now, so I should be able to find time to sew them this week. Maybe we can tentatively set Friday as the date for listing everything? We'll see. I'll let you know all the details when I have them ready. But I did want to say now that if you've already bought the Scraps Chaps pattern, but decide you want a kit too, I will refund the price of the pattern from what you pay for the kit.

Finally, I forgot to mention in my pervious posts about the Scraps Chaps pattern that the finished toys are bigger than my usual toys - about 27 cm (10.5") instead of 20 cm (8"). This means the clothing patterns probably won't fit them, unless you feel like trying to make the arms and body of pull-overs etc. long enough to fit. Because I designed the Scraps Chaps to be fun and interesting just as they are, I decided to not cover them up with clothes like my other toys.

thanks

You guys are so awesome. *big hugs*

Sometimes I get very intense ideas, and I need to write them down, articulate them, in order to make sense of what I'm thinking and feeling. I'm glad it all came out clear enough for you to understand.

Since before I could remember, I wanted to be an artist (really, that's not just a cliche in my case). I went off track for a long time, and coming back to a creative life has made me so happy. But it is as difficult as I always imagined it would be, even if the difficulties are not ones I thought of when I was younger.

I'm very blessed to have a husband, family, and friends who support what I do. And there's you :) I sometimes wonder what I'd be doing now if that first person hadn't asked me to write out the pattern for my teddy bear. Cute is what I am and what I do, and I'm super pleased you all like it so much!

new year's eve

I hope you all have fun plans for tonight, whether it's getting fancied up and heading out on the town, or having a fun time with your family at home. This year I'm sticking with the latter plan. I seem to have come down with a cold, probably caught on the flight home from Vancouver. Nothing like breathing in 200 people's germs for 5 hours!

I rarely get sick, so I'm holding up better than my hubby. We have some Star Trek TNG to watch tonight, a bunch of junk food, champagne, and kitties to cuddle up with. I'm not sure if we will make it to midnight, but we'll have fun anyway :)

The January feature pattern is all ready to go for tomorrow. Hopefully some of you have tried twisted stitches before, and will enjoy this pattern. I think I have my own way of making them, so feel free to use whichever method you prefer. I love making patterns with twisted stitches, and knit a gorgeous tuque for my brother's Christmas present (which I forgot to take photos of, doh!) But I have at least one request for another, so I might try writing up the pattern. Maybe it's time I put out a people sized pattern :)

I also want to thank all of you who have bought my patterns and toys, left me lovely comments, or found some other way to support me. It's been an incredible year, and I feel tremendously lucky to find something I love doing, and can be successful at. I couldn't have done it without all of you, and I wish I could give everyone a big bear hug! Have a fabulous evening, and I'll see you in the new year!