Handcrafters' Holidays Blog Meme

I saw this on Sew, Mama, Sew! and thought it would be fun to answer a few of the questions, even if my blog is a lot more about knitting than sewing. Hope you enjoy reading my answers!

Do you have a favorite gift that you love to give?

I love giving my family hand-made gifts because I know they will appreciate the time and creativity I put into them, whether it's just a hand-painted card or something I spent hours knitting.

If you’re making gifts this year, what are you making? (Post photos if you have some!)

I've made several aprons, knitted a bunch of toys, and plan to make a pair of mittens and a hat. Sorry, no photos yet. I don't want to spoil the surprise!

Name one thing on your personal wish list.

I do have several knitting books on my wish list, but lately I've been thinking it would be awfully nice to have a rotary cutter and board. I have this itch to do some quilting. A scissor sharpener would be great too! My poor old scissors :(

Do you make and sell things that would make fantastic gifts?

This is where I say how adorable and lovable my toys are, and what a great gift idea one of my pattern books would be. My pin cushions would make lovely gifts too, if I ever had time to sew any!

What is your favorite family holiday tradition?

My favourite family holiday tradition would have to be the big supper on Christmas day. It's not just the food, which is always great, it's the whole day spent together getting everything ready. When I was a kid, it was always at my grandparents' house. I have wonderful memories of arriving just after lunch to their warm, cozy house. Visiting and playing games with whichever aunts, uncles, and cousins were there that year. My grandpa watching 3 different sports games on the T.V. Delicious food smells coming from the kitchen. Making the gravy as all the food was being put on the table. The steamed pudding my grandma would always make, with two kinds of sauce. Sleepily walking home through the snow.

What do you love most about the holiday season?

What I've always loved most is finding (or making) the perfect gift for someone, and watching their face as they open the package. It warms my heart to be able to show how much my friends and family mean to me, in even such a small way.

What do you like least about the holiday season?

What I like least is how some people can be so cynical and try their hardest to not enjoy this time of year because these holidays are so commercialized in so many ways. It's not difficult to just turn away from all the shiny artificiality, and delight in whatever is special to you - family and friends, hoping for better things in the new year, practicing kindness to strangers, or even just enjoying the change in season.

Anyone close to your heart that you’ll be missing this year?

I won't be missing anyone, because for the first time in years I will be going home for Christmas!

What is your favorite holiday food?

My favourite holiday food must be my grandma's steamed pudding. It's full of raisins and spices, and is so rich and yummy. Then you get to put rum and butter sauce on it, or tart lemon sauce. It makes my mouth water to think of it.

Do you have a great recipe to share?

I have an excellent recipe for chewy ginger cookies. It's in another post, because this one is getting rather long!

photos

I just got an email from one of my customers, saying how cute her little penguin had turned out, and that she would send me photos. I was reminded how it always makes my day to see how adorable and special the toys are that people knit from my patterns. I'm glad that there is enough room for creativity in the patterns that other's toys don't all look like mine :)

I started a Flickr group (you can find the link on the right) because I hoped people would want to share photos of the toys they had made, and maybe share ideas on how to make them. Sadly, the group is still very small. Maybe most of you aren't on Flickr, or you don't have a digital camera. Ravelry has been a good place to see what people have made, and I'm always checking there to see what's new.

If you like, I think you may be able to share photos here, by including them in a comment or linking to them in a comment. That way other readers can also see what you've made, even if you're not on Flickr or Ravelry. I know there are plenty of people out there who buy my patterns, and never find the time to knit them. Maybe you can inspire them with pictures of the wee cuties you've knit :)

limited time reindeer

I've decided to only sell the reindeer pattern until the end of December. It is a rather seasonal pattern, so in the new year I will put up a slightly different version for sale - either a horse or a unicorn. The reindeer pattern will be offered again next autumn, so don't worry that it will disappear forever!


I think I may also discontinue the owl pattern, and perhaps one more which I haven't decided on yet. The owl has never been very popular, and the number of patterns is beginning to be difficult to manage. I am open to discussion on this topic, though. If you think I should keep all the patterns, and continue to add new ones, then I will do my best to keep it all under control :)

winter is here

The snow finally decided to take a break, and the sun even came out for several hours. Not having a dog, I took the camera out for a walk. I thought I would share some of the nicest photos with you.

rush rush

I seem to be rushing headlong into the wholesale business! Well, it's not as bad as that sounds. Not wholesale toys this time - I'm still quite firmly against that, except in special circumstances. Wholesale patterns this time.

A friend of mine introduced my patterns to a yarn shop owners' list. Now there's all this interest in selling my patterns, and I'm not prepared! I had thought about printing patterns for shops to sell; but when I looked into it, I decided there wasn't enough demand to bother, considering the high cost per pattern.

I am now convinced the scheme might work. But it feels like there's such a rush to get everything organized... for Easter! I need to find a printer that will deliver good quality booklets for a reasonable price (which necessarily involves orders of a few hundred). I need to get enough orders to make it worthwhile. Then I need to get them printed and distributed. And this has to be done by the beginning of March, at the latest!

I am keeping my sanity by making this a trial. If I don't get enough orders to keep the cost per pattern low enough for me to make a little money, that will be it. People will just have to be content buying my patterns online.

Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that people love my toys and patterns. But it's just me and my husband running this (and he has a full-time, busy job). There's only so much I feel we can take on, while still making a little money to keep it going. It's a hard balance to keep.

blizzarding

I wish you could see the snow here. I want to take photos, but the camera would only get wet. We should have over a foot (or more than 30cm) by the end of the day. They're fat, fluffy flakes too - the prettiest kind. I always enjoy snow days like this, but then, I don't drive :) Good thing I bought myself some new winter boots on the weekend for my trip to the post office.

Thanks so much to everyone who bought a copy of our pattern book :) There was a lot more demand than we expected, and we ran out of printed copies this weekend. But if you still want one, you can order it directly from Lulu. Mr. Mitten is working on a non-holiday version, which will be available in January. It has all the same patterns, only the picture pages have been changed. The kits were a lot of fun to put together, and I will definitely put more in the shop once I have more books.

Today will be for working on Christmas presents. I must say, a break from knitting the toys is appreciated. I wouldn't want to get bored of them. I managed some sewing yesterday too, and someone on my gift list is getting an apron made from a vintage tablecloth. Think yellow, brown, and olive 70's goodness :) Sorry, no pics until after Christmas, since I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise any more.

December Feature Pattern

Okay everybody, it's up on Etsy! Happy knitting :)