WIP - Angel Wings Baby Blanket by C. Lee Goss

Right now I'm working on a gift for my boss. As soon as I found out that she was pregnant I went digging through all of my knitting patterns. The moment I saw this gorgeous pattern I knew that the search was over. 

This pattern was in Creative Knitting's May 2009 issue. It looked elegant enough to stand above all of the other mundane blanket patterns but not so complicated that I couldn't finish it quickly. I used Caron's Baby Soft yarn with my trusty size 8 needles. 

So far I'm really enjoying the pattern. There's a simple progression that builds on itself to create the angel wing design as well as the bumpy texture. It didn't take long for me to get the repetition down so I don't have to constantly check the chart to make sure I'm doing it right. Overall I feel satisfied with my choice and I know that my boss is going to love her gift.

WIP - Enchantment Shawl by Hélène Rush

I got the yarn and pattern as part of a fabulous knit kit at my LYS, Yarn Junkees. They have a wide variety of knit kits available from shawls to hats to gloves to scarves. This particular shawl kit ran me about $53. Included in the charming plastic bag was the Knit One, Crochet Too yarn brand in Crock-O-Dye #564 Teal and Kettle Tweed #4435 Bamboo, the pattern (which is worth about $6 or so on its own), and the needles required for finishing this project. Each hank of yarn is worth around $25 each and the needles are about $10-ish. You really do get your money's worth with these kits. Not to mention it's the perfect way to pick a project when you're feeling a little indecisive or if you're new to knitting and want to give yourself a challenge.

You begin with the border working side to side as you can see in the WIP photo above. The lacework gives the impression that you're creating cables with the edge, but you're not. They do look pretty convincing though. Once you've finished the border, you pick up the stitches along the edge to begin working on the body. I'm a few rows in and now I'm starting to feel a little lost. There's some confusing phrasing in the directions that I'm having some problems deciphering.

The rows I'm struggling with are as follows:
Row 7: K7, *(k1 wrapping yarn around needle 2 times) 3 times, k7; rep from * across
Row 8: Using B, k7, *sl 3 wyib dropping extra wrap for each, k7; rep from * across

So, I guess I'm not supposed to knit those stitches? I'll figure this out, but for right now I'm stumped. I know that there will be some bobbles up ahead and I'm looking forward to those. From the picture of the pattern it almost looks like the slipped stitches are actually knitted in later which makes a lot of sense. So far, I have to say that this pattern is a lot of fun. I can't wait to start working on the short rows.

As for the yarn itself, I am beyond amazed at the color, texture, and ease. The first thing I noticed were the gorgeous colors of the skeins of yarn of the Kettle Tweed and Crock-O-Dye. The Crock-O-Dye is made with superwash wool, nylon, and silk. It's very soft to the touch and doesn't break easily. One of the things I loved about working with it is that when I needed to do the P2togs with the YOs in the pattern, the yarn didn't untwist very much making it easier to pull those stitches off without having to retry them over and over again. The Kettle Tweed is crafted using merino wool, baby llama, bamboo, and donegal. It has a crimped texture and feels even softer than the Crock-O-Dye. The blending of the earthy colors are even smoother. I'm totally falling in love with this yarn. The cable definition is outstanding.

Owl Lace Sweater - WIP/Review

I've been working on an amazing sweater with owl lace for the past couple of days. It's Ginny's Cardigan by Mari Chiba from the Unofficial Harry Potter Knits magazine published by Interweave Knits. I love their regular magazine patterns, but this collection really knocks my Narcissa socks off. I literally want to knit every single pattern. They have a few sweaters, socks, scarves, and mittens. There's over 30 patterns for me to sink my teeth into.

Here's what I have so far. You can't really see the sides, but it's all stockinette stitch. This is worked mainly in one piece from the bottom up. I love the shaping techniques used in this cardigan. Short rows were used to construct the bust line. Decreasing, then increasing stitches creates a snug fit for the hips.

The owl lace is the main focus point of the cardigan. It's really important to pay close attention to the chart as you're working. I usually can pick up on a lace pattern rather quickly and won't have a need to follow the chart after a couple of passes. This lace pattern is to intricate for me to memorize like that. You work this pattern over 23-31 stitches which means that you gain and lose stitches as you go. Regardless, it offers a challenge that I enjoy. 

I'm going to make a trip to the yarn store later this week to pick up some size 4 and 6 DPNs. I've had to buy brand new needles to do this project, but luckily the yarn was free for me. The needles are the interchangeable kind from Knit Picks. I'm really loving them so far. I can't wait to get the DPNs. 

The yarn I'm using is the Bernat Nylo Sports wool blend. It's 50% wool and 50% nylon. The colorway is Silver Mix which gives a great denim effect to the cardigan. I love how soft it is. I can't wait to put this sweater on!

Top 6 Apps I Use For My Business

Here's a quick list of apps that I use everyday for my business. I'll give a brief description of each and touch on what I like specifically. Some of these are pretty standard and some of these I've mentioned before in other blog posts. Some of these apps are available on both smartphones and tablets, some are not. For simplicity's sake, I use these apps on my Android phone exclusively therefore I will include links to each app from the Play Store.

6. Kies Air by Samsung Electronics

If you have an Android phone, then you'll need to have this app in order to share files on your phone and computer with each other. I like the Air version best because I don't have to connect my phone to the laptop and wait forever to be able to save pictures onto my laptop. Everything is organized as it is on your phone, so navigating is simple. I take most of my photos with my phone since the camera is really boss, so this makes things more convenient for me.

5. Pages Manager by Facebook

I run a business page on Facebook and a lot of the time I'm trying to share content from my phone. This allows me to keep track of how my page is doing when I'm not near my laptop. I can fulfill orders easier, communicate with customers easier, and post photos of WIPs and finished products directly.

4. USPS Mobile by the United States Postal Service

This is great for when people don't give their full nine digit zip code when placing an order. A lot of people aren't aware that they need the extra four digits when shipping something, but alas, you do. It makes things simpler for the post officers to organize the massive amounts of mail they receive daily and pin point the exact location of your address. It gets especially more necessary when shipping to a customer living in an apartment complex. Really, this is more for helping the post office than myself, but I do use this app a LOT!

Aside from finding the extra four digits, I calculate shipping rates very frequently. With the steady increase in international shipping, this helps me prepare for what I should expect when paying for the shipping.

3. Time Sheet by Florian Rauscha 

I love this app so much that I made a special blog post for it. Just to reiterate, I enjoy being able to keep track of my progress on how quickly I create an item. Also, it gives me an idea of how much I should charge for my time.

2. The Official Etsy App by Etsy, Inc

This one's a no-brainer. If you have an Etsy shop, you need the Etsy app. I can relist items, create new listings, look at other listings - the works. It has a very simple page setup that helps you keep track of new favorites and likes, sales, and how much money you've profited without having to swipe a lot or jump between pages. Plus, there is a very satisfying *cha-ching* sound every time you sell an item.

1. PayPal Here by PayPal Mobile

I sell at a lot of conventions and farmer's markets. More and more people are now coming to expect local artisans to accept credit cards at their booths and tables. Be prepared to have either the PayPal Here or the Squared Up apps. Both are relatively the same. They charge the same percentage from every transaction and have virtually identical accepted forms of payment and policies. The only main difference is that the PayPal credit card app accepts PayPal payments as far as I know.

The Red Scarf Project

This year I've dedicated some of my time and yarn to a very special project that I'm rather fond of. It's called the Red Scarf Project. Basically, knitters and crocheters are invited to use various hues of red yarn to create beautiful, soft scarves for unisex college students. The students are foster kids putting themselves through school and may not receive such a kindhearted gift from a loved one. 

This year I have made three scarves to submit. I wanted to take this opportunity to teach myself some new skills and get rid of some extra red yarn I had lying around the house. Believe it or not, I still have some more. The new technique I taught myself this year was working short rows. You can see how I utilized this new technique in the scarf below:

I also converted a pattern that I've used about 20 times with a beret that seems to be a favorite among my customers. I took the cable panel and added a simple border around it. I plan on using this for future scarves to sell in sets with my berets. They look really lovely as their own accessories, so I can only imagine how beautiful they will look together as a dynamic set!

This year I came up with a clever little way to solve a couple of problems. One, I needed a way to keep the scarves folded. Two, I had such a small amount of each color left over that I really didn't have a lot of options as to what I could use that yarn for. So, I came up with the idea to make a coffee mug cozy to wrap around the scarves. This also presents a new gift to the student who receives this scarf. Not only is this a clever way to keep your scarf in place, but it also gives the student something to keep their coffee mug from being too hot or cold. And we all know how much college students love coffee. 

I've got some of my students making scarves as well. We're all writing letters with words of encouragement and shower them with some love for Valentine's Day. Next year I plan on getting involved much sooner. The range of time that donations are allowed are from September to December. This was a really fun experiment for me! I tried some new stuff and succeeded and tried some other things that didn't quite work out. I'll get it by next year though! 

Lemme Teach You A Thing - How To Cast On (Knitting)

I finally started making videos on how to knit. I'm so excited! Please tell me how I did, if you followed along, and if you have any specific stitches you'd like to learn. 

New Dress Form

I just got this new dress form today! I've been wanting to get this for years. I named her Circe. <3 

I plan to take Circe with me to my craft market on the weekend and to have her pose for my Etsy listings. She's going to look great wearing my wraps and scarves. I'm really excited to start this new friendship! 

Buttons?

My mom told me the other day that one of my relatives wants to give away a bunch of buttons and ribbons. She then asked me if I wanted them or not. I gave her a look as if to say, "Duh" and she said "Oh, right. Why did I even ask." Then she wondered about whether or not I'd like them or not. I told her that it didn't matter because whatever I don't like I could just sell on Etsy or Ebay. She nodded and told me it was a good idea.

So, basically where I'm getting at is that I may come into possession of some buttons and ribbons. If I decide not to keep them then I will make them available for people to buy online. I was thinking about making some "Mystery Grab Bags" because those are fun! I have no idea what these will look like, but I hope that people will be into them!

This will help put me one step closer to my goal of how I wish to run my business. I'm so excited! :D

RIP Hero of Canton Hats

A few people have already heard, but I wanted to make an official statement regarding the situation involving a certain network banning the sales of a certain hat. If you haven't heard, read this (http://io9.com/fox-bans-the-sale-of-unlicensed-jayne-hats-from-firefly-471820413).

Here's what I have to say:
I depend on making these hats to afford to eat. I depend on these hats to keep my business running. No one really buys anything else from my store. Out of the 125 sales on my Etsy shop 76 of those are Jayne hats. That's roughly 61% of my sales.

When fans want to buy a Jayne hat (oops I said it!) they want to buy a handmade one made by a fan for fans. They don't want a machine made hat from a company that hasn't even seen the show or claim to be a fan. ThinkGeek is not at fault here. Too many people were requesting the hat to be sold on there. They were just giving the people what they wanted.

Here's what I don't get. Why didn't they just get a bunch of people who make the hat already with love and passion for the show and pay them? Haven't we taken away enough jobs? There are too many people who make this hat that would love to work for a company like ThinkGeek and provide these hats to true fans of the show, but no we have to manufacture them with a machine. We can't have independent contractors make the hats for a retail website because that's just too complicated.

Here's what I don't get with Fox. Why after ten years do they just now get around to telling people not to sell these hats? Because someone bought the license for it? Because they realize how much money they're losing not having this licensed? To protect the company that bought the license? Because they're tired of hearing people beg them to bring the show back? Because they're Alliance? Whatever their reason, they still have a legal right to protect, but that only goes so far.

"Although characters have an identity, persona, and other expressive elements, clothing, by itself, is considered a useful article, unprotectable under copyright (a principle that's proven a major irritant for clothing designers). In a 1989 case, a court of appeals refused to protect costume designs even though the company had registered its costumes as "soft sculptures" with the Copyright Office. Other decisions reinforced the rule that costumes are not protectable. There may be instances where a movie company that owns a series such as Indiana Jones could complain that your costume sale -- for example, hat, jacket and whip -- could violate trademark laws if you used the name of the character in your advertising... To be safe under trademark principles, avoid any advertising statements that imply endorsement or an official connection with characters or films." - Posted on Whedonesque.

 With this information it seems that I can still sell the hat so long as I use terms that aren't used in the show. But hold on, here's what Fox told Etsy to tell me.

 Etsy received a notice from Kasimira C. Verdi (foxip@fox.com), Director - Intellectual Property for Fox Group Legal. The notice said that Fox is the owner of copyright, trademark and other intellectual property rights in and to the television series FIREFLY (the "Series"), which currently airs on the Science Channel. These rights also include characters, images, designs, slogans and/or other distinctive creative elements of the Series, and the exclusive right to license merchandise in connection with the Series. According to the notice, use of various trademarks, characters, images, designs and/or other distinctive creative elements is not authorized. 

The letter stated that these listing(s) incorporate designs, symbols, language, images, or photographs that infringe upon the concerned party's copyright or other intellectual property right.

So who's in the right here? And who do I talk to so that I can find out? Here's part of the FAQ that they included with the cease and desist letter.

------------------------------

-Q- May I change the design or wording of my listing(s) and
reactivate them?

-A- Etsy cannot offer advice on how to change the listing(s).
Please address any questions concerning this matter to the person
who contacted Etsy (see contact information above) or an
attorney. Do not reactivate these item listings or relist these
items until the issue has been resolved.

------------------------------

An attorney. Because people trying to make a living on Etsy have easy access/can afford those. Oh, but I can try to contact Fox about this matter? Fine. They've been so great about settling this in all of those interviews they've been doing - oh wait, they haven't actually responded to anyone about this situation? Huh.

Here's part of the letter that I found downright insulting and pissed me off more than anything else.

This is a confidential matter, and we request that you not discuss this issue in the Etsy Forums or otherwise violate the confidential nature of this email.

They just took away something that I depended on to provide for myself and keep my business afloat and they expect me to keep my mouth shut? Fuck that. To these corporate asshats a $20 hat might not mean much of a loss for the people who made them. Just like how a certain retro-futuristic sci-fi show didn't mean much to them. All they see is the dollar signs and how they can profit. They don't see how this really affects the people who made the hats.

I've been looking for a job for the past two years and you know how many people actually gave me an interview? One. I got the job, but I only get to work EIGHT FUCKING HOURS A WEEK!!!! I also teach a knitting class every Friday, but I only have two students that actually show up every week and then there are weeks that they can't show up. Not a very stable income. What if these students decide that they're done learning or get to a point that they feel it's too complicated and stop coming to classes? I'm screwed. That's what happens. Does Fox care about my situation? No. Does anybody? It certainly feels that way sometimes, but I do know that I have people in my life that actually gives a shit about me.

I've been paying attention to how the fans have been reacting to this situation and it really fills my heart with pride to be a part of a fandom that genuinely cares for not only the show, but the people who also love the show. The overwhelming support of the Browncoats show that we really are unified and I feel like together we can achieve anything. To anyone reading this, Browncoat or no, thank you. This has been a very stressful couple of weeks for me and my mind is spinning trying to find a way to make this work. There's been a lot of screaming and a lot of tears. Now that I've seen how the fans have been reacting to this I feel like I'm not alone and I might actually be able to find a way to continue making a living.

Contest for Mystik Designs' new logo!

Okay, so I was going to make a video for this, but I think I'll just make a blog instead since I'm all camera shy and stuff. :S

I'm not really happy with my business logo. The background is dark and the letters are too dark for the background. The silhouette has absolutely nothing to do with what I make. It was more of a promise to myself to start making more Victorian Goth/Steampunk looking things which never happened. I still plan to make some things that might be used for that like my cameo chokers, but I digress.

So, the purpose is simple. I need a new logo. I'll be using this new logo for my business cards, buttons, a background for this blog, my business' Facebook profile pic and any tags or displays that I'll put on my products. This is to help establish myself as a brand and make my business actually look like a business and not a hobby. Because you know... it's not a hobby.

Rules:
1. Don't make it look too dark. See what I have now? That's too dark. Don't make the new logo that dark. Anything lighter would look tons better.

2. Don't use artwork from someone else, unless the artist has given express permission to you or to everyone on the internet. We need to respect artists for their time and talent.

3. You can use whatever font you want so long as it's legible. Creating your own font for the logo is highly encouraged.

4. It needs to have both an image and the words "Mystik Designs" and "Magic in every stitch!". You can use the logo above as a reference.

5. Don't make a copy of the logo above. I don't like it. No silhouettes.

6. Make a copy of the logo that can be used for a profile pic. If you want to earn some extra credit you can optionally make a design for business cards, buttons, this blog, or whatever you think I'll need the design for. If you do this, keep in mind that whatever colors you use have to stay uniform. If you make a business card design, I don't need you to enter the info but I will need to see a sample of text.

7. You can enter as many times as you want to. Submit all entries to my business page in a private message. (www.facebook.com/magicineverystitch) I will create a folder on the page that showcases all of the entries.

I encourage all of my artist friends to take part in this and get all of their artist friends to take part also. Usually I have people make submissions and have people vote on it. This time I will be choosing the winner. The contest starts now and will end on June 30th. I will make a decision and announce it that night or on July 1st. The winner will get to choose a hat from my shop up to a $45 value. My cosplay hats are off limits though. Sorry. :(

Here are some size requirements for things that I'll be using the logo for. Keep in mind you only have to make a profile pic and the other things are optional.

Facebook Profile Pic: 180px by 180px and less than 4MB

Facebook Cover Photo: 851px x 315px

Etsy Banner: 760px x 100px and less than 2MB

Blogger Background: 1440px x 720 px  and resolution of 72px per inch.

Price Tags: 2" x 1"

Business Cards: 3.5" x 2"

Happy designing! :D