…teresting things… so come see! The Goal One of my 2013 goals was to accomplish crucial FreshStitches business functions in under 4 hours a day. I counted a task as a ‘crucial function’ if it was necessary to keep my business running at full steam. So this included: replying to emails, participating in online forums (directly related to FreshStitches), writing blog posts, formatting patterns, updating the website and winding/shipp…

…ext 3 sts] 6 times (30) and so on… In this technique, the increases occur evenly spaced from each other, and at the same spot every round, so you can see a spiral shape occurring (see the arrow in the photo above) with the increases. Advantages to the Spiral increase technique The instructions for doing this technique are easy to write/read Because you are increasing at the same spot every round, you can eventually learn to increase without…

…tail) wherever it happens to be. Use a locking stitch marker to secure, if necessary. By working with where the tail already is, you’ll get your eyes facing forward! How to attach to two rounds The eyes (and antennae) in the slug are attached to two rounds. How does that work? The last round of the eye has 12 stitches. To attach to two rounds, attach 6 stitches of the eye to the front loops on one round and 6 on the next! Now, if you’v…

…best to select projects designed to be made with a cotton that take into account its lack of elasticity. Cotton naturally comes in a range of colors, although commercially produced yarns in the tans and greens are becoming harder and harder to find due to a difficulty in sourcing the raw product. Typical cotton production requires a very heavy use of pesticides (see my comments in this blog post), so organic cotton yarns are worth investigating….

There’s no such thing as the perfect crochet hook. There may be a perfect hook for you, but not all hooks work for all people. Yesterday, you learned all about the differences between different styles of hooks. Today, you’re going to learn how to pick a hook that’s right for you. Finding the right hook for you takes some trial and error, but you can narrow down your search by paying attention to your crochet habits. Here’s…

…g will do. Most knitters/crocheters need a variety! Do you need any extra accoutrements? In this post, I’m showing off different bag/holder ideas, but storage doesn’t end there! Think about if you need any extra tools for storing. For example, if you want to carry around a pair of socks on double points, you’ll probably also want to invest in some point protectors or a DP tube so that your socks don’t fall off of your needl…

…n the two types of tools. Knitting needles on domestic flights in the USA According to the TSA, knitting needles are permitted on domestic flights. You read it! That’s the word straight from the TSA blog. And guess what? Many of your helpful tools are allowed, as well! Blunt-point scissors with blades less than 4″ long (think: child scissors) and tapestry needles are also permitted. What’s not allowed? Those circular thread cutte…

…hand, it could reflect that the sales on my website and Ravelry are just accelerating faster (which is a good thing). You’ll also notice that this year, there are more sources of sales, including Craftsy, Ravelry LYS sales and a myriad of other sites/ways that I sell my patterns. While none of these constitute a huge percentage yet, I think they’re an important component of my business plan. Stacey’s Income While pattern sales a…

…r of the glass, as well as some slight chemical changes in color that can occur during the weathering. Some colors are quite rare, with the most common being white, green and brown. The shape is determined by how the glass broke and tumbled. Although many pieces are rounded squares and triangles, you can sometimes identify pieces from their original glass: like a neck of a bottle. Sea glass occurs naturally on beaches. However, there is a lot of a…

…te, and they are made from leftovers from my kits, so it takes a while to accumulate enough scraps! Expect a new batch of them in fall! More affordable prices I’m very sorry that you find the prices too high. One of my top priorities is affordability, balanced with a quality product. I don’t make a huge mark-up on each item: I charge the amount I need to keep the business running. With kits, I include a high-quality 100% wool yarn and…