introducing: my addi express kingsize knitting machine

Well, it's October, which means that my favorite season is in full swing.

How could you not love Autumn?  The leaves around here are just starting to change, so I'm still getting excited for all the fun colors.  Aside from 85-degree weather today, most days have been sunny with a bit of chill in the air.  PERFECT!

Why?  Because that makes for the best crafting weather.  I don't sweat to death while sitting in my pile of yarn, or I can take it (or even my paints) on our back porch, wrap a blanket around me, put on an audio book or some music, and enjoy life to my heart's content.

Also in typical fall fashion, my friend and I have booked a table at another craft show.  I mean, it's not really the best season on earth without a day spent crocheting or knitting and selling my wares - and even getting to indulge in some delicious soup made by the wonderful ladies at the church!

This year, I'll be making my usual items (headbands, hats, and... I guess that's pretty much it) and decided to invest in something fun to make the process go a little bit faster.

Enter my knew Addi Express Kingsize Knitting Machine:


I've been using it to make the body of slouchy hats, then picking up stitches around the bottom with my needles and knitting the brim before adding a pom-pom on top.  Suffice it to say, they're coming out super cute.

Last weekend was craft day with the ladies, so I took all the hat bodies with me and just worked on the brims.  I have to say that this is the best way to use up all that variegated stash yarn I've had sitting around, not knowing what to do with it.  Especially all those tiny little balls I buy at BJ's or ACMoore for no other reason than that they were $1.  They make the cutest slouch hats, people.

I'll be taking some photos this weekend, so stay tuned.  In the meantime, I look forward to joining the Addi community and sharing some creative ideas.  It's been mentioned to me that it's a great machine, but it's lacking in the number of people available to share fun ideas.  It'll be fun to contribute!

PS: It takes me 15 minutes to make one of these hats.  FIFTEEN FREAKING MINUTES!

get ready for fall with my pattern sale!

I have a variety of goals with this blog post:
  1. To experiment with embedded posts from my Facebook timeline
  2. To experiment with Ravelry coupon codes (I wanted to do this via Etsy, but the functionality that I wanted required too much specificity that just isn't built in yet)
  3. To get you excited and prepared for my favorite season!
Here's the scoop:

Post by JennyHats Handmade Custom Knit & Crochet.



Make sure to hurry, though, because this one-time promotion ends on Sunday, September 8th!

crochet baby hats obsession

I've gone from not wanting to do anything to only wanting to do one thing: crochet baby hats.

I guess it all started when I listed a bunch of baby photo props for sale on my Facebook page.  They were custom ordered and made about a year ago, but never picked up in my shop.  They're a decent amount of items just sitting around in my craft room, and I don't see a reason why a photographer or new parent shouldn't be able to enjoy them because Lord knows I can't.

Which led to looking on Etsy for pricing of similar items so I could price them competitively.  I think we all know what a rabbit hole that can be; I wound up favoriting a ton of baby hats and deciding to take on a ton myself.

And I loved it.  They work up so quickly and look way too adorable.  I mean, who could pass these up for their Autumn newborns?

I'm partial to the mustache hat, myself.  I realize that's not the best photo in the world, but they're cute to look at anyway.

I wasn't going to keep making them, but since it seems like they're helping bring my urge to craft back to life, I'm going to keep at it.  And I love the pumpkin hats.  They're just so simple, but look amazing.

Hope you're all having a good summer.  It's flown by and soon we'll be camping for Labor Day Weekend.  I plan on taking a couple books and some yarn, so I'll keep you posted :)

the one where i ask for donations of mojo

I've got nothing.

And I really mean that.

I'm still working on some top-secret projects (and by some, I mean "two"), and for whatever reason, they're just dragging.  I don't know if it's this whacky weather we've been having or what, but I've been exhausted and completely unmotivated.

Which means I've been doing nothing.  Like... nothing.

But I have bought yarn, which is so unproductive, I can't even begin to describe it.  I started cleaning up the disaster my craft room has become and almost fainted - there is nowhere to put the amount of yarn I've purchased over the past couple months.

I think part of my problem is that I have so much good yarn that I'd rather hoard it than making something with it.  Is this a thing?  If it's a thing, are there meetings I should be going to?

Summer is always like this, though.  Every July, I say I should work on some stuff for my shop so I'm ready for Fall and the holidays - then I sit around reading all the time instead.  And I've finished some good books this summer (and some awful ones, too).  So I guess it hasn't been a complete waste.  But it's something.

That's all I've got.  SOMEONE HELP ME GET MY MOJO BACK!