Creative Hiatus

As my last semester as an academic winds down, I've found that a creative hiatus has been forced upon me. Instead of hooking and designing, I'm briefing and researching. I graduate in less than two months with a J.D. and an M.P.A. After that, the grueling process of studying for the Colorado bar exam begins. Somehow, I don't think I'll be able to really get creative until July 30: the day after the bar exam.

In the meantime, I do have a wee bit of good news. I'm still getting custom orders in, which gives me just enough creative inspiration to not go stagnant. I'm still teaching classes, and one of my students is advancing far enough that I'm designing custom projects for her to complete. She will soon advance to the point we'll need to sit down and figure out if I'm her teacher or her designer. And I was just approved as a Stunt Stitcher for Stitch Diva. I'm really excited about that gig; test crocheting new designs or recreating existing ones for trade shows. So exciting.

My only big creative plan to fill the gap between now and the bar (besides filling custom orders) is to submit some patterns to publishers. If I can get even one published, that would make my creative year.

I don't anticipate blogging very much until after the bar, but those brief moments when I do, I'm sure I'll be sharing something special.

Until then, dear readers,
~Angelina

Light my fire

I've been told that one of the first rules of online sales is not to put all of your proverbial eggs is one proverbial basket. You should spread the love, so to speak.

I've been on Etsy for nearly two years now, and while I love Etsy (and will probably never leave), the site is growing faster than the developers and administrators are able (or willing) to keep up with. Some very basic functionality - multiple image upload and better search capability are two that come to mind - is completely missing, and there is a U.S.-centric focus that, even for someone in the U.S., is somewhat appalling. As a seller with over 1/3 of my business coming from overseas, I have a strong interest in making the "international site" truly international.

And so I've been searching for other avenues since I started on Etsy. PinkPurpleOrange. Dwanda. Mintd. All have great features, but they all seem to have one or more of the major Etsy pitfalls as well. Ebay Stores are out of my price range, and I don't want to reduce my work to bids and auctions. Having my own site is economical, but a programming nightmare for someone who is spread so thin. It seemed like Etsy was my only option.

Enter Artfire. The site is only in beta, the interface is still a little clunky, but it already has a zillion more features, one-step listing that takes less than 5 minutes a listing (you mean, I don't have to block out an hour of my time to list 2 items?), flat-rate billing, seller stats (what? I want to know where my traffic comes from?), and polite customer service. I couldn't resist - I had to sign up. The customer service and flat-rate billing alone are reasons to branch out. I've heard others say that Etsy had great customer service back in the day, but I've used site archives. It looks like RevolvingDork was a jerk from day one. And Artfire has someone on the site, blogging, or tweeting all day long, helping out others. Artfire actually advertises its site (wow - advertising to bring in traffic - what a concept). I feel like I have nothing to lose.

And so, you can find me on Etsy and Artfire now. Only time will tell how things will play out, but at least I have my eggs in different baskets now. If you'd like to "diversify" too, register on ArtFire.com here.

"Where my stitches at?"

Another semester is winding down, and I just finished entering in my end-of-year financials. I can't believe 2009 is just two weeks away! I suppose y'all have been wondering where I've been this year; my blog has been conspicuously dormant throughout 2008. Rather than provide you with excuses, I thought I'd give a recap of the year, and let you decide.

2008 ushered in the toddlerhood of my daughter, which has made crafting, er, interesting. Gabby loves to play with my ball winder, is fascinated with unspun roving, and things center-pull balls of yarn are hours of entertainment that end with Mami pulling out her hair and attempting to extricate Gabby from a hundred-yard pile of tangled $25/skein mohair blend. Not to be outwitted, I taught Gabs how to actually use the ball winder and swift, and put a crochet hook in her hand. She can't chain yet, but she'll get there soon.

I've been blessed that my mother-in-law has taken up spinning again full-force. She's a fiber gal, born and bred (her daddy invented the CVM breed of sheep - renowned for both its fleece quality and its yumminess). She even put herself through college breeding and showing sheep! But I digress. She's taken up the wheel and I get a steady stream of handspun yumminess. Of course, this yarn, for the most part, has languished in my stash, but I have it nonetheless.

That isn't to say that I haven't been productive. Between law school and finishing my masters degree, I've found time to make my hooks happy. I've actually busted through quite a bit of my stash with my new favorite project: arm warmers. I love them. They're cute. They're fast. They're versatile. They make great gifts. Yay Arm Warmers! I've made lots of them to date - Ravelry lists 10, but I've made several more.

A few of my arm warmers, as taken on my iSight camera (hence the cruddy quality):


And speaking of Ravelry, I'm addicted. The number one reason why I haven't blogged that much here is because I'm doing my project synopses on Ravelry. I love it. I love the linking and the sharing and the rating and seeing all the other cool things people are doing. BUT - I just found out that only Ravelers can view you on Ravelry, which means that the great big Internet (including you, faithful blog reader) can't read my "Lessons Learned" from my projects. I think I've come up with a happy medium: post all the yarnie detail on Ravelry, and display finished items and general overviews here on my regular blog. That way, if you want the Knitty Gritty detail, you can check out my Ravelry crochet project notebook.

I've also been churning out lots of scarves. I've had a ton of yarn that's just been languishing in my stash. Orphans from bargain bins. Mismatched lots. Pretty yarns I just couldn't resist buying but didn't have a use for. I busted out about 20 scarves, and I sold most of them at Handmade Militia this past weekend.

Hats are another big thing. I've been working on expanding my line to be more unisex. I made several male-centric hats that have been very popular with the guys in my life. I figure I'll make a few more before I call it quits (for awhile). Unfortunately, guys are boring to crochet for. Dull colors, simple designs... they hate fringe and curliques and can't understand why it matters if I use a slip stitch or crab stitch on the edge of the beanie.

I haven't felted much lately, mainly because we don't have our own washer. I have to go to my mother-in-law's to complete felting. Although we get along, this just isn't something I have a lot of time for. Felting in her ancient machine takes a long time (like, 6 cycles). So I've avoided it. Unfortunately, I found out at Handmade Militia that my felted baby booties are still wildly popular, so it looks like I'll be busting my feltable wool stash on more booties. Le sigh...

Teaching and designing have also picked up a bit. I'm still teaching over at TACTile, but I've expanded to private lessons. I love that. I've also started designing, and some of my designs are available either on Ravelry or in my Etsy Shop. I'm submitting a few designs to Interweave Press for next year's Fall edition - keep your fingers crossed for me!

And finally, life in general. I'm still in the Navy - I was selected to the JAG Corps this November, and now I'm hoping and praying my actual commissioning goes through. I'm still in law school and still working towards a Masters. With luck, I"ll be done in May. I'm still a full-time Mommy, and I still do my best to make time for my dear husband. So life has been hectic. But I'm still here, still hookin', and still loving this thing called fiber art.

My resolution for the new year (well, the one related to Kastroll Kreations) is to blog at least once a week. To keep in touch with you, Dear Reader, for it's you that this blog really exists for.

'Til next blog,
~Angelina

You Spin Me Right Round

In my post-show glow (note to self: take pictures of your booths!), I've decided that it's time to refocus my shop. This means that a few changes are in store for Kastroll Kreations.

I've decided to focus the shop exclusively on crochet. It's what I'm good at, and what I love. The good news for you, dear reader, is that all of my sewn items are 40% off. Stock up on bibs and blankets for those babies that will inevitably become a part of the lives of your friends, family, and possibly you!


What about my art, you say? Well, my womyn's spirituality art is being spun-off into it's own Etsy store, Goddess Art, at http://goddessart.etsy.com. Here, you'll find my fabric transfers, patches, ACEOs, artSquared, original silk paintings, original line drawings, and any derivative art from these items. For now, the two shops will share a blog (after all, my art is also a Kastroll Kreation), and features will be shared between the two shops. Look for more posts on Goddess Art in the coming weeks, as I transfer the art listings from Kastroll Kreations to Goddess Art.
Back to crochet - I also learned that my accessories are wildly popular - hats, scarves, bags, and the like. But the items that did especially well were the ponchos, shawls, and shrugs. You'll see an increase in the number of clothing items in the coming weeks as I get these items photographed for the shop, and a clearing out of blankets, housewares, and the like. Soap socks and scrubbies, of course, will be available as always.

So many changes. Get ready for the new face of Kastroll Kreations and its sister store, Goddess Art. Both should be ready for their new images in time to ring in the new year.