State Of The Blog, and An Informal Survey

(some hats I've knit recently)

Is January already almost over? I feel like I'm still trying to get myself out of 2014 with some semblance of my sanity intact! The past few weeks have been a blur of figuring out if I want to set goals for the next 12 months, scrambling around picking everything up off the floor before Lou puts it in her mouth, and trying desperately to keep my yarn stash from creeping downstairs bag by bag.

Over the weekend I had what feels, looking back on it, like some sort of manic episode, and I decided that I wanted to sell my hat patterns again instead of giving them away. And so I went ahead and undid weeks of work to make the patterns for free. Bad move. Almost immediately it felt like the wrong decision, and so all patterns are back to free, although they are available for download now instead of being shared in their entirety in the posts. I may go back and change that again, but for now all past patterns are download only.

All of this to say ... well, I don't know what exactly. I've been struggling these past few months as I try to think about where this blog sits in the bigger picture of everyday life. What started as a way to document my quest to give away 10,000 hats has become a dumping ground for so many other things as I've used Instagram to track my hats. It's so much more immediate and easy to just snap a photo and share it to that social media space, not having to think about crafting yet another post about the same hat I've made on repeat for three weeks straight.

And yet.

And yet, I miss this space, and what it used to be. I love sharing patterns here, and I toy with starting so many other fun projects in this space, but always pulling the plug at the last minute. Right now it feels like my time is best spent chasing after my kiddos, practicing our letters and slowly learning to walk and playing with trains and eating all the food in the house.

Hats get knit, they get photographed, and I work ever closer to my goal of 10,000. I've got a notebook full of patterns (or variations on patterns in some cases) that I plan to keep sharing here, one at a time, and for free.

But other than that, I'm not sure what to add to this space. So I'm turning it over to you. What would you like to see show up in this space? I know some folks like the link lists, and some don't. Some folks want me to share hat patterns knit flat (which I'm working on!) and some folks want less pattens all together. And I can guess at what all everyone would like to see and read and know, but I'd rather just hear it from you!

So please, I'd love to know! Comment to this post with your post ideas, or if you read this via e-mail, hit reply and share your thoughts! In the coming days, while I sift through all your comments and thoughts, hopefully I get bit by the writing bug again, and you'll see me back here more often with more than just patterns!

State Of The Blog, and An Informal Survey

Jan 25, 2015

2015 is for giving

Man, 2014 sure did kick everyone's butts, didn't it?! I feel like half the people in my Instagram feed gave 2014 the middle finger on its way out the door - so much heartache, struggle, and strife fell during those 365 days.

But now it's 2015, and today is for looking forwards, for making plans, and for kicking off our goals right! For me, this means getting my first hat off the needles and for sharing a super fun thing.

Last year was all about simple for me, and while I think I did a decent job of letting simple seep into every stitch of my life, I also know there's still so much more to do. And so, for 2015, I'll be continuing my simple journey by focusing on GIVING. Giving of my time, giving hugs, giving away hats, and giving away patterns.

Last night, I started going through all the patterns on my blog (you can see most of them in the sidebar) and sharing them in full here on the blog. My goal is to have every single one of my patterns available for free by the end of the weekend.

You read that right, EVERY SINGLE PATTERN FREE.

I'll be working on some pattern collaborations in 2015, and I'm excited for some of those patterns to be available for purchase, but I decided about a month ago that I wanted the patterns I shared here on the blog to be free. And then I sat with the idea for as long as I could stand, to see if it was a fleeting thing, or if it was something that I truly wanted to do. And it definitely is something I truly want to do.

All those years ago in 2009, when I started knitting hats and giving them away like crazy, I shared everything for free. And then, a few years ago, I got caught up in the idea that I could not only make hats and give them away, but that it could become my job. I could make a living doing this! And while it's been fun exploring that, I've realized this last year that what I truly want to do is give things away. I don't have to earn money with my hats - in fact, I prefer not to!

So I'm going back to the way it was, to the original feel and theory behind all this hat business. Make hats, give them away, repeat. When I write a pattern, share it so others can make hats and give them away as well!

I'm shutting down the Etsy shop today (well, putting it on vacation, not closing it forever ...) so you can't buy patterns there anymore. And if you see a pattern you'd like to use, but it still has a price tag on it, wait a week. It will take time to go through and share all the patterns, so please be patient - I promise they will all be free soon enough!

For now, it's time to get out of these jammies, get our football game faces on, and watch the play off games with loved ones. Here's to a new year, new ideas, and new hats!!

2015 is for giving

Jan 1, 2015

New "Print" Button!

I'm so glad to FINALLY have a "print" button on every page of the blog. I've been working over the last few weeks months to get my free patterns listed here on the blog, with no PDF downloading needed, and I'm finally almost there. I like that folks don't have to take any extra steps to work up one of my free patterns, but missed that it was harder than it should be for the patterns to be printed up for those who wanted to do that.

Enter a "print" button.

It ended up being incredibly easy, just clicking a few buttons and letting a website install it for me really. Which begs the question, why did I wait so long? Mostly laziness. Oh, and the three year old hanging off my back as I type this, making it hard to focus for more than a minute at a time!

You won't see the "print" button when viewing the blog on the main page. You have to click into a specific post, and then there it'll be, just above and next to the share buttons, and right above where you'd comment. Clicking the button gives you the option to print, but also to save as a PDF, send in an e-mail, and even remove the photos if you want to save a bunch of printer ink!

I'm super excited for how this will simplify things for me - no more ten thousand steps between Ravelry and the blog to get a pattern ready for you, just publishing a post and then sharing it on Ravelry. Hooray for simple!

New "Print" Button!

Oct 8, 2014

ask me anything // the answers!

Last week I posted that I was taking questions - any questions you had to ask me - and would be answering them here on the blog. Today is the day for answers! You'll find questions asked in bold below, with my answers following them.

Q. Do you have any tips for starting a hat? The first few rows of ribbing are always so difficult for me until I get some weight on the needles. (anonymous)

My best tip for starting the ribbing on a hat out right is to simply knit it flat. If you struggle with those first two inches or so, don't join for working in the round until you're to the body portion of the hat! You can use the tail at the beginning to sew up the brim, and the join will hardly be noticeable

Q. My question is have you ever considered doing a video tutorial on your blog on some specific knitting skills? (Lindsay)

 Lindsay, I've tossed around the idea of doing video tutorials in the past, actually! The problem right now is that they take up quite a bit of time, and to make them the best quality I can, I'd need to have some sort of editing software, which I don't currently own. It's on my list of things to try to tackle in the near future, though - I'd love to do a series where we all knit a hat together, with each step (from casting on all the way to weaving in ends) documented in short videos.

Q. I would love to know what you have found to be the five most challenging things have been in Owen's first 11 months. (Meredith)

Meredith, this is a great question! So much of our lives transferred seamlessly (or so it feels now!) to having a baby, not much has been intensely challenging. It helps that I'm still staying home full time with him I'm sure! With that in mind, here are the five things I've deemed the most challenging almost a year in:

1. Body issues - mine, not Owen's (of course)! I didn't gain a ton of weight with pregnancy, and I actually weigh less now than I did before I got pregnant, but my body shape is VASTLY different than it used to be, including several areas that are pretty loose and fatty now. Granted, I'm not working out very much at all, but it's been a hard adjustment to go up a pants size despite weighing less, to not see my tummy and thighs look the same after the fact, stuff like that. I suppose that if I worked out more often (on the list for August!) these "problem" areas would start to take care of themselves, but as I'm not yet, this is an area of struggle still.

2. Teeth. Owen is currently locked in a battle of wills with his top gum. He's got at least four teeth that are begging to come in, and we're pretty sure Owen is willing them to stay in his gums. It's the only explanation! After his first two came in two months ago, we've had more crabby days than not, gone through more Tylenol than I'd care to admit, and still no teeth. Argh!

3. Sleep. Along with being willful about teeth, Owen is a pretty willful kid when it comes to sleep. Meaning, he doesn't see much need for it. He goes to bed around 8pm and is up by 6am, usually with one wake in between. He naps on average 2 hours a day - added up, that's not enough sleep according to all reliable sources.

4. Keeping the television off. This one is all me, I'll fully admit. I had all these visions of being the type of mom who took her kid outside all day long, leaving the television completely ignored. The string of 100 degree days we've had this month has meant something totally different, and I struggle with how much we've had the television on some days.

 5. Photos, and general memory-keeping. I try to snap as many shots as I can, and to write down the little things, but I'll openly admit I'm bad about it. I like to just let the moments happen and think about the camera later, which means many moments go un-documented.

  Q. What are the average head sizes for Newborn, 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, 12 month....then if your feeling good you can go up in years.? (Debi)

This is a great question, and one I didn't fully understand myself until I found this great graphic on Pinterest (thanks to Tot Toppers)! I've cropped the chart to show only use the top few lines (which are the only ones I use). These tell me how wide and long a hat should be depending on age/head size. this way, I can match up what patterns use for their sizing with what size hat I'd like to make. The hat sizing chart is actually much larger, with all sorts of useful sizing information. However, I've found these two sections are all I usually need to get the right size for the hat I want to knit! // Thanks so much for your questions! It's been super fun answering them all, and I hope to do this again around the first of the year!

ask me anything // the answers!

Jul 26, 2012

ask me anything!

I've been blogging in this space consistently for almost seven months now (archives go back farther because I brought over my Minimalist Knitter blog archives), and there's this amazing community that's grown around what I'm doing - making 10,000 hats for 10,000 people. I wanted to take some time out over the next week to connect with you all in a fun way ... a Q & A post!

Here's how it works - simply ask my anything in the comments! Next week I'll share all the questions, and my answers to each, in a separate post! I'll answer questions about anything - my knitting, my goals (both with crafting and outside of crafting), our fertility journey, pregnancy, c-sections, life in Omaha ... you name it! I can't wait to see what you're all curious about ... ask away!

ask me anything!

Jul 19, 2012

ways to build community in this space

as we're about to enter into December, traditionally the busiest month for most folks, i wanted to take some time out to share a little secret with you ... i've got big plans for 2012 that i'm going to be announcing at the beginning of December! these plans include a challenge to knitters everywhere, and in order to get the largest number of knitters involved, i need your help.

simply put, i'm hoping we can grow this community between now and the first of the year by leaps and bounds ... maybe even doubling it!

to do so, i'm calling on all you regular readers to help me out! there's some super simple ways to do this without taking up tons of your time - can i share them with you?

1. comment!
simply stated, blogs with comments on every post tend to make new readers think "hey, if everyone else thinks what she has to say is interesting, i bet i would too!" now, i'm not asking you to comment randomly, or say stuff you don't really mean just to help me build numbers, but sharing what you thought of what i had to say helps me know what's on your mind, and where what i'm sharing is resonating.

for my part, i'm going to try to remember to ask a question at the end of each post, something for you to respond to and to discuss.

2. follow in a feed reader (google reader, bloglovin', etc). 
i've added a handy-dandy tracker in the left-hand sidebar (see it over there?!) which lets me and everyone else know just how many folks are subscribers. if you've already got a feed reader, this makes it super easy to keep updated on the blog - it automatically streams what i'm posting to your reader, along with any other blog you follow, helping save you time. no more hunting around from website to website to see what your favorite bloggers have to say, it's all in one spot!

if you don't already read blogs in a feed reader (i use google reader), maybe now is the time to consider it?

3. join me on google plus!
are you a fan of all things Google? i tend to be a Google fan-girl the way some folks are Apple fan-girls. one of their newest free offerings is Google Plus - a way to connect with other folks, share stuff you love on the internet and so much more. it combines Facebook, Twitter, and blog feed readers. it allows you to "plus one" just about anything on the internet so that you can share it with like-minded folks. and i'm on board!

i share blog posts from this blog on my Google Plus account, as well as other blog posts i love. if you're on Google Plus i'd love to connect with you - i love reading the posts, comments and thoughts of the folks there!

4. like the Minimalist Knitter Facebook page!
while i've gone back and for the about Facebook for several years, i finally got around to creating a page for Minimalist Knitter, and i'm finally able to say i'm digging what Facebook has to offer! not only do i post to the page each time i post to the blog, i'm also gearing up to host giveaways, coupon codes and more exclusive stuff there in 2012!

liking the Facebook Page is a great way to follow what's happening on the blog without having to head to the blog page every day - when you log onto Facebook the newest happenings will show up in your news feed.

5. join the ravelry group.
KALs, discussions of minimalism and knitting, and so much more! and with the big 2012 plans taking shape, there will be even more discussion, pattern sneak peeks and more coming!

ways to build community in this space

Nov 11, 2011