From field to shawl

A few weeks ago, I had just bought myself some lush alpaca fibre, that I intended to use just for me :) I got the fibre from a local farmer, that breeds high quality alpacas for sale, so his fibre was a by product for him. He was very glad someone would use the fibre, and I was thrilled because this is really high quality!

I had spun a couple of skeins of lace weight 2-ply yarn, and posted them on Instagram because I was kind of proud of them! And I was immediately approach by a person, requesting a knit shawl in that very alpaca yarn.

I'm not good at un-selfish knitting, so when the request came I thought it was a perfect opportunity to to practise said skill.
The customer chose her pattern off Ravelry, "Positive thoughts #1" by yellowcosmo, a beautiful lace shawl in two sizes. So off I went.

The shawl looks a bit complex, but really is quite simple to do. I spent five evenings on it, The first half went really fast because the rows are not that long, but the second half is a bit slower. I added extra repeats of the flowery bit to make it larger.

After blocking it was just shy of two meters wide, and around 1 meter long across, from top to point.

I was so happy with it, that I promptly cast on another one in white angora (rabbit) yarn. I need one for myself!! I also went straight back to the farmer and bought two more fleeces....ooopsie.

Neglectful....but busy :)

Hello all!

I am not even going to make a point out of how long it has been since my last confession blog post.

There has been some (for me) big stuff happening over here. For one, I joined Instagram. Wow. I feel like I am 90 years old now, and can't believe it took me so long! It is so much better than FB, which is becoming more of a nag than anything else.

I've never been a selfie-person (still not), but snapping pics of what you are up to without having to write a small novel to explain everything is very refreshing. I feel my creativity has gotten a much needed boost. So if you're an Instagrammer too, please hook up with me here and let's be friends!
I love seeing what everyone's up too, it is so much inspiration to be had.

If you just checked out the link, and thought the name was a bit unfamiliar....well, you're right.
Which brings me to the next big piece of news over here. I have been quietly working on getting myself a bit closer to where I want to be in life. I lost my job 10 months ago, and am still unemployed. It has been hard to know what to do with myself, but I do know I want to use my skills to help the situation.

So, I've opened an Etsy store! Yes yes, I know...late to that party as well, but I figured why not?
I am frankly a bit sick of kicking myself, and doubting my own skills. Telling myself I will never make "it". It is kind of stupid when I've never even tried anything.

It is still early days. I am just one month in, and have gotten one sale so far. To be honest, I am thrilled about that, I sell something lots of other people make and sell, and that sale was such fun!
My shop still needs a lot of work, and I don't have as much on offer yet, as I plan to. But small steps does it. It's a small platform on which to build :)

There is so much to learn, and being older and not all that "techy", I struggle a bit to get to grips with all the do's and don'ts. To spread the word and build a bigger network is hard, but rewarding and interesting, too. I hope to keep learning and evolving!

So that's it for now! I hereby invite you all to visit my links and maybe tell me what you think? It would mean so much to me:)

Have a great weekend everyone, and I'll be back with more news!