It has been almost a full year since I last posted to this blog.
2015 was a busy year for me. I was diagnosed with a chronic illness (details if you are interested can be found on my more personal blog Everything Gwenny) and spent pretty much the entire year sick and in pain. I missed a lot of work and realized that at some point I might lose my job and so therefore needed to look at other options.
Being the yarnie that I am I decided to open both a retail online yarn store, Serenity Yarns, and an Etsy shop (also named Serenity Yarns) for my hand-dyed yarns. So far it has been a lot of fun. It's still not enough to support me full time, and maybe it never will, but it's very enjoyable, and it makes me happy...which is the most important part.
As such, I am going to be using this blog to support both those outlets as well as continue using it for my own personal crafting as well. I will feature product reviews, both yarn and accessories, as well as contests, special deals, and more!
I didn't get a whole lot of projects completed last year, partially due to the illness and being in an almost constant fog of pain and painkillers, and also partially due to my love of constantly starting new projects.
The first project I completed wasn't until June, almost half way through the year. It was a test knit for an indie yarn dyer and designer I adore, Pandia's Jewels. I think it was the fastest I ever finished a project like this as well, taking me only 6 weeks to knit the entire shawl. I used one of her themed colorways, Gamora, based on the character of the same name from Guardians of The Galaxy.
Other than that I mostly did knitting to sell on Etsy including various cozy cowls and hats. Active listings for my hand knit items can be found on Esty, here.
My goal for this year is to finish more WIPs. I am running a Knit The Bin KAL (an awesome idea from our fabulous group member REJ) over on my Ravelry Group Page. Come on over and join us and we can encourage one another to finish our WIPs. I mean just look at this picture of my desk right now...I obviously need the help...
My other main knitting goal for this year is to learn double knitting. It is something I have really wanted to learn for quite some time, and some new patterns that have come to my attention require this skill. So it is definitely a must!
What are some of your crafting related goals for this year? Fell free to comment on the blog and/or join us over on the Raverly page.
Lovely to have you back and I'm sorry you were missing so long due to illness. The very best of luck with Serenity Yarns and long may you continue to have fun doing it. Looking forward to seeing your progress with wip's and your adventures in double knitting this year.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind words and stopping by!
DeleteI'm sorry you have struggled with being ill, but I'm happy to see you back (though I joined in this year's YOP after you'd been absent for a while). The things you sell from your online shop are beautiful. Best wishes on growing both your online businesses. And I look forward to reading about what you're creating.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your compliments on my items. I am just getting into it now, but it is so much fun! Thank you for stopping by!
DeleteWelcome back. I skimmed some of the posts about your past few years and the troubles. I'm no medical expert but I started with the same symptoms as you - by age 13 I missed four days of school every month and was prescribed codeine. In the last two years I have started taking 600mg of Magnesium Citrate everyday and it's been a miracle for me!
ReplyDeleteAs for "startitis" ... I got nothing! The only thing that keeps my WIPs under control is a shortage of sock needles. I'm intentionally not buying more needles since it forces me to finish one pair before starting another.
Love the colours of the shawl!
I'm just in the process of setting up an Etsy shop - only one listing so far so I've got a ways to go before I start pitching it to the outside world. I don't expect it'll be enough to support me either but I'm hoping it'll give a little boost in the event that I decide to scale back from working full time :)
Hmmm...maybe I should stop buying needles...that might help me...lol. Thank you for your kinds words and compliments. Having an Etsy shop is a nice hobby, whether it brings in the cash or not. If you ever need any help with it let me know. Thanks for stopping by!
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