My Colorado Hat

In Colorado, we love skiing. I think I saw that about one-third of the people in our state are skiers. I mainly ski cross-country now. Several years ago, I blew my knee out skiing so going downhill is a little difficult.  So skiing apparel is hot -- so to speak -- on our mountaintops.

My hat rack is at American Dreamers in Southwest Plaza in Littleton, Colorado for the holidays. I didn't make too many new hats this year, but I did design and make a hat with the logo from the Colorado map. I made two, one for adults and one for kids. They both sold the first two days.

So now, I am furiously knitting more Colorado hats. They are fun to knit, so I don't mind. Yes, I am going to write it up into a pattern and no, it will not be free. I will offer it for sale on my Craftsy pattern site, but you should be checking out that site anyway. There are hundreds of wonderful patterns to download for free or a small fee.

Check out some of my patterns:
http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/felting/grapes-of-wrap-wine-cozy/5626 or http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/felting/adele-felted-hat/2735

The Holidays are Coming

I thought long and hard about whether to put up my hat stand at the mall this holiday season. I have made money every time I did, covering the cost of the rental plus a little extra, but never enough to really justify the work. Actually, I will knit anyway, so I always say that this is a hobby that barely covers the cost of the yarn, although my time is never covered.

But with the election over and my freelance job is temporarily suspended, I decided to go ahead and set up my hat stand. I have enough inventory that I don't have to knit my fingers to the bone to make new stuff. So up went my hat stand. The store is really cute this year and if the economy continue to improve, I have a chance to make a little money.  I sold two hats in the first two days, so keep your fingers crossed.

Back to the needles.

Getting Ready for the Holidays

I think I get ready for the holidays all year! The holiday store opens next week at Southwest Plaza (Denver, CO) and my hat stand is already set up. The store is named American Dreamers - Holiday Artisans. It includes merchandise from over 100 artisans from Colorado. Ken built me a hat rack a couple a years ago and it displays my hats impressively.  The store opens on November 1, with the grand opening November 5.

The good part is that this year, the store is close to home. In the past, it has been in Castle Rock or Cherry Creek, so it is a drive to get back and forward. I can now go by and check on it more often.

Back to the needles