Blossom Boppers

I have been knitting and felting flowers for a few years now. I have made them into a number of lovely hair accessories, but I hadn't found a a way to make a nice baby toy out of them until this summer. Some of my best ideas come from my customer's suggestions. I had a customer order a baby sweater and request that I invest a toy that could be called a Poppybopper. She was ordering the items for her sister, who she had always called "Poppy-bopper" for reasons forgotten to memory. I imagined a number of different items, until I came up with a teether/rattle made in the shape of a flower and twisty stem with a leaf on the end. (I had always wanted to incorporate a teething ring in a toy!)  After quite a bit of experimental knitting, here is what I made for her:

The flower jingles softly.

I loved it, but decided to make some "daisy" style ones in a range of colors, as well as rosebud (which has been trickier).  I LOVE them.  I ordered some very nice hardwood teething rings from an Etsy seller and I finish them with a beeswax polish. I love knitting these and look forward to selling more of them next month at my Adventsmarkt at Domaine Dahlem here in Berlin.

Longies for Mose

We have had a cold and dreary week here in Berlin, but I have been keeping warm knitting "longies" for my little friend Mose.  He was here with his parents for three weeks and broke all our hearts by heading back to Massachusetts. To keep him feeling close, I have been making him cold weather gear. Longies are long-underwear for babies, with built in feet. Using a pattern by Zimmerman I made one pair, then, I adapted it immediately for the second pair. Made from wool sock yarn, they are machine washable (and dry-able!).  Babies can wear them under regular clothes or as their trousers.

Knitting baby pants has been my "naughty" knitting as I am prepping again for the Berlin Christmas Markets in December. I have plenty of Feltaroo knitting to do to keep me busy from morning to night! More on German baby rattles another day....

This Year's Bestseller: Mushroom Baby Rattle

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The  Classic German "Flying Mushroom".  I enclose a cat toy to make the perfect baby rattle. Knitted in one piece of 100% wool, then felted, it is super safe and all natural.

Baby Gifts

Here I am, in heaven.

I have just returned home from a most amazing vacation. I didn't visit an exotic locale. Instead, I had the amazing privilege of spending three weeks with a dear friend as she awaited and welcomed her first child. It was so hard to leave! Her son was one of four babies born this winter/spring that have been my excuse to knit tiny sweaters, hats, sclaf sacken, and even pants! I failed to take pictures of most of the gifts I made, but here are a few:

Cotton Hoodie in moss stitch

Cotton Pants to match

A "sleep sack" (modeled above) and a baby Gansey

Baby Surprise Jacket, ala Elizabeth Zimmerman

New Name & Baby Knits

My blog hasn't been about our travels and adventures for more than a year now, so I decided it was time for a name change :).  Aidan has been suggesting a new section of my Etsy shop, Feltaroo -- one named "Kanga Knits" where I could sell my hand knit items that aren't felted.  I still feel my knits are more personal somehow, though, and I'm not quite ready to sell them.  Still, the name has been spoken around the house here for months and I realized it is the PERFECT name for the blog, where I share my explorations, trials, tribulations and learning adventures in knitting. I also love the symmetry of one child naming the shop and the other the blog.  They are amazing people, our children.

Since the New Year (and the end of the Holiday insanity/German Christmas Markets), I have been taking it easy with the felting - just filling orders.  But I have been knitting as much as ever. Inspired by friends who are having babies, I have been enjoying knitting all different types of baby sweaters.  I have also begun sweaters for Doug, Aidan and myself and completed one for Maggie.  Poor Aidan, I tried to knit his left-handed, but my tension is so very uneven still while knitting continental that I had to tink the whole thing and start over.  (I persisted for quite a while, telling myself that blocking would even it out.  Luckily, my knitting group talked me out of that.)  Doug's is a very elaborate Aran knit in dk yarn, so it is taking a while.  When I began, I thought I would have it in time for his birthday, but that is simply impossible.  Now, I am thinking Hannukah.

Time Trials for Crafters

I have been estimating.  Over and over, people ask, "How long did it take you to make this?"  And I, being the earthbound, factual person I am, make a wild guess.  It isn't that I haven't tried to recreate how long I have spent on items.  I have.  For example, when I price an item, I like to imagine that the price has something to do with the amount of time it took me to make it.  I even hope that I am charging a few dollars an hour for my time.  But honestly, have no idea, not really.  I pick it up and put it down.  I knit a few rows on the bus, in line, while waiting for an appointment, between helping kids with homework, while the coffee brews.  Knitting is marvelous (as compared with machine sewing) because it can be done while watching tv or listening to a lecture.  So, I really don't know.  Do you know how long it takes you?

Well, I have taken up a challenge.  I am timing my projects.  A good friend that has done development work with small crafting cooperatives in Africa told me that he had crafters make the same thing 10 times and time their work.  Then, they all took the averages of their times for that product and averaged them together.  The final average was the time they used when determining a price.  I am not going quite that far.  After all, this is a cooperative of  only one (with a large support staff of family and friends, of course).  I have made a little chart (on paper) with a list of products and four columns: three trials and the average.  Very systematic!

Now I know why I have resisted doing this. First, it is hard.  I have a little notebook where I jot down elapsed times each time I start and stop.  Imagine, you answer the phone, jot.  You check the food, jot.  "Mom!" jot.  Only, of course, I don't wear a watch, so the process is, find a clock, jot.  Annoyed with this non-system, I have begun to do more of my knitting during the quieter, school hours of the day when I have fewer interruptions.

And, I am discovering the second reason why I have resisted doing this.  It is depressing.  My products take me a long time to knit, a good while to felt, and many have very involved sewing/finishing that they require.  Oh well.  I have only just begun and I am simply "gathering data" as another dear friend would say.

All ye crafters out there in the blog-o-sphere, do you or have you ever done time trials?

Hello Etsy Weekend and Good News

First, above all, I thank you all for being SO supportive!!  You can't know how much it means to me that you all responded so quickly and lovingly.

And, I am doing much better.  It started on Friday when I finally got courageous and called the people who run the Christmas Market I had applied to participate in.  I had been avoiding calling them, hoping they would never discover just how little German I have.  I did it anyway.  At first, it took a while to find someone who speaks some English, then it took a while for that person to understand who I am (she spoke very little English).  Once she understood my name, she clearly knew who I was and remembered my application.  Hooray!  She quickly got me on the phone with someone a great deal more fluent (but from another department).  They wanted to know if I was running a business or a home-crafter.  I'm definitely trying to run a business, but I have been crafting for fun for so long that I sometimes wonder myself!  I looked around my workroom (what my family calls my "Woman Cave") and declared myself "professional".  Then, they wanted proof.  I wasn't really sure if I had any, but I sent them to my etsy shop.

Today (after a very eventful weekend, see below), I got a magical email.  They want me!  Not only do that want me for the Christmas Market, but they'd also like me to participate in their Handmade Textile Market in November.  Oh my goodness.  I immediately began listing all my current inventory and making a list of everything I would need to make to have enough for both markets.  Can I do it?  I'm not sure, but I sure am excited by the possibility!

I am also lit up from attending the Etsy conference here in Berlin this past weekend.  Amazing Doug made me go.  He rocks.  Over 500 small business owners (mostly crafters) were in attendance.  Imagine.  Practical and inspirational talks abounded, almost all in English.  And, I met so many other people living here in Germany, here in Berlin, who are walking a similar path.  Local community -- is that possible for fs expats, really?  I think it might be the holy grail.

Gnomes from a special order gnome mobile for another expat.

So, I am newly inspired.  I'm still scared, but it's that edgy feeling that brings life into focus.  Wish me luck!

Four Months? Feeling a bit low.

Going four months (or more) between posts pretty much gets rid of all readership, I suppose.  Oh dear.  Oh well.  Let's see how quickly I can sum things up.

The German language course really did fill up my life and make me VERY busy.  I even learned a little German! Happily, my instructor let me knit during the down time.

All spring and early summer my little business continued to grow.  We went home to Michigan for nearly two months, during which my Etsy business nearly stalled completely, but where I found more customers.  I even participated in my first Craft Fair.  It wasn't a perfect fit and selling wool in 90 degree heat isn't for the faint-hearted, but it was a super experience.  I learned a lot about how much thought and work goes into displays.  I have applied to be in a local Christmas Market here in Berlin (I have heard back yet) and hope to learn more then.

Unfortunately, I have been feeling a bit low lately about the prospects for my business.  I am VERY happy about the things I am making, but they really don't seem to be selling much.  Here are some pics of some of my new things:

I guess I wonder if it makes any sense, selling these things.  Well, I know it doesn't, not really.  I will never really make enough to justify my time.  No one in their right mind would pay me enough!  I am also slightly disillusioned with Etsy.  I spend a great deal of time on my photos and listings & that's on top of my time spent  making all these lovelies.  I have had a few strangers buy or special order items, so I admit it has been a way for few customers to find me.  This weekend I am going to an Etsy conference right here in Berlin to see what I can learn.  I am not willing to quit yet -- it hasn't even been a year on the site, but I just don't know how much energy I should be putting into selling things there.

I have been feeling like a much more comfortable way to earn money from my habit would be to sell at art/craft fairs.  In my idealized vision this would mean that I could spend my joyful hours knitting away at things that I like, building up a lovely little pile of items.  Then, one day I could simply carry them off to a show and sell them.  Let the people who rent me the booth do all the marketing.  I think it might be a silly fantasy.

Any advice out there?  Am I just in a normal lull?  I am very open to feedback at the moment!

Spring Break & Deutschkurs

April is over?  Is that possible? Happily, two weeks of April were spent with the kids home from school on their extended (European-style) spring break.  I managed to catch a nasty cold at the beginning of the break, but by Thursday night of the first week, I was functioning OK and we joyfully welcomed Doug's brother and his family for a visit.  The very next morning, we headed off on a road trip to an area of Germany we hadn't visited before: the Romantic Road.  Doug has posted a few pics from the trip on his FB photo album.  The castles, the walled city, the lovely countryside and church steeples -- they were all straight from a fairy book.  I may need to make some princes and princesses....  All too soon, we returned to Berlin and explored some of the city with our family, including some fabulous falafel and ice cream in Little Istanbul (Eastern Kreuzberg - a neighborhood of Berlin).  Then our family had to go.  I guess all good things must end, but we really hope they will visit again!

As you may imagine, I wasn't able to knit quite as much as usual during those two weeks.  In fact, there were DAYS when I didn't knit at ALL.  Of course, on the car trips I did a little knitting, including a birthday pair of slippers for my sweet sister-in-law Helda.  Just before the holiday, I received two larger orders that I am just completing now!  Luckily, they understood the timeline beforehand, but I still feel bad about how long everything is taking.

Despite how busy I am, I decided to take the plunge and go ahead with the intensive Deutschekurse -- German language course.  Four hours a day four days a week is only, officially, 16 hours a week.  Yet, those are my most productive hours, as they are 9-1 -- when the kids are gone and the house is quiet.  Fortunately, the teachers seem mostly amused and entertained by my knitting in class.  I can manage to knit simple objects there, which leaves all the sewing, needle-felting, felting and more complex knitting projects for home.  Learning Deutsche seems important enough to slow down production.  For now (the next four weeks), I will see how it goes.  If I can manage, I will probably continue in the fall.

My Etsy shop hasn't been seeing a lot of business lately, but I have been selling some things out of my work room.  Here are some new items that I have made and sold recently:

Gnome Mobiles

A Pod full of Shapes (with squeakers, rattles, etc.)

Thanks for reading and looking!  I hope to blog again soon!

Another Challenge - a storybook character doll

My wonderful upstairs neighbor is teaching me that I know how to do things that I don't believe I can do.  A couple of weeks ago she lent me her daughter's favorite bedtime story: The Spiffiest Giant in Town, by Julia Donaldson.  She wondered if I could make her a doll "giant".  I thought and thought and worried it would come out all wrong.  Finally, yesterday, I just gave it a shot.  His nightgown is knit and felted while the rest of him (the "doll") is all needle-felted.  I'm pretty pleased.  Who knew?  Thanks for the challenge Sarah! (And sorry it took so long.)

Spring Decor or Cat Toy?

When I started making felted eggs, I had imagined selling them.  As Jews, we don't really "do" Easter.  Not surprisingly, Maggie argued that it would be fun to keep them and I became convinced when I saw how all the Germans were buying spring boughs, bringing them inside and decorating them with eggs.  We are adopting local customs (much better, right?).  They also decorate small bushes outside by hanging plastic eggs on them. We haven't done that yet.

Our "German Spring Decor"

What I didn't realize was that my egg tree would look like a mouse tree to our cat.  She is NOT a kitten and really not a playful kitty.  Very friendly and affectionate, but not really into toys.  Well, she loves this thing.  She rips or knocks the eggs down, chases them all over the house, batting at them wildly, removes their "tails" (embroidery thread) and hides their "carcasses" in hard to reach places.  You might notice in the close up that the kids have taken to knotting the eggs to the tree.

Sorry about the sideways pic.

Very Busy Spring Week

I am late to my blogging.  Ever since I have become obsessed with Feltaroo, I have been working at making it back here at least once a week, usually on Thursday or Friday.  Last week, I got too involved with a new challenge.  A friend of a friend here in expat community saw some of my stuff at said friend's house.  She gave me a call and said she wondered if I could make her some spring or easter decorations.  About a month ago I had dreamed up a few ideas and bought a couple of patterns (remember the Gauge swatch) that I thought might be nice things for a "spring product line".  I managed the hair garlands, but decided it was too late already to make and try to market Easter-specific stuff online.  Faced with an actual customer, I feel quite differently!

So, knowing we would meet on Thursday or Friday, I set to work to make a couple "demos".  First, eggs and nests.  I made a knitted and felted version -

And a needle-felted version -

My next thought was bunnies.  I have a great plan for Mama bunny full of baby bunnies based on one my mom sewed for me when I was a little girl.  Maggie still sleeps with it and pulls out the different babies.  Mine of course, would be knitted and felted.  But that is a HUGE project (I always have idea for the hard way).  So, I decided to attempt some needle-felted ones.  As a novice, I was quite happy with the outcome.

Finally, I realized the nests need not only eggs, but also birdies.

I also put together a sample decorative garland, based on my flower hair bands.  These have larger flowers sewn to a ribbon (rather than a knitted and felted headband).  I don't have a picture, but I will try to post one next week.  Instead, I will post a picture of my favorite new headband, being modeled by my wonderful upstairs neighbor (I am sporting one of the rosebud headbands).  I really love the rainbow of colors on hers.

So, my inspiring new customer came by on Friday and I have been busily working on her newly ordered projects ever since.  I will remember to take pics before I deliver!

Of  course, I have had some other darlings on my needles as well.  I managed to finish two special orders of gnomes this week -

They each end up having so much more personality than I expect them to!

Don't worry!  The line is "On with their heads!" Not the ugly other line.

Finally, Tooth Fairies

I have fallen deeply in love with making tooth fairies.  I love their ethereal wings. I love their little flower-shaped tooth pockets.  They make me happy.  I adore that I am entirely responsible for the idea, pattern and design.  Here are three new fairies; two have already flown the coop!

Gone to Arizona

Gone to the Carolinas

Incognito - hiding her wings!

The Creative Process

Most days, I cannot believe how happy I am doing what I am doing.  Just a few short months ago, I was plugging away at keeping the house clean and making healthy food and generally being the hausfrau.  Now, these truths are self-evident: I love my family, I adore eating, and I am easily disgusted by a messy, dirty house.  Despite these truths, I wasn't quite completely fulfilled.  I knew I should start looking around for something to add to the mix, but I had no idea it might look like this.


I have never considered myself artistic.  I really, really can NOT/NOT (foreign service speak) draw, or paint, or color, for that matter.  Even though I have been accused of being crafty by many, I have never felt proficient -- with a sewing machine (my seams still aren't super straight), sewing needle or knitting needles.  A few years back, I was really impressed with myself for making sweaters!  But, because I am capable of reading, interpreting and following patterns, I have been considered quite crafty by many.  (I feel compelled to note that those skills have also been useful with cooking & some think I am a good cook for the same reason).


Then, less than a year ago, I knit something to felt it. I fell in love.  It was like I was a painter who had only been drawing with pencils her whole life.  I really enjoyed drawing (knitting, in my case), but not enough to do it all day.  I didn’t know I was an artist – just that I liked being sort of crafty.  I used to say that it helped me stay balanced - otherwise I might spend all my free time reading!  Now, for the first time in my life, I have the suspicion I might be an artist – who only just now found her medium. 


As I said, I fell head over heels in love with felting.  I still really enjoy knitting – as I imagine painters feel about drawing.  I learn a lot from my knitting and it is an integral part of my process as a felter, but I adore the alchemy of felting.  It means I get to make magic – it is more like sculpting than knitting.  Although, over the past couple of months, I have begun to have the feeling of sculpting while I knit.  Perhaps most importantly, while I get the joy of creating, I get the pleasure of knowing that what I make will be USED & enjoyed, especially by children!  That has got to be the true meaning of being a craftswoman – the combination of creating beauty & seeing it used and enjoyed by those around you.


Most days, I can't wait to get started and really hate to stop, for anything.  Needless to say, the house isn't looking too great.  I have lists and lists of things I would like to try, to make, to test.  But, I think the most exciting part of my new work is that I really don't know exactly what I am about to do.  I plan, yes, but I also let things evolve in my hands.  When I really have no idea how something should look, I put my hands to it and discover.  I had no idea I would ever be able to do anything like that and it is FUN. The process is engrossing, exciting and full of surprises.  No wonder I never want to stop at the end of the day.


So, this week, what have I been creating?  A little of this and a little of that.  More faerie garlands, a new tooth fairy, and a trio of crowns.  In another post, sometime soon, I will write about technical problem-solving (in this case, designing the best closures for different sized crowns).  But for now, I will just share some pics and get back to my knitting!

  

Small Dolls

While last week was all about flowers and flower garlands, I have spent this past week making dolls.  One of my handful of customers (and a dear friend) who bought my first gnome rattle encouraged me to make small figures. I had been imagining gnome people -- little guys you could play with in the woods -- and had even ordered a book that seemed to have patterns for them.  So, I dove in (long before the book arrived, of course) and began to invent, adapt, experiment.  Here are some of my new friends that came into being this week.

We have the Baby Gnomes of course, a whole rainbow of them (my purple guy didn't make it in the picture)!  Truly sweet and marvelous for small hands.  I have decided, in the future, to make these with knitted heads because I will be able to make them more quickly - and be able to lower the price a little.  I am still working on a prototype for a "Mama Gnome" with an opening, to carry around all the little gnomes.

With Sarah's encouragement, I began to work on figures with legs.  These have some internal structure (to make them a little pose-able), as well as some stuffing.

My first, rather chubby elf.

Then, by request, his sister.

And finally, my first fairy.  I really want to make Tooth Fairies to sell.  Even though the kids like the dollies better, I love this fairy.  I spent a LOT of time & creativity on her - for me, she verges on the craft/art borderline.  I had thought to give her a flower pocket for a tooth, but her skirt insists I leave it alone.  I guess she isn't a tooth fairy!  She wants to be a flower fairy.

 She is very small, just over 5 inches.  I don't know if I can sell her.  I will have to sleep on it a few days before I decide.  It's also hard for me to decide how much to charge for her. She is so very small yet she was still very time consuming. Of course, none of my prices make sense when I consider the time I put into the items!  This isn't a very good business model!

Now, I have some crown orders to fill.  Thanks for looking.