FYI

It takes me approximately 1.5 episodes of NCIS (on DVD/commercial free) to knit a coffee cup cozy.

Expanding Clientele

Miss-A and I went to Starbucks this afternoon. (I know. What a shocker!)

While we were waiting for our drinks Red, the barista working the beverage line, asked Miss-A if she had made Bubbly's coffee cup cozy. Miss-A, being an honest soul, said it had been me.

Red turned to me, squealed, and started raving about how adorable it was. She said that Bubbly told her I made them for people.

I said I did, but quoted her my price. I was hesitant. It isn't a lot of money, but it isn't exactly cheap either. Would the fact that I charge be a deterrent?

Red said that the cost was not a problem. The cozy was reusable, and totally worth it. Besides, it would inspire jealousy in all who saw it.

I asked her what color she wanted. She thought for a minute, and requested oranges or rusts. She said she didn't mind a variegated cozy, but she really liked orange.

Wow. Orange. THAT is going to be SOOOO hard to find in my stash!

I found out her work schedule, and we arranged a delivery date. She offered to pay in advance, but I said she could pay when I brought it in, just in case she didn't like the color.

See! I knew this would happen! By making Bubbly a cozy, and comping it for her, I received free advertising and a whole new venue/clientele. First the baristas will buy, then maybe eventually the customers! Woo-hoo!

Be Kind To Your Barista Day

...actually, I have no idea if there already is such a holiday...but I am proclaiming that yesterday was "International Treat Your Starbucks Barista To A Really Nice Gift Day"!

Every time Miss-A and I walk over to the Starbucks near the library (which would be daily), the baristas comment on our lovely hand knit and felted coffee cup cozies. (You may recall the insane knit-one-for-every-coworker jag I went on last Christmas...that lasted till MLK Jr. Day?)

One barista in particular, Bubbly, has gone beyond commenting to coveting.

So, I asked her what her favorite color was.

She didn't have one, she apparently loves ALL colors.

I asked what type of colors she preferred...jewel tones, brights, rainbows, autumn.

She answered yes.

So, I just found some colorful Noro that was sitting in my coffee cup cozy scrap wool bag and knit her up a cozy.

...she offered to pay for it...but I said this first one was on me...

...she said I made her day.

In the end, isn't that what knitting is all about? Spreading warmth and joy to the masses?

Innovation on the Fly

I had some yarn left over from Jester's latest beret. Since it was Cascade 220, and therefore feltable, I thought about using it to crank out a couple of coffee cup cozies.

It was very pretty yarn, with various colored plies twisted together.

I got ready to cast on my coffee cup cozy, and then my mind wandered...

...what would happen if I cast on an oversized coffee cup cozy and made it into a hat?

And thus the Java Beanie was born.

Because the stitch pattern I use on the coffee cup cozies is an offset rib, it made the decreases on this hat, well, a wee bit interesting. I actually did quite a bit of tinking and frogging as I worked on it.

Also, that very pretty yarn didn't exactly show up the actual pattern at all.

Still, it is a nice hat. And it fits well. I may try again with a solid yarn and see if I can refine the decrease process a bit. The other option would be to *gasp* try a top down hat.

Multitasking

I spent the majority of today:

-Working out on my exercise ball

-Reading a biography of John and Abigail Adams for the senior book club I facilitate

-Drinking coffee

-Listening to the mellow saxophone sounds of the Nuclear Whales

-Knitting felted purse samples for the second class session at the library next week

What's more...

I did all of these things simultaneously!

MLK Gifts

I love my coworkers.

I love Christmas.

I love giving gifts.

There was no way on earth that I was going to be able to give my coworkers Christmas gifts. The Christmas queue...alas...I was just not up to it.

Also, since I work at the library, we tend to celebrate non-controversial, not at all associated with any religion, government ordained, holidays.

So...I decided to make Martin Luther King, Jr. Day gifts for everyone.

What to make was obvious...since we walk to Starbucks almost everyday...

Happy MLK, Jr. Day San Ramon Library Employees!

Testing the Appliances

I have, in the past week, knit 4 coffee cup cozies.

I know.

I'm crazy.

Or at least, I have way too much free time on my hands.

Personally, I blame the knee injury. I have no choice but to sit on my couch and knit while Fred and Ginger dance across my television screen.

Still, I figured that this was a good opportunity to test out the felting abilities of my new apartment's washer and dryer.

And the gift stash rejoices!

I Love To Felt!

Tonight I finally buckled down and made up the two purses I had waiting, and wove the ends into a couple of coffee cup cozies!

That means just one thing...

FELTING TIME!!!

I love doing this!

Stash

I have a sizable yarn collection.

Not necessarily enough to open my own shop...but enough.

Every trunk, basket, and purse-not-currently-in-use has yarn in it. I also have several (smallish) tubs in my craft room closet.

But it is not my yarn stash that I am most proud of...it is my secret shelf stash of completed projects.

There are times, such as during movies or grad school lectures, when I want to knit but need to not be thinking about my knitting. At these times, I resort to a simple scarf, dishcloth, or coffee cup cozy. As a result, I have a surplus of scarves, dishcloths, and coffee cup cozies. These are all placed on the bottom shelf of the lawyer's bookcase in my bedroom. I have tissue paper affixed to the inside of the glass door so nosy visitors can't see in. This way when a gift giving occasion arises, I can go "shopping" in the stash!

One would think that this would cut down on the yarn and projects I purchase. But that is not the case. The downfall in the system is that if I remember that a gift giving occasion is on the way, I plan a special project and shop for it before I shop the stash.

Still, the stash has gotten me out of more than one jam...like when someone gives me something for Christmas when I hadn't realized we had reached the gift-exchange level in the friendship...

I highly recommend the stash...

...it goes perfectly with my enormous greeting card cache!

Time is Relative

I spend a lot of time knitting.

A lot of time.

I am often asked how long it took me to make something. This is difficult since I am constantly knitting. I knit in the car (as a passenger, not driver). I knit on my breaks at work. I knit during conversations with friends. I knit while watching television or movies. I knit at theaters before the show starts and, depending on who I am with, during the show itself. I knit while listening to professors lecture. I knit while waiting for the kettle to boil for my tea. Working on projects in spurts makes it nearly impossible to quantify the amount of time it took.

There are a few exceptions however.

Wrist Warmers: 1 Underworld movie per warmer.
Coffee Cup Cozies: 2 episodes of Monk each.
Felted Coaster Holder: 1 Sharpe movie (I love Sean Bean)
Felted Coasters: 1 lunch break each
Lace Scarf: Bus rides and breaks of one Grad School Residency.

I choose to not view knitting as a waste of time, but as a means of maximizing the time I have been given. I am going to watch the movies, I am going to listen to the lectures, I am going to go on car trips. Knitting enables me to make the time productive.

And, isn't that what a Superknitter does? Fight for truth, justice, and the American Way?

As the good American Protestant work ethic says...idle hands are the devil's tool!