Changes are in the works!

Behind the scenes there have been changes! New moderators, new bloggers, and new energy to fuel our team!

We now have 4, count them, 4 bloggers! We're working on a schedule for blogging, and we would love your input about topics. After all, we're all here to work together and support each other.

I'll just mention a little about myself, and I'll let the other bloggers introduce themselves. I'm Eve, and I recently started dyeing and selling yarn as Fiber Charmer. Being self-employed, while it takes up a lot of time, also gives me the opportunity to do things like volunteer for this team. I'm also active in the Atlanta Knitting Guild, being the junior vice president of programs this year, segueing into vice president of programs for the 2011-2012 year. Besides dyeing yarn, which is a relatively new craft for me, I knit, sew, quilt, cook, know how to crochet and tat, and do some half-a**ed gardening. I learned canning earlier this year, and I went a bit mad making relishes with the masses of cucumbers I grew this summer. I've been exploring handmade skincare also, and I took a class on soap making at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival. I've done a bit of experimenting making lotion bars too.

Honestly, I know I probably have much in common with many of you. Most of us who sell our handmade goods have dabbled in many other crafts in search of the one that calls most to us. Many of us are serial crafters in that we started with one (I like to call it a gateway craft) when we were young, and have moved through many others that we have set aside, in my case needlepoint and cross stitch.

This is such a great way to be. We are always learning and expanding our knowledge. If we experience burnout in one area, we can put it into hibernation and go on to another method of meeting our need to create until that burnout passes. I'll admit that right now I've been torn between doing the dyeing that I need to do and pulling out the sewing machine and trying a new skirt pattern, which is what I want to do.

Anyway, we'll get back to business. We have gotten some feedback about blog topics, and we'd love suggestions. As I said earlier, we're all here to learn from each other and work together. I'm excited to be able to help and learn with such a great group.

New Moderator

To EtsyKnitters Team Members,

Please join me in welcoming Robbi of KindredKnits as a moderator.



Robbi will be adding a much needed jolt of energy to the current group of 3 moderators made up of Mette (KnittingMette), Sherri (SherriCrochets) and myself.

As this team has grown in leaps and bounds in the past year, we three had to humbly admit that we couldn't keep up with the pace. Robbi will be assisting us in keeping current member lists up to date, in brainstorming new ways to promote the EK team, and in contributing to a million other small behind-the-scenes tasks.

We are thrilled that she agreed to take on the moderator role.

Meet Your Moderators, v3

You've met Sherri of SherriCrochets and Mette of KnittingMette.

That just leaves me. Out of the three of us moderators, I'm the only one who doesn't have my first name in my Etsy store name. My store name is KnittedGems. You can rest assured, my parents didn't name me Knitted or Gems. I am thankful. Instead, they named me after my grandmother, Marie.

Another oddity, I don't have any monkeys in my store. Both KnittingMette and SherriCrochets sport monkey patterns. It never occurred to me to knit animals; I wouldn't even know how to begin. So, I stick to more traditional items: shawls, blankets, pillows, and scarves.

Goodness, I'm starting to sound boring. Well, Jake to the rescue!

Jake is my 4-year-old golden retriever. Here he is - doing what he loves - breaking big sticks up into little sticks.

We rescued him almost 2 years ago from DVGRR. I hardly remember what life was like without him. He's my walking buddy in the morning and my gardening buddy in the afternoon. As you can see, he really likes to prune the trees and bushes.

When I'm not playing with Jake, I knit, sew, cook, bake, craft, garden, and hang out with my hubby of 8 years. Though "hanging out" normally consists of me sewing in the sewing room/office while he plays Guitar Hero.

I quit my real job two years ago to focus my full attention on becoming a knitwear designer. I have self-published 14 designs. All of which can be located either through Etsy or through Lulu. My latest design is Anastasia Alpaca Stole. My upcoming design is XandO dishcloth.

I am also the main contributor to this blog. I volunteered to take over the authorship of this blog when EtsyKnitters was taken over by us 3 moderators. Thus far, I have done a miserable job. I am a bit embarrassed by it, but have yet been unable to turn this bus around. It's odd. I LOVE to blog. On my blog, I am giddy about posting an article at least every other day. I never run out of things to talk about. Here, it's quite the opposite. I think the problem lies in the fact that I haven't ascertained the direction of this blog.

It occurred to me that I could blog about business, such as selling on Etsy, free marketing, paid marketing, selling off Etsy, consignment, etc. I haven't because the purpose of this blog is to shine a light on EtsyKnitters.

It also occurred to me to randomly pick an EtsyKnitter member and blog about their store. This is perhaps the most appealing choice.

If you have an idea, please let me know.

Meet Your Moderators, v2

Allow me to introduce our 2nd moderator, KnittingMette.

You may recognize the name. She's been featured on this blog before. Not only did she design our mascot, Ann, but she also participated in our first YFF (Yarn Forward Friday).

The person behind KnittingMette is, well, Mette. In case you were wondering, I've already asked; it is a Danish name meaning strength with roots back to the days of the Vikings. It is pronounced m(et)-te.

Mette loves to introduce herself as a Dane living in Italy though she has called Italy home for 30+ years. She currently resides in Pisa, Italy, famous for its Leaning Tower, with her husband.

Her two children are grown and out of the house, leaving her time to do what she loves: teach, design, and knit.

On the other hand, our mascot Ann, who is a few years younger than Mette, is busy growing her family. She recently became the proud mother of a red-headed girl.

Since a woman can only have so many children of her own (lest someone start mentioning the word rabbit and Ann's name in the same sentance; that would be embarrassing), Ann started her own Ravelry group to create more knitted women and children.

Of course, when Ann is not busy with her family, she is knitting alongside Mette. Their most recent creation is Fritz the clown.

Be sure to stop by Mette's Etsy store and say Hello. You will find it filled with knitted toys, PDF patterns, and other fun gifts.

Meet Your Moderators, v1

EtsyKnitters has 3 moderators: myself, KnittingMette and SherriCrochets. Over the next week, you will be introduced to each of them in reverse alphebetical order. That makes SherriCrochets first.


Who is the person behind SherriCrochets? Well, Sherri, of course. Katrina is the monkey behind SherriCrochets though. You'd rather meet a monkey than just another human, right? Naturally. So, without further ado....

This would be Katrina, not Sherri.

Katrina is a year old. She was designed and handknitted by Sherri. Like other monkeys, she likes bananas and figs. She loves to play pretend; humans are so much fun to imitate. Most of all, she loves to curl up next to a human child; they hug you so tightly.

Well, perhaps you would like to know a little bit about Sherri. She is a devoted wife and mother of 3. The eldest son and his wife are expecting their first baby and Sherri's first grandbaby. The youngest son is currently being home-schooled by Sherri. The middle child is caught in the middle, attending middle school.

Now you may wonder, if Sherri knits, why does her business name have the word crochet in it? Because she's a two-timing crafter. She can crochet and knit. Crochet was her first love and the craft that she is quicker and more proficient with. Knitting came later.

Be sure to stop by and say Hi to Katrina in SherriCrochets.

Three Cheers For Our New Mod!

I am very pleased to announce our new group moderator Thanita (a.k.a OneHappyTree)! She is very enthusiastic about getting EtsyKNITS off the ground and is a wonderful asset to our group. Welcome aboard OneHappyTree!