Knot Quite Right

Many of you have wondered how we started down this road of random knot quite rightness, well here it is....

Danielle and I went to school together. We reconnected in various ways through different stages of our lives. I have three kids who used to be age three under three. Danielle also had three kids under three staggered in between mine. That is a special kind of crazy between Moms!

 I started crocheting because of Pinterest. I knew I could make the stuff that I saw and really loved. When I picked up a box from Freecycle containing crochet hooks, it started a new hobby. Though I read and studied Google, it wasn't enough. With some explanation and guidance from Danielle, I started crocheting. I loved it. After making some hats for my mom and my sister, they convinced me that I should sell them. In order to start a business, I needed someone who knew more than I did and could work on commission. After many conversations about kids and life, I knew who to call. Danielle's work is incredible! We both laughed when I proposed the name Knot Quite... because we knew that even though it was great, it may knot be quite right.

Our friendship was already something great and fun. The education that came with starting the crochet business was one of the best parts. Shortly after we started, D told me I was missing a part of yarn education. That only fueled our crazy partnership. I already had a thing for the touch and feel of things. I could walk through Goodwill and feel the difference between clothing. When I was introduced to fiber and the making of yarn, it ruined me in some ways. She took me to the wool gathering in Prineville and introduced me to where yarn came from. I laughed and told her it was one step up from dirt. (I am a gardener, so all food comes from dirt, then goes up, right?). She laughed and told me that I wasn't quite right! She held the fiber world in front of me, but my experience was in marketing. One of our first, most successful ventures into selling was the Shaniko Wool Gathering. (That's another story for another time.)

Since then, we've established our etsy store and built our Facebook page. We spent the summer building stock for the winter bazaars. My kids all started school this year, so I decided to pursue a degree in addition to starting a business. Danielle has been keeping up on the Facebook side, posting great updates on new stock while I have had my nose in books. When I finish my homework, I kick out some items for our upcoming events. Though we've kept our etsy store stocked, we've kept some great items aside for our Fall/Winter schedule.

We've done two shows this week. Each time, we've been complimented about being two strong individuals working together who create an atmosphere of fun. We enjoy introducing each other to the people who support this little business, be it family or friends, we've picked up along the way. It's comforting to show up to a new place and know someone is waving you down on the street to show you where to go. For me, that's my best friend. For both of us, it's our husbands helping us set up for a show, or gramma's watching the kids while we are gone. For us, it is you as our friends and fans.

Thank you for your support. 

What Chickens Have to do With Yarn Shopping....

Here I am with out any yarn. Well, I should say with out any yarn I want to use right now. I have been on a wash cloth tangent and now I'm out of cotton yarn. With the Shaniko Wool Gathering and my urge to make wash cloths for Days For Girls, I decided that I needed to see what kind of deals I could find on the internet. Heck who doesn't love computer shopping in your pjs?

I just had to let Tori in on my hunt, mainly cause you always need a good shopping partner!! As I head on over to some of my favorite retail spots to see if what I needed was on sale, Tori kinda followed, as well as Tori follows.  Nothing I wanted was on sale and while I started whining about it, Tori took off. Where to? None other than Ebay!! This always provides hours of quality entertainment. This is where it gets good.. We found a few deals that just might have to happen and then the chickens start showing up. Chickens you say, well yes chickens!

Interjection: I swear, the crazy critter stuff just finds us. It doesn't matter what we are looking for, they just pop up. This time, I was only searching for yarn. One time... while I was doing a search for squirrels (yes, I have to admit I was looking for squirrels on Pinterest), I found a ring on etsy that was priceless! So I purchased it and had it directly shipped to Danielle, complete with gift wrap. The squirrel ring drove her nuts for hours. She called me, wondering who sent it to her. She told me I was the only one crazy enough to send her a golden squirrel ring. It was so entertaining, I couldn't stop laughing. After several phone calls and lots of who? why? and how? I finally confessed. There's always lots of good options. I'm really thinking that someone needs a chicken, though...





I have to say I love her chickens! There where some other chickens that just didn't compare, trust us, we looked! So check her out if you are in the market for a killer chicken pot holder  http://stores.ebay.com/Lindas-Special-Occasions. Heck even her fruit guys are pretty cool, I dig the lime. He is a bit cross eyed and looks like he has been hitting the drink a bit hard, that could be why I find him so cool.

I will spare you all the hundreds of links to the creepy hairy yarn that looks kinda like shaved alley cats. Heck there was even a few skeins of yarn that came with a bag of really creepy clown like heads...

Oh the joys of Ebay, a twisted sense of humor and yarn shopping... see what you miss out on behind the scenes? It's knot quite right...

To the Show We Go

Last Saturday Fez and I packed up our stuff and headed to a rabbit show.

Fez all ready for the show

We got many excellent comments on his wool, head and ears. But we where told that he is a bit on the small side... So I guess its time he starts eating his Wheaties and using that gym membership I got him.

As he sat in his carrier chilling out after judging I got to walk around and visit with other Angora breeders and Fiber enthusiasts. As I was talking to a friend, she took me over to check out this young little angora. I should have walked the other way, LOL. The moment our eyes met it was love!

 I was trying really hard to say no to such a sweet face, then my friend asked the breeder how much she was selling this little girl for. Lets just say it was beyond reasonable and  I couldn't say no.... meet Camo. She is just 4 months old and such a doll. I gave her a hair cut today and she was so patient through the whole thing.

Naked Bunny

Such big feet

All stylish in her new coat.

~D
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A Bunny Filled Life

Last week I was given the honor of being asked if I would like to become the custodian of two very sweet and very nice German Angora bucks. I said yes (well, how could I say no). I was also offered a German hybrid Angora doe from a fellow fiber enthusiast and welcomed three brand new baby bunnies into the world. Yesterday our three new angoras moved in and boy are they sweet!

Siskyu

Snowflake

Forte

As if all of this wasn't enough I saw an ad on Craigs List asking for help with some orphaned baby bunnies. I just had to answer the ad to see if I could help. It was a fellow fiber artist with baby angoras that are only two days younger than our new babies.  Mama Thistle welcomed them with open paws and willingly took on three more babies.

All six of the babies, the smaller three up front are the adopted ones.

It's En-Gauging!

Ahhh, the wonderful world of crochet... a deep delightful pool of endless possibilities spread before me as I googled the basics of crochet. But every time I turned around, I was fighting with my hooks, my yarn and my knots... which, when I finally decided to ask a seasoned crocheter, I was informed that they were stitches, not knots! ;)

I am a huge book enthusiast, so I really thought I could master the basics by reading. Thankfully, Danielle was only a phone call or text away, but it was when we sat down together that she was able to point out some of the very issues I was fighting. She told me when I began that I needed to make dishcloths. I whipped one of those bad babies out and went on to other projects. However, those issues still popped up here and there. Some of it was hook size, some of it was yarn weight and the most frequent issue I had was gauge.  I often learned more in just an half hour of sitting across from my friend than I did from pouring over patterns, books and websites.

In that spirit, we are looking at opening up a time when we can all sit together, crochet and maybe even troubleshoot some of the little things we overlook while crocheting alone. Keep checking our page, we will be developing this great little idea into a fun event for all to look forward to! We're going to have some questions on what works, how often and where you would like to do this, so we'll be expecting some feedback!
~T

Crocheters Block

     I'm not your normal fiber artist: it doesn't fully take up every part of my life. I know my husband wouldn't agree, but really there are times that I just want to get up and walk away. Well with the new baby that Knot Quite is, that is not really an option. I feel the need to push through those days, weeks, months, heck even seasons, so that I can create fun exciting stuff for the shop. Thankfully my counterpart and partner in crime is new to the world of fiber. Her drive and hunger to explore new ideas has pushed me out of my box. I am truly thankful!

 On the agenda for today is to order some fantastic fiber that I found on etsy and start a new project. At this point in the day, I'm not really sure what I will be making but it will be fun and summery.
~D