Kiss My Knits!

My Jayne hat not authentic enough for ya? Come September, you can bid on the original!

I’ve put the hot pink hair on the new doll, but can’t show you without my digital camera. This doll’s head is less firmly stuffed than her friends’. This was fine when it was just the head, but I didn’t account for the added weight of the cotton chenille hair. Now she’s a little floppy-necked. I showed her to Emily and asked if I should redo her neck, but Emily said she was fine like she is. “That looks like nice hair. Elizabeth and Taylor are going to love her!”

The doll has panties, but still needs a belly button and a pink dress. Emily won’t name her until she’s completely done. There’ll be plenty of time to take pictures. Hopefully Canon will turn my camera around quickly.

Lots of kits to go out, but with Emily out of school today, it’s throwing me a bit off my schedule. I’m right on track with the Jayne hats, though. There’s one boxed up and ready to go to Wisconsin, and the next one goes to Canada. I’m assuming the post office is closed today.

I’m being called away to play. I have a feeling not much grownup work is going to get done today.

Since I don’t have pics, how about links?

Neighbor’s revenge.
Eaten by trees
Judge Judy lays the smack down.
And lastly, after receiving eardrops all week, my cat wishes she had this.

Last night I came back from the store, and as I came through the back door, I found the yarn in my purse had snagged on the doorknob. This isn’t that unusual. However, this time the yarn was running through the doorjamb, past the closed door. Uh-oh.
Pics and more under cut.

I just got six 4-lb cones of my yarn. 2000 yards a cone, that’s 12000 yards of yellow. It had better last for more than a couple of months or I’ll be really, really irritated.

I’m getting a lot of inquiries this week from Browncoats wondering how long the wait will be when the list reopens. It’ll still be about eight weeks, most likely. Many of the people asking are from the United Kingdom. Apparently there’s a big convention in early April and people are wanting to wear Jayne hats for Adam Baldwin. All I can say is I’ll do my best. I love the image of a room full of Brits showing their Firefly colors!

The Jayne hat list stands at 42 hats waiting to be knitted. Assuming I knit a hat every two days, that’s a 12 week wait. In fact, of course, I knit them faster, and that wait is only about ten weeks, but still. That’s ridiculous.

www.wearwithstyle.com is closed to new orders until February 10th (the day after my birthday). If someone’s already contacted me but hasn’t decided whether they’re ordering, I’ll take them. New inquiries will be asked to call me back when I’m out of the tub. I’ll be putting up a note on the site expressing this.

I’m thinking about going to limited signup windows, but let’s see what a little break from new orders does to whittle the line down first. Every year I think the demand will die down, but every year there seem to be more and more Browncoats, and the wait gets longer. It’s amazing, and wonderful. Of course there will come a day when that last order comes in and it’ll all be over, but that day doesn’t seem to be coming soon.

In addition to the practical matter of needing to get more caught up, there’s also a more intangible issue. I am a creative person and I HAVE KNIT THE SAME HAT 500+ TIMES IN A ROW. To be a Jayne hat, it has to look exactly like a Jayne hat. It’s not like I can throw some cabling in there, or stick a knitted spout on the side and call it a teapot hat. I’d like to have the freedom to make a few non-Jayne things and not feel guilty because I really should be getting caught up on the list. I had someone write and ask if they could order a Space Invaders hat for someone’s birthday a month away, and I had to turn them down. Broke my heart.

Finally, those suggesting that Pat’s quilt plays a part in this wouldn’t be wrong. I’ve promised scarves and slippers and dolls to friends and family members, but they’ve been on the back burner for far too long. I promised my father a Charlie Brown sweater last year for his birthday. His birthday’s coming up again next week. You can see how the sweater’s coming. I’ve swatched for gauge and done the math to figure out the stripe placement and the number of stitches to cast on. IT’S BEEN A YEAR. That’s just unacceptable. And bless my dad’s heart, he always says, “Well, I know your paid orders have to come first, you take your time, it’s okay.” Yeah, but I shouldn’t have to backburner a project for my own father to make the 600th hat for a total stranger. That’s nuts.

So I’m taking baby steps in cutting the hats back to a more reasonable level. When wearwithstyle returns, the price on a finished Jayne hat to the U.S. or Canada will also rise to $40. Brown Sheep has raised its prices for my wool twice since I set my initial rates, and I need to continue to cover my expenses and also maintain my enthusiasm for this.

Don’t get me wrong. I love knitting the Jayne hats. I enjoy talking to people from around the world who share my love of Firefly. I like helping many of the people who buy the kits to knit their very first hat. And, on a less noble level, It’s fun having the tiniest possible level of celebrity within the already tiny groups of geek knitters and Firefly fans. I don’t see myself giving up Jayne hats. But if I’m going to keep at it, I need a break.

Hats up for: Alberta, Texas, and Texas.

The list as it stands.

The week in mail.

The list as it stands.

Folks took me up on the Donors Choose challenge to the tune of $315 smackers, so I think I’ll keep it rolling a while longer. I’m thrilled that this has worked out so well.

I realized there’s an “art to wear” badge for Brownies, meaning if we string our shrinky dinks on a piece of yarn, we’re filling part of a Try-It requirement.

Shedir’s about halfway done. It’s going much faster than the last one. I’m doing it entirely without a cable needle, which is new for me. It’s always good to learn new things. I did notice a mistake two rows back… but let’s not think about that until after breakfast.

The weather forecast includes possible snow flurries by tonight, and I always get excited about snow. To celebrate, if time permits, I think I’ll make myself pumpkin pancakes.

I’ve got so much to do, and about a million packages to mail out, but still. Wishes are horses, and I’m eating steak today!

Reminder! For a limited time, a $25 donation to my kid’s school gets you a Jayne hat, saving you $11! For kits, make a $25 donation for a kit with needles or $15 donation for a standard kit, for discounts of $9 and $2 respectively. Help kids AND save money? It doesn’t get shinier than that! Woo!

Note: the wait for a finished hat is still eight weeks long. Sorry, not much I can do about that. But you’ll still have the warm glow that comes from giving to keep you warm while you wait for your cunning hat.