overwhelmed

Knitting all day, knitting all night, and still not caught up! We have so many orders that we can’t knit fast enough. It used to be that we could get orders out the door in a week but now too many have piled up and we are SWAMPED!!! To top it off our supply of BFL is temporarily backordered. But, we are so glad to have so many orders and we know that every business has growing pains and we are just glad that we are growing.
The trees are already turning here and I have to get a pair of longies done for Audrey. We don’t want her to end up being like the cobbler’s daughter with no shoes!
It is exciting to do customs and to hear so many creative ideas for embellishments. Hopefully we will be able to have a stocking on our Hyena Cart before Christmas!

This is what our customs list is looking like for the next few months...
September
Stephanie
Rita
Valerie
Carly
Brandilyn
Sarah
Heather
Meg
October
carbandy
srhrss Amelia Jess
Sarah
Wendy
Jaime
morethanapplesauce
November
Jody
Shea
Jessica (2 pairs)
December
Andrea
Teresa
Andrea S
January
Ashley
Renee R
Aprille
Sarah B
Emily
February
Jenna

Busy busy...

Yesterday we babysat three kids while their parents were at a wedding. The youngest is two and she had a great time with our yarn. She danced with a ball of green bfl, tied herself up in a skein of yellow and then poked needles through a ball of rainbow and said “see!” I said, “yes, you are knitting!” I wonder when Audrey will knit? She is seven months old now and when I knit she pokes her little pointer finger on the needles. Working at home is wonderful!

The other day we got a very sweet message from a Mom who does amazing photography. She ordered a pair of odds ‘n sods monster longies and loved them! We just wish that we lived closer so that we could visit to get some pictures done. Check out her website www.megbitton.com such beautiful pictures!

One of the best things about being a WHAM is the people we meet. So may talented mammas out there that inspire us to continue to grow!

Trying to find a balance

A tricky thing is balancing stocking and customs. Customs are always on our minds because we know how anxious people are to get their fluff in the mail. But we like to have stockings too so that we can try out new things and see what the response will be. We are new at this so I’m sure that we will get it all sorted out and find the balance we need to keep going.
The other day Rowan came to visit. He is 4 and his new favourite thing to do is to dye yarn with me. He doesn’t love the swift but the ball winder is a hit! And how do you answer a question like this “what will happen if I mix all the dyes together?” Check out his creations – Rowan 1 and Rowan 2 in my Hyena Cart store.
Some of the best parts of being involved in Smartypants is the feedback. When we get a picture of a baby in one of our creations it makes us all so happy. Stories of toddlers not wanting to take off their shorties are even better! Thanks to all the customers who make this a job that brings great joy to us!

Now offering hand dyed yarn!

And so you have to ask yourself: Do you want a dining room that you rarely use or do you want a play/work/diaper changing station/ mama cloth making (only for a friend to take to Kenya-not for our business)/ Audrey library and toy room?? Of course we want the vibrant work space! Maybe one day we find that we have to keep home and business separate but for now picking up some knitting between breast feeding or scooting out to the kitchen the moment Audrey lays down to sleep for a bit of dying is the way our business works.

Audrey is just over six months old, the same age as our business. We are not growing quite as fast as she is but our development is steady. This week we are offering hand dyed yarn. After knitting for a few months with store bought yarn we found out that we can make our own colours and patterns and that it would be even more fun!
Six months ago Audrey would stay wrapped in a cashmere sleeve, only emerging for diaper changes and the occasional bath. Six months ago our business was pretty confined too. A corner on the couch was all that we needed to knit. Now both Audrey and the business take up much more space! It all seems so natural, this progression of growth and we are enjoying every moment of it!

Taking over the house...

Today we sold our dining room set to make room for the woolies. We will now eat in the kitchen and wind yarn and knit in the living/dining room. The kitchen is still the dye spot but sometimes if it's not too windy we can go outside to work. We got our swift (to wind skeins) and a ball winder this week so if all goes well we will soon be selling hand dyed yarn. Right now we have BFL and merino to dye.

Smartypants now has a blog!!!!

This is what our night is like. Sometimes we wish that we could send a video of the production of our knits. There's baby Audrey eating the wool as we knit. Annie, my cousin, an amazing artist, embroidering new designs and getting excited about an owl that she sketched on a scrap of paper four years ago! My Mom, just home from teaching a day in Kindergarten gets told that I am stocking in an hour so could she please make a few drawstrings! And me, nursing, changing dipes and knitting all day long. Except when I'm over at Annies making new dipes for Audrey, or when I'm standing on a chair changing up the snaps on a goodmama. Can you explain to anyone who does not use cloth that you CHANGED the snaps on a diaper??

So we did a funny stocking today. Interupted by a visit from Audrey's Dad and her Nana, and wth us wishing that we had better light to take pictures.
We're looking into making a light box. It's a funny business. We started making things for Audrey, before she was born. Had some needles a few balls of wool and made up patterns. Then we bought a load of wool from a store in Toronto and some new needles from a Mamma on DS. Then we got a wholesale account, and bought more wool. Then we bought some koolaid and started dying, that progressed to acid dye and we got really excited about making our own colours. A swift and a ball winder should be arriving next week. The business is slowly taking over the living room and often even the kitchen when it's dye day.

Here is our inspiration in her first longies and the soaker she wears today!