Closing the Etsy Shop,

 This will be a quick post, just an announcement really. No, I am not going to stop selling and it might not be closed forever, it is just not doing anything but hurting me at this very moment so I am going to try some alternatives instead. I will still be selling and if you are interested in any of my items or custom orders you can go through the Knitches' Instagram or Facebook and I 'd be happy to get you set of with what ever your heart desires. 

Ready to Set Sail (and get to selling), 

                                   Ms. Sinking Ship

I'm on Patreon?!

That is right guys, as of this week I am on Patreon! 

This is super exciting because it can open up a whole new world of opportunities for me and for the blog, with the pledges I get I can pay for more sewing projects. That comes with another surprise, I plan on posting more real-time(ish) updates and other fun posts about the projects I am doing. 

Plus, I can use the money to help support other parts of the blog as well, I plan on getting CherishNotes back on track and the blog has been in need of renovations I haven't been able to do myself. I would also like to do a lot more things with the blog (and the youtube that goes a long with it) that I haven't been able to, but now can with the funding I'll get.

 I am so excited to get this ball rolling, I can not wait to see all of the awesome things that will come out of this!

Now for the other important part, if you are unsure what exactly Patreon is, 

It is a fairly new site for people who are artists, freelancers, bloggers, etc. to get an income or money for their projects. The website is set up so fans can pledge a certain amount of money that goes towards the person every month so they can continue on there endeavors, and keep creating content for people to see. It is a really neat idea that I am very happy to now be a part of. There are so many great artists and other people that are doing such incredible things because of the money they receive on Patreon and I think that is so awesome!

If you're interested in my Patreon, there are plenty of different options for pledges or if you don't have any spare change/ you just aren't super interested in what I'm selling but you like my spunk you can just follow my page for other neat updates that will get put up there. You can do both of those through this link-

https://www.patreon.com/cherishhornbeck

With that, I am off, There is plenty of other awesome things coming up soon that I have got to get on top of because fro a short time I was falling behind,

Ready to Set Sail ( and be back oh so soon),

                                                            Ms. Sinking Ship

Fabric Haul and Plans for the KNITche,

I recently came across a $2 per yard sale at my local store and took it upon myself to buy everything I possibly could. After all that excitement I thought it would be fun to do a little haul video, it's not the best but it is definitely a good start.

All of the Fabrics were full cotton and I got a yard of all of the fabrics except for the mermaid scale fabric which I got 3.5 yards of instead. 

A large amount of these fabrics are going to go toward new projects I have going for the KNITche and it's reopening in early August so if you enjoyed any of the fabrics you saw make sure to keep an eye on that,

I'm ready to set sail (and start sewing),

                                                                  Ms Sinking Ship 

Blogger Tips From Someone who Blogs: Best Blogging Sites!

From someone who not only reads blogs but keeps one up as well, I am constantly on the look out for the best websites to keep my blog up on (other then maybe having your own domain) because the worst thing in the world is having to try to make the best out of something you can't stand using because you can't find anything else. 

I have tried a decent amount of them, and I've come to conclusions about which ones are the most fun and efficient to use, for me any ways.  I'm making this today to help any one else that also seems to have the worst of luck finding something that fits well with them and their blog starting from the 

best-ish to the worst-ish. 

                                                                                                                

1. Blogspot

 I have had problems with Blogspot, it is not always the greatest thing ever but it is reliable and very customizable, along with that there aren't any hidden fees or anything and there are ways to make money off of your blog as well. The  only downsides I've seen are complications with coding when it comes to customization, it takes some time to get used to and figure out how to do those things but it is nothing a little problem-solving can't fix. 

2. Tumblr

The only reason this isn't number one is because it's more of a social media site than a blogging site, but I made one early today because it was the only think I hadn't tried but I constantly hear awesome things so I decided to try it out before I made this post and I love it. It's a little bit difficult to navigate right at first but once you get this gist of it, it is really easy and pretty fun. Above is mine and you can follow me on there as well as mssinkingship of course, I'll probably do a decent amount of blogging on there as well. It is pretty customizable and there is tons of things to work with, if you're looking for something not quite so serious for a blog this is definitely the first place you should try.

3. Wix

So I tried this site the other day and it is pretty interesting, there are quite a few downsides though and it ends up getting complicated. For one, there isn't a trash can so you are unable to get rid of anything that was on the original template you might not have wanted. Also, it does have an apps section where you can add all kinds of cool things to your blog, but a decent amount of them you have to pay for and if you are on a budget you can't always afford all of that. 

The only other downside is that for your domain name it gives you it lists their site before yours and that can seem less professional the other way around. Wix has some cool things to use like some of the templates they have and animation effects, things like that etc, but it the long run there is more hassle than anything else when it comes to this site.

4. Weebly

For those of you that have been reading my blog for it's pretty close to entirety, you will most likely know that it originally started out on Weebly. This site is perfect for a blog just starting out, if you just want to dip your toes into the whole thing, or if you're unsure you really want to commit to any type of thing that's this nature. It is fairly easy but really isn't all to customizable. Weekly isn't the worst but it really isn't something you would hold a blog at for a long period of time.

5. WordPress

I had always heard that if you want your blog to be successful use Wordpress, so eventually a few months ago I had been irritated with bloodspot and I thought it might be a good time to give it a try. I was so frustrated with all of it after the first 10 minutes I have never gone to the site again. I'm sure it's a lot easier and customizable if you buy the packages for your websites from them BUT not everyone (me included) has the money to drop $50 on a website so I can change the layout. That is ridiculous for one and two I've done decently well on Blogspot and never had to shell out large amounts of money to do so. I know people who use it and love it so this one is purely biased as most of these are but for someone who can't spend a bunch of money and want something to be even the slightest bit personal, I wouldn't use Wordpress. 

These are the blogs I've used and the major pros and cons I've had with them.  A lot of the factors in this has to do with customization because that is a big part of blogging and creating a brand for your self, I hope this gives any one who is thinking of starting a blog or wanting to switch from the site they use now.

Ready to Set Sail (and keep playing with my Tumblr),

                                               Ms. Sinking Ship

The Final Grab Bag of the Sale!

                                   

Okay guys the last bag of the sale is here! This months sale went by so fast, I really hop you guys check out this last grab bag because it was definitely my favorite back to make and it's pretty cool in my opinion as well.  It includes:

One Crochet drawstring bag that can be customize with any two colors just list which ones you'd like when you buy them. 

One long circle scarf that will match the bag, perfect for keeping you warm when it starts getting chilly on fall nights.

One Elegant bow, the one shown is an example but you might not end up with they are personalized to fit with the colors of the bag as well and were created to add the perfect accents to you hair on those special days.

and lastly,

One Crochet Teddy Bear, also created to match the bag and the other contents inside.

I hope you guys enjoyed the sale, I have some new stuff coming up as well that I hope you guys like and check us out again tomorrow for some awesome stuff I have inshore for you guys!

Ready to Set Sail (and add this to etsy),

                          Ms. Sinking Ship

Back to school grab bags!

Ahoy fellows! For the next few weeks we are going to be doing a lot of hopefully, fun back-to-school stuff for you guys, we're going to have make up tutorials, fashion tips, etc. and to make all of that even better The KNITche is going to grab bags each week instead of a back-to-school sale, all of them slightly similar but different to the ones before it. All of the bags will be of the same price range and for that week only so if you want the bag, you have to grab it before it's to late! How ever, you will not know what each weeks grab bag looks like until that week, this weeks is shown above. I will be nice though and tell you the basic contents of each bag each week so you have a basic idea of the ones you might want to check out.

Week One: Pencil / Make up Bag (w/ vintage crystal buttons)

3 Yet-to-be Released Purple Line Bows

1 of our more elegant Bows

1 Scalloped Long Finger Knitted Scarf

Week Two: Knitted tote bag

1 Softball Style Bow

1 Crochet Orginal Styled Collar

1 Scalloped Collar

Week Three: Long Pencil Pouch

1 Cable-Knitted Waist Belt w/ Vintage Stones

4 Yet-to-be Released Purple Line Bows

Week Four: Drawstring Bag

1 Crochet and Felt Bear 

1 Elegant Bow

1 Basic Circle Scarf

This week you can customize the bag by picking the color of the pencil/ make up bag all of the other items are based around, so which ever color you pick from our variations, all of the items with coordinate with the bag in some way or another. 

You can get more detailed pictures and order here: 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/theknitche

Along with These grab bags how ever, there will be fun little promo codes on here, my instagram, the KNITches instagram and many other places for fun little sales and things so keep your eye out for those. I can't wait to see how these next few weeks go with this and with the other little experiments we are going to try here on the blog! 

Ready to set sail (and send off the rest of this weeks posts),

                                                                            Ms. Sinking Ship

Books, Haircuts, and Business,

So this post has been written as many different things already but everything sounded weird when written down and I realized it was because you fellows have no idea what is going on in my life anymore. SO, I'll let you in on what's been going on and all of the crazy things that are in motion at this moment.

1. I'm writing a series of books on WattPad

So lately I've been working on a horror/thriller love story on WattPad (sounds kinda messy but it's not that horrible I promise). Along with that story I've been writing another book that is another main characters point of view of the same situations, they are being written at the same time so you can see both reactions and both sides to every situation around the same time. If you are interested in either, there named IdolIzed and Her Eyes, they are updated every Thursday and Wednesday (or that's when they're supposed to be updated. You guys know how awful I am at deadlines).

2. I cut off all my hair

This one was supposed to be an entire entry on it's own but every time I wrote it out, it sounded like an informercial and that was weird, the reason I am writing it in the first place is because of the impact it made on me. I have had my hair short before, but I was young and did not take a lot of care of my hair when it came to doing it, so it was horrible. This is the first time since childhood that I have had it short at all. My hair was below my chest and almost to the end of my back, when I cut it, it came to right above my shoulders I instantly felt some type of relief (mostly because my hair was heavy) but also because I was no longer doing my hair for everyone else it was for me, and as the days grew I became more and more relieved, then I became confident My haircut gave me that pushed I needed to feel free with myself, and to push my self to become more of who I wanted to be. It sounds cliche and even a little bit silly I know, but it's true. It made me feel good and in return I did everything else good as well. 

3. I've been working on getting my business together

As you guys know I am the owner of The KNITche and lately I have been working hard to get it out there and getting things sold. We now have an Etsy, a Facebook, and as of yesterday we now also have an instagram. New things are being made daily and new items are posted as soon as possible after that, so hopefully, with that production rate and all of our out put on social media we should be going at a steady pace soon, a steady pace that I am definitely excited for.

All of this has been keeping me from writing often but so has the fact that I'm not exactly happy with blogger and I feel like my writing is not accomplishing quite what I'm trying to get across, I do enjoy blogging and would like to continue to do so, but with all of that in might at the moment, I might not post as frequently as I would in other situations. I hope you understand and continue to enjoy the blog even with these minor setbacks.
- ready to set sail,
                          Ms. Sinking Ship

Mini March Mood Board,

The month of March is odd, it's the transition month between winter and spring, so everything about March could be unexpected. It leaves the feeling of risks and wanting to take chances. It also means ELLEs spring fashion magazine, which is exciting and inspiring. My mood board as of this moment for March isn't large, but it might grow. At the moment it's just inspiration and the beginning of a little expectation. Just the way March isn't.

1st: I have my ELLE magazine. This is by far my favorite issue probably every year. The ads are always creative and give me ideas for color schemes or things to try and create based off of trends I notice; and the articles are a little bit more drastic than the ones written the rest of the year, which entertain me. As you can see I'm already beginning to go through it and tag my favorite articles and ads I've found so far, but I'm barely have way through the book so there is definitely more to come. 

This leads me to my second item,

2nd: Flag like sticky notes. I recently received this on an issue of Mollie Makes. I have a thing for sticky notes, I don't know why, but I have to tag and write about everything so they come in handy when I don't want to write or dog tag on the pages. These though, I am enjoy particulary well. The shape is more convient than the average square and it makes my tags look nice while still having enough room to make little notes on them. 

3rd: My labels. I use these as an expectation and a goal almost to help me keep creating. There are so many I have yet to use and that makes me want to create more. This month I'm determined to work on them and use as many of my labels as possible.

4th: My new Snake arm band, I have an odd love for snakes and I plan on getting one in the distant future when I'm more settled. I also enjoy little pieces of jewelry like this even though I don't wear a lot of it when I do I like to express an odd sides of me that aren't normally shown.
5th: My Pierce The Veil wrist band, Pierce the Veil is probably one of my favorite bands and I get to see them again this month which makes me incredibly excited and pumped. Their shows are always exciting and inspiring, making it an entire month joy anytime there near my town.
And last my
 6th item: The iPad mini I have shown. This is probably more of a life line than my phone. I do a large amount of work from my iPad, gathering ideas, researching, drawing, reading, writing, editing photos, I do all of it on my iPad, so it's shown because it is like my left leg most of the time and so it could a mood board probably dedicated all to itself.

Just a heads up. With all of this,  I am already working on and conjuring up a few more blogs that you all will enjoy that will be released later this week. I usually do not add things like this unless it's an update but since it has to do with items on my mood board why not keep you in the loop?
I'm ready to set sail (and continue into the month of march),
                                                      Ms. Sinking Ship

Merry holidays! See you in the new year,

Why hello, I want to first apologize for the lack of words this past month, but I plan on making it up to you all. Starting this new year we will go on plenty of exciting new adventures and try out thousands of new ideas I already have planned. I hope you all have a great holiday and a happy New Years eve. Also, I'm sorry for the vague and short structure of a statement you are receiving but I'm busting planning and preparing for the end ofnthis year and the beginning of the next, see you on the new year,
         Ready to set sail (and restart)
                               Ms. Sinking Ship

A Thanksgiving Giving,

I am thank for all of the readers I have and all the customers I have at the KNITche and because of that we will be having sales all weekend and you know all of them a day early! Thank you all for supporting me so diligently and hope to continue to enthrall you all. I will be posting a Women Crush Wednesday this week but it will be more different than any other we have had so far it will be up soon so keep checking the blog for updates.  

         Ready to set sail (and get some sweet deals),

                                               Ms. Sinking Ship

Finding Inspiration Every Where You Go,

  This weekend I took a trip to Tulsa and while I  was in the city I went on a few mansion tours and to the aquarium, photographing anything I thought might provide even the slightest of inspiration, and some of it did. The usage of the space provided even in mansions was incredible, and the color palettes I found in the aquariums were very influential in a few ideas I have for items I hope to be posting soon.
                             Inspiration is every where, you just have to look for it.
                                               Ready to set sail (and put this inspiration to work),
                                                                                  Ms. Sinking Ship

A Crutch for the Crippled Conversation,

     Today while in my AP class we talked about (Satire being the original subject) hashtags and what they do to society now in conversation. I realized that this would be a great way to start another idea I had for the blog. Do you think that hashtags help society in conversation and expression ( or in general even) or do you think they have crippled society in its force of few words and illiterate spacing? To tell me you can use the hashtag #thecrutchofsociety on twitter, on the blog in the comments or on Facebook even. Not all of the hashtags will be so 'deep' so to speak, most will likely be craft related, but for trying this idea out I should know how you feel about the basic concept in general first. If this goes well you will see little notes like this in other posts or little questions of the day posted by themselves with a hashtag to identify them with, if it does not go well then the idea was one that will be put away until another rainy day.
             Ready to set sail (and hear all of your thoughts) ,
                                                                    Ms. Sinking Ship

New Products from the KNITche,

New products were recently released on to the KNITches page ( link below ) Three chalk board jars were recently added (and one none decorated on was released but not depicted). While Shooting pictures of these jars I had a little fun and used them to my entertain meant, I thought you guys would find it slightly entertaining as well.

On top of our recent release I am working on some very large chalk jars as well and a few jewlery pieces that will  be up soon. I will be posting pictures once they are done and you can find all of these things with much more at Facebook.com/theknitchebycherish

Ready to set sail and get back to work,

     Ms. Sinking Ship

Artist's Block : A deadly disease

Lately, I have had a horrid case of artist's block for the blog and the company. Along with that, I have had a constant movement of things that needed to get done, so, nothing has gotten done. I apologize for the lack of words the past week or two but I'm going to attempt to beat this block and get it all in track. I think I'm going to try and have certain blogs on certain days those will  hopefully home about within the next week. I'd love to hear feed back from you guys on things you want to read about and things you've already read.
              Ready to set sail and get back on track,
                                            Ms. Sinking Ship

Another thought to jot, (the last didn't end well) 9.30

The last thought I had about painting knits did not go well.. It went gross actually. After I've found to have quite the case artists block, for work anyways. Until today I've done nothing for a week and that has cause my brain chaos. A few moments ago I was flipping through Pinterest and I stumbled upon a little girl wearing a dress that was a tutu and a little elastic top for an extreme price. I decided it would be a cute project to try to add in crochet and my flowers as well so that's what I will be working on and hopefully pictures will come from this because last time I forgot.

      Ready to set sail (and working again),

                    Ms. Sinking Ship