Stitch markers

I have found a new love. No, not someone to replace my husband. I have a new crafty love.
While laying in bed reading blogs I came across a post about stitch markers. I LOVE using stitch markers so I clicked on it and began reading about a girls need for stitch markers and her town without a yarn or craft store! “What’s a girl to do” one may ask…well this girl decided to make her own. Wait… What? She made her own? Yes, readers she made her own!! She used wire and bead and pliers and made her own!!
I was fascinated by this. I went and bought wire and beads and decided I too would make my own stitch markers. Well, that was an epic fail. Mine turned out terrible and they were heavy with the beads and the wire kept kinking up. I quickly scrapped those and went back to the drawing board.
I tried to find ways to make some like the ones I already had. I took a couple of my stitchmarkers with me to the craft store and walked around for hours until I found what looked liked all the parts to accomplish the act of making an actual usable marker. My efforts were not in vain! I got home and after a bit of trial and error I had figured out how to make stitch markers!! And I love it!
They are so easy and the perfect task to keep me busy while resting my hands from knitting. They put no strain on my joints so I can make them all day!! It has been great. I now sell them in my etsy shop and at a few local yarn stores in my area. How cool is that?
Here are a couple pics of the ones I have been working on today.

The charm says “made with love”

The set.

I love the snakes!!

Right now they fit up to a size 13 needle but I am thinking of getting some smaller rings for socks and things like that.

In other news, I won needles!
A few months ago I entered a photo contest with Knitters Pride. After a few weeks of voting I came in second and won a Nova cubics deluxe interchangable set! The top 3 all got to choose a deluxe set. Mine finally came last week! I am so excited!!

I also won a sample set just for being a finalist. (All the finalist won the set) I can’t wait to try out the Kabonz.

That’s about all I have to chat about today. I am off to take a nap. I spent the day at the pool with my tiny humans and I am wore out!
Happy knitting!!!

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Busy week(end)

Hello all! Hope everyone had a nice Easter weekend. I was busy,busy,busy!! It was great though. So much fun and lots of celebrating.

My kids were out for Spring break last week. Vicious spent most of her time with her friends while Thing 2 and me sat around the house and did nothing! It was wonderful to be able to get almost nothing done all week. I did finish some knitting so I guess I was a little productive 🙂

I found out on Thursday that I won the week 1 challenge for the Geeky Girls knit PAD contest! I was so excited!! I can’t wait to see my prize in May! Thank you to all who voted for my picture!!

Saturday I had to go to a birthday party for a friends son. He turned the big 0-1! I was super excited for about this party. First off, because he is the miracle my friend thought she may never have and second because he is the best kid to knit for!!! Most of my circle of friends are infertile women and we like to make sure we celebrate the milestones of the babies we were blessed with. And my friend went ALL OUT to make sure her rainbow baby was celebrated haha. It was a great time! Thing 2 had a blast!! Vicious was grounded and couldn’t go.

To celebrate my main little dude turning one I made him a Baby sophisticate and matching hat! His mother had made it clear that he was to have one after she saw the last one I made. Since she actually appreciates handmade items and sends me endless pictures of little dude in these items, I was more than happy to oblige.

I made it in the size 2T and added about a half inch to the length. It took close to 2.5 skeins of yarn. I used Berrocco Vintage for this. It’s washable and soft. Great for kid knits. I am so in love with how this turned out!
I decided that it needed a hat to go with it so I grabbed some scraps I had and came up with this train hat!

She sent me this picture last night! How stinking adorable is this kid!?!

Sunday was spent with family doing the whole Easter thing. The kids had a blast hunting eggs and playing with their cousins at my inlaws house. I had a good time eating haha.

I started my first reversible hat on Sunday also. I sat in church knitting a batman hat for an order 😃 I am about half way finished and it’s looking pretty good so far! I am a bit nervous on how I am going I decrease it but I guess I will figure that out when the time comes. If anyone has tips on decreasing a double knit reversible hat, I would love them!

Last up, I want to let everyone know that this week is National Inferility Awareness Week. What that is, is just a time to help get the word out about Inferility and help those still “in the closet” not feel so alone or shamed. I suffer from secondary infertility which basically means I had one kid but couldn’t have two on my own. It took 3 years and 9 miscarriages to get Thing 2. She is my Rainbow baby! (Rainbow baby is a baby after a loss)
Infertility effects 1in 8 couples and can happen before the first kid or after the tenth. It is physically and emotionally draining and painful. It’s also not just the inability to get pregnant. Infertility can be the inability to conceive or the inability to carry a pregnancy. It is not biased either and effects men and women equally.

Hug an Infertile this week. They probably need it 🙂

Just call me Tortoise

Hello Knitters and readers of knitting blogs 🙂 Hope you all are well.

If you recall I have been looking for my knitting mojo, the gusto for FOs and the lulling click of needles. Well, it’s gone. I think it’s probably under my bed but who knows 😉
I have decided it’s time to take a step back and let this lapse in knitting run it’s course. I have still been knitting but at a much slower pace and I have decided that I am ok with that. My orders are still getting filled so I say that’s as good as I can do right now.

I completed a few things in this past week. All of which were a first! I love when I get requests for things I haven’t made before. I love the challenge of finding the perfect yarn, needles, getting the size right, coming up with a pattern, etc. That is the kind of thing that gets me knitting. I need more of that in my life.

First up was a baby infinity scarf. I may have mentioned this in my last post, can’t remember. Either way I have completed and blocked it. It is adorable!! I may make one for Thing 2 just in a bigger size.

I knit this in Monte Donegal yarn. Color Violet.
I love this yarn. This is the second item I have knit with it and I can guarantee it won’t be the last.
For this I used a size 6 16″ circular and co 102. I did a 2 row border in a 1×1 rib, knit even for 4.5″ then another 2 row 1×1 rib border and cast off using Jenys stretchy bind off. Voila, baby infinity scarf!! Can’t wait to see it on the recipient.

I started another project for a birthday gift. A friends son is turning 1 and I am making him a Baby sophisticate. I love these little jackets and once she saw the one I made before, she requested one. I LOVE making stuff for people who actually appreciate it! He is till wearing the hats I made him when he has born, granted they were knit bigger. I will most likely make a hat to go along with this sweater.

I am making this with Berocco Vintage. Another of my favorite yarns. I would say that about 40% of my stash is this yarn. I highly recommend it.
I plan to do the border, button bands and sleeve cuffs in this contrasting yarn.

I can’t wait to see this finished!!

That’s all I have for you all as far knitting stuff goes. I will leave you all with awesome pictures of my babies. Proud mama…Vicious is the brunette, Thing 2 is the blonde.

Where’s my mojo?

I have lost my knitting Mojo. It is gone. I am knitting at a snails pace these days. Actually I think the pace at which I knit lately is insulting to snails. This is especially bad since I have orders I have to fill! BLAH!!

I have finished a couple things though. Four to be exact. They each took all of 15 minutes to complete. See, sad. If it takes more than a few minutes I am just not getting it done!! Oh me and my instant gratification needs. Hopefully I can start cranking out some FOs soon.

I was clicking along pretty nicely in a hat but realized the color was off and had to have to have the right yarn ordered. So I am currently waiting on my LYS to let me know when that is in. Maybe that will knock my rear in gear. Hmm…

Here are a few pics of my measly 4 items I have finished this week.

This was my first attempt at knitting with beads. Not to bad. It did take some trial and error to get the letters to face the correct way.

It’s an owl incase you can’t tell 🙂

That’s it!
One last thing before go. I was sitting in my den last night, when Vicious comes in and hands me a sticker and says “Mom, I found this sticker in a book. It made me think of you.”

Until next time. Happy knitting.

Just another manic Monday

Hope everyone had an amazing weekend! It was sunny and warm here and I enjoyed every second of it. What I didn’t care for was the dang time change!! Anyone struggling because of the lost hour?
I know I am. I overslept today, so Vicious was late for school. Since she is so anal about being on time and things being perfect, this did not go over well. *ugh* On the bright side, since it is Monday, Thing 2 has school so I am now able to relax for a bit.

This describes my day, haha 🙂

Now on to what’s important…Knitting
I have a horrible case of start-itis lately. I have so many projects that I have started, half way completed, then started something else. I was able to finish one hat this weekend and deliver it to it’s forever home.

Next up I started another pair of socks. I am attempting to teach myself toe-up magic loop and after several tries I think I finally have the hang of it.

Just the toe right now but it is going pretty quickly.
Now you may be asking, “what happened to the last pair of socks you were making?” I didn’t like them and so I ripped them out and started these. The issue I had with my last pair of toe up socks was they had holes in them. I did Judy’s magic cast on and a wedge toe. To do the wedge toe you KFB into the first and last stitch on each needle. Well, this made holes in my sock no matter how tight I tried to knit. So, now I am using the M1 method in between the first and second stitch on each needle and the last two stitches on every needle. Now, no holes and a much better shape for the toe.

I also started a shirt for Vicious. I went into my LYS and saw a sample of the prettiest pullover and knew that I had to make it. It is the Berry Blossom Pullover from Universal Yarn. It is in the new Ebook Bamboo Pop kids. You can purchase it from the Universal Yarn site.

This photo is Copyright Universal yarn.

That’s all knitters and friends. Hope you all enjoy your week! Here’s a little diddyy to get you through the day 🙂

Paying it forward.

Ever have that moment where you see people being giving and full of charity and you think “I am going to do the same thing!”? Well, if not then you have more self control than I do, lol. A friend of mine joined a pay it forward project in January and once I saw it I said “sign me up”. The rules were pretty simple, you say “I’m in” and they make you a handmade item and you get 5 people to join in and you make each of those 5 people a handmade item, and those 5 people each get 5 people to join and they make handmade items for them, and so on. You are supposed to have your items made and delivered by the end of 2014. I have made zero items for my five people. ZERO
I started on the first a few weeks ago, so maybe more like 0.5 🙂
So, my first PIF gift is a baby &child sophisticate. I bought the revised pattern but they do offer a free version of this pattern. I am knitting it with Universal yarn washable wool in color Aguae. I really like this yarn for kid knits. The wool in it allows me to block it while the acrylic/nylon in it allows it to be easy on a child’s skin and allows it to be washed. A huge plus for any garment that will come in contact with a tiny human.

I just have to finish the collar and sew on the buttons and done!

After this just 4 more handmade items and I will be all paid forward 😉

Not really a pay it forward, more of a shout out to an awesome Etsy store! Seans labels. I decided to add size labels to my hand knits and ended up ordering from this shop. Great quality labels, free shipping, fast shipping…I will order from this shop again. I was not paid or even asked to promote this shop. Just a great shop and I like to give props to people who go above and beyond when it comes to service and quality.

Well that’s about it knitters! Hope everyone has a great rest of the day! I will leave you with something fun:
Mine is Captivating Sock-tacular yarn 🙂
What’s yours?

What do you do?

Those of you that sell your items, what is your method? Do you have an Etsy store? Do you have a facebook page? A corner shelf in a local shop?

Right now I am strictly word of mouth. I do minimal advertising. I will post on my facebook things like “I have 3 spots left” but that is about it. I also like to keep it around 7 or less orders per month. I also take orders usually a month or two in advance so I am not rushed.

I don’t want my love of knitting to become work. I don’t like to be stressed when I knit and I think having more orders or a store would be very stressful. I like having time to knit for fun and not just knit for profit.

So what are everywhere else’s opinions?

Yarn crawl Day 3 & MKAL #1

I hit 2 more yarn stores today bringing my total to 7 out of 13. I most likely am finished with the yarn crawl, the other 6 stores are about 45 minutes to an hour away and I am beat. I overdid it helping at Vicious’ school this week so I plan to just rest the weekend. Hopefully next year I can make it to all the shops. I am just proud that I attempted the crawl this year.
Since I am having issues getting around this week my hubby played chauffeur today and drove me around to the yarn shops! I was shocked that A: he agreed to do this and B: that he went in the yarn shop! He has never stepped foot into a yarn store. It was great spending time doing something I love with him, and he was really interested in the yarn! It was a great day.

My first stop was at Basket of yarn. This was a funky store. It had rooms off of rooms and you kind of had to weave through them to see what the next one held. The register was at the back of the store,not the front, so you are forced to walk through and look at everything in order to buy stuff. Well played my knittas, well played! 🙂
They have a room just for sitting and knitting (or crocheting). It was really interesting. I got a ball of the softest yarn I have ever touched! It is 50%cotton 50% bamboo. None Of the other stores I have been to had this yarn and I am now planning on going back to get more. My husband said while at the store ” buy some yarn if you want”! He is a keeper! They gave out free tape measures for the crawl, and they have a clip on it so I can attach it to my keys for when I knit in public and forget my notions bag. Thank you Basket of Yarn!

How bad ass is that grumpy sock monkey!?!

Next up was Yarnhouse. I did not like this store AT ALL!! Their prices were outrageous, they didn’t have a ton of inventory and the owner was so rude and anti social. When I walk into a shop I love being greeted and asked if I need help. I love the chit chat between employees and seeing them also knit or crochet while working. This guy did none of that. I walked in,he stamped my paper, and said the pattern and sale info is on the table and then walked to the other side of the store! He didn’t say another word to us the whole time we were there. I will not be going back there. They did have some interesting displays though.

I also finished the first dishcloth for this weeks MKAL. It is a cat!! Took me a while to figure out what it was. Now to knit the other two patterns and find out what they are. I haven’t peeked yet, how’s that for self control? Here are some pics of the dishcloth progress. Hoping to finish the rest this weekend.

Yarn Crawl: Day 2

I continued the Yarn crawl today. I visited 2 more of the 13 shops, bringing my total up to 5 shops in 2 days. Only 8 more to go!!

I started my day off at Tangles knitting on Main. The shop was a pain in the rear to find first off!! Even my GPS had problems pin pointing exactly where it was. I saw it by chance. I was at a stop sign and saw the words Yarn Shop on the side of a brick building. Oy!! Once I found it, I parked, went in and was blown away by all the funky displays and random knits all around. They seem to be very into the unique and anything out of the norm which I really love. It was great to just walk around and see what can be knit.  I also got some nice goodies. A stitch marker, measuring tape, Apiece of the scarf pattern and a bag of knitting scraps. At first I was all “WTH are you giving me a baggy of your ends for, lady?” (thought it,didn’t say it) She explained they are giving them out for people to throw out in their yarn or put out somewhere for birds to use the scraps for their nests. Then I was all “What a neat idea! My kids will love doing that!!” (said that, didn’t just think it)

This is how I found it!

That whole thing was knit!! How cool!!

My second stop for the day was my normal LYS Cottage Yarn. This is where I shop normally and where 90% of my stash has been purchased. It was great to go in to a place that I was familiar with and that felt “home” like when I walked in. It was great to be greeted by people who I recognize and who recognize me. They also were excited to see Thing 2 awake for once. I typically wear her on my back and she naps while I shop. Today she was ready to crawl 🙂 They did a scavenger hunt. That was a fun. It had a list of questions and you had to go around and find the answers. Most I knew off the top of my head but a couple I had to go find the answers. One question asked “Name 3 brands of yarn sold at the Cottage.(Hint:If you don’t know the answer off the top of your head, you are most likely the friend that got dragged along)”  I was cracking up at that.

I didn’t take many pics at the cottage since I was doing the hunt.

I also made a pit stop to buy Vicious her birthday gifts(some of them). I can’t believe she will be 6 in 2 days!!

Here are some pictures of my “swag” and the pink train button I mentioned in yesterdays post.

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How cute is that train?

Washcloth Week

It has been one busy week!! Started with the 4 day weekend which was great since the hubbo was home for a change but it also meant doing things. Ugh…we took the kids to the pool, cleaned out a closet, did things in the yard, visited my parents, had friends of Vicious over… All that left little time for knitting.

I ended up just knitting Washcloths all weekend and part of this week. It was a nice change from the endless amount of hats I have been knitting. I plan to give them as gifts with something else at Christmas when I have my Christmas party/cookie swap.

I ended up iron blocking them and they look so good now!! I had never tried this or even heard of this before. I stumbled upon if while trying to find a pattern and I am glad I did. What a difference it made, the lacey pattern really pops now and I had knit a hockey player on one and it really brings out the design. I got the instructionshere

Now I have to quit goofing around with my washcloths and start in my October orders. Pumpkin hats and Astrid headbands(Astrid from how to train your dragon) are on the agenda for the month along with several other things.
Guess I should get started…

Here are some pictures of my washcloths, the hockey player is hard to see in the pic, took it with my phone…

I also FINALLY blocked that mouse hat!! Now to mail it out…