New Flickr group!

I've made a Flickr group for anyone who has bought my patterns (and knitted items) and would like to share pictures of their finished projects! Go here to join :) Can't wait to see them!

Knitting in the round with Magic Loop

Since all of my patterns are written using the Magic Loop method, I figured it would be helpful to post a tutorial if you've never used magic loop before. Here's a great tutorial (that also features the exact same needles I use!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdSpc0EZpnk

Some news & an update

I've decided to stop making knitted items to sell in my Etsy shop once I run out of supplies because I just don't seem to have the time to focus on other things (like knitting gifts, knitting for my family + I, spending more time with my family, and working on new knitting patterns).  It's going to take some time to get through my yarn stash, but I'd still recommend purchasing hats + pea pods now if you're wanting one.

In other news, I'm happy to announce that my patterns are now available through Ravelry - as instant downloads!  Woohoo!  I'm sure this will make the buying process that much quicker and easier for both you and me, since you won't have to wait hours and hours for me to email it to you.  If you'd like to download my patterns, here are the links:

 

I'll also have a PDF pattern available soon for this lovely pea pod :)

New in the shop: pea pods and hats

'Surf' pea pod & matching hat

'Sagebrush' pea pod
'Cinnamon' pea pod

'Licorice' pea pod

'Cream' pea pod

(my personal fave. - out of stock at the moment)

Shop update

I've been a busy little bee trying to make 'samples' for everything for the shop so that the new baby can model them for me when she's here (which is only a couple of weeks away!).

The view from my chair - knitting essentials and tissues (sinus infection + pregnancy = misery!)

The "Sweet Pea" hat - available in 14 colors & 5 ribbon colors! This hat is so adorable on a baby girl!

The "Surf n' Turf" cocoon & matching hat

I can't wait to get all of my pictures done for my products so that I can list them. I am so excited about them and they're all so fun to make, and they will be so much cuter with a baby to model them!

Oh joy

I actually ordered a couple of things for myself and baby #2 from JoAnn's website a few weeks ago (lately I have only been ordering stuff for my Etsy shop) and am loving them :)

The Harmony Guides: Cables and Arans by Interweave Press & some Lion Brand Organic Cotton yarn to make baby #2 a blanket. I love projects with cables (in fact, I just got done with a hat for Spencer that is highly cabled) and this book is great for that. It has 250 different types of cable patterns - so many to choose from! I'm in cable heaven :) I chose the "diamond lattice" pattern for the baby's blanket and I'll end up doing some type of border around it, though I'm not sure exactly what type of stitch I want to do yet.

Knitting journal, which has come in quite handy for all of my new designs I've been working on

Yay :)

Knits for Baby #2

Here are some of the things I've made so far for my second baby (she's due Jan. 12).

Neutral beanie

Pattern: Basic beanie knit in the round

Yarn: Rowan Cashcotton DK #619 (Cashew)

Blue blanket - made before I knew she was a 'she'!

Pattern from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms by Louisa Harding

Yarn: Bernat Satin (why I chose an acrylic yarn I do not know..!)

Cranberry Booties

Pattern: Cozy Booties from New Heritage Knits

Yarn: Rowan Cashsoft DK #521 (Opulence)

Bonnet

Pattern: Top Down Bonnet from HelloYarn (free pattern)

Yarn: Rowan Cashsoft DK #521

Pea Green Sweater

Pattern: JoJo Basic Crew Sweater from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms by Louisa Harding

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino #503 (Pea Green)

I have more neutral hats and booties made, and I plan on making a bigger and better blanket. I also want to make a sweater/cardigan to match the bonnet and booties. The green sweater was my first completed sweater and is definitely not perfect, but I think it came out pretty good for being my first. I'd like to try a different sweater pattern - one that is knit in the round - so I don't have so many seams to sew up!

Coming Soon: Wraps and Cocoons!

I love the idea of using wraps and cocoons for newborn/baby photography. I remember looking for cute photography props when my daughter was a still just a baby and I recently came across the concept of wraps and cocoons - what a great idea! So I've decided to make my own versions, for personal (future) use and to make available to other photographers.

Wraps:

Wrap Colors:

Olivewood (pictured above)

Caribbean

Mulled Wine

Mermaid

Woodland

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Cocoons:

Not quite as cool looking without the baby in it! And I still need to see if it fits right.

Colors:

Sagebrush, Cinnamon Twist, and Surf n' Turf (blue/tan shade - not pictured)

I also have a couple other yarns that I love that I can't decide what to turn into...wrap or cocoon?

Yummy yummy texture - and so soft!

Customer's Hat Picture

While browsing Flickr the other day, I came across a photographer whose name I recognized as a customer who had bought one of my hats a while ago. Curious to see if she ever ended up using it for photo sessions, I browsed her newborn pictures. And what do you know...I found it! I was so excited!! Go here to check it out - too cute! (And if you're wondering, I'll probably never make another one of these for the shop. It was definitely one of those "one time" things!).

New hat - Sprout

There's a new hat available in my etsy shop now! I think it's adorable, and I can't wait until I have a little model to show them off :) I'd appreciate some feedback on it - do you like the style? the colors? Thanks!

Magic loop and new needles

Working on a new hat pattern :)

I learned a new knitting technique this past week and have fallen in LOVE with it!! It's called the Magic Loop - I briefly explored it a while back and thought it sounded kinda confusing, but it is one of the easiest techniques in the world to learn! I ended up needing to order some new needles because I don't own any 40" circulars and I heard that KnitPicks has some awesome ones. They have a new product called Options that has interchangeable needles and wires and I've fallen in love with them. My knitting is so much smoother with these..it feels like the needles are made of satin. I highly recommend them!!!

If you are interested in learning magic loop, these are the websites I used:

Written instructions - http://www.purlwise.com/2003/12/the_handy_magic.html

Video instructions - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-aWWES8Rxc

New baby gift

I made these for my new niece-to-be :) The hat pattern I just kinda made up and the bootie pattern is from shescrafty. I love knitting for babies!!!

Teddy bear hat & booties

These were a gift for a friend who had just adopted their first baby. Sorry about the pictures, they are pretty crummy..but I was rushing to finish them to get to the shower lol So that's as good as it's gonna get. The hat pattern is from Susan B. Anderson's "Itty Bitty Hats" and the bootie pattern is from She'sCrafty. So cute!