Playing Catch-up

Whew, I knew it was coming.... I'm rolling in hat orders right now!  September is the time people start thinking about looking cute in the warm weather, and I don't blame them.  One of my favorite things to do is pull out all of my sweaters, scarves and hats and accessorize at the morning bus stop!  I have worked on quite a few things over the past few weeks, but here are a few of my favorites:

First is a set of 3 hats for a newborn boy, and 3 & 5 yr old girls.  Their mom wanted them all to have coordinating hats, but for each to be unique.  We went back and forth with ideas on colors and styles and came up with these.  I'm so pleased how they turned out and I can't wait to see how their family photoshoot turns out!

I had tons of fun working up these fall-color teacher totes!  I love how they have fall/Halloween colors while still being cute and trendy :)

My daughter went gaga over this sweet red and white Kitty Hat and I'm pretty sure she'll be bummed if there's not one of these in her stocking this Christmas.

Another fun hat was this dino newborn photo prop.  It was a special request by the winner of my 200 Fan Giveaway on the Knits and Knots Facebook page!  I hope she'll send me a pic of her sweet boy in it when he's born :)

Softie

My daughter loves headbands.  She cannot stand the way that an elastic hairband pulls on her (apparently extremely sensitive) hair, so the only way to consistently keep her hair out of her face is with a headband.  I made a rouched headband for a client out of soft knit material and had her model it for me, and she didn't want to take it off.  So, of course, I had to make one just for her :)

It can be worn with the rouched area in front and accented with a flower clip

or, Anna's favorite way, with the rouched area in the back, almost giving full head coverage. Great for keeping hair out of your face, working around the house, or putting on a really good pout.

It can even be worn when coming too close to a "big scary bug" (notice the tear from the trauma of said event)

Good news is you'll still look pretty cute when you finally compose yourself :)

Just like the Interchangeable Flower Headband, these are made from very soft knit fabric. The headbands stretch nicely and the flowers are completely interchangeable. Flowers come in crocheted, fabric, or silk varieties and can be made any color of the rainbow.  Please indicate flower type and color and headband color when ordering.

Pricing:
$15 for one headband and two flower clips
$3 for each additional flower.

School Year Wrap-Up

Well its officially summer break here, which means 3 kids in-house all the time, playdates galore, trips to local attractions, and even a chance for a family vacation next month!  All this also means I am having to work harder to fit crafting time in :)  I won't complain though, I am truly truly enjoying this time with my kids.  My oldest was in first grade this past year and I realized for the first time that, while its nice to have time to do work while he's in school, I really missed him.  He left at 8:30 am and didn't get off the bus till almost 4.  Then there was homework, after school activities, dinner, and only about an hour to actually enjoy time together.  Next year my middle child will be in first grade and I am already anticipating how much I'm going to miss the older two!  Luckily I still have one at home to keep me company though.

Anywhoo... I have gotten a few things done in the last few weeks.  I wanted to make an extra special gift bag for my kids' teachers because of all the love they put into teaching them this year.  Last year I did a movie-night themed bag for Eli's teacher, but I wanted to do something a bit different this time.  Just like last year I made simple patchwork-style gift bags using some fun coordinating fabrics and lined them.  This time I added an interior pocket and a fabric flower turning these totes into almost a fashion accessory!  I posted a pic of them on the Knits and Knots Facebook page and got a lot of positive response. I had several follow-up orders and I had fun seeing how they each turned out with different fabrics.

I was contacted by a photographer for some seasonal hats for her fall/winter newborn photo shoots.  I loved the outcome of both of these sweet toppers.

And my last project is the most fun of all :)  This sock-monkey photo prop set was commissioned by a girl who had seen one online and tried to order it for her soon-to-be-newborn baby only to find out the woman selling them had closed her shop to new orders because she was swamped with business!  I couldn't blame her as the idea is simply darling.  Its a sock monkey earflap hat and matching diaper cover with the cutest little tail on the rump.  Unfortunately for me I don't have a good model to show it off, so this was the best I could do.

Catching up

So, my blogging has been pretty non-existent lately.  I can make lots of excuses, but the largest and most realistic one is that my baby boy has needed me.  Alex is healthy, smart, and full of energy; but he is also a bit anxious, clingy, and needing my full attention for large portions of the day.  This comes with the territory of adoption, especially adoption of children 6 mo or older.  So, upon the advice of some dear friends and other adoptive mamas I decided to set aside eagerly pursuing business and instead keeping myself free to just be a mom.  The good news is I have gone from seeing this most of the time:

To seeing a lot more of this:

Its totally been worth every moment away from my craft.

That's not to say I've done nothing over the past few months.  I just haven't been cranking out project after project like I was over the early part of the winter :)  Here are a few pics of the last couple of projects I've worked on:

These are decorations that go on a camera lens.  Professionals use them to get babies and children to look at the camera rather than the person holding it!  I made these for Jill from Raindancer Studios.  She's trying them out and giving me suggestions on how to improve them! (these photos are awful because I had to take them with the camera on my phone in order to show how they looked on a lens.)

I made a cute custom set of coffee wraps for a dear friend.  She is getting married in a few months and picking out all kinds of handmade goodies for her bridesmaids.  I was so honored when she requested personalized wraps for each of them.  We made them in her wedding colors and they are personalized with flocked lettering.  LOVE how they turned out!

And last but not least I finally got around to making one of these little birdie rattles.  I have seen this idea floating all over the internet for a long time but never had time to sit down and work out a pattern.  I had an excuse while making a baby shower gift for a friend.  I love how it turned out and will definitely be making more of these in the future.

Show and Tell

I have been slacking in my blogging as of late!  It has been a whirlwind around here with someone in the house being sick almost at all times.  I really think that from the moment we brought our youngest home we have not had one single 7 day period without someone having some form or illness.  I am still taking orders and finishing items, but getting around to blogging about them all is proving more difficult to find time for.  Good news is that the last 36 hours we've had some crazy winter weather (or Snowpocalypse according to some) and the kids have been off school.  We're off again tomorrow meaning I finally have a bit of a breather to get caught up on things!

So, here's a quick view of what I've been up to as of late:

I got "real" tags!  These woven tags are from Custom Couture Label Company on Etsy.  Dianna was amazing and a huge aid in helping me get just what I wanted.  I'm thrilled with how they turned out!  The second pic is the back-side of the smaller tags.

I made a beautifully soft and squishy blanket for Loree of Loree Alayne Photography to use in her shots.  I can't wait to see a sweet little newborn cuddled up on this!

Gina Giraffe is back, this time paired up with a Sweet Traditions hat. 

Inspired by the many beard hats floating around the internet, I came up with my own pattern and made a hat for my brother to wear on his ski trip in Colorado last week.  It was such a hit that I now have a line of 5 more hats that I'm working through for various family and friends.  My husband has had lots of fun modeling these silly creations for me!

I worked up this quick spring hat for my daughter in a fit of longing for warmer weather.  It will go great with her Easter dress this year.

And lastly, another photo prop for Loree Alayne Photography, a cute earflap hat with extra long ties.  The beauty of this hat is that it is a neutral color.  Left alone its great for boys, but add a little flower clip and you've got a darling girl hat too!

If you aren't already aware, Knits and Knots has a facebook page and I do a much better job of posting new pics almost daily there.  Come join the fun!

Spring Line 2011

My sweet friend, Jill from Raindancer Studios took some pics of the newest items  for spring.  She is such a talented photographer that she was able to capture the beauty of the stitch pattern in each of the items in a way I'm just never able to!

free pattern here

free pattern here

In an effort to be proactive I've decided to start listing specifically items that people might be interested in the coming season, starting with spring.  You will find a link at the top of this page for the Spring Line 2011.   What this really is is just a taste of items that might be interesting to you in that season.  I also have put together a small newsletter that contains a limited selection of these items and some news on deals for this spring as well.  Check out the Spring Line and the newsletter for more info :)

Lots O' Hats!

In fall everyone's looking for a good hat to keep their little ones' ears toasty.  I've had a variety of different orders lately with lots of fun colors!  I'm pretty lucky to have several in-home hat models to test out my sizing on, and to just enjoy the cuteness of these little toppers :)

Owl Hat

I recently had a request for an owl hat to be used as part of a little boy's Halloween costume.  I thought the idea was brilliant, and couldn't believe I hadn't done something similar for one of my own children in the past!  Looking on Etsy I found a super cute pattern that allowed the user to sell items made from the pattern (not always true!).  While the pattern wasn't as thorough as I am used to I was able to complete the hat and make it look just like the example.  I was thrilled with how it came out!  It was made with a bulky yarn and is super soft and should be VERY warm, which is good since it was so cold at Halloween this year :)

The customer also requested some mittens made from matching yarn.  We chose to go with a thumbless mitt because of the age of the baby, and it had a connecting cord to keep those little mitts from getting lost when baby inevitably pulls them off!

Pattern Review - Wee Wooly Toppers: Buzzbee

 In preparation for my 12 hr flight to Korea to I had to consider what project I was going to bring along, because I crafter can't be without a craft for a whole week!  I wanted something small enough to complete on the trip but interesting enough that I would actually want to work on it.  I figured it would be fun to use that time to make something for Alex.

I did my research on Ravelry.com and decided on the Buzzbee hat pattern, which is part of a set of hats for babies called "Wee Wooly Toppers" by Wooly Wormhead.   I loved the simplicity of the pattern and the interesting construction.  It just plain looked unique :)  I had my older two kids help we pick out yarn at our (new!) LYS, Nomad Yarns.  We went with a super soft wool, Ella Rae - Amity, in a beautiful shade of blue (colorway 24)

Now, unfortunately I did not work on the hat AT ALL the entire trip!  I was to excited/nervous/anxious to do anything but watch movies on the plane.  There was no way my brain could concentrate on anything else!  But as soon as I was home and over the jet lag I dove right in.  The hat worked up in no time flat, and even with a new baby in the house I was able to finish it in about 3 days (3 nap times, that is).  The pattern was very well written, but it is kinda bare bones.  She expects that you'll be able to look up some techniques on the internet or in books - this is to cut down on the pattern cost.  Less tutorials by her means cost saving for you.  Specifically, this pattern required a cable cast on.  I had not done that one yet and had to look it up online, but found a great tutorial and didn't have any issue making the pattern work. 

You can see the finished product is just so stinkin' cute!  I think the model has a bit to do with the cuteness factor though :)  While he absolutely hated having it put on, once it was tied and he was distracted he didn't seem to mind.  And I bet you we'll all appreciate the extra layer of warmth come winter time!

Back to School Sewing

On my recent girls' weekend away I purchased my very first sewing patterns.  All this time I've been creating from my mind or hand-drawing patterns, but when I ran across these Portabellopixie patterns at a quilt shop in Vincennes, IN I simply could not resist!  I also was lucky enough to find some gorgeous fabric in their clearance room for $6/yard.

The patterns are well written and challenged me to learn two new techniques - rolled hemming on my serger, and shirring on my regular machine!  I found this tutorial (via Crafty Christina, thanks Chris!) on shirring extremely helpful and honestly the only thing that would work on my machine.  One thing I really loved about these pattern sets is that they are very much mix-and-match. I chose the peasant top and triple ruffle pants to showcase the pretty fabric.

My daughter was in love with the outfit from the moment I put it on her.  Its soft, comfy, and cool, but its the first clothing I've made for her that I'm worried about keeping clean.  White may not have been the best pants choice.  Oh well, she won't fit in it for super long anyway - the girl is growing as fast as the weeds in my garden this summer!

It actually fits even better after washing - all of the shirring tightened up in the dryer, so I guess even if it does get dirty, a good scrub and some Oxyclean and she'll be set to go.   Anna starts Kindergarten in about a week *sniff!* and she's gonna look as sweet as she is in this little number :)

*do you see the little patch on her knee in the above pic?  That's my own printable tag made with this.  Love this stuff!  It may be pricey, but you can print a ton of tags on one sheet and they really do hold up well.  Just sharing in case anyone is interested!