Stuff (aka: I have no cute title for this post!)

Its winter here in the Midwest, but its been a strange one.  We've had some record highs, and some typical lows, some snow, some rain, and some beautiful sunshine!  Along with parenting my 3 kids, keeping up on housework (which seems never-ending in the dreariness of winter), and hanging with my hubby, I've been keeping myself busy with a few projects.

First up is a Beard Hat in Colts Blue & White, as requested by another Indianapolis native.  Modeled here by my ever patient husband (he's probably modeled 16 of these hats for me now!)

Then a spring-inspired Swirl Hat modeled by my lovely daughter :)

Next, I made this quilt in a fit of crafting frenzy when I realized I didn't have a gift for one of my college roommates who just had a new baby!  I love how it turned out.

Lastly was this teeny tiny newborn Stripey PomPom hat for a friend of ours who wanted a hat for her soon-to-be-born daughter to match one she purchased for her son, but in girl colors.  She requested the pompom have stripes.  That was a new one for me, but I was pretty happy with the outcome.




And so as not to leave my other boys out, enjoy this shot of my littlest "reading" a book (love his smile!) and a photo my husband took of our oldest checking out the skyline of Chicago on a trip they took together this month.

Translation

There's not a lot new to share on the blog lately.  I have been busy as a bee working on patterns that you've already seen pics of so I'll only share a couple new ones.

Twin Owl Hats

Swirl Hat with flower and coordinating scarf

Something strange that happened is that recently my Raincloud Pattern has been popping up on French blogs all over the place.  I can only guess that somehow clouds are a popular theme and people were searching for patterns to make their own.  I have had many sweet compliments on the pattern and have enjoyed seeing people use the clouds they made for coasters, garland, and various other household decorations.  Recently I was contacted by Fabienne, a French blogger at Archibald & 3 petit points, offering me a French translation of my Raincloud Pattern.  She was kind enough to allow me to post the translation on this blog and put it on hers as well.  You can find her version here, and you can see the French translation on the Raincloud Pattern page.

"Falling" Behind

See what I did there?  That was a pun... cause its fall and I'm falling behind in blogging...... *ahem* moving on.

September and October have been eventful for me, most of which I enjoyed.

In the past 6 weeks I've walked in the woods;

gone to the pumpkin patch;

enjoyed warm days outside and cool evenings by the fire pit;

practiced some new photography tricks;

visited cities;

spent time in my favorite places;

celebrated birthdays (he's 2 already!),

   
         (and he's 34 already!)

and remembered two special lives passed.  I lost two grandmothers in the span of 3 weeks...

But in the midst of it all I've even had time to work up some new projects.  I just haven't had the time to share them with you.

(left to right:  Red/White Kitty Hats, Gina Giraffe and Newborn Newsboy Cap, Striped Brimmed Hats)

(Swirl Cap with large flower)

So now we're all caught up!  What have you been doing to enjoy the glory of fall?

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.

Its Coming!

Spring is coming.  Its truly on its way.  I can see it in the grass that is slowly getting greener, the CRAZY intense thunderstorms that come and wash away the last bits of snow, and the bright colors that are making their way out of  my closet and back into rotation.

I love accessorizing my wardrobe with handmade goods year round, but hadn't really found a great spring hat just yet.  I was asked this week to make a matching mommy/daughter set of Sweet Traditions hats and after finishing up the adult one I think I may have found the solution!  I think I'll be whipping up one of these for myself this year :)

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 :)