Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Inspiration!

On the Needles: A super fuzzy pink scarf! Almost finished.
Soon to be on the needles: a double knit, custom order, scarf!

So, yes. Another post. So soon, you ask? Yes. But like I said in the previous post, I probably won't have as much time in the school year, so I may as well write as much as I can right now. And besides, inspiration has struck and I want to share!

First, though, the mittens are up on Etsy:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/80685241/handknitted-childrens-mittens-purple-and

So exciting! These mittens are ridiculously cute! Though if you're looking for something different, please feel free to ask; if you've checked out my profile page, you can see that people have still be requesting custom orders.

Something else to check out (to help promote the other yarn crafters on Etsy) are my two treasuries, featuring a "Stay Warm" theme of knitted items and crocheted items:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTQ2NjM0MTJ8NjQyODA4MDcz/stay-warm-this-autumn-crochet-edition?ref=pr_treasury

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTQ2NjM0MTJ8NjQyOTc4NDky/stay-warm-this-autumn-knit-edition?ref=pr_treasury

And now, the inspiration. I was driving home from work last night, and I saw a whole row of fence posts covered by black birds, with little birds inbetween. And suddenly, inspiration struck! It would make an amazingly cute hat, and it would also be awesome as a scarf, blanket, and other things that are starting to work themselves out in my head. And then I realized how I can do it, and so now I really want to be home again to be creative and write all of this down.

But these won't be started until after I start the scarf mentioned above; it's going to be double knit to a certain name (fingers crossed that I can actually figured out how to get the letters to stay unmirrored). I'm excited about this, because it'll be the first time that I'll have used double knitting!

In other news, my Facebook page got over 25 "likes" so I now have an official username. And, and! I started a Twitter account. You can find me by clicking the "Follow" link over on the right hand side!

Once I have a few more followers and am more established, there will be certain perks to liking or following the blog/Twitter/Facebook.

Tonight, I get to go home and bake and craft and talk to some friends, which sounds like a really good evening to me! And tomorrow's my last day of work, which is sad, but I'm so excited about this upcoming school year! It all kind of balances out.

So, short post, but that's OK. Short, fast, furious, and then you'll have a break in the school year!

Have fun!

Katie =^..^=

Sunday, August 28, 2011

These Posts are Coming Fast and Furious

On the Needles: Log Cabin Toddler Blanket

Well, posts are certainly coming faster, but that's OK. There will be gaps when I get back in the school year.

Anyway. The kid's mittens went live on the shop today! These are just the ones designed for the four-year-old;  I'll be working on taking pictures of the other pair and posting them soon (the two year old's). But you can check out the four year old's now!

I actually entered these mittens into a contest held in Cochrane; the Bearspaw fair. They came out with the results that they have very even knitting! Which I really like.  These were amazingly fun to knit, and I'm happy to be able to share them with you all.

This has been a busy weekend; my boyfriend and I went out to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake! Moraine is soooooo beautiful. And Mike, my travelling sheep, came along:



Yep, Valley of the Ten Peaks. Absolutely spectacular; if you ever make it to this area, Moraine Lake is even better than Lake Louise...And fewer people! 

Plus, these were research photos; I'm looking into somehow involving mountains into my hats. Fingers crossed that it works out!

And with that, I'll head out again. More next time!

Katie

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Four Months Until Christmas~!

On the Needles: Newborn Hat

That's right folks! Four months until Christmas, which is unbelievable.

I'm really excited about this Christmas, since my boyfriend and I will be able to decorate the apartment, and have a tree!

With those thoughts in mind, I also turn towards what I'm going to make or buy for gifts. Last year, I made a Queen-sized blanket for my boyfriend and a pair of mittens for his sister (who I drew for a name in the present exchange).

However, with my new perspective on Etsy, I think that a few of my gifts may well be purchased off of there, too. What could be better than being able to shop handmade goods online? And I may not have made it, but somebody somewhere has. A lot better than having to fight crowds at the mall, and most of the items on Etsy are unique and one of a kind in some way. Hey, including mine!

Anyway, even if you don't celebrate Christmas, the other holidays are around then, and they are all fast approaching! It's unbelievable that there is really only four months and few days left in 2011, even.

So those are my ruminations for today.

By the way, there will be a couple new postings, hopefully by the end of this weekend, for mittens! Ridiculously cute little kid mittens at that! Keep your eyes peeled.

Katie =^..^=

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Teasers: Beaded and Floral Bobby Pins!

On the needles: one more mitten for a two year old

Yep! Something to fill in the gaps between knitting, here's some teasers for what's going to be posted of Etsy between knitted pieces!


Single floral bobby pins

 Shooting star styled beaded bobby pins


And floral/beaded bobby pins!

All are standard sizes, and will be posted by tomorrow evening at latest! 

And yes, these are to fill in the gaps between knitted items. Knitting takes a lot longer than beading like this (for me), and before everyone's in an uproar about how I could be spending that time knitting, let me say this: these are relaxing. They are easy and give my hands a break from moving the same way that they have been for most of the day. And they're fun! They also give me a creativity break, and I can crack out the hot glue gun. ^^ 

With that said, I'm currently working on the mitten for a 2 year old. I thought I was finished, and had started on something else, when I realized that the two mittens for him didn't match! So it's almost done (again), and then I have a commission for baby booties (one of which is finished) and a hat to go along with them. I love knitting baby things (especially blankets) because I love the yarn so much! I should just start using baby yarn in all of my creations! haha

After that, I need to start on a blanket for a friend's wedding, but I also have a baby blanket in the works. Pictures of the WIP will be forthcoming. This will be an Etsy project, so both of those blankets will be going at the same time. Also coming soon are hemp bracelets! Oooh, and I found bamboo cord, which seems really cool, so I'm going to give that a shot when making bracelets. 

Anyway, I hope everyone has fun! 

Katie

Saturday, August 20, 2011

The Etsy Shop is Open!

On the needles: Pair of mittens for a 2 year old

That's right, folks, the Etsy shop is officially open for business! Starting this evening, I have listed items in the shop!

The first is for the stripy legwarmers that I posted a teaser of last week. The second is for the black ear flap toque. There will be more postings as I go along, but right now I'll start with that. They're both listed in the sidebar, which I think is a really cool little application. It'll update with my new items each time I post! So if you aren't watching the shop, you can find them in that sidebar.

However, the direct link to my Etsy shop is: http://www.etsy.com/shop/NekozukiYarns

Other than that, I've been working on more mittens, still. And then this weekend it'll be a hat and booties for a coworker's sister's little one.

Although, I have updated all of my logos to look the same. They are designed, drawn, and coloured by my amazing friend. You can find her on Deviantart: http://starlitdragon.deviantart.com/ So now I'm consistent throughout the sites that I'm known as Nekozuki Yarns!

My boyfriend and I have gotten more or less settled in, though I still need to sort out the craft room. (I have space to have a kind of a craft room!) Which means, in theory, that I should be able to find the yarn and notions that I need, faster! And they will be stronger! And better! (Well, at least I should be able to find them faster.)

Anyway, I'm going to keep busy and out of trouble, and continue the knitting!

Katie


Saturday, August 13, 2011

Teasers!

On the needles: mittens for a 4 and 2 year old. (It's the mitten knittin' summer!)

So, here's a few pictures of what I'll be posting on Etsy within the next week!

First off, the stripy legwarmers that I've been working on:

The colours are Paton's Canadiana "Bubble Gum" and "Lime Juice" with a black polyester ribbon tipped in jewelry clamps. They are corset laced, and I used the black ribbon because the colours remind me of a watermelon...So I figured I would add the seeds!

The next is what I fondly refer to as the "Cheetos" shawl, because of the colour and texture of the yarn. I knit it while I was in Japan to have something to do, and I liked the funky colour. It's a simple garter stitch knit that wonderfully shows off the yarn's texture! I don't remember much about the label (It was all in Japanese), but I know the yarn was made in Italy, so that makes this a really unique item! Made in Japan with Italian yarn by a Rocky Mountain Canadian girl. 



A simple knit hat: 


And a quirky scarf made from "Boa" yarn: 


I will post full pictures and links when I make the full posts on my Etsy shop. I need to get out in the proper light for some good pictures of these items before I fully post them on the shop. I need to put my best foot forward with the first listings. And there will be coffee cup cozies, too.

Other than that, I actually picked up a couple of knitting magazines today. Specifically, "Knitting today!"'s August/September issue, and "Interweave Knits"'s Fall 2011 issue. Both of really nice patterns in them, and there are a couple I'm definitely going to take and adapt. I really like to pick these magazines up for the inspiration that they can provide. I might have to consider investing in a couple of subscriptions...Or requesting subscriptions for Christmas! I love getting mail, so that would be perfect.

Speaking of inspiration, after these mittens are done, I'm moving onto another couple of projects. One is definitely going to involve intarsia and a hat and the Rocky Mountains, potentially a Rocky Mountain sunset (although that may come later); the other is going to be a baby/toddler log cabin blanket to put up for sale. If the Rocky Mountain intarsia hat turns out well, that might be something that I enter in for next year's Calgary Stampede contest. I guess we'll see!

Other than that, just getting settled into the new place. There's two bookshelves filled with books, and the yarn will be organized soon (I have a feeling that it will be a never ending process, what with the stash that I've accumulated). And the clothes need to be unpacked. It seems as though it's a rule that I make sure that the books are unpacked first!

Until next time, take care!

Katie

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

In Transit

On the Needles: 2/2 legwarmers!


So, my boyfriend and I are in transit. We're mostly moved out of one place and into the other; thankfully, we're at his parents place, so we didn't have to move completely out in one fell swoop. But the apartment's really nice, so I'm excited to get set up there! It will mean more transit time for work for August, but that's OK. 


Besides that, not much knitting has happened, because I've been busy with that, and absolutely exhausted. There's been a lot of weather changes lately (yay for Alberta thunderstorms!) and with that, being sore from moving, and being in a different bed right now, I haven't gotten much sleep. But at least the knitting helps keep the stress at bay. 


Either way, I will soon have these legwarmers finished, and then pictures will go up! My friend is almost finished the shop banner, too, which is really exciting. Just a couple more tweaks and it'll be set! 


I'll keep updating as I go along; we should have internet as soon as we actually move in, which will be good.


Take care,


Katie