More knitting... but No More gray!

Remember a few weeks ago I showed you this photo,and said I would show you 'mine' once I finished knitting it?

Well, I finished knitting it :-) 

  

 

And not that you can tell, but I colored my hair yesterday, it felt great to get rid of all those little gray hairs that seem to be multiplying of late!

One of the ways to wear the cardigan is to wrap it at the front. . . . I was nearly not going to show this picture - I won't even comment on how fat I think my face looks!!!!!!

Overlapping Blogs!!

In order to avoid not having any posts until Friday this week (something that would sorely disappoint my sis back home) I am posting about the only thing that is going on with me at the minute . . .  knitting! Finished knitting to be exact. 

I recently showed you this hat I knit for Kristen. . . .

Well I finished the mittens that match it at the weekend 

It is such a cute set, I am seriously thinking I might make one for myself.  I took Kristen out in the back garden for a few minutes today to get some modeled shots!

 I still have one hat I need to knit to send home (as a belated Christmas gift, to mail with 3 others that are late too) but I have to get more black or gray yarn. 

No school til Thursday this week,(for teacher/staff development!) and Jason is away in Denver til late Thursday night. It will be a few cozy days at home for me and Kristen and I'll be doing the usual.... housework, gym, knitting!  What are you up to?

Knitted Creations!

Thought I'd join in with Kristen this week and show you what I've been creating. I posted these photos on my Knitting blog yesterday but wanted to share them here too. The buttons above don't actually link to my other blogs (as I would like them to do), they are just all posts that I label 'Knitting Den', 'Healthy Den' etc.

Anyway, as well as trying to knit things for family Christmas gifts this year, I sometimes see something I want to knit for myself! There's a new book coming out next month from two lovely designers, it's called Coastal Knits, and I pre-ordered a copy last week (it comes out in October, my birthday month!)  

With the pre-order you got to download two of the patterns early. One of them was a really pretty beret with a lovely leaf pattern on it. I had some yarn already so I decided to cast on for me a few days ago :-) I don't often wear hats, or berets, but I think I need to start. This one turned out really nice. . . 

Trying to take pictures with the self-timer is never easy!

 You can see the leaf pattern on the back view

The beret comes off the needles rather crumpled looking! To get the shape you simply slip the hat over a dinner plate and dampen it. Once it dries you have the perfect beret shape. I also knit a quick chunky beret this week for a friend. This has no pattern and is so quick to do, only took me a few hours . . .

 

So, that's what I've been creating this week. What have you been up to? 

Fall Creations

 The lovely Kristen over at Kristen's Creations is hosting her first 'Share Your Creations' Party today. It's similar to her Show and Sell, but she's changed it up for anyone to share 'anything' they've created (not just what they're selling), although she still has allowed us to share things we've created that we will sell!  I thought I'd join in today and show you a few things I've been creating this week for my Etsy shop.

I popped out to Hobby Lobby earlier this week and decided to buy some 'Fall Yarn'! It's still hot here in TX, but there's still a feeling that Fall is on it's way, perhaps because we're up earlier each morning and I'm getting to feel the cool 70 degree weather before it hit's the 100's later in the day! Whatever it is, it's putting me in the mood for Fall Knitting :-) 

Last year my Pumpkin hat was pretty popular, so I'm listing it again and can do other sizes if needed. Using the same lovely orange yarn, I knit this pretty little girls hat . . .

I think it looks super cute and will be a great addition to any little girl's 'wardrobe'. I've got some cowls to list soon too, like these I had last year - a gorgeous chunky cowl knit in a 'fan and feather' pattern (which looks rather lacy).

I love this oatmeal colored yarn and I've got a chunky pair of fingerless mittens to list in the same yarn - it's just a matter of taking the photos, which I'm hoping to do this weekend. Also to list is another cowl like this . . 

 

and I also have it knitted in a lovely 'Fall' color, a beautiful blend of browns, orange, sienna and burnt umber - it looks gorgeous. After I have a few new things listed for Fall I will get on with my Christmas gift knitting :-) It certainly keeps me busy!

A few last days. . .

Hi everyone, I'm still here! I had intentions of posting more this week but here we are Thursday already and I haven't done anything since Sunday night!!  This week seems to be a little crazier than usual, today even more so. It was piano lesson this morning (for Kristen) and we got finished there I headed to Walmart, thought they might have some sneakers we could pick up for school, but they didn't have much of a selection. We'll have to head out again tomorrow to hunt for some!

We're just home and having lunch. Later this afternoon we can head up to the school for 'meet the teacher' night, and to take up our school supplies. After that I'm headed straight out to book club. Our meeting is a little different this month, we didn't read a book but we're having a fun movie night instead. We picked something most of us had already seen (so we can still chat too without missing what the movie is about) - Mama Mia, starring Meryl Streep :-)  We're having a pot luck too so it should be a lot of fun.

I'm also busy this week knitting baby hats for a local photographer! I've teamed up with someone that will use my hats as baby photo props and in exchange for the hats I can use her photos on my Etsy store to sell more. I'm excited about it as the professional photos I've seen on Etsy really do help sell the hats - and goodness knows my photographs leave a lot to be desired!!! For instance, here's a little pear hat I knit ready to sell for the Fall . . .  (I took the photo, lighting is terrible!)

and here's one I found on Etsy with a professional photo. . . .

HUGE difference right! So, that's what's keeping me busy this week. I'll be back in a few days and hopefully next week once school starts I'll have even more time to get organized on here and post more.

Looking Forward!

It's 104 degrees outside, and I'm knitting Winter Cowls!!!!!! I must be crazy! To be honest though, there isn't anything I could knit that I would wear during the summers here in TX. It's always way too hot for knitwear, no matter how thin/cool the yarn is. So, I'm content to knit 'winter woolies'.  Instead of "wishing the summer away", I like to think of myself as just "looking forward" to the next season ;-) Fall has to be my favorite season of the year, and here in TX we tend to have to wait quite a while for it. Even in September the temps can still be pretty high. I looked back at my posts from last year and by mid September I was still complaining about the heat! So it's nice to sit here and knit with thick yarn, and think about the cooler days I know will come soon enough.

I love how this chunky grey cowl turned out. It's just a simple roll neck design, but I think the addition of the silk flower really makes it special. The flower can be removed and worn as a brooch or a hair barrette

For this cowl I knit the flower too. Colors differ on each monitor so I'm not sure how you're seeing this. It's not a light cream but more a golden wheat color. The flower is a burnt orange. They look great together for Fall

The cowl stretches to go just over your shoulders too, or you can pull it over your ears when it's really cold out! However it's worn, I think it looks stunning.

I knit these pretty beaded wrist warmers months ago, and have just never gotten around to listing them in my Etsy store. The hard part is trying to get great pictures! They look great with a denim jacket, or even just with a sweater!

Now I just need to get them listed. If you're 'looking forward' like me, and you'd like something custom knit, just let me know. I'd be more than happy to discuss the details with you.

Summer Knitting!

When I think of Summer Knitting I usually conjure up pictures a bit like this one . . . .

or even this one (oh to be knitting in Tuscany!)

I'd like to be thinking of skeins of soft cotton yarn, the kind that would keep you cool, of pretty little tanks that can be knit while you're lounging at the beach . . . 

but in reality, my summer knitting looks more like this . . . .

and this . . .

 

 and even this - yes, that's a hat and scarf set for my bottles of wine ;-) 

(they make a hostess gift look really cute)

 That's because right now my summer knitting consists of Christmas gifts for family and friends, AND some new things to put in my Etsy store come the Fall!  But whichever way I look at it, it's still Knitting, and it's still what I love to do :-)

Show and Sell Party - #6

  

The lovely Kristen is hosting her Show and Sell party! Party # 6, and yet I’ve only joined in two of them because I always forget it’s Thursday already and I usually don’t get a post up in time.

So, trying to keep on the ball this week, I’m posting today and will join the party tomorrow morning when she puts up the linky (or it might be tonight).

Slowly but surely I’m adding things to my Etsy Shop. This week I finished a couple more soft washcloths. These are in a pretty pastel green.

I’v made this a set of two instead of 3. Some people have never tried hand knit cloths so a smaller set might be what they’re looking for. But I have to tell ya, if you’ve not used a hand knitted washcloth/dishcloth before, you should give them a try.

  I usually knit my dishcloths with a ‘not as soft’ cotton yarn. But these washcloth/facecloth are so soft they are perfect for the bathroom and super soft even for baby’s bathtime.  They make a great baby shower gift.

This pretty little pink and white set has already sold, but I’d be happy to take a custom order ;-)

Also listed this week is a pretty little watermelon hat.

Size 0-3mths. It’s perfect for that new little one on a cool summer night. Knit with 100% cotton.

 

Coming soon is this cute white hat featuring a big pink rose !

 

I love knitting hats :-) This one is still available in my shop (with free shipping).. . .

 

You can visit  my ETSY SHOP HERE ! Or click the banner below.

Thanks for stopping by. Head over to Kristen’s blog to see some other wonderful hand made goodies. Kristen sells the most beautiful photo frames and floral arrangements.

Spring Garden

Well, not the kinda ‘garden’ pictures you were probably expecting to see – I need to get back out in the veggie garden and take some pictures this weekend! Things have been growing a little slow out there so I haven’t blogged about it for a week or so.

These ‘garden’ pictures are the Spring Garden Tee that I finished knitting a few weeks ago and wore for mil’s birthday lunch. I just wanted to share them with you but as you can see it was really very sunny and the lighting is terrible. Anyway, I’ll still share them with you, cos this is one top that I think turned out really cute. I’m seriously considering knitting another one, I like it that much :-)

     

 

The pretty little flower was a gift from my friend Sadie a few years ago. She makes the prettiest felt roses :-)

I’ve been doing really good with my healthy eating and exercising. Hope to post more about it next week… and update you on the garden too.

Have a great weekend!