For Everything There Is A Season

2015 New Design... Double Cable In Ivory

This time of year I find myself reflecting.  Reflecting on my business over the past 12 months... what worked and what Not. So. Much.  Most years, when the holidays are over, I am desperately in need of some slow down time and spend the majority of my knitting time catching up and re-stocking all those beautiful hand knits that are no longer ready-to-ship... and this year is no different.  I always get a little nervous when over 50% of my shop is not ready-to-ship inventory.  But, then as winter becomes spring and spring becomes summer, I focus so hard on getting my shop stocked for the busy fall & holiday season, that I forget to design and try new stitch combinations and/or color combinations.  I forget how very much I love being creative and the actual process of developing and designing. 

 

Enter custom requests.  Receiving a custom request forces me to use my creative side and work up new patterns and new color combinations for my customers... and my shop!  And, it reminds me of how very much I love playing with yarns, working with fibers and creating through design & color.  This year I was fortunate to have several such requests.   Some of these requests were so much fun to knit that they are in the process of becoming regular hand knits that will be seen in my shop as 2015 New Designs.  One such is an extra wide and extra long double cable design that wraps and drapes beautifully.  Thanks to those of you that trust me to work up something new... I have the best customers!

 

 





Finally Fall...

There is a crisp coolness these days here in Wisconsin.  The days are sunny and warm showing off the deep blue skies and the gorgeous colors of the leaves and the evenings are cool and crisp allowing me to once again appreciate football, fall golf and brisk walks!  It is the time of year I love the most.  Shorts and tanks are replaced with leggings, boots and sweaters!  Ahhhhh...

It is also the time of year when my little knitting shop begins buzzing with orders for scarves and hats!  I become busy, busy, busy and am reminded of exactly why I knit during the heat of the summer. 

This year has been no different.  Past customers emerge looking for new designs and new colors of old designs AND new customers stop in happy to discover my little shop in the big Etsy world.  It makes me realize how very happy I am that it is... Finally Fall! 

Hand Knit Stripes Have Arrived...

Pumpkins, raking leaves, Friday night football, steaming homemade soup, hot cocoa with mini marshmallows floating on top... Fall, my favorite season, is here!

There is such comfort in putting on a sweatshirt and your favorite blue jeans and taking a walk soaking up the bright blue sky with warm sunshine illuminating down on a gorgeous palette of changing color.  The colors seem so much more vibrant this time of year! 

These fall colors (some of my favorite) and the cool evenings entice me to sit down with my favorite knitting needles, soft colorful yarns by my side, and knit scarves.  This year I've added a gorgeous line up of vertical stripes using favorite color combinations.  Colors that remind me of something or just make me smile. And, like a bowl of my favorite homemade soup comforts me and warms up my belly on a cool evening - wrapping up in a favorite comfy scarf warms up my soul! 

Perfect as a gift for you, a treasured friend or a special loved one!

Cold Winds ~ Hot Cocoa ~ Warm Scarves

As the daily highs here in Wisconsin start to plummet I find myself enjoying hot chocolate, a warm fire and a new soft and cozy scarf...  

I always kid that I would love to move to warmer temperatures.  Especially when the winds really settle in, when the snow makes it virtually impossible to drive, when it is dark when I get up in the morning and dark long before supper each night... But, then who would drink my stash of flavored hot chocolates, my cozy warm fireplace would never get used AND I wouldn't have a reason to wrap a different soft & beautiful scarf around my neck each day!

What's On YOUR Knitting Needles?

Yesterday at work a friend asked "So... what are you knitting?" I had to chuckle to myself and thought "On which pair of needles?" You see I never have only one project started. Usually it is at least 3, sometimes 4. Right now I'm working on a sweater for my daughter (it was for Christmas ~ the yarn is annoyingly bothersome) but that is a whole different post! I also have a fall/winter scarf on a pair of needles, a spring/summer scarf on a pair of needles, a new stitch using a fuzzy yarn hot off the needles waiting to have fringe added and a handbag on some circulars! Ohh... and that doesn't even put a dent in all the projects floating around in my brain still to become works of fiber art! So... What are YOU knitting?

BAMBOO ~

My new spring/summer collection of scarves are made using 85% bamboo yarn that is soft & scrumptious... both to knit AND to wear, but...

DID YOU KNOW?

~Bamboo is an eco-friendly - renewable resource - that can reach a mature height of 75 feet in two months...
~Bamboo is naturally anti-bacterial...
~Bamboo is naturally odor resistant...
~Bamboo is breathable and cool...
~Bamboo is more absorbant than cotton...
~Bamboo is durable and strong...

WRAP yourself in the natural luxury of bamboo, today!