STITCH MARKERS

When I first opened my shop on Etsy I was selling jewellery. I absolutely adore beads and I enjoy making beautiful beaded items. But my first passion was knitting and crocheting and over time I have gradually introduced more and more knitted and crocheted items into my shop until there is no more beaded jewellery. So I had to think of a way that I could combine both passions. I had always made my own stitch markers, although not quite so glamerous as those shown above. One day when I was playing around with my beads I put together some stitch markers which I thought were nice enough to sell in my shop and so now I get to satisfy both my passions. I have several friends who love knitting and I like to put together gift bags for them at Christmas and birthdays. I watch out for lovely knitting needles and yarn and now I always include a set of stitch markers. If you would like to give stitch markers to a knitty friend, you can find a selection in my Etsy shop.

Etsy Knitters Treasure Hunt

Get 10% off your winter warmers with the Etsy Knitters Team Treasure Hunt! With everything in our stores from novelty golf club covers to heavenly handspun yarns, you are sure to find great gifts for all!

To qualify for the discount in participating stores, simply find FIVE listings containing the Etsy Knitters Treasure Hunt graphic (search EtsyKnitters Team) and convo EtsyKnittersTeam or JayCeeOriginals with your list. The Treasure Hunt will run from midnight November 25th to midnight November 30th.

The small print:

1. You must correctly identify 5 listings containing the image displayed above.
2. The 10% discount is good for one transaction in ANY participating store.
3. A unique discount code together with a complete list of the participating stores will be provided once your entry is verified.
4. Only one entry per person/shop please.
5. The Treasure Hunt is open to ALL.

Have a Handmade Holiday!

YOUTUBE

I love the cowl neckwarmers that are so fashionable this year and as well as wanting to knit a few for my own personal use, I decided to include them in the new range for my Etsy shop. I wanted to knit them in a continuous loop to keep them seamless. I had never attempted this kind of item so looked in a few books but found the instructions a bit complicated to understand. So I turned to the place which has helped me out so many times with different stitches and methods - Youtube. I find Youtube an invaluable place to get information on how to do things and of course it is a video site so you also get shown how to do things. I learned how to do magic loop knitting on here. I watched a video created by the theknitwitch and so of course when I again became stuck with provisional cast on and the Kitchener stitch I immediately turned to Youtube and straightaway found lucyneatby and her easy to follow instructions on provisional cast on and theknitwitch showed me how to do the Kitchener stitch.

These 2 cowls are the ones I have made to be included in my Etsy shop. The one at the top is made in a gorgeous super chunky yarn in a lovely lime green colour.

The one below is made in a super soft chunky yarn and the colours in this one are ochre, aubergine, rust and chestnut.

Both will make great accessories for your winter wardrobe and are now available for sale in my Etsy shop.

GETTING FEATURED IN TREASURIES

One of the most exciting things is to receive a message from someone informing you they have featured one of your items in a treasury on Etsy. Over the last few months no less than 5 of my items were featured in 5 separate treasuries.

This is the First Mumph. As his name implies he was the first one I made, I was going to make a whole series of these but never seemed to get round to it. I did make a Baby Mumph who never sold and who now resides in my finished drawers. Thank you to paleorama for featuring him in her lovely treasury.


My Big Button Ginger Phone Case was featured in a lovely treasury by jayceeoriginals. These cases can also be used for various other gadgets and I make them in other colours. If you don't see the colour you would like you can contact me through my Etsy store and request one in the colour of your choice. These cases have proved very popular with my daughter's Uni friends.

I love knitting items with cables and this style of fingerless glove/armwarmer is one of my favourites. This pair were featured in a lovely treasury by tootsytwo. This style of glove is very fashionable this year and although you can buy cheaper versions in some shops, nothing beats handmade items.


I was recently contacted by Look Magazine, which is the most popular glossy weekly magazine here in the UK, they were interested in one of my coffee cuffs. During the conversation I was asked if I could knit an aran style coffee cuff as aran is very in this season. I produced the one you can see above and sent off pictures to them. Unfortunately I have never heard back from them, but it was exciting to be contacted. This one is now for sale in my Etsy store and was recently featured in a lovely treasury by PinkPolishDesign.

And finally my lovely pair of cream cable fingerless gloves handknit in a gorgeous merino blend 100% wool yarn. A feature of this yarn is that it is anti-tickle and it knits beautifully. This pair were featured in a lovely treasury by palaceofdarning and whilst there they sold so that is a double thank you. I have since made another pair and they are now for sale in my Etsy store.

Thank you so much to my fellow Etsians for featuring me in their amazing treasuries. Please click on their names to discover some wonderful crafters who make gorgeous handmade items.

SUMMER HOLIDAY

I am a bit late this year writing about our summer holiday. Getting new stock ready for my Etsy shop has kept me busy and away from my computer.

This year we stayed in the UK for our holiday and took our caravan to Dorset. Last year we went to Australia and the previous 2 years we went to Cornwall. We had awful weather when we were in Cornwall so we were a little apprehensive about Dorset, which is only a short way along the coast from Cornwall. We needn't have worried, we had gorgeous weather and the site where we stayed was lovely.

We had views of the sea from our caravan and the surrounding countryside was lovely. The site was really clean and there was a pool which I couldn't keep Amy out of.

HOW TIME FLIES

Once again I have been caught out by how quickly time goes by. I thought that once I finished my job I would have more time at home to do the things I loved - knitting, crocheting, blogging, I have found this not to be the case. But for the life of me I don't know what I am doing. I get up in the morning and get my daughter ready for school. After dropping her off at school, I return home and take the dog out for his walk. I love this part of the day. I take my time and if I am on my own with him I can go over things in my head, think of new designs to knit and crochet and if I have any problems going on I try to straighten them out. When I get home I have breakfast and whilst eating my bowl of porridge I go on the internet and check emails, send replies, check if I have any sales on Etsy and take a look at my Facebook page. Now I know that this is one of my problems, once I get on the internet I seem to spend ages on there. I click on links I am sent and end up on some gorgeous blogs that I just have to read. And then there are those games on Facebook. I have had to give up on Cafe World because it was starting to cut into my time too much when I had dishes that were ready to be served. I am trying to keep away from Farmville now because I always seem to have crops that need harvesting and now there is Frontierville which is another kind of farm game which requires crops planting and harvesting and trees and grass to be cut. The day is just not long enough. Anyway if I am not careful I can end up on the computer for most of the morning and before I know it, it is lunchtime and I haven't got anything done.

I have been able to fit some crocheting into my busy routine. I have been trying something new to me, something I have always wanted to have a go at. I have been crocheting granny squares and the first ones I made are waiting to be sewn together to make a small baby blanket for a pram or crib.

I love crocheting these but hate the fiddly bits, weaving in the ends and sewing the squares together so next time I am going to weave the ends in as I change the colours. I have already finished crocheting another baby afghan, this one is blue and I again I am having to sew the pieces together. I haven't taken any pictures of this one yet but will do once it is all finished. The next one I make I am going to try and crochet the pieces together as I make them.

BABY BEANIES

My granddaugters have been asking me to make them crocheted beanies for some time but I have been that busy with orders that I have had to put them off (naughty nanna). Anyway I have finally got to make them and they turned out really cute, although my first attempt was too small.


Which then gave me the idea of adding baby beanies to my shop. Here's my 'mistake' hat, what do you think?

BIG BUTTON PHONE CASES

Here are some more of my big button phone cases/cozies. They do stretch and will fit a number of gadgets.


I have already sold quite a few of these off Etsy, now I am hoping they will become as popular on Etsy! As an introductory offer I have reduced the price of them.

STITCH MARKERS

I have been making stitch markers for quite some time but it is only recently that I have listed some in my Etsy shop. The ones I use are made with some odd beads I had, but the ones I make now for my shop are so much prettier. I have also made them for presents for my knitting and crochet friends.

I have recently made these 2 sets and they are now for sale in my Etsy shop. All sets come in an organza bag for safe keeping.

NEW ITEMS

These are the latest 2 phone cozies I have added to my shop. I got the new buttons I had ordered and I have put one on the brown cozy. I think it makes it look really good. I haven't sold any in my shop yet, I seem to be having more luck selling off Etsy at the moment.

Speaking of which, my daughter came round this weekend and she bought one of my hats. I wanted to let her have it a bit cheaper but she insisted on paying the full amount. So now she has ordered one for her daughter, Chloe who is 8. I have never made beanie hats for young ones so I am trying to adapt my pattern to a smaller head. This has given me the idea of maybe making more of the children sizes for my Etsy shop.

I am hopefully going to a wool shop this week and I am going to look at yarns that will be suitable for summer and winter wear. We don't have a good wool shop near us, well what we consider near us in the UK. I usually rely on the internet for most of my yarn, but nothing beats going to a lovely wool shop where they stock a beautiful selection of yarns and being able to feel them.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

December was a good month, sales wise, on Etsy so I have spent most of January re-stocking my shop and thinking of new ideas. I have added coffee cuffs and phone cases/cozies to my shop.

I love these coffee cuffs. I have knitted them in a stitch which gives them a padded feel. They are so much better than the paper ones and they are eco-friendly as they can be used over and over. I am a coffee addict so I keep one in my pocket. I am always getting asked where I got it from, I have sold quite alot of these by keeping some with me when I am out!


I have made phone cozies before, but this time I have changed the design. I have knit these in a basketweave pattern and finished them off with a button. I have ordered some new buttons and I am hoping they are going to come today. They are big and bright and I think they will look great on my phone cozies. I had an enquiry about this one. I was asked if I made these cozies for Iphones. Unfortunately I don't own an Iphone so I asked my daughter if she knew anyone who did. Luckily she did and she took it to Uni with her yesterday so that she could try it on one. Anyway this one fits Iphones and my daughter's friend loved it that much she placed an order for one, the same colour as this but with a yellow button.