IT'S GETTING COLDER

This time of year is only good if you don't have to go outside! I hate the cold weather, I wish I lived somewhere warmer. I spent a couple of months this year in Australia, unfortunately it was winter whilst we were there but even then it wasn't as cold as it is in the UK in winter. We had a good time whilst we were there, this time we flew via Hong Kong and it was a wonderful experience to see the city even if only from the windows of the plane as we flew in to land. Hong Kong Airport is amazing it is enormous. My husband didn't come with us this time so it was just me and my 11 year old daughter and I was a little apprehensive flying without him. But we managed to do it.

With being away and other things that have been going on I have had little spare time to give to my Etsy shop so sadly it has been neglected this year, something I hope to rectify in the new year.

I have been crocheting though, although not for the last week due to a nasty burn on my hand, which I stupidly did whilst cooking Sunday lunch last week and didn't use an oven glove when putting yorkshire puddings into a very hot oven!

A couple of months ago I decorated Amy's bedroom, she wanted rid of the pink walls and fairies. So it now has yellow walls, purple curtains and a purple, pink and yellow 'Me to You Bear' duvet cover. I decided to crochet her a matching purple, pink and yellow afghan after seeing quite a few of them at my aunt's in Australia.

I have decided to become a Registered Childminder so I am going through that process at the moment. I have just had my pre-registration visit from OFSTED and I am now waiting for my Registration Certificate so that I can start childminding. I am hoping to start taking children in the New Year.

IT'S ALREADY MARCH

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly a year can pass by. It doesn't seem 2 minutes since Christmas and we are already almost a quarter of the way through another year. I think this is probably an unfortunate side effect of getting older along with all the aches and pains I seem to be suffering with, although that might have something to do with the unfortunate incident involving me, the dog and a pavement! Anyway it is nice to be getting winter out of the way, hopefully we wont get anymore snow now. The weather seems to be getting slightly milder, the spring flowers are starting to appear and the sun is shining.

My DH has just got me a new phone, it is a Galaxy Samsung S. It is amazing what you get on a phone now, they are more like mini computers, I can even update my blog from it. I was going to have an Iphone but the cheaper deal we got with this one was too tempting.

I have been busy crocheting an afghan, it is pink green and white. I love the colour combination and it would make a lovely baby blanket.

NEW YEAR THOUGHTS AND A VALENTINE SALE

Sorry it's a bit late but Happy New Year everyone. I hope you all had a lovely Chritmas with your family and friends. Christmas here was quite busy, my eldest daughter and her family spent Christmas Day with us so it was a noisy, exciting time with the children. Amy, my youngest, got the Ipod Touch she wanted so much so she was very happy. Unfortunately my eldest son didn't put in an appearance this year. I was sad when he didn't bother to answer the phone to me when I called him before Christmas to invite him over.

I am hoping this year brings us some good news with the exchange rates and house selling. I would still love to make the move to Australia.

Prices are going up so quickly here I might have to start looking for a job. I quit my job nearly 2 years ago because I was finding it more and more difficult to balance my work and home life. Also I thought I was going to be moving to Australia within 12 months, unfortunately that didn't happen.

I have at last got round to starting the SALE in my Etsy shop. I have been thinking about it for a couple of weeks. I have also started jotting down ideas for new items to make and some new designs. I want to start writing simple knitting patterns to sell, I am excited about this. I have wanted to do it for ages but like alot of things have never got round to it.

Items from my shop have been featured in several treasuries on Etsy recently so I need to do a feature on them too.

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.