Neckwarmers!

I started working on neckwarmers - (or cowls or scarves, etc.) as a way to work through some of my odds and ends in my stash. They are fun to knit - and fun to wear!

Here is my newest:

listing here

More Hats!

Yes, I seem to be in a hat rut lately!

But I am having fun with them -playing with color and playing with pattern.

I have been looking at books with pictures of Guatemalan crocheted hats and I have been inspired - and obsessed!

Here is one more:

It is made from 100% cotton and is soft and comfy (not to mention colorful!).

The listing is here.

There will be a few more hats over the next week or so, and then hopefully I will have some other items to post!

For Sophia

Sophia is a sweet 4 year old autistic little girl who was recently diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. She has had an operation and will be starting radiation soon. They are looking for handknit hats and other things to send to Sophia. This is the hat I recently sent:

I hope to make a few of these to put up on my Etsy site to raise funds either for Sophia or for pediatric cancer research.

If anyone is interested in sending something to Sophia, or just to send here prayers and well wishes, they have set up a facebook page here:
http://www.facebook.com/HopeforSophia

Another Colorful Cap

Here is my newest listing, a colorful cotton hat inspired by some of the wonderful Guatemalan crocheted hats I have seen in books I have been reading lately. I've been working in cotton because - well, it is summer here and cotton is a little less hot and sticky to work with, and also I have found that some people prefer cotton anyways. I also love the colors and they way they really stay bright in cotton. I think these hats have a really fun, bright look to them! In a few months I will switch to wool and make some more winter-ish hats. But for now it's cotton.

The listing for this hat is here:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/51335623/colorful-cotton-cap-handknit-hat

Catching Up!

Things have been busy here, with the school year ending (and now the kids are out of school) and going away for a while, I've really fallen behind on posting! I've been redoing listings in my Etsy shop - only have done about half so far. I finally have a few new things to add as well.

The first is this cuff bracelet:

I've been hugely inspired by Native American peyote beaded bracelets. I would love to take up bead weaving, but I don't think I need another hobby right now! So I decided to create the feel
of the beaded cuffs using tiny needles and very thin mercerized cotton. I made one for myself, too. I love it - and I hope that other people will like them as well...I've got a bunch of different designs for them that I want to try! The listing for this cuff is here:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/51010340/handknit-cuff-bracelet

I've got a few more items almost ready to post....just need to get to all the finishing work!

Re-do

This is one of my latest re-news and re-dos:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/45606655/handknit-drawstring-bag-camden-flowers

I like the bag a lot and am trying to make the listing pop a little more. I'm not sure how well my re-doing and re-newing strategy is working. My views are up, but no sales ;-( I will keep plugging away!)

I'm working on a new idea for a knitted bracelet/cuff. I made one for myself and have been waaring it for a week and I really like it. I knitted another one and am blocking it tonight. I hope to have it listed this week!

Renewing and re-doing

Not many new items have been listed lately in my shop! I've been experimenting a little lately, also things have been crazy busy at home as the school year winds down.

I have been renewing items and re-doing photos and listings. I'm trying to have the featured photos concentrate a little more on the colorwork of my pieces since that is what makes them unique. I hoping my shop will look a little more colorful and dynamic, and therefore, visually appealing.

So far I have redone Carlisle, Springvale, Springfield and one of the bookmarks. I'm trying to do one a day, but probably not on the weekend since I usually don't get many views then anyways! The changes seem to have led to an increase in views - let's see if that translates into any sales.

I'd appreciate any opinions if anyone has any!!
http://www.shirleyknits.etsy.com/

Colorful Cotton Cap

Here is a new hat!
I was so inspired by pictures of some Guatemalan crocheted caps that I've decided to knit a series of colorful hats to put in my Etsy store. I am using 100% cotton for these, so they could really be worn almost year round. I am looking forward to playing with colors and patterns and making up a bunch of these.

Enjoy!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/48600238/colorful-cotton-cap-handknit-hat

I'm so negligent!

I posted a new listing last week and never blogged about it. I finished a cute little cellphone bag. I thought about all the things I wanted on a cell phone bag - including a wrist strap and a mini-carbiner for clipping it to a belt loop or a keyring.

I snuck the listing in during a slow time and it didn't get many views. You can check it out here:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/48048321/weston-handknit-cellphone-pouch

I'm working on a few brightly colored little cotton hats, inspired by some Mayan crochet I have seen pictures of. I hope to post the first one within the next two days.

New treasury!

My Freeport Pouch is in this absolutely beautiful purple treasury!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=99346

It is a Treasury West - so it will expire. I'm trying to get a thumbnail image to post, but Thumbilizer doesn't seem to be working. Hope to post an image later, it really is a beautiful treasury!

Not much here.....

I've been painting a lot this week (see my Etsy ShirleyArt shop http://www.ShirleyArt.etsy.com) so the knitting has been coming along slowly. I have a lot of projects started, even more in the design stage, but nothing new finished for this week. I have a cell phone bag I am finishing up and hope to post early next week. Stay tuned......

First Blog Feature!!

I am one of the featured artists for this week in the IndieJunction blog! I am so excited!

Check it out here:
http://indiejunction.wordpress.com/2010/05/09/indie-junctions-featured-artisans-for-the-week-of-may-9th/

It's a Hat!

It's a new cotton slouchy hat!

I have a bunch of ideas in my head for hats, and even though it is warm here, I couldn't resist starting on some.

This is the first one, knit in 100% cotton. The colorwork is inspired by the designs on an early Egyptian stocking now in the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C.

Listing here:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/46399109/cotton-slouch-hat-handknit-original

Done at Last!

Not sure why this bag has taken so long to complete! Could it be the areas where there were three colors in each row?!!! Anyways, it's cute - it's colorful - it's done!! The colorwork was inspired by designs on Latvian mittens. Latvian mittens have such beautiful designs.....endless inspiration!

Listing for the bag here:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/45606655/camden-flowers-handknit-drawstring-bag

I'm currently working on a cotton hat. I also got some Pearl Cotton from http://www.halcyonyarn.com/. Love, love their color selection! Can't wait to knit it up to see if I like working with it as much as Pisgah's Article 960. Stay tuned!

Treasury East

Etsy has come out with a new Treasury system. I like the look of Treasury East, but I haven't had a chance to play with making one yet.

I discovered that I am featured in two different Indie Junction treasuries! I suspect I may have an item in one or two more - I've had an increase in hits on a couple of specific items and haven't been able to track where they are coming from. Unfortunately these new treasuries have no way of tracking what treasuries you are in unless the curator notifies you. Hopefully Etsy will change that (or else a 3rd party will come up with a fix!). Can't wait to make a treasury of my own.......

Staceyville Bag

Just re-listed this bag.

It is a pretty felted little bag - I really like the stripes and the beautiful button on it. I've considered keeping it for myself, but hope to find someone who loves it, too!

It is currently featured in a treasury:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/0524b47b3289c84b3e756c00/treasures-from-indie-junction

(yay for IndieJunction!)

The listing is here:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/40925095/staceyville-small-bag---handknit-and-fel

Another Bookmark

Getting ready for Mother's Day... another bookmark done!

They sure are fun fast little projects, and I enjoy the mosaic style of knitting - and the beading is fun, too. I am using Barbara Walker's Mosaic Knitting for ideas for the motifs.

The listing for all my bookmarks on Etsy is here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ShirleyKnits?section_id=6939135

Another Mini Bag

Finished another Mini Bag. I thought the little pink flowers would be fun for Spring - maybe even for Mother's Day. The colorwork is inspired by a tree and flower motif I found in a book about Arab embroidery. Such a motif is supposed to symbolize growth and abundance - perfect for Spring!

Now if it would only warm up.....

Listing here:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=44313745

Work in Progress

Still working away on this bag.

It is inspired by a rug woven by members of the Great Plains tribe. I am knitting it in a worsted weight cotton. Doing colorwork at this tight of a gauge in this kind of cotton is very hard on my hands! (Hence why I am only working on it a little at a time!) The resulting bag though is nice and soft, and I like the colors, too. It will be a small-sized tote bag, and will have to be lined as well. Hope to finish it in the next few weeks!

A Quick Fix

I was in need of a little immediate gratification. I have too many ideas and images wandering around inside my head while I still have an awful lot of works in progress. So I decided to do a little project I could start and finish quickly and still have fun with.

So, voila - a bookmark. I love mosaic knitting, so I played a little with some very thin mercerized cotton, added some pretty beads, and I was done. I figured it might be a good idea to get a few of these up on Etsy for Mothers Day. Fun!

Bookmark listing here:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=43962772

New Treasury!

Found out last night that I am featured in this lovely treasury! Thanks, Rianne!

Still thinking spring.....

This is the Carlisle Spring iPod Sleeve (or MP3 cozy). It was inspired by the colorwork on Turkish stockings.

I've been looking through Anna Zilboorg books and pouring over pictures of Turkish textiles online. There is a book called Anatolian Knitting Designs - here on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Anatolian-Knitting-Designs-Collected-Shantytown/dp/B0006EAWVM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269367898&sr=8-1 that I have just got to find a copy of! I find the Turkish textiles to have such beautiful patterns and wonderful color combinations - I could be endlessly inspired by them alone. So many designs...so little time......

Gearing up for Spring....

Told you that I was loving the tulips!!

The Springvale Pouch is done! Knit with Elmore Pisgah's Article 960 (100% mercerized cotton) on tiny (2.5mm) needles in some bright, spring-y colors, it is lined with soft Eco-Fi recycled felt (recycled from plastic bottles - how cool is that?!!) and a zippered top with a little sunny beaded zipper pull.

It will go up on Etsy this afternoon....

Thinking Spring.....

Spring is coming, right?

I'm looking forward to the colors - and warmth - and new life of spring.

I'm currently working on a little pouch bag inspired by tulips and spring colors. I will post pictures in a few days when it is finished.

Inspiration

I'm so in love with this book!

Thanks to interlibrary loan, I've discovered this great book by Joe Ben Wheat on southwest weaving. I need to find a discounted used copy of this for myself! I'm finding the weaving very inspirational, so many ideas that I want to translate into knitting for bags. I've already designed a few southwest-themed bags even before I saw this book...now I have ideas for many, MANY more. I need to knit faster.....

Bristol

Bristol is an ipod sleeve - a snug little bag to keep your ipod (or similarly sized device) cozy. The size is perfect to fit my ipod classic! It is knit densely on small needles and is nice and thick to protect whatever you put inside. It is wool, so it has a little stretch to fit snugly like a sweater.

The patterning is similar to what I used on the Madison bag and was inspired by traditional Finnish designs. I wanted to see how the wool knitted up versus the cotton (for the Madison). It makes for a smaller, yet stretchier bag - more of a cozy or sweater for an ipod. I may have to experiment with more of these in the same shape!

It's Open!

Yay! - finally got the ShirleyKnits Etsy shop open for business. I posted two listings so far - I will add two more spaced out over the next 24 hours. Let's see if I get any views.......

http://ShirleyKnits.etsy.com

New bag!

This is my Freeport Pouch. It is a little wallet-sized pouch - great for holding cash and credit cards or as a coin purse or other little bag. It is knitted from mercerized cotton and has a zipper top. Very cute and fun! No real inspiration for this one - I was just playing with color and patterns.

Madison Mini Bag

The Madison Mini Bag is done! Roughly inspired by traditional Finnish colorwork, it is sized to fit an iPod Classic, Blackberry or small digital camera. I've also used mine as a small bag to carry money/cellphone/lipstick instead of a purse. It has a long strap handle and a button/loop closure.

I hope to have it up on Etsy as soon as I finish a few other WIPs.

Finished Object!

Added the button and strap at last. I decided to try a wrist strap this time to see how I like it. My camera is very happy.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all!

Resolutions for this year? Well, many of them pertain to my painting, but in regards to knitting I hope to continue to experiment and try new things. I also resolve to finally get my Etsy shop up and running - this month (yeah, right). Besides wanting to finish a few of these little ipod/camera bags before I start listing products, I also have a few basic striped bags completed where I was trying out different shapes (shapes I will eventually repeat with other colorwork). Stay tuned....

I have finished the small ipod bag I was working on - I will post pictures once it is done blocking and I add the button (how I hate finishing work!). I did some experimenting as I was working on it, so it is not perfect enough to offer for sale. I guess I will just have to keep this one for myself and my digital camera ;-) Sorry all.

I have already designed a new bag and have cast on. I think I have figured out the optimal number of stitches to make it the right size to fit an ipod classic. Now let's see if I can count correctly this time around.

Photos soon.