New Hat!

Just a quick post to show off my newest listing in my ShirleyKnits Etsy shop:

The listing is here.

I've been enjoying making these hats! The colorwork is fun, and the I like the colors of the cotton yarn. They have sold really well in local shows, but not as well online for some reason  ;-(  I am working on a new one in wool to see if that might be more popular among my internet customers.

I haven't been listing as quickly in my ShirleyKnits shop. I have decided to discipline myself to painting every day and the paint has kind of taken over most everything. (If you want to see what I have been up to, you can see my daily painting blog here.) What new knitted items I was finishing were selling locally without even making it to my Etsy shop. I hope to get a few more things listed before the holidays and hope for a few holiday sales!

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!

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!

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.

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!

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!

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....

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.

We now interrupt our regularly scheduled knitting....

I swore I wasn't going to do any holiday knitting this year.

But guess what? I am doing some last minute things. Which means the little bag is on hold for the moment.

So, instead of a finished object, I'll give you some new fiber to look at. Hopefully these colors will make it into projects in the new year.

Another WIP

Here is another WIP.
I got the urge to start a new project (!) right before Thanksgiving. It should be a quick little bag, based on some traditional Finnish designs. It is knit in an extremely thin mercerized cotton.

WIP - Great Lakes Bag

This tote is based on patterns taken from woven textiles of the Great Lakes Native Americans. It is knitted from cotton, rather densely knitted, and will be lined when finished. I hope to have the finished bag available on Etsy early in 2010.