ravellenic games 2012: final events

The Summer Olympics are officially done.  A final congrats to all the Olympic athletes who did their very best!  Whether they brought home a medal or not, they are all winners in my mind.  Super job!

We watched the Closing Ceremony live online {this afternoon here in the Midwest}, so we would be able to all go to bed at a more normal time.  Tomorrow is a big day for the kids and I, so we definitely need a good night's rest!  Do you know I homeschool my kiddos?  Is that crazy?  Sometimes I think so!  It's most definitely a lot of work, but I know in the end it's worth it! 

Tomorrow is the first day of Kindergarten for my youngest, Caleb.  The first day of Seventh Grade for my eldest, Thomas.  And of course, the first day of teaching for me. Yikes!  But I'm ready--at least I think I am! 

I decided to go ahead and make a couple more of my crochet baby hats for the Ravellenic Games.  The photos are again not very good quality (especially the coloring) since I took these with the iPad with poor lighting, but you can sort of see what they look like:

 

I did not quite finish the lace scarf, but I have a great start on it and should be able to get it done this week if I have time to work on it. Here it is at the end of the Games:

Here are my "medals" from Ravelry:

Earned for finishing my Swift Sak

Earned for making my Sweet Little Shrug

Earned 3 times for making my crochet baby hats:  one,  two,  three

Also earned 3 times for making my crochet baby hats:  one,  two,  three

That's a total of 8 medals!  Hip hip hooray! I feel like I've accomplished something in the past couple weeks!

As you might have noticed, some items can be entered into more than one category!  Thus, my hats each gave me two medals.  <insert cheesy grin>

If you are a knitter or crocheter and aren't on Ravelry yet, I highly recommend you do so!  It's a fabulous site:  lots of great patterns to browse, people to "meet", and I especially love that I can post photos and info from the projects I make.  It helps me keep track of what I've done and when, and what yarns and needles I used too!  So helpful!

And now, I must get myself to bed.  I need a good night's rest so I can be a happy teacher tomorrow.
Good night and thanks for stopping by!

ravellenic games 2012: 3rd event

Are you enjoying the London Summer Olympics as much as I am?  My favorite sport to watch has been fencing!  I also love watching gymnastics, swimming, diving, volleyball, track and field, and equestrian events!  Do you have a favorite Summer Olympics sport?  

Last night I finished another project. This time it was a crocheted baby hat.  And yes, this is one that will find itself in my Etsy shop someday soon!  I want to make some interchangeable/removable flowers for it first though.  

I also have been working on a knitted scarf the past few days. It's going to take me a bit longer to finish since 1) it's a scarf, 2) I'm using lace weight yarn (skinnier yarns tend to take longer to knit), and 3) I need to follow the lace pattern which takes a bit more concentration.

I have 5 days to finish!  Hopefully, I can get it done!  And I may take a few knitting breaks to make another baby hat or two as well.  

Well, that's my update for now...

Go Team USA!

seeking inspiration

We're getting close to Easter now.  I'm guessing that not very many more orders will come in for my bunny hats, but I still have a few ready-made and for sale on Etsy. It'll be nice if they find new homes before the season is over.

Although there are quite a few other baby props I could be making--cocoons, baby bowls or pods, jester hats, pompom hats, bomber hats--not very many of them are appropriate for spring and summer.  So I've started looking for ideas and inspiration for new items I can make that are better suited for spring & summer. 

I'd like to design some new fingerless mitts for spring.  I think using different color(s), length(s), and texture(s) would not only add variety but may interest a wider range of customers too.  I also think I might like to try making some lightweight scarves, cowls, or even shawls too.  I could use some ideas for baby or child items too.

I'd love your input, suggestions, ideas, inspiration.
Let me know what you think in the comments!
Thanks!

Giveaway Time!

Spring is in the air (sort of), Easter is right around the corner, and I'm thrilled to have my Etsy shop up and running!  I think it's a good time to hold a little contest/giveaway!  If you've already been following perfectioKnits, you know that I am very grateful to be able to work with an incredibly talented photographer, Sarah Homme. Beyond Ordinary Photography by Sarah is soon-to-be-open,  and she has decided to have her Grand Opening giveaway at the same time I'm doing mine!  So once you've finished leaving your entries here, go and check out Sarah's blog and enter her giveaway too! 

MY PRIZES
In honor of Spring, since it is officially that season now despite the snow still covering most of the ground here in northern Minnesota, I'm giving away a pair of my knitted Katelyn mitts, a perfectioKnits original design, in a Ladies' size Medium.  These mitts are the perfect accessory to keep your hands and wrists warm while walking and enjoying the reawakening of God's creation, driving your car, or just catching up on Facebook at your computer keyboard.

left mitt is completed!  right mitt is almost done too!

Next, to celebrate the upcoming Easter season, I'm giving away an adorable crocheted newborn bunny hat. This sweet little hat with bunny ears is perfect for a new baby's Spring or Easter photos!  Would make a wonderful photographer's prop or a really cute gift!  The main color is a lovely brown with cream highlights and for the inner ears I've used an equally lovely cream color to contrast.

newborn bunny hat in brown w/cream

And finally, just to celebrate the opening of my Etsy shop and the new beginning that it represents for me, a pair of crocheted newborn booties in brown.  These adorable little booties would be the perfect little "shoe" for a new little man, and could be equally cute on a little miss!  The buttoned flap keeps the "shoe" on baby's foot.  [Design by Cassi Ence at Polka Dot Posh]

newborn booties in my four year old's hands

HOW TO ENTER THE CONTEST 
{updated 4/06/2011to clarify}


MANDATORY ENTRY (do this first!!!)
"FOLLOW" this blog and then leave a comment describing which perfectioKnits item you like best!  (1 entry)

EXTRA ENTRIES
"Like" perfectioKnits on Facebook  (+1 entry)
Leave a message or comment on perfectioKnits's Facebook wall/photo (+1 entry)
{NEW!!} TAG perfectioKnits with a post to your Facebook wall  (i.e. you could post "I ♥ @perfectioKnits!") (+ 1 entry)
"Heart" your favorite item in perfectioKnits's Etsy shop  or "Heart" my shop!  (+1 entry)
Blog about this giveaway!  (+3 entries)

<<<< Don't forget to come back to this blog post and leave a new comment for each entry activity that you do! >>>>

Giveaway begins March 30, 2011 and ends at midnight CST on April 9, 2011. Entries must be in the comments of this post to be counted (i.e. don't leave your entry comments on any another posts I might write).  Three winners will be chosen by a random number generator.  Winners will be notified via email, and also posted here. Entries valid within the US. Each winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be drawn.

bunnies!!!

Wow!  My baby bunny hats are selling FAST!  I'm so happy to have a seasonal product that people like and are buying!  I just can't keep up!  {I'm not complaining!}  The other problem challenge is that I'm quickly running out of both the brown and the white yarn that I'm making these with.  I did place an order for more, but I don't expect it will get here until late this next week.  I'm working with the yarns I still have and will continue making bunny hats as long as they keep selling!

If you're a customer who has stopped by my Etsy shop and are sad to find the hat you loved and wanted has sold, don't worry!  More are being made!  You can even send me a message {conversation} to let me know what size/colors you're looking for.  Although I'm not officially doing custom orders, I am willing to if I have the yarns on hand.

bunny hats

I listed this adorable bunny hat this weekend (size 3 months).  I have a few more bunny hats "in process"--in different colors and sizes--that aren't quite done yet.  They will be finished soon and then I'll be listing them in my Etsy shop too.

Sarah (Beyond Ordinary Photography) and I are working out the details of a combined giveaway. We will both be posting about it as soon as we've got it all worked out and know what we're giving away, how you can enter, and for how long we want to run the contest.


Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you have a wonderful first week of Spring!

Ready or not!

I'm opening shop March 1st!  I've still got a few things to work out in the next few days--like how much I need to charge for each item to make this venture worth my time and energy and how much will it cost to ship each too, but I think it's about time I get some stuff up for sale and just see how it goes! {Besides, I need more money so I can have more colors of my yarns on hand to work with.  And the only way I'm going to have more money is if I can actually sell some stuff!}

I must admit I'm rather nervous.  Perhaps that's part of the reason for my procrastination with starting up.  But I know that's only a part of the problem.  We've been incredibly busy with LIFE lately too.  And there just don't seem to be enough hours in the day to accomplish all I need too!  I know I'm going to have to work hard at scheduling so I have enough time for homeschool, housework, and still leave myself time each day to knit and crochet my products too.  I also think my perfectionist nature makes me feel like I have to have everything perfectly in order before I can go forward with this business.  Hmmm...I think I'm going to have to work on "relaxing" my perfectionism a little.  Is that even possible?! 

A young mother who I know from church recently sent me a request to see if I could make a hat with bunny ears for the baby boy she's expecting soon.  Here's a photo of my prototype.  I'm thinking a hat like this in either brown or white with cream inside the ears, instead of the pink, would be fitting for either a boy or a girl.

I'm waiting to hear back whether she likes it and wants me to make a boyish version for her, but I may go ahead and get some yarn so I can make a few of these to sell on Etsy.  There will be a month and a half before Easter and I can see a potential for photographers to want one a baby bunny hat for Easter or spring photo shoots.

Speaking of babies...Sarah {Beyond Ordinary Photography}had a baby boy on February 8th!  Check out her blog and read the incredible and miraculous story of how this little man entered our world.  I'll warn you now, though.  Have a tissue handy--you're gonna need it! Sarah relates the entire story and through it shares how God has once again proven His faithfulness to their family.  We are thanking and praising the Lord with them for little Theodore!

new photos

Here are a few more great photos using items I made for Beyond Ordinary Photography.  Sarah does such an awesome job!

custom toddler girl hat with cable brim

It's my hope/plan to be able to offer custom-made items for others besides Sarah. But that will require having a good supply of yarns on hand. And I'm not quite ready to invest a lot more into this venture until I start selling (and thereby have more money to put back into my business).

jester hat (again)

baby pod (again)

baby bomber hat (version 2.0) in brown

I'm not-so-patiently waiting for Sarah to test out {and photograph} some of the other items I've made. She's been so sweet in helping me with determining if my items are sized correctly and if anything needs to be changed to look or fit better. For example, the baby bomber hats here are slightly different in shape/size from the original, but they fit and {I think} look better now.

baby bomber hat (version 2.0) in gray

Since most of the items I've made lately are also for newborns, I must wait till Sarah's next newborn shoot which is scheduled for sometime after the babe arrives. [I'm selfishly hoping the mom-to-be has her wee one a bit early so we can get those photos taken!] In the meantime, I'm keeping busy with homeschooling my two boys, figuring out the details behind what it's going to take for me to sell on Etsy, and {of course!} lots of knitting and crocheting.

hats

Here are a few photos I took of the newborn hats I've been working on.

Crochet cap with flower      Yarn: Organic Cotton/Wool blend

Crochet cap with Flower                 Yarn: Acrylic/Wool blend

Pom-top Hat                                    Yarn:  Acrylic/Wool blend

The two crochet hats are sort of a skullcap style newborn hat.  The large flower is really the focal point (besides whatever adorable baby gets to model it).  The off-white one is actually the one I made as I designed the hat--a prototype of sorts I guess!  The orange pom-top hat was just a quick knit for testing size and seeing what options I have for finishing a hat.  Other ideas I have (instead of the pom-pom) are an umbilical knot on top or a tassel at the end of a little tail.

designing in crochet

Designing is fun--I love the creative process!--but it's really hard to make something new and original.  For example, I recently designed a newborn hat in crochet using super-bulky yarn.  It's a very girlie skullcap or beanie.  I even made a big crocheted flower for it.  I like the feel and look of the crochet stitch I chose to use.  It should look great in photos.  But I know that there are other, very similar hats available on Etsy.  So I ask myself questions like "What can I do to be original?" or "How can my designs be unique?"

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to answer those questions...at least not yet.

To help me in my designing endeavors, I purchased a crochet stitch dictionary this past weekend.  It has 200 stitches to choose from so I'm hoping for some inspiration. 

 

Next on my wish list is a similar book for knitting.  (I do have The Harmony Guides: 101 Stitches to Knit which is not a book, but rather cards with the stitch patterns, but 101 stitches aren't enough for me to choose from!)