Independence Day

Happy Fourth of July!  Did you see the July treasury I put together?  If not, you'll want to check it out here. 

Or you can check out this fantastic blog right here where my treasury list and one of my items were featured today!  Sweet!  By the way, I LOVE the "Treasury Tuesday" idea...maybe I'll do that myself sometime too!

Today, I listed a couple of long-tailed patriotic newborn hats (photo props) that I had been fighting with working on for quite some time.  They knitted up just fine.  So what took me so long?  Well, the plan was to go back and stitch stars onto the blue to give them the U.S. flag look.  I thought it would be a ton easier to do than it actually was.  After many failed attempts (on a swatch of the blue yarn that I had knitted for testing my embroidery ideas), I finally had the solution.

Waste fabric.
 
I knew there was a reason I bought that waste canvas stuff ages ago. It was just sitting there, patiently waiting for the day when I realized what I needed it for. I'd never used waste fabric before, but I have done a bit of cross-stitch in the past.  The instructions on using the waste cloth were clear and so I tested it out on my knitted swatch to see how it would look.  Both my husband and eldest son agreed with me that it looked good, and so my cross-stitched stars came to be.  Although my initial design had multiple stars stitched on the blue background, I decided to just stitch one star on each hat since the cross-stitching technique is rather time-consuming and I really wanted to get these hats finished before the Fourth of July.  I'm pleased with the results and like the "lone star" look.

my cross-stitched star!

These hats will make a special addition to any photographer's newborn prop bag--especially considering that besides the Fourth of July holiday season, there are a lot of wonderful military families who would truly appreciate having a patriotic hat used for their newborn's first photos.

patriotic hat #1

patriotic hat #2

These two hats are basically the same, but I noticed they do have a few minor variances.  They're a couple inches different in overall length and the blue portions are just a row or two different in height as well.  I've listed them as the individuals that they are.

More hats are in the works!  I have two new long-tailed elf hats in bright summer colors--that are going to be listed either tomorrow or the next day!  And here are a couple sneak peeks of a newsboy set--I have plans to make more of these soon!

photo props

For a couple weeks there, I really felt like I was spinning my wheels and not getting anywhere with my knitting.  I did design a couple pairs of fingerless mitts, but I need more of the same yarn before I can make them to sell.  So I did an inventory of the yarns I have and realized that there were still a few items I had planned to make and sell that I hadn't gotten around to yet.

But I can finally say there are a couple new listings in my Etsy shop!

First, we have a newborn cocoon in a tweedy brown.  Great for keeping baby warm in between shots and makes a great prop too!

Next, we have a set of 2 newborn striped elf hats--one for a boy and one for a girl.  The long-tails on these could be a potential danger to a newborn, so these aren't for every day use.  But with adult supervision they make an adorable photo prop for baby's first photo shoot!  I decided to sell them together as a set.  That way a photographer could have one of each and since they're a near-perfect match, the set would be perfect for boy-girl twins.

I'll have to go over my to-do list again and see what I can make next.  It's nice to be working again.

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!

never enough time

I set a goal for myself last weekend to post something more on Etsy.  Somehow, it just never happened and here it's already Thursday again. 

I am still working.  Currently working on making more Bunny hats in both newborn and 3 month sizes {and a few color options too} with the hope of listing some VERY soon!

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!

a new month

Is it really February already?  I can hardly believe it.  January was such a busy month and I'm still not ready to start selling on Etsy.  Ah well.  The shipping supplies I ordered should be here any day.  And my hubby, with some brand new software on his work laptop should be designing--and then printing--a few business cards for me soon too.

I'm currently working on another test-knit.  It's a two-color hat based on the long tail pixie/elf style, but with a different color pattern than stripes.  It's been fun trying to find a new stitch to use that looks good in the yarns I have.  I don't have any photos yet, but will post some later if it turns out!

I finally got my bomber hat to properly fit up to a 6 month old!  This means that I believe I have "perfected" this design to fit both 0-3 months and 3-6 months.  I suppose I really should make another of each size to be certain I can actually make more that will fit properly!  Ha!

Sarah, from Beyond Ordinary Photography, is expecting to deliver her own baby sometime in the next week or two.  Needless to say, I'm super-excited for her--but not nearly as much as she probably is!  The soon-to-be-born babe will get to model many of my new items in the weeks to come.

Now it's time for me to get some homeschool work done with the kids {and maybe even sneak in a little knitting time too}!

i'd rather be knitting!

Each day I get a little more organized, and a little closer to the day when I will actually post an item in my Etsy shop.

I guess I didn't take into consideration how much time some of this would take me. Plus I can't completely focus on my perfectioKnits business--I still have to home-school my kids, try and keep my house under some semblance of control, and have time for knitting new items.  All this business stuff just kind of stresses me out.  {I'd rather be knitting!} 

There's still so much I need to do.  I have yet to figure out prices and shipping costs for the items I want to sell. I have to decide on and post my shop policies.  I do have some packaging/shipping supplies on order (finally!) and my hubby has agreed to find time to design and print me out a few business cards soon.  Speaking of business cards, some day I hope to buy some Moo business cards and/or Moo mini cards but I know that first I need to establish my product line and then figure out the best way to take some good quality product-only photos.  It would also be helpful to know which of my items my customers like best before I order any special photo-business cards.

My new {replacement} checks for my business account came.  They're still not printed the way I wanted (they put my business name on the same line as my name instead of beneath it like we requested), but at least my name is spelled correctly this time.  These will do for now, but I certainly won't be re-ordering checks through my bank!   

Sarah had a photo session with her 6 month old nephew yesterday. Here's a photo with a hat I made especially for this session. Of course, she'll get to use it as a prop on other adorable little guys too!  <smile>

earflap hat by perfectioKnits

Actually, this is the second hat I made for this session. 
The first, although it's adorable, ended up a bit small.

 

I couldn't get to Michael's to get more of the same yarn--I hate that the nearest store is a two hour drive from here and that Michael's doesn't have an online store!  I ended up ordering a different self-striping yarn from WEBS and hoped it would work.   As you can see, the two yarns were a bit different, but both look nice.

new yarn on order!

I just ordered more yarn!  I'm so excited!  I've bought a few new-to-me yarns to try out.  Looking for a few good yarns (that won't cost me an arm and a leg!) to use on a regular basis here.  Hope I may have found some good ones! 


Sarah tested out my roll brim hat (boring name, I know!) and another baby pod I made.  Here's a couple photos of the little beauty she photographed with them.

roll brim hat {with little lulus flower clip} and baby pod

I love how the Little Lulus clip makes the hat a bit girlier.  So cute!  Makes the hat a tad more versatile too.  Without the clip, a baby boy could wear it and would look super cute. Add a lovely little flower clip like this one and it's also perfect for a girl! 

Anyways, last night I started working on a lace wrap (infant photo prop).  I've seen some lacy baby wraps on Etsy and thought they were adorable.  So I decided to go ahead and make one myself without a pattern.  It's very basic and a pattern isn't really needed--just a little test knitting to determine how many stitches to cast on. I like how mine looks already.  I do think these look so sweet with the baby's toes or fingers peeking through the lace, so I'm hoping it turns out nice.  This first one is going to be mine to keep as a sample, but I bought 2 more balls of the same kind of yarn so I can make some to sell too.  I'll get some photos of it posted when it's done!

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.

photo props

Here are a few more photos by Beyond Ordinary Photography using knitted items I've made for Sarah.  Quite a few of the items I plan to make and sell are photo props like these.

Jester hat.

baby pod

baby pod

Although I do plan to sell my items primarily on Etsy, I've been thinking about what options I might have for selling to people who live in the same area as I do.  (Thus allowing them to avoid paying a shipping fee.)  Leave me a comment if you've any suggestions or ideas on how I could do that.  Thanks! 

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.

plans and pictures

I've been talking with my business manager...i.e. my hubby.  I think somewhere in our discussion of the pros and cons of getting started now as opposed to waiting until after the year's end, I decided it will be best to wait until January 1, 2011 to open shop. That will give me a chance to get more items ready made (and ready to ship!) and time to consider possible options like whether I'm going to do custom work to start or wait until I have enough $ from sales to be able to purchase a bunch of the same yarn(s) in a variety of colors. And this way, it won't interfere with our holiday season {except for all the knitting I'll be doing}.

But to give a little preview of my work and what I'm making, I'm going to start posting photos of some of the items I've made.  

Elvish stripes hat

Baby Bomber hat

Thanks to Beyond Ordinary Photography by Sarah for the beautiful baby photos!

Did I mention that I'm still test knitting (and crocheting) and I haven't yet settled on what yarns I intend to use?  The hats in these two photos were made with Red Heart Super Saver yarn.  {The photographer, Sarah, whom I made these for had some of this yarn on hand herself and asked me to use it.}  I personally do not like Super Saver.  It's a very scratchy, plastic-y acrylic yarn.  But I must admit, despite my yarn snobbery, the hats turned out very cute and they look great in her photos.  The brown bomber hat was a tad miss-sized, so I've done a remake for her and am looking forward to seeing how it looks.