Wrapping it up

Since I am planning to open my Etsy shop at the beginning of February, I wanted to make sure that I am fully prepared. I have a few items in stock, I am almost finished writing out the product descriptions, now I’ve started thinking of shipping.

To be honest, wrapping is not my forte. I pride myself in being a good gift-giver, I really try to find special, unique gifts that suit the person’s personality and interests. But wrapping…..well…. I tend to run out of steam there.

So I knew I had to enlist the help of one of my friends who is famous for her artistic way of wrapping. I personally call her the “wrapping queen”. We made a date and were both psyched and bursting with ideas. Then unfortunately life got in the way, so we talked about it instead of meeting, and I tried a few things on my own. Not quite the same….

Now I am not sure what made me think that I could make my own boxes, but it was a complete failure ( I have to admit that the absence of a ruler may have had something to do with it). After a few frustrating hours and disastrous attempts, I do have a good idea of what I want the packaging to look like.

(the box you see here is one I already had, that I simply wrapped in kraft paper)

I find it’s so wonderful to open a prettily wrapped package, full of anticipation of what’s inside. It always puts a smile on my face, and I want whoever purchases my knits from Etsy to feel that it’s a special item, and to know that a lot of care and thought was invested in every aspect of it.



To top things off

I realized recently that it's been a while since I actually knitted something for my son. If I remember correctly the last item was a scarf, last year (I do not count bears that look like pigs ...). Of course that made me feel really guilty (a feeling that seems to be a constant companion now that I am a mother), and I looked for a quick project.

I've recently acquired Joelle Hoverson's "More last -minute knitted gifts" and it has a hat pattern that caught my eye. I had found this beautiful color yarn by Patons, which is meant for socks, but the hues are too beautiful to hide. When I saw the yarn it made me think of rocks covered in moss, lying by the shore (see my inspiration here, here and here ).

Back to the hat though. My issue was that the pattern is written for a thicker yarn, so I needed to change it a little bit. This is the first time I've adjusted a pattern, and I am glad to say it's worked out (to my dismay I realized too late that I had not written down the changes I made).

My next challenge was to photograph my finished project. A. was not very cooperative, this was the best I could do (after bribing him with chocolate).

To get a better photo (or rather, a more enthusiastic look), I tried the hat on myself , and I have to say I like the look of it, so I will probably have to knit another one.

A little touch of sunshine

I needed a quick, "sunny", project to focus on in order to forget about all the snow outside. This pattern I found on the "Purl bee" website seemed like the right challenge. It features a basic lace pattern, called "climbing trellis lace", which I had never tried before. It took a few tries, but with a little help from the internet it's worked out. I ended up learning three new basic techniques, the lace pattern, i-cord and the kitchener stitch.
I'm really pleased with the result. This is a great, practical little tote-bag. I can see it being used for groceries, as a beach-bag, to hold books, yarns, toys, really anything, it's very versatile.It also has a bit of a European flair I find, and I love that.

So now all I am missing is a ticket to the Bahamas so I can throw a bikini, a book, sunscreen and a hat into this bag and relax on a beach .....and forget about winter.

Birthday gift for a girly-girl

It’s troubling when your 3-year-olds social calendar is busier than your own. Suddenly I am concerned with filling up A’s free time with fun activities, interesting pursuits and engaging get-togethers. I do not remember putting that much effort into planning my own free time (am I the only one?). But I have to admit that it’s fun. I love seeing him enjoy himself, making new friends, interacting with new acquaintances.

And so he’s invited to a birthday party tomorrow, we’re trying gymnastics. I just hope that he will not disrupt the class too much. Last time we signed him up for something, he was running around the whole time, and by the end of the class, all the other kids were following him and completely ignoring the increasingly panic-stricken teacher…..my son, the clown! But I digress; this is a blog about knitting after all.

This brings me to the gift for the birthday girl. R. is an adorable little 4-year-old, who greatly admires shoes, nail polish and everything girly. So, when I found this pattern, I thought it would be perfect for her (just to be on the safe side she’s also getting toys).