Hmmm....I wonder what this is !?!?!?

my first thru 4th attempts...

email me your guesses knitshanknit @ comcast dot net

Wee Bebe Kimono

This is one of my favorite sweaters to knit. It is knit in one piece then folded and sewn. So easy and adorable. I made this one from brown fishermen's wool for my sweet friend's baby. He's due any day.
I am learning to make my own buttons...so for now I am making crochet or braided ties. Safe for little ones, no choking hazard. The almost spring sunshine made lovely natural light for my photo shoot.

knit for peace...

My new friend Katie has a knitting for peace group. I finally got to join them, after my husband's work schedule changed. I actually couldn't believe I was at last driving to an evening knitting get-to-gether...

A few months ago Katie gave me some of her personal handspun yarn (click here for Katie's etsy shop) I decided I would knit two adult or youth hats for Take the Next Step Ministry.

When I got to the group, Katie had two big bins of yarn she offered up for charity knitting projects. She had received a grant and had spent it wisely!!! I found an alpaca blend and a red superwash merino for a couple projects. The project I decided I would start that night was a hat for a chinese orphan. It had to have a little acrylic in it to make it easily washable. I passed up a ton of sweet fibers. This particular orphanage has requested little sweaters for the babies. If you would like to knit along with us lemme know... Katie and her husband are taking the knit goods to the orphanage when they go there to pick up their new daughter in May!!!

The finished alpaca blend hat...cabled and tassled...oh and baby YaYa's orange ball...

Very soft and warm!

It's Been A Little While...Working on Mount Cardigan and Setting Up Shop...

Something I am knitting to felt up, stay tuned!!! Nice sparkly darning needle in this photo :o)

I haven't posted in awhile, I have been Facebooking and Tweeting a lot. You can find me on both those networking sites as follows, for my custom knitting business called knit shan knit or follow my personal stitches as I log them........I am also offering knitting classes in 2010 and new knitter kits filled with goodies from Knit Picks and etsy.

knitshanknit on Twitter
knit shan knit on Facebook
knitshanknit on etsy

I know it's really original!!!

So lately I have been trying to get my head around knitting more, taking time for designing projects (not fun because no actual knitting happens) and working in creative time whilst taking care of all my awesome menfolk. There is time to be found and I do find it, but it takes a lot of caffeine and organization.

Tonight if the baby allows it, I will start working on a lace pattern out of the second Mason Dixon book. I am going to use huge needles and bulky yarn. Stay tuned for that. It's the shawl that is doubled over and worked in two colors of mohair. Do you know the one I mean?

Soon, if a certain online shop would get my order to me. I won't mention names because I'm not like that and they are a cottage industry like me. I may give them another chance just to make sure it wasn't just an off day or someone over there. But, soon, I will be starting my long lost cousin's snow hiking hat. I am going for glorious. Her request, chic not hippy, so I think I know where I need to go. I am making sure I am using really beautiful wool and researching the cable sequences I'll use. I can't not put cables in this hat. I am pretty sure it's going to be complicated. I don't care!!! This is my sweet cousin T that lives in Connecticut. She blissfully paints away her Saturdays, carries around her Boston Terrier Bernie Mac and has two great daughters. We have always lived on opposite sides of the states, but thanks to Facebook we are getting to know each other. I am supposed to knit for her little pup soon........I love knitting for dogs. Especially dogs I love or know I am gonna love when I meet 'em.

So tonight I have a sick baby...he is either attached to me or to Blue's Clues this fine evening. I am letting him watch his video a little late due to his feeling bad. I think I am going to steal a few stitches while he's finding some clues with Blue.


I will end on this note...I started reading a really sweet book about fine gauge knitting called: Knit So Fine, Designs with Skinny Yarn. This book is going to act as a support group for my cardigan project I started earlier this year. I bought a huge amount of alpaca yarn from Pancake and LuLu on etsy.......started a top down raglan sweater. It is 7 stitches per inch. It's beautiful. I have 7+ inches knit on the raglan. I have a sanity marker to show how many rows I have completed. It is hundreds of stitches at this point because the body and sleeves are being worked at the same time. Here is what it looks like right now. It is gorgeous and will be worth it in the end.


One thing the fine gauge knitting books says is to blog about your progress, so you may get to join in my cardigan support group. I am a half inch or so away from putting the sleeves on their holders, then this blob will start to look like something. By the way, the roll on the outside edge is 3 inches of fabric rolled up, it will lay flat once I block it, etc, get the sleeves on the holders...........I am getting so close. I had to knit an 8 inch raglan and it has an almost boat neckline. I took the Magic Raglan pattern that you can google and changed it to my tastes....wide neckline with 3/4 length sleeves and cropped. I decided cropped is totally back in so why waste time knitting a whole darn sweater at 7 stitches per inch gauge.

Alright, thanks for being patient if you stop by often and I haven't posted since August like a lame-o. Go join my page on Facebook so you can stay in my loop and see what's up with my etsy shop.

shan
Will Knit For Tattoos!
http://www.knitshanknit.etsy.com

My First Custom Order:: My Etsy Shop

Well here it is, my very first knit.shan.knit Etsy order for my friend, Fancy. I used bright yellow tissue and yarn. I think yellow and recycled brown paper will be my store's packaging.
I have tags that I can write the personal details on, picture below. My logo turned out great and translated crisp even on an itty bitty tag.
I totally got blessed today by the manufacturer of the rubber I use on the soles of my baby shoes. Their minimum order is $150 for the natural rubber sheeting. The rep I was talking to today totally shocked me when she said she would send me a few yards free as samples. I had already had their small samples sent to me......now I will have PLENTY of materials for zillions of shoes. She wanted to see pictures of what I use their product for. I sent her to my etsy shop and she said she'd be back for baby shoes!!! What a cool lady to just make a way for me to have their product and then giving it to me for free.


This is one of my favorite yarns. Lamb's Pride worsted in yellow. I love this ball of yarn.


Along with Puggie I also made my big boy (just turned 12!) this amigurumi. He named him Mr. Happy. My son came up with the design for this little guy. He feels great and was fun to make. The picture below is our amigurumi family minus Mr. Happy. He wansn't completed when I took the 'family' picture.


So, left to right we have Sagelei's 'Wasabi', 'Puggie'-Li-Jo's Pug, 'Junior'-Shiny's bear and 'Monkee'-Baby Ya Ya's wittle monkey amigurumi.
Li-Jo and Puggie...


Big Boy and his Mr. Happy the rotund monkey amigurumi.

Ok, there's hope, two blog posts this week.

Holy Moly, I have neglected my blog, but not the kids or stitches....

Introducing my Pug Amigurumi....His color is a little muted here. He was Eli's bday present and is very loved.

So, here I am posting to my blog, who would have thunk'd it.

Here's a couple pictures because I am up way too late tonight but the insomnia is helping fuel this post.

Below is my 'studio' most days while I'm trying to make time to clean an work in my actual studio...
Here is Sage's Monkee....he put in a special order for this little guy. I think Monkee turned out great.
Planning a sweater, I think for my friends Zech and Bethany's baby::to be born soon...so sweet!!! This isn't all the colors that the sweater will have, but it's a good start!

More Puggie, kicking it on the couch!!!!

Hi there,
I have neglected my blog lately...it's sad, but baseball, school and our family has taken precedence over any blogging I could even hope to do. Now that schools done and baseball is finished I have been catching up with my own crafting ambitions.

I got my etsy shop set up. The graphic above will click through to my site.


I hope you had a glorious first day of summer today. We started the day with clicking on the heat a couple times, weird!!! Now at least our spinach in the garden will grow a little taller with this break from the heat.

Let me know if you have any questions regarding my shop or custom ordering.


Warm regards,
shan
p.s. Most people know that Sit and Knit is on break for the summer. We'll be meeting in September through the following May.