2014 Christmas in July sale!

It's July. Hot, sunny, beautiful July (at least here in the US), which means most of us aren't thinking about Christmas and winter and the cold and all that jazz. But you should.

Why?

Because...drum roll please....it's time for the Christmas in July sale! Yes, you heard me right. Christmas in July.

What does this mean for you?

It means all items in my Etsy shop are on sale! Yes, on sale! All items in my shop are 25% off with coupon code CHRISTMASINJULY2014.

So, go to town! Be proactive and way ahead of schedule by getting your Christmas gifts early! Don't forget this sale runs from today July 10th till July 20th. Ten whole days of shopping fun!! Visit the NiseyKnits Etsy shop now to get your own handknitted item!

Have fun! And thank you all for your support!

CHRISTMASINJULY2014

Chain Chain Chain

I had forgotten about these lovely, quick scarves that I made a couple of years ago. However we recently traveled to the East Coast, and I needed some quick, instant gratification projects to keep me sane. Also, I was on a plane for almost 6 hours each way. Did someone say perfect knitting time? Oh yeah! I pulled out my huge size N crochet needles, grabbed a few (ok a lot) skeins of my super-bulky lovies, and went to town.

I didn’t do anything different from the previous chain scarves I had made. In fact, I made one in my favorite color combination, Thunder and Grassy Green (I’ve probably made about 5 in this combo).

I also tried a Sea Blue-Grassy Green combo, and I love how it turned out. So very pretty, and very similar to the Thunder/Lime scarf above. Green and blue (in all different shades) look so good together!

I tried turning up the heat on the chain scarves by working with 3 colors instead of 2, in one of the scarves (it’s getting hot in here!). I quite like the effect. I think the two shades of pink and white play very nicely together.

Now that I’ve started, I don’t want to stop. I’m thinking of these color combos next.

           

  

 

                                                    

And here's the whole color palette that I have available to work with!

What colors do you think I should make for my next chain scarves? Let me know in the comments below. If I create your suggested color combination, I will send you a 30% off coupon to use in my Etsy shop!

Have a lovely week!

Prepping for the holiday season: A photoshoot teaser

I cannot believe that it's already October! This year really just seems to be galloping along at breakneck speed, and I find myself barely managing to keep up with it. That said, I applied for and got into the Bazaar Bizarre Holiday Fair again this year (woohoo!!), to be held in San Francisco on Dec 7-8. Please save the date so you can come hang out with me, if you are in the Bay Area! I'll have chocolates! :)

In preparing for the fair, I worked with my friend Kwaku of Nkadu Photography to get some update photos of some of my yarny lovelies, and I am so excited to tease you with a couple of these photos!

I write a lot about the Procragratification Infinity Scarf, but I have a secret love affair with it's cousin, the Pompom Hurrah Scarf that I'm happy to reveal today. How beautiful is this scarf on my stunning model?

Now I have a question for you. What other color combinations should I make the Pompom Hurrah scarf in? It's such a pretty scarf design that I want to play around with even wilder color combos! I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below. And to help, here's the color palette that I currently use for my chunky scarves.

I'm so excited to hear your color combo suggestions, and see how many of them I can actually make! Let's do this! :)

Hope you enjoy the rest of your week.

Studio Re-organization: The After photos

I know I promised these photos a while back, but I got all excited about the giveaway and the birthday sale that I'm now getting around to it. Are you ready for them? Well here we go! Here's the before - my yarn corner, and the study in general. In dire need of some serious TLC!

Then during the cleaning and re-organization process:

And now the after!!

My little yarn corner (aka "studio") of the study, all cleaned up!

I "repurposed" one of our old bookcases for my bulky and superbulky yarns. (I donated most of the books we had, and moved all the other ones into the Expedit bookcase, making sure they all fit! Yay! More space for my yarn!)

I moved one of the 4-cubby IKEA Expedit bookcases to the poopoola's room, and kept this one to store my blocking equipment, notions, recently finished projects (in the top left cubby), and paperwork (in the green box shoved in the bottom left cubby). On top I have my trusty body form, buttons, ribbons, business cards and a photo book.

Pretty Ribbons and Buttons

Here's a trusty zip bag (that held one of our comforters) that now works as a holding area for projects that are in "the queue" i.e., ready to be worked on as soon as I'm done with the 5 currently on my needles! Teeheehee...

My knitting books, printed patterns, and folders hang out here. So do my yarn ball winder, and the tissue I use for wrapping my items before shipping.

To the right of my knitting books, we have my needle and equipment carrying cases, paper bags all ready for my next craft fair, and a Pampers holding box (re-use and recycle, right?) for projects that are in line to be frogged. Wedged in that little corner is a box full of my pattern swatches, a folder and clipboard, and my old trusty plastic mannequin.

On top of the new bulky yarn case is a sign I found at Ross (I think), and a jar I got at Goodwill. I filled the jar with pompoms and leftover yarn pieces, then stuck some of the straight needles I received from a friend when I was in the UK. Looks all quaint and cute, right?

 

And a grainy photo of how it looks together!

I hope you enjoyed photos of the re-organized "studio". Knowing how I roll, this arrangement will change again very soon! :)

Have a great week everyone, and hope you are getting ready for fall weather! I know I am, and I've got quite a few new lovelies for all of you!

A gift for YOU on my birthday!! Yippee!!

Today is my birthday, and I'm so thankful to be alive, thankful for my ability to knit and create beautiful accessories to share with you all, and thankful for all of you - my newsletter readers, my Facebook fans, my Twitter followers, and all others who I may not know of yet. To celebrate, and to thank you for being with me another year, I'm having a 30% off sale in my NiseyKnits Etsy Shop. No coupon required! All items are 30% until 11:59pm PST Sunday night (9/22/2013). So go crazy!! Get that scarf you've been eyeing forever. Or even better yet, get started on your holiday shopping! Go you!

Not sure what to get? Here are some fun items that make for great unisex gifts!

These are just two of the collections available in my shop. There are hats, mitts, and shawls, all ready to be shipped, or you can make a custom request.

Custom orders placed within this time period will also receive the 30% off deal, so if there's something you want but you'd prefer it in another color, color/combo, size, yarn type, just email me and I'd be happy to whip something up for you. It's fun for you, and even more fun for me! Don't forget to visit my NiseyKnits Etsy Shop between now and 11:59PST on Sunday 9/22, if you would like to take advantage of the sale.

Thank you once again, and I hope you find something special for yourself or a loved one during this sale. Have a great day!!

Some Sheila love

The past few months have been rather hectic around here, so I haven't had the opportunity to knit as much as I would like. It's also summertime, so it's a little difficult staying indoors playing with wool when it's so bright and beautiful outside. What I have been doing though, is playing around with knitting different versions of one of my simplest patterns, the Red Sheila scarf. What do you think of them?

The scarves will be listed in the NiseyKnits Etsy Shop shortly.

Which of these scarves is your favorite? Let me know in the comments section below. Enjoy the rest of your week!!

It's been a long time...and some WIPs

I've missed my blog, and you my lovely friends! How is everyone doing? I hope it's warming up wherever you are, and you can see a glimpse of summer. Woohoo! My family traveled for the whole month of May, and I had intermittent access to the internet, which is why you haven't seen much of me. As I mentioned in my last post, I hope to make it up to you soon. Now that the weather is warmer, I'm sure you are wondering how knits can still be relevant. I used to think that way, until I realized that it's a good time to knit lacy items (like some of the works in progress I'm going to show you). It's also a wonderful time to plan for the second half of the year.  The Christmas holiday season is my busiest time, as people are looking for gifts for their loved ones. Plus, it's getting cold!! Brrr!!!

Anyway, during our travels I didn't get to knit as much as I thought, but I still got a few items finished. I worked on a few Berry Lacey scarves, finished a wrap using a modification of Christine Vogel's Drop Stitch Scarf pattern, and also finished two of the buttoned infinity scarves. Here they are.

I would love to hear what  you think of these scarves. What other colors would you like to see them in? Please leave a comment below and let's have a chat. I hope you enjoy the rest of your week!

Ideas for spring knits

I think we can safely say that spring is upon us right now. So, I was wondering which of these patterns I should knit up for my Etsy Shop. What do you all think?

Cuviatrix (a cutie in an Aviatrix)

This week I finally put the finishing touches on another Aviatrix hat (by Justine Turner) that my friend Gina ordered for her daughter. I crocheted two flowers using this Crochet Flowers pattern from Mollie Makes (such pretty flowers, right?). I just love this hat pattern! And Gina's daughter looks so cute in the hat doesn't she?

Enjoy the rest of the week, and have a lovely weekend!

PS: I would love to make you your own Aviatrix hat if you ever need/want one for the little cuties in your life. Just send me an email (niseyknits@gmail.com) with the age of the child, and the color/colors you want for the hat.

A pretty little scarf for spring

Spring seems to be popping up in numerous places, (although some places are still dealing with snow). Look chic this spring with this delightful little scarf that will brighten up any outfit. One end of the scarf is inserted into the other so the scarf stays put around your neck. Pretty and functional is how this scarf rolls!

This pretty little scarf is going for $27 in my Etsy shop, and is available in different colors. Let me know what color you are hankering for, and I would be glad to whip one scarf up for you! Go on and enjoy the weather wherever you are. Have a great rest of the week, and savor the weekend!