It's the holiday season

and I got a treasury!

It's brisk here in New England, and I have already started my holiday shopping, so am in a festive mood! I can't wait for the first snowfall!

A Labor of Love

Several months ago I was asked if I could display my children's hat and book collection at the Needham Public Library in Needham, MA. I was thrilled and accepted the opportunity at once. I began designing new hats in my mind. I wanted to blend familiar titles with new favorites and create new hats to go with them. The result is a kaleidoscope of color and memories. So you can have Pinkilicious cupcakes and eat your bluberries with Sal, too!

If you get a chance, stop by the Needham Public Library and check out my hats, and a book!

Apple-y Delicious!

It's almost time for back to school and what says that better than a nice bushel of apples! Who knew so many etsians could do so many things with red delicious fruit?
Munch, munch, munch...

Lemon 'n Lime Treasury

Sometimes at the store I can't decide between Lemonade or Limeade, so here is the best of both from EtsyBaby! Yummm!

The Purple Kitty

My goddaughter turned three today. We are celebrating her birthday this weekend, and I went overboard buying her art supplies and all kinds of goodies. And the one thing she asked me for was a purple kitty hat to match her favorite stuffed animal. She loves this thing, it's like her own BooBoo Kitty.

Her mother told me I can skip the rest of the presents, just give her the hat. I hope she like it. But just in case, I decorated a bag just for her. I like doing this for presents adding the person's name to it, it makes it extra special. And the little decals are fun for kids too.

I do something similar for my craft fair bags. It's easy. I buy the bags in bulk online and then I print up the sticker labels on my computer and voila! Walking advertisement!

I don't add the Hello Kitty bits though. I'll save that for my goddaughter.

Going Buggy

Bugs abound! We had cicadas on Cape Cod, bees are buzzing, 'squitos are a flyin', it's summer and bugs are everywhere!

So I have designed a new hat called the Whimsy Citrus Bug, which to me is both cute and summery. It is made out of 100% cotton and uses this creat tangerine-coral color that I just love!

Of course no summer would be complete without a buzzing bumble bee going from flower to flower. Also made out of 100% cotton yarn, this bumble bee is a classic hat for any bug lover!

Ahh, yes, the original over-eater himself, The Hungry Caterpillar. Inspired by Eric Carle's picture book art, I created this little hat.

Chomp, Chomp, Chomp!

Sun Kissed

I can't seem to break my habit of making treasuries, it's like a drug! So here is my new one, I should have named it Front Page or Bust, because that is my new goal, to have a treasury on the front page.

I tried to follow all the Front Page guidelines: interesting pictures, a good theme, none of the items are mine, nice variety, blah, blah, blah.

So now I wait.

But I love the Orange brightness, so cheerful on a dreary Fourth of July.

Wholesale Season

Tis the season for wholesale orders, fa la la la la

It's kind of funny to be humming a holiday carol when it is summer and almost 90 degrees F, but it is the time to start thinking about wholesale orders stocking up stores for the fall and winter sales. Because handmade takes time to create and plan the earlier the better, and you are guranteed to get the designs you want for the season.

I will be sending this order out today for JShane, a new customer, I hope they like it!

http://jshane.com/

EtsyBaby Pop Goes the Fourth

What a better way to spend a Thursday midmorning when you are waiting for a fridge to be delivered than to make a new treasury on Etsy! I just love all the red white and blue!

However you celebrate the Independence Day, enjoy! Happy 4th of July!

http://www.july4th.org/

Treasury Monday

Chomp, Chomp, Chomp lots of Hungry Caterpillar items to be found in my Etsy Treasury!

And it you ever get the chance, visit the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA. It's amazing! http://www.picturebookart.org/Home

Just Desserts

It's the holiday season and I now have three hats in my desserts series; a Neapolitan, a cupcake, and now a Christmas pudding hat. I sold the pudding hat right after I made it, but here is the picture of it.

I am having trouble with the holly leaves, and am trying to find a good pattern, the rest of the Christmas Pudding hat I just made up on my own, I can post the pattern here if anyone wants it. I used my regular fruit hat leaves in the picture, but I will change it once I can make good holly leaves. I usually like my leaves to be double sided, but I may have to compromise in this case. But I have a whole year to perfect my pattern.

The ever-popular cupcake hat pattern is a combo of the pattern from Susan Anderson's new book, Itty Bitty Nursery and from this website: http://www.nakedsheep.com/cupcakehat.html.

As always, number of stitches are a suggestion, check your gauge, and I like to think of all patterns as suggestion, not a demand. I love her patterns for inspiration, but I do like to may my own changes and adjustments. The nubbles took some working out, but then they became rather fun to make.

The Neapolitan Ice Cream hat is the easiest, just three simple colors and a cherry knot top. I gave this one to my collegue who photographed her daughter wearing it and she gets plenty af awww's in it. So I know it is a keeper of a pattern. The trick is to get the right number of rows for the red for the cherry. And this will vary from yarn to yarn.

It is is a nice, quick, and easy novelty hat to make. But now I have to make three baskets of baby goodies for three pregnant cousins, and then it will be bunny hat season. But right now my Etsy store is a pink explosion for Valentine's day. I never knew I made so many hats with that much pink. It's almost scarry.

Maybe I should invest in some anti-pink patterns, a black apple hat perhaps?