I’m taking Holland to visit her grandparents in Wisconsin for the entire month of December. She will need something to keep her extra warm, so I am making this sweater for her to wear on our trip. This design uses my “knit-look” crochet technique, same as I’ve used on my fingerless gloves pattern, knit-look cloche, etc. Unfortunately, I think this design (the way I chose to make it) is just a tad too complicated for me to type up and sell as a Holland Designs pattern. I may do something similar that isn’t as tricky at a later date to add to my pattern shop. I’ve just finished the main part of the cardigan & still need to add sleeves and maybe an edging at the neckline.
It's time to put the crochet hooks away ...and tidy up the house. But before I bid you adieu for the weekend, here is my latest creative effort, my baby morepork owl. The pattern and the designer sample are up for sale in my crochetbury shop. I love this photo! Baby Morepork looks like he's learning to fly!
This little bundle of joy is the newest pattern I've added to Crochetbury shop. It's a really quick and easy pattern to make, using worsted weight yarn. The very simple design was inspired by the logo for the National Premmie Foundation of Australia.
I did my 1st swap on Etsy the other day, with Becky from Whosies and Whatnots. She was interested in several of my patterns, so I swapped for a set of adorable cupcake potholders. They arrived in the mail yesterday and I used them this morning to pull a fresh batch of chocolate chip 'n oat muffins out of the oven. She sells the sewing pattern and also some handmade sets in her shop.
I had my very 1st customer on Felt yesterday! Though she didn't buy a crochet pattern, she asked me to custom make an item for her: my Crochetbury Baby Bear in Moses Basket. I also sold my sample set of mini-cupcakes overnight. Poor Holland will have no more toys to play with soon! :)
Here are a few photos of Holland modeling my latest design, my Child's Cabled Neck Warmer. She humoured me this afternoon and let Mommy do her photo shoot. It was a chilly Spring afternoon here in New Zealand, so the neck warmer and jacket actually felt just about right!
Here is my latest baby shoe design. The booties themselves, even without the bee, are quite cute and practical. There is a round of cluster stitches at the toe and also on the cuff. The little bees are made separately and sewn on, leaving the wings and antennae free. They would be great also sewn on blankets or hats.
While doing some housework today, I turned around to see Holland sitting a top the vacuum, bouncing up and down saying, "horsey!" It just made me laugh out loud!
Cupcakes, anyone?! Here are some gorgeous treats, perfect for your next pretend tea party! The bottoms are crocheted using DK or sport weight yarn and the frosting is made using fingering weight yarn. The pattern is available at Crochetbury and the designer sample is available for purchase on Little Kiwis Nest.
The design for these was inspired by some photos of yummy real cupcakes I found online from a bakery in Christchurch, NZ.
I have been working on this project today. It is called "Lacy Top Cardigan" and is from designer, Doris Chan. I got the pattern as a free Ravelry download. It is working up really quickly. Hmm...I wonder who this could be for??
I created this little penguin today. I really love to see how well Holland likes my new amigurumi toy designs. She was quick to find the little egg which was tucked away underneath. :) She can now say "penguin", but when she saw the egg, all she kept saying was "chicken." :) Since everyone knows that chickens lay eggs! This design features removable hat and scarf, plus there is a hidden hollow area between his feet where the egg is kept safe and warm.I've put the designer sample up for sale on Little Kiwis Nest and the PDF is up in my crochetbury shop and also on Ravelry.
Wahoo!! Last Friday I officially signed the contract for my baby shoe book with Annie's Attic, so that felt really nice! :) This past weekend we took Holland to an "A&P" (agriculture and produce) show in Clevedon and she loved seeing the sheep, baby lambs, bunnies, chickens, etc. It was a lot of fun...but unfortunately we forgot the camera, so no photos to share. I met a few ladies from a local knit/crochet group who were showing off their handiwork, so it was nice to meet some local crafters.
Sadly, today I sold my Crochetbury Koskeshi Dolls - designer sample set on Little Kiwis Nest. Holland played with them while I was getting them packaged up to mail. She kept saying "oh dolly, oh dolly!" so I felt bad about selling them as she really loved them. Oh, well, mommy can make more! Today I am making some little penguins and will post some photos later...
Here are a few of my latest projects... The raspberry-coloured hat is the knit-look cloche I made for my mom. Our joke is that if she goes to the mailbox in a Wisconsin blizzard - Dad will be able to see her hat from inside the house and make sure she doesn't get lost!
The striped slippers are my new Ladies Rope-Strap Mary Janes. They're something different...they remind me a little of some Sketchers shoes. The last pair of slippers I just had to show off! These were made by a Ravelry member from Auckland. She made my Skimmer T-Strap Ballet Flats (minus the edging) and don't they just look fabulous! She modeled them and took great pictures too. She said she's crazy for anything Chanel and my pattern reminded her of that style. Great job!
Well, the computer isn't quite fixed yet, but we're making headway...hopefully tonight! I've been busy the past few days. I made one of my knit-look cloche hats for my very special mom. The last time I made her a hat I think I was about 12...and it was a hideous color, but she wore it very happily, only not in public. Hopefully she'll wear this one in public! :) I also designed some new ladies slippers which I'm calling my "Rope-Strap Mary Janes" - can't wait to get the computer back to normal so I can post some photos...and actually write my pattern up. At the moment it's all in my head and the "designer sample" pair are on my feet. :)
Last night we ran into some computer troubles! Long story short, an update we were trying to run...didn't...and we could no longer access our computer or any of our files...like my patterns! We thought everything was lost. Fortunately, my husband is quite good at playing tech-support and stayed up until 2am trying to restore everything. He got it fixed to a point where I can use the computer, but will have to spend more time tonight to get it back to normal. In the meantime, I still cannot access the folder with my pattern files, but have been able to get "expiring download links" for my patterns on Ravelry to send to Etsy customers. How convenient! Ravelry, what would I do without you!? Design-wise, here is a new friend. This is "Pudgy Snowman." I'm thinking of making some other "pudgy" friends for him.
I made these All-Blacks booties today for a friend's new baby. They have little cleats on the soles. As you may know, the All-Blacks are New Zealand's rugby team and their symbol is a silver fern. (Not a feather, as I accidentally said last night!) Saying such a thing publicly could get me thrown out of the country! :) I got a package in the mail today. My husband lost his special silver tie chain a while ago and so I got him a little something from Crownrose Gems on Etsy to replace it.I hope he likes the black onyx and sterling silver combo.I think it'll look "flash" as they say here in NZ.
At last! I've finished all my shoe samples for my soon-to-be-published baby shoe book. I made them all in size 3-6 mos, except for the daisy baby flip flops which I made size 6-12 mos. I am excited to see how a professional photographs these little shoes for the book.
I finished a couple projects today! Firstly, a pair of custom ladies flower petal mary janes for a customer from Alabama. (Yes, Carolyn, I owe you a pair just like these!) Secondly, I made a sample pair of my "Spa of the Moment" baby shoes which I need to send to my craft publisher. But just when I think I'm making headway, my hubby brings home orders for custom items from his co-workers. :)
Holland and I are making a teddy bear this morning. Okay, I am making a teddy bear, but Holland, at 19 months, is really attempting to get involved! Last week she said "hook" for the 1st time and today she took the half-finished teddy bear from me, grabbed my hook and said "help." She then tried to put the hook through teddy's nose, as she'd just seen me embroidering it on. Now she's run off with the crochet hook stuck through the teddy's head! In a few more months I'm sure she'll be making her own amigurumi crochet patterns! :) Will post photos of our little teddy later...once I get the hook back from Holland!
I’m taking Holland to visit her grandparents in Wisconsin for the entire month of December. She will need something to keep her extra warm, so I am making this sweater for her to wear on our trip. 
n, knit-look cloche, etc. Unfortunately, I think this design (the way I chose to make it) is just a tad too complicated for me to type up and sell as a Holland Designs pattern. I may do something similar that isn’t as tricky at a later date to add to my pattern shop. 
