my 1st blog giveaway

My very first blog giveaway!
I am giving away to one lucky winner, who will be chosen at random, a pair of my $16 rib wrist warmers in any colour of your choice available in my shop.

The pictures of each are below, you will receive one pair free.

All you need to do to enter is go to my Etsy shop and choose your favorite item, then post a comment here telling me what your favorite item is in my shop, and then go to my fan page , click on the discussions tab and you will see a topic called Blog Giveaway, post your favorite item there also. You may also like to become a fan while you are there too.
The more times you enter them more chance you have of winning.

******You must post your comment here on my blog and also on my fan page to qualify entry, if you do not post in both places then you won't be entered to win.

So good luck everyone, the draw will take place on Sunday 14th June, when the winner will be notified.

Tuesday Treasures

My Tuesday Treasures, here are just a few of my favorite items from my friends at Etsy Secrets.
My first Tuesday Treasure pick number 1 is CanadianRockies and her beautiful hammered earrings called Xarida
Second up is kelly livingston with her Loop d Loop NecklaceNext we have studio618 with a lovely silver All You Need - AnkletI love this next one madmaggiedesigns and her colourful family 4 birthstone pendant,This lovely scrabble tile pendant is created by Houseof SixCats with a lovely Dandelion image.

My final pick is timothyAdamDesigns and one of his steel pendants which you can see in more detail here

I hope you like my choices.

Blocking my shawl/wrap

I have never blocked anything before...... but I have knitted a lovely shawl wrap with a feather and fan pattern and it has to be done!
I didn't know how to do it, so I did a bit of research and found out a bit about it.

My first problem was where I was going to pin it out????? I had no idea, I could pin it out on the mattress, but then where would I sleep if it wasn't dry?????
I finally found out a mat that was bought for camping, the foam sheet that you put under your sleeping bag, or that can be used as a yoga mat, you know the sort.

Well it's perfect and just the right length and width, I just hope I've done it right.
Here is a little peek to so you can see what it looks like.

Drawstring Pouch for your sunglasses

This is a brand new item for me, I just sat down with my knitting needles and some yarn and started to knit, I wanted something not too big that wouldn't take me too long to make from start to finish, and would be useful during the summer months, and this is what I came up with.

Simple, practical and a must have accessory for the summer, now it's getting to that time of year when the temperature is beginning to rise and the sun is out, we all need our sunglasses, and we also need something to put them in.


This handy little sunglasses case is knitted in acrylic yarn so it can be thrown in the washing machine at 40 degrees, so it's easy to keep looking new.
A lovely pale baby blue yarn knitted in moss stitch, (or seed stitch) with a drawstring cord and a wooden bead for closing it up.
see more details here

Thursday Feature

I've decided to do a Thursday feature, and this week I have chosen T K Designs nature inspired handcrafted jewelery and accessories.
here is a little bit about her



I have loved nature, animals and creating with a variety of materials ever since I can remember! I grew up with many different pets, (including a pigeon!) exploring the woods around our home, and playing in my grandmother’s garden. Inspired by the nature around me, I learned to draw, oil paint, work with clay, garden, sew, and knit.

In college, I started out as a Fine Arts Student and later switched into Landscape Architecture. Summers, I worked in Cape Cod, MA, stringing beaded jewelry, tooling leather belts, and being a waitress at the Irish Pub (Fun!) I also picked up a love for floral design and photography.

Once I graduated, I started my own successful Landscape Design Company until I had my first child ten years later. I decided to temporarily give up my business to raise my family. This has been a wonderful time in my life. While my three children were small we enjoyed creating with all types of art mediums together. I had the opportunity to experiment with many crafts, but really love making jewelry.

As my children grow, my interests change, but my love of art and teaching children and adults about nature has always been a consistent theme in my life. I volunteered my time as a 4-H Leader focusing on nature found in their backyards and using natural elements to create art. I also have donated my time to design several children’s playgrounds, one being in our own town. But my favorite project I have donated my time to is the creation of a Wildlife Habitat located in the courtyard of my children’s elementary school! My birdhouses have become a passion of mine after helping my daughter with a recycling project for our Courtyard Wildlife Habitat!

I don’t know if I will ever go back to my landscape design business, I have been fighting chronic Lyme’s disease for the past 13 years. While it’s been quite a challenge to live with, I am thankful to God for blessing me with a wonderful family and talents I can share.

I will always be learning, loving and creating something!

daisy chain scarf

I absolutely love crocheting flowers and I have made many of them, so what do I do with all these flowers?
Well I came up with this lovely accessory which you can see in more detail here, it's more of a decoroation than a scarf really, it looks lovely just draped around, with the flowers trailing down, it can be wrapped around your waist, or around your neck, I think it makes a lovely accessory for spring and summer.

This is a one off item that I probably won't repeat very often as it was so time consuming, but I did love making it.
It's a real whimsy accessory that trails around your body.

There are a lot of varying colours in this scarf ranging from yellow, pale peach, to an orange, blue, brown, grey, rust.

It measures 69 inches (176cm's) long
The flowers measure 2 1/2 inches (6cm's) across
there are 11 flowers in total and 2 little circles to finish the ends off.

New Pictures

I have started to take a different approach when taking pictures, I'm trying to achieve a more natural look, and I think that I have vastly improved from when I first started. I love using picasa3 it's great for cropping and editing, and I'm pretty pleased with the outcome, I even made my Etsy shop banner using it, it was so easy.

Anyway now for a look at the pictures.This first one I love, it's been sitting in my Etsy shop for well over 6 months, so we'll see if the image change makes a difference, you can take a look at it here
This one has had the most interest you can see the full description for it here

I also listed a new pair of Long Cable knit wrist/arm warmers - fingerless gloves.
In varying shades of pink, in a self striping yarn, making them unique, if you look at the pictures hereyou will see that although they look alike, they are quite different in a subtle way.



So do you think I have made improvements to the way I take pictures? I would love some feedback as to what you think.

Baby Sloppy Joe Sweater

I thought I would show you what else I've been making besides flowers!

I fell in love with this sweater as soon as I saw it, it reminds me of the most expensive sweater that I knitted for my little boy last year, and I was thinking of doing a moss stitch version of it too.

I love this little sweater, it's so simple to make and looks so cute, it's a garter stitch sweater for a baby which is a little oversized, that's why I've called it a Sloppy Joe Sweater.

It has a roll neck large enough to fit over a baby's head easily and roll up sleeves, making it a lose fitting comfortable sweater, just like a Sloppy Joe.

This is not the only one I've made, but it's the only one that is complete and sewn up! One is finished but needs sewing up, and I have another one on the needles.

a basket to crochet

I have been wanting to crochet some coasters for a little while now, but wanted a basket or box of some sort to put them in.... well today I found a pattern for a cute little basket..... so I have started this one http://www.sugarncream.com/pattern.php?PID=3759 I will post some pictures of the basket and coasters when I've finished.