The store is open!

I just added my first “for sale” pattern on Ravelry.  Here we go.  Wish me luck!

 

This is my Live Oaks Cowl.  I’ll soon be adding the Live Oaks Mittens and Live Oaks Tam.  Here’s the link:

My Ravelry Store

Happy Knitting!

Shellie

I’m on Ravelry

It’s official.  I bit the bullet and posted one of my patterns as a free download on Ravelry.

Peony Scarf – here is the link.  I just checked and within a couple of minutes of uploading the pattern, it’s already been tagged as a “favorite” by several knitters.  Very exciting.

I’m trying to finalize a couple of items in my charting software program and once that’s done, I’ll be able to upload a few more “for sale” patterns.

On another knitting note, I taught my first beginner knitting class last night.  It was very fun.  Since it’s been over 40 years since I first picked up knitting needles, it took me a little while to get my mind back to the beginner stage.  I’m teaching them to knit and they are teaching me how to teach.  There are now three new knitters in the world!  I love sharing the passion!

Happy knitting,

Shellie

A little cozy

My friend Sherri sent me a photo of her adorable French press cozy on Friday.

So of course I had to make one.

Now I won’t have to nuke my second cup of coffee.

Some encouraging news…..

I’m not sure if I mentioned this before or not, but I recently submitted a pattern for consideration for publication in Knitty Magazine.  Knitty Magazine is the longest-running free knitting magazine on the web.  It is chock full of wonderful free knitting patterns and articles and thousands of knitters frequent the site.

I submitted my Portlander Mitts pattern for consideration in the Spring+Summer issue on January 2nd.  The issue will be released sometime in March.  I’ve been patiently waiting for a response, all the while hoping that no news is good news.  At least I haven’t been rejected yet.    Well, I received a response email today from Amy Singer, the editor of Knitty.  She stated that she likes my pattern very much but they have no room for it in the Spring+Summer issue.  She asked if I would allow her to hold it for consideration in the First Fall or Deep Fall issues.  Of course I responded that she could!

Even though I haven’t been chosen yet, I’m very excited.  As my Mom just stated, I’m “almost” published.   I can’t post a full picture of the mitts, but here is a sneak peek.

I’ll keep you posted on the outcome!

Happy knitting,

Shellie

Holiday Knitting

This morning on Facebook I posted my very simple New Year’s resolution:  to live more, love more and laugh more.  I’m going to add a little to that, to blog more.

I hope that your holidays were filled with all that you hoped and wished for.  Mine were, including spending precious time with family and friends.

I did a lot of holiday knitting this year.  I think everyone on my list received a hand knitted piece or two from me.  A few of my own designs but also some other great designs by other designers.  Here’s a snapshot of a few of the items.

 

I also did some special knitting for Teddy.  Teddy is a classic Pooh bear I gave to my youngest niece when she was born 7 years ago.  Teddy (a she, not a he) is a very well loved bear as you will see shortly.  My niece requested that my dad make a wooden bed for Teddy along with a locking box for Teddy and the bed to go in.  And she requested that I, Auntie Shel, knit a blanket for Teddy’s new bed.  I apologize for the poor photo quality.

 

 

 

Now to show you how well loved Teddy is.  Over the past 7 years, Teddy has gone missing on occassion.  Early on, my mom thought it would be a great idea to get a “backup Teddy” just in case the original one was lost forever.  Well, my niece didn’t think it was such a great idea and named the new bear “New Ted”.  She even went so far as to give it to her older sister.  The following pictures are of Teddy and New Ted.

 

While perusing Twitter before the holidays, I ran across a great idea for “wrapping” packages.  I wish I could remember who the talented person was so I could give them credit, but I can’t.  I put the smaller knitted gifts inside mason jars.  I wish the photos were a bit clearer, but this will give you an idea.

 

Now it’s time to get back to working on my own designs.  I’m pretty excited about them and will fill you in soon.

Happy New Year and Happy Knitting!

Shellie

Sock two finished

I finished the second sock this morning. They are part of a design series I’ve been working on and posted pictures of earlier.

The photo shows one washed and blocked and the second one fresh off the needles. It always amazes me how much the fabric relaxes and the stitches find their special little places after being blocked.

Now on to the next design.

The Leaves Are Falling

I think Fall is probably my favorite time of year.  I love the crisp cool mornings, which call for a special knitted item or two to ward off the chill.  Today is a prime example of a perfect Fall day in my opinion.  I woke up to a spooky-foggy morning and now the sun is out in full force.

Of course I’ve been doing a great bit of knitting since my last post.  The series I’ve been working on lately has an oak leaf pattern and includes a tam (hat), cowl (neck warmer), mittens and socks.  I took a fabulous sock design class at Twisted with Star Athena this past weekend.  My first sock is almost done.

And here’s a peek at the other items.

Patterns coming soon……

Happy Fall everyone!

Color Choices

If you ask my nieces, they will tell you that Auntie Shel’s favorite color is “hot pink”.  So, I usually gravitate to those colors, pinks, reds, purples, etc.  While at Happy Knits last week, I kept gravitating to these rusty, turquoise colors.  Not colors I would normally choose.  I ended up buying some Madelinetosh Merino Light in Mineral and Burnished.  Burnished is actually a much richer and browner color than the photo shows.

This morning, I remembered a photo I took while on Whitehead Island.  See any similarities?

I guess this cardigan will have to have some sort of Whitehead Island name.

Happy knitting!

Shellie

Mind Shift

So once I decided to become a designer, I had a monumental mind shift.  It was like giving myself permission to knit like a crazy woman and all of the guilt magically disappeared.  I was so excited.  But now what?  How do you actually become a knitwear designer?  There wasn’t exactly a step by step guide that I could easily download from the internet.  This was before Shannon Okey’s book The Knitgrrl Guide to Professional Knitwear Design was published.  Which has a wealth of information and lead me to discover Whitehead Light Station (that’s for another post).

So basically I just started designing.  I love a lot of color and have a great love of fair isle and color work knitting.  I had recently discovered one of my now-favorite yarns, Kauni Effect at one of my favorite LYS’s, Knit Purl.  (Can anyone assist me in the correct pronunciation of “Kauni”?  Is it like Connie or Cowny?)  I really love this yarn because even though you are only using one colorway, it looks like you’re using several different colors of yarn.  So I designed my first sweater, the XO Cardigan.  This is where the inspiration for a book idea was born.  I’ve designed several other sweaters and am working on matching accessories.

I quickly discovered that it’s fairly easy for me to design and knit a sweater.  The hard part, and what I am currently working on, is getting the patterns written, graded, edited and ready to be sold.  More on this topic later.  Here is a sampling of some of my sweaters:

And the journey continues…..

Shellie

 

Let the blogging begin…

Well, here goes.  My first blog.  It’s been a fun process getting the site set up.  I’m sure there will be numerous changes in the future.

The main reason for writing this blog is to record my journey into the great world of knitwear design.

Like many of you, my grandmother taught me to knit when I was 7.  Over the years, I taught myself to read patterns and any other knitting skill I wanted to learn.  There have been a few years over the past 40 that my needles were a bit idle, but for the most part knitting is a daily part of my life.  I strongly believe it’s part of my DNA.

About a year and a half ago, I was out for a walk on a beautiful spring day and had an epiphany.  I had been doing a lot of knitting and was feeling like it was my guilty pleasure.  Thoughts like “I should be cleaning my house instead of knitting” were popping up quite regularly.  While out for this walk, it came to me that I could somehow turn this passion into a business.  I’ve always played around with changing patterns, so the thought of designing really appealed to me.  I had recently watched the movie “Serendipity”, which I love, and the word has always meant a lot to me.  I then decided to name my business Serendipity Knitwear.  And so the journey began.

Shellie

A photo I took of cherry blossoms while out for my walk