Sets for everyone!

I have been having the worst blogging block I've ever experienced. Every time I sit down to my computer with a few minutes to blog I come up completely empty. The last few weeks have been really busy at work and I'm still coming out of my mid-winter blahs but hopefully I can find some inspiration soon. I need to visit my favorites and get caught up on all of your doings and that would probably get me motivated again but it's finding the time to do it. I'm hoping for another snow day tomorrow which would be the perfect time to do some blog hopping. We are supposed to get another 3-6 inches which should be enough for a day off.

So I'm posting pictures of all the sets I made for my girls for Christmas. Jess and Kate both wanted such drastically different colors that I made them each two sets, one for really cold days and one more for fun. In the top shot they are also playing with their crazy new toys I got them from Cranky Yellow which were a huge hit. Kate particularly loved her David Wolk doll with its Barby legs and bulging eye head. She said she couldn't wait to show it off (and freak her friends out).

The first adorable little girl is my niece Savannah looking all sweet in her funky new set. The second adorable little girl is Sophie, our good friend's Brian and Sandy Katcher's imp.

Hats Off

I was going to post this on Saturday and call it Haturday but the weekend really got away from me. That is actually a good thing. It was the first full weekend I've had since the fall/surgery with tickets to the Rep Saturday and some shopping on Sunday with Ani. The top picture is one my friend/former colleague sent me of the twins in their hats I made them. She says they get compliments every time they wear them but I'm sure they get compliments on anything she puts on their adorable heads.

The next shot is of Ani goofing around with the hats I made while laid up on the couch. It's kind of a sad number but a few of them are more intricate than others. The organic wool one in gray has cables throughout and actually took me well over a week to make. Unfortunately it has no give and will only fit a small adult head or child. When I took this shot of Ani she said, "Wait, I think I blinked."

I'm getting much faster and more knowledgeable about which stitch patterns are best for which hat. I've started using ripple stitches as it gives a cool effect especially with variegated or space dyed yarns. And since hats are not reversible like scarves I can use some cool stitches I like that are only interesting on one side.

I know that hat season is basically over but it's all about building up the inventory. It's time for me to really start thinking about next year's craft show season and what I want to focus on. I'm going to have the hats and the high and low end scarf price points. I will whip out a bunch of $15 scarves for 2 months right before my first show but between now and then I'm going to focus on hats and more upscale scarves to match the hats. I'm also thinking about how to sell them in sets. I'm really starting to come out of my creative slump which is definitely a good thing.