My Facebook Hat

Knotted Rib Hat Pattern

I love making things for Etsy, but sometimes I feel a bit of anxiety, a bit overwhelmed... as in, "what was I thinking opening an Etsy shop with a full time job, a family, two puppies..." and so on. The other day I was browsing through Facebook and I saw a pattern for a nice cabled hat and it was made from Cascade 220 Superwash on size 7 circular needles. I have that! I can make that! So I grabbed the ball of yarn and found the needles and, with two puppies in my lap, I tried to cast on. I struggled to find the loose end of the yarn to cast on and, as luck would have it, I grabbed both loose ends of yarn. Before I knew it, I had a gob of a knotted mess. Did I tell you the puppies like yarn, just like cats? It was a disaster; I'll spare you the details. The puppies now have a little ball of nice lavender superwash yarn to play with and finally I got the knotted mess of yarn sorted out. I finally cast on the hat... the next day. 

 Hello, Old Friend. Hat knitting... I've missed you!

Some Socks

Being a knitting blog and all, it's probably a good idea to post some knitting photos once in a blue moon. It' only took me about 2 1/2 months to get these socks done! Eeek! I thought of making and giving them to my coworker way back in January as a late Christmas present. I had to make her something else. So these were an early St. Patricks Day present? I don't know. Whatever the case may be, it felt good to finish a knitting project. Now if I can just finish those other 5 or 6 pairs of socks on the needles. But before I get to those, I had to cast on another pair of socks. These are Sochi Socks. My friend, Mrs. S, was introduced to sock knitting by me a few montsh ago and she's gone "Sock Crazy". She and I decided to do a Sock Knit-a-Long and we are making this fair isle pattern. We are sharing the colorful accent yarns since I had a bunch of plain brightly colored sock yarn in my stash. She is making her socks with cream colored yarn and bright fair isle designs, while I am making my socks with dark navy blue yarn with bright fair isle designs. 

 Once we get them done, we'll have to pose for a picture together wearing our colorful socks! There is something rather addictive to color work. It's kind of hard to put down this project once you get going. I like that the fair isle is just in the cuff otherwise I might get a bit tired from teh project. I think this is just the right amount of colorwork in a pair of socks. I am using 2.75 mm needles for the cuff and plain portions of the sock. For the fair isle portion, I am using 3.00 mm needles. Not looking forward to weaving in all the loose ends, but looking forward to finishing these socks.

A little sewing... and what's been keeping me busy...

I''ve been doing a little sewing a LOT of sewing. I did finish a pair of socks (that I started in January).  I'll post a photo of those in another post

Here, let me show you some sewing projects:

My Etsy Shop "KimzKraftKorner" is keeping me busy. 

A few blanket and pillow sets...

And lots and lots and lots of dog bone shaped contoured neck pillows... who knew there would be such a demand for these pillows. 

I am having fun playing with new fabrics and also experimenting with different backdrops for photographs.  It's all part of the learning curve. I am learning some colors are difficult to photograph... red... why is it so hard!?

I am hoping sports team theme fabrics will be popular for Father's Day.
But I should not stereotype.  Mom's are sports fans, too!

Cute stuff...

 Pretty batiks...

Love this linen...

Pansies and butterflies...

Even something for a music lover...

Those puppies of mine keep me busy, as well as that pesky full time job of mine. The weather is getting nicer (it's snowing right now, but it was sunny and beautiful out this morning!) and the days are getting longer.  I've also been enjoying getting out more and going for walks. Spring is coming!

I just finished up some Christmas Stockings and am looking forward to making some Christmas Tree Skirts too. 

Okay, next post will be about knitting... Scouts Honor! 

Labradoodle Love

I treated myself to a little print from a seller on Etsy. This is a 12" x 16" canvas wrap. The shop is called Gemini Studio. I love it. The quality is quite nice. I was able to select the color and breed, as well as the "established" year. I picked 2013 since Sandy and Brutus were both born in 2013. 

These dogs sure love another. They are never far apart. 

Loving these dogs. 

January... busy, busy!

My, OH MY!

January was a REALLY busy month!

This was Brutus' safe spot for a few weeks. Bar stool legs. 

We got another puppy on January 2nd, which I shared in the prior post. We decided to change the puppy's name from Buster to Brutus. It fits. He's a brute. We marvel every day how entirely different he is from Sandy, who is just six months older. Brutus' legs are like tree trunks and he's stout, where Sandy's legs are long and graceful and she's rather birdlike in general.  Brutus is daring and adventurous, where Sandy was timid and shy at that age.  Lots of folks have asked if Sandy and Brutus are sister and brother; I think they are probably best described as cousins. They came from the same breeder but they don't share any of the same parents. But I think there may be some relation between the sets of parents.  

Brutus posing for me!

Best buddies!

Before hair cuts!

Puppies cuddling together on the recliner. 

After hair cuts... Seeing Brutus' eyes for the first time. 

Etsy was busy in January. Who knew!  I was kind of looking forward to some time to knit after Etsy had me fairly busy in December for Christmas.  I was contacted by a Chiropractor in Texas. He had seen my pillows on a Google search and contacted me to order 22 pillows.  For the ladies, he wanted fabric such as animal prints... pink and black zebra, cheetah, leopard... and for the men, he wanted sports teams... Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers, University of Texas (Go Longhorns!), Texas Tech... fun!  Some of the pillows he purchased were already made, some were already cut out, and for others, I had to find fabric on line and at local stores.  I am thankful for business on Etsy.  I have sold a few items on Etsy that were not dog bone shaped neck pillows and I would really like to branch out to other items.   

Today is the Super Bowl.  We'll be watching the game. I made some pumpkin pies since Zach's birthday is always right around the Super Bowl.  We'll have nachos and other junky food.  You would NOT believe how crowded the grocery store was on Friday and Saturday this week. It was snowy, mucky, and cold out, and I figured the store would be empty since the weather and roads were a mess. Store clerks said it was busy just like New Year's Eve.  The grocery store workers and also the U.S. Postal workers at the Post Office were all wearing Denver Broncos jerseys instead of their typical uniforms.  Bronco-mania is in full swing here in Colorado!

Snowy weekend. Snowy paws are a breeze. Muddy paws are another story. Ugh!

Not a lot of knitting going on for me. I am slowly working on a pair of socks but actually have several pairs of socks on the needles right now.  I have bought some new fabric recently and my mom also gave me a lot of nice fabric when I visited my folks at Christmastime... so many projects, too little time!

January 2nd

I already shared photos of our new puppy, Buster, but I took some nice photos of the day we went to pick him up. 

Sandy and I went for a long, but very cold walk first thing I the morning.  My friend could not join us for a walk so I sent her this photo to show her how cold it was and to tell her she wasn't missing anything. Brrrrr!  It was about 21 degrees Fahrenheit and ridiculously windy. 

Sandy went 4 x 4 ing. Scampered up this rocky slope. No. I did not follow her up there.  Do you see her way up there?

Me thinks this is a fossil. I live in a geologically amazing area.  Our area used to be covered by an inland sea. I think this looks like a sea creature with a spiral sort of shape. 

Walking out of the arroyos and in the dry creek bed toward Gap Trail and Grape Creek. 

Gosh, I love Colorado!

After our walk, we headed to Breckenridge. The dog breeder's son and his girlfriend met us there with Buster. Breckenridge is about a 2 1/2 hours driving time (one way) from our home. 

Horse drawn carriage. This would be a nice way to see the sites in Breckenridge. It's a very pretty town all year long. 

Looking toward the slopes. 

An Ice Castle. Looked to be a man made tourist attraction. We did not venture inside; there was a long line. 

Looking south in the direction of Hoosier Pass. 

Looking north.

In the car, riding home with Sandy and her new buddy, Buster!

What a great day we had!

Meet Buster!

Meet Buster! We got a second Labradoodle. Sandy is so great, so we were thinking, "the more the merrier!"  Buster is six months younger than Sandy.  Sandy wax born in April 2013 and Buster was born in October.   

Hard to get a good photo of a puppy on the move.  Lots of blurry pictures.

I am calling the photo above "sychronized bone chewing."

Buster is a chunky little dude. He wasn't shy about helping himself to some puppy chow. We had little dishes set out next to Sandy's elevated dishes. We won't be needing those silly little dishes. Sharing is NOT a problem. 

Sandy and Buster attacking Zach's legs!

See. Blurry pictures. Busy puppy. 

What a face!

Long day. I am pooped!