It feels like Christmas morning around here… we’ve just received a thrilling gift by being included in Cool Hunting’s 2011 Gift Guide!

http://coolhunting.com/giftguide2011/

Oh, I can feel it. Can you? The air is crisp, flannel jammies are out of the drawer and sweaters are a must on mornings. I love all things fall: the colors, the changes in light, the foods. All of it.

In honor of fall, I just added this hat/earflap/scarf number to the etsy shop. See it here. I love that it can be worn by an entire family: big folks and wee folks. This was such fun to design and knit. I was giddy while working on it. (And yes, I certainly do realize that I say pretty much the same thing about all my knits.) I hope you’re enjoying the seasons change, also!

Last year, I saw a gorgeous sweater feautured on a blog. I didn’t flag the post so now I cannot remember where I saw it. It was a pale pink cloud. Gorgeous and heavenly. It’s been on my mind for so long. Recently, I saw Blue Sky Alpacas Brushed Suri, in Pink Lemonade. Ahhhhh… dreamy stuff, that yarn. I knew I would use it for the sweater. I just needed to find the right pattern. The sweater is so simple: ribbed wrists, raglan sleeves, open neck, ribbed waist. The size is generous, without being oversized, lounge-y yet not too casual. Understated.

And then this morning… ta-da! Found it! Quince and Co.’s Fiona Pullover. I just ordered the yarn and downloaded the pattern. Cannot wait to start! I’ll change the pattern slightly, adding the ribbed wrists and waist, but the neck, raglan sleeves and shoulders in the pattern are perfection. Exactly what I’ve been dreaming about. If only we could download yarn, too.

There was a goofy smile on my face all last week. After the Etsy Shop’s front page makeover, wonderfully generous people emailed, sending the kindest comments and congratulations. My little shop hasn’t gotten this kind of attention before and it’s been so exciting.

Victoria, the very talented and lovely blogger, from sfgirlbybay, tweeted about my front page. I was at the movies, had just seen The King’s Speech (gorgeous, wonderful, beautiful, a must) and was checking my email. The “oh!” I let out made a few people near me jump slightly and move slightly further away.

And then, on Friday, Cool Hunting did a write up, which was another tremendous surprise. I kept walking around the house and coming back to the computer to look and make sure that was really my face on Cool Hunting and that I hadn’t been imagining it. Yep, it sure was. Me and my Dewberry Hat. I love Cool Hunting and am a loyal follower, and to be featured on it is indescribable.

I sit in my sunny studio, knitting all day long, sometimes wondering who’ll wear the hat I happen to be knitting at that moment. Or, I wonder if anyone will ever find that hat at all. I knit what I love, and I knit what makes me happy, so for people to see the work I do and respond to it in a positive way, well, it makes my heart pitter patter all the more. Big love to you, internet, and all the internet fairies out there spreading kindness!

I had quite a fun time turning an entire page of my Etsy shop into one product page. In the days to come I’ll write about it in more detail, but for today I just want to look at it and enjoy the result!

Check it out here. Be sure to look at it in grid view, not list view.

I made some changes to the Etsy Shop banner. The result is thrilling!

This coming weekend, I’ll be participating in the Degenerate Craft Fair and I am so excited. It’s been an exciting time of knitting, tagging, organizing and planning.

The Degenerate Craft Fair features over 50 artists, designers and their work. Just in time for holiday shopping, most of the items offered will cost less than $50. For more info check out http://degeneratecraftfair.com

I’ve recently started curating Etsy treasuries. What fun! The experience is so enjoyable. The best news is that one of my treasuries was chosen to be on the front page. Thrilling!

Well, it seems I’ve somehow injured my foot. I’m not even sure what I did, but I’ve been advised to stay off it. And while that is much easier said than done, I’m making an honest effort to stay off the foot and rest it so it can heal properly.

That can only mean on thing. Knitting. Lots of knitting. After knitting very little for most of the first half of the year, the knitting bug has returned with a vengeance. I can’t knit enough lately. I only want to knit lately. And with a foot propped up, I’ve been given more hours in the day to do just that.

First up: Striped hats.

This neat little item was just added to my Etsy shop. I’ve made one for myself and have been wearing it non-stop. I see a pattern here with almost everything I make for Etsy… one for Etsy, one for me, once for Etsy, one for me…

It looks wonderful over a top with a contrasting color so the detail at the edge can show off (a bit of a taa-daa!). And, it fits easily under a winter coat so there is no need for a scarf. I’ll wear this over a light tee on warmer days when all that’s needed is a bit of warmth around the neck and shoulders. As usual, this is knit in wonderfully soft 100% merino wool from upstate New York.

For my birthday in October of 2009 I was given gift certificates to Purl, one of my very favorite places on earth. The gift certificates are quite generous—enough for a beautiful sweater for myself and maybe a scarf too! Since then I’ve been searching for my next project. I want something warm, with a good drape, not bulky and maybe kinda sexy, too.

I think I’ve found it!

I bought this Rowan book today and am just loving all the patterns in it. Most of the book’s patterns use Kidsilk Haze, which is absolutely lovely to work with. Anything I’ve ever made with it is always gorgeous. I’m going to make the Ghost Sweater, which uses Kidsilk Haze in 2 colors, Anthracite and Smoke, knit together. This sweater has a perfect length, it sort of wraps over and closes with a long knitted belt and seems to fall so nicely. I can see it worn with a t shirt and jeans or over a cami and long trousers, or pajamas on a Sunday morning.

Now all that’s needed is to get into the city to pick up my yarn and get started…

This weekend was devoted to Christmas decorating. It was so cold here which made it perfect for having a fire going all weekend.

I often decorate by the seat of my pants and this year was no different. The mantle could have used something new and as I was taking out last year’s decorations I remembered two wonderful designs that would be perfect. Then thought, why not make them now? So I dug out some wool felt that I bought in bolts years ago and got to work. The wreath design came from Wise Craft via Design*Sponge, and the trees came from Wise Craft. With both the trees and the wreaths, I played around with the shapes and changed them a little. For the wreath I used a holly leaf pattern that I found online by googling “holly template”. The garland on the mantle is a few years old and was incredibly simple to make. The string a is chunky yarn crochet chain and the pom poms were made with the same yarn.

This yarn arrived yesterday: lovely, all of it. Luscious and super soft merino wool came neatly bagged and packaged. I wanted to wind all the skeins immediately, put them into baskets and get to work. But instead, I waited until this morning to take pictures in daylight so they would look their best. They are now photographed and ready to be wound! The slate yarn will be made into the Long Cable Scarf, the Slouchy Hat and and the Tall Cowl. The red will be made into a new cowl that I’m working on. The aubergine yarn will become the Wide Cowl and the Cables and Pom Pom Hat. Can’t wait to start! The chartreuse, aqua and pink will be used for a new group of fun and colorful children’s hats that hopefully will be out for all to see in January. It’s a prefect day to stay indoors and knit. It’s 23 degrees and windy outside!

Originally, I made this cowl to sell on my etsy shop. But after trying it on, I couldn’t take it off. It was so yummy. I wore it while at the movies, on a walk, doing errands, and knitting in my pajamas. It did not come off. So I’ve kept the original and now make them as I get custom orders for them.

Much of the wool I use is merino wool from New York State. I love this yarn in particular because the quality is outstanding, it is so soft and an utter pleasure to knit with. Another bonus is that it’s produced less than 150 miles from where I am. It comes in many colors, and this soft white color comes from un-dyed wool.

Available on etsy.