Holiday Knitting

Winter Warmer Ear Warmer

I think this is the first year that I really feel that I am on the ball when it comes to holiday knitting.  I started this summer and have already knit several gifts for people, and have even had time to make myself a few items.

Knitting doesn't seem to come naturally during the warmer months, but now that October is here and the leaves are changing and nights are getting colder, the season and knitting just go hand in hand.  I want to knit ALL the things.  But realistically, how many mittens do I need?  I've only got one head, so I certainly don't need more hats.  And while cowls are easy to change up day to day, I've really only got so much room to store them, so I think my self-knitting needs to cool it for now.

But the thing is I just love knitting.  It's so nice to plop on the couch after a long day of working and just get into a pattern.  I love shopping for the perfect color of yarn.  I love the feeling of finishing a project and admiring it.  Making something beautiful and useful out of what was previously just a ball of yarn.

So, my dear friends, help me help you.  Help ME help YOU.  I want to knit for you.  Everyone knows handmade items are way better than some cheap 'made in China' item that your recipient could have easily bought themselves.  Most people I know love items that are unique.  One of a kind.

Need some ideas?  I think your mom wants a pair of boot cuffs.  Your best friend could probably use a nice cuddly cowl.  And your pregnant sister would probably squeal over a tiny little baby hat.

Vivionne Bay Hat

I'll be posting some items in my Etsy shop in the next few weeks, but in the meantime, I'll be listing below some of the items you will be able to order.  Prices will vary based on the yarn I use (if you know yarn, just think Madelinetosh vs Quince and Co - both very lovely, but certainly at different price points), but know that I will only be knitting with quality yarn made of natural fibers.  I do not knit with acrylic yarns.

So let's do this!  Email me with any questions or requests.  If you comment below, I will try my best to respond, but email will be the best option.  Please note that two specific patterns, the heart hat and the one-skein boot toppers, will not be available for sale as I am currently teaching both of those classes at Finch.  If you'd like to learn how to make either of those, please come out and join us!

Merry and Bright Ear Warmer

CURRENT LIST

Everything is made to order unless otherwise stated.

Ear Warmers
Merry and Bright: $20 adult
Winter Warmer: $18 adult // $14 child 1 available!

Hats
Vivionne Bay Hat: $18 child 1 available! // *will not be making anymore*
Squishy Baby Hat: $20 baby
Autumn Hat: $37 adult // $25 child
Vermonter Hat: $35 adult

Boot Cuffs
Andover Boot Cuffs: $20 adult

Cowls/Infinity Scarves
Gap-tastic Cowl: $50 adult
Snow Day Cowl: $50 adult

More photos to come!

Picture the Holidays: December 7

I had a little fun the other day when the weather was mild and the lighting was swell off my back porch. My tripod has been hidden in our downstairs coat closet, handy for impromptu photo shoots like this one.

Picture the Holidays: December 4-6

Today's photos are grouped together because they all revolve around my favorite warm beverage, tea.




You hold the key:

The view from here:

Every little thing:

Buzz, your girlfriend... woof!

I'm so in love with these cards by a fellow Virginian, Deirdre at Lennah Press.  

I spotted them in her booth at Baltimore's Artscape this summer, and because I love a well-placed movie quote (props for being a Christmas movie, at that), I had to buy them from her Etsy shop just before Thanksgiving.  And I mean, they're letterpress.  Who doesn't love letterpress?

Anyway, I loved them so much that when my friend Alyssa sent me the same card a few months ago, I saved it and used it as decoration for Christmastime.  

So, to recap:

1) Letterpress
2) Home Alone movie quote

She's still got more in stock!  I just spotted the "Merry Christmas, Ya Filthy Animal" pack that I might need to get for next Christmas.

Related: I've got a Christmas decor post planned for this week.  Scope out the many Pinterest ideas I put to use in my house.

december 3: all you need is love

Dec 3: All you need is love

I don't always wear my wedding rings around the house.  Because I take them off to clean, shower, sleep, or after I wash my hands (they get all wet and twirl around my abnormally tiny fingers), they're often sitting on my desk or in one of my ring holders.  Sometimes I just forget to put them on for the day, and then feel naked when I go out of the house to run errands.  Don't get me wrong - I love my rings, but more important than the jewels themselves is what they represent: the marriage I have and the love my husband and I share.

Diamonds may not be a girl's best friend (my husband, mom, and BFF are), but they remind me of my love, and that makes them priceless.

And you know, damned if they aren't beautiful, too.

Picture the Holidays 2012: Days 1 & 2

Even though Tracey Clark is not doing Picture the Holidays this year, I enjoyed it so much last December that I thought I would do it again.  I'm challenging myself to use the same prompts, but find a different take on them than I did before.  Feel free to follow along!

Dec 1: Holding on to gratitude

Holding on to gratitude: I'm so, so, so grateful that in 2012, Ronnie and I took our business to the next level.  The legitimate business level.  Our business, Love Knot Photo, is officially registered in both New Jersey and Virginia, we've got our tax ID numbers, and the website is looking swell.  When I was working at my old job as a meteorologist, I'd sit at my desk and dream of the day that I could work from home as a photographer.  Never thought it would actually happen.  Even just two years ago when we moved to Virginia, I had no job lined up and no idea what the future would bring.  I'm grateful that we've finally gotten to this point with our photography business, and even more so, that it's given my brother and I something to connect over.

Dec 2: Reframing the season

Reframing the season: Not much to say about this one - I just really like this empty frame with glittery letters hanging inside.

picture the holidays: 30/now there's no looking back

Today's picture is my one and only iPhone shot.  I took it in the car after Christmas on my way back to Virginia without the intention of using it for this project, but I now feel that it fits.

Usually New Year's Eve is a bittersweet time, and this year is no different.  Even though tomorrow will probably be a day like any other, it's the significance of one year ending and a new one beginning.

2011 brought a few sad times - like the loss of my first grandparent last month - but mostly good times.  I got married to the love of my life this year, so 2011 will always hold a significance for us above other random years gone by.

In 2011 I also went through a transformation from looking for salaried careers in January, to working in a local shop through the summer, to working as a photo editor from home through the fall, to finally getting started in my own business.  Hopefully 2012 will bring me business and many great opportunities on that front, which is partially why I chose this picture showing my camera necklace for today's prompt.

The other reason is because of that locket.  My parents gave it to me for Christmas this year and inside are two pictures of my dog.  He's 15 and just celebrated is 16th Christmas this year.  He's obviously old and while healthy on the inside, is still showing signs of aging, like not being able to get up or walk on his own.  He is still a happy and loving dog, but looking forward, I do realize he can't live as long as we'd like him to.  The locket is so special to me already because no matter what happens, I can and will always carry him in my heart.

This picture shows to me that there are both good and bad things to anticipate in the coming year, but it's going to come no matter what, and I have to deal with it all the best that I can.  But I figure as long as I have my doggie in my heart and a camera in my hand, I'm off to a good start.

Happy new year!

picture the holidays: 29/a toast!

Standing here 

The old man said to me 

Long before these crowded streets 

Here stood my dreaming tree 

Dave Matthews Band: The Dreaming Tree

picture the holidays: 28/through the looking glass

picture the holidays: 27/a breath of fresh air

picture the holidays: 26/the day after

The day after Christmas is meant for napping (even if I never got mine in).

picture the holidays: 25/this magic moment

A series of moments that hold magic for me:

My oft-mentioned Christmas Eve bubble bath.

The moments as the sun is setting on the night before Christmas, as my dad was outside chopping extra branches off of our tree before bringing it inside, while my mom is showering and we are all anticipating the arrival of the family.  For us (and many other families as well), Christmas begins on Christmas Eve.

The few minutes prior to being allowed downstairs to open presents on Christmas morning.  As a newly married couple without children, we still get the chance to be 'the kids' when we go to our parents' homes for Christmas.  This includes sitting on the steps and waiting to be called down to see the tree that Santa decorated overnight.  This may not be a visually interesting or good picture, but the feeling is special to me.

picture the holidays: 24/enchantment

It's New Year's Eve and I'm back to posting!  As much as I enjoyed the Picture the Holidays project and had been keeping up with it steadily, when Christmas rolled around I focused entirely on spending as much time with loved ones as possible.  I paid attention to my prompts via my iPhone and tried my best to take pictures for them, but otherwise spent my time home savoring the moments.

Christmas Eve.  One week ago tonight the magic was about to begin.  I see Christmas through child's eyes without any prompting because I believe in the magic and wonder the holiday brings.  I still wake up before the sunrise, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on Christmas morning waiting for the rest of my family to rise.  I still take my annual Christmas Eve bubble bath before the rest of the family arrives at my parents' house.  I still fall asleep Christmas Eve while watching A Christmas Story; it's the one night a year I can fall asleep with a TV on (I don't even have a TV in my bedroom here in our house!).

This year, I photographically chose to view Christmas through my cousin's eyes.  She's at that age where she is still hanging on to the magic of Christmas and the rest of our family knows that it won't be long before she no longer asks me to track Santa for her as she's done for years now.  

Looking like a mature little lady when she first got to my parents' house, she soon changed into her pajamas and wondered where Santa was flying to next.  A reminder that she's growing older, but is still a child.

picture the holidays: 23/life is sweet

picture the holidays: day 22/you are getting sleepy

Now that we're well rested...

THREE DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!

picture the holidays: day21/attitude adjustment

Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked for Christmas.

picture the holidays: day 20/wrapped with love

Because I already took pictures of my wrapped presents the other day...

I took a picture of one being wrapped.  While levitating.

picture the holidays: day 19/make a list (check it twice)

picture the holidays: 18/ recharge

Truthfully, the way I usually recharge around Christmas (and really any time of the year) is a hot bubble bath.

But unfortunately, the bathtubs in our house are small, and since I'm pushing six feet tall, it's just not going to happen.  It's something I'll save for Christmas Eve at my parents' house, but I digress.

I try to keep this blog mainly photos, but some of these prompts for Picture the Holidays deserve some narration.  When Jon and I worked at our old job, we were shiftworkers.  Overnights, weekends, holidays, evenings, et cetera.  Two or three days off together per month, max.  Such is the life of a meteorologist (or two).

It was always a little dream of ours to move on to jobs which gave us more time to spend together.  We used to talk about eating breakfast together during the week and reading the paper on Sundays. (I know, seriously, we got old fast.  That's what happens when you get married, I suppose.)

So after we moved to Virginia and we both started working from home, that little tiny dream of ours was realized.  I usually roll out of bed around 7 on Sundays.  I wrap myself in my fuzzy throw blanket, slip on Jon's work shoes sitting by the door, and waddle outside in my pajamas to retrieve the Post from our driveway.  When Jon wakes up, we settle down on the couch and grab our favorite sections: the front page, business, and metro for him; travel, arts, and the comics for me (I guess I'm not that old... :).

So all of that was really my way of saying that reading the paper with my husband and a cup of tea on a Sunday morning is my way of recharging for the upcoming week.

picture the holidays: day 17/warm glow

There's something special about today's image:

It moves!  What you're looking at is called a cinemagraph: a photograph that isolates and shows one area of movement.  There are plenty of how-to tutorials available, but make sure you have a pretty solid knowledge base of photoshop.

I liked the color version of this better, but unfortunately gifs don't have as much color knowledge as other file formats do, so the quality turned out best if I converted to a b&w.