Christmas Stockings!

I love holiday crafting.  Like LOVE love it.  There is the excitement of picking the *perfect* pattern with the *perfect* yarn.  I also love that I'm working towards a goal--need to get it all done before Christmas!  But then...bam...it hits.  That mad rush to finish the holiday items!  Because not only do I end up with things I want to make for gifts, but I also go into super Craftini mode for items for my Etsy store.  This year I decided things will be different.  All summer I'll be working to stock my store and will have new rules for custom holiday items.

What would be the biggest help for a Craftini like me?  Getting custom requests in early.  Like months early.  Custom items take time to make.  I put my entire heart and soul into what I make--so when you get a Craftini Marini item it is always made with love and with the best craftsmanship!  So, I was thrilled when I got a custom order in January for a holiday item!  It was an order for four Christmas stockings and I had a BLAST working with this client.  She wanted stockings for herself, her husband, and their two cats--the best part was that I got to match the cats' stockings to their fur color!

She wanted something fun and stripey for herself.  I worked with two different greens, two different reds, and white to create this fun, whimsical stocking!

For her husband she wanted something that looked like a candy cane with a green toe and heel.  I used the darker green and red from her stocking for his so that they would coordinate.  Love the way this came out!

 And for the cats she wanted a chevron pattern using each of their fur colors (silver gray and black) with white.  I LOVE the way these came out.

This was such a fun project!  These were actually my first time knitting Christmas stockings and my first time doing stranded color work.  I know that there will be more of these in my future!  Keep and eye out on my Etsy shop to see if any show up there for the holidays!

Strawberries and cream baby sweater

You know what I love?  Well, ONE of the many things I love, that is.  I love crafting for babies.  There is something so sweet and special when you make something for a little baby.  I try to do it as frequently as I can!

One of my most recent items is a striped sweater in cream and light pink.  The pink is heathered and I'm just so in love with how it pairs with the cream.  I added pink buttons that add the perfect "girly" touch to this sweater.  I definitely need to clarify something--I don't like to genderize (is that even a word) items for babies.  I don't believe that colors are gender specific and that girls should wear only pink and purple and boys only green and blue.  However, this sweater began as a special request by my mom for a friend and since my mom is more traditional that I am, she wanted something pink for the little girl.  So this sweater was born :).

But, to be honest, I do LOVE the way it came out!  Also, plans changed and the sweater is no longer going to the intended recipient, so look for it in my Etsy store in the fall! (If I don't gift it before then!)

Crochet mood blanket: March recap!

Nothing like being 17 days behind ;)...oh well, better late than never!  I can't believe that more than 3 months of 2014 are over!  Where has the time gone?  I'm happy to say that I've been moving right along on my crochet mood blanket.  March ended with 5 rows finished--yay!  It is really fun to see all the colors come together and I just adore the way it looks in natural light.  I'm itching to see it all done.

The whole process has been ok so far.  Some days I just can't find a minute to make a square--but I catch up the next day.  Other days I find myself rushing to make a square before bed--those aren't my favorite days.  I think I need to find a happy medium for making the squares.  Maybe getting up earlier in the morning and making it then would be better.

For anyone one else participating in this CAL, what is your strategy?  Are you enjoying the process?

Also, if you want to see my day-to-day progress check out my Instagram: Jessicle322!