New Years Goals Revisited: Learning to Crochet

Wow! Its been a long time since I posted anything. I wish I had a good excuse, but I don't.  BUT I have been busy doing things and one of those things is something that was on my 13 in 2013 list.  

I know! Its April, Kim.  We've all forgotten about our New Years resolutions!  Well... I have not .... at least I am trying not to.

So one of my goals for 2013 was to finally learn how to crochet. I am a knitter and I am decent at it. I have a shop and everything.  BUT I always wanted to expand my talents by learning to crochet.  I've tried over and over and it just never stuck.  I think the issue has been not that its hard but I am such a constant knitter that I would learn the basics in crochet and then get an order or another project and soon forget what I learned.  So I wasn't able to practice or complete the learning.  The slow down of purchases in my shop and the increase in wanting to create certain items using crochet helped me FINALLY learn how.  

This little guy was my first finished project.  

Isn't he cute?  I wasn't a huge fan of the colors but I honestly just grabbed an appropriate weight yarn that i knew i didn't need for a future project.  He's about 3-4 inches tall.  I was pretty proud of him.  I found the pattern here.

My next project was a little more complicated and a big risk.  The daughter of one of my closest friends here in the city was turning 7 and LOVES my little pony.  I was racking my brain, trying to figure out what to get her.  I thought about trying to make a my little pony but I was way too new to crochet to figure it out so i set off on a google search and found a pattern that seemed just the right speed for me.  I spent the next week making this little beauty.  

For one of my first projects, I think she turned out pretty great. I know I have some learning still to do and if i made this again, I'd make some changes but i am pretty proud of her.

After seeing one of my instagrams of the pony, a friend of mine asked me if I could make something for her.  It was something I had never seen before but was able to find some similar patterns online.  

I am proud of myself for finally learning how to crochet.  I see now why people think it is easier than knitting.  Its definitely more versatile when creating items like the above.  I love the look of knitted items but crochet definitely allows you to more easily make more complex looking items with basic stitches.

Thanks for stopping by!

Do you crochet or knit?  If so, I'd love to see what you are working on or some patterns you love.  Link them in the comments below or feel free to email me.

Have a lovely week!

Slowing Down, New Ideas

Over the Christmas holiday, my little etsy shop took off. I was pretty overwhelmed by the amount of sales I had.  Keeping up was proving to be a challenge.  Once the New Year came, I thought things would slow down significantly but i still had a steady flow of orders.  My biggest sellers were my cowls and scarves. Now that spring is around the corner here, those orders have dropped off significantly.  This, I am hoping, will give me some time to try new things. I'd love to expand my inventory to other items.  I do have some items but they aren't huge sellers.  Items like my scrubbies, dish towels,  toys and my photography.  My biggest non scarf seller is my swiffer covers. I've loved experimenting with colors on those.

I've been exploring on Pinterest and other sites trying to find my next project or idea.  I love a challenge and I love to learn new things.  So I thought I'd show you some items I want to begin working on this spring. Some are ones I can figure out on my own and others I will have to find just the right pattern to explore with. 

c/o Knitting-bee.com, bysmallmeans.wordpress.com, & craftisart.com 

c/o deramores.com, http://jadoreknitting.blogspot.com, & knitty.com

c/o itzbirch.blogspot.com.au, ravelry.com, & knitingirl.blogspot.com

If you are in the mood to shop, stop by my little corner of the shopisphere, City Girl Creations.  Use the code SPRING15 for 15% Off your next order.

Where Did January Go? {Giveaway}

Happy Thursday!

Its crazy to me that its almost the end of January.  Where did the month go?

I feel like I've spent most of my month creating and knitting! Which i love to do!  I was happy to see orders come through from my Etsy shop after the holiday rush!  I've been working on new patterns and using new yarn.  Like this gem! I was really excited to see how this guy would turn out. You'll see more of these guys in my shop very soon.

Today,  I'm joining with my dear friend Kristina from Big Apple Mami.  She's having a great January Group Sponsor Giveaway!  Make sure you visit her sponsors and enter the giveaway.  Lots of great space and gift cards!

Enjoy!

I'm so excited you're here! This month, my wonderful sponsors are giving away some great ad space + a $20 Starbucks gift card! 

If you aren't familiar with these wonderful sponsors of mine, please please go check out their blogs! They are a wonderful group of ladies I'm so thankful to know! 

In addition to the gift card and ad space from my sponsors, I'd like to give away 3 months worth of medium ad space as well. One of my goals this year in blogging is to really develop a closer relationship to the lovely ladies and blogs behind the buttons on my sidebar and one of the ways I'd like to do that is through extended times on my blog so that I can get to know you better! :)

Good luck to all who enter! This is a great giveaway if you're wondering who to sponsor for February as the ad space is great!! :) 

And thanks always for reading my blog! xoxo

Happy Entering! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fall is in the Air

I LOVE FALL!  It is probably my favorite season. I especially love as the weather changes from Hot August Summer to Cool Fall!

When fall comes, so does the changing of the leaves, sweatshirts and scarves & cowls.  You can wear them without wearing heavy winter jackets.  They can keep you warm without wearing bulky layers.

A couple of weeks ago, I got a custom order for 2 of my cowls.  I have an extra long cowl and a regular cowl using a soft and warm yarn.  They are super versatile, allowing for people to wear them in several different ways.  

Its been fun making these again knowing that Fall is here!

If you are looking for a cozy fall cowl, look no further. I'd love to make one for you.  

Visit my Etsy Shop.

Use the code: STAYWARM to get 15% off your Cowl order

Super Soft Cozy Cowl With Drawstring

Super Soft Cozy Cowl With Drawstring

Super Soft Cozy Cowl With Drawstring

Super Soft Cozy Cowl With Drawstring

Super Soft Cozy Cowl With Drawstring

Cozy Cowl

Cozy Cowl

Don't those look warm and cozy?  They are! I promise!

Have a great week everyone! Enjoy your October!

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{Post Sponsored by This Lovely}

DIY: What I have been up to!

I feel like I have been missing. I don't get a chance to truly blog these days.  I have been working various temp jobs during my off days which means I work full 6-7 day weeks.  I actually enjoy the temp jobs so I am not complaining. It just doesn't leave me with much energy at the end of the day.  Atleast not mental energy.

But I wanted to show you some things that i have been working on lately. Most of these are from the weekend, but a couple are from the last 2 weeks.  If you want the recipes, let me know.  I'll link where I can but I have made some variations to most of these.

Cast Iron Pizza: I saw the idea on Pinterest, but I modified it significantly. I would normally be all up for making my own crust but it has to sit for 2 hours and it was a last minute decision.  I bought canned uncooked crust.  Grated some Mozzarella cheese and sprinkled goat cheese on top of that.  Then i grilled up some fried onions on my cast iron griddle.  And placed those on top. MMM.  Then I heated the pizza on the stove top (at high) for 3-5 minutes. Then I placed the skillet in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the crust was golden brown and cooked through.  This was an amazing dish. You can vary your ingredients to your liking.

Knitting Machine

This week has been a busy week.  Between preparing for Cyber Monday, my church job and doing the books for a non-profit I volunteer for, I have been a little manic.  Late nights, long days have left me, this Friday, constantly ready for a nap.  But I have to say, for the most part, I have enjoyed what I am doing.  I love the creative side of my life and how that often weaves into my day to day life.  

In all of the craziness, I have been working on 3 projects.  One is for a friend's daughter, one is an attempt at a request from a friend of a friend and the other is something I just wanted to try out.  

Creating for the Sell

Been knitting a lot lately in the hopes of selling on Etsy to earn some extra income.  I am beginning to be a knitting monster with about 3 to 4 projects going at a time.  I am a little ADD when it comes to what I am doing or what I want to do.  Caught between what I want to try and what I think will sell.

Its hard thinking of your audience, your potential audience and your reality.  Especially when you are selling primarily on a site that sees thousands of entries a day (probably in a minute). I love Etsy and what it offers but you are competing with many others who are potentially more talented then you are.

With all of that being said, I have to take pictures that help sell my items.  When some of them are articles of clothing or accessories, you need to shoot them in context.  That's tough when you are solo... but it allows me to be creative, which lets be honest, I love to do.

As you are my audience, let me know what you'd buy, what looks good to you?  Will give me a little direction on what I should focus on. Don't worry its not committing you to buy. I just want your input.

More Things I love about being home

I know i haven't been around much.  Its been hard to find time to post things.

Here are some more things that I love about being home.

1. I had chic-fil-a three days in a row!  Its a good thing they don't have it in NYC... I'd gain 100 lbs

Trying New Things

This week has been a busy one, full of new and interesting things.

Photography Class

Over the weekend, I took a photography class through Photo Walk-Abouts.  My awesome roommate got it for me for a "YAY, You quit your job" present.

The class I took was on Photographing people.  Something I wanted to learn more about, especially in a voyeuristic manner... I know that sounds stalkerish... but that's not what it is... I promise.   I love candids and this allows me to know what to look for.

In the class, the teacher would teach for 10-15 and then we would go off and shoot for a little bit.  We were in Bryant Park.  There are lots of interesting people in Bryant Park.  Although the class wasn't all that technical, I did find it interesting and got an opportunity to meet new people.

I noticed a theme in what i shot when i got home and saw all of my shots together.  I guess i have a thing for sleeping people...

   

Day 44: Creating the Creator

I flippen love to create things... or rather recreate.  Since i left my day job, i have been finding more and more projects to work on.  About 75% of them won't bring me income at this point but i sure do love to do it.  From baking bread to cooking dinners to knitting washclothes to taking pictures to writing.  I get a weird high from doing this all day.

The only problem with this is, well, it doesn't bring in the money in which i need to survive.  So been trying lately to concentrate my efforts.  Struggling to concentrate but trying.... Below are just a few of the things i have worked on over the last 6 weeks.... I just pray for the day when i can earn a living just creating and thinking up ideas.

Rural India

Brewing Iced Coffee

Washcloth

Dish Scrubbies

Placemat or Lapmat for Laptop

Braided Egg Bread