I Have Moved

I have moved my blog to Lileesgramknitsblog.com  There are new exciting things happening there.  I hope you come visit me soon!



knitting yarns

At Long Last

It seems like it has been forever since we moved.  It has only been 4 months.  It is lovely here and Michael loves his teaching job.  It is very beautiful here and we are very happy.

 I have reopened my Etsy shop and will be adding items as I can.  

It may be a little slow going, getting back up and running, part of the reason it has taken me so long, has to do with my health, but I am fine now, I just need to build up my stamina.  My new exercise bike I got for Christmas should help with that.
 

 We went out into the wilderness and got a Christmas tree this year!

   I love the look of the snow on the rocks!  

 All down Main Street, there are Real Live trees on the phone poles!  and they have lights on them too.  They are very pretty at night.

 

I will share more about the wonderful place I live soon.







knitting yarns

Featured Friday - Shop Pretties

I would like you to meet Deb Lonergan and her Etsy shop:  ShopPretties.

If you love one of a kind necklaces, bracelets and earrings, feminine designs individually crafted using gemstones, pearls, hand crafted glass, crystals, vermeil, gold-filled and silver-filled metal., Then you will love the items at ShopPretties.

Let's get to know ShopPretties and Deb:

What would you like us to know about you?

I have recently retired and now have the time to indulge myself with the jewelry making. I got hooked on beads several years ago, and pretty much can't pass up anything shiny that crosses my line of vision! It is an addiction, as I think most beaders will admit to.
 

What prompted you to open an Etsy Shop?

I've been wanting to sell my items for quite a while, and had been urged to do so by friends and family. But, you never know if people are just being kind when they gush! So, it was a terrifying step to take. 

 How did you come up with your shop name?

Well, that was sort of a shot in the dark. I wanted it to be a bit generic because in future I might expand to things other than jewelry. But I also wanted it to reflect what I think is the main attribute of my designs....they are pretty. At least I think so. Plus easy to remember. Ergo "ShopPretties".

How would you describe your shop?

When I was in career mode, I always found it difficult to find accessories that were really exactly what I wanted. Many of my coworkers over the years felt the same way. So, I always have the career woman in mind when I design. Of course, I hope my designs appeal to many women, not just those with a career outside the home. I want the items in my shop to be unique enough that a woman feels special when she wears them. Special and beautiful.

What inspires you?

I say nature inspires me. I look at the fantastic colors all around and the color combinations and take cues from those things. But the women that I design for inspire me as well. The woman who wants something special, either for her everyday life or a special occasion, something to make her feel pretty, to let her express her personality through her jewelry. She is my primary inspiration.

Which item in your shop is your favorite to make/find?

I love all my children! My favorite materials are pearls, crystals, gemstones and gold vermeil in any and all combinations. I've just recently begun simple wire wrapping and hope to learn that to provide another dimension to my designs.

If you were shipwrecked on a desert island, what are the 3 crafty must haves?

Hmmm. That is hard. There are more than three things needed to create a piece of jewelry. Perhaps I would hope to be on an island that has a built in supply of things I could use as stringing material and beads.....then I would only need a couple tools, probably snippers, chain nose pliers and a drill to make beads out of found objects.

Where else can we find you?

I've just started selling on-line and have just barely begun to enter the world of social networking. You can find me @ShopPretties on Twitter. I have a personal FB page (Deb Lonergan) and am working on a store page. www.shoppretties.com will also get you to my Etsy shop. I have posted on lifesjewelsonstring.blogspot.com where there is a section for Etsy sellers. And on TheCraftStar FB page. I'm looking for more venues and am in desperate need of expanding my contacts on Twitter and Facebook.

Is there anything else you would like to share?
Just for everyone to spread the word about my shop! And help me expand on FB and Twitter.
 

Thanks so much Deb.  It has been great getting to know you and discovering your shop and your lovely items.

Now please show Deb some support and let us know which of her pieces are your favorite from her shop! Oh...and go ahead and heart a few of her items along with her shop :)

Have a great weekend!

knitting yarns

Talented Tuesday - Knitella

I would like you to meet Esra Knitella and her Etsy shop:  Knitella.

If you are looking for hand knitted & crocheted accessories for men, women, boys, girls and babies! Then you will love the items at Knitella.
 

Let's get to know Knitella and Esra:

What would you like us to know about you?

I am a design student, and I love creating unique accessories with yarn.
Coming up with new designs actually keep me up at night!

What prompted you to open an Etsy Shop?

My friend suggested it at a community sale. Before that I didn’t know what Etsy was. I was amazed by how easy it was to open a shop.

How did you come up with your shop name?

I love chocolate especially NUTELLA and knitting, so I just mixed them to come up with knitella

How would you describe your shop?

It’s fun, bright and you can great accessories for yourself or as gifts

What inspires you?

Yarn is main inspiration. I just love mixing different shades, and seeing them come to life. Childhood memories inspire me as well

Which item in your shop is your favorite to make/find?

I really enjoy knitting chunky wool. It just so soft and knits beautifully.
I love crocheting cufflinks, headbands and covers as well because they are a little unusual, and I love hearing people’s comments on them.
 

If you were shipwrecked on a desert island, what are the 3 crafty must haves?

Crochet hook, knitting needles, and glue. I’ll have to find something to replace the yarn there heheh.

Where else can we find you?

Shop: www.knitella.co.uk
Etsy Shop: www.etsy.com/shop/knitella2011
Email: knitella2011@gmail.com
Blogger: knitella.blogspot.co.uk/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/knitella
Twitter: twitter.com/Knitella
Pinterest: pinterest.com/knitella/
Tumbler: www.tumblr.com/blog/knitella
Stumbleupon: www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/knitella

Is there anything else you would like to share? 

I am working on a secret project , and all guesses are welcome here:
knitella.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/guess-what-secret-project-is.html

Thanks so much Esra.  It has been great getting to know you and discovering your shop and your lovely items.

Now please show Esra some support and let us know which of her pieces are your favorite from her shop! Oh...and go ahead and heart a few of her items along with her shop :)

Have a great week!

knitting yarns

Featured Friday - Papernaut

I would like you to meet Andrea and her Etsy shop:  Papernaut.

If you love clever, beautiful handmade cards, Then you will love the items at Papernaut.

Let's get to know Papernaut and Andrea :

What would you like us to know about you?

I am a big nerd that loves neuroscience, astronomy, video games, pod-casts, playing piano, memorizing world capitals, Doctor Who, and drawing / doodling on my tablet.
 

What prompted you to open an Etsy Shop?

What prompted you to open an Etsy Shop? I used to make cards and scrapbooks with my mom when I was younger, and then I stopped for a long time. First college got in the way, than four years in the Army. Now that I'm out and have more free time, I made one handmade card for my friend for a birthday, then another, and then before I knew it I had made 30 cards just because I was having fun. So I figured why not open a store?

How did you come up with your shop name?

My shop name is inspired by an awesome Threadless T-Shirt called Papernauts (www.threadless.com/product/2873/Papernauts) The idea of astronauts navigating paper airplanes through the stratosphere just tickled me, and I thought it would work great as a name for a store that sold cards with a science theme or nerdy twist.

How would you describe your shop?

My motto is "Hand crafted cards of the nerdy persuasion for every occasion." I think that pretty much sums it up. I really love making cards that celebrate scientific figures or ideas, because it is a subject near to my heart and there should be more of them out there! I also love vintage / Victorian / Steampunk styles, so I try to incorporate those as well. I'm striving to strike a nice balance so that I can provide a variety of styles, but make sure they are all still designs I love and would buy or give to one of my friends.

What inspires you?

I admire people like Neil DeGrasse Tyson who take complicated academic subjects and promote and educate through mediums that are easily accessible to the general public. So I am all about bringing science into to the everyday!

Which item in your shop is your favorite to make/find?

So far my inventory is all cards, but I particularly love my For Science! shop section, which is dedicated to heroes and inspirational figures who have made important discoveries or inventions across a variety of scientific fields.

If you were shipwrecked on a desert island, what are the 3 crafty must haves?

If I was shipwrecked I'd want tarp cloth to collect rain water, twine to tie branches together to make a hut, and a glue gun - so I could decoupage some sea shells.

Where else can we find you?

You can follow me on:
twitter: @papernautcards
facebook: www.facebook.com/PapernautCards, Pintres: pinterest.com/albeus51/

Is there anything else you would like to share?

My store is brand new, I opened it on the 4th of April, so I am having a grand opening special valid through the rest of April, use the coupon PAPERNAUT for 15% your purchase! And I do ship around the the world.
 

Thanks so much Andrea .  It has been great getting to know you and discovering your shop and your lovely items.

Now please show Andrea some support and let us know which of her pieces are your favorite from her shop! Oh...and go ahead and heart a few of her items along with her shop :)

Have a great weekend!

Talented Tuesday - HandmadeinKeswick

I would like you to meet Lu Smith and her Etsy shop:  HandmadeInKeswick.

If you are looking for Original art: striking colourful portraits for the modern interior; pocket size handmade notebooks for doodling, compulsive list making, or a stylish memory book; and sketchbooks and Journals for all sorts of creative ideas. Then you will love the items at HandmadeInKeswick. 
 

Let's get to know HandmadeInKeswick and Lu:

What would you like us to know about you?

My name is Lu Smith and I’ve lived in one of the most beautiful places in the UK since 1998 when I completed a year long, round trip. It was during that trip that I decided I was going to live somewhere beautiful – and here I am!

I’ve always been creative – I made my own clothes from jumble sale finds when I was 13, and I was trying to pretend that punk and the New romantics had all actually made it to Norfolk.

I studied at Norwich School Of Art and then Epsom School Of Art and Design, where I majored in Jewellery Design Crafts. I still occasionally make jewellery and indulge in ‘altered’ shoes and clothes. At the moment, my passions are painting, free machine embroidery and bookmaking.

What prompted you to open an Etsy Shop?

It was a long time coming. I have been selling offline for years, but had no marketing plan, no regular selling outlets. I went through a period when I wasn’t creating at all and (this seems strange to me now) had other interests.

When I returned to ‘normal’, I decided that I wanted a constant selling presence. Online seems the simple solution (or so I thought, before I knew how much work there is achieving Search Engine Optimization!), and Etsy is a very easy, user friendly platform. I also use Folksy as well as, like many British makers, I would prefer to give my business to a British based platform. Using both, does get my product to a wide audience and I’m currently in the process of separating out the stock so that they sell different things.

How did you come up with your shop name?

I wanted a name which immediately told people that this is a local business (useful for offline selling), and that I do make my own product. I played with idea in my head for a while, and was going to go for Made In Keswick to start with, but there is a local brand called Made In Cumbria, and my brain kept saying the other name instead of mine, so I assumed everyone else would do that too. Putting Handmade at the beginning seems to work. It is easily remembered, and a few different people from Etsy have contacted me to say they have realized that they live nearby.

How would you describe your shop?

Arty. I struggle to keep it cohesive as my interests keep zipping off in another direction. I have a few items I haven’t got round to listing yet for that very reason.

What inspires you?

I’ve always been interested in drawings of people doing ordinary things. I have sketches of people standing bored in a queue, kids building sandcastles, and a series of my husband washing his clothes in a bucket whilst we were abroad. More recently that interest has moved more specifically to faces –there are one or two in my shop.

The only constant, at least, in recent years, has been the soundtrack to my creativity. I’ve noticed that if I’m ‘stuck’, more often than not, I haven’t got the radio on. I listen to BBC 6 music and even if what is playing is not quite my cup of tea, I still find it very motivating. I don’t know if that’s because 6 feels very ‘arty’ to me. There’s quite a lot of serious musician talk, and, although often funny, its ‘grown up’ as well, which is something that most music stations don’t manage to achieve. Plus, on a Sunday, they have the sexiest voice in the form of Jarvis Cocker!

Which item in your shop is your favorite to make/find?

My favourite is usually the item I’m working on at the time, so its not yet in my shop. For the next few days, I’ll be working on some machine embroidery, which I plan to list on Etsy and maybe Folksy as well, as sold well offline.
 

If you were shipwrecked on a desert island, what are the 3 crafty must haves?

This is a really hard question. I think I’m going to go for things that’ll keep me sane rather than just be useful:

Sewing machine (solar powered)
Never ending supply of thread
Some kind of receiver for hearing 6 music (again solar powered)

Where else can we find you?

www.etsy.com/shop/HandmadeInKeswick
folksy.com/shops/HandmadeInKeswick
www.facebook.com/HandmadeInKeswick
twitter.com/#!/HandmadeInKeswi
foundinkeswick.blogspot.co.uk/
pinterest.com/handmadeinkeswi/

Is there anything else you would like to share? 

Blog readers can save 25% at HandmadeInKeswick
by using coupon code: Lilees1


Thanks so much Lu.  It has been great getting to know you and discovering your shop and your lovely items.

Now please show Lu some support and let us know which of her pieces are your favorite from her shop! Oh...and go ahead and heart a few of her items along with her shop :)

Have a great week!

knitting yarns