Your Still Delinquent KnittingGuru

As you can see, I've continued to be an absentee in my own blog. However, I have joined Twitter - http://twitter.com/KnittingGuru - where the minuscule number of words seems within daily reach for me. I hope you'll follow me there.

Readers: I promise to do better and I'll start by showing you some of my new knitting and crochet. I've been in a Romantic Victorian Period. My shawls, capelets, and cowls have a definite retro look going back more than a century. I look backward for inspiration, but my yarns decidedly update the look.

The three garments shown here are all examples of my knit and crochet combination technique. I love to knit the main part of a garment and finish with crochet. The crochet always seems to add a more sculptural quality. All of these are made with the softest possible wool yarns, some with alpaca blended in.







Romantic Red Shawl














Victorian Ruffles and Lace Bolero















Sugar Sweet Soft Wool Shrug







All work shown is © KnittingGuru, 2009.

Your Delinquent Blogger - or - The Busy Guru

I haven't posted here in so long I'm embarrassed. I do want to let any readers out there know that I have been published in two books this year --

Jewelry With a Hook (Lark Books) where I have two necklaces featured along with instructions for making them.

and

1000 Jewelry Inspirations where I have 6 necklaces featured, one of them on a full page.

I've also been knitting, crocheting and selling a lot at http://KnittingGuru.etsy.com and http://BurryBabies.etsy.com.

Please visit me there. I look forward to meeting you.

Jewelry on My Mind

I've been making a lot of knitted and crocheted jewelry lately. It's great to work on something small and cotton in the warm weather.

It's also great to wear my fiber jewelry when it's warm. The cotton is absorbent and doesn't get sticky the way beads and metal do in the heat. Moreover, you can wear something big and bold without the weight of stone and metal jewelry.

I've been getting a very positive response from customers who've been clamoring for special orders. Here are a few of my new pieces.

White Crocheted Lace Choker (Perfect for Brides)




Under the Sea Neckpiece





Black Choker with Ribbon Tassel




Daffodil Choker




Marigold Mania Lariat Necklace





All of these and more can be seen in my Etsy Store

I really do love to do custom work on these, so please contact me if you have any ideas you'd like to see made into one of a kind jewelry.

Too Busy Knitting to Blog - Uh Oh

I've had such a load of knitting and crocheting jobs that I've been derelict about writing here. I do want to show a new summer tank top I knit in a Shetland Lace stitch as a way of getting back to this blog. It's knit in a perfect fiber combination: cotton for coolness and microfiber for silky texture and color fastness.

I put this one onto my Etsy store this morning and could also custom knit it in other colors. See how the color matches the gorgeous pink of the Mandevilla flower?

OK. I give in. I'm Etsyfied!

I've spent the entire day trying to wade through the myriad changes at Etsy (www.etsy.com). If you're not familiar with the site, it's a great place to buy and sell handmade things, and a perfect place to do your Holiday shopping.

The site became so popular that the administration decided to update it. The update is called V2 and it looks just great. The problem is: it doesn't work great - at least not today which is the first day. There are lots of kinks to be worked out which is understandable. The only problem is, these kinks are making it hard to sell things.

On the other hand, I did sell a set of crocheted coasters today. I have more sets to post as soon as posting becomes possible again!


I also have an amazing Mandala Table Mat for your casseroles at Thanksgiving or Christmas or just for gazing at:


Or... maybe you'd be interested in a totally outlandish Pink & Black Flowered Tea Cozy:


There's more like these at www.KnittingGuru.etsy.com as well as awesome hats, scarves, and so on. If there's something special you'd like to have, contact me at Etsy or send me a comment here and I'll see what I can do!

Knits for the Tiniest Baby Boys

In the last entry I showed you some things for boys and men. Since then, I got a commission to make matching, but slightly different hats for 11 year old triplet boys. What fun! They are very excited and are working with their mother and me to design their own hats.

Here are some brand new baby boy knits. Now your littlest guy can wear a grown up sweater vest. I used heart shaped buttons because baby boys can be sweethearts, too!







These baby clothes can be seen and purchased individually or as a set at www.BurryBabies.etsy.com.

I've made a similar set in pink that I will be posting at Etsy in the next few days. I don't ordinarily do pink and blue pastels, but this yarn, and these colors, were so irresistable. Also, I've somehow become fascinated by multiple birth babies and I though the set in pink and blue would be great for brother-sister twins.What do you think?

I only want to add that I adore my three children, but I'm SO GLAD that they were born individually, not all together!

Knits for Men & Boys

Re-reading my last few entries I see that I announced that one of my crocheted neckpieces would be in Lark Books upcoming Crocheted Fiber Jewelry. Actually... it's TWO of my necklaces will be in the book! So Exciting!!

I've been thinking about how hard it is to get handknits for men and boys. You rarely see them on Etsy or anywhere else. I can't imagine why since in my experience (1 husband, 2 sons) men like handknits just as much as women and girls (1 daughter).

Here are some of my handknits for Men and Boys. You'll notice that some of these "knits" are really crocheted. I've been doing more and more crochet lately. Let me know what you think about my menswear. Also, they can all be purchased at Etsy - either at www.knittingguru.etsy.com or at www.BurryBabies.etsy.com. If you write to me directly through the comments, I would be happy to knit or crochet something special for the Man or Boy in Your Life.


Really Big Men's Scarf


Gray Tweed Handspun Men's Scarf


Denim Blue Boy's Hat in Merino and Microfiber (So Soft)


Winter White and Blue Crocheted Convertible Baby Hat
(also available with pink trim for girls)