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That Time of Year

It’s that time of year! Orders have started to come in an I have not been very productive! I have managed to get a new sweatshirt listed in Abbey & Lincoln.

It features Zeus and is available in 8 sizes and 11 colors! It also features the planet Jupiter because, you know, Greek an Roman! Totally geek moment.

We also just got back from Europe! My first trip overseas.

We flew Aer Lingus and spent some time in Dublin. (It was six hours but felt like a week!) Then it was off to Hamburg and then to Paris back to Hamburg back to Ireland and then home. All in all, ten days: Four in Hamburg, four in Paris and two travelling. 

I’m glad we did it. My American bubble got burst. Spent some time with family and enjoyed it. Oddly, while I don’t feel the need to do it again, Mr. Honey says he would go. He’s got this thing about Lyon.

Something about it being the best food in France. We’re not getting any younger so I am going to think about it for a very little while and check back to see if it’s something he might want to do in the spring.

I am checking to see if there are any Lyon food tours or something like that. I have a feeling he’s already doing it but it will help me decide.

In the meantime, check out the sweatshirt. New stuff is coming to designbcb, Abbey & Lincoln and designbcb BoHo on Goimagine! Check it all out to see it when it arrives.

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Cottage Core Goblins and Mushroom Tee

🌿 Introducing Our Whimsical Cottage Core Goblins and Mushroom Tee! 🌿

Are you ready to step into a magical world of enchantment? Look no further than our brand-new Cottage Core Goblins and Mushroom Tee! 🍄✨

👕 Crafted in 100% Cotton: Comfort Meets Style Our tee is made from soft, breathable cotton, perfect for those cozy days when you want to feel both comfortable and chic. Whether you’re strolling through sun-dappled forests or sipping tea by the fireplace, this tee has you covered.

🎨 Whimsical Graphics The whimsical graphic features adorable baby goblins nestled under vibrant, oversized mushrooms. It’s like a scene straight out of a fairy tale! 🧚‍♂️🍂

🌈 Colors Galore Choose from a palette of 9 delightful colors. Mix and match to create your own magical ensemble! 🌟

📏 Sizes for Everyone We believe magic should be accessible to all. That’s why our tee comes in 8 sizes, ensuring a perfect fit for every adventurer, gnome, or woodland sprite. 🌲

  • Everyday Wear: Pair it with jeans or a flowy skirt for a whimsical everyday look.
  • Cosplay Ready: Planning a fantasy-themed event? This tee is your ticket to becoming the ultimate forest dweller.
  • Gift Magic: Surprise a friend with a touch of enchantment. 🎁

 Have questions about sizing, styling, or the mystical origins of our goblins? Share your thoughts below! Let’s weave a magical thread of discussion. ✨🌿

Remember, our Cottage Core Goblins and Mushroom Tee is more than just a shirt—it’s an invitation to embrace the extraordinary. 🌟👚

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The Agenda

The agenda for today is…yikes! The view from the desk is not cool at all. Not like the last one that looked more cluttered than it was; this one is really cluttered.

What happened was I emptied the rolling cart that was holding various items and I placed said items on the table. I sorted something’s out and now I don’t know what I want to go back on the cart. So it all remains on the table.  But I do want to point out the beautiful square that is the first square of my afghan.  I don’t know if I told about Lion Brand Skein Tones going on sale at Michael’s for $2/ball. About a year ago, I saw it on sale and went nuts ordering it. I spent a little more than $200 which means I have a little more than 100 balls of it and I am going to make an afghan with it. smithy Blanket WIPThe original intent was to make an afghan but not a granny square.

 

This was the original intent. See all the skeins back there? I did make an afghan and sold it. That started me on the path to ordering all of it. In truth, JoAnn is having almost as good a sale on theirs. It’s about $2.30 a ball. Yeah, I caved. What? I want to make a lot of blankets!

With the afghan, I have 2.5 projects going. The Cottage Core shirt is being promoted and marketed. The cable scarf is an order on the needles but it’s something I should make more of so it is now on the rotation and I think I want to see what it looks like in a self striping yarn. 

Something is coming up in a few weeks that I am getting excited about and it will involve lots and lots…and lots of photos. The 30 day countdown began yesterday.

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Moonlight and Mushrooms

Moonlight and mushrooms. It doesn’t sound like it should be cute. But, turns out, it really is.

This is the latest graphic tee from Abbey & Lincoln.

It isn’t a simple matter of just have the computer create a graphic. (It’s what I thought at first.) There is work to be done afterward. Perhaps the color is off or won’t quite work with the shirt color. There are things which have to be figured out and tweaked to make them work. I’m enjoying this new aspect of business. There are more designs in my head that I want to make come true.

In yarn work, halfway through the month and there is not a lot to show for it. I can’t seem to get myself jumpstarted. But I do plug away. I have yet another design that I am working on. It was going to be the honeycomb stitch but it’s not doing what I want it to do so I’m thinking of switching to waffle stitch. It would mean going from knit to crochet but sometimes that has to happen in order to get the thing you want. Of course, I can always try a different method to get to the honeycomb. We’ll see how it all comes out. It always does one way or another.

 

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The Nurse Bundle

The Nurse Bundle. I was sitting there minding my own business when the idea for some new nurse downloads hit me. There was nothing else to do but create a new pack. I did and it’s available at Abbey & Lincoln. 

There are about 48 files in different formats and I think there’s a lot of fun to be had.

In other knitting news, this is the view from the desk today.

It looks much more cluttered than it is. Though I am not quite sure how that could be possible.

I am working on a new hat design. I have another digital design in the works along with a new idea for a spa cloth design that required going out to purchase solid color cotton because I don’t have a lot of it here. Might have some at storage – but really, am I gonna go look when there’s a sale closer? To be real, I purchased 10 skeins of I Love This Cotton – all solid colors and it will be used right away.

I started the design with variegated yarn and I knew it was a no-go. The pattern fights too much with the color so it’s better done solid.  Since that first attempt, I decided to change up how I’m doing the basketweave so it should all really click when it gets going.

Time is moving, we are almost halfway through July. I feel as if I’m behind on my creations. The shows are coming up in 4 and 5 months. It seems like a long way off but it isn’t really.

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The Cozy Suzette Pattern

The Cozy Suzette Pattern is available in the designbcb Etsy shop!

I’ve already written about the spa cloth here. There are yarn reviews for the fiber. I sold some wash cloths at the last craft show last week. Kinda vindicates my making them and the scrubbies. The scrubbies were the big hit of the day!

I’ve been thinking about making a garment. I have done sweaters for other folks but nothing for me and nothing I put into the shop. I don’t want to make fitted clothing for sale because that just seems like pain waiting to be inflicted but a poncho – maybe?

I’m still in love with this poncho I made for a friend and want to make one for myself.  Or this one seems like a good choice. I don’t know what the hesitation is. I may have to conquer it just to get it out the way. 

I easily imagine myself in a poncho or a sweater – usually I’m walking into a church meeting. Don’t know the connection there but I don’t fight it.

The thing that might push me over the edge is if Caron comes out with new Anniversary colors. I have fallen in love with that yarn and though I don’t love it enough to buy it full price, I do love it enough to know that when new colors come, despite the stash busting that will probably be going on, I am going to splurge and put down a good chunk of change to get some. They are bound to have some colors I like. 

Stop over to the shop and pick up the pattern for the spa cloth. Or drop over to the GoImagine shop for ready to ship!

 

 

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The Dacia Scarf Pattern

The Dacia scarf pattern is now done! The pattern is now available at designbcb.

This scarf went through a couple of designs before In settled on this one.

I first thought I would put in a cable and that became a more of a stressed that I was looking to do. Then it went though a couple more stitches. I finally settled and what happened was a mixture of stitches that went in different directions. The more I knit, the more I liked what I saw. There was a BoHo coed vibe that I really like. As it got to the end, I knew I wanted to do fringe but I didn’t think it should be at the end. It just wouldn’t work. So, I sent it down the side.

I’m not one for blocking but this would look a lot better if it was flattened out a little and blocked. I didn’t bother with this because it is the sample and it is going to be donated as there is a three stitch flaw I didn’t take out. My first thought was that I would only make the sample and not sell final product. I think I have changed my mind. I had some Caron Big Cake left over from an Ayrshire Beanie and my thought was this scarf would look great with a bold self striping fiber.

I used Big Twist worsted weight in Varsity Green. I’m not sure this would look good in a bulkier or thinner yarn. 

This was a fu design, easy to memorize. Hope you all enjoy it!

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Moonlight and Animals

Moonlight and Animals is the first product in my new Cottage Core collection in Abbey & Lincoln.

This is a sweatshirt I would buy – and I probably will. I love the graphic. The woodland is vibe is something I can really get with.

In knitting news: the stash busting continues. The Dacia pattern is done and although I wasn’t thinking of making the actual scarf to sell in the shop, that decision seems to be more fluid than I thought. There’s also another Ayrshire Beanie on the needles and the next project up is a baby hat!

We had a craft show over the weekend and even though we were under a tent, the heat was above 90 and one can get exhausted doing almost nothing. The good thing: made more than double my table fee. The really good thing: the only thing I sold were scrubbies and washcloths. I feel vindicated making them now. 

We were situated by the food trucks and Mr. Honey opted for the monster gyros. That thing was $17 and between the two of us, we still couldn’t finish it and never touched the pita. It was piled with meat and delish! There was also a spot called the Lovely Lemon. We tired the lemonade which was very goo, but the blue raspberry lemonade had me praising God! It was $7 for a generous 24 ounces. 

It was the first time North Aurora Park District put on the craft show and I would probably do it again. The weather was probably the main reason the crowd was not that big but the time went fairly quickly. We definitely got our exercise in with loading and unloading. The next thing on my list to buy is a wagon. We had one but someone lifted it. 

We had a show in September but it was just cancelled so that leaves the one in November and the one in December. I think that’s probably enough. If the Oak Park Chamber of Commerce does another one, I’ll probably do that but otherwise, it’s create city over here. My list of things to make is now up to 30. No idle hands here. The devil will just have to play somewhere else.

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The Ayrshire Beanie

The Ayrshire Beanie is complete.

 

 I don’t know if I even told you guys about this hat. It’s really fun and easy to make. It’s a long tube that gets turned in on itself. So, it’s a double knit and reversible! It isn’t an original pattern and it was called Ayrshire when I saw it on television oh so many years ago on Knitting Daily. (Is that show still on?) The pattern is now behind a paywall – guess I waited too long – but I did my best with what info I could gather.

I’ve sold a couple of these and that makes the worth making again. I have a show coming at the end of this week that is going to focus mainly on the summer stuff but I am on a roll for the fall and winter for the shops and for the shows I have coming during holiday season.  The beanies will be available in person but also at designbcb online.

 

 

The beanie isn’t the only thing completed! I will post the Dacia scarf in a little bit. The pattern has been complete for some time. I just needed the sample to catch up. Last night I added the fringe which added a great BoHo vibe for me. I photographed it on my new mannequin. It would look better if I steam it – but I ain’t about that life.

What I will do is make variations of the hat with lighter colors. The original was made with 3 weight which I might try one time. I don’t have much  dk weight in the stash so I will have to see what comes up. It’s a definite keeper and fun to do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Nurses Pack

The Nurses Pack is my first digital pack in a minute.  Nurse Life is a short pack of graphics and svgs that can be used on mugs, shirts, anything that printable. Take a closer look and download it here.  

I have some other goodies in the Abbey & Lincoln store. There are more shirt offerings and mugs. The goal is to have a place where you can find gifts for everyone on whatever list there is.

Speaking of gifts – there is a new section on the blog called Gift Guides. I am pulling some great offerings from Chicago and Illinois based creators from Etsy and GoImagine. The Nurses pack itself would make a great gift for that nurse who likes to journal or does sublimination for a hobby or a side hustle. 

I have to say, there is a great deal of fun to be had when creating is your job. There are so many areas to explore. I believe becoming more creative in my work is what lead me to becoming more creative in baking bread. I expanded from biscuits – and now even the biscuits are better. I had a second attempt at gingerbread after leaving the first one in too long. The second came out really well and it was a hit at the book club.

In the meantime, it is a little over 70 degrees and I have my personal heater on. I now run cold. Where 73 was just about right; it is now a little chilly. Where I used to think 80 was the suffocation index, I now find it pleasant. I could move to Florida or Arizona right now and my blood would be all set for the climate. We’re not moving any time soon. Ok, we’re not moving at all. Thank goodness for personal heaters. I will survive.