Month: January 2012

I’m a lumberjack and I’m okay…

/ jennanana / 2 Comments

I could only wish to take credit for the infamous beard hats which have been floating around in magazines and websites like SnorgTees.com. About a year and a half ago, a friend sent me a picture of a beard hat and asked if I could replicate it. First I laughed my ass off at the concept of a hat with a connecting crocheted beard and proceeded to tell her “ABSOLUTELY.” I got really excited as I tend to do when I get new ideas, and got cracking on it. I did good.

The result:

Fantastic. BUT after making this style for a long time, I found there were a few things I needed to work out.. 1) The beard is completely attached to the hat and, if you have a big head, it’s not so easy to slip on and off without squeezing the ever lasting life out of your skull and 2) it was just a simple mustache portion that hung straight across. It needed a little more pizazz.. a mustache worthy of the British spelling “moustache.”

After some trial and error, I finally recently came up with a new beard! This time, I added a fancy moustachio AND figured if I only attached the beard to the hat at one end I could sew a button on the inside of the hat at the other end, making it much easier to take on and off. Evolution, people.

But it gets better. What can be better than a full face of lumberjack, you ask? I made it detachable.

VOILA! Presto cabob, I grew a beard-o:

“Cheers, mates!”

Right now I’m making and selling the beard hats as 2 separate pieces (Interested in making a purchase? Send me an email! We’ll talk) so I’ll see how that works out. Maybe if I feel like sharing my tricks of the trade I’ll make a post sharing a pattern on how to make these bad boys! But for now, I’ll share some photos of the famous beards slutting their way around Nashville, TN.  Everyone looks handsome in a beard!

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Knitting Hooker!

/ jennanana / 6 Comments

Fantastic news! Regarding my previous post, I have officially become a “knitting hooker.”  If you haven’t been following me (=O for shame!!) I received a request from my friend Jessica to make an adorable bohemian style headband last week.  First I was going to crochet it, but being that I’ve been wanting to actually make a knit project I found this the perfect opportunity to step outside of my comfort zone.  The pattern seemed easy enough and I’ve had the basics of knitting down pat for some time, but I could just never get over that hump of following through with a project. Finally, I sat down and (…6 hours later) came out with a gray headband.  As adorable as it is, I don’t think I will  be knitting another one for some time.. I think I’ll stick with being a crochet hooker and a small time knitter for those special projects on which I don’t mind spending my precious, precious time.

Drum roll, pleaaase…..

TA DA! And as an added bonus, a headband I whipped up inspired by vintage headscarf-ware.

I’ve already crocheted two headbands like this and they look just as cute as the knit version; they just take about 5 hours less to make! I love the style and they do a dandy job of keeping the ears cozy. Jessica loves hers and reported that it bore the Chicago Winter just beautifully!

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Knitting Hooker?

/ jennanana / 2 Comments

One of my resolutions for 2012 involves trying new things and expanding my horizons.  What better way to get started on this than to teach myself how to knit? I’ve had knitting needles sitting with my craft stuff for a long time and actually learned the basics of knitting over a year ago, but I never kept it up.  A few weeks ago I picked up the knitting needles and dug my heels in, deciding to stick with it. Using youtube videos, I actually got the knit and pearl stitches down pat! The process is veeeerrrryyyyy slow and sometimes I get frustrated after only a few rows because I feel like it takes FOREVER to knit something, but I’m grinning and baring it. I bought double pointed and circular knitting needles so now I feel obligated to learn!

So in order to actually feel productive I’m working on an easy and super adorable beginner project I found at Elisa McLaughlin Designs.

My friend Jessica asked me to make her a headband so I decided to knit it like the pattern says, rather than crochet it! Wish me luck… Progress and photos will be shared =)

How will you be following through with your new year resolutions in 2012?

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Regarding the Support of Family and Friends..

/ jennanana / 2 Comments

Hello, all! The new year is finally here and I am sad to say I’ve neglected this once again for a few weeks. The holiday seasons have been hectic with fulfilling orders and making gifts so I haven’t been able to find the time to come up with any good blog posts.  However, this being my first post of the year, I want to stray from the typical new year resolutions and make it extra special by acknowledging the people who matter the most…  I know Thanksgiving is long past, but I want to dedicate this post to saying thank you to all of the awesome friends and family who have been supporting my hobby throughout the season and giving me new inspiration to try new patterns and ideas. Being a full time grad student in Library school is getting very time consuming with all of the reading and whatnot, so I absolutely am humbled that I am able to support myself with my two hobbies: photography and crochet. All of the awesome people who are purchasing my handmade goodies as well as spreading the word about my business are more than wonderful and I couldn’t be more appreciative of your business. It gets crazy sometimes and my hands and wrists do get sore, but it’s all worth it to see my yarn creations light up the people in my life. Thank you, and keep the support coming, friends!

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