Thursday, February 11, 2010

Featured in an Etsy Treasury Again ;)

I love it. Makes me feel like a kid in a candy store every time. All warm and fuzzy inside.

Go ahead; take a look at Called In Sick... And..., a lovely treasury by eliwill, a truly talented jewelry designer with a shop full of beautiful items.

Just look at this beautiful necklace. I love pearls and keys and this brings those two elements together gorgeously.

ana necklace - pale pink pearls


ana necklace pale pink pearl by eliwill on Etsy

I hope you'll take a peak at the treasury and that you'll stop by eliwill's shop on Etsy.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Galactic Awesomeness

My kids, my son especially, are Star Wars fans, as am I, and as were my parents before me. Third generation Star Wars fans = pretty cool.

In honor of that love of all things spacey, robotic, and flying through the cosmos, I designed this hat:

Leia - Princess Buns Knit Hat in Cream


Leia Princess Buns Beanie Hat in Cream by Thoris Designs on Etsy

I tried making the buns modular by affixing them to the hat with large silver-tone safety pins the way I did the heart on the Napal Ear Flap Hat, but they were too droopy, even when you were wearing it, so I decided to stitch them to the body of the hat with yarn. I think it turned out nicely and I like that the shape of the buns isn't so much like Leia's hair from the movie, but you can definitely tell what it's supposed to be.

The Princess loves hers and I'll bet your princess would too (or even you;).

This hat, in this size and color, is currently in stock and ready to ship. But if you'd like it in a smaller or larger size or a different color, please contact me and I'll be happy to knit one up just for you.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Featured on Etsy's Front Page

Just wanted to share that my Red and Pink Teddy Bear Beanie was just featured on Etsy's Front Page!

Red and Pink Teddy Bear Beanie by Thoris Designs on Etsy

My shop got lots of lovely traffic and I even got a sale.

For posterity, because I'm just that much of an excited nerd:



Yep, that's my little princess, making a cutie smoochie face. Sure, the hat is cute, but I know and you know that it's the little girl that made it front page worthy.

Up On Deck: New Items & Some News

Okay, I'm terrible. I was supposed to blog about my lovely time with the ladies of Little Birdie Secrets and haven't gotten around to it, but I will. I swear. But for right now...

I posted a few new items this past week and have a number of other things I still have to photograph (the light is looking great outside, so I'll be doing that after this). So, here's an update on my shop. I hope you'll stop by and take a look.

Napal - Ear Flap Hat in Taupe with Red Heart Brooch

Napal - Knit Ear Flap Beanie in Taupe with Red Heart Brooch by Thoris Designs on Etsy

This hat has a classic and simple shape, modeled after the aviator helmets of old and knit from the softest lambs wool and acrylic blend yarn. The red heart attaches with a large silver-toned safety pin and can be placed wherever you'd like, removed, or used as a brooch on your coat or scarf or whatever. I can knit this hat in a variety of lovely colors and also have a listing for it without the brooch.

Napal - Ear Flap Hat in Taupe

Napal - Knit Ear Flap Beanie in Taupe by Thoris Designs on Etsy

This is the same style of hat and in the same size, so you can see that this hat really fits a wide variety of sizes. A tad big for my two-year-old, so it'll fit him for years and years.

That's all the new stuff I've listed lately, but I've got a lot of other items to photograph, including my newest design, a Princess Leia inspired hat, complete with hair buns. I think it turned out adorable and I'll be posting it in a listing, and here, soon.

Thanks for checking in!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Procrastination: Finally Getting Inspired for Valentine's

As a single parent, I'm going to have to admit that Valentine's Day rarely looks like the lovey-dovey day of romantic bliss that other people are going to be experiencing. Not that V-Day with the monsters, er... kids, isn't great. What with heart shaped cookies, and sticky cards, and shoebox mail boxes. I just can't get that excited about my kids being all hyped up.

But this year, I'm actually kinda feelin' it. Maybe it's my reunion with the Dolla and recognizing a reason for people to spend money, but I have been feeling rather Valentine Crafty lately.

Last night I finished this crochet rose brooch and I'm dying to keep it. Hopefully that means someone is dying to buy it.

Key to the Rose Garden - Crochet Brooch

Key to the Rose Garden - Crochet Red Rose Brooch by Thoris Designs on Etsy

I just got these fantastic chrome pinking sheers off eBay and they cut through my suede leather like a hot knife through butter. All the beads and jewelry bits (except the antique style safety pin) came from the local vintage and thrift shop, as did that fabulous chunky red acrylic/wool blend yarn that the rose is crocheted out of. I used a generous piece of stiffened felt for the backing and sewed a hinged brooch pin to the back. I love how sturdy the whole piece feels without losing its femininity. Excuse my ego, but I'm pretty proud of this one.

But not just what I've done, look what someone else is doing!

Once again, my favorite blog, Little Birdie Secrets, is sharing something awesome with all of us.

This Thursday, February 4, (tomorrow? tomorrow!) the lovely ladies of Little Birdie Secrets will be having their first meet-and-greet at Lasting Memories Scrapbooks in Lynnwood, Washington.



We'll be making the Valentine garland pictured in the notice above. How fun is that? I'll be sure to blog all about it on Friday.

Also, from the Little Birdies I learned how to crochet hearts yesterday and I'm just brimming with ideas about what I can do with them. They had a wonderful video tutorial that made learning to crochet the hearts super easy. If you'd like to watch the video, check out their awesome tutorial blog post right here.

Hope to see you tomorrow night in Lynnwood.
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