The Bees Knees

Marked by the Muse

The Bees Knees Knits and Accessories — Fri, 13 May 2011 19:45:44 +0000

I came accross a blog this week that really helped me to understand my life and the way I want to live it. At work one day, I stumbled across a blog by an artist names Stephey. Her words grabbed my attention and as I read more they evoked an unpredicted emotional response. She talked about realizing that you are an artist whether you have been classically trained or explore new media. I internalized this sentance “I am an artist” and as it sunk in, tears welled in my eyes. I’m not some sap that just cries at the drop of a hat, but I have been struggling with what and who I am a lot lately. I used to paint and draw but have now started to explore, as you can see, Knitting, Crocheting, Mixed Media, creating accessories that fit people’s unique and creative lives. Because of this I had struggled with calling myself an artist- I felt it was a title I couldn’t claim, that if I did people would call me out and say that I wasn’t.

Stephey’s words were like wave of peace and acceptance washing over me as I sat at my corner desk, staring at the basement wall where I work- wishing I was home creating. Which is huge for me because I’m selling at the Sundae Market during the Pittsburgh Marathon this weeken and have been really stressing about whether people will judge me, whether I deserve to be there.

So thank you Stephey. Stop by her blog and read her words for yourself, and become Marked by the Muse.

http://www.stepheybaker.com/mbtm.html

Some New Spring Necklaces I was inspired to make after reading her blog.

Spring Fever

The Bees Knees Knits and Accessories — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 18:50:03 +0000

I seem to have caught spring fever last night…

Fabric flowers

These will be turned into pins, hair clips, headbands and more! Look for my next post to see the finished products!!

Cute Cottons

The Bees Knees Knits and Accessories — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 02:18:04 +0000

I’ve been knitting a lot recently- especially with one of my favorites- Sugar n’Spice 100% cotton worsted weight yarn. This yarn is perfect for items that you’ll use everyday because it really holds up and washes well. One of my new favorites to make is a square cotton dish cloth. Simple to make and really useful. In fact, my mom uses the ones I made for her on a daily basis!

Also recently I’ve gotten back into painting my toe nails- now that the warmer weather is supposed to be on its way. (although we just got another dusting of snow the other night). I lost all those uncomfortable foam toe separators so I decided to make myself a comfortable pair out of…. you guessed it my 100% worsted weight cotton!

Check them out!

Model Behavior

The Bees Knees Knits and Accessories — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 00:37:00 +0000

Recently two of my friends found out about my dream of starting my own company focused on selling my own crafts, gifts and accessories. These two lovely ladies jumped at the opportunity to help me! My wonderful model’s name is Stephanie and my amazing photographer’s name is Kelsey. Message me if you would like their contact information or about their services!

Check out some of the creative juices we’ve got flowing!

Thrifty Gifty Boxes

The Bees Knees Knits and Accessories — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 21:06:42 +0000

While stumbling on my favorite new website/browser www.stumbleupon.com I found a fun pattern for giftboxes and another fun pattern for butterflies. So of course my mind started spining and I raced to find my hot glue gun (…. and the glue that was supposed to be with right there with it).

One of my new favorite things- that just happened to be onsale the last time I was at Joann Fabrics, are the books of cardstock. I bought two… So needles to say I was occupied for a few nights.

Using a combination of craft scissors (the little tiny ones) and an exacto knife (for the long straight lines, I cut out box after box and butterfly after butterfly.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.

Adorable gift boxes to dress up your giftsadorable handmade gift boxesAdorable gift boxes to dress up your gifts

Adorable gift boxes to dress up your giftsAdorable gift boxes to dress up your gifts

Adorable gift boxes to dress up your gifts

Pens and Tin Cans

The Bees Knees Knits and Accessories — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 02:56:22 +0000

New craft today! I realized that I shouldn’t just toss a perfectly good tin can in the recycling bin… I should give it a new life as something lovely!

Introducing my latest pencil/pen holder

a new way to recycle your tin cans

And to fill it, I’ve been revamping simple pens from the local office store

Decorative Pens

Beautiful Berets making yet another appearance!

The Bees Knees Knits and Accessories — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 03:29:13 +0000

I love these so much I have to make some more of them! They are lovely, versatile, and comfortable!

Newest one is in Mint, and a purple one is on the way!

everyone will be green with envy over this comfortable, lovable, and beautiful beret

Adorable Accessories!

The Bees Knees Knits and Accessories — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 04:08:52 +0000

OK, I know that this is a knitting blog but I’m also a crafter at heart. So on my day off on Tuesday I spent the first half of my day watching my adorable nieces, and the second half making floret pins, and hair accessories that are just too cute!

All are for Sale! Shoot me a message if you would like to purchase anything!

Hats with a Swirl

The Bees Knees Knits and Accessories — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 03:48:49 +0000

I cam across a loverly new pattern for hats on www.ravelry.com. This is one pattern that looks great in all the different colors that you can imagine- and depending on the color it’s great for both girls and guys.

This pattern consists of a k2 p2 border, and then a repetition of k2 yo k4 k2tog. Finishing is easy as well- its just a modification of the stitches you’ve repeated the whole hat.

K2 yo k3 k3tog
k2 yo k3 k2tog
k2 yo k2 k3tog
k2 yo k2 k2tog
k2 yo k1 k3tog
k2 yo k1 k2tog
k2 yo k3tog
k2 k2tog
k1 k2tog
k2tog

Check it out!

Beautiful Berets

The Bees Knees Knits and Accessories — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 04:12:15 +0000

I love this wonderfully beautiful Beret pattern that can be found in Bronwyn Lowenthal’s “Love to Knit”

I’ve tried this in many different weights and textures and it always comes out beautifully. This particular one is for a good friend of mine who is teaching me to telemark not this weekend but next (that’s free heel skiing!)

This is a relatively simple pattern– the skills required are Knit(K), Purl(P), Make one (M1) and Knit two together (K2Tog)