ElleGanT

I am pleased to announce that the winner of the Etsy Knitters "Winter Warmers" Team Challenge is this fantastic baby hat by Ellen of Dream Knits by Ellen. A very worthy winner and best-seller (kindly modelled by customer Allison's son Garrett).

Ellen is an expert knitter with a lifetime of experience that is reflected in her beautiful knits and I hope you enjoy getting to know her.

My name is Ellen.
I was born in Ukraine and moved to United States 17 years ago.
I have a daughter, two sons and two precious grandchildren.

I discovered knitting when I was six years old. If I could, I would knit 24/7. I knit everything, starting with a sweater with complicated patterns and ending with infant baby shoes.

I come up with the ideas as I knit. I only know what I am about to make, a hat or a pair of mittens and the ideas for the details just come pouring in. I record new pattern when the item is almost ready. It's a labor of love.

I always wanted to have my own serene and cozy knitting cafe. Then I discovered ETSY. My whole family put lots of effort to make my ETSY store the way you see it now.

I am very thankful to my customers, who kindly share pictures of their children wearing my creations. Here is my customer Angie's daughter Luna modelling my "Moose" hat. My customers are also a source of the ideas. I use mostly good quality cashmere and wool occasionally for my products.

My personal favorites are the "Owl" hat and the "Valentine's Day Glove". My "Valentine's Day Glove" was featured in "BUST" magazine FEBRUARY/MARCH issue 2010.

My bestseller is the "Mouse" hat that won me ETSY KNITTERS TEAM Challenge.

I wanted to say very special "Thank you" to Allison, Meghan and Angie for providing pictures of their children.

I love being a part of ETSY and member of ETSYKNITTERS TEAM. I met so many wonderful people here.

My major reward as an artisan is to know that my customers love and enjoy to wear my creations.

Featuring Knitters on Blogs

The High Plains Knitter has started a new series on her blog featuring Etsy knitters and crocheters.

Her most recent post features an Etsy Knitters Team member: Elena of Passion Knits.
"I think the name of her shop tells a lot about Elena. She has a passion for knitting and for fiber. Her shop is full of bright, gorgeous, creative items that just make you want to reach into the computer and touch them", says The High Plains Knitter.
To read the full story, please go here.

If you would like to have your Etsy store featured on The High Plains Knitter's blog, please contact her directly.

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Additionally, Beverly of DesignBCB is actively looking for Etsy sellers that would like to be interviewed for Handmade News.org. Beverly is a columnist for the online magazine.

If you are interested, please contact Beverly via the Etsy forum thread she set up or via a direct Etsy email.

Toe-up Gingko Socks by Kyoko

Kyoko of Cotton and Cloud has released a new sock design.

Toe-Up Gingko Socks

To download the pattern for free, please visit her blog.

Knit in Public with the Etsy Knitters Team

The Etsy Knitters Team is proud to host a virtual Knit in Public Day for the 2nd year in a row.




What:
Knit in Public Day

When:
June 13th, 14th, 20th and 21st

Who:
Knitters!
All knitters are welcome to participate. It is not required that you be a member of the Etsy Knitters team.

Where:
World Wide
Wherever you are, there is where the event will be.

Why:
To promote the craft of knitting

Guidelines:

• Knit in a public place on June 13th, 14th, 20th and/or 21st.
• Take a camera with you and a friend, if available.
• Have your friend or a perfect stranger take a picture of you knitting in public.
• Share your picture(s) by uploading them to Flickr.
• Join the group specifically set up for this event: EtsyKnitters WWKIPD
• Utilize the "Send to Group" button to upload your pictures to the group.

Extras:
Crocheters are also welcome!
For more information, please review the description on WWKiP's site.

Enjoy the day knitting!

Holiday Calendar

December 19th

3 days till Hanukkah
6 days till Christmas
12 days till the New Year
18 days till 3 Kings Day

Here is a pattern to knit the jolly, old man himself!



Knitting Pattern for Santa dolls
Designed by Mette.

Mette is the owner of the Etsy store Knitting Mette. It a A store where you can find small cute items and patterns!

Below Mette told me a little about how she designed this pattern.

Q. What was your inspiration?
A. I just wanted to make some new items for Christmas!

Q. How long did it take you to make it?
A. A couple of days

Q. What made you choose the color(s) for it?
A. There was no choice! Santa always wears red clothes and black boots!
Of course, he has a sack too!

Q. Do you plan to make any more items similar to this one?
A. Yes!

Q. Did you enjoy making it? Why or why not?
A. I love Christmas-time and I love to crreate new things!



This Holiday Calendar is sponsored by the Etsy Knitters Team.To find out more about the group, please visit our team page.

Etsy Knitters Team's Holiday Calendar will run through 3 Kings Day, January 6th. Join us as we count down the days till Hanukkah, Christmas, the New Year and 3 Kings Day. Each day will feature one of the following: a link to a free knitting pattern, a link to a free tutorial on making handmade Holiday decorations, a free holiday recipe, or a picture of a holiday item for sale.

Holiday Calendar

December 15th

7 days till Hanukkah
10 days till Christmas
16 days till the New Year
22 days till 3 Kings Day

Here is a knitting pattern featuring the technicque called Illusion knitting. What is Illusion Knitting you may ask? The design acts as a hologram. Now you see it... Now you don't! It's as if by magic! Look at it one way and all you see are stripes, but look at it again and as if by magic the design is visable. It's fun and easy to do. As long as you can knit and purl you can accomplish this technique.



Knitting Pattern for Israeli Flag Illusion Tote Bag
Designed by Sandra

Sandra is the owner of the Etsy store A Cache of Jewels It is a store specializing in patterns with a Judiacal theme or dog theme as wells as custom dog snoods for the beloved pooch in your life. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of her dog themed items goes to the English Springer Spaniel Rescue.


This Holiday Calendar is sponsored by the Etsy Knitters Team.To find out more about the group, please visit our team page.

Etsy Knitters Team's Holiday Calendar will run through 3 Kings Day, January 6th. Join us as we count down the days till Hanukkah, Christmas, the New Year and 3 Kings Day. Each day will feature one of the following: a link to a free knitting pattern, a link to a free tutorial on making handmade Holiday decorations, a free holiday recipe, or a picture of a holiday item for sale.

Day 5 of the Holiday Calendar

December 5th

17 days till Hanukkah
20 days till Christmas
26 days till the New Year
32 days till 3 Kings Day

Some of my fondest childhood Holiday memories are of baking with my family. So, I was thrilled to see a Holiday recipe designed especially for baking with children. If you don't have any children of your own, borrow a relative or your neighbor's children.



Kid-Friendly Gingerbread Houses
Instructions contributed by Nikki.


Nikki is the owner of two Etsy stores: My 7 Kids and Heart Felt Fun.

My7kids store sells high-end fiber yarns from recycled sweaters, which are then hand-dyed.

The HeartFeltFun store sells hand knitted items, and felted items made from the sweaters that can't be unraveled for yarn for whatever reason (already felted, bad seams, etc.)


This Holiday Calendar is sponsored by the Etsy Knitters Team.To find out more about the group, please visit our team page.

Etsy Knitters Team's Holiday Calendar will run through 3 Kings Day, January 6th. Join us as we count down the days till Hanukkah, Christmas, the New Year and 3 Kings Day. Each day will feature one of the following: a link to a free knitting pattern, a link to a free tutorial on making handmade Holiday decorations, a free holiday recipe, or a picture of a holiday item for sale.

Day 3 of the Holiday Calendar

December 3rd

19 days till Hanukkah
22 days till Christmas
28 days till the New Year
34 days till 3 Kings Day

Even wee ones need their own Santa hat!



This Sparkly Santa Baby Hat can be purchased within Etsy's Most Favorite Aunt store.

The hat was hand knit by Pam, owner of Most Favorite Aunt. Below Pam shared with me her inspiration to knit this adorable, little hat.

Q. What was your inspiration?
A. I wanted a tasteful twist on the classic Santa hat. I also hate making pom poms.

Q. How long did it take you to make it?
A. about 30 minutes

Q. Did you use any new techniques in the making of it?
A. Not at all. I knit a lot of baby hats, and this is my favorite stitch pattern.

Q. What made you choose the color(s) for it?
A. The burgundy looked much richer than traditional red, and the sparkly fur made a great plush brim.

Q. Do you plan to make any more items similar to this one?
A. There are five of these available in my shop, and I'm out of Wool-Ease, so I think that's good for now.

Q. Did you enjoy making it? Why or why not?
A. Absolutely! Turning on carols, and sitting by the fire with a project in your lap, is great way to get in the Christmas spirit.

This Holiday Calendar is sponsored by the Etsy Knitters Team.To find out more about the group, please visit our team page.

Etsy Knitters Team's Holiday Calendar will run through 3 Kings Day, January 6th. Join us as we count down the days till Hanukkah, Christmas, the New Year and 3 Kings Day. Each day will feature one of the following: a link to a free knitting pattern, a link to a free tutorial on making handmade Holiday decorations, a free holiday recipe, or a picture of a holiday item for sale.

Welcome New Members

Please join me in welcoming the newest members to the Etsy Knitters Street Team.

New members are listed in alphabetical order.

Essveekay26 is the proud owner of the Etsy store Sew Susan.
She hand knits baby beanies and booties. Additionally, she offers a collection of cross stitch supplies.

Leah of Leah Sutton Knits
sells her hand knit creations as well as the knitting patterns to make them yourself. You can read more about her tooth fairy cushions and other unique designs on her website.

Lrichmond3 is the owner of Bag Lady Bags.

Like the name of her store implies, she's a bag lady. Though she makes a wide variety of bags, her main focus is knitting bags. As one who never leaves her knitting at home, knitting bags are a necessity. For more designs, check out her Flickr album.



Because a lady can never have too many bags, allow me to introduce Nerys of Nerys Purchon's Bazaar.

All of her bags are one-of-a-kind creations. To read more about Nerys and her designs, check out her blog.



Pixiebell of Pixiebell Elfinwear specializes in unique hand knit pixie hats and elfin headwear. Her creations are fun and eye-catching.



Purl Hand Knits offers handmade scarves and hats. Her Falling Leaves felted scarves are particularly stunning.



Kathy of Yours By Design has been knitting since she was 5 years old. Her hand knit items reflect her skill and love of color.

Welcome All!

Beaded Knitting??? Talk about beautiful!

Knitting with beads? Or knitted items with beading embellishment. Either way, it's all gorgeous!

This weeks theme- Knitting with Beads, led me to find some beautiful beaded wedding items from our great team members participating the I DO 2008 Wedding Challenge.

First is this gorgeous blue beaded garter from Knotty Stuff.

Hooked out of soft mohair & sparkly novelty yarn and trimmed in a sky blue cotton blend. It features a corded elastic woven into the top of the garter so it stays in place! Glass beads are crocheted into the flower centers. It's very dainty and Knotty Stuff accepts custom orders for other colors.








Continuing with wedding garters, here is a knitted garter with festive violet butterflies featuring freshwater pearls by Bubolina. Hand knit in cotton, Bubolina also offers this garter with blue butterflies, as the wedding 'something blue' item.







Perfect for a night out on the town, or I think even as a bag for the wedding night or honeymoon, this little bag by Hand Mades by Lori, is handknitted 100% cotton bag/purse is 9 cm or 3-1/2 inches square in stocking stitch and finished with lace and pearl beads. It has a little picot edging with a loop over a pearl bead to close.

Every bride needs to carry her essentials...






While these fun foot thongs are silver, they look perfect for a beach wedding! They are perfect for going barefoot while it looks like you're wearing flip flops.

Crocheted in metallic silver yarn by A Needle in the Haystack, they feature tourquoise beads around the ankle.


Let's see what the week holds for knitting with beads. Stay tuned for more fabulous features!

Etsy Knitters Team Says 'I Do'

... To Etsy's 2008 Handmade Wedding Series.

The Etsy Knitters Team, an international group of talented and successful knitters, has challenged its members to create items that represent the love and beauty of a wedding through the art of knitting.

Throughout the month of May 2008, members of the Etsy Knitters Team will present handmade wedding items to the public through Etsy.com. These items will certainly encompass a wide range of wedding finery including bridal accessories, traditional wedding fare and even special gifts for the honeymoon. The stipulation to each member is “If you can dream it and it can represent the art of knitting, then one is encouraged to partake in the ‘I Do’ Wedding Challenge”.

The catalyst for the Etsy Knitters Team’s ‘I Do’ wedding challenge was Etsy.com’s Handmade Wedding Series. Rather than participate individually, the team felt that they could be more successful promoting their hand knit wedding items if they worked together. Thus, the idea was born. After countless hours of designing and knitting, the Etsy Knitters Team is proud to present the ‘I Do’ Wedding Challenge.

To search for challenge items, please type in the words “ido2008” and “etsyknitters team” into Etsy’s search engine or click this link. Members will be listing their offerings to the challenge throughout the entire month. Each item will include a special ‘I Do 2008” Wedding Challenge graphic as one of the photos. Be sure to visit Etsy and search often.

Summer Fun Wear...

A new week, a new theme... This week: "Summer Fun Wear", bringing you various designs from the Etsy Knitters Street Team to wear for summer.

What prompted this week's theme? Well, last week I finished a new pattern for a Corset-Laced Halter Top for summer and I posted it in my etsy shop: Fuzzy Bunny Knits . It's been so popular! Everyone is looking forward to summer and getting ready for their summer wardrobe. This pattern is so easy you can make one in every color and have an entire wardrobe!

Here it is:
What have the other Etsy Knitters been up to?? Well.. they have some fabulous options for summer as well.

Fiberworks is offering this delicate, Taupe Lace Scarf, knit in 100% baby alpaca. It would be lovely wrapped as a big bow or draped to show off the lace work and would work well dressed up for business with a suit or draped over a cocktail dress for evening. Isn't it gorgeous?


And Lindercella has created this Hot Pink Summer Wave Scarf that is just amazing! 60" long in 100% acrylic, this summer weight scarf is perfect for day or night time wear.


And what about these cute little wrist warmers perfect for spring and summer? Hand knit in a very soft silk/wool blend yarn hand dyed by Norske.


To finish with some fun... I couldn't resist including these great knitters "Knit Love" notecards by LocalGringos. I own a set of these notecards and I absolutely love them! From her "kNotes for kNitters© series of collages", ruminations on the theme of kNitting in particular, and Fiber Arts in general, a profession of "Knit Love".

These notecards are a collage design, hand & digitally colored, and are the third in LocalGringos' series honoring knitters past, craft connected-ness, and the Art of Knitting "handed" down from one pair of hands to the next. You've got to love them!!


Well, that's my offerings for today... I look forward to seeing what other fabulous Summer Fun Wear is posted throughout the week! Happy Knitting!

We have a Winner!

The Banner Poll has ended and we have a winner: the Yarn Basket banner.

The votes were running close for a bit...

Now you'll see the blog go through a few more changes. Now that we have a 'look' that we've decided on, we will build the blog from there. Watch us over the next few weeks to see!

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells, and cockle shells,
And pretty maids all in a row.

Look at all the talented "Mary's" we have at EtsyKnitters!!!

Running Neck and Neck...

Only 2 days left to vote!!!

And the we still have a tie... between "Yarn Basket" and "Stockinette" banners.

If you haven't taken time to vote, please do! Voting ends on Friday, 25th and the winner will be announced on Saturday.

Gardening on the mind...

This week's theme, chosen by Knitted Gems, is "Garden." What a perfect theme for the weather we are having here in Maine this week! We are finally seeing the last few piles of snow melt off and we even experienced a 75 degree day this past week. Such a relief from the difficult winter we had!

I've been looking at my small flower bed, thinking how much it needs my attention. When I spotted this item "The Vegetable Garden Hip Pouch" from The Spinning Hand, I thought, "What a great idea!"

"This is one of my first designs, from when I was still mainly a cross-stitcher and had just begun to discover the possibilities of knitting. A good, strong yarn in garter stitch lends itself well to embroidery, especially in earthy tones of Paternayan wool. A young lady might decide to use this bag as a carrying case for Peter Rabbit or the Velveteen Rabbit. It’s also fresh enough for those of us who are a wee bit older than that." ~ the Spinning Hand

She learned to knit in 2001, from her great-aunt, but didn't learn to purl until 2003! Since then she's been quite addicted to knitting. You can tell from all the beautiful items in her shop that she has certainly learned her craft. Take a moment to visit The Spinning Hand !

New Week, New Theme...

Monday Madness is upon us and we're launching a new format and new look here at the Etsy Knitters Street Team blog. Each week you will see several posts geared toward a specific theme set for that week. Each author will highlight items from various Etsy knitter team members.

Launching the new look, there are new banners to choose from. Throughout this week, I will be posting the different banners as the header of the blog. On Friday, we will ask the members to vote for their favorite new look. So, please check back each day to see a new banner and on Friday to vote in the poll.

Today's new look is Banner #1 - The Yarn Basket

Now, moving on to this week's theme -- Fuzzy Bunnies for SPRING !!!

I hopped along the bunny trail, looking for various bunnies to share with you... all week we will have bunny stories, bunny knits, new colors for spring looks and more...

Here are the fabulous new bunnies I chose to showcase today:

(Having Etsy mini difficulties-- I'm working on it)

From right to left:

1. Sassy the Bunny Crochet Pattern PDF by Sherri Crochets
2. Fingerpuppet Rabbit by The Nutty Knitter
3. Crochet Amigurumi Easter Bunny with egg by PSBBdesigns
4. Fairy Moss Scarf by Knitting Bag
5. Easter Bunny Pattern PDF by Knittingmette
6. Egg hats by Norske

Please take a moment to check out these bunnies and bunny inspiring items...

And don't forget to stop in each day to keep up with bunnies and spring and our Banner poll...