Etsy Twitter Team Shop of the Week - In My Head Studio

Very Pretty!! This week's featured shop is just that! In My Head Studios has some lovely tile pendants for sale and this green one is my favorite!

And as an added bonus, she is offering 15% off purchases this week!

So be sure to check out her shop, read her interview on the Etsy Twitter Team Blog, search "etsytwitter team" on etsy and search "#etsytwitter" on twitter!

Reading Time!

Enjoying a crochet themed book this weekend!!

NAMES - A Funny Thing

Speaking of names....

I just love Facebook! I love connecting with people...family, friends, adoring fans (LOL!!) But with all these connections, it really surprises me sometimes....things I rarely think about anymore...like my name.

Being a child of the 70's with the name of Jennifer (see the list of popular girls names and you'll understand), I have always had nicknames. So, how does this apply to Facebook? Well, depending on what name you call me I can tell:

1-when we met
2-how well you know me
3-"how" you know me

Like I said, I've had many nicknames. Up until adulthood, the ONLY person to call me "Jennifer" was my Daddy! I even went by nicknames at school because there were always so many Jennifer's in my classes. But that changed once I started having to work. These days I go by Jennifer a lot more. It is what I go by professionally, but most people who know me well do not call me it.

The first nickname I can remember is "J.J." {Jay-Jay}. Short for Jennifer Joe. I have no idea who started this one, but I have been called it since I was tiny! Yes, it is usually more associated with boys...and yes it DEFINITELY made me stand out more (Like I really needed THAT as a kid....picture the tallest, skinniest girl in class!) But that one stuck for a LONG time. If you call me J.J. today you probably are family, knew me in school, or were one of the first set of friends I made when I moved to Colorado.

Now, when I hit about 25 and was newly divorced, I thought J.J. was a little too childish. That's about the time I shortened it to "J" {Jay}. I like J. It is definitely my favorite of all my nicknames. If you call me J, you are probably pretty close to me right now.

I don't really remember when "Jaybird" started. And only a very few family members ever called me that. I think it may have been my dad or Aunt Cora, but again, I'm not sure. But this is where I got my inspiration for Jaybird Designs as you can tell. Some people do call me Jaybird these days. They are usually other crocheters that I have met online. You know how it is....sometimes it's just easier to remember me as Jaybird when you see it as my log in name so many places.

I have one close friend who calls me "Jen". Other than her...if you call me Jen or Jenny...I probably won't answer you because I don't realize you are talking to me! LOL!!

My hubby has a strange nickname for me. He calls me " 'fer", the second half of Jennifer. He's the only one to ever call me that...well, except for Heather sometimes since she hears daddy say it so much. And speaking of Heather....I bet you can't guess how many times "I" get called Heather since that name is more associated with my age group! (it's also up there in the most popular names list!) Now that was a nickname I would have never expected!! LOL!!

So, now that I spilled my "secrets" about my name....which name do YOU associate with me??? I'd love to know!

Name That Blanket - Update

I've gotten some really good suggestions for blanket names. Here are a two that I really like:

*Bunny Slope Snuggly
*First Tracks Blankie

Keep the ideas coming!! Today I hope to get some good pictures to use with the pattern and do some pattern testing.

Shouldn't be long now! I hope to be able to release it next week!

Name That Blanket!

Well, here it is! A sneak peek at the ski themed baby blanket. Now for what I consider the hardest part of designing....coming up with a name!! UGH!! It's always so frustrating!! And I am not a creative name maker...if it was up to me it would be called something simple and descriptive like Ripple Snowflake.

So, since I've had all my readers help since the start, it's time to help for your help again. What would YOU like this baby blanket to be called??

I can't wait to share the entire thing with you!! Soon.....

I NEED Some Wine!!

PLEASE, if you are on Facebook, be sure to become a fan of Canyon Wind Cellars and let them know that I sent you!! (Jennifer Cirka)


I need about 12 more people to fan them so that I can win a bottle of wine!! PLEASE!!!

Etsy Twitter Team Shop of the Week - NikkyLee Designs

I really enjoyed checking out this weeks featured shop for the Etsy Twitter Team!! NikkyLeeDesigns has some unique jewelry and beautiful pictures in her shop!! I fell in love with this blue waterfall necklace and think it would look fabulous on me this fall with my jeans!!


You can check out her shop here and read her interview over at the Etsy Twitter Team Blog! And as always, be sure to search "etsytwitter team" on etsy and "#etsytwitter" on twitter!

Lions and Tigers and BEARS!!

Oh My! Well, no lions and tigers...but there is a bear!

We're out camping...yes again...in beautiful Ouray, Colorado and there is a bear problem!! Turns out earlier this month an old lady was killed by a black bear at her home. She was FEEDING them!!! 14 of them!!! So, now that she is gone, the bears are looking for people to give them food and one is hanging out at the KOA. They call him Tripod. He is a large male with only 3 paws.

Tripod decided to walk over our "porch" last night! We found big muddy footprints on our rug just inches from the door!!

Wonder if he will be back tonight? PROBABLY!

Ski Blanket Update

OK, it looks like style A won so I went shopping today for yarn! Even though my friend really wanted a bamboo yarn, I couldn't find any that I wanted to use. Most of them were hand wash only....and for a baby blanket...NO WAY! Then, the ones that I found which were machine washable, I just wasn't thrilled with the color choices.

So....I chose a super soft cotton that I think will work GREAT!! It's Bernat Cotton Tots in Blue Berry and White.

Then I played with some swatching and think I have a ripple design I like. Here is the sample swatch pic. It needs a little tweeking and I think I will add one more solid row between the lattice row. Also, I'm thinking that the blues will be all solid (so I can attach the snowflakes) and the whites will have the lattice rows. So each color section will have 7 rows...wich should give me a width of around 30".



Now it's time to work on some math to get the length I need. Ok, time to get to work! Wish me luck!

I'm Here!

Sorry guys....I got sucked into another book! LOL!! But that's done now and I need to get back to work.

Looks like Blanket A is winning the design idea contest. (See HERE for more info) If you haven't already, please vote for your favorite. I hope to go yarn shopping just as soon as my paypal account builds back up!!

Other than that, I am slowly working on some more designs to self-publish. And, of course, trying to get back into the school-day routines.

And just to let you know, I've added a few new items to my etsy shop!

You can now have your very own, custom made, Great With Jeans Poncho in your choice of 5 fabulous colors!

And I happen to have a Breast Cancer Skinny Scarf ready to ship!

More items to be added soon!! Hope you all have a GREAT day!

Back to School!

Today was Heather's first day of First Grade!! Isn't she adorable?? She is so excited....guess it's kinda boring at home with mommy all day long during the summer!!

She has a new teacher and lots of new friends to make. She was a little clingy when we dropped off her backpack in her room. She was also a little shy saying good morning to her new teacher too. But once she hit the playground and saw all her friends...she was off with a "Bye Mommy!"

I'll see her again at 3:40. Now that school is back in session, I'll have more time to spend on my business!!! YAY me!

But....I do miss her!

Sketch Inspiration

Well, it occurred to me today...

"Why don't I let my readers help me with the design of my ski themed blanket? And while I'm at it, I might as well write up the pattern and offer it for FREE to all my wonderful readers?"

So, what do you think? LOL!!

This weekend I came up with two design sketches. I'm going to let you all vote on which one you would like to see become my next free crochet pattern. Vote over on the left and I'll keep voting open until I get the chance to go yarn shopping this week.

For more info on what is going on, check out these posts:
Ski Inspiration
Yarn Inspiration

Blanket A:
*Rectangular blanket in a ripple design similar to the snow picture
*Thick vertical rows of blue and white stripes with white snowflakes sewn on the blue sections


Blanket B:
*Rectangular blanket done in a simple textured stitch with strips of single crochet near the top and bottom with white snowflakes sewn on
*all done in blue

OK...so go and vote! Also, feel free to leave me any comments!

Yarn and Camping

Usually these two don't go so well together!! LOL!! YES, I do always bring a project with me when we go camping, but usually it is nothing that either A: uses expensive yarn or B: takes a lot of thought to crochet. You'll usually find me with a skein of Simply Soft and making baby hats for my charity group.

BUT...this time it was different!! We drove over to Telluride, Colorado for a day. Now, Telluride is a ski town....a VERY high end ski town...I think many stars have homes here including Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes...and it is absolutely beautiful! Nestled in the mountains, a huge community park including fishing ponds, ice rink, pool, and huge playground! Lots of trendy boutiques and very expensive food ($3.50 for a hot dog!).

And while we were there, guess what I found??? A yarn store!! Yippee...whooo hoooo...happy dance!!! And after much pleading and begging on my part, my wonderful husband let me go in for a look!

Now I was in a hurry....remember generous husband and large dog waiting for me outside...so I touched and drooled over as much as I could! I have been wanting to try some linien yarns, but wasn't inspired by the colors they had...so I grabbed the yarns that stood out to me the most! I purchased two skeins of Mirasol Tupa yarn in ruby red! The yarn is a 50/50 merino silk blend and the color is fantastic! I hope to have enough to crochet me a skinny scarf and matching wrist warmers!! And please don't ask what I spent on the yarn....remember how much I told you a hot dog was??? LOL!!


So, if you ever find yourself skiing/hiking in Telluride, head to the end of Colorado Avenue and stop by Needle Rock Fiberarts! Friendly people, lots of knitting (sorry...didn't see a lot of crochet there except some hooks) supplies, FABULOUS yarns, and tell them that I sent you!!

And I did manage to bring the yarn home and not touch it yet...I have a few other things I need to finish first.

Yarn Inspiration

OK, so upon talking to my friend about the Ski Themed Baby Blanket, she has given me free reign to create what I want!! Yippee and Blah!! LOL!!

Yippee because I get to play...make what I want...get creative without boundaries.

Blah because I now have no direction and have a few ideas floating around in my head!

So, I guess my next step is yarn. I know my friend really likes the new bamboo yarns....but unfortunately it is hard to find locally. It looks like these will be my choices (as long as my local shop has a decent selection of them!)


First we have the Naturally Caron Spa yarn. I really like this yarn and have used it before. I'm just not sure that the Berry Frappe is the color I want.

My local high-end yarn store has this little baby called Eden in Royal. Very pretty....and on sale for $3!! But how many of these little balls of yarn will I need to make the blanket??? And do they have enough of the same dye lot in stock?? I'm guessing NO since it is on sale...
Now, the last time I was at Hobby Lobby, I saw this yummy yarn by Patons called Silk Bamboo!! It has some pretty shades of blue....but is not machine washable. I don't think that will work for a baby blanket! BUT.................
According to their website, they have a baby version that is machine washable! SCORE!! But does my Hobby Lobby or Michaels carry it???

Looks like I may need to do some shopping!!!!! Does anyone have any experience with these yarns?? If so, I'd love to hear your opinions. Or do any of my readers have any other suggestions for yarns that I may be missing?

Playing with Sticks!

Yes...me...I admit it! I've been playing with sticks again!! But I can still only knit in a square or rectangle! LOL!! I wanted to try out a new stitch pattern I saw, so I just grabbed something from my stash!! Little did I know what that bright orange yarn would inspire me to do!!

I think the yarn was leftover from something Denver Broncos related...and since I didn't have very much of it...it ended up being a pretty little neck warmer. The color just screamed "Halloween" to me! So to finish it off, I crocheted a wonderful and LARGE rose in dark purple, black, and metallic silver thread! ANd then, while at my local yarn store, I happened to find the perfect finishing touch! A small spider on a web button! Too cute!

You can now own this fun creation....check it out in my etsy shop!

Ski Inspiration

So, a wonderful friend of mine has commissioned me to create a one-of-a-kind and very unique baby blanket for her cousin's new baby. It seems that the mom-to-be is a die hard downhill skier and my friend would love to have the blanket reflect that. OH....and they do not know the sex of the baby even though he/she is due to arrive in about 2-3 weeks!

Well, I'm not a skier! Tried once and failed miserably! And yes, I do live in Colorado! LOL!!

So I need some inspiration. Upon searching the web I came across these photos and below them I will tell you what runs through my mind about a crochet blanket.


So, of course when I think of skiing I think of snow....snow = snowflakes. So the first thing I do is search for crochet patterns already available and come across this fun blanket by Ellen Gromley. I really like how each snowflake is embroidered on.


Next I search for photos of people skiing. This one really spoke to me with the pattern in the snow....how about a ripple pattern for the blanket??? Hmmmmm....

What about gear?? What kind of gear do skiiers use?? Well, skis and goggles of course!! I wonder if I would be able to re-create something like this in crochet? Make them and attach them to a solid color blanket??

And color!!! When I think of skiing, I think of blue skies and white snow. Duh! But a blue blanket for a possible girl??? Well, I guess that's better than ending up with a pink blanket for a boy! LOL!!

Hope you enjoyed this trip into my designing mind! Stay tuned for more adventures in designing coming soon! Happy crocheting!

Etsy Twitter Team Shop of the Week - Safiya Beauty

YUM!!! Everything here just sounds and looks delish!! I know where I'll be shopping for my next "Pamper Myself" Day!!

I'll definitely use some of these Sugar Cookie Bath Bombs!

And finish it off with this Dulce Body Butter!! YUMMY!!

You can read more about this shop on the Etsy Twitter Team Blog and be sure to search #etsytwitter on twitter and "etsytwitter team" on etsy for more wonderful finds from this group!

Playtime with Cash

Baby Pictures and a Preview!

I got to play with my new camera a little yesterday taking pictures of one month old Abigail! She is a doll and did an excellent job modeling for me! Her twin sister Zoe is still in the hospital with some complications, so we are praying that she comes home soon! I can't wait to get pictures of the two of them together!!

HOME!

I'm home from vacation and trying to get things back to normal...well, for at leas the next two weeks until school starts!!

Right now I am busy finishing up a project for publication and my goal is to have it in the mail by Friday! I'm also working on a bunch of patterns for self-publication!! Just waiting on photos and editing!! I can't wait! These are some of my favorites!!

Today is also my 7th wedding anniversary to my wonderful hubby!! Unfortunately he is in Denver and won't be home till late tonight!

I'll blog more as soon as I can!