The Eleanors

the duo of eleanors that are going out in the mail today. both are going to find homes in new york!

and just look at those buttons! love them!

Itty Bitty Flower Pillow

you all know that i am in love with the flower pillows that i am making. they are just so tactile and satisfying!

it all started with the 'regular' sized throw pillow - measuring in at 18". then i moved on to the giant floor pillow (i.e. best thing ever!) - measuring in at about 32".

now here is their little baby sister pillow. this little cutie measures in at about 10" across but still super fat at about 4"!

this pillow is just the right size for little hands to snuggle and carry. it would be super cute in a crib or small rocking chair in the nursery. or what about those baby dolls? everyone needs a special pillow for their baby doll's little head! :)

of course i also love it for all those grown up spaces too! just the right size to give a touch of whimsy to an armchair or window seat! i just know that everyone will find a hundred little special places for these babies!

and like all the others - they come in any color combo that you would like! so coordinate to your hearts content! :)

Giveaway Ends Today!

hurry and sign up for the giveaway by midnight EST tonight for your chance at the hooded cowl shown here! all  you have to do is click the 'Follow' button to the right side of the blog. and then leave a comment on the giveaway post to let me know that you are following - it's an automatic entry! check out all the other ways to enter on the post here:

How About A Giveaway??

remember you only have til midnight EST to get in on the action! :) Good Luck!

Vonessa's Sapphire Eleanor Scarf

another sapphire beauty. i just love how deep and lovely this color blue is. a true 'blue' for all those looking for that! busily working my way through it today. it should mail out to vonessa tomorrow! :)

Another Sheet To Go

it's getting bigger! this is how it is looking right now with two pillow cases and one king flat sheet used. i still have the fitted sheet to add on. right now it is at approx. 29" round so i am still hoping to get it to 3'. i'm really loving how it is turning out and can't wait to have it on my floor to test it out! it seems as though it is going to be super durable - which was the whole point! :)

unfortunately i have to put this on hold for a couple of days to work on other things. fortunately those other things are orders! :) so i am always happy to do those! right now, i have two eleanor scarves, a boyfriend scarf and some wrist warmers to make up for my wonderful customers! pictures of those soon! :)

 Don't miss out on the giveaway! 

go here to see details 

Giveaway ends on Monday the 30th!

The New Endeavor

here's the newest project that i am knee deep in at the moment. (and yes, i always have twelve going on at the same time....)

i have had fantastic sales with my crocheted round rugs. everyone loves them and they really are super squishy and so lovely on the toes! :) however, they do have an evil side to them....they can not under any circumstances be vacuumed!!!

i know. it's tragic.

so i wanted to offer an alternative for those of us that just MUST have a vacuum-able (is that a word?) rug. and i love the idea of cutting up bedsheets to accomplish this. i guess i must have a destructive side! haha.

i found these really gorgeous butter yellow jersey sheets and am making the prototype. so this one will be in my home and i'll use and abuse it for awhile to see how it holds up. including vacuuming it, washing it, and generally letting my kids do what they do best - test something to within an inch of it's life! :) hee.

right now it is about 18" round. i still have most of a king sheet and the king fitted sheet to destroy and add on to it. i am hoping to get at least 3' round out of this one set of sheets. we'll see.

and i am learning that there is an art to how you do this. do you see that it seems to look better and better as the circle widens?? yes, that is my (quite literal) learning curve! hahaha. but i am getting the hang of how you need to cut, stretch, and hold this 'yarn' as you work with it to get great, professional looking results.

in short -- i am having a BLAST! :)

i'll keep you all posted on how this is turning out!

Finished with the Thunder

here it is... and i managed to get a pretty good color representation in this photo! The yellow background really helped to pop the turquoise-y color! :)

it's about to get all packaged up and shipped out!

How About a GIVEAWAY???

the first ever Anaid Designs GIVEAWAY! how exciting! this month i am going to give away this lovely little hooded cowl. below are all the ways that you can enter your name into the contest. so share away and spread the word!

who can WIN...

1. you must be a follower of ANAID DESIGNS to play! FOLLOW me using the button right there...to the right of this post...yep that's it! 

2. anyone can win -- so enter as much as you can! ;)

how to PLAY...

1. COMMENT - tell me that you are a follower and you're entered! - 1 entry

2. VISIT - go to Anaid Designs and let me know what products you like best and why! - 1 entry

3. TWEET - share this Giveaway - 1 entry

4. FOLLOW - join me at Anaid Designs on Facebook - 1 entry

5. POST - share this Giveaway on your Facebook Wall - 1 entry

*** For each item that you do - just leave a separate comment for each on this post to let me know! I'll verify it and enter your name again and again in the giveaway! :)

the DETAILS:

entries will be accepted Jan. 24, 2012 through Jan. 30, 2012. winner will be announced here on Jan. 31st. winner will be chosen using random.org. winner will be contacted via email. the winner has 48 hours to confirm their win or another winner will be selected. good luck! 

Thunder

a lovely eleanor scarf done in color Thunder! i love this color - it's really one of my fav's. unfortunately it's one of those colors that just doesn't ever look quite right in a photo! and of course this is not even in the sunlight...just my little floor lamp lighting it up! :)

this scarf will be in the mail tomorrow and on its way to its new home in Canada!

Love That Flower Power

i... am... in... love...

is that weird to say about your own creation? i dunno... i think it's probably a good thing right? shouldn't i fall in love with each new thing? :) i think so!!

and this one is my new favorite thing - EVER. when i was making my 'normal size' flower pillows (approx. 18" round) i thought to myself "hey i could make a huge one that was a floor pillow!" and so i did.

this pillow is approx. 32" round and it's about a foot 'fat'. it is lovely squishy happiness! and for someone that lives on the floor and has two little ones that also live on the floor - this is the best thing. i am so happy with it!

some details - it's crocheted out of that same wonderful super bulky yarn that my round rugs - and the smaller flower pillows - are made from. so again you can coordinate your whole room! i hand make the pillow from super soft fleece and stuff it with poly fill (although i am sourcing other stuffings at the moment). then the crocheted top is hand sewn to the top half of the pillow. so the bottom side of the pillow is still that nice soft fleece! :)

i will be taking more photos and listing this little piece of heaven on the shop reallllllly soon! i'll let you know when it's there!

Catching Up On The Plaid

so i've been working along on the iPad case and horribly not remembering to take photos or post about it! here are all the catch up photos so you can see what is going into this lovely little design!

it is in typical design mode though...which means do everything once, figure out there's a better way, tear it out, do it all again. :) but that's how you get something great, right??

here are shots of the case from earlier today. you can see how the case will come together and button placement in the first shot. next two shots show the 'guts of the case'. of course you will never see the white batting which is there for extra cushion. the brown fabric is a super soft fleece.

obviously everything is getting sewn up and then there will be a lovely edging around all the edges in the yellow. or brown. can't decide. probably another step that i will do more than once! haha!

stay tuned... you should see finished photos VERY soon! :)

A Little Valentine Love

an eternal bloom to give to your valentine -- or yourself! ;)

this is my new line of super soft and fun crocheted flower pillows. these two were made with valentine's day in mind...but you can do any combination of colors you would like. or go solid!

made from the same yarn as my popular round rugs -- so you can coordinate these lovely pillows with your rug!

check out the etsy listing here:
www.etsy.com/listing/91002987/love-blooms-flower-pillow-decorative

OK so....

yeah, so nice picture huh? doesn't look much different from the last photo does it? just nice and neat now without all those little ends of yarn that comes from doing a stripe pattern.

ends of yarn that all have to be woven in to look nice and neat. and of course not come wiggling their way out of the item at some point. so let's just say that you do need to pay a bit of attention to the workmanship at this point.

which in this case took me ALL last night - approx. 2 and 1/2 hours - to weave all those little suckers in!

have i ever mentioned to you that i HATE weaving in the ends?? i really wish the magical little elves would step in once and awhile to take care of them for me! ;)

the good news?? now it's done and i am moving forward with the case tonight. i am hoping to have it finished up by tomorrow night and in the mail on saturday. of course since this is a new design...there may be snags to that time line! keep your fingers crossed for me!

Perfect Plaid Please

ok...so here i am surrounded by tons of yellow, brown, white and black plaid swatches! i am now working on #4. yep... the first front and back that you saw earlier are being re-done. they were fine. but when i was really looking at them and thinking of assembly with the fleece interior etc. i decided that i really wanted the crochet portion to be a tighter weave.

so i started over. i do that a lot. sometimes it is the curse of being a perfectionist!

FREE SHIPPING!

here's a special valentine deal to make the day a little sweeter...

Free Shipping on all domestic orders from now til Feb. 1st! anything ordered between now and then will ship and arrive in time for the big day! :)

are you international and want a deal too? contact me and i'll hook you up with a special discount too! :)

Rainbow Stripes Galore!

well here it is everyone...the finished rug for rachel's daughter hattie! it's so pretty. seriously, in person is even better than in the photos. and in person with your BARE TOES sunk into it is the best!! :)

i loved it so much i have made this design part of my shop and you can go check out it here:
www.etsy.com/listing/90449251/big-rainbow-stripes-crochet-rug

of course, everything about it is customizable if you would like your own. the colors used and the size. it doesn't even have to be rainbow! maybe just two or three colors. maybe the colors from your favorite team even! :) and of course it can be made any size you can dream up! just convo me through etsy if you are interested and we'll work together to get your perfect rug!

oh and rachel's didn't get shipped today... because i am working up something SUPER DUPER special to put in her package with this rug. it's a coordinating piece. that i am also in love with. and it will be in my shop as well. that is all i'm going to say right now. it's fabulous though...or at least i think so! :) stay tuned for more on that special project! i think rachel will be super shocked to get such a special extra in with her order! and i live to surprise people! ;)

And The Rug Goes On....

rainbow rug update!

i know it's been awhile - but all the photos would have looked the same! but i have now worked through all the interior stitches to tack the rug to the backing. and now i am working on the final outside edging. i finish the rugs in an invisible seam that i hand stitch. well, it's all hand stitched! i don't use a machine for anything except the long seam down the back to sew the two pieces of backing fabric together so it's wide enough for the rug. :)

i am estimating another 3 hours to finish the seam (only one side is done right now). but that means....

....drum roll please....

the rug should be ready to ship tomorrow!!! wooohooooo!!! i know rachel will be so excited to get this one in the mail. she's been waiting on the rest of the room until she can see the rug in it's place. she should have it by monday at the latest! :)

Simple Strings

a photo with the necklace on.

this is approximately 20" long. i'm going to make some shorter 'choker' lengths too! every one will be a little different i'm sure!

the stone is knotted to the side of middle - which causes the necklace to actually hang to the side just like it looks in this photo. i love that.

Another Test Product

hi all - again!

what do you think? like the simplicity of this little necklace?? i am in love with all things super simple. the smaller and daintier the better in my book. these super simple necklaces create an air of mystery and supreme confidence to me. you know those people - the ones that seem so effortlessly gorgeous all the time and like they don't even care? yeah, this is what they would wear.

this little guy is going to find it's way into jessica's package with her eleanor scarf. i hope she likes it and gives me good feedback on it! i think you'll be seeing a little army of these guys in the shop real soon!

*as soon as i fix my hair into something half way acceptable i will take a pic with it on so you can see it in all it's simple glory!

Jessica's Eleanor Scarf

i've just finished jessica's eleanor scarf - to replace the one that the post office lost! :( now i'm dreading that i will get any more emails from customers saying that they haven't received theirs either. fingers crossed this is the end of it!

i just had to take a close up of that button! i love the coloring and rings on this branch type. i'm not sure what species of tree that belongs to. i need to ask my button lady. they are definitely my fav's right now! gorgeous!

i hope jessica loves her new scarf - and i really hope that she GETS IT!!! :) hahaha.

Wash Me Up

a prospective new product that will {hopefully} make it to the shop soon. it's a washcloth/dishcloth. nothing special right? everyone has them, right?

except.... this is made from washable wool. 75% wool and 25% nylon.

so see i had this thought - everyone makes their washcloths with cotton. which of course is a great choice and works like a charm. cotton is very absorbent. but do you really want or need absorbent in a washcloth? unless you are using it to mop up spills - i don't see why you would need absorbency.

however, wool is naturally exfoliating. so what about a wool washcloth that will stand the test of time and give you a nice little exfoliation in the shower? or give you extra tough scrubbing power in the kitchen?

so i made this little beauty. isn't it great and masculine looking?? i think even the hubbys would like to use this one! i just love the colors in this yarn line. they are all very muted and neutral. much better for today's tastes than all the pastels and brightness of cotton yarn!

this one is on it's way to canada to be product tested by a lovely customer of mine. {if you are interested in product testing for me just let me know! anaiddesigns@gmail.com}

and i have another that i will be testing myself. i will let you know how they work. if they work as good as they look then we will be having a new product line on the shop very very soon! :)

Guess What's Finished?

the re-make of the Organic Wrap in Pistachio is done and ready to package. right now it is snowing pretty darn heavily and i did want to make up a little extra thing to put in the package anyway...so i'll put it in the mail tomorrow! :)

Another Great Blog Feature

Anaid Designs was featured in this wonderful blog by lynn. she is just great! check out the photos of one of my rugs that she purchased - and be sure to check out the rest of her site. a truly talented lady with lots of great posts! become a follower - you'll love seeing what's next on her blog!

fibraartysta.blogspot.com/2012/01/where-i-stand-sunday.html

Blog Feature for Anaid Designs

hi all! Anaid Designs has been featured in a great new blog by a lovely girl named Miran. i think that this is really going to go places. it's a great place to find special shops. and she featured me! :) check it out... tell your friends and family, post about it... just get the word out and get this great blog going for her!

Thanks!!

emeyeran.wordpress.com

Getting Closer

progress shot of the Organic Wrap. getting closer! hopefully i can get this finished and in the mail by monday.

of course i am also trying to get rachel's rug done by monday too... it's so large though the backing is taking Forever. so that one may have to be tues. or wed. for shipment. sorry there's no photos of the rug's progress at the moment - there's just nothing cool to take a photo of! :) backing is just not that glamourous! haha.

Organic x2

yesterday i received an emergency message from a customer.

she had ordered the Organic Wrap for her daughter for christmas. it was very well received and lovingly put back into the box for safe keeping. in the holiday rush of taking out the trash -- yup, you guessed it. the wrap was thrown out with the recycling! OH NO!!

she is desperately wanting another to give back to her daughter! i feel so so bad for her! so i am rushing through another organic wrap as quickly as possible to get this on its way to her. of course this is a very time intensive item - approx. 10 hours of knitting time - but i'm waiting for rachel's rug backing to wash up so i've got some time today to put more length on the wrap! :)

wish me speedy knitting!

And We Have Plaid...

here it is all plaid-ed up! waiting to hear back if my customer  likes the pattern and then i will continue on!

Plaid iPad

the beginnings of the plaid iPad case. this is so fun already - i can't wait to finish it up!

and yes, it is just striped right now... stay tuned for the next pic for the plaid!!

What Is It?

can you tell what this is? this is the continuation of the new project that was first posted yesterday. i am about 2/3 of the way done with it. any guesses? i'll post a finished pic soon! :)

Ready For Rug Backing

here it is... rachel's rainbow rug all finished with the crochet portion. i'm in love with it! but now it is time for the much less fun and much more strenuous backing process. ugh. i really wish that i could figure out a better way to do this (i.e.: easier and quicker) but so far i'm stuck with the long and hard way! :)

wish me luck and patience! :)

The New Boyfriend

here's the new finished Boyfriend Scarf to replace grace's 'lost in the mail one'! i hope it gets to her safe and sound and super quick! fingers crossed!

Another New Project

here's the very beginning of a brand new design. i'm super excited to do this one... i am hoping that it turns out the way it looks in my mind! ;) stay tuned for updates....

Spiced Warmth

a new pair of wrist warmers in color spice - just waiting to be sewn up. these will be going out to phyllip today for his fiancé! i hope she loves them! :)

Can I Get a Mulligan?

so, with the enormous amounts of packages shipped during the holidays by all people, and the large number that i shipped out to customers and family this holiday season... i guess it's not a bad percentage to have only one package that seems to have vanished into our postal system.

but i don't think that makes grace feel any better that her Boyfriend Scarf has never made it's way to her home. :( i feel so bad! so here is a shot of her new scarf in progress - i'm about half way done and hoping to finish this to get it in the mail by this afternoon. i working my little fingers super speedy fast! ;)

sorry grace! i'll make it up to you with an extra goodie in your box! :)

iPad Cover

a new custom order is about to begin! here is the yarn for it. a great customer of mine wants a custom iPad case made for her boyfriend. and she wants it plaid! :) how awesome is that?? so i will be making a plaid crochet iPad case in these colors. this is going to be a really intricate project! and FUN!

Happy New Year!!

i wish you all a wonderful beginning to the new year! best wishes for 2012!!