12 Months of FriendlyBrown- July through December

Yesterday I told you about my favorite knitting projects from the first half of 2010.  Today, I'll round out the final 6 months with my favorite pics!

 July- I was ALL about knitting poolside with a beverage!

 August brought this amazing color combination!

 I loved the pop of color in these September gloves.

 I'm always inspired from whatever is around me.  In October, it was red wine!

 The leaves were fallen in November, and they made the perfect props for a back deck photo shoot!

These gloves were made for a friend's Christmas gift.  Hope she liked them!

12 Months of FriendlyBrown- January through June

Well, the year is just about rounding up right now, and I thought I'd share what I've been up to these past 12 months!  It's really been a great ride this year.  I was able to accomplish a lot!  Here are my favorites from the first half of this year:

 I started out the year with a bang with this child's knitted set. Turned out SO cute!

 February brought a pair of half- finger gloves.  Pretty annoying to make, but TOTALLY worth it!

 March was all about the matching mug cozies!

 Loved this color combination in April!

 As the weather got warmer, I moved to iPhone cozies.  I loved this one in multiple colors!

Nobody wants fingerless gloves in June, so I created this mug cozy pattern.  Loved the bright yellow- perfect for summer!

on the needles: shades of gray

The other day I mentioned a pair of brown gloves I was custom-knitting for a customer. Today I started the black, white, and gray pair that was ordered. Im really digging these color combos. So simple, they could match anything (even the cute trench coat I saw at Target yesterday!) it's been a total pleasure making these gloves- I hope she loves them!

And this is how I roll while I'm knitting...

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A FriendlyBrown dream...

Well, my local yarn supplier (Joanne's in Colonie) recently remodeled. I didn't think it would really affect me, but when I finally found the yarn section, I was pleasantly surprised that they increased their inventory and straightened things out quite nicely.




Everything was laid out so nicely, so many colors and textures! I saw a lot of yarns that I had never seen before, and I'm super psyched to try some out.




This was my section- Vanna's choice!

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these colors must be in...

because this pair of gloves were featured in three different treasuries yesterday!  this particular pair wasn't very popular last fall,  but people seem to be liking it this year.  maybe i was just a year ahead?  I've always thought yellow and gray was a really cool color combo, so i'm psyched that others are enjoying it too.  Please check out the treasuries i was featured in here, here, and here...

On the needles...

Finally- some new designs! I've started a new pair of handwarmers in tan and bright red. I love the pop of color they have...









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buttons are HOTT...

I woke up this morning to an etsy convo informing me that I've been included in this treasury!  Treasuries are an important part of Etsy, because it really helps get your name out there, and admin uses treasuries a lot for their front page picks.  Hopefully this awesome button treasury will find it's way to the front page.  Thanks to MixedMediaCocktail for putting it together!

This particular pair of mug cozies was made for a co-worker who wanted something to fit on large mugs that was blue and purple... voila!

Great start to the week.  I hope it continues!

Off the Needles- Finally

I've really been focusing on photography lately, but that doesn't mean I've been slacking!   I've actually been working on 2 more fingerless glove designs.  Let me know what you think.  Hopefully more will be on the way!

Lime Green and Blue Fingerless Gloves

Purple and Maroon Fingerless Gloves

Photography has taken over...

As of late, Etsy sales are dwindling, and I've been more occupied with cool photo apps for my phone than FriendlyBrown knits. I'm sure in the coming weeks and months you'll be seeing more photo posts than knitting, but I wanted to dedicate this post to both of my loves. I've been commissioned to make a knitted stuffed lamb as a gift from a colleague of mine. He even supplied the pattern in this amazing book:









It's really great because it has adorable projects with easy to follow instructions, as well as information on how to complete all of the stitches used in the book. Truth be told, this is the first project that I've actually used a pattern this detailed for. There are a lot of stitches that I've only read about before, but I seem to be rockin' out pretty well so far. Wish me luck!








The needles I'm using...








The body and the head on different sets of needles, needing to be stuffed (thanks in advance crystal!)
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FriendlyBrown wish list...

In between making projects for friends, family, and customers, I always like to keep a list of patterns and ideas for items that I'd like to make for myself. My wishlist right now includes:

Lightweight scarf in tan or gray as my essential spring accessory
Slouchy hat for spring
Knitted bag for groceries
Knitted change purse
A cute spring shrug

I'll let you know what I decide to start first!


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Off the Needles...

This week in FriendlyBrown news, I've managed to finish 2 projects that I've been working on for awhile: a mother and daughter matching set, and my very own FriendlyBROWN hat!  I completed both this weekend and am SO excited by how they turned out!

 children's cream and pink knit set...

 children's fingerless gloves with adjustable mitts....

 and mommy ones to match!

and finally, my own FriendlyBrown hat!

What Sundays are all about...

No matter how depressing Sunday evenings are, it's always a joy to sit down, watch a new Simpsons episode, and have 3 balls of colorful yarn on my lap. I love creating, especially when I'm making something that's for someone else. I just finished a project for a friend who I don't get to see nearly enough (pics coming soon!), and have 2 more projects on deck right now. It makes me so excited to know my creations are going to someone that will really enjoy them.

The Simpsons are going to be on shortly, so I'll leave you with some previews of a pair of handwarmers I'm working on for a blog giveaway!








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Knittin' on the road...

Things have started to calm down at FriendlyBrown, so I decided the other night to knit myself the hat that I've been wanting to make myself all winter. I found a great pattern here that's exactly what I've been looking for! I wanted something easy to knit, cute and slouchy, and, of course, brown. I started it with a glass of wine the other night, and continued on the car ride up to Lake George (pictures to follow later this week!) Can't wait to finish and wear!

Here's the newest project on my lap in the car...





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little friendlybrown

I was going through my sketchbook last night and found this picture of me from when I was about 4 or 5...




Not quite sure what it really has to do with anything, but I think it's a pretty funny picture...

1. First off- the outfit! Check out those awesome blue velvet pants!
2. Gotta love the green shag carpet... Thankfully my parents have since gotten rid of it
3. You can't be a child of the 80's without a cabbage patch doll... It's almost as big as I am in that picture!
4. When I was little I just loved that wallpaper... I thought it was so pretty and girly
5. I had this awesome little kitchen set which is on the left side of the picture... It was my favorite thing in my room!
6. I'm sitting on the tiniest little rocker. I was covered in this cool retro corduroy... I wish I still had it!
7. There's also this baby card table pictured. Looking back it was super cool, but one day i decided to take a blue crayon and draw all over it. Mybe that's when my creative juices started flowing!

Alright... Enough nostalgia for now... Back to knitting!

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business cards...

just got my new moo mini biz cards in the mail today, and I'm psyched! they're inexpensive, and the site us super easy to use. I definitely recommend them to any one that needs cheap, but really cool business cards...




I used 30 different photos of knitting projects that ive done...



Here are some of the fronts...



And here's the back that I designed myself.. ( they also have templates if you don't want to design your own)

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friendlybrown packaging...

i mailed out some orders today, and i thought you might be interested in how i package my knitted items...

with every pair that i send out, i see it more like sending a present than shipping an order. one of the most important parts of my packaging is a hand-written note i send with each and every order. it's important to me to let the buyer know how excited i am to be selling on etsy. i make sure to pick out tissue paper that matches the knitted item. it's never super long, just a little note telling them something about the hand warmers and sending well wishes. the number 1 comment i get from buyers is that they appreciated the little note i sent with order.

my favorite part of shipping is picking out matching tissue paper to wrap the order with. a little color goes a long way, especially when a lot of my world is surrounded around brown! i have a variety pack of cool tissues papers that i wrap each order with. i tie it all up with a piece of simple hemp, and it's ready to go to its destination. i've sold orders all around the world, but the excitement of sending out something that i've put a lot of time and thought into never dies.

here's some pics i took of the orders from last night...

here's one of the pairs that have recently gone out... i hope they like them!

thank you note with blue tissue paper...

i send all my hand warmers in a brown padded mailer, with a little thank you on the back!

projects of the week...

here's what i've been up to this week...

pink and brown baby scarf...

blue and tan fingerless gloves...

baby hat...

blue, yellow, and orange fingerless gloves...



i'm constantly working on my 365 project...

here's my mess of a workspace where it all happens!