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!

shop local: knit (and crochet) edition!

I LOVE knitting (if you couldn't tell), and it always amazes me to see how many other people enjoy knitting too!  This week I set out to find some of the best knitters the capital district has to offer.  Here's what I found:

The Kate Cardi - Cadet by rachelod

 

 

Coffee Shop -- Cool Brown Lightweight by handmadebyjody

 

Chunky Basketweave Wool Cowl Neckwarmer with Buttons by HookedByLutya

 

Snuggly Winter Hat, Pumpkin Striped by unspeakablevisions

The Kris Scarf by sweetgoose

 

 

Long wristband by phaltline

 

 

Red and Blue Unisex Hat by uniformity

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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holy cow!

it's august people! now is the time to wear all of your cutest sundresses and get into any body of water as much as possible, because you know that cooler weather is right around the corner! for me though,  it's time to get back in gear for knit items. there are TOO many back-to-school advertisements, and they still make me nervous even though i'm not in school.  i guess it's because it's going to be -20 degrees before we know it (sorry upstate new yorkers, you KNOW it's going to happen!) and i know i have LOTS of work to do before the busy holiday season!

yeah, gotta get knitting- pronto.  for now though, it's just TOO hot to have any extra fiber around my sweaty self, but i swear, there will be new knits coming soon!  in the meantime, let's enjoy beautiful summer weather (btw- thank you, Albany for not raining every single day this summer, it meant a lot to me!).

here's beautiful washington park on a wonderful summer afternoon... wish it could stay like this forever!

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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