Lena and Natalie Crochet

I think I mentioned a while back that I've been planning to start selling my crochet items again. Well, I finally am! If you're friends with me on Facebook or follow me on Instagram (@lenaandnataliecrochet, you know that already. But, if you only read the blog (I think there are a few of you), you don't know that I will be selling things via Instagram starting October 5!  Here's the whole story...

The Name
First of all, a little background on the name. My Oma, my maternal grandmother, taught me how to crochet (and knit, but I prefer to crochet). She taught me some basic stitches, and I've taught myself everything else through books and the internet. Most of you who know my Oma know her as Helen, which is legally her name, but her family calls her Lena. I believe it's short for Magdalena. When she moved to the U.S. from Germany she changed her name to Helen, but I love the name Lena. The first part of the name of my crochet "store" comes from my Oma who taught me the physical act of crochet, but also shared with me her love for yarn and color and creating things.
My paternal grandmother, my Grammy, was an artist. She painted beautiful landscapes and portraits and animals. She and my Pop-Pop met in art school in New York. I took art lessons from Grammy off and on; private lessons and in art class at my school where she taught for a year. She taught me about how colors work together and interact and how to pay attention to colors around me. Her name was Natalie.
And thus, Lena and Natalie Crochet

The Store
For now I will be selling directly through Instagram. Basically, every Monday, I will post pictures of a few items. The first person to comment with their PayPal email address commits to purchasing the item. I will send an invoice, and when the invoice is paid, the item will be shipped. For now, I'm limiting the store to Instagram, but I may also open an Etsy store again. I have yet to decide. I know there are some people who are not on Instagram, and I understand that you will not be able to purchase anything yet, but I will eventually solve that problem...maybe.If you desperately want something I posted on Facebook, send me a message and we can talk about it. I am not currently doing any custom orders; it is just two much with a baby and making enough to have new items every week. Plus, I'd like to have time to make some stuff for my own kid. :)

The Giveaway
I'm also hosting a giveaway on Instagram. It was supposed to end tonight at midnight, but I think I'm going to extend the deadline one more day. The winner will receive a $25 credit to my shop!
To enter:
1. Like the original post on Instagram.
2. Share the original post on Instagram and tag @LenaandNatalieCrochet.

For an extra entry, tag a friend in the comments of the original Instagram post. Winner will be chosen at random and announced on October 3rd.

What do you think? What kinds of things would you like to see in the store?

Gifts and Other New Projects

Here are some more of the projects I've been working on! Most are gifts, but you can expect to see more items like these in the shop in June.

Baby Monster Hat Front. I love his crooket smile. He was made without a pattern.

Back

Side View

Men's/Boy's Knights Helmet Hat. This was made without a pattern. 

The visor can go down for protection from the wind or up.

Front View

This picture is actually from the book where I found the pattern. I don't have a model, so it's difficult to see what my finished product is like.

Sunset Baby Capelet

I hope other people like the colors as much as I do. I think it looks like a sunset.

African Sunset Baby Blanket. This one is for some friends who are planning to add a little one from Ethiopia to their family. Read their story here.

 

This one is my favorite. She represents a great deal of hard work. I did not use a pattern for her, so she is not perfect, but I love her anyway. I call her the Ari Doll. I made  her for the daughter of a friend of mine who recently welcomed a second younger sibling to the family. I know what it's like to be the oldest, and I thought having her own baby to take care of might help with the transition. Unfortunately, I haven't given it to her yer. I planned to give it to her this weekend, but the snow stopped that, so I think I will mail it this week. Mom will probably get a sneak preview of it through here!

She has a scarf to match her hat and pea coat, but I have to find it. It's around here somewhere.

She has summer attire too!

I am EXTREMELY proud of her hair! I love it!

What are some other things you would like to see in the new store in June?

Would you buy a doll like the Ari doll?

Girl's Flower Hat

I promised to start sharing some of the projects I'm working on for the new Etsy store I plan to launch in June. I'll be sharing the name of that store an how this one will be different than my old store in a future post, but for now, I'll be sharing one of the items that will be available when the store opens.

This one is super simple, but I love the colors.

 It's difficult to see in the picture, but the blue and the pink have a slight sheen to them. And they are super soft.

I also really like this hat because it's not bulky; it's lightweight and soft on the skin.

 I have two other hats I plan to share soon. Both geared more toward boys than girls; a knight's helmet hat and a teeny tiny baby monster hat. I can't wait to show those!

I'll be so happy when this stomach bug is totally gone. I would have liked to spend today's snow day crocheting instead of sleeping and drinking ginger ale.

How about you? How did you spend your snow day?

IVF, New Store, and Granny Squares

I'm posting tonight because I told myself I must post, but I'm not sure exactly what I plan to write about.

I really need to get better at posting regularly. Hopefully I can make myself post at least once a week. That's my goal anyway.

It helps that I plan to have more to write about.
First of all, on the fun side of things, I plan to be posting more of the projects I'm working on. And, I plan to be working on more because I plan to open a new Etsy store in June, and I will be working on finishing a project a week between now and then. That's an approximation because last week I finished two and this week I have about 80% of one done and 2% of another. Anyway, I'm super excited about the new store. It will ave more of a focus on crocheted items and very few hand painted items if any. I enjoy crocheting much more now and find it much more relaxing than painting. I will also not be doing custom items, just listing for sale what I make as I make it. You can look forward to seeing things like hats, slippers, blankets, and stuffed animals. Like I said, I'll be sharing some of them as I make them. In the future you can look forward to seeing some that I already have done like an owl hat, a cupcake hat and scarf set, a rainbow mohawk hat, a doll with clothing (I'm super excited about that one, but can't share it yet because it's a gift), a monster hat, a little girl's capelet and boots, a bubble blanket, and a knight's helmet hat. Those are all done or nearly done. Add to that a million ideas in my head and on Facebook, and I should be able to keep you entertained with some fun ideas.

Second of all, our timeline for IVF has moved up. I've gone back and forth as to how much I'm going to share about the process on here. I want this to be a blog that offers encouragement to people going through similar experiences. That and the fact that I am a naturally very open person (understatement) make me want to post. I read the blog With Great Expectation written by an awesome girl named Logan. Her posts about the IVF process and PCOS have been so helpful to me, making me want to provide others with similar help.

BUT, most of my readers are friends and family whereas most of hers are other women struggling with infertility and PCOS. As much as I want people praying for me as we go through the process, I don't want having everyone knowing that we're waiting for a bigger follicle or a positive blood test to add more stress to an already stressful situation. Steve is also a little more private in nature and I have to be sensitive to that.

So...the decision, currently, is to post a few things here and there about the IVF process, but not necessarily as we're doing it, and not in great detail.

That being said, I did recently have my first appointment just to discuss the whole process, and it was definitely overwhelming. Good overwhelming though, I guess. I was given the list of medications and injections I will need to be on and a schedule of when to take them. I learned lots of little details like, don't pee before this procedure, and wear your contacts not your glasses to this one. Overall, I learned that I'm very happy with our choice of doctors and with the practice as a whole. The nurse I met with was super friendly and easy to talk to, and the office as a whole is helpful and open to questions. The most overwhelming part is that we are still waiting to hear about finances, but all that really affects is timing.

It's a strange feeling because it's all planned out to the point where I can make a pretty educated guess as to when I will be taking a pregnancy test, but there are so many variables that could change it. It's such a bizarre feeling of anticipation, hope, joy, caution, and nervousness. Prayers are appreciated.

Anyway, back to my projects. I have a sneak preview of the one I'm working on right now. I love the colors and the way the square work together. It's a variation of the basic granny square, which, I just read, is the pattern that has been in print for the longest time. It's difficult to see in the pictures, but the gray is a variegated yarn with a hint of purple in it. I'll post the finished project when I'm done. Right now I've got sixteen squares, or really hexagons, done, but I can't decide if I need more or not.

I'd love to hear you thoughts about the new store. Any things you'd like to see, either specific things or types of things?