Nomsa Knits: Pattern Making!

I have a passion for all things knitting, that is at times, a bit unhealthy.

Over dinner tonight, my husband asked me how my new hat was coming along. I then proceeded to go into a five minute monologue at how fantastic the yarn that I am using is. I described how the wool is perfectly soft, the subtle color changes of the hand-dyed yarn is blending so well together, and that the yarn glides along my bamboo needles effortlessly. 

I am in some serious yarn love with Malabrigo. 

I have used it once before on a hat and loved it, but I could never find it in any local yarn stores where most of my yarn buying occurs. I prefer buying yarn in person because I get to justify standing in a yarn store for 30 minutes rubbing things on my face and being able to touch EVERYTHING. 

I become 'that' misbehaving kid we all see in the stores whose mom says thirty times during their five minute trip, 'Don't touch! Touch with your eyes, not with your hands!' I squeeze, grab and manhandle every ball of yarn I come in contact with, feeling a little bit wrong but also exhilarated. 

I discovered a new yarn store here in Atlanta about a month ago and have been there twice now for some Malabrigo. I am pretty sure it is going to become a weekly habit and I can claim that it is all for 'business' so my husband is alright with it.

Over the past few months, I have had a hat pattern bouncing around in my head that I have been trying to create into fruition. 

 

  I haven't really ever written a real knitting pattern before and there has been a lot of trial and error. I busted out some graph paper and sketched out the design, but actually figuring out the math of it all has proved to be a challenge. 

I have knit the same hat about seven different times now. Each time I try to adjust the size of it, height of it, the shape of the crown and alter the design so it fits perfectly. 

 

 I hope to be done with the hat completely by Friday with all my silly math kinks worked out. If I knew that I would be using this much math in real life after high school, I would have asked my algebra teacher about knitting gauges and how much needle size affects your knitting.  

The photos of the red and white hat are my prototype that I knit/tore apart/knit/tore apart/knit/tore apart/knit/tore apart/knit successfully. 

I used a Plymouth Select Merino Superwash for it, and am currently using the Malabrigo to reknit the hat again, to make sure the pattern is correct.

With that being said, I am really in love with this pattern. I think that it is going to be fantastic once it is written up, and I can't wait to share my first official knitting pattern with the knitting world. 

Hopefully Saturday or Sunday, I be able to show you finished product photos of the Malabrigo yarn hat being modeled, along with the pattern. Until then, does anyone have any advice on how to conquer the math used in knitting? 

~With Love, Ashlee~

Bright, Colorful Jewelry! And Bracelets!

 I am so happy to announce that I FINALLY have bracelets available for purchase in my etsy store!!

(And the crowd goes wild)

I have had so much fun making these and love all of the different colors, metals, and leather possibilities. These really have been a great project to work on and helped me focus on what direction I want to take my business this next year.

Basically, this coming year, you are going to be seeing a lot more colorful, romantic jewelry added to my line and some of the older designs phased out. My eye is naturally drawn to bright, flirty jewelry and since I want to wear it, I might as well make it!!

(That's the best part of being a jewelry designer right there. You get to make and wear anything you want!)

So cue the color-block earrings! Fun and festive, these dainty earrings are a delight to wear!

And here is also some jewelry for those that like the romantic look. Simple, sweet, and perfect for everyday wear.

Check out all of these new bracelets and designs at my etsy store - www.mycellardoor.etsy.com. 

I am so excited for this new direction and I can't wait to share more new designs with you over these next few months!

~ With Love, Ashlee ~

High Five For Friday!

My last 'High Five for Friday' was wayyyyy back in May. Like eight months ago May!

Hello, my name is Ashlee and I have been a terrible blogger.

Despite my lack of sharing, I have to say...my life is pretty awesome at the moment. I don't want to jinx it, but I am feeling incredibly blessed and happy as of late. So besides my life being good in general, here are my five things that I am particularly excited about today!

one. 

I just ran 18 motherf*&$%ing miles. Yeah, 18 miles. 

I am feeling pretty darn proud of myself. This was a huge mental hurdle for me and I still can't imagine running what I did today and another 8 miles in a month (the Atlanta Marathon is March 17th)!

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This is how I felt finishing my run today. Definitely didn't look that fabulous though. 

two. 

Got my birchbox today! And it was a good one too! I don't want to spoil all the fun for any of you still waiting to get yours (hey mom!), but this one was good. No ziploc bags or band-aids this month!

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I did want to show you this awesome nail polish that I got that I am going to try out next week. It's not a color I would normally choose (Wild Cactus), but it is so vibrant and pretty that I have I am willing to get out of my fingernail polish comfort zone and give it a whirl.

three. 

Tomorrow evening the husband and I are attending a fancy dinner and auction for his law school. He has been working hard to get donations for the auction since all the money raised will go to providing scholarships to law students who get an unpaid summer job working with non-profits and in the public sector.

I am excited about this because, I get to put on up in a fancy dress, lift my pinkie while I elegantly sip wine and eat free food.

four. 

The husband and I signed up today for swing dance lessons through our church. This is something that we have talked about for a while and I am so glad we finally were able to commit to it. 

five. 

I am about to go watch three hours of this show and drink wine.

 

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If you like Kevin Spacey or political thrillers, watch this show. With us being political nerds, this show is right up our alley. 

I hope everyone else is having a fabulous Friday! 

~ With Love, Ashlee ~

New Look!

My blog got a little bit of a make-over! 

I have been working hard the past few weeks trying to get my blog in a better state. The whole thing was just too busy before and I wanted something streamlined, where your eyes don't bug out of head when it loads. 

I played with some watercolor paints today for the first time and created the flowers that you see in my logo above. 

I know they are simple, but I am pretty darn proud of them. I had really fallen in love with some floral watercolor paintings/graphic designs lately and I wanted to try to do a few myself. 

Can I also say that I feel like a genius for figuring out how to actually do things in HTML and CSS. 

And also just for figuring out my scanner to upload my flower paintings.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Valentine's Day!

~ With Love, Ashlee ~

Home Again....

Phew.

The husband and I have been traveling for the past few weeks visiting various family members and are finally home. 

Our house is a complete wreck thanks to my poor housekeeping right before Christmas and we desperately need to get to a grocery store, but gosh darn it..... 

Thank you so much to all of you wonderful people who made this holiday shopping season awesome for me. 

It was so insanely busy and I feel so blessed that my creations are in over 400 new homes right now. 

If you ordered online, met me at a craft show or bought my items from a retail store....

Thank you. 

Thank you so incredibly much.

I have big ideas and dreams for 2013 and I want more than anything to share them with all of you. 

Thanks so much for being here. 

Conilab on etsy