have a heart (or two)

Hey fellow designers and knitters ^^/

i hope everyone is having a great weekend, the vache has been busy to say the least, and i found an exciting new opportunity for designers that i'll be talking about in just a moment, but first...


i know right now you're thinking "what is that, the pink brick road?" (yes it's bad joke day here at petite vache designs.) what it actually is, is a cool artsy-fartsy closeup shot of my newest design "heart to heart."





i fell in love with illusion knitting when i designed lucky stars, and with valentine's day quickly approaching i decided to write up a heart illusion chart so i can knit up some valentine's themed totes for the impending Etsy shop ^-^ i've decided to do one or two other charts and then combine them with the chart for lucky stars to create a one-tote-4-ways kinda pattern. the basic tote structure will be the same but it will have interchangeable illusion designs you can mix and match. and of course, i will be knitting up a few of each design for the shop so that anyone who either can't knit, or doesn't want to take the time can own one.


i've also decided to knit up some detanglers and modem cord change bowls for the shop as well, since those are my two most popular designs on Ravelry. but i really think my main focus is going to be on my knit totes, i've got some really awesome ideas for other tote designs (non-illusion) and i'll probably end up slipping a fabric lining into each of them for durability. i have a thing for cute little purses and totes, and in fact i still use my original lucky stars as a little first-aid kit in my purse complete with band-aids, neosporin, midol, hand sanitizer and antihistamines (petite vache haz allergies.) even without a fabric lining it's still held up wonderfully being knocked around in my purse for the last 6 months or so.

a pic of my lucky stars i took 2 minutes ago

i could really use some feedback on my ideas though, and for that i've added yet another new feature to my blog, the dreaded "reaction buttons" ::gasp!:: at the bottom of each post you'll find three options just like in the screenshot below:

if you like one of my designs you can click the "me wantee!!" button, if you're unimpressed click "meh" and if i ever say anything funny (hey, it could happen) i've added the "lol" button just incase. so feel free to let the vache know if you approve of the newest design heart to heart by clicking "me wantee!!" or "meh." teh vache appreciates constructive critisism :)

and now, fellow designers, lets talk about JoAnn Crafts new design contest "save the planet, one project at a time." clicking that link will take you to Joann.com's info page about the contest. all you have to do is design and knit (or crochet) something using one of 3 Red Heart Eco yarns. i'm really excited about this contest because my sycamore parasol is knit using Eco Ways, so it's a great excuse to finally finish that design. luckily i have until the end of March to get it done because i'm swamped right now with preparations for the Etsy shop. but the winners in each category will win 1000$ and 500$ Jo-Ann gift cards AND be featured in "Crochet Today" Magazine....free design exposure anyone?

i only hope i can finish my design in time to enter, i'll keep everyone posted on the status of the contest if i do end up entering, and really i'd be a fool not to. :P

well folks, that's about all for today. i'd like to thank and welcome all my new followers (petite vache welcomes you too ^^) and i hope everyone has a lovely and relaxing Sunday, back to work tomorrow :<

peace and love to all,

~Carla Cappi

new years resolutions...

a hoy hoy everyone (or should i say all 4 of my followers ^-^)



so it's finally 2010 huh? and my poor blog has been lying dormant for the last 3 months or so while i've been on hiatus from designing and actually haven't been doing much knitting at all. with the holidays and my husband coming over from France i found it hard to focus on my knitting. and the struggle isn't quite over yet because we've still got the task of securing him a visa or greencard so he can stay in this country. bleh...



but now that the holidays are over i've started knitting again, which brings me to my new years resolution. everyone always makes these really broad and vague resolutions like "losing weight" or "spending more time with family" etc, but i remember reading somewhere that making your goals as specific as possible gives you a better chance of acheiving them so i decided to make mine very specific indeed. my resolution is to either complete or frog every single WIP i have, and while to some of you that may not sound like a very daunting task, i have about 5 years worth of projects hastily cast on in an excited frenzy and then cast aside. for me that amounts to at least 15 WIP's that i can think of off the top of my head, and it's probably closer to 20 or 25.

but i have vowed not to start a single new project in the mean time, nor buy any new yarn until i at least finish or frog all of my current WIP's.



now here's where the design blog comes in....



luckily, of those WIP's at least 3 or 4 of them are original designs, most notable my sycamore parasol and Rowena sleeves. So as soon as i finish up a scarf and pair of socks i started at the end of december and just want to be done with, i'll probably be starting on the Rowena sleeves so i can finally have a design worthy of sale on Ravelry. in the mean time though, i'm going to be finally publishing knock off (a knit paper-chain necklace creation inspired by Louis Vuitton.) but i'm debating with myself whether or not to publish it for free or to charge a very small amount for it (most likely 50 cents) just because it's such an original design and it pains me to just give it away like a common whore. if any of my readers have any thoughts on the matter please do let me know in my comments section below, i always appreciate outside input.



well i'll leave you all with a picture of my latest FO "echarpe à plis"







i bought this little kit for this scarf the last time i was in France to visit my husband
and started it about 3 months ago. so this is officially the first WIP i've finished in accordance with my new years resolution. so far, not a bad start to the year. let's hope i can stay motivated and finally kick a really bad habit, not finishing what i start.



toodles for now ^^/



~teh vache

it's a bird! it's a plane! no it's....a tiny golden cow!!!!

yes thats right, a tiny golden cow, or petite vache dorée for those of you who speak a bit of french. this little heffer was made with golden DMC embroidery floss for Potions class in the HPKCHC. sadly, the competition ended yesterday ::cries:: and i didn't manage as many classes as last month, but it was still the most fun i've had on Ravelry so far. i'm still not sure if i'm going to participate next term or not because i have 3 or 4 designs that i'm trying to get finished.

here you can see the cow in the works, and you can also see how tiny the stitches are (and yes my dpns are golden too ^^)



i'm currently planning a black and white cow as well as a brown one and then the patterns for all 3 will be uploaded to Ravelry for sale under the name trois petites vaches (three little cows in english)


also, as promised in my last post here is the finished orion's belt choker:

it didn't turn out quite as flat or stable as i'd have liked, so when i get a chance i'm going to sew a fabric lining in the back and adjust the tie closure. i'm still not sure whether i'll make this pattern available or not as there didn't seem to be much interest in it in the HPKCHC. but i may still put it up here on my blog as a free pattern.

and finally some pics of my 2 biggest upcoming designs: Rowena sleeves and sycamore parasol

i featured these sleeves a few posts ago and as you can see they've grown considerably since then. i'll probably finish these up before starting on the sycamore parasol seen below:

this one was another attempted class project that i unfortunately didn't have time to finish (i seriously thought i'd be able to design and knit an entire parasol in just a few weeks? what was i thinking?)

this is probably the design i'm most excited about right now because it's the biggest and most complex thing i've undertaken so far.

and on that note, it's time for me to get clicking! check back with the blog for more pictures of my progress on my new designs and for information about when they will be released.


peace & love to all,

~petitevache