A New Year!

The past several months have been very busy for both of us here at EcoHip! We started a company, created new products, traveled to shows, and one of us found out we would be growing our family a little later this year! None of this would have been possible without the support and encouragement of our friends and family - whether that was sharing in our success or helping build our displays.

It seems as if the 1st was just a moment ago but we are already more than halfway though January. We've been hard at work creating new items, shipping out orders, and putting together plans for the upcoming year. All this while working as full-time SAHMs! We really have been busy!

So what can you expect from EcoHip in 2011? First, we are excited to announce that we have been accepted as a vendor at the Beaches Green Market. We will be making our debut in February. We are also planning on becoming regular vendors at other local markets and looking in to other fairs and shows in the Jacksonville area. We are also working on new products that we hope to share with everyone soon. Expansion plans include; new product lines for kids, moms, and the home!

As for us personally, we are expecting 2011 to be another great year.

Natalie - I'm expecting to have a busy year spending more time with my daughter whether that is taking her to the park or enrolling her in swim lessons. My husband and I are also planning on turning our porch in to a play room this year as well. I can not wait for this project to finally start! I also hope to knit my husband a couple pairs of socks as he didn't get any last year. I also resolve to get better at not sweating the small stuff. Living with a toddler is a continuous reminder of the need to be flexible and that things don't always work out as planned. As a person who loves planning and hates surprises, this has always been a challenge for me!

Amanda - I am currently anticipating alot of change in 2011! As mentioned above, I will be expecting my second child (don't know yet the sex) in June. My son will be turning two years old in June as well! Yes, they could possibly share the same birthday! Do you think they will hate me if I celebrate their birthdays on the same day?! lol I also plan to do lots of home improvement tasks around the house this year, as well. Mostly before the baby comes, of course! My son is a handful, but so much fun and so sweet. I am so excited to see his personality develop in this next year, and am always amazed to see what he is going to do/say next! We are also, looking forward to replanting our organic garden in the back yard in the spring and hope to have a successful enough crop to eliminate some of the need to purchase it from the grocery store. My goal for this year is to allow myself to take one day at time and make sure I leave a few minutes for myself everyday!

Tutorial: Knitted Dishcloths

I've knitted quite a few dishcloths and we both have several in our own kitchen. They work better than anything we've bought from the store. They also make amazing washcloths and face cleansing cloths for removing makeup. If you need to wash them, just throw the dishcloths in the washer and dryer with the rest of your laundry, no special treatment needed!

Want to make your own? This dishcloth pattern is quick and easy to knit. You can make one in an evening while watching TV.

Supplies:

• 1 ball of worsted weight 100% cotton yarn. Sugar and Cream or Lion Kitchen Cotton are good choices and available at almost any craft store. Knitpicks also makes an organic yarn that is pretty inexpensive.
• Size 8 knitting needles

Guage is 18 sts = 4 inches

Approximate finished size is 8" square

Cast on three stitches.

Row 1 &2: K3

Row 3: K2, YO, K to end of row

Repeat row 3 until you have 45 stithches.

First decrease row: K1, K2Tog, YO, K2Tog, K to end of row.

Repeat decrease row until 3 stitches remain.

Knit 2 rows.

Bind off row: Slip 1 stitch from left needle to right needle, k2tog, bind off slipped stitch, pull yarn through last stitch to finish.

Weave in ends.

That's it!

Contest Winner!

Congratulations to 'lewalk' on winning the name the product contest! The name chosen was 'Privacy Pouch'. Look for this new product available now at our Etsy Store.

Lewalk, here is a sneak peak of your very own Privacy Pouch! Your complimentary Pouch will be arriving at your doorstep soon. We hope you love it! Thank you for following our blog. Tell your friends ;)

Name that Product Contest!

We are about to roll out a new product this month, but have not been able to settle on a name. So, we decided what better time to do another giveaway! If we decide to use your name, you get one compliments of us!

So what is it?

Ever find yourself needing to tend to your monthly menses and you really don't want to carry your whole purse to the bathroom? Tired of digging in the bottom of your purse to find a partially unwrapped and damaged item? Or worse yet, ever had your purse accidentally dumped out to reveal all of your personal items?

Well....EcoHip has designed a wallet, purse, or clutch (this is where you come in) that holds it compactly, discretely, and of course fashionably!

Here are a few pictures from the sewing table.

All you have to do is:

1. Follow us on this blog

2. Leave a comment with your name and some way for us to contact you (email, fb, etc)

3. Tell us what your favorite color is

Contest ends Wednesday November 24th at 10pm.

Happy Naming! Good Luck!

New products, Festivals, and Shows, Oh my!

We have been very busy this month and for the next few months to come, gearing up for the holidays!

We have introduced some new products to our Etsy Store such as a Make-up Roll and Uh-Oh Pillow.

These new items were designed with the mother in mind; just something to make your day run a little smoother and of course be EcoHip while doing so.

We also are proud to announce that we will be venturing into the craft show/fair/fest market this month starting out at Northeast Florida's Veg Fest in Jacksonville!

In December we are taking a road trip to Gainsville for the GLAM Indie Craft Show!

Facebook Follower Giveaway

We have just reached 200 fans on Facebook!

In case you missed it, we did a random giveaway once we reached 200 fans!! But if you did, don't worry, it won't be the last! For this drawing, we gave away not just one, but TWO, prizes! We're excited about the products we make and wanted a chance to share them with you.

Congratulations to Caity Pevey on winning a $15 gift certificate, and Christine Schultz Cies on winning the secret prize. Caity used her gift certificate to get a crayon roll for her daughter and Christine has a set of hand knitted dish cloths on the way to her now.

So make sure you become a fan on facebook and follow us here on Blogger to stay up to date with all of our upcoming new item listings, upcoming events, giveaways, discounts, and more.

Confessions of a Knitter

I taught myself to knit by picking up some needles, yarn, and a how-to book at a local craft store. After a couple days of practicing, I embarked on my first sweater. I didn't know how to read a pattern, hand sew, or calculate guage. Needless to say, it was a stretch to call the final object something that could be worn. Much of what I've learned by knitting has been through mistakes.



This is the second sweater I ever made. The neck was so narrow I could barely get it over my head. I also failed to take in to account ease for the sweater so it fit loosely even with a couple shirts underneath. The pattern was not my own and I did not bother to check measurements first. I have since learned that patterns are made for certain default sizes and that you may need to adjust so the garment fits you the way you want it too.




Here is another project that didn't go the way I planned. This is a dress I had started for my daughter. In fact, it is the outfit I had hoped to take her home from the hospital in. However, I never got to finish it as she ended up arriving several weeks early. It was also at this time that I learned that a newborn was much smaller than I had imagined. I hope to finish it one day, it should fit by the time she turns two. In this case, I did not follow one of my own lessons - do not assume the measurements in a pattern are right for you.
If I were to start over with this dress, I would have looked at newborn dresses in a store to better understand appropriate size. In fact, trying on and looking at store bought clothes is a great way to determine just what type of garment you like and what will fit you best. It is much less work than knitting an entire sweater and finding out it does not fit.


This is a close up shot of a sock pattern that I designed; one of my first efforts at using cable patterns. I am happy with the end result but there are actually several mistakes within the pattern. It was after making this sock that I learned how to cable without a cable needle. As a result I can do aran work significantly faster without mistakes. There is a learning curve to doing cable work without a cable needle but I highly suggest it! I found cables to be much less tedious after learning this technique.





There are some other knitted items that I have made over time that will never be worn or used. But, even with my all my knitting books and some of the great web sites out there, these knitting mistakes have been great teachers. I have heard many people state as they are first learning to knit that they are afraid to make mistakes. However, with knitting, you can always start over or, even better, find yourself learning something new.



The following are some links that I found useful. If you want to learn how to knit, take a look:


http://knitting.about.com/


http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/


http://www.knittersreview.com/


http://www.ravelry.com/