Tuesday, June 5, 2012

What's New at Squeakin' Cheeks!

Hey everyone!  I know I've been M.I.A. for a while, but I am gearing up to get my shop going again!

I have a few things on my shop right now, but am adding more soon!  In addition to knitting woolies and sewing shirts, I am going to start selling some fun toy food!  I created lots of different little patterns a while back and have been sewing like crazy to prepare for our new Family Childcare opening this year!

Yes... this crazy family with 6 kids is going to take in MORE kids and we are really excited about it!  We've been to our orientation class, got CPR/First Aid certified, the Fire Marshall has paid us a visit and the woman from Licensing will be here Thursday morning!  This is happening faster than we thought!!

But back to my shop.

Here is an idea of some of the toy foods I'll be offering.  For now, it's a Deli theme with lots of sandwich making stuff!  Check out this cute video my son made of one of my bulky sandwiches...



Some fun sandwichy stuff!  I'm selling bulky rolls, tortilla wraps, lettuce, spinach, pickles, tomatoes, cheese slices, cloth napkins and more!

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Here's a close up of the pickles & greens!  I love my little leafies!!!  And my kids have a blast playing restaurant with all this fun stuff to stack!!

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I'm also going to be selling more shirts to match to woolies!  Here is one style that I made using the fun "Frogs Legs and Ponytails" pattern, "Caroline".

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I am listing it on my shop with the choice of any of these colors to add a scrappy pair of woolies!

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I look forward to sewing and knitting for you all!  I am a busy Mama, but I am going to try to post more often and work hard to make my shop really colorful and fun!

Happy Spring & God bless you all!

~ Bridget

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

American Girl Doll Set Finished

I wanted to post a photo of the first American Girl Doll Set that I've finished!

Here it is! (and it will be on sale at my shop soon!)

My daughter's Madame Alexander doll is today's helpful little model :)

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The complete outfit is a hand sewn headband, shirred shirt, hand knit wool capris and sweet sandals!

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I think she looks absolutely adorable!!!

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And here is a close-up of the little sandals! I have been having SO much fun making these! Instead of the regular straps, I decided to add matching fabric to tie it all in! I'd love to hear what you think!! COMMENTS PLEASE!!!!! :D

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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

American Girl Doll Handmade Sets

It may seem like "Squeakin' Cheeks" has fallen off the planet, but I've just been really busy! I thought I'd share a little bit of what I've been up to!

First off, we've been busy trying to keep away the Maine winter blues (although it's been a really mild winter so far!) and have been eating really healthy (actually just started a vegetarian lifestyle!) and we try to get fresh air as much as possible.

Here is a picture of me and my kids during a family walk the other day! We were all freezing because it LOOKED nice but was really pretty cold and horrible after a while!! haha My youngest son (in the front) is growing his hair out to look like the lead singer of "Third Day", so don't mind his crazy locks!!

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And the day after Valentine's Day, my oldest daughter and I celebrated our birthdays! Her birth on Feb. 15th of 2001 was the best birthday gift I had ever received!!

She turned 11 and I turned 23!! ... I mean 33 ... oh ok ... 43!! ugh.

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Little Miss Squeaker had her 23 month photo taken (by Mama) on Feb. 16th and wore her new fun shirt and capris with her handmade baby legs! (all made by ME!)

I love how curly her hair is getting! mmmmmwah, baby girl!!

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Here's are the baby legs as I was sewing them :) Got the knee highs at Target so these little leg warmers were so much cheaper than buying the actual name brand!

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Now for some shop talk.

I am working hard (when I have time!) to put together some American Girl sized doll outfits. (and the little shirts would fit some baby dolls too! AND other doll sizes because of the shirred tops and long ties!)

The model is my daughter's Madame Alexander doll which is the equivalent to AG dolls :)

Headband and shirt... (still need capris and sandals!)

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All this outfit needs is a matching headband and sandals. I have made a few sandals for my girls, but none to sell yet! BUT I do plan on it!!

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Completed "American Spirit" set... all but sandals.

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The shirt straps go through a buttonhole in the back and then you just tie a bow!

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Here's a better view of the handknit capris. They were created using Cestari Fine Merino 100% wool and I added some elastic thread on the inside of the ribbing for extra snuggability! The capris stay up fine without the elastic, but I thought it couldn't hurt!

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I'm also selling dresses. I'm not sure whether I will knit woolies to go underneath, or not? I like the way they look without anything on the legs, but I might add a cute little pair of underwear or something!

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A back view...

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Well, my friends, I guess that's it for now! I have a wool order due in today or tomorrow and have a few customs to knit up, but I am going to be finishing these sets soon and stocking my shop! I've really excited about it!!

I'll be back!!

PhotobucketBridget

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Catch Up Time!

What have I been up to, you ask? Well, many of you know that I started a knitting blog a while back called, "The Knitting Maniac", and although I'm been M.I.A. over there lately too, I just have to say... although I am crazy about knitting, I am also a little maniacal (is that a word?) about other things besides knitting!

Sewing. That's my latest addiction. I've always loved to sew, but with 6 kids, it just isn't that easy a task compared to knitting! I can grab my knitting bag, click my needles a while, and then set it down anytime I want to move onto something else.

With sewing, I am messy. Just being honest. I end up taking over the Dining Room table and have pins, threads, scissors, fabrics... you name it... ALL OVER THE PLACE!! I'm like a kindergarten kid gone wild who was left alone too long with glitter & glue! Just a freaky mess!

But when I set my mind to something, all that stuff doesn't matter. I plan on how to keep kids out of that room and then get to work! And sewing is instant gratification. Knitting can take a good solid week to finish something of beauty where sewing can take a good solid....HOUR.

Here is my new love... shirred shirts. They are great in the Spring/Summer and also in the Fall/Winter with a matching solid shirt underneath!

This is a shirt I made for my Squeaker and I'm working on her woolies to match! They will have a hip skirty and capris legs. And where you see the green line of bumpiness... I am planning on planting a few flowers there in some way, shape or form. OOOOH I love matching sets!!!

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This shirt design is great because of the buttonhole in the back! You pull your ties through and the straps can grow with your child!

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And then you tie a bow and "ooh" and "aaaah" over it's cuteness!!!

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AND the exciting news is that I am going to start offering shirts with custom woolies! Here is a glimpse of a little something I have up my sleeve. Well... actually... in a bag up in my room.

FOURTH OF JULY SETS!

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Last night, I grabbed my Cestari Color Card that I would NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER doodle on because I cherish it so much...

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and I headed to my favorite fabric store with one of my favorite friends! (Hi, Jessica!!!)

I bought lots of fabric, including the two you see above the undoodled on card. I took the photo with the yarn colors that match...including a pitiful little red ball of yarn because I don't have a full skein at the moment.

And here is the other set I plan on making. As you can see...one is blue fabric with stars and the other is red fabric with stars. Very 4th of Julyish!!! I can't wait to see how the finished set looks!! Once I am done sewing the shirred tops, I will be listing them as custom sets!

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OK so before I add more fabricky (I know that isn't a word, but I think it's cute) photos, I thought I'd throw in a few photos of my Squeaker.

Most mornings the older 5 kids are still asleep when Daddy, little Squeaky and I come downstairs. Like this morning. She woke up (she sleeps in between us) and said, "Dad. I down stay-uz?" (we live in Maine... she can't help it.) And he said, "you want to go downstairs?" and she said, "ya." So... he picked her up and we all headed down to get the coffee started.

Lately she's been randomly yelling up the stairs to each child, one at a time, until someone answers her! It's hilarious. (especially because they are all cranky sleepyheads and she drives them bananas!!)

In this photo, she got her littlest big brother to wake up and he got a nice wave!

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And the other day I walked over by her play area and she was in her rocking chair with her prayer bear just relaxing...

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Awwww... my little Squeaker...

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OK...back to sewing talk! Sorry!! I just love that little honey!

Last year, my parents went to visit my brother and his family in Guatemala and brought me back a beautiful wrap skirt! It is my FAVORITE!!! So...I analyzed it to death and created patterns for myself and my girls!

Here is my middle daughter's wrap skirt (my first tester creation) ~ I made it in 4 sections and this is it laid out flat :)

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And here is what it looks like all wrapped up!

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And here is my little bean the first day she wore it! I took the skirt to Target and got her a cool top to wear with it :) And since I hadn't washed my floors (shhhhhhh!!!) I had her wear little socks over her tights!

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And this is my oldest daughter's skirt. She turns 11 next week. How is that possible??

I decided I like the skirts better when they are tied on the side!

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My big girl. I can't believe in 2 years she'll be a teeeeeeee.... a teeeeee... a teeeeeeeee... oh nevermind. I can't say it. Isn't she pretty?? We call her "Pocohontas" :)

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Isn't her hair cute???

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And this is the 2nd wrap skirt I've knit for her :) This time I decided to change it from 4 panels to 2 so that there is no seam in the front! (I cut on the fold instead of separate cuts!) Another change and I like it much better!

So... the perfected pattern...

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Future fabric for me and my middle girl for wrap skirts. I LOVE batik and she LOVES pink!

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And I've had my girls stay away from the computer as I've posted this because I am going to make their Madame Alexander dolls shirred dresses for their birthdays! This is the fabric for Miss Pink Lover...

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and this is for my "soon-to-be" 11 sweet daughter... (she is a purple & peace sign lover so I chose the peace fabric that had purple in it! I chose the green fabric mainly because it would look fun AND it would match a lot of other fabrics I have so I can make something else with the leftovers!)

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And this is a shirt I will most likely sell as a custom set. I sewed it from a cute "Frogslegs and Ponytails" pattern but I calculated wrong for my Squeaker! I believe this would be better for a 9-12 month size. The only part that didn't fit well was the armpit area. It was a wee bit too short. But look how CUTE it is!! I love patterned fabric because you can match lots of wool to it!

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Even colors you wouldn't think would look good are little accents in the fabric and the wool just brings them out nicely!

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This is the first shirred shirt I made for my little one. Please don't look at the tiny white line in the shirring that was caused by me not paying attention. I flipped over the fabric by mistake and that is the elastic that SHOULD be on the back. Oh well, she doesn't care ;-) I will match woolies to it soon for a nice Spring/Summer outfit!

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And since I am into all this matching jazz, I brought some ladies knee highs to match up because I am going to make homemade baby legs out of them. I will make a shirred shirt with the fabric and make her some cute summer shorts with the wool! She'll be a funky monkey!

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So...there ya have it. That's what I've been up to!!

Stay tuned for all the fun sets I'll be selling and if you have any questions, ideas, etc... please let me know!!!

PhotobucketBridget

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Custom "Barn Owlies" 4 Sarah

This is the 2nd pair I've knit based on my 10 year old daughter's longie design! It is of her favorite hooty bird... the Barn Owl!

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PhotobucketEnjoy them, Sarah!!

Squeakin' Cheeks ~ Price List...


One of the hardest things about running my shop has always been what to charge. I want to be fair but also not lose money in the process!!!

I think this is a common issue for hand-knitters because it is very time consuming to knit every little stitch, but it's hard to make enough money to make it worth the time. I've struggled over this for years and really think I have finally come to a place of contentment with my price list!

I've been over priced before and, after looking at my old price list, I realized some things were fair and some were just crazy!! haha

SO, quite a while back I started keeping track of the weight of each size woolie and figured (to the last ounce!) approximately how much yarn it took in yards! I've been taking really specific notes and my newest price list is based on these figures.

I am charging .16 per yard plus less than retail cost of the yarn. And if you figure in how many yards I can knit in an hour (which I figured one day was around 40ish ~ but it really depends on how fast I am knitting, so it can vary) then I would be earning about $6.40 a hour. That isn't even close to minimum wage, but I am happy that the price covers my yarn and I am making a little money doing what I love. Knitting for other children makes my heart happy and being HOME with MY children, doing what I love, makes me even happier!

I personally think my new prices are very fair for something as treasured as hand knit woolies!

So that's it. My new price list (you can click the photo above to check it out!) and an explanation. Now it's time to get into gear and start my day!

Merry Christmas, everyone!!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Barn Owl Longies

My children love to sketch out designs for me to knit up at some point. Some are kinda crazy and just about impossible to imagine knitting up, but then some are GREAT and just HAVE to be created!!

This is a pair I recently listed on my shop that my oldest daughter designed. She is 10 and has a great eye for it!!

Introducing.......... BARN OWL LONGIES! (Click the link to view them on my shop!)

First off...here is the little designer...

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and here is her sketch...

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And this is what I came up with when I got my needles clicking... (back view)

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and even the front is cute with all the speckles!

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Do you have any ideas you'd love to see in longie form? Let me know and I'll see what I can whip up for you!! squeakincheeks@hotmail.com

Time to knit! Goodbye for now!