Maritime Festival - 2013 Wrap up- SO many knits!!

Wow. How is it Halloween already?! Will post some pics of that soon, but I have been meaning to post these pics for a few weeks. 

We did the Maritime Festival a few weeks ago, and I have just got around to blogging about it! It's been a little crazy here, as I am sure you can tell! The focus was getting Etsy up & running! 

Here is a look at our booth from the Maritime Festival, which is held in Greenport, NY every September! I highly recommend the festival for great food, music, and of course, artisan crafts and of course, shopping!

The holidays are coming fast. If you see anything you like, let me know. Custom orders are available anytime! :)

Neckwarmers, headbands, cowls and scarves- all super soft and cozy! 

These cowls are in store now at Rexer-Parkes! 

These scarves and hats are available on Etsy now! 

Yummy soft extrafine Merino Scarves! 

Hats for babies and toddles and headbands and neckwarmers for kids and adults! LOVE all the colors. Looks like candy, right?

The sweetest little baby booties and hats! LOVE them!! 

Don't you love babies dressed as animals? Mouse, rabbit, bear and as pumpkins! :)

LOVE this cowl! Pop it right over your head and you are stylish and warm all day!

You may have noticed these beautiful items in the photographs. They are ballerina hairclip holders! Theylook stunning hang on a wall in a girl's room and they give her a place to hold all of her hairclips and bows! You can even loop headbands through. 

They are gorgeous and handmade by my dear friend Elena, who I shared a tent with at the Maritime Festival!

Elena uses a variety of fabrics and tulle colors, so matching your girls room will be easy! Elena can even do custom dresses. 

You can buy Elena's beautiful dresses by contacting her at elenachambi@yahoo.co.uk

Hope to get her on Etsy soon! Her pieces are gorgeous!! 

My Little Miss O has a beautiful one hanging on her wall which matches her room! the clips are in one place so their is no dashing around the house looking for the right ones before the bus comes! And her room is beautiful with this on the wall!

They make a beautiful Christmas gift as well!

Happy Halloween all! Pictures soon! 

A Free Hat Pattern for all you Knitters out there!

I love a crisp fall Monday morning!

And I LOVE a free knitting pattern, so I decided it was time to share a pattern I have been asked for before.

You may remember it from this post:  http://loopsbykeri.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-special-hat-for-special-girl.html

My Candy Topknot hat, the one I designed and made for my little Miss O!

I got this fabulous yarn at Chelsea Yarns, who has many amazing yarns- be sure to check her out!  http://www.chelseayarns.com/default.asp

 For those of you non-knitters, I can make you one if you like in your choice of colors. I will put one up on Etsy soon.

Materials Needed:

1 Skein of Candy Yarn, by FEZA yarns. 50% wool 50% acrylic, 100 grams =110 yards
1 size 11 circular needles 12"
1 set of 5 size 11 double pointed needles
1 stitch marker
Tapestry needle

Finished size of hat 19" circumference unstretched. This will stretch to fit most heads comfortably.

Hat is knit in round on circulars and then switches to double pointed needles.

* Note  - this yarn has beautiful felted pom poms that will randomly show up in yarn as you knit with it. Ensure the pompoms are on the right side of the work and that you keep your tension even when they appear, so they are secure in the knit.

Cast on 56 sts onto size 11 circular needles
Place stitch marker and join in round.

K2P2 rib for 5 rows.

Knit 22 rows.

Then we start to decrease for head shaping. During this decreasing section, you will need to switch to double pointed needles, as you will not have enough stitches to make it around the circular needles. I usually switch after the first or second decrease row.

(Knit 6 stitches, knit 2 tog) * repeat for entire row
(Knit 5 stitches, knit 2 tog) * repeat for entire row
(Knit 4 stitches, knit 2 tog) * repeat for entire row
(Knit 3 stitches, knit 2 tog) * repeat for entire row
(Knit 2 stitches, knit 2 tog) * repeat for entire row

You will now have 21 stitches on the needles. It will measure 7 1/2" from cast on.

Knit 8 rows.

Next row is a Decrease row: (Knit 6 stitches, knit 2 tog) * repeat for entire row. You now have 18 stitches pm the needle.

Knit 10 rows.

Next row is a Decrease row: (Knit 3 stitches, knit 2 tog, k1) * repeat for entire row. You now have 15 stitches pm the needle.

Knit 10 rows.

Next row is a Decrease row: (Knit 2 tog) *4, K 1 .You now have 9 stitches pm the needle.

Knit 24 rows.

Next row is a Decrease row: (Knit 2 tog) *4, K 1 .You now have 5 stitches pm the needle.
Next row is a Decrease row: (Knit 2 tog) *2, K 1 .You now have 3 stitches pm the needle.

Leave about 6" of yarn & cut yarn. Using tapestry needle, thread yarn and loop through the remaining 3 stitches, securing them with a knot. Then bury the yarn through the long tail of the hat.

Sew in edges of yarn securely!!

Once yarns have been buried, tie the long tail of hat in a loose knot.

That's it!

Let me know if you have any questions! If you use this pattern, please email me or post it at Ravelry.com! Would love to see you Candy Topknots!!

Hats On! ;)

Button Band Chunky Knit Hat

So, I have been knitting like a mad knitter! And I have a lot of new knits! Trying to make sure the Etsy site looks good while keeping Rexer-Parkes well stocked! 

My newest favorite?

The Button Band Chunky Knit Hat! 

Made of lusciously soft hand painted extra fine merino wool, these hats are soft and cozy and look incredible on!

Love this on my friend L! So thankful she let me take pictures of her to show you all. This is her hat by the way- midnight navy with little pops of lavender and lighter blue. I have another skein  if anyone would like one…  : )

 Just LOVE the colorways and check these out…..

And awesome rainbow with layered vintage buttons. Just makes the colors pop! This hat is now with it's owner, that looks amazing in it!

This one reminds me of a grapevine with purples and greens- it's gorgeous! I layered two buttons again, one in lavender & one in green to bring out the colors. It's stunning AND it's still for sale on my Etsy site. 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/165367569/button-band-chunky-hand-knit-hat-in?ref=shop_home_active 

Lots of other colors are available! I can match your coat, your eyes or find a favorite color! With or without buttons….I happen to love me some buttons, but it's all about what works for the wearer! 

I still haven't been able to decide which color I want. Every time I knit one I have a new favorite! 

I designed these hats for adults- they look great on Men and Women. 

BUT, the hats work on kids too. A child's head isn't that much smaller than an adult. Guess who wanted to try one on?

Doesn't she look adorable?

Lots of other items on the Etsy site. Be sure to stop by- just click on the link in the upper right hand side of the site or go to https://www.etsy.com/shop/LoopsbyKeri

Accessorize On! 

Loops By Keri hand knits are now available online!

When I started this blog, I said an Etsy site was right around the corner. It took a little while longer to get to that corner, but it is FINALLY up and running!

If you haven't shopped there before, Etsy.com is a website for all things handmade. Each person sets up an online store that you can purchase from.

You can now find my hand knits on Etsy.com at http://www.etsy.com/shop/LoopsbyKeri

Please note, if you go to Etsy directly, the name of the store is LoopsbyKeri, all one word. that's how they do it. 

OR - even easier, use the link on the top left of this blog! Easy peasy! The one that looks like this...

Here's a sneak peak at the site!

Once you check out the site, if you like what you see, please favorite my shop! You can favorite any items you love too! Which is great because it gives me feedback as to what people like best!

You can also click the follow button to follow my Etsy site. That way, you'll know what is new in store! 

I have a small selection of my hand knits online.  MANY, MANY more to come!!  It takes a bit of time to design and knit them, get some great photos and write it all up, but am working as fast as I can! 

I also do custom orders, so if you see something you like but would LOVE it in a different color or something like it, or in a different yarn, please let me know!

 Knits make fantastic presents for babies, kids and adults alike! We can make them match coats, favorite color, eye color, whatever! : )

And for my friends that live local- we can get together and plan out the knit by choosing colors and yarns and patterns...like I did recently with my friend L. 

Here is her fabulous hand dyed merino wool hat with vintage button on a button band. The color is navy with pops of lilac and deeper purple. (It will look MUCH better on her than on this glass head, but since she wasn't available, it had to do!)

The hat will match her cowl perfectly. I don't have a picture of HER exact cowl, so here are a few LIKE hers...

Loops by Keri hand knits are also available in store at Rexer-Parkes in Huntington NY, located at 35 Gerard Street in Huntington Village. 

This year, Rexer-Parkes will be carrying some of my adult accessories as well as children's knits!

I just delivered some incredible new cabled cowls there- take a look! Just pop it over your head and you are good to go!

It will keep you warm, while still looking chic. And for all you Mom's out there, it will stay put, no worries about losing it as you run after your little one, as sometimes happens with scarves!  

Stay tuned for lots more knits!

xo