A little girl called Hope needs our help

Hope, a little Wellington girl turning 4 in almost a week was diagnosed with cancer 2 years ago. Since then she’s gone through countless painful and difficult procedures and earned 900 beads. Rachael (who took the stunning photos) summed it up when she wrote “In New Zealand, when a child is diagnosed with cancer, they start receiving beads. The beads are part of their story and recognise and honour a child’s bravery throughout their journey with child cancer. They are collected at each hospital visit, and for each treatment they receive on their journey” And yes, Hope, 2 years on from her first diagnosis has 900 beads.

My Coco Kids friend Julia has started an awesome raffle giveaway to help raise some much needed funds to enable Hope and her family to make and record some memories of their short time left together. Please check out Julia's blog for more information.

Rachael Brown who took the above photo of Hope and her family in October 2010 has got together with Julia and they are auctioning a family sitting to raise some funds for Hope and family.  This is on Trade Me so please check it out HERE.

You can donate directly to Hope's special account as time is the essense at the moment.

Feel free to give a donation directly to Hope’s account:

Hope Osborne 

38-9009-0002097-00

There are also many other auctions going on The Nappy Network some of which are on Trade Me  or individuals blogs as well:

Old Maiden Yarn giveaway

Slate Moby Wrap

Seaspray Baby Bonnet Hat

Zig-Zag Quilt

Other Nappy Network auctions - baby overalls, Moby Wrap, stitch markers, childrens clothing (hand made), Milo vest and baby tutu!

Please check these out and give if you can.

Wool Leaves Blanket

Julia is delighted to announce that she is able to knit a limited number of Wool Leaves blankets for sale, designed by the extremely talented Jared Flood (also known as Brooklyn Tweed).

This is a beautiful item and would make a special gift for anyone expecting a new baby. It's both practical and gorgeous, as well as the kind of item you can keep for future generations.

This can be knit in whatever colour you desire (pictured is both a dark brown and a silvery grey), and the approximate size is 25” x 35” (though if you have a specific size in mind, contact Julia as the size is able to be customised)

Please contact Julia via email if you'd like to enquire about getting one custom made for you.

1 Today!

Today Coco Kids celebrates it's first birthday! Happy Birthday to us!

Exactly 1 year ago today on the 1st of November 2009, our blog was launched and Kate, Ali and myself were all ready to take on custom knitting orders.

The past year has seen our needles busy keeping our customers happy. We've added a lot more items to our list of items we can knit (and there's still more we need to update as well) and we've met a lot of wonderful knitters and customers.

As a thank you to our friends and followers, we're going to be having a first birthday sale very soon. We'll be adding a new tab to the blog and we'll be loading some one off specials at 8pm on the Thursday the 4th of November- maybe just what you're after for a Christmas, birthday or new baby pressie.

If you're not already one of our Facebook friends but you want to be kept up to date with when the stocking will go up - why not 'like' our business page, and you'll be kept in the loop (just click on our Facebook Badge top lefthand column on our blog)

The Big Day

Well Saturday was the Big Day we've been working towards for several weeks now. It was very exciting getting prepared and setting up the table with all of our lovely items in one place. Julia and I missed Kate on the day, but hopefully she'll be able to join us for the next one. Besides, she was busy celebrating her daughter's 5th birthday - a major milestone!

Julia and I had a wonderful time at Craft 2.0 and met so many lovely people. The feedback was fabulous, with many wonderful compliments coming our way. We've had great support from all our friends and family leading up to this, so a huge thank you to everyone :)

Julia's wonderful swifts, dishcloths and Ali's stitchmarkers

The view from the ground floor looking up

The view as people came up the stairs

Despite the very warm weather, we managed to make some good sales, and are very happy overall with our first ever Craft 2.0! Craft 2.0 is such a wonderful craft market to be involved in and we are in awe of the amazing organisational skills involved in managing such a large and popular event.

Gearing Up For Craft 2.0 Tomorrow!

Tomorrow's the day that Coco Kids will have our first stall at Craft 2.0!

We've got a huge range of items - each of our blogs show what we've been up to lately.

Here's a wee sneak peek from them (click on the name at the top to go to the blog entry as well)

Ali's

 

      

Kate's

Julia's

Hope to see you tomorrow, 10-3pm at TheNew Dowse in Lower Hutt!

11 Sleeps to go!

Well it's not long now! 11 sleeps according to the calendar till Craft 2.0! And this year it sounds like it's going to be even bigger and better than previous ones (if that's even possible!)

In fact, it's so big and there are going to be so many stalls that Craft 2.0 is spilling up into the next floor of The Dowse in Lower Hutt. That's where you'll find the Coco Kids stall - upstairs (according to the draft layout, if there are any changes we'll let you know).

Never fear if you plan to bring kids in a stroller, there is a lift up to the next floor, and we imagine that there'll be a bit more space up there for breathing, than the crush you sometimes feeling trying to walk through the Lounge section of Craft 2.0. We'd love to see you! Come and say hello!

 

Handmade Wooden Swifts - see the link below for more information

One thing that hasn't been mentioned on here (due to it not exactly being a custom knitting item) is that our stall should also have items FOR knitters, rather than solely knitted items. If you are on the lookout for a swift (to help wind your newly purchased Knitsch yarn), or sock blockers and stitch markers - then we can help you with that too! All wooden items (swifts and sock blockers) are made by Julia's hubby, and the stitch markers are carefully crafted by any of the Coco Kids team.

 

Sock blockers - small, medium, large and toddler sized

So mark your calendars - the 30th of October and we'll see you there!

October update

Well, it's been a few weeks since one of us last posted, so I thought I'd do a quick update. We're all very busy knitting for our upcoming Craft 2.0 stall here in Wellington at the New Dowse in Lower Hutt on the 30th of October. This will be a fabulous craft fair - and perfect timing for shopping for Christmas presents, or just acquiring some beautiful unique clothing items for the little people in your life. We will have a range of clothing ideal for the summer months, and also some items that can be worn all year round - all knit in either wool or cotton.

We've also recently been spotlighted on the Craft 2.0 website, here. So come along and check us out - we're really looking forward to it!

Here's just a small sample of what we will have to offer on the day:

some of Kate's work ...

some of Julia's work ...

and some of Ali's work ...



For all those who can't make it on the day, anything that doesn't sell at Craft 2.0 will be available for sale on here, so if you see anything you like (and remembering there are a lot of items that I haven't showcased on here) check back after the 30th of October and we will have a number of items under our For Sale tab.

~ Benji Hat ~

Benji is a neat hat designed by Sheryl Greenfield (NZ) who is a busy working Mum who blogs at Shortly Stitches. Benji hat features a contrast colour through the main body of that hat plus a feature button at the side. The crown pattern is a gorgeous spiral too.

These photos show a toddler sized hat I made for my youngest daughter aged 2. However the hat also fits my small headed almost 5 year old as well.

The hat comes in a variety of sizes from New Born to an adult.
Sizes:
Newborn: (13 inch/33cm)
Baby (14 inch/35.5)
Toddler (16 inch/40.5cm)
Child (18 inch/45.5cm)
Woman (20 inch/50.5cm)
Man (22 inch/56cm)
XL Man (24 inch/ 61cm)

Prices start from $15 plus postage

Please contact Kate at chevgirlknitting@gmail.com or check her ChevGirl Blog for more information.

Versa

The Versa designed by Shannon Passmore can be knit as a vest, tunic, dress or babydoll and is shaped to fit nicely around the torso.


The tunic:

The pattern doesn't include the eyelet holes for the ribbon around the chest, but it's definitely an option if you'd like

The vest...

This of course can also be knit in girly colours and really suits girls beautifully

Pictures for the babydoll option will follow shortly

The Versa can be knit from NB up to a size 10 and is a very versatile piece of clothing - being able to worn on it's own or over a long or short sleeved top.

Any of the Coco Kids team are able to knit these for sale. Contact Julia, Ali or Kate to make an enquiry about getting a Versa of your choice custom knit for you.

Teacher's Pet

Coco Kids currently have the exclusive rights to knit the Teacher's Pet pattern designed by one of the Coco Kids team - Julia Stanfield

Petal pleat versions

Teacher’s Pet is a simple and seamless (top-down) pattern for a gorgeous yet practical wee dress.

The Teacher’s Pet pattern contains a number of options that you can choose from:
* 3 different skirt options - a full skirt, a box pleat and a petal style pleat
* The option of a hood
* Belt and belt loops or eyelet holes for a ribbon or i-cord
* A variety of hem options
* Garter or moss stitch edges
* Contrast edge

 Full skirt and box pleat options

Sizings range from a 17” chest (3-6 months) up to a 23” chest (4 years) with instructions for a 25” chest (size 6) and 27” chest (size 8) to follow

  

Petal pleat with ruffle hem and box pleat version

Contact Ali, Kate or Julia to enquire about getting your own unique Teacher's Pet knitted.

Alternatively if you wish to purchase this pattern rather than have one of the Coco Kids team knit it for you, visit this link to Julia's blog for more information