We Have a Winner...And Some More Good News!

And the winner of the free copy of my Mosaic Blanket pattern and three (3) skeins of yarn is...Mary D!  Congratulations to Mary!  I'll send out your prize package soon!!

Thanks to EVERYONE who entered my giveaway!  It was my first free giveaway and I learned a lot.  It was great to hear everyone's feedback on my knitting patterns and tutorials.  This is very helpful as I think about new patterns for the future.  It was also fun to see everyone's email addresses (there are some really cute addresses out there) and find some new blogs to check out.  Thanks again to everyone who stopped by!

And more good news - 3 of my patterns have been published in the 2015 Knitting Pattern Daily Calendar by Accord Publishing.  This is my first time having my patterns in print, and I'm pretty excited.  I'm not sure where this calendar is available (other than Amazon), but I'll pass on more information when I have it.

Thanks again everyone!  I appreciate you stopping by!!

Summer Sweater KAL: Beginning with Helpful Hints

It's that wonderful time of year again:  time for Very Shannon's Summer Sweater KAL (knit-a-long).  I participated last year in Shannon's Summer Sweater KAL and really enjoyed it.  If you've never joined a KAL, it's a great way to try or finish a knitting project that's been lurching in your heart or mind (or maybe in the back of your closet).

"Wisterious" © Jennifer Dassau

This year, I've selected the lacy and light Wisterious pattern by Jennifer Dassau.  I must admit the thing I love most about this pattern is the little button detail on the shoulders - I have the perfect vintage buttons already picked out for my top.

But before I get to the buttons, I have a lot of knitting to do:

I'm using Juniper Moon's Findley Dappled lace weight yarn (50% merino, 50% silk) in Cloudbank (held double) for this top, and for the first time in a long time, I'm not sure of my gauge (sad face).  I did a swatch, but had a beast of a time counting my stitches.  I went with a larger size to give the top some positive ease, and I think (and hope) it will work out when blocked.

But here's a helpful hint:  you might notice the ziploc bags in my photo.  I saw this on Pinterest - Since I'm working with two balls of yarn as I knit with my yarn held double, I put each ball in a baggie to keep my yarn from getting tangled.  I just pricked a little hole in the bottom corner of each bag, and ran my yarn through the hole.  The bags are big enough for each ball to move and spin freely, but it keeps them separate and neat.  So far, it's working like a charm!

I'll keep you posted on my KAL!  In the meantime, don't forget to enter my Mosaic Blanket and Yarn Giveaway!!  I'd love to have loads more people enter!  The fun ends on Friday, August 8th at midnight EST.

Shawl project: Scraptastic Ombrellone

So happy with my latest knitting project!  This is the wonderful Ombrellone by Melinda Vermeer.

I started this out with just the light purple and darker purple color striping, but I thought it looked too much like 7-year-olds girl's bedroom.  So, I changed the pattern a bit using some of my stash:  I frogged what I had and began again with some KnitPicks Swish DK in my new favorite color, Sugar Plum.  Then changing the pattern, I started my stripes on Row 24 with some Naturally Caron Country in gray.  I continued with these stripes to Row 37.  On Row 38, I switched from the light purple to dark purple stripes (Ella Rae Classics Heather) and continued with the gray.  Then on Row 56, I switched the gray to KnitPicks Swish DK in Lost Lake Heather (green) with the purple.  LOVE this green!

Sadly, I didn't have enough of the Lost Lake to do the full border, so I had to end with Row 83.  I think the border is still wide enough and it looks fine.  I did lose a little length though by not making the border as wide as the pattern stated.

To bind off, I used a semi-stretchy stitch on the next RS row.  To do this:

Knit the 1st stitch. Then,

1.  Slip next st to the right side needle knitwise.

2.  With these two stitches on the right needle, knit them together tbl.

3. Knit the next st.

4.  Bind off next st as normail.

Continue working through steps 1-4 until you have 1 st left.  Then cut your yarn and pull it through the last st.  Ta-da!

  Don't forget to enter my free giveaway, ending on August 8!!

ENDED 8/14/14: FREE Yarn and Knitting Pattern Giveaway!!

It's time for my first giveaway!!  One lucky person will win (drum roll please):

• A hardcopy of my Mosaic Baby Blanket or Lap Afghan knitting pattern (more photos on Ravelry -pattern includes directions for both the baby blanket and the adult-sized afghan), and
• One skein each:  Caron Simply Soft worsted weight yarn in Persimmon (not quite as deep a color as pictured below), Country Peach, and Off White - 3 skeins total - enough yarn to knit your choice of afghan!

This yarn includes a pretty coral colored skein (not really as orangey as shown here), a soft peach color, and an off-white neutral.  I think these colors would make a cheerful baby blanket or lap afghan.  But, you could also swap out one of the colors and change the color combination.  You could take out one of these colors and add a denim blue to make a great blanket suited for a boy - or add a pretty lilac color for a lovely girl's blanket.  Or swap one of the colors for a dark emerald green to make a rich design of mosaic color.  You can use them however you choose!

How to enter my Mosaic Blanket Pattern and Yarn Giveaway:

1.  Go to my Hubpages knitting pattern and craft tutorial website and check out all my knitting patterns.  Links to these patterns are also on the right-hand side of this blog.

2.  Come back to this page and tell me your favorite of my knitting patterns, or your favorite of my craft tutorials in the comments below.

3.  Be sure to leave your name and a valid email address for me to contact you.

Giveaway will end on Friday, August 8, 2014 at midnight EST.  Official rules and regulations:

1.  This giveaway is open to U.S. Residents only.

2.  Only one entry per person please.

3.  Winner will be chosen by random selection.  Please be sure to include your email address.  I will contact the winner and give that person one week to respond with their address.  If I don't get any response by the end of that week, I will pick another winner.

That's it!  Good luck!!  Remember, this free giveaway ends on Friday, August 8, 2014 at midnight e.s.t.

Not feeling lucky?  I you can buy my Mosaic Baby Blanket and Lap Afghan knitting pattern for only $3 on Ravelry!  Thanks!!