Caron Yarn Giveaway!

Get Your FREE Skein of NaturallyCaron.com Country yarn!

Go directly to Caron’s site, here: http://www.caron.com/free_sample.html to find out how to get your free yarn.

Gotta go…. got knittin’ to do!

Turn a plain knit garment into a stylish garment, easily, quickly and with flair with 150 stitch patterns.

Do you take your inspiration from a berry bush? A picket fence? A river lazily crawling through a valley, a hedge maze? No matter where you find your ideas, Knit Edgings and Trims will help you finish them off.  Picots, appliques and braids. Fringe, tassels and eyelets. They’re all here. This is an indispensible resource, and… the best part is….I have a copy to giveaway. Or, you can get it straight from Interweave: http://www.interweavestore.com/Knitting/Books/Knit-Edgings-Trims.html

Let see, what would the criteria be. First of all, we’ll run this giveaway until the end of November. (by that time I’ll be off of the big boat and back at work). But, I also need your ideas. Recently I made a valiant effort. Valiant! Trust me, it was noble. I however did not succeed. You see, I have a collection. Gasp. Yes, a collection. I collect knitting needles and seem to have amassed a number of circular needles that when strung all together could stretch quite far. But, I have no way of storing them. How do you store your circs? What are your favorite ways of taming these unruly masses? (bonus points for handmade ideas).

Ready… set…. Go (oh, and don’t forget, this book comes from a NON pet-free home).

Join knitting expert Eunny Jang, crochet ace Kim Werker, spinning and weaving fiberista Liz Gipson, and favorite stitcher Shay Pendray on Knitting Daily Series 300, where yarn and fiber take center stage.

Featured Knitting Daily Season 300 guests include Halcyon Blake, Laura Bryant, Dawn Butler, Jil Eaton, Kathy Elkins, Abby Franquemont, Mary Scott Huff, Adina Klein, Barry Klein, Kelly Lealos, Beth Lutz, Kathy Merrick, Lisa Myers, Shirley Paden, Kristen Rengren, Iris Schreier, Penny Sitler, Becca Smith, Andrea Wong, and Kathy Zimmerman. Learn a variety of cast-on methods, the basics for managing your yarns in colorwork, how to knit jogless stripes in the round, tips on becoming a designer, and more.

4-DVD Set. Total run time is approximately 5 hours, 48 minutes. This DVD Set is for your private home viewing only. It is not authorized for other use. Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

Go here for more info on this DVD series: http://www.interweavestore.com/Knitting/Video/Knitting-Daily-TV-Series-300.html

But, if you want to win one free, you’re going to have to put on your knitting, I mean thinking caps!

I want to know this: What would you like to see more of in this blog? I try to give you lots of free patterns, book reviews and website ideas. What do you want more of? Let me know how to make this a better blog and maybe you’ll be the one to win this awesome series!

Entries will be accepted until Friday Nov 13th, 5PM EST.

You can get it from Interweave, here: http://www.interweavestore.com/Knitting/Books/Boutique-Knits.html

Or, leave me a comment telling me about your knitting blog (or your favorite blog if you don’t have your own) and maybe win this book free! As usual, I’ll try to get my puppy to wake up long enough to pick the winner!

Boutique Knits includes:

• Patterns that cover a variety of knitting techniques in varying degrees, including felting, intarsia, Fair Isle, lacework, and cables
• Advice on incorporating non-knitting tools and techniques to transform your knitting to achieve that one-of-a-kind boutique feel: pliers, hammers, a sewing machine, use of millinery techniques, and handsewing techniques.
• Unique adornment inspiration, such as buckles and bolts borrowed from leatherwork close an intricately cabled belt, a chain handle finishes a felted bag with circle pockets, leather lacing dresses up a knitted bag, and grommets finish a half-felted handbag.
• Inspiration from vintage lace, beads, ribbon, and fabric-covered buttons!
• Knitting and felting techniques to create effects like ruffles, shibori-style pleats, and clever shaping.
• And more!

This collection of modern, stylish patterns will inspire beginning and intermediate knitters with its uncommon techniques and materials. Transform your knitting with Boutique Knits!

Go here, to KnitIdeas.com to their blog and help them Name Their Alpaca!! There’s a 25$$ Gift Certificate in it for you if they choose your idea.

http://www.knitideas.com/profiles/blogs/name-the-alpaca-blog-contest

You can’t order it yet because it doesn’t exist, but you could write a haiku for it. Our plan is to fill in some of the blank days with three-line pearls of wisdom related to spinning or fiber or somesuch. Maybe you’ve never written haiku, but I’ll bet your imagination thinks in haiku all the time.

Slender threads of spring
Catch sunlight in the soft breeze
Tiny spiders spin.

Send yours to Amy Clarke-Moore at aclarkemoore@interweave.com. But hurry.

• A celebration in honor of the United Nations International Year of Natural Fibres
• An international effort to raise 250K for the largest fiber flock in the world in partnership with Heifer International
• A community for people of all ages, nationalities and skills dedicated to promoting the importance of natural fibers by creating the world’s longest scarf
• A competition for fiber artisans
• A place where anyone can learn more about the valuable and precious world of natural fibers by sharing knowledge, skills, resources and products

Go to Keep The Fleece.org to read more about The World’s Longest Scarf.

Pick up Blue Sky Alpacas’ Knit Chickens Pattern and some fabulous Knitch yarn* and let your imagination go free range. Submit as many wacky chickens as you like by the June 15, 2009 deadline.

Go here for more details, this one sounds like fun! http://knitchknitting.blogspot.com:80/

Go here for rules and entry forms http://www.aslantrends.com/KNITTING_CHALLENGE_2009.pdf

ASLANTRENDS KNITTING CHALLENGE “THE CONTEST”
will be an annual contest in which, through the use of AslanTrends Yarns, we ask entrants to create their own designs based on a set of creative guidelines. A panel of prestigious judges from the professional Knitting community will take part in determining the winners. Top tier winners will receive cash, AslanTrends Yarn and other prizes.

The ASLANTRENDS KNITTING CHALLENGE creates wonderful opportunities for Knitters to express their creativity and share their talents with the rest of the Knitting world. As a company, the competition allows ASLANTRENDS the opportunity to witness firsthand the diverse wealth of ideas and methods by which our yarns can be utilized by the Knitter. We encourage all of you to take part: novice or advanced. The goal is to have fun and share in an inspiring creative event!

Go here for info on how Aslan Trends benefits the International Myeloma Foundation! http://www.aslantrends.com/contest.html

Go here for more info!  http://phatfiber.blogspot.com/2009/03/phat-fiber-spring-09-competition.html

Wait, first, I want you to know that I took time out from the Winter Classic game to make this announcement.
The slippers are done! Yes, they are done!
The Mossi Cardi will be finished or near finished at Knit Nite tonight. Pictures coming, I promise. Now, who in the world schedules a Knit Nite on New Years Day?? A better question would be, what better way to start the new year?

Ok, this is how I chose who would get the Knitting Stuff Giveaway.
I called my Ultra Cute 2 year old granddaughter over and told her to point to one.
And she did!

And the winner is….

Hey, you know what? During the intermission between periods in the Winter Classic I should make some of those way cute sheep shaped sugar cookies for knit Nite tonight. Yeah, I think I will do that.
What is the Winter Classic? Well, it’s the 2nd annual outdoor hockey game, this year between non other than my ever favorite Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks. This year they’re at Wrigley Field in Chicago. I knew you’d be floored.
Too cool.
Oh, hold on, intermission’s nearly over.
I’ll be back…..

Ok, ok, enough stalling.
Makayla has pointed to…..

Carol!! I will email Carol to let her know so she can send me her mailing address!
This was so much fun I’m going to have to do it again.

Thanks so much to everyone, but this doesn’t mean you get to go away now. Keep stopping by, keep leaving comments, you never know what I’ll dream up next!

Oh, yeah! Happy New Year! (back to the game…..)

Brand new! For 2009, Aslan Trends introduces it’s First Annual Knitting Challenge for 2009, to benefit the International Myeloma Foundation.

Aslan Trends, author of the popular Season’s Change Books, Volume 1 and 2 (both available through Yarn Market) is asking knitters and designers world wide to be creative, be imaginative and through the use of Aslan Trends Organic Cotton, Alpaca, Merino and Mohair Yarns.

Proceeds will be donated to IMF, the International Myeloma Foundation.

Here is a free pattern from Aslan Trends to celebrate this contest!

Don’t forget to enter our Year End Giveaway! Just make a comment, make sure to give me your email address, and on Jan 1, I’ll contact one of you for mailing instructions!

So comment away, just be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win!

Slipper/boot update. I felted the first part last night. Something went wrong, part of it felted beautifully, part of it  not. Remembered I changed yarns halfway through the foot, so tonight, I’ll cut that part out, and sew in another piece, knitted and felted from the same yarn as the rest. Also the fuzzy white yarn at the top? Yeah, not so good. So I’ll maybe spin some white yarn to replace that, or maybe not, depends on how ambitious I get. Stay tuned for more updates!

Don’t forget to comment!

Really Warm Hat (and really easy) by Melissa Lynn of The Knitting School Dropout http://www.knittingschooldropout.com/patterns/Really%20Warm%20Hat.pdf

Free Patterns and just for fun is Craftzine:  http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/knitting/

And a really pretty, free sock pattern from Phoenix’s Journal:  http://phoenixbess.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/new-free-pattern/

Here’s more:

How about an Ornament contest?  http://knittingetcithaca.com/?p=384

Kristin Nicholas is holding a giveaway on her blog:  http://getting-stitched-on-the-farm.blogspot.com/2008/12/giveaway-and-mothering-magazine-cover.html

Stay tuned, you  just never know what I’ll find when I can’t sleep!