Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Ravelry Indie Design 2014 Gift-A-Long


I would like to announce that I will be a returning designer in the 2nd annual Indie Design Gift-A-Long.  All of my Ravelry for-sale patterns are included in this promotion and all are eligible for the 2014 GAL KAL/CAL.  (My Ravelry patterns can be found in a bundle right here on my designer page.)

The Indie Design Gift-A-Long is a 2 month long KAL/CAL of holiday gifts made from patterns designed by an incredible number of (293!) independent designers from 21(!) countries around the world.

From Thursday, November 13th at 8:00 pm (EST) to Friday, November 21, 2014 at 11:59 pm (EST) tons of (293!) indie designers will be discounting from 4 to 20 of their patterns by 25% for this event (3822 patterns will be on sale!)  You can read all about the details in this Ravelry post.

Once you’ve got your Gift-A-Long patterns, you can join a relevant KAL/CAL. (For instance, if it is a cowl, please join the cowl KAL/CAL.)  To join, simply write a post in the KAL/CAL thread you want to join, including the pattern name you will be knitting, and a link to your project page.  KAL/CAL participants are eligible for lots of lovely prizes but you gotta post to win!

The KAL/CALs will run from Thursday, November 13 at 8 pm (EST) through a group New Years Eve party, Wednesday, December 31 at midnight (EST), plenty of time to knock out all your holiday knitting and crocheting.  There will be several games, tons of prizes, great conversation, and a whole lot of fun, so pull up a chair and join us!  Ready, Set, Gift!

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Playground Shawl KAL Update

I am very grateful to the three participants in the Playground KAL who have finished their shawls and have given me permission to share some lovely FO images with you.


Nancy (americana) named her gorgeous Cat's Cradle "The River".  From Nancy's project notes: "The reason for the name, I just got back from the 1000 Islands, and we stayed right on the river!! Beautiful place:o)"  Her words brought back vacation memories.  I have been to the Thousand Islands very many times and I totally agree.  I can see a river in the variegated blue stripes. The colors in the shawl include a more vivid blue (Madeline Tosh's colorway 'shoreline') than what appears in the photo, but this shot by the window is my favorite image.  Thanks, Nancy!  Good work!



Lisa (lacotter) worked up this stunning Red Rover in a rich pink with dark gray Heritage sock yarn.  Her project, named simply "Red Rover Shawl", was made as a gift for her cousin.  From a post by Lisa in the KAL thread:  "I’m excited to send it to my cousin. She battled breast cancer several years ago and her favorite color is pink."  Truly, a beautiful way to wrap that cousin up in a great big hug!  Thanks for sharing, Lisa!



Sharon (seffy) aptly named her Cat's Cradle "Cradle of Tweed".  I always love a good tweed!  (Got to get my hands on some of that Geilsk yarn.)  Sharon said, "The bind off took forever it seemed!"  I think that you will agree that it was well worth the time, as was the washing and blocking!  Great job, Sharon!

Thanks again, Nancy, Lisa, and Sharon, you have done my patterns proud!

These knitters won free patterns for being the first three in the KAL to finish their shawls.  You still have time to join in the Playground Shawl KAL, which will conclude at midnight November 30.  Two of these lovely knits were made in less than the three weeks that remain.  There are several great prizes to be won at the end of the Playground KAL.

In my next post, I will be announcing another KAL and pattern promotion that I will be just a small part of... This will be HUGE!  Shhhh!  I cannot say anymore right now, but please come back on Wednesday for my next post.  Until then, happy knitting to one and all!

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Midweek Meditation


"A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."       ~ Antoine de Saint-ExupĂ©ry

This is a busy time of year for knitwear designers who like to send out submissions proposals for third party publication.

I sent out three last month.  I will have two of them published! One will appear in a magazine next year and the other in a book(!) early in 2016.  I have not heard back on the third proposal.  It has been almost a month -- not a good sign.  (That third one was really my favorite of the three, so, I think if a rejection comes, it should be my next self-published pattern.)

I will write more soon about the progress of the Playground Shawl KAL.  (Believe it or not, there is still time to join!  Playgrounds are all about fun and no worries.  See this post for the details.  Go to this Ravelry thread to sign up and enjoy the fun!)