It's a Leap Day sale!

Happy Leap Day everyone! What a good excuse for a pattern sale. :)

Use the coupon code "leapyear" at checkout to get any one of my individual patterns in my Ravelry shop for 29% off. Today only (good thru midnight central time).

Enjoy and happy knitting!

FO: Upside Down Daisy Hat

Last week, I found myself stumbling upon a pattern that had been in my Ravelry queue for some time. Even better? Ravelry told me I already had the pattern in a magazine from 2007. So, I dug it out the magazine, found some yarn (Knit Picks Comfy Worsted for the hat, Berroco Comfort for the petals and some random green acrylic for the stem), and went to town on the Upside Down Daisy Hat by Susan B. Anderson.

It's your basic hat pattern, with a little yarn switich and i-cord at the end. You knit the petals separately, then sew them on. So so cute.

I whipped this up over the weekend, and it will be going to my coworker whose first baby will be arriving any day now.

It's possible that I will be casting on another one of these for my niece. I think she would look ridiculously cute in this hat. And, I have been in desperate need of a more mindless knitting project, and this fits the bill perfectly.

What's your fav baby things to knit? There seems to be pregnant women and newborns around me everywhere! I can't even keep up with it!

 Happy knitting. :)

Book Review: Knit Noro Accessories

I had another review copy show up at my door recenly. It's Knit Noro Accessories.

  

The title says it all. Accessories knit using Noro. The book contains 30 patterns. There is a small section in the back for your basic knitting techniques. I have no problem with the technique section being light...it leaves more room for the beautiful knitting patterns! There's lots of cute stuff in this book. Here are my faves:

Long Lace Scarf

Intarsia Lace Scarf

Enterlac Mittens

Those mittens are so awesome. I think that's the kind of patterns I could knit a bunch of times and have it never grow old.

I love this Noro book in that it uses different knitting techniques to show off the yarn's stripey goodness. If you love Noro, this book would be a good one for you.

Knit Noro Accessories retails for $24.95, and I have seen it on Amazon for as low as $16.

Want my review copy? Just leave a comment between now and Feb 24th. I will draw a random winner on Friday. Please leave your Rav name or something so I can find you should you win.

Good luck and happy knitting!

Note: I received this book as a review copy. For more info, please see my disclosure policy.

A Crafty Valentine's Day

I don't know about any of you, but I could spend all day on Pinterest. LOVE that site. One of the first things I "pinned" when I joined the site was the "52 Reasons Why I Love You" book made out of a deck of cards. It seemed like the perfect thing for Alex, so I made him one for Valentine's Day:

There were lots of sweet, mushy things I added to this book, but I think my favorite one was this:

Now, Alex and I don't care that the humping deer are gay. They have every right to do their own thing. We applaud the humping gay deer. But I have to admit, it was not exactly what I was going for when I knit him the hat a couple years ago:

And Alex does happily still wear it. It's one of the reasons that I love him. He doesn't judge the deer or the fact that I blindly followed a pattern and didn't think twice that both deer had antlers. :)

Happy knitting!

The Winner!

Thanks to everyone for commenting on my Knitting Pleats book review. I am happy to say I have drawn a random winner.

And the winner is....gussek! Debbie, please check your Ravelry message box for details.

Thanks again. There is another book review/giveaway coming. Check back Monday!

Happy Knitting!

Book Review: Finishing School

No giveaway this week. :( But, I do have another book to review! This time it's Finishing School: A Master Class for Knitters by Deborah Newton.

This book is completely awesome. It gives step-by-step instructions of all kinds of finishing processes. It's exactly the kind of book a knitter who is bad at finishing needs (which is why I am not giving it away). :)

The book starts out with basic finishing and then goes into blocking. And, there are lots of illustrated workshops that go into incredible detail to explain the technique. The clear photos are some of  the best I have ever seen on explaining knitting techniques of any kind.

And, as if all that finishing info wasn't enough, the book also has fifteen patterns. I thought the patterns were all so pretty and there was a variety in there, from sweaters to lace scarves and bags.

The book is published by Sixth & Spring and retails for $29.95, but I have seen it on Amazon for $19.37.

So, if you are a knitter who needs some serious finishing help, I think this may be the book for you.

Note: I received this book as a review copy. For more information, please see my disclosure policy here.

Book Review & Giveaway: Knitting Pleats

Well, I am a day late, but I do have another book review this week. It's no joke that the pile of books to review around here is huge. But, I am glad to be making a dent in them and sharing some knitting goodness with you.

This week, it's Knitting Pleats by Olga Pobedinskaya.

As the title suggests, the book is full of projects that use knitted pleats as a design element. A couple of the designs were a little too fashion forward for my tastes. But there were several projects that I really liked:

The book also includes  a section on how to knit pleats. I am glad to find that in there because I have no clue how to do that! There are 17 patterns in the book, so there is bound to be something you would want to try.

The book is published by Martingale and Company and retails for $24.99.

Want my review copy? Just leave a comment between now and Sunday, 2/12 8pm central time. I will draw a random winner from the comments. Make sure you leave your Ravelry id or something in your comments so I can find you should you win. Good luck!

Note: I received this book as a review copy. For more info, please see my disclosure policy.

Giveaway Winner

Thanks everyone for reading my book review and entering the 60 Quick Knits giveaway!

And the winner is ..... saraq24! Sarah, please check your Rav messages for details!

Stay tuned. There are many more book reviews/giveaways coming! Happy knitting. :)

WIP Friday? Faux Cable Socks

Well, I cast on for my Faux Cable Socks for the Knitting Like Crazy February Sock KAL that I am running over in the Ravelry group. I'm knitting mine out of some A Verb For Keeping Warm yarn:

So far, so good. I got through one repeat. I have a feeling with lots of football to watch on Sunday, I will make some significant progress then!

Have you joined in the Sock KAL fun? How are your socks going so far?

Happy knitting!

Now Available: Timberland Shawl

I designed this shawl exclusively for Fuzzy Wuzzy Yarns in Arlington Heights a few months ago. Garter stitch and lace, two of my favorite things.

Knit out of one skein of Shaeffer Anne yarn, you can whip this thing up in a flash. You could also use any sock yarn you like, but you would need 450 yards or more.

Timberland is now available on Ravelry for $6.00. But, if you use the coupon code 'timberland' at checkout, you can get it 20% off now thru 2/17! A great deal!

Hope you enjoy! 

February KAL - Socks!

I have been itching to knit some socks, so I thought I would drag in all my blog readers/Ravelry group into it. It's a February Sock KAL!

Knit any one of my patterns, post a completed pic in the Ravelry group by 2/29 and be entered into a random drawing for fabulous prizes. What kind of prizes? Sock yarn, of course!

To get ready for the February Sock KAL, all my individual sock patterns in my Ravelry shop are on sale. 20% off when you use the coupon code sockkal. Code good thru 2/15.

Take a Hike Socks (only $4 with coupon code!)

You could also knit up my Geneva Socks. Available from Kollage Yarns on Patternfish here.

And, many people have already decided to knit up one of my freebie patterns, the Faux Cable socks.Click here for download.



I'll be knitting the Faux Cable Socks too. I have been wanting a new pair after the pair I had had an unfortunate felting incident awhile back. Hope you can join us!