The grand prize winner of the needle case organizer in a fabric of their choice is:

purlverde

The runner up of the yarn and knitting gift is:

Emily

Congratulations! Please contact me at yarnonthehouse@gmail.com to claim your prizes.

Hi, YOTH followers! I have a quick knitting tip and fun giveaway to share with you today. Hope you enjoy it!

While browsing an LYS last week that I hadn't been to in awhile, I remembered that the last time I was there they had had a few skeins of Rowan Calmer in their sales bin in a pretty pastel peach color (that I do believe is now discontinued). And, what do ya know, the skeins were still there! It was less than half the normal price and so of course, I had to have them! I went home and that following Friday I cast on right away for another Spring Garden Tee - this time in a size 3 for my little niece, Natalka, that lives in Prague and I have yet to send a knitted gift to (bad auntie!). She will be turning two this upcoming Spring, but I decided to knit her a size 3 just to make sure that eventually it will fit and she won't grow out of it before the winter is over. I always feel better about knitting clothes that are too big rather than too small when it comes to children!

My hubby was out of town all weekend in Canada with friends and so I really had not much else to do in the evenings, but knit, knit, KNIT. So, as I was knitting (this is where the knitting tip comes in), I came to the portion of the tee where the stitches are divided for the sleeves (it's knit top-down raglan style, I should add) and I was to place X number of stitches on hold for the sleeves to be picked up at a later time for finishing. Well, anytime I'm asked to place stitches on hold, I use my stitch holders whenever possible and if the stitches are over a curved location (which they were in this case - sleeve caps), I use a scrap piece of contrasting yarn to hold them instead. But, I really don't enjoy picking the stitches back up off the scrap piece of yarn, because the stitches tend to collapse most of the time and it's annoyingly time consuming for me. This time around I thought to myself, why not use my extra 24" knitting cables from my interchangeable needles to hold the stitches?! Lo and behold, it worked like a charm! It was really quick to slip and transfer the stitches from one needle to another and then I removed the needles tips and placed cable caps on the ends. I also took the cable, turned it into a circle and then threaded the ends through the lace portion of the sleeves before securing the cable caps on each end, which helps keep the sleeve caps in a nice round shape. I do realize that not every project will allow me to do this, but all in all I'm really happy with my success! Now when I come back to the sleeves, I'll be able to just knit right off the cables. Warning: this has probably been mentioned or thought of elsewhere, but I'm just now figuring it out for myself!

Here's a picture of my interchangeable needle cable holding the sleeve stitches:



See how I threaded the cable through the work to keep it in place and in a round shape?



BTW, I'm in love with this peachy-orange colorway! It's just perfect for a little girl and this specific NeverNotKnitting pattern, in my opinion.

Another reason I cast on for this little tee is because it's a perfect segue into this week's giveaway! If you've been following my blog, then you probably already know who Alana Dakos is from NeverNotKnitting. You may have actually found my blog from NNK, or maybe you heard about Alana when I did a recorded interview with her back during giveaway #11. And, if you don't know who Alana Dakos is, then you've been living under a big rock! Just kidding!

Well, Alana is back on YOTH and she has recently redesigned the look and feel of her entire pattern collection and it looks amazing! If you get a chance, take a look at her blog post where she talks about the pattern redesigns in more detail. It's really neat to see the idea behind the designs!

These new professionally printed patterns are only available in yarn shops, but you can still purchase any of Alana's fabulous patterns off of her site for PDF download anytime. Each of these patterns (whether you buy the pattern at your LYS or download the PDF version) has a beautiful layout that includes hand drawings and a custom design. They truly are works of art!

Alana is sponsoring this week's giveaway with a chance for one lucky follower to win seven of her new printed patterns: Chloe, Playful Stripes, Haltermelon, Spring Garden Tee, Molly Beret, Cosette Wrap, and the brand new Shawl Collared Cowl. The winner will receive one printed copy of all seven of these lovely patterns!

Here they are all snuggled together. Aren't they cute?!



Guess who's picture that is on the left in the Spring Garden Tee pattern! It's Jasmine!



Thank you, Alana for visiting us this week on YOTH! I'm sure we'll see you real soon! Wink, wink!

I would like you to do the following if you would like to be entered into this week's giveaway:


1. Read over the rules if you have not done so already.

2. Leave a comment on this blog post by the end of Sunday, 10/30/10. Do you have a fun knitting tip or trick up your sleeve that makes knitting life a little easier? Please share. :) If not, that's alright! Just say HI!

I'll randomly pick the winners on Sunday and post the results on Monday along with the new giveaway, so be sure to check back. Good luck everyone.

Sincerely,

Ve

The grand prize winner of Margaret Stove's book and the three skeins of NZ Merino Lace is:

Jack

The two winners of the Knitsch Sock skeins are:

Silvina & Denise

Congratulations! Please contact me at yarnonthehouse@gmail.com to claim your prizes.

This past week has been pretty mellow and I've gotten quite a bit of knitting done. Yay! However, I still have way too many projects that I want to start and finish over the next few months. There's also a couple deadline projects to complete like the fingerless gauntlets I'm knitting for Linsay and her friend (sorry, Linsay, for taking my sweet time on those). And, I have a baby shower coming up in October (date to be determined). Plus, I have my Leavenworth birthday weekend coming up and I need some new and pretty knits to wear of course. So, send all your knitting mojo my way, PLEASE!

Well, onto the good stuff... this week we have a fun giveaway and one that will help you get organized. I love organizational pieces - whether it's in my home life, work life, or knitting life - I think structured and tidy workspaces increase productivity and creativity. Now, don't get me wrong, I can be known to be messy too, but I think great functional pieces like this week's sponsor has created are so wonderful to have. Makes things so much easier to stay organized.

So, meet Brenda of GoodStuffCrafts and her brand new interchangeable needle organizer:



This is how Brenda describes her needle cases:

"Ideal for those interchangeable needle tips or your crochet hooks, this handmade needle organizer cleverly recycles an old used book cover!

There are spaces for your needle tips (e.g. Knitpicks or Denise), DPNs, or crochet hooks, a see-through pocket for the cables, and a second cloth pocket (closes securely with Velcro), for stitch markers or other small accessories. Makes it so easy to find what you're looking for!

There is a lining of soft cotton T-shirt material under the fabric to provide padding, and the whole thing is hand-stitched by me here in the USA. The elastic will hold all your items securely. Up to 18 pairs of needle tips (depending on size) can fit here, plus several fixed circular needles and cables in the pouch.

The needle case closes with an elastic loop around a matching vintage button.

Dimensions : approximately 9 1/2 x 6 1/4 x 7/8"

Handcrafted in a smoke and pet free home."

Here are some close ups:





Thank you, Brenda, for joining us on YOTH this week! Here are the TWO wonderful prizes Brenda has put together for you...

Grand prize winner will receive one of Brenda's neat needle organizers in a fabric of their choice! You can check out Brenda's Etsy store to see the options.



Prize #2 is a little yarn and knitting gift Brenda has put together. It consists of:

- A copy of Brenda's Crayon Pocket Cardigan.

- A lovely skein of Socks that Rock sock yarn in the Pink Marble colorway.

- A tape measure decorated with a super cute sheep picture!

- And, a little set of handmade stitch markers in jewel tones.



I would like you to do the following if you would like to be entered into this week's giveaway:


1. Read over the rules if you have not done so already.

2. Leave a comment on this blog post by the end of Sunday, 9/26/10. Brenda would like to know which fabric is your favorite. Check out these two listings to see the fabric choices: one & two.

I'll randomly pick the winners on Sunday and post the results on Monday along with the new giveaway, so be sure to check back. Good luck everyone.

Sincerely,

Ve

The grand prize winner of the Pipp's Purses giveaway is:

Knittinchick

The four runners up who can each pick a pattern from Pipp's store are:

Angela, TopHat, Alex, & Eva who said, "I've made two felted items. The first was a totally awesome felted pirate hat for my friends 21st birthday. He's convinced he's a pirate. The other was a felted scarf that came out.. well.. not so awesome. But I LOVE the boxy bag pattern and would adore getting to make it."

Congratulations! Please contact me at yarnonthehouse@gmail.com to claim your prizes.

The cooler weather has definitely arrived here in the Seattle area, and I feel like I'm knitting more and more whenever I have a free minute. It's so comforting to hold a set of needles and knit away while the wind and on most occasions rain is having it's fun outside my front door. It's sad to see the sunshine go, but I always welcome more indoor time to knit away merrily.

This week we have indie dyer Tash from Knitsch visiting us. Check out the written interview I did with Tash...

1. Tash, please start by telling us a little bit about yourself and what you do?

I'm a New Zealander living in Wellington, hugely passionate about crafts. I started NZ's first knit graffiti group, OutdoorKnit in 2008, with the main motivation to spread a bit of knitted cheer around the city. Inspired by a spell working at Socktopus in London (home of the lovely Alice Yu of Knit Nation), I decided to come home and start my own hand-dyed yarn company. Conveniently that tied in very well with my grandmother's yarn company, Artisan Lace - Grandma being the well-know lace knitter Margaret Stove.

I also help organise New Zealand's longest running indie craft fair, Craft2.0. So life is never dull, and I am constantly in awe of the amazing crafty talent we have in NZ.

2. You make beautiful hand dyed yarn and sell it on your website. Tell us about the yarn that you sell and the different options.

My personal focus is on sock yarn. I love it's versatility! Knitsch sock is all about bright, unexpected colours that you find in everyday urban life. I wear a lot of black and found hand-dyed sock yarn to be a fabulous way to wear colour without fear.
I also now look after Artisan Lace, a superfine merino lace (2ply) that is spun to the very high standards Margaret demands. In this range again is Gossamer, super-duper fine cobweb yarn for knitting heirloom shawls. Personally the gossamer scares me, but i'm determined to take up the challenge one day!

The sock, lace and gossamer are all 100% New Zealand merino, the highest quality in the world. It really is the most wonderful fibre.

3. When did you start dyeing yarn and how did you get into it?

I started dyeing in about October 2009, so not that long ago really! It was one of things where I decided I was going to do it, and so just started playing. I had lessons from my Aunt, who had previously been dyeing the Artisan Lace brand. Some of the little tricks and tools she came up with to make the process work better for her is some real kiwi ingenuity at work.

4. The colors that you offer are gorgeous. What inspires you?

Everything! Driving around the New Zealand countryside is my biggest inspiration at the moment, as i've been doing a lot of it. I have an obsession with dyeing the perfect green! The knitters in my local knitting group are a wonderful sounding board, but often colours are created by seeing things around the place - for example, Charlie was created after I saw my endpaper mitts made from Silver Lining and Kowhai sitting next to my Haruni shawl made in Beauregarde, and the colour combo took my breath away.

5. What will be next for you? Do you have new colorways or bases in the works that you can share with us?

I'm actually in a wonderful place at the moment where there isn't anything huge going on! Although I am working on turning some of Margaret Stove's patterns into pdfs so that we can sell them through Ravelry and the online shop in time for the release of her new book. There is also something top secret and local i'm working on that i'm extremely excited about but if I told you...well, i'd have to kill you. Or something.

Oh, and I have a shipment of wonderful HazelKnits waiting to be delivered (it's stuck at customs, boo!) so I can share Wendee's gorgeousness with New Zealanders, and I am about to load all my new Knit Pro needles onto the website. Both are things that I knew I had to have in my shop all the way back in London when I first decided to do this. It's wonderful to see the dream become reality.

6. Why do you knit?

Because I love textiles. I adore that I am making fabric from yarn - I love pattern, and texture, and colour. It's also my relaxing time, where I can solve the world's problems in my head and just find that little bit of peace in a hectic world. I'm an entirely selfish knitter - all the patterns I am driven to knit are because I desperately want them for myself!

7. When did you learn to knit and who taught you?

I was taught several times over my childhood by both grandmothers, my mum and each time would put the needles down and forget. A few years ago I was working at a ski field and decided to take it up again, so of course I used the internet to re-teach myself!

8. If you were to knit and live anywhere in the world, where would you knit and live?

Oh, it would have to be somewhere in Scandinavia. I adored Sweden when I had a few days there last year, and i'd also love to spend more time in Scotland. Both, funnily enough, parts of my heritage.

9. What's been your worst knitting or yarn dyeing disaster?

Good question! Hmm, disaster...to be honest I don't think i've ever had a massive one. The great thing about dyeing is that if you mess something up, you can overdye and call it a limited edition - you are guaranteed that someone will fall in love with it!

10. And last but not least, if you were to be drinking a cocktail while reading my blog, what would it be?

A Rosebud. A glass of pink deliciousness. Yum!

Thank you, Tash, for visiting us and sponsoring such a fantastic giveaway for the YOTH followers. Tash was sweet enough to let me keep two skeins of sock yarn she send over to try out. I picked the beautiful color Silver Lining in Knitsch Sock. This yarn is made out of 100% New Zealand superwash merino and has a beautiful and sturdy ply to it. Each skein has 167 meters (which is approximately 182 yards), and it is priced accordingly at about $9-10 USD depending on exchange rate. So, for a pair of socks, you would typically need two of these skeins. I actually appreciate this lower yardage, because I'm able to narrow down and purchase only the yardage that I may actually need for a specific project and it doesn't cost me more!

You know how much I love semi-solids and this Silver Lining color is no exception. It is UH-mazing! The variation in light to medium grays makes this yarn almost sparkle, which makes it's name (Silver Lining) so appropriate. I cast on a shawl project as soon as I had my hot little hands on this yarn. Can you guess what shawl or shawlette I'm knitting?



Now, take a look at the THREE lovely prizes you have a chance to win this week...

Prize #1: Two skeins of Knitsch Sock in the most gorgeous color: Chelsea.



One side is a bright bold royal blue and the other side is this to-die-for variegated purple.



How can you not love this yarn?



Prize #2: Two skeins of Knitsch Sock in a fun blend of bright greens and splashes of purple called: Mystery Machine.



Yummy!



This colorway just makes me smile.



Grand Prize: Three skeins of Artisan NZ Merino Lace Weight & a copy of Margaret Stove's book, Creating Original Hand-knitted Lace.



This lace yarn is so adorably wound and packaged!



Don't you just want to squish it?!



I would like you to do the following if you would like to be entered into this week's giveaway:


1. Read over the rules if you have not done so already.

2. Leave a comment on this blog post by the end of Sunday, 9/19/10. I'm at a loss this week on what you should comment about. So, let's do an oldie but goodie: What's on your needles currently? Or, you can just say "Hi" as usual!

I'll randomly pick the winners on Sunday and post the results on Monday along with the new giveaway, so be sure to check back. Good luck everyone.

Sincerely,

Ve

The two winners of the Cascade Venezia giveaway are:

Samantha & Jean Ashley

Congratulations! Please contact me at yarnonthehouse@gmail.com to claim your prizes.

Hello, fellow knitters! Unfortunately, this week I do not have a long post for you, because I am busy working and doing some training for my day job. Yuck! However, I do have a fantastic sponsor and giveaway for you felters out there:

Jennifer from Pipp's Purses is here with us.

Now, I'm not a knitter that makes felted items very often, but I'm really loving all of Jennifer's wonderful purse designs. Jennifer runs her own Etsy shop where she sells knitting patterns and some of her finished felted pieces. Most of her patterns are for felted purses and boy, are they cool! I'm eyeing this Ring Tote pattern, one of her best selling designs is her Doctor's Satchel, and I'm really wanting to knit up one of these owl pillows (not a felted pattern but fun nonetheless). I may just have to start knitting felted patterns! Anyone got a top loader I can come over and use?!

Jennifer put together a lovely kit for her very popular Felted Pyramid Tote for you this week, which by the way, was originally published in Interweave's Special Edition Magazine: FELT 2008. One lucky follower has the opportunity to win:

- A PDF copy of the Pyramid Tote pattern.

- 3 skeins of Cascade 220 in a warm copper heather brown

- 1 skein of Cascade 220 in a olive heather green

- 1 skein of Cascade 220 in a periwinkle heather blue-purple

- 1 skein of Ella Rae Classic in a pumpkin orange

- And, a gorgeous knitted and felted sample square to show you the flower design you can add to your new bag if you choose to.

Take a look...



How pretty is this swatch/sample?!




That's right! Six skeins of felt-able wool in wonderful Fall colors, a knitting pattern which includes instructions to add darling flower embellishments, and a fun square to show you what it all looks like together! Jennifer is also sponsoring not one, not two, NOT three, but FOUR additional followers the chance to win a knitting pattern of their choice from her Etsy store selection! Thank you, Jennifer, for visiting us this week on YOTH and offering such a wonderful giveaway.

I would like you to do the following if you would like to be entered into this week's giveaway:


1. Read over the rules if you have not done so already.

2. Leave a comment on this blog post by the end of Sunday, 9/12/10. I would like to know how many of you fellow knitters like to make felted pieces. Do you like to felt? If so, tell us what you like about it. Of course, as usual, you can just say "Hi" if you would like to as well.

I'll randomly pick the winners on Sunday and post the results on Monday along with the new giveaway, so be sure to check back. Good luck everyone.

Sincerely,

Ve