1.31.2011

blogiversary and giveaway #53

The grand prize winner of the cosymakes 2 skeins of their choice and Mixed Knits e-book is:

One Sheep

The two runners up who will each receive 2 PDF patterns of their choice are:

Rachelle & Christine Lima

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



Tomorrow will mark my blog's ONE year giveaway anniversary! February 1st, 2010, was the start of the joyful journey of giveaways that has lead me here. I can't believe it's been a year! I'm so happy to have you as my followers and I'm very excited about what this next year of giveaways will bring.

During the last few months, I've been contemplating and dwelling over what I would like to do and where I would like to take this blog in 2011, and I've come up with a few changes:

1) My biggest decision and change is that I will start doing bi-weekly giveaways instead of giveaways that are featured every Monday. Now before you start yelling and throwing things at me, listen to my reasoning and then be kind... one of my biggest reasons for deciding to change my giveaway schedule is because I would like more time to find truly good and unique giveaways to offer you in the future. Weekly giveaways end up rotating so quickly that our sponsors are only able to donate so much product for such short exposure (which makes sense) and I want to bring you better and bigger giveaways in 2011!

The second reason is that I've noticed over the last 52 giveaways, I've had 10 or so unclaimed prizes! I would like to extend the giveaway lengths to allow winners to claim their prizes for a longer period of time and to allow more followers an opportunity to enter the giveaways with the extended timeframe.

And lastly, I've set some personal knitting and blogging goals for myself this year and doing bi-weekly giveaways will allow me more time to accomplish some or all of those goals.

2) With the above mentioned change to bi-weekly giveaways, the time to claim your prizes is now being extended to 4 weeks instead of 2. Hopefully, this will help the winners get their information over to me and we won't have as many forfeited prizes this year.

3) The other change I'm hoping to accomplish is the look of my blog! My hubby is going to start changing things on the site and so I hope that you enjoy the new look, which will be occuring over the next couple of weeks.

With all that being said, I bet your thinking what happened to the forfeited prizes from the last 52 giveaways! Right?! Well, back several months ago during one of my recorded podcasts I announced that unclaimed prizes will be chosen at random to give to either a public Follower of the blog or YOTH Ravelry group member. Well, I plan to stick to my word, and this leads me to this week's giveaway prize...




ONE LUCKY public Follower and ONE LUCKY Ravelry YOTH group member will each receive an assortment of yarn from this past year's unclaimed prizes! That's right! If you're not a public Follower or Ravelry YOTH group member, be sure to jump on board now to participate in this giveaway's destashing of forfeited prizes.

All these lonely skeins need nice homes!




And, last but NOT least, I would like to ask for a blogiversary gift from you, my followers:

Tell all the knitters that you know about YarnOnTheHouse.com! Share your favorite giveaway site with your friends. The more followers that we have, the better the prizes we'll get!

And, to all of you Twitter YOTH followers... be sure to Tweet, "Happy Blogiversary @yarnonthehouse!"

Thank you so much for all of your support and cheers to another fantastic year of giveaways!!

I'll randomly pick the winners from the public Followers and Ravelry YOTH group members in two weeks and post the results on the blog along with the new giveaway, so be sure to check back. (Feel free to leave a comment if you would like. I would love to hear from you, but this giveaway's comments will not constitute an entry into this drawing.) Good luck everyone.

Sincerly,

Ve

87 comments:

marianne said...

the homeless skeins make me sad! :'( I want to hug them all! (I may be tempted to rush home before releasing them from my hug...hehehe. ;))

ahem. anyway! happy blog anniversary! \o/ I have really enjoyed the interviews and learning more about the lovely yarns!

josiekitten said...

Wow! I can't believe that all those gorgeous skeins have been abandoned! I'm very happy to offer them a loving new home!
I love your blog too - happy anniversary to you. You have introduced me to yarns that would otherwise have remained undiscovered.

Tiphanie said...

Happy Blog Anniversary to you, Ve!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the giveaway!

KarenJ said...

Happy Blogiversary! You're doing a wonderful job!

Suzanne said...

The best reason for you changing your format was to allow you to focus on your own knitting goals. I admire that and appreciate your honesty. It must have taken considerable thought to come to this decision.

Barb T. said...

Happy blogiversary!!!

Jess said...

I'm excited for what you have in store this year! I was planning to join your group anyway, and to knit 198 yards of heaven with everyone, so this is just the motivation I need to get on that. :)

Jess

Debbie said...

Happy Blogiversary! I feel so fortunate to have been one of the winners (who anxiously awaited her prize--what a nice presentation it was, in addition to yummy yarn!) in the first year and hope to take some of that unclaimed yarn off your hands . . .
Debbie

Kel said...

Happy Blogiversary!! Those skeins are lovely!

CeltChick said...

Happy Blogiversary! I was kinda late finding this blog (giveaway 42!) but really glad I follow now. I have no business wishing for more yarn (I believe I've achieved 2nd gen SABLE--more yarn than can be used up in my child's lifetime!), but that doesn't stop the wishful thinking encouraged by your giveaways. Keep the dream alive!

Kristina said...

Happy Blogiversary! I love your blog, and not just because of the giveaways. I've been introduced to so many new yarns and designers because of your blog (and you!). Thank you so much for starting it!

The RedHeaded Minion said...

Happy blogiversary!

Stephanie said...

Happy blogiversary, Ve! You are doing a great job at organizing this and I'm sure it takes plenty of your personal time. I will look forward to the biweekly giveaways in 2011 and hope that you'll have posts about your knitting in between. You always have such beautifully photographed FOs! Happy knitting, Stephanie

JP said...

i'd say you can just send me all the unloved skeins, but i think everyone else has the same idea.

lurve the blog and interviews! you introduced me to so many great new things this year. looking forward to the next several!

kjramstack said...

Happy Anniversary! I have really enjoyed reading your blog over the past few months. Keep up the good work!

JodyH said...

Happy Blogiversary! I love the idea of even bigger giveaways, so I can't wait to see what the next year will bring!

Anonymous said...

I can't believe I hadn't found this place before now. I have a dear friend to thank for pointing me to your blog! I'm looking forward to 2011!

Anonymous said...

Wow... How are there that many unclaimed prizes?! That's a pretty good chunk of your past giveaways!
Happy anniversary!

Michelle B said...

Happy Blogiversary! Love love your blog/podcast!

I too would be happy to help out all those lonesome skeins!

Krystal said...

Happy Blogiversary! It has been so much fun to read your blog and meet so many designers and yarnies. Your blog is at the top of my bookmarks:-) I also really enjoy being apart of the YOTH rav group. I don't comment much, but I really appreciate that even over the internet your voice always makes me feel like I am talking to a friend.
It is also pretty cool that your blogiversary and my birthday are the same day! Thanks for everything Ve, I can't wait to see what the next year holds.

Rachel R. said...

Happy blogiversary! Totally support the changes - they make a lot of sense. Thanks for explaining!

Janelle said...

Happy Blogiversary! I'm sharing your site with my knitting friends. :)

Michelle said...

Happy Blogiversary! I really enjoy watching your interviews and appreciate every giveaway! Thank you!

Gracey is not my name.... said...

Happy Blogiversary! And good on you for making changes that will ease things a bit....I don't tend to click the follow button, I tend to add blogs to my blogroll and read them that way, but for a shot at that yummy yarn - HECK YEAH!

andrea said...

I love your blog and if you are looking for a home for any of that unclaimed yarn....well just send it to me! LOL! Really...congrats on your Blogiversary. Thank you for being so generous in your give aways. Remember...change is good!

asteride said...

Happy Blogiversary and Happy Knitting too...

thewalshfam said...

Congrats on your blogiversary!!! How exciting for you! You have a lot to be proud of :o) Any of your unclaimed skeins would be more then welcome to join my stash!!!

Julie said...

Happy blogiversary!

Rachael said...

Happy anniversary of the blog, and what a great post explaining the new stuff. I hope you are keeping a little of that awesome yarn for yourself!

Kitten With a Whiplash said...

Happy Blogiversary! It doesn't seem like a year, but time and I just don't understand each other any more. I guess reaching giveaway #52 was a clue I missed. Congratulations and many, many thanks.

InJuneau said...

Well, HAPPY Blogiversary! It's a great blog. I love reading/hearing about the inspiration of fibery folks. Thank you for sharing that with us.

sherry said...

Happy Anniversary. Love the look!

Kristy said...

Happy Blogiversary!! I would love to give some orphan skeins a loving home and I'm sure my stash would appreciate the new playmates!

Unknown said...

Holy Yarnbasket, Batman! Man, I love this blog. I've listed you on my blog but I only have about 10 readers so I better put you on Facebook.

TopHat said...

Poor lonely skeins! Happy blogiversary!

I'm sad we won't get weekly giveaways, but I hope you get to accomplish all your knitting dreams with your extra time!

Knittingdancer on Ravelry said...

Happy 1st blogiversary!! I been a public follower on goggle and also a member of the YOTH Raverly group since last summer. I enjoy listening to the interviews and reading your blog. Of course, I enjoy all the contests you had this past year. I was fortunate to win the Malabrigo Rasta yarn. Looking to sharing your second year of blogging.

flossieKNITS said...

ack! what a gift!

flossieKNITS said...

happy blogiversary!!

Turtle said...

happy blogiversary! love checking in to see what you are up to!

homeless skeins... poor lil things!

One Sheep said...

Happy Blogiversary! and Thank You so much for having these giveaways, and for selecting me for the last prize!

Ertman-Trowbridge Family said...

Happy Blogiversary!

And so much homeless yarn . . . So sad. I would love to help them!

patsy said...

I've really enjoyed your podcasts and your giveaways. Congrats on your one year anniversary.

Anonymous said...

Happy Blogiversary! I would be happy to adopt those poor homeless skeins!

Rachelle said...

Happy blogiversary, I'm a follower and have just joined your Rav group too.

KnittyBron said...

Congratulations on your Blogiversary! I started following when you first started! But I admit that I got distracted from my favorite blogs for awhile...

I'm happy to see that you're still going strong. I've discovered some nice yarns reading this blog,so I'll do better this year!

Congratulations again!

dclulu on ravelry said...

what a fantastic giveaway! of course, i have little idea what it means to be a "public follower" -- and the link takes me to a site that tells me to set up my own blog -- so i think i have only half the chance. but what a chance it is!

fwiw, i'm a loyal follower because you're in my ravelry friends and i check friend blog activity every day!

happy blogiversary! thanks for all the wonderful giveaways!

yarrrnmatey said...

Happy blogiversary!

✿Lilly❀ said...

I've just joined ravelry group...this blog is amazing! your yarn is wonderful :)

Phyllis said...

Happy blog anniversary! Thank you for a year of fun and beauty. :-)

I think slowing down the pace for the giveaways is a good idea, when you have such great reasons for doing it.

Unknown said...

Congratulations! I didn't realize before now that you ship internationally, so now I'm a public follower and a Rav group member... Keep up the good work!

Amybel said...

Happy 'versary! I remember the first giveaway...ahh...what a year you have had. Good luck for the next!

Anonymous said...

Happy blog anniversary!
Thanks for a fun year of learning new things and weeing beautiful yarn. I too can't believe all those skeins that need homes

Rav ID KAMAOR

Unknown said...

I can't believe someone would Orphan those pretties!! That basket makes me think of something like an animal shelter, but for yarn!! :-(

Happy Blogiversary though! At least they will now get a home and the new year can be continued right!

Anonymous said...

WOW What a sweet giveaway!!! Thanks so much and HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY!!! This blog wins #1 for Most Informative Blog and for Most Generous Blogger! The time you spend doing this is much appreciated.
PurlVerde on Ravelry, see you around!! (!!!)

Unknown said...

OOOOOOH! Please pick me - I promise to claim all those beautiful skeins!!!
Happy blogiversary to you!

sacha said...

Thank you for the weekly liftup!

Kathy said...

Happy Anniversary! I stumbled upon your blog a couple of months ago and have really enjoyed being introduced to all the different yarns, patterns, etc. Thanks for your good work!

Andi said...

I think the change to bi-weekly is a brilliant idea! There should be no yelling or screaming.
Can't wait to see the new designs hubby creates.

Danielle said...

Happy Blogiversary!

Avonberg said...

Congrats on the blogiversary!

terip said...

oh my we can not have homeless skeins!!!!

happy blogiversary! i will put out the word about your wonderful site.

teri

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on ONE YEAR. That is great. I hope you have a successful 2nd year as well.

Sara said...

A year already! Congratulations. I love the idea of bi-weekly contests - it's a lot of work to do that...

I have told several of my friends about your blog...and giveaway.

CrocheterFrmCA said...

Happy Blogiversary!
Hope you are able to keep up this nice blog.
I always have fun reading all your entries.

adodds said...

I wonder if anyone has ever conquered their stash.? The yarns look lovely!! Congrats on your aniversary.

Teresa said...

Congrats on the Blogiversary!

Maryse said...

Happy Blog Anniversary! I just discovered your blog! I've become a follower and joined your Ravelry group! I'll post about your blog shortly. You must really enjoy this. I had a little giveaway lately for my 2nd blog anniversary and I was so excited to announce the winner and see what they get!!! Thank you very much in advance for those nice giveaways (I hope I win someday)...

Keya said...

WANTED: Lonely skeins of abandoned yarn in any colorway to fill the empty spaces of my stash closet. Closet belongs to obsessive knitter and worshipper of yarn--warm and loving home guaranteed!

And I'm a public follower and a YOTH Ravelry member, btw.

Reikjavyk said...

This is my chance to finally get gorgeous yarn! Where I live I can't find anything but acrylic...

Alice said...

I like your thinking about changing the plan after the first year. It will keep everything fresh for you--and, of course, for us who are the beneficiaries of you wonderful ideas.

Happy anniversary.

Jen said...

Happy Blogiversary!! Great idea for the giveaway!

Jen said...

oh...like the new look of the blog too!

mschoir01 said...

I must say,as a former recipient of yarny goodness, that I tell every knitter/crocheter I meet about YOTH - it is crazy fun to actually be chosen and receive the gift of free yarn (and etc.). To paraphrase a C&W song, I Love this Web Site!

Zilliah said...

Happy blogiversary! Those lonely skeins definitely need a home, and they'd have excellent company in my stash.

Gwenn said...

Happy Blogiversar! I can't believe the pretty yarns have been abandoned! :O

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

Happy blogiversary. Just found your blog.

Katrina @ Pics, Pages & Purls said...

WOW what a great giveaway! happy blog anniversary! I just found your blog and SO happy I did! I'm not following you on Ravelry & on twitter & this blog! YEAH for giving yarn a wonderful home!

Peach Rainbow said...

I just came here from 'what to make next' blog - Thanks for the chance :)

Peach Rainbow said...

oops - Happy Blogiversary :D

twistedtexan said...

Happy blogiversary! I'm a little late, but it's better than never right?? :)

Theresa said...

Love your blog! Congrats on more than a year!

KnittySue said...

I can always use some yarn for family knitting...thanks for your wonderful blog and all you share.
Happy Blogversary!

Ursula said...

Happy blogiversary.

DramaticKnits said...

I'm so sorry I only recently found your blog, but I'm sure I'll be an avid reader. You're doing great work here. Keep it up & Happy Anniversary!!!

Jack Canfield quotes said...

Those yarns looks so lovely and pretty!

The Werling's said...

Happy Blogiversary!!! How fun! What a great giveaway. This would be so neat to add to my slow growing stash. I just made my first ever baby sweater in 2010 and cant wait to start trying other new things. These yarns are so inspiring!
Cant wait to see who wins! =)
Amanda