Since I've dropped down to bi-weekly giveaways, I've had a lot more time to knit, knit, knit to my heart's content. I guess I never realized before how much a giveaway per week really took out of my schedule. I'm not complaining. I love putting together the giveaways! I just wanted to share that the new bi-weekly schedule is the perfect amount of time to organize and put together fun giveaways, and keep me sane!

So, with all this extra free time I've acquired, I have decided to put together a wonderful KAL (knit-a-long) + extra giveaway combo. Every few months or so, I host KAL's in the YOTH Ravelry Group. Our last KAL ended a few weeks ago and it's time for a new one! This time around though I have a pleasant surprise... there will be a pattern giveaway along with the KAL!!

Are you curious what the new KAL is?! It's one of my most favorite patterns EVER!

Introducing the Autumn Vines Beret KAL
Autumn Vines Beret by Alana Dakos

I love knitting this pattern for so many reasons - let me count thy ways:


* It's beautiful! Did I even need to mention that?!

* I love lace and cables together - gets me everytime.

* Alana's pattern writing style is stellar and always a pleasure to use.

* Even though the beret is knit up in sport weight yarn, it flys off the needles because you can't stop knitting the mesmerizing pattern.

* And last but not least, the beret is knit up in one of my favorite yarns: Madelinetosh Pashmina, and you can get TWO berets out of one skein (or at least I did). It's like a match made in heaven!

If that hasn't convinced you that this is the best beret in the world to knit up, take a look at my pics of it AGAIN:







Do I have your attention? This is how this is going to work: I'm going to start a thread in our Rav group, you need to click your way over there, and then tell us (with your right hand raised) that you solemnly swear to knit this beret and only this beret for the KAL! Alright, you don't really need to do that, but if you're up for joining a fun KAL and having a chance to win a copy of the Autumn Vines Beret pattern jump over and join in. Did I mention that there will be 3 winners?! CLICK HERE!


P.S. Do you remember Brenda from giveaway #34? Well, she's asked me kindly to mention that from now until April 7th, she's going to donate $5 to Japan Earthquake relief for every one of her patterns that gets sold. Check out her patterns here if you are interested.

Hugs and stitches, everyone!

-Ve

The winners of the Little Turtle Knits giveaway are:

Sarahnthropic, flossie, steelwool & Kae

The first winners to contact me at yarnonthehouse@gmail.com will have first choice at the prizes!


I'm LOVING this giveaway! I'm head over heels! It's short, but oh-so-very sweet! Liz Abinante is our lovely guest today and the genius behind the thrilling treasure hunt. More on that later...

First let's show off what stunning buried treasure you are hunting for this time... introducing Luna's Shawl:




Liz has done it again! She's designed a uniquely shaped shawl that just begs to be draped over your shoulders or wrapped around your neck. The increases are carefully placed and create an upside down V. Ummmm, how could I not like that?! Liz decided to use Miss Babs Yummy Sport & Sock yarn in an awesome color called Luna Granite to knit up the shawl in the picture above. To top off this fun pattern giveaway, Miss Babs has provided enough yarn for two winners to make their own Luna's Shawl. Check out the goods!






And, now for the fun part! Liz has put together a super-duper treasure hunt for you, which means that you'll need to work a bit for a chance to be entered to win your PDF copy of Luna's Shawl and Miss Babs yarn! Read and follow Liz's instructions:


It's time for a treasure hunt! There are three riddles you have to answer to win. Stuck? Can't figure it out? Try a little Google magic. Every riddle has all of the information you need to find the answer.

Search Yarn on the House for some gorgeous Adorn Sock. Who dyes it, and what color is Veronika's favorite?
Visit MissBabs.com and play with some Yummy Sport yarn. Find a sinister, deadly red named after Dracula from Wallachia. What is the name of the color?
Search Feministy.com for the buried treasure. Read the riddle and submit your answers there before it's too late!

May the best knitter win! No cheating, my fellow yarn lovers. That just takes all of the fun out of it!



Hope you like the change and enjoy the hunt! I have disabled the comments on this post, because folks were leaving their answers here. If you left your comment here before the comments were disabled, please resubmit your answers in the buried treasure location. We'll randomly pick the winners out of the folks that completed the treasure hunt in 2 weeks and post the results along with the new giveaway, so be sure to check back. Good luck everyone.

Sincerely,

Ve

The Grand Prize winner of the 5 skeins of Anzula Cricket and a PDF copy of Cecily's Goodale pattern is:

knittaroo

The two runners up who will each receive a lovely skein of Anzula yarn are:

pigbook1 & Susie

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


This past weekend I got to meet the lovely indie designer and knitting artist, Theresa of Little Turtle Knits. Theresa designs lots of fun and functional knitwear. I think she's best known for her childrens' designs (i.e. Picky Pants, Swing Thing, and many others). She's also recently released some great hat patterns. I really love her Bricked hat! I would totally rock that myself. Watch the interview to learn more about Theresa and her designing...









Links and such from the videos:

- Little Turtle Knits

- Theresa on Rav

- Little Turtle Knits Patterns

- Picky Pants pattern

- Bricked pattern

- Knit + crochet thread that Katie from Yarn Love posted.

- Unspun Icelandic Wool


Thanks, Theresa for being our sponsor! There FOUR prizes this time! The first winner to contact me (in two weeks when winners' names are announced) will receive 2 skeins of their choice and the corresponding pattern/pattern choice from the options below, and the following winners will each receive their choice of yarn + pattern as they roll in. That means that the quicker you are to announce yourself if you win, the better chance you'll have at getting your top choice of goodies. Here are the prizes:





Three Irish Girls Westmarch skein of sport weight yarn in the Kelly colorway, and a choice of one of Theresa's sock patterns.

Punta Yarns Merisoft Hand Painted skein of aran weight yarn in a deep olive and black slightly variegated color, and a choice of Bricked or Honey Do Hat. (I actually used this yarn in a different colorway to knit up my Dindy Beret. Great stuff!!)

Cestari 100% Wool 2 Ply Worsted Weight skein in the Oatmeal colorway, and a choice of Bricked or Honey Do Hat.

Malabrigo Worsted skein in the Simply Taupe colorway, and a choice of Bricked or Honey Do Hat.

Little Turtle Knits Superwash Merino Wool skein in a beautiful coral, pink, purple, and blue mix, and a choice of one of Theresa's sock patterns. (This is yarn from when Theresa was dyeing up lovely colors herself.)

And, everyone will receive an adorable notepad that was handmade by Theresa herself. They are so cute!


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, 3/27/11. Theresa would like to know, "If you could design a (knit, crochet, or bi-craftual) outfit for any literary character, what what would it be and who would it be for?" Don't worry if you can't think of anything, you're welcome to just leave Theresa a nice comment instead. :)


I'll randomly pick the winners in 2 weeks and post the results along with the new giveaway, so be sure to check back. Good luck everyone.

Sincerely,

Ve

I have some fun projects I want to share with you. I finished both of these items back in December and I finally found some models to showcase the pieces - my brother, Daniel, and his girlfriend, Ari. I'm a lucky knitter/photographer to have such cute subjects!

Clockwork by Stephen West

















This project was a fabulous knitting experience in every way! The pattern was simple, well written, and Stephen's designs are always so wonderful to knit up. I really like the way this pattern is unisex depending on what colors are used. Stephen's a master at modern yet visually interesting pieces that are practical. Plus the yarn was amazing! I used a skein of Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in the very bright Electrolyte color that Wendee gifted me last year! It's a superwash merino and nylon blend and perfectly soft. Not to mention the screaming yellow-green color that I absolutely adore! I definitely plan to use this yarn again. It makes the perfect shawl knitting yarn. So, I paired that with a stash yarn of Pagewood Farm Chugiak Hand Dyed Sock Yarn in a color called Sky Blue Pink (that I've had for a VERY long time - not sure whether this is even available any longer). The two colors highly contrasted eachother and the Pagewood Farms yarn had splashes of the same yellow-green of the Electrolyte color in it. I love it when stash yarn meets another stash yarn in uncommon harmony and works for a great knitting project! Project page here.



Claudia free pattern by MJ Kim













This was my second time knitting this pattern, because hubby put his first one through the wash in the pocket of a pair of jeans and he REALLY needed another one. It's a great free pattern that looks really good on men and knitting it up in Malabrigo Worsted is always a treat! Project page here.

Happy Friday and happy knitting!

-Ve

I love knitting for babies! It's fast, truly satisfying and somehow the tiny size of baby knits just makes me squeal with joy. Babies are such a blessing and I love handknitting items for my ever growing friends' families.

Saartje's Bootees free pattern by Saartje de Bruijn









I know! I can't stand how cute they are either!! Check out my project page here for details.

TGIF!

-Ve