Gift Tag Winners!

Oh my gosh. I'm humbled by your comments. Really, Thank you so much for the kind words. It really means a lot! I'm not sure about having 'celebrity' status - I feel kind of silly about that - but hey, I could used to it! ;)


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Sooooo, I can't just pick 3 names - let's make it 6!

Here are the winners:


Cetta said...
I did a double-take when I saw them and it took me a minute to realize, "Hey! I read her blog!"

Congratulations :)


The Dukes Family said...
Congratulations! I love your blog and check it daily for inspiration. Love those tags ... hope I win but if not, I'll have to order some for my handmade goodies.


Sarah said...
Congratulations! What a thrill~ and what a great idea. Off to checkout your shop.

That issue of Knitscene is great. There are several things in there I would love to knit. The scarf you mentioned being one of them.


Carrie S. said...
Wheeeeee! How awesome is that! Congratulations! I'm going to Border's today and I will search that mag out and make it mine, darn it! ;)


Heather said…
Didn't see the magazine...but just want to send you congrats!! That is awesome!


Ashley said… Jill, that is great! I love showing your work off to my friends and boasting that I once worked with you at Lily Lane :) I was just hired at A Piece of Ewe and start this Thursday! Look for me on Tuesdays, Fridays, and some Saturdays.


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Congratulations to the winners! (if you didn't get picked, don't worry, I have lots of giveaways!)

If your name is listed please email me at knitterella@knitterella.com with your address and let me know what type of Knitterella Gift Tags you want - Knit or Crochet.

Curlicue Ruffle Scarf

Here are some scarves that I gave out as Christmas gifts. I have a lot of novelty yarn in my stash and this Curlicue Scarf Pattern pattern from Stitch Diva Studios is one of my favorite patterns for all the novelty yarns. You can do a lot of experimenting here. I find mohair to be the best for the main part and then something chunky or fuzzy for the trim.

It's an easy and fun pattern with a great curlicue result. It's fun when you bind off to watch it curl.

Best thing was that I used all stash yarn - yey!


The 2nd yarn on this one, (the trim yarn) was soooo soft and was like a fun boa when it was done…


For this one I casted on double the stitches so it was longer and could be wrapped around the neck.


I tried to get a shot that really shows off the curlicue effect. You can kind of see it more here.



Pattern Source: "Curlicue Ruffle Scarf" - one of 3 scarves from the Decidedly Different Scarves pattern. Designed by the talented Jennifer Hansen
Yarn for scarf 1: about .75 of a skein of Lana Gatto, Venus mohair yarn in color 4635 and about 1.5 skeins of Berroco, Quest in Platinum.
Yarn for scarf 2: about 1/2 skein of Anny Blatt, Fine Kid in color 876 and about 1/2 skein of Plymouth Yarn Company, Firenze in color 430
Yarn for scarf 3: Berroco, Metallic FX in color Silver/Black and the 2nd yarn was some sparkly black fun fur from my stash
Needles: size 13 circulars

Thread and Ink Chritmas Cards

Why is it every year I get these ideas way too late?


Oh well, 'tis the season, right?!


These holiday cards have been fun to do and I plan to make more of these, "Thread and Ink Designs," after the New Year. Some for me and for Knitterella!

***

I'm signing off 'til after the Holidays. Work is busy, busy and I'm ready to spend some quality time with my friends and family. When I get back I'll be looking forward to showing some of the gifts I've made that I haven't gotten time to show you yet.

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and peace and goodwill in 2008! - best wishes, Knitterella

Olivia Tote

When I saw this fabric at my LFS I had to buy it. I had to make a tote for my niece Olivia. I mean come on, it has her name written all over it, for real!


(hey, my shirt matches)


I embroidered her a little note on the inside pocket too…



*If anyone else is interested I think the fabric line is called ANDOVER OLIVIA if you would like to google it to try to find an online shop. The whole line of designs for this fabric is based on Olivia The Piglet and is completely adorable! Actually, try this link too see what you can find.

*For the tote, I based the construction on this tutorial from Super Eggplant

Felting Flop

Excuse me, but um, what the heck am I supposed to do with this?


I have a couple friends that wanted felted purses with fun fur and I wanted to get them done for them in time for Christmas but that isn't going to happen now. Not only did this black one not turn out but neither did the brown one I did - I'm not even bothering to take a photo of that one!

I don't have a very good track record when it comes to felting. I don't know what it is but it's hit or miss with me. Oh well, that's OK, I'm working on some great scarfs in place of the purses now. The thing that upsets me the most is the $$ and time that went into knitting these. Maybe it was the iCord maker that cursed this project? I should have known then!

Guess I could always turn this upside down and give it to my niece and nephews to use for a snowman's top hat!

Felted Cloche

This Christmas I'm making a few felted knits for people. This hat is the first one that I can cross of my list.


I added one of my chocheted flower pins for a little extra somethin' and splash of color.

Pattern Source: This is a pattern print out that I picked up at a yarn shop years ago, can't recall when and where.
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Merino
Needles: size 10.5
Notes: Jo Ann Fabrics sells this yarn. It's often on sale and it felts great!

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Before and after shots to show how huge this was before I felted it!


Picture doesn't really do it justice.




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Update on the iCord Maker:
Thanks you for your comments and suggestions. I also asked Betz White (she's so nice) and she sent me a very nice email and gave some tips like:

• You have to use a fingering wt yarn
• Be sure you have enough weight on it.
• Keep tension on the yarn/cord coming out the bottom so the stitches go down inside the machine.

So I tried it again, took my time and made sure the yarn wasn't splitting on me in those latches (they are picky and that was one of my problems before). I made sure the weight was pulling the icord down and that the yarn coming in had slack. It was working wonderfully. I got 60" done and then the crank started turning a bit hard, and then SNAP! One of the latch needles busted right off. You've got to be kidding me - AHHHHHH!!!

Fast iCords

I'm making a couple felted purses for Christmas gifts and I need to make 80 inch i-cords for the straps (boooring). I bought this at Jo Ann Fabrics because I thought it would quickly whip the i-cords out for me but either I'm using it wrong or it's a hunk of junk because I'm getting no where but tangled up in knots with it. (I wonder if I can still return it even though it's opened?)


Have any of you used this? Do you have an tips, tricks or tools to suggest? I really don't want to spend two nights kniting 80 inch i-cords on my DPNs!

Apron No. 3

Another Short Pleated Apron, from Amy Butler's In-Stitches.


I embellished the pocket again just like my first and second one.


Now I can cross off another gift my Christmas Gift List. You'd think I'd be doing a little bit better on time since I'm not making as much as I did last year. Time to kick it in high gear!


I swear there has been kntting going on too. Should have something blog-worthy real soon!

Deck The Halls

No blog worthy projects to post about today but thought I'd spread some Christmas cheer!


Not too bad for a 6 ft, pre-lit, $20, Black Friday tree from Menards.


This little one is for the Fisherman in the house, it's deck out in Christmas lights that are shaped like fishing lures.


I made the felted stockings hanging there a couple of years ago. The green one felted up just right. The pink one got shaped a little weird when I felted it - the shape reminds me of something that would be in a Dr. Seuss book.

I also want to thank you for the great suggestions on how to fix my bleeding problem. I knew you could help me. I'll let you know how it goes!

TGIF! Have a great weekend!!!

Help - I'm Bleeding

Grrrrr! I'm almost done with a bag that I'm making for a friend (for Christmas), all I have left to do is put in the straps, then this happened…


I used a wet washcloth to wipe up some chalk marks on the denim fabric and then I saw that there was blue all it! Then, I looked at my hands, even they had a blue tint from working with the fabric. What do I do???

I washed and dried the fabric before hand and figured I was good to go. I've never encountered this problem before. Any tips or tricks on how to fix this? If I can't fix it (sure hope I can!) how can I prevent it from happening again?

Is there some kind of solution I can buy to wash the fabric in to set the dye???

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Darn it! The bag is really cute too (if I do say so myself!).

Mental Note:

MUST

MAKE

THIS

AND

THIS

FOR

NEXT

YEAR!

Apron No. 2

I enjoyed making my my first Short Pleated Apron, from Amy Butler's In-Stitches, so much that I'm making more for Christmas gifts. Plus, sewing can be much faster than knitting!


One of my crocheted flower pins looks so cute with it!


Of course, I had to embellish the pocket too!

Head First!

When it comes to knitting Christmas gifts every year I play the same game with myself. First I say I need to start Christmas knitting (at least) by October, and then I decide I'm not going to knit any gifts and then by the time Thanksgiving comes and goes all of a sudden I get a fire under my needles and get all kinds of big ideas for knitted gifts! So despite being off to a late start I'm diving into Christmas knitting head first with this great free pattern from Knitty.

This is the most color work I've ever done - not much I know - usually I stray away from color work because it seems complicated, but this was easy and fun to do. Just as long as I kept my tension everything worked out great.


DH ended up stealing this one. That's OK though, it's a perfect fit for him. Now I just need to get knitting more so I have them in time for Christmas!

Pattern Source: Swell free from Knitty
Yarn: Lana Grossa, Royal Tweed, 1 skein each color. The yarn was from my stash and I LOVE the way it worked up.
Needles: size 7s
Size: small
Gauge: 4 sts per inch / 6 rows per inch
Notes: Took a bit for me to master the right gauge for my yarn and after a few trial runs I did. First time making twisted rope tassels like this and I love them! Fiddled with the pattern a little too. I started the color work after 6 rows and then worked 12 rows after color work before decreasing (If you are making this pattern you'll know where I mean).

And The Winners Are…

Thank you to all that left me a comment on my last post. I really appreciate you taking the time to leave me a note. Such nice comments too! Thank you! Thank you!



And now, without further ado, the winners were drawn at random and they are…

peaknits said...
How wonderful to include one of each - very practical too:) I want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving - I hope by the end of the day you are thankful for much knitting accomplished:)

moosie said...
I am thankful for having your blog to read, you always have plenty of updates and super cute stuff to share, thanks!

nj2 said...
Love your blog and the note cards. Have a great TD, with friends and family I certainly hope.



Congratulations to the winners! Sorry I can't send Knitterella Variety Packs to you all but don't worry, I have a lot of fun with these drawings and will have many more! And if you can't wait for another contest you can always order them here ;) They make great stocking stuffers!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

If I drew your name please email me at knitterella@knitterella.com with your contact info and I'll get the Variety Pack out to you asap!

A Thanksgiving Giveaway!

Update! Knitterella is now offering Note Card Variety Packs!

If you just can't decide which Knitterella Note Card design you want, why not order a Variety Pack. This way, you get one of each!

~


In the spirit of Thanksgiving I want to say that I'm very thankful to you all for visiting my blog. Your comments and ideas mean so much!

For all the support you give me I want to give thanks to you in a special way. Just leave me a comment by Sunday November 25th I will draw 3 names and send Knitterella Variety Packs to the winners!

A very Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Coffee Coozie

I found this free knit from the blog of MK Carroll. It's her Mug and French Press Jacket pattern and it can be found here.

This was a quick knit for sure! First time I ever did a smocking pattern and I loved it! I must do this stitch pattern again. Love the texture!

I decided to knit the this in the round from the top down. I made it for a to-go coffee mug (so no openings needed for a handle) -- If you are a Ravelry member go check out the one gumboots did. I followed her instructions for the top down method and it worked out great!It's also is nice to use as a coozie for a mason jar and then use it hold your hooks, scissors, pens or whatever you want!Pattern Source: MK Carroll's, Mug and French Press Jacket
Yarn: Filtes-King Extra, 100% Merino Wool
Needles: Size 7s (16 inch circulars and DPNs)

Loose Ends

Gosh, I feel like I've been slacking with my posts lately. I went from almost every other day to like twice a week. I'm still here though… I guess it's just because I continue to be busy with work… too tired in the evenings to do much of anything lately. I did get one project off my needles though…

Probably like most of you I always like to have at least one easy knit on my needles at all time. You know, the kind that you can pick up and knit while watching a movie, chatting or whatever… a brainless knit. Well for the past year or so I've been working on this Ruched Throw, (pattern based out of the book Hand Knits for the Home). It's actually the first throw I've ever made for myself! I'm so happy to have if off my needles. And let me tell you the yarn is divine (I got it at a big discount too!). I used Lana Grossa, Soffice, it's 62% Merino, 10% Cashmere and 28% Acrylic - the 10% cashmere makes a world of difference. I wish you could feel how soft this is!Only thing is, I'm not quite done yet, I have the tails of 14 skeins left to weave in! Not looking forward to that and I'm not sure when that will get done but in the mean time, I'm still using it to cuddle up with!

(will post better photos when it's 'completely' done!)

Knit Over

I had a knit over with my six year old niece Friday night. It was so fun. She's all about learning how to knit and of course is already obsessed like me!

All she wanted to do was knit, knit, knit. We knit all night and all morning and we finished a scarf together. She would knit a couple rows and then I would knit one and if there were any mistakes I'd fix them - it was a good method.Then we made this flag/banner type thing out of the book I got her (FYI - it's a great book for kids to learn how to knit - check it out here).She learned how to cast on and bind off and I'm so impressed at how well she is doing!Isn't it so cute?!

Two Peas, One Pod

A dear friend of mine was just blessed with a beautiful set of twins. I met them the other day and they are the sweetest!!! Such wonderful bundles of joy!

The project I was working on last week was for them…After seeing the set that Lovemook made I knew it'd be the perfect gift. The Sweet Pea Hat Pattern is from the ultra talented Susie of course and the Saartje's Booties are a free pattern and you can get them here. (I didn't do the double strap because I was getting confused with the cast on, but if you ask me, I didn't loose one once of cuteness with this alteration!).

Prize Package!

Remember when I found out that my Karate Sweater won a prize? Well, my prize package from Twinkle arrived in the mail!

Oh, how exciting…Wonder what it is…OH MY GOSH!!! Three skeins of Twinkle's Soft Chunky in a beautiful Kelly Green!!!! What a rockin' prize! Thanks Twinkle!!!