muddy knees and knitting

A couple images of what my days look like recently. A lot of playing outside, now that the snow is gone, and whatever knitting time I can squeeze in. I've been making a few custom toys, since I'm not designing anything new right now. As you can guess, it can be very difficult to find moments to pick up my needles when this little toddler is bustling around getting into everything.

give-away winners

I used a random number generator to pick 7 numbers between 1 and 116 (the number of comments - There were a few duplicates and deleted messages, which confused things, but hopefully the randomness of the numbers makes everything okay).

The first two on the list win a copy of one of my e-books: Bonnie and Bev (neither left an email, so I hope you both check back here!).

The following five get a single pattern of their choice: Wendi, Julianne, momoshari, Little Ol' Liz, and Karine (I'll be sending you all emails, so please check for them).

You can have a look at my Ravelry shop, if you're not sure which book or pattern you want. Please send me an email to let me know which pattern you will like, and I'll send you the download link via Ravelry.

Thank you so much to everyone who left a comment! I don't think I've ever had so many responses to a give-away, and I did read every one. I can't tell you how much it gladdened my heart to read some of your lovely and generous comments about my blog and patterns. It makes me even happier that I will soon have more time to spend designing and writing for you.

I hope all of you have a lovely day, and have a chance to do something you love with someone you care about!

Big hugs from the very first lambs I ever knit :)

in-store pattern sales

I've just signed up for the in-store pattern sales option over on Ravelry. What this means is that brick and mortar local yarn shops can now sell my patterns via Ravelry (while getting a nice percentage of the sale price). If you have a yarn shop and are interested in the program, you can read more about it here.

Most of my single patterns are available this way. I've only excluded some of the older ones that need reformatting, and my two books.* It would be lovely if this new feature on Ravelry brings new customers both to myself and participating yarn shops!

*My two books are already available wholesale. If any yarn shops are interested, please email me.

missing you

You know, I've been missing this space terribly, as well as missing the creative outlet that my toys give me. I've definitely been doing a lot of making lately, both sewing and knitting, but I've felt the need for something a little more. Have you been missing me too?

In an effort to both encourage you to do a little bit of creative knitting, and to thank you for sticking with me through the past few months, I've decided to hold a give-away! To enter, please leave a comment telling me what toy you'd like to make. I'll also need your email address, since I don't get to see those via blogger. Otherwise, you'll need to remember to check back here to see if you won.

So, what could you win? I'll be giving away 2 copies of my e-books*, Fuzzy Knits and Festive Knits (if you win, you choose which one you'd like). I'll also be giving away 5 individual patterns, of the winners' choice. So that's 7 chances to win!

The give-away will close on the evening of February 13, so you have lots of time. Then 5 lucky people will get a happy surprise on Valentine's Day! (and if you live in the northern hemisphere, it helps to have good things to lighten up February).

*Please note this is the electronic, pdf version of my books, not the printed version

busy bee

Still here! Still breathing! I'm taking what time I can to do things that make me feel better, but that doesn't leave much for answering emails, writing, or work-knitting. Hopefully you haven't been waiting too long to hear from me (my group on Ravelry is super helpful if you need a quick question answered).

Here's something I have been doing: enjoying plenty of time with these chubby cheeks! Kyr is over 10 months now: crawling, walking around the furniture, babbling all day long, and growing out of everything!  Here he's wearing some pants I quickly whipped up from an old pattern I borrowed from my mom, a vest I knit him a month ago (with cute car buttons from my friend), and a hat I knit for Lev last Autumn (the hat is way too big on him, but looked too cute!) As you can tell, I'm making the most of this little break from work.

(I'm also busy as a bee with all the other things a mom does - I started this post in the early afternoon, and only got it finished after the kids were in bed!)

wishes

I wish all of you peace, love, and happiness in this new year. May you have the opportunity to find them, the time to treasure them, and the chance to share them with others.

Oh yes, and I hope you have plenty of knitting time and successful projects!

knitting projects of 2011

Wow, I have no idea how I found time to knit so much this year. Here are 16 projects I finished, and that's not all of them. I know of several more that I haven't photographed - some toys and toy clothes, socks for the boys, a beret and mittens for myself, a partially finished cardigan for myself, a partially finished pullover for Lev that ended up too small, half-a-dozen hats which didn't fit Kyr, and probably more that I'm forgetting. If you want details of anything, check my Ravelry projects page (I'll try to add anything that's not already there over the next couple days).

My goals for next year include a fair-isle cardigan and striped pullover for myself. I also want to finish the cardigan and pullover I had started - the first is lovely and only got abandoned because I messed up the raglan increases, the second will fit Kyr in the Autumn and just needs 1.5 sleeves to be done. I also need a couple more pairs of socks, and I have a few skeins of stashed yarn for which I really want to find projects.

I'm sure I will knit toys as well. Maybe I will find time for a few custom toys, or just knit ones for my Etsy shop. At the moment I have no ideas for new patterns. However, this might be a good thing because I have several old patterns that really need my attention. As far as Fuzzy Mitten knitting goes, I'm content to make no plans or deadlines, and just work on each idea as it comes to me.