~ April Yarnful Giveaway ~

Hi,
I'm really excited about this month's giveaway because I am giving away such a wonderful skein of yarn AND 6 beautiful spring time buttons to one lucky person.  So, let me show you the prize for the April Yarnful Giveaway!!

The Prize(s):

(One skein of Malabrigo Merino Worsted in colorway Indigo, approximately 210 yards)

(6 adorable blossom buttons for spring!!)

Rules:

1. One comment per person, extra comments will be deleted.
2. No mean/abusive/rude comments, those will be deleted and will not be entered.
3. As long as you live on planet earth, you are welcome to enter! (aka USA and Internationals are welcome)
4. Post a comment to enter!!!
5. To get an extra entry, follow my blog (bloglovin', google friend connect, email ect.)
6. If you don't win, please don't be a sore loser!  There is always next time, and I have giveaways every month :)
7. Any questions please don't be afraid to ask :)
8. Make sure to leave me your Ravelry ID or an email address so I can contact you if you win.

I hope you like this giveaway, and make sure to spread the word.  Happy April!

~Emily

Winner!

Hi,
Yep, it's time!  I am about to reveal the lucky winner of the March Yarnful Giveaway....

Congratulations Knittingdancer on Ravelry!!

Send me your contact info and the yarn is yours!

Thank you so much for entering! :)

FOs: Melissa's Hat & River Run Mitts

Hi Everyone,
I have two finished objects that I forgot to post about: Melissa's Hat and River Run Mitts.  I actually cast off both of these projects on March 27, so they've been done for some time.  Here is the eye candy!

I am super happy with how this hat turned out.  I used the pattern Button Tab Hat by Marcie Nishioka.   The only thing that I dislike about how the hat turned out is how small it is in terms of how tall it is, I feel like it is a bit too tiny, but oh well!  Other then that I am very pleased.

My absolute favorite part about this blue hat is the buttons.  Aren't they beautiful?  I like the dark brown edges and the pale blue middle.  It's nice how they make the hat have an organic feel.  I can't wait to send this to Melissa!

The next FO for today is a pair of "River Run Mitts", a design of my own.  They were a really quick and easy design project.  I got my inspiration from ski run I went down called River Run.  It was a gentle, winding run which the cable on these mitts resembles.

They fit really well with simple increases for the thumb/palm, and I will hopefully be typing up the pattern and publishing it. :)

Also- tomorrow the winner of the March Giveaway will be announced!  Make sure to enter if you haven't already!

~ Emily ~

FO: Hitchhiker Shawlette

Hi,
Yesterday I happily cast off my Hitchhiker with a huge smile on my face and a sense of pride and accomplishment. :)  It felt so good to finish that shawlette, and try it on for the first time.  I know that it will be worn many times and I will not hesitate when people ask me, "Where did you get it?  I want one, too!"  Enough with my talking about pride and accomplishment and happiness, here comes the grand parade of Hitchhiker pictures!

I finished my shawlette with 34 teeth, but I had originally knit 35.  I had to frog the 35th spike because I realized a bit too late that I didn't have enough yarn to bind off. :P Its finished length is 5 ft 3 inches and it is EXACTLY my height!  Perfecto! ;)

I'm really glad to have finished my Hitchhiker.  The rows got sooo dreadfully long and garter stitch got boring after a while; I could've given up- but I didn't, and I am so happy with how it turned out.

I'm really happy the yarn I chose.  The colors are so bright and beautiful, and I have really enjoyed working with it.  Because it's so tightly plied, the stitches are more defined, which I love.

I wear my shawlette like a scarf, and I wrap it around my neck one time.  The garter stitch texture feels amazing: stretchy, soft, and squishy.

Well, that wraps up the "Hitchhiker Photo Parade" and today's post.  Tomorrow I will be flying back to Oregon, and it'll be nice to be back home.

Until Next Time,
Emily

Hitchhiker Update

Hi,
Well, after a day filled with hours of driving in a rental car and flying (on a plane) I made a large amount of progress on my Hitchhiker shawlette!  That's one thing I love about long, boring, nothing-to-do plane trips and dreary car rides; they give me tons of time to knit and do nothing else since you can't really do anything in a car or plane. :P

So, I have a bunch of pictures to share with you.  I took them at about 1 or 2 in the afternoon but I've made a few more inches of projects since.  They aren't the most recent photos but here you go...

Hopefully I finish this so I can wear it when I go back to school. :P :)

Emily

Spring Break

Hi,
Tomorrow morning my family and I will be leaving the house with suit cases in hand, and fly to Idaho for a fun and fantastic family skiing spring break vacation. :D I will be gone until Thursday, and it is most likely that I will not be posting during that time, but I might be able to slip in a post before Thursday, but I'm not making any promises.

Anyways... I have some projects on the needles, just a recap:

• Melissa's Hat - A l m o s t  done!  All I need to do is finish the last half of the decreasing section and sew on the cute little buttons.

• Hitchhiker - This will be my main vacation project over spring break.  Hopefully I will finish it before school starts up again so I can wear it!

• Beekeeper's Quilt - 32 hexipuffs so far!  I hope to have 42 by the end of the week...

• Sweater - It's hibernating, and I'm taking a -long- short break from it for now ;P

It'll be a while before I post again, but for now sit back, relax, and knit. :)

Emily

Forbidden Forest Cowl and Puffs

Hi,
Today I decided to take some better quality pictures of my pattern:  The Forbidden Forest Cowl which you can purchase on ravelry if you would like to. :)

 I really like how this one turned out.  The lighting is alright, and I like how defined the stitches are. 

Then I took a simpler photo:  wood floor background, and no leaves.  Let me know which one you like the best (please)!

And, because I was in a mood to take more pictures, I round up all my hexipuffs and decided to have a mini photo shoot! :)

Guess how many are in the pile!  Imaginary points will be rewarded to the person who guesses correctly.  :)  Yes, I used photo editing to darken the edges and make the hexipuffs stand out!  They look pretty awesome all jumbled up in a big 'ol pile, don't they?

This one is probably my favorite one... I used Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight and I just adore the colorful stripes that it creates!

That's all for now,
Emily

Melissa's Hat, Sweater, Zilver, Spinning

Hi,
I have a lot of pictures and projects to share with you today, and I found my nice camera so the pictures are much better than last time. :-)  Anyways, I've been knitting a lot lately and revisited some hibernating (projects I haven't worked on in a while) like my Owl Sweater.

Here's a little sneak peak of my sweater so far!  You can probably see the stitches where I increased and decreased since those stitches tend to look different from others, hopefully when the sweater is all finished they won't stand out as much :)

Also, I recently (as in today) cast on for Zilver, a simple, airy, stockinette shawl that has a bit of texture to make it interesting.  I'm knitting this fun shawl for a KAL at the Needling Away group on Ravelry.  I founded the group during October 2012 and we have been doing knit-a-longs ever since! :)

And I've been slowly working on Miss Melissa's hat, and I'm finally on to the decreases for the crown of the hat.

So far I think it looks very nice, and I can't wait until it's done and then I can attach the beautiful buttons.   I would show you a picture of the buttons, but I think I'm going to keep that a surprise that will be revealed once that hat is finished.

After taking a nice lengthy break from knitting hexipuffs for my beekeeper's quilt I picked up some silk blend yarn and my double pointed needles and knit a puff.

I am really enjoying this yarn.  The colors are very spring-time-ish and cheery, and the yarn makes the stitches very defined and crisp.

I also picked up the spindle and some roving!  It's really fun and easy to spin this roving, and the colors are really vivid.

That's all I have to share for today, have a great rest of your weekend!

Emily

1, 2, 3, 4 hexipuffs!

Hi,

This morning I had a spark to write a blog post about my brand new hexipuffs. I was excited, and I couldn't wait to start taking pictures of my colorful little hexis.  However, when I reached my arm out to grab my trusted camera from my bedside table, it wasn't there. gasp!!  So, instead of having multiple photos with decent lighting and clarity, I bring you one photo taken from my not-so-brilliant, least favorite camera.  I apologize in advance.

Okay, enough with the side story. :-)  I have knit 4 hexipuffs (well, actually 6 more but the other two don't look nearly as awesome) since the last time I posted about my hexipuff obsession.  Here they are!

Nice huh?  I especially like the red, yellow, green, and blue ones.  You could actually win some of that yarn from a great giveaway going on at The Shorn Sheep!

Anyways, that's all for now... make sure to enter the giveaway!

Emily

Hitchhiker 2 and a Button Tab Hat

Hi,
I have two projects on the needles right now: Button-Tab Hat and a Hitchhiker.

You probably remember my Hitchhiker shawl from a few posts back, this post specifically.  I was using Felici Fingering Self Striping Sock Yarn in colorway High Tide.  It looked alright, but the self striping affect that the yarn produced kind of annoyed me... So, I frogged it and cast on for another one, this time using Socks that Rock light weight in colorway Henpecked.

Here is the yarn and the Hitchhiker (2).

 I got this yarn during the Rose City Yarn Crawl.  I love how rich the colors are and how tightly it is plied.

So far I have only made 7 teeth on my Hitchhiker (aka the little ridges on the side of the shawl), and I have a   l o n g  way to go before this project becomes an FO.  I think it looks nice so far!

I also mentioned a Button Tab Hat - here it is!

I'm knitting it for my friend's mom who has cancer. :(  The yarn is Malabrigo Sock but I'm knitting with it double held so it becomes a worsted weight yarn.

 Also, make sure to enter the ~ March Giveaway ~!  You could win one skein of Misti Alpaca Chunky in colorway Lavender Melange!  Entering is a piece 'o cake and there are multiple ways to enter.

Emily

March Giveaway

Hi,
Yipee!  February is over and it's time for the MARCH Yarnful Giveaway!  I think this giveaway is the best one I have hosted so far on this blog, the prize is so soft, fuzzy-wuzzy, and just plain awesome.  Here's what you can win:

One skein of Misti Alpaca Chunky!

- Colorway: Lavender Melange

- Fiber Content: 100% Baby Alpaca (Ooh, ahh!)

- Yardage: 109 yards

- 100 grams per hank

Now, who wants to win this super-duper soft and beautiful BABY ALPACA yarn!?  I know you do, so let me tell you the rules of this giveaway.  :-)

Rules:

Ways to enter:

~ comment on this post = 1 entry

~ comment on another post = 1 entry

~ follow my blog through the "Members Gadget" or through the email subscription (make sure to let me know which one) = 10 entries

~ share this giveaway on your blog (link the giveaway in a post on YOUR blog, make sure to leave me a link to your post) = 10 entries

 The Giveaway ends: March 31

The giveaway is open to:

~ -USA only please!- The rules have changed, this giveaway is open to everyone. :)

_________________________________________________________

I know, I know:  that's a lot of rules. :)  If you have any questions about the giveaway please email me at needlingawayknits@gmail.com.

Have fun everybody,
Emily


PSSST! - I have a coupon promotion running for my Forbidden Forest Cowl on ravelry!  50% off! The code is: soyarnful

The Rose City Yarn Crawl

Hi,
Well, the yarn crawl has ended and it's time to share with you all the fiber and yarn I purchased!  The crawl was tons of fun, I went with my friend Hasol and we had a great time drooling over gorgeous skeins of yarn and roving, along with having a knitastic and hexipuffy sleepover.  This weekend has be fantastic, and I will always remember this.

Now- the pictures!  These photos are from the shops we went to and the yarn I bought.  I will tell you about each day one at a time and the shops we went to on that specific day.  Let me show you the eye candy!!

Day 1: Dublin Bay Knitting Co. , Knit Purl, Pearl Fiber Arts, and Angelika's Yarn Store

On Day #1 of the Rose City Yarn Crawl we went to a total of 4 shops.  Each one was unique, and had different things to offer.

The first shop was the Dublin Bay Knitting Company, I didn't buy anything at this shop, but I took a picture of their sign.

Next, we walked over to Knit Purl; one of my favorite yarn shops that I have been to.  I bought 2 skeins of Shibui Knits Staccato in color ways Twin Set and Beach Ball.

Shibui Knits Twin Set

Shibui Knits Beach Ball

After that we went to Pearl Fiber Arts.  It's a nice shop, but there seems to be more fiber than yarn- not saying that fiber is a bad thing!  I bought some merino fiber there.

And finally, we ended day one by going to Angelika's Yarn Store.  There I bought cascade 220 super wash in a nice black color.  I will be knitting my awesome dad a hat with this yarn!

Day 2: Knitting Bee and For Yarn's Sake

Day 2 was not as busy than Day 1, we only went to 2 stores.  However, I found a new favorite yarn!

First we went to the Knitting Bee, a small but very nice shop.  They had lots of yarn and kind staff, and I picked up a skein of Malabrigo Sock.  I am planning on knitting my best friend's mom a hat, she has cancer and may have to go through chemotherapy.  :'(  

Then we went to For Yarn's Sake!  Oh, I love that store and it's right by my school!  I bought another skein of Malabrigo Sock.

Day 3: Twisted, Gossamer, Happy Knits, Close Knit, Naked Sheep Knits Shop

Day 3 was the best!  We went to my favorite shops and I bought tons of really nice yarn (Madelinetosh!).

At Twisted (my 2nd favorite shop)  I bought Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight in color way Henpecked.  This is one of my favorite types of yarn.

And then we went to Happy Knits!  I got lots of Madelinetosh.  Happy knits is my new favorite yarn shop, it's so big with lots of choices.

And finally, I bought a skein of Cascade Superwash Chunky.  I am going to knit my mom a cowl with this yarn.

Overall, the yarn crawl was really fun, and I got some awesome yarn that I can't wait to knit with.  Some of the shops I was unimpressed with, but I did like most of them. :)

~ Emily