My Contest and some Testing going on...

We are now less than 48 hours away from my contest deadline. If you haven't yet entered to win the pattern book giveaway, you have until midnight Sunday, Sept. 30th (Pacific time) to do so! The book that is up for grabs is titled "Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders". You'll find the original post below dated Sunday, September 16, 2012. You need to go there and comment on that post to be eligible to win.

I ran across this image on facebook today. We can all use more fiber! Can't we? ;)

On to the testing going on. I have found a group of wonderful test knitters that have been kind enough to give my patterns a test run. This process has actually humbled me... as I have found out I am far from perfect! And now I understand the importance of having patterns tested BEFORE actually listing them to sell! No matter how confident a designer is in their ability to knit and write patterns, testing should be a top priority. It gives you the chance to see your patterns through the eyes of another. It has sure opened my eyes! I will be re-writing 2 of the 3 hat patterns being tested so far. Once they have been fine tuned I will be re-listing them and will be posting errata on my website. The feedback I've received from my testers has proved to be invaluable! Thanks a million to these gracious ladies! You've been life savers! I will definitely continue to have each and every new pattern tested before hand from now on.

My Knitting Contest is well Underway

I'm so excited! The contest is finally picking up! I only had 5 entries this morning and now there are several more! We still have 10 days to go, so keep the comments coming in. You'll find the official contest in my previous post. So you need to leave your comment on that post in order to enter. Here's the direct link to the contest: A One-Skein Wonder Book Giveaway
I'm receiving lots of feedback on what you like to knit. You see, I'm in the process of creating a collection of knitwear designs that I plan to self-publish in book form early next year. So I'm asking everyone to tell me what your favorite knitting patterns are. Your opinions will help to create my book! I want to designs items that you'll want to knit! It's as simple as that! So... head on over to the contest below and tell me what you would like to see in the collection! Your thoughts and opinions mean everything to me! And please do share the link to my Giveaway if you haven't done so already. Even blogging about it will earn you an extra entry. Thank you in advance!

A One-Skein Wonder Book Giveaway

So... I mentioned last week that I was going to be having a contest. After reviewing my knitting book library, I have finally made my decision on which book is going up for grabs first. Please read through to the bottom of this post to see how you can earn extra entries and have a greater chance of winning!
This month's book is titled "Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders". This is a wonderful book for knitting up some small indulgences. Lustrous alpaca is one of my favorite fibers to work with and this book has patterns for that! It also includes patterns for using such luxury yarns as organic cotton, bamboo, cashmere, silk, eco-friendly soy, corn, angora, and mohair, to the exquisite qiviut. Now you can knit small treasures using yarns you've been dreaming of. So go ahead and indulge yourself!
Contributors include designers, yarn manufacturers, and well-known knitting and crocheting teachers. There are also a few crochet patterns for the diverse fiber artists among us.

This contest will end at midnight Pacific time on Sept. 30th. That gives you 2 full weeks to help me out! How are you going to help me out you ask? All you need to do is leave a comment below and tell me what your favorite knitting patterns are. Do you enjoy knitting socks, scarves, sweaters, etc...? As you know, I'm in the process of designing a collection of knitwear for my own book. So your opinions count! What are you interested in knitting?! I want to create wearable items that you will want to knit!
Now for the extracurricular methods of earning extra entries. Each of these activities will count as one extra entry. Blog about this contest on your blog! Tweet about this contest and follow me on twitter @BayAreaKnitter (counts as one entry). Share this post with your friends on facebook, "Like" me on facebook here http://www.facebook.com/KnittingwithChristine, and/or join this site and follow me on Google friend connect (Click the "join this site" button on my sidebar). If you do all of these things you'll earn 6 entries. Please be sure to link back to this blog post when sharing on your blog, twitter and facebook. Also tell me in your comment which methods you used to enter as well as provide links to your posts and tweets. Also be sure to leave an email address or your Twitter or Ravelry screen name so I can contact you if you are the winner!
Winner will be announced on October 1st.
Comments will be pending until I can approve them. So don't worry if your comment takes a few hours or even a day to show up. I do this to make sure I don't miss any comments. I get an email notification when you submit.  ;)
This contest is open Internationally to anyone anywhere! I don't want to leave anyone out.  
So what are you waiting for? On your mark, get set, Go!  ;)

For the Love of Yarn!

Look what arrived on my doorstep the other day!

A wonderful and dear friend of mine was cleaning out her stash and graciously decided to gift me with this box of yummy yarn! THANK YOU, Thank You, thank you! It will come in very handy and be put to much good use! I may even be able to get a few full sized projects/designs out of this! And the bits and pieces will be great for swatching. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box. Felt like Christmas morning! 

Knitting Contests, Podcasts & YouTube

This post is actually an experiment. I want to see how many readers I have out there as well as engage some interaction. I only just started this blog a few months ago, but would love to take it to another level.
As some of you may or may not know, I teach knitting classes at a local craft store. So I was thinking about possibly doing some YouTube videos to show "how tos" on different knit stitches and techniques. The idea has actually been mentioned to me a couple of times recently. So I'm thinking... why not? It would be fun to expand my teaching to the online community!
Secondly... how many of you like contests? I enjoy participating in the various contests out there that other fellow knitters have been doing. I was even a lucky winner of some luxury yarn recently! So... in the spirit of generosity I would love to spread some knitting joy as well! If you would like to sponsor a contest by donating yarn, fiber, books, etc... please let me know! In the meantime... to get this party started... I will be holding a contest in the near future. I've been going through my personal library of knitting books and have found a couple of duplicates that I can part with. Stay tuned, because I will be posting a contest in the next few days and will let you know at that time which book will be up first. :)
Last but not least, I'm also tossing around the idea of doing a podcast. I love listening to podcasts myself. Alana Dakos hosts a podcast over at Never Not Knitting, which is one of my absolute faves to listen too. Pay her a visit and check it out if you aren't already a listener.
So... here's what I want you to do for me. Let me know what you would like to see here. Contests? YouTube videos? A Podcast? Or all of the above? Leave a comment and let me know what you would like to see happen next. Don't be shy! Let me know you're out there. I WANT to hear from you!

A $7 Spinning Wheel You Can Make - DIY

I just received my Fall 2012 issue of Spin Off magazine. Something on the cover really caught my eye! I just started spinning on a drop spindle back in February when I met a group of ladies, the Serendipity Spinners, at Stitches West. Since then I've been admiring spinning wheels. Well, there's an article in my magazine titled "A $7 Spinning Wheel". This wheel is called the DODEC because of the Dodecagonal (12 sided Polygon) wheel that makes it’s construction approachable by people not familiar with wood working. It's made by Porterthreads.com and is for beginning spinners to build and use as an alternative to other expensive wheels. What an ingenious invention!



Bishopofknit, as he is known on Ravelry, along with his wife raise Jacob sheep, spin and knit their wool as well as raise goats on their little farm. They recently developed this DIY Spinning Wheel for people to build at home. Now even I can afford a spinning wheel. Do I have any volunteers out there that would like to make me one? If not, I may have to try my own hand at some carpentry! What an amazing contribution to the craft! Pay them a visit and tell them I sent you! :)

Knitting on the Beach

There's nothing like getting some sun, breathing in the gentle sea breeze and enjoying some knitting. We're at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk today. My husband is frolicking in the sand with the kids whilst I'm enjoying a relaxing moment with my knitting.