wip: Henri - So Close!

Not much to say, just that OMG LOOK LOOK THAT'S TWO HALVES OF A SWEATER THERE WEEEEEEEE!

Come on Henri bits, dry faster so I can sew you two pieces together and finish you up. 

And uh, I totally didn't start swatching for a new sweater tonight, nope not me.

Giveaway Winners!!!

Hey everyone!  Here's the post that I'm sure a few of you have been waiting for...the results from my little Blogiversary giveaway!

I tried to make this as fair as possible.  I'm not a fan of random number generators, since I'm never sure how to count the comments - especially if someone accidentally posts more than once, or adds another comment with their contact info.

So I went old-school, writing everyone's name on an equally-sized slip of paper, folding them all in half, and put them in a bag.  The very first name out of the bag won.  BAM done.

So now, without further ado, THE WINNERS!  *drumroll*

Northern Lights Bag set: Karlie
The Knitting Directory: Emilee Gilliam
Ravens Fat Quarters: asteride
Knitted Washcloth set: Janefrogged
Black bean-dyed and natural alpaca yarn: Kat Riddell
Pattern Magic books: Tanit-Isis
Rose Quartz: Michelle

I'll be in touch in the next few days at the contact info you gave me!

OH BUT I'M NOT DONE.  Since this giveaway is supposed to represent the things I talk about and love the most on my blog, I can't not have a YUKON prize!  I'm not sure what'll be in it just yet, but I'm going to do what I always do when I decide to send a Yukon package to someone down south (which is almost everyone, unless you're in the northern bits of Russia or China, or in Alaska) and go to our local bookstore, Mac's Fireweed, and get some fun Yukony things to send along.  And the winner of that?

Yukon Surprise package: PattyJo!

ETA: Oh, forgot to mention how I got the winner!  Once I finished drawing names, I tossed everyone back into a bag and pulled one more name.  PattyJo, you lucky duck you.  :)

STILL NOT DONE.  I might've gone overboard a while back, and I now have about a thousand stamps and a ton of postcards.  Anyone want a Yukon postcard from me?  If so, please send me a mailing address (whatever mailing address you feel comfortable with - I swear I'm not fishing for info here no matter how sketchy this is starting to sound in my head) to sewingonpins at gmail dot com.  Guys, I love sending postcards, please give me an excuse!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS!! 
I hope you all have had as much fun as I have with this giveaway!  <3

Babbling and a Reminder!

Aha so I'd planned to do a few more posts this week, but after a week straight of blogging giveaway posts, I'm a little burnt out!  I don't know how people do continuous daily posts.  That stuff is exhausting!

I haven't been that interesting this week anyways.  I'm working hard at finishing my Henri sweater by the Very Shannon Summer Sweater KAL deadline.  Which won't happen unless they extend the deadline, since I'm still on the cable section.  Oh my gosh, I'm so tired of these cables right now.  They are pretty though, and will be worth every twist.

Despite telling myself I wouldn't start another project until Henri is finished, I uh did.  HAHA whatever I needed simple knitting as a break, because I'm not kidding, I'm SO TIRED OF CABLES.  I've started Rikochan, a shawl designed by Melanie Berg and I'm using the recommended yarn, Owl by Quince & Co.

I was lucky enough to win both yarn and pattern in the last Very Shannon KAL, and my fingers have been itching to knit it since it arrived in my mail box.  I haven't gotten very far since I really am trying to focus on Henri, but it's an easy knit so far.  The stripes make it interesting, which is good because this sucker is ginormous.  It's supposed to be about 70" long!  ACK!

Speaking of giveaways, don't forget to sign up for my giveaway!  I'm making the draw tomorrow (Sept 7) evening at 6 pm Pacific time.  That's 8 pm Central time, 2 am London England time, 9 am Perth Australia, and 1 pm Wellington, New Zealand time.  That's Sept 8 for everyone past London, since you all live in the future!  Hey, will you tell me what the weather is like in the Yukon tomorrow?  That'd be really helpful.

Anywho, go sign up!  And you all who keep saying not to enter you because shipping to your country sucks, or haven't signed up because of that?  GET IN THERE AND SIGN UP.  I planned for this friends, so no worries! 

Giveaway: Rose Quartz

Plus Rocks.

Please see the main post for more details!

Prize pack includes:
1 piece of rose quartz

Okay, besides the list of prizes in the main post, you can't be surprised that I've thrown a rock in here.  Or mineral, in this case.  What's the difference between a mineral and a rock, you ask?  A mineral is a natural (or sometimes man-made!) substance with a characteristic chemical composition and atomic structure and specific physical properties (like creating a coloured streak on a piece of ceramic, being hard enough to cut glass or soft enough to scratch with your fingernail, having a metallic shine, or breaking in nice, often parallel, flat planes)  A rock is an aggregate, made up of often multiple minerals and doesn't have a specific chemical characteristic.

Clear as mud?  Are you saying to yourself right now, 'Heather, it's too damn early for science crap'?  That's okay!  Really, if you're not interested in all of that, just smile and nod, ignore the sciency bits, and admire the pretty rock *coughmineralcough*.

Because boy is it pretty!  These photos don't give it justice at all, it's much pinker than my camera was willing to show.

Quartz is a silicate mineral, and the chemical composition is SiO2.  It's chemically similar to regular old window glass, which is made by melting - get this - quartz sand.  Cool, eh?  So a lot of the properties you see in glass is present in quartz.

Quartz is my all time favourite minerals.  There are other favs, of course, I doubt there's a geologist alive who only have one, but this one is definitely up at the top for me.  It's also one of the most commonly found minerals on the Earth's crust.  So lucky me, I'm pretty happy where ever I go!

Source

Why is it my favourite?  There's a few reasons.  The very first thing that charmed me about this mineral (and it's beyond my comprehension why) was the conchoidal way that it fractures, where the fractures in the rock are concave and rounded, resembling a shell.  And how can you resist a mineral that can naturally form into a heart?!

Although, one of my least favourite things is it's crystal habit.  Probably because it's so over-used - everywhere you go, you can find quartz crystals being sold for their "meaning".  I'm sorry, there aren't many geologist who hold to that stuff.

But if you do (and I promise I won't judge you!), rose quartz is apparently "known as the 'Love Stone' and is said to be the stone of unconditional love. This crystal opens the Heart Chakra and is believed to encourage forgiveness and to help you to let go of anger, resentment and jealousy."

OKAY MOVING ON.

I also love that it comes in a variety of colours.  Guys, this mineral can be clear, white, purple, pink, brown, black, grey, green, orange, red, yellow, and blue.  It can also be multicoloured or banded.  Seriously!  Smoky quartz is my all time favourite, but unfortunately I don't have a sample to share with you guys right now.  The reason it comes in such a range is that quartz crystal structure of quartz is able to accept impurities well.

Rose quartz possibly gets it's pink colour from tiny amounts of titanium in rutile (TiO2) inclusions, or possibly by something else - the debate has been raging for decades.  Regardless, it's a lovely variety of quartz, and one found in a lot of places.  Even here, somewhere.  I know there's a deposit somewhere between Whitehorse and Skagway, and I'm determined to find it someday!  That's where this sample came from, actually.  So some lucky winner will be receiving a genuine Yukon (or Alaskan - haven't narrowed it down yet) rose quartz sample!

Interested in having a pretty rock mineral for your shelf?  Please sign up below!  And don't forget to let me know how I can reach you if you win.  Link to an email in a profile, Ravelry account, or note it below.  GOOD LUCK!

Giveaway: Pattern Magic and Pattern Magic Stretch Fabrics

Please see the main post for more details!

Prize pack includes:
Pattern Magic, by Tomoko Nakamichi
Pattern Magic Stretch Fabrics, by Tomoko Nakamichi

This prize pack is actually aimed at some of the more experienced and experimental sewing readers.  It's a pretty advanced book, but I think a more adventurous advanced beginner or intermediate could get a lot out of it.  Of all of my sewing books, I decided to give these away because there's are thousands and thousands of beginner sewing books out there, but not many aimed at more advanced sewists.  This is definitely some of the few, and while most of the patterns are a little bit out there, the construction techniques and drafting experiments are fascinating to read.

Pattern Magic mostly deals with woven fabrics, and shows you some of the (more incredible) 3-dimensional structures you can create with fabric.  This google image search gives you a pretty good idea of what else you can find in here, but here's a couple of examples.

I boggle at these, being a more boring practical sewist, but I thoroughly admire the construction that goes into these designs, and I don't think it'd be too hard to pull details out of some of these designs and add them to more wearable garments.  And honestly, those bow bodices are really adorable, and pretty swearable (haha Freudian slip much?  I'd probably swear a lot, attempting this) wearable themselves!  This google image search shows some of the other designs in the book.

Pattern Magic Stretch Fabrics focuses on structural and creative designs based on knit fabrics.  I find that the patterns are actually a little bit more wearable, or at least, more aspects that can translate to wearable garments.

I mean, that top is pretty cute, and I love the way the shoulders are designed.  And those leggings below it?  I can totally see anyone who wears leggings wearing them!  Oh, and that bottom image gives you an idea of how the book shows you how to draft these things.  Here's some more examples here.


There's some real funky stuff in these books, but they're all fun designs and fascinating construction, and I learned a lot just looking through the draft pages.  Granted, they don't hold your hand at all for these, which is why I don't necessarily recommend these to beginners.  Then again, a lot of beginner's are braver than more experienced sewists, so don't let that stop you!

If you're a new sewist, a sewing expert, or anyone in between, and you're interested in learning how to create some truly funky features, please sign up below!  And don't forget to let me know how I can reach you if you win.  Link to an email in a profile, Ravelry account, or note it below.  GOOD LUCK!

Giveaway: Black Bean and Natural Alpaca Yarn

Please see the main post for more details!

Prize pack includes:

1 50g skein of undyed Nova Earth Collection Alpaca Peru Natural
1 50g skein of the same yarn naturally dyed with black beans

Does this yarn look familiar?  If you've been reading my blog this summer, it should!  It's the yarn I dyed using black beans.  I'd originally thought of using it to knit a Christmas present, but then thought that it'd be a fun addition to this giveaway.  The undyed skein is a nice complement and could look good knit/crocheted/woven with the dyed yarn, or you can try your own hand at yarn dyeing!

This yarn is 100% alpaca, and is lovely and soft against the skin.  Be aware though that alpaca can grow with wear.  Not a problem, necessarily, but definitely something to consider.  I knit my Mom's fingerless mitts in this last Christmas (or uh, a little bit later), and to compensate for alpaca's growth I knit the mitts a bit tighter.  They still grow a bit and can bag out with wear, but this precaution keeps them wearable and snug enough.

What would you make with this yarn?  I spent a lot of time on Ravelry looking through patterns until I got distracted by sweater patterns, and I don't think I ever did find a pattern for this yarn.  I'm such a magpie (NOT the Australian version!) when it comes to that pattern database.

If you'd like a chance to win this yarn, please sign up below.  And don't forget to let me know how I can reach you if you win.  Link to an email in a profile, Ravelry account, or note it below.  GOOD LUCK!

Giveaway: Knitted Washcloth Set

Please see the main post for more details!

Prize pack includes:
4 cotton dishcloths

I'm excited about this one.  I wanted to do a knitted project, but how do you choose something that could work for anyone?  Make a practical knit, that's what!

I've been involved in a few dishcloth swaps this summer, and it's been a lot of fun.  Not only do you receive a nice cloth from someone and get to know them a bit, you know that your gift has put a smile on someone's face.  And both of you maybe hate doing dishes a little bit less.

So I decided to do a nice set of washcloths for this giveaway out of a new (to me) dishcloth pattern.  I love the traditional Grandmother's cloth, but the lace added something to it, and hopefully dries quicker too.  I need to make some of these suckers for my own kitchen!

Of course, these can be used as bath cloths too!  I just hope that you enjoy using them, however way you do.  Do you ever make practical things for the house? 

If you'd like a chance to win this set of cotton cloths, please sign up below.  And don't forget to let me know how I can reach you if you win.  Link to an email in a profile, Ravelry account, or note it below.  GOOD LUCK!