Cold Snap-a sale!

It's been genuinely chilly here the last few days.  (-40 windchills) Plus, we've been fighting a cold virus in the family; it's slowly making the rounds. One or two of us are sick at a time, which means that I've had several quality days at home with somebody sitting on the couch, watching kids' programming on PBS and CBC... but that's not all bad.

First, both twins suddenly made this huge connection... their Daddy (aka the Professor on this blog) is a scientist, and on an episode of Sid the Science Kid, they learned about how scientists use computers to do science and send emails reporting on their findings.  Whew, that suddenly explained why Daddy uses his computer all the time!  Pretty cool stuff to ponder when you are four and sick on the couch with a cold.  We experimented with an iPad later; we sent an email and watched it arrive, imagining it flying invisibly through the air.  Wow. Magic.

Second, I got to do a lot of productive knitting.  When I might normally have gone out to buy a birthday present for a friend of theirs or rummaged among our special home gift box, instead I stayed home and made a hat.  I used this pattern, but revised it to suit a girl who likes purple and flowers.  The crocheted flower rosettes were actually not made by me, either!  Long ago, I got them in a stash exchange, a half finished project was included.  This was some creative re-use!  Here's the project page on Ravelry.

NOTE: no preschooler noticed the photo shoot, was harmed in any way,  or even asked to move from his comfy spot while modelling any of this. :)

The skein of Quince & Co. Puffin yarn was really lovely stuff to work with, and I thoroughly enjoyed knitting up a second hat to be donated to a newcomer to Canada who might need woollies this winter. Information on creating a liner for the hat are included in these Ravelry project notes , these big stitches will not keep out prairie winds on their own!

Playing with this yarn made me realize that it would also work really well for Over, my new sweater pattern.  (Alas, with the current Canadian dollar exchange rate, I'm probably not going to be able to swing that, but another good Lopi yarn substitute might be  Briggs and Little Super here in Canada.

I also sent out a newsletter this week to my mailing list...(want to sign up?  Check out the sidebar to the right of this text on the blog)
and I included a little sale information.

I'm having a January sale.  Use this coupon code:
Cold Snap

and get 20% off of any of my Rav patterns or my eBook until the end of January.  Happy knitting!  Happy winter!  Now you can enjoy the sale too!

Oh...and don't forget!  Please remember to register if you'd like to learn to spin on Sunday, January 24th, here in Winnipeg.  I can't wait to meet you and spin with you!

Wovember's sale

Well, I think this month deserves celebrating.  Have you heard of Wovember?  Last year, I signed up to get little emails from this site that celebrates wool all throughout November. It sure made my month more fun, and I even managed to contribute a little.   There were fun songs, photos, and ideas that even my preschoolers enjoyed.

 So, this year, I decided to support the effort.  I wanted to have a pattern sale for the month....and I reflected.  What should be in the sale?  How about the things I've designed since last Wovember?
Distal,
The Hole Inside Mitts,
Knitting for Mother Earth Cowl,
Riverbend Garden Hat and Over.

Wow, look at that--I knit every single one of them in 100% wool...and, I've done 5 designs in the last year!  All good.

So, here's the sale information.  Use the coupon code:
Wov2015 on Ravelry to purchase any of these patterns, and you'll receive 20% off in November. If you should want more than one of these?  Feel free to use that coupon more than once.

Happy Wool!  It's coming on towards winter here, and you'll be needing it!

It's almost OVER.

The UNsale is almost over... October flew by so quickly!  Remember-- purchase any of my patterns by the end of October, and I will donate 20% to the Canadian Red Cross in its efforts to help refugees.

As part of the sale, I promised a new design--a pattern release...and here it is!  Over is now live!

I could say more, but you know what they say about pictures, so here they are...almost all from my photo shoot with a friend who modeled.  Enjoy!  Please check out Over before October's over.  Why's it called Over?  Oversized, over-the-head, summer's over, this fast project's over? That kind of thing.  :)

Last but not least, here are a couple of shots of us:  (and this is why I can't do the modelling, I seem to have a lot of help....)