Review: 2014 November KnitCrate

I think it's safe to say that I'm a KnitCrate convert. Not that I needed much converting, but I'd been straddling the fence for a couple months now, waiting to see what my fellow bloggers/yarn fiends had to say about it.

Last month, I took the leap and subscribed to a monthly delivery of the Indie option. The Indie kit is comprised of hand-dyed and hand-painted yarns in various bases from the best dyers in the industry. Now that's a bold claim, right? I decided to check it out for myself and see if the kit lived up to the hype.

And maybe it's because I've been obsessed with indie dyers the past couple months, or maybe it's because I've entered the land of "All madelinetosh, all the time", but the November KnitCrate was exactly what I needed to become a new life-long subscriber. This month's featured yarn is Tosh Merino Light in the Cotton Candy colorway, exclusively created for KnitCrate subscribers. It's a beautiful minty blue and red, which are incredibly on-trend colors for the holiday season; I've been seeing this combo everywhere from various TV commercials to Clementine's ensemble in the latest Hallmark Channel Christmas movie "Northpole" (if you haven't seen it, you must!)

November's "Fun Extra" is something called "Needle Keeper - The Magic Wand". I wasn't sure how it worked when I first opened it, but I'm pretty sure this will be traveling everywhere with me moving forward. You stick your needles through the black rubber tip to make sure your needles don't go anywhere, thus destroying your hard work. It also ensures the connection between your needles and the cable doesn't get damaged. Seriously, how annoying is it when those things break and all that lovely knitting is lost? Now I just wish I had more to keep up with all my WIPs.

Oh, and then there was some delicious candy, too. In each package, KnitCrate includes a "Sweet Extra", and this month it was SuperFruit Chews from Lovely Candy Co. They're made with real fruit and are gluten- and GMO-free. Basically, healthy(er) Starbursts. Needless to say, those things did not survive until my photo shoot this past weekend. I'm only a little ashamed of my gluttony.

That said, just the monthly kit was not enough for me. To repeat myself, I am a glutton, and my click-happy response to all the goodies now available to me in the KnitCrate store is only proof of that fact. You also get a chance to add on some products with your order, so I picked up the Madelinetosh (I told you I've entered a downward spiral) Twist Light in the Care colorway, dyed specifically to raise funds for Doctors Without Borders. From the KnitCrate website: 

This is the first wide-release color in the new Twist Light line, with a full array of colors coming in early 2015. This limited edition rainbow colorway has been created for Doctors Without Borders available solely in Mad Tosh Twist Light base only. Madelinetosh has agreed to give 100% of their profits of the sale of this colorway directly to Doctors Without Borders until they reach their goal of $10,000.

Buy yarn and support a good cause? Just call me a philanthropist.

I also invested in a mini skein add-on so I could try some new yarn samples and knit puffs for my upcoming Beekeeper's Quilt. This month's Mini-Skein Assortment was also some HAND DYED Madelinetosh Tosh Sock yarn and included five small skeins in a variety of beautiful colors - the perfect amount for testing different fibers. I'm addicted.

In conclusion, I'm in love with my new investment. It's not exactly cheap, but it is fun, and I think it's going to give me a lot of opportunities for self- and gift-knitting throughout the next year. There are many different kits available, so prices do vary and give you an opportunity to customize your package with the type of yarn and projects that you'll enjoy knitting. Make sure to look at/drool over all the options:

Finished: Gallatin Scarf

This picture doesn't really do the scarf justice (partially because you have to deal with my huge face, but ya know, whatever). Trust me when I say it's gorgeous! The scarf, not my face.

A friend of mine visited the homestead a few weeks ago so we could essentially have a yummy dinner and spend the rest of our time knitting (and yarn shopping, too, but mostly knitting... and drinking craft beer). I was leaving to work in Las Vegas the next weekend, so I wanted a quick project I could whip up in any down time I had, which I knew wouldn't be much. My preference for quick projects means that I can finish them in a couple days, but they can't be boring, either, or else I put it down and dread going back to it.

I also knew I wanted to make some sort of scarf, but not a typical scarf. See, here's the thing: I hate making scarves. Hate them with the fire of a thousand suns. I get so tired of working the same stitches over and over again for what - six feet? No thanks. So instead, I wanted a triangle scarf that I could wear like a cowl and maybe help jazz up my plane ensemble a little bit. Because when you're on a plane for 5.5 hours, it's important to not look like complete crap even if you're aiming for comfort (if you could pass that message along to some of my fellow travelers, that would be swell - pajamas in public are unacceptable after post-college graduation).

After a brief skip through Ravelry, I found the Gallatin Scarf knitting pattern. I have to admit that it wasn't love at first sight, but the construction seemed interesting and the lace pattern was simple enough that I knew I wouldn't drive myself berserk trying to figure it out in less than a week. I chose some yarn that had been sitting in my stash for well over a year - maybe even two years - and went to town.

The yarn I used is Mountain Colors Twizzle in the Springtime colorway and I love the way it turned out with this pattern. I'm not a huge fan of variegated yarns, but the color change on these isn't close enough for pooling to become an issue (at least with this pattern).

The result? I'm in love. I wear it everywhere, especially now that a bitter cold front has moved in and I don't want to leave the house without first putting on at least 15 layers. I did manage to wear it on my flight to Vegas and have received many compliments since. My mom even wants one for Christmas, so I'll be seeing many more of these in my future. And that's a good thing!

ONE WEEK ONLY: Find Golden Scissors and Win Up to $1,000!

Have you heard that I'm a member of the all-new Blitsy Creative Team? If not, consider yourself informed :) As a proud Blitsy ally, I not only get to publish patterns and tutorials on the Discovery section of their site, but I also get to help out with fun little promotions from time to time, including giveaways (and who doesn't love a good giveaway?)

Which means it's super seriously important for me to tell you that  - right now - Blitsy is offering a pair of golden scissors to random lucky customers.

"What does that mean?" you ask? Good question. You deserve to know all the details about this amazing craft-hoarding opportunity, so here you have it:

But wait... there's more! (Yes, I seriously just typed that and I am ashamed)

To celebrate my new membership on the Creative Team, Blitsy has offered me a chance to give away one additional pair of their coveted golden scissors. That means you can win $10 in your Blitsy account - just for kicks - PLUS the opportunity to win $250, $500, or $1000. WITHOUT EVEN NEEDING TO ORDER SOMETHING FIRST!

Man, I knew I loved these ladies.

Ready to shop? Just follow the steps in my Rafflecopter widget below for your chance to be part of Blitsy's most interactive giveaway yet (with lots of chances to win!)

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Winners will be chosen on Friday, November 21st, and submitted to the folks at Blitsy immediately after. Have fun!

PS: If you like this giveaway, then you'll want to make sure you are following Blitsy everywhere online so you can enjoy even more giveaways for Black Friday. It's coming sooner than you'd think! All their links are below:

Website/ Facebook/ Instagram/ YouTube

More Chances to Win!

Check out these other Blitsy Design Team members for more chances to win a pair of Golden Scissors:

An InLinkz Link-up

$1 Knitting Pattern: Cable-ish Hat

It’s not often that I get to sit down and experiment with different knitting stitch patterns. But as with most things in life, it’s important to take a break and do something for yourself.

So the other day, I sat down, flipped through one of my pattern books, found a stitch I loved, and altered it into a beautiful hat using one of my favorite stash yarns: Red Heart Shimmer. It’s a favorite of mine because it’s so incredibly soft for an acrylic and has a wonderful little halo effect, making it appear like more of a natural fiber. The shimmer is just that - a shimmer - as opposed to a sparkle, so the effect is more subtle. I can’t get enough of it.

The hat looks beautiful as-is (if I do say so myself), but a coordinating pom-pom on top adds an extra special touch. Of course, that’s up to you!

Download Pattern

Blog Hop + Giveaway: Christmas Crochet for Hearth, Home & Tree

Storey Publishing recently sent me this wonderful crochet pattern book by Edie Eckman to test and review for a Christmas Blog Hop. Because it combines everything I love into one festive event (Christmas, blogging and yarn), I was more than happy to participate and contribute.

My first thought upon opening the book is that there's a huge variety of patterns to choose from, despite the package it arrived in being relatively small. I was impressed, even more-so after flipping through its pages and realizing that hey: I'd actually make most (if not all) of the book's featured projects. I can't tell you how often I purchase a pattern book for only one project, which is truly a waste of money in the end; this book is not a disappointment when it comes to the number of patterns included vs the number of items I want to make. Kudos!

Of course, I didn't want to review the whole book without giving you feedback on the patterns' written quality. My biggest problem? I couldn't choose which one to start first. I know, I know - what a tough life. Eventually, I remembered I had some sparkling gold and ivory "I Love This Yarn" in my stash, and I thought it would work perfectly with the Creamy Textured Stocking on page 50. I haven't finished it yet because I think I'll need to buy more yarn (the horror!), but I'm getting close and it looks awesome:

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The stocking itself is sturdy thanks to the type of stitching used, and I imagine it would look amazing with a multi-colored yarn, too! But if simple is more your style, then don't worry - the picot edging at the top certainly jazzes it up to make it more than basic. It's a fantastic project if you're a newly-intermediate crocheter looking to create holiday decor.

In addition to clearly written patterns, many include stitch diagrams, as well. Because these patterns often rely on smart construction and textures to create each shape, stitch diagrams can often be important for visual learners. Basically, there are a number of ways to accomplish the final result, making this book super versatile.

Next on my list? I really want to crochet the Advent Garland:

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Everyone knows that when it comes to Christmas, I have two obsessions: nativity scenes and advent calendars. So consider the garland added to my list. I already know where it'll hang, so now I just need to pile up my scrap holiday yarn and get to making!

So now that you've (hopefully) read my review, it's time to...

Win Your Own Copy!

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Don't forget to visit all the other talented crafters who've made and reviewed something from the book:

• 3-Nov Don't Eat the Paste
• 4-Nov Moogly
• 5-Nov Liberty's Yarn
• 7-Nov Rambling Designs
• 10-Nov Plus 3 Crochet
• 11-Nov Crochet Dynamite
• 12-Nov Jenn Likes Yarn
• 13-Nov Crochet Nirvana
• 14-Nov Yarning4aSmile

Not only will you probably discover more amazing blogs (and increase your chances of winning a copy), but you'll also get an in-depth sneak peek at what this deceptively huge little book has to offer. And don't forget to...