GIVEAWAY || FAT QUARTER SHOP FABRIC GIVEAWAY!

We're moving into our first home this upcoming weekend and what better way to celebrate than with a fabric giveaway from Fat Quarter Shop!

It's been an exhausting month to say the least. With constant packing, a heatwave, summer vacation, more packing and work all put in there too, we are soooo ready to be in our new home. None of us like living in chaos. I'm eagerly counting down the days that I can be out of our box filled condo and making memories in the new house. So excited!!!!

One of the things (besides the obvious of course like a yard...a yard...pinch me now!) I am looking forward to about living in a house is getting to decorate and do some DIY & sewing home decor projects.  Living in a rental condo I always found myself neglecting my love of DIY & home decor. I can't alter anything in here and without an outdoor space there was no painting/sanding etc for this momma. We've been in our rental for 6+ years so I can't wait to start making, painting and creating some new lovelies for our house.  I'll be sure to pin projects as I find them (you can follow me on Pinterest HERE)!

Cotton + Steel Fabrics & Basics

I've also been holding off on ordering new fabrics until we are in the new house since I haven't been able to do much sewing these past few weeks (sob...sob). But I can tell you that as soon as I can lovingly add some new babies to my shelves I will be having a spree of Cotton + Steel prints and basics from Fat Quarter Shop! Oh my, oh my. I've been lusting after these before I even saw them when Cotton + Steel was just forming. So many of these prints and basics would make lovely projects! I can just picture some new duvets for the girls beds in the Mustang Line, new pillow covers for my couch from Moonlit, floor cushions for their playroom from Hatbox, dreamy play tents, and table & kitchen accents etc...the list goes on! I can't even choose a favorite out of all the prints because I'm def crushing big time on the Cotton + Steel basics! I want all of them!

You ready to win some new fabric?

THE PRIZE
One lucky winner will win a $50 Gift Certificate to Fat Quarter Shop! Thanks Fat Quarter Shop!

HOW TO ENTER
- Simply leave me a comment letting me know what fabric line you're currently crushing on!
- Bonus entry: Like Fat Quarter Shop and/or Very Shannon on Facebook and leave additional comments letting me know you did that too.

THE RULES
- You must leave a valid email address in your email or you will be disqualified.
- Giveaway is open till July 28th, 2014, midnight, PST.

Good luck and thanks for your understanding over the last few weeks & the next upcoming few while the blog has been quiet during this special time in our lives :)

And a special thanks to Fat Quarter Shop for the generous giveaway! You can find all things FQS below.

WEBSITE || BLOG || TWITTER || FACEBOOK || PINTEREST || YOUTUBE

GIVEAWAY || TOPS, TANKS & TEES KNIT ALONG GIVEAWAY!

Confetti Powder from Confetti System

It's giveaway time!!!! After all your hard work knitting up your top, tanks & tees it's time for our annual giveaway for the TTTKAL! 

A big thank you to Quince & Co. for being our Official Tops, Tanks & Tees Sponsor this year! Without Quince & Co. we wouldn't have our knit along! Our other super fabulous sponsors have donated some amazing prizes for you all to win! I'm drooling over here people! Two of you are going to be some lucky knitters!!!! Please visit their sites and show them some love! Each of our sponsors are companies I love and use. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I do.

|| PRIZE ||

- Kestrel and Sparrow Sans eBooks and 1 skein each of Kestrel and Sparrow in the color of the winners choosing from Quince and Co.

|| PRIZE ||

- 3 skeins of Julie Asselin Yarn - Fino (Merino/Cashmere/Silk), in winners color choice.

|| PRIZE ||

- $25 Gift Certificate to Jane Richmond Designs.

|| PRIZE ||

- $25 Gift Certificate to Sugar + Candy Handbags.

|| PRIZE ||

- 2 sets of Akin Stitch Markers

|| HOW TO ENTER ||
- You must be signed up in the TOPS, TANKS & TEES KNIT ALONG and have started a project during the time of the knit along.  You DO NOT have to be done your project but you must have cast on and started knitting.

|| THE PRIZES ||

First Place Prize

- Quince & Co. prize package, Julie Asselin Yarn Prize Package and Jane Richmond Prize Package.

Second Place Prize

- Sugar + Candy Handbags Prize Package, Akin Prize Package

RULES:
- You must have left a valid email address when you signed up in the form above.

- You must have taken part in the TOPS, TANKS & TEES KNIT ALONG that is now over.
- Giveaway ends Sunday, June 15th, 2014 at midnight, pst.

More information and links for the entire knit along can be found on our Tops, Tanks & Tees Knit Along Homepage. Good luck everyone and thanks again for knitting along with me!

WINNER || UP, DOWN, ALL-AROUND STITCH DICTIONARY & BLUE SKY ALPACAS GIVEAWAY

The weather here has been positively gorgeous and I've been busy behind the scenes on some secret projects and hanging out at the beach and floating on lakes :) I hope to fill you in on some of them soon. But for now I'm excited to finally get to announce our Up, Down, All-Around Stitch Dictionary & Blue Sky Alpacas Giveaway winner!!!!

The winner is.....

COMMENTER #71: MICHAELA

Congratulations Michaela! I'll be in touch with you soon in regards to your prize! Thank you to all of you who entered.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend! What have you been making lately? 

GIVEAWAY WINNERS GALORE!!

I'm so excited to announce the winners of the last 2 giveaways! There were some AWESOME prizes to be had!

First up the April Rhodes Arizona Fabric Giveaway! Seriously still drooling over these prints folks! They are all so lovely!

// THE WINNER IS: COMMENTER  #40 - MOLLY

Next up is the amazing Warp & Weft Sewing Giveaway with some gorgeous prizes from Merchant & Mills! Such a drool worthy prizes!

// WINNER #1 IS: COMMENTER #47 - KELLY

// WINNER #2 IS: COMMENTER #15 - SOPHIE

Congratulations winners! I will be in touch soon about your prizes! And a big thank you to all who entered! Thanks for reading!

P.S. Don't forget to enter our great Blue Sky Alpacas Giveaway for a chance to win the new book "Up, Down, All-Around Stitch Dictionary", yarn & more! Enter HERE.

UP, DOWN, ALL-AROUND BLOG TOUR & BLUE SKY ALPACAS GIVEAWAY!!!

Up, Down, All-Around Stitch Dictionary by Wendy Bernard || Published by STC Craft/Abrams || Photos by Thayer Allyson Gowdy

I adore stitch dictionaries. I can't get enough of them. Fun reading for me at night is perusing stitch dictionaries. Weird, but true.

I love seeing all the endless possibilities and the creative why's and how's. When I heard about Wendy Bernard's new book "Up, Down, All-Around Stitch Dictionary" I got super excited! A coil bound stitch dictionary that does all the work for you! Seriously! She's written it so that each stitch is shown with instructions & charts and can be knit in 4 different directions!!! Flat, in the round, bottom up, town down - you name it - she shows you! Genius!!! This is the first of it's kind and I'm so excited to be on the tour today sponsored by Blue Sky Alpacas!

I have spent some lovely hours slowly perusing this gorgeous book! True to the STC Craft/Abrams brand, "Up, Down, All-Around Stitch Dictionary" is as pretty as it is useful. Clear, and bright photographs, easy to follow instructions and charts - Wendy has written and compiled a book that is a must have for any knitters technical library. I cannot tell you how useful this book is. So much helpful information and I keep going back to the coil binding. I love that it lays flat while I'm knitting from it. Plus all the yarn used in the book is from Blue Sky Alpacas (whose yarn I adore) and the colors just pop from the pages! Wendy even has each chapter broken into color themes! WEEE! It does my book lovers heart so good to see this! It adds such a great texture & vividness to the swatches when you are flipping through the book itself.

Photos above: Thayer Allyson Gowdy

There are lots of special little details added to this book. Such as the fun graphic design! On the spine and bottoms of the pages where the stitches are written there are shapes that mimic the symbols used in knitting charts. I go gaga for things like this! I really loved this book and thoughtful design elements of the book itself. It's also broken up into great sections to make it easy to find what you're looking for.

Here's what's included:

// HOW TO USE THE STITCH PATTERNS

- Swatching Basics

- Swapping out Stitch Patterns

- How to Work With Charts

// KNITS AND PURLS   // RIBS   // TEXTURED, SLIPPED, AND FANCY   // YARNOVERS AND EYELETS   // CABLES   // LACE   // COLORWORK   // HEMS AND EDGINGS   // PROJECTS   

// APPENDIX

- Designing From Scratch

- Abbreviations

- Special Techniques

- Key

- Stitch Multiple Index

- Acknowledgements

- About the Author

Wendy Bernard also added some great chapters in this book that are very educational and useful for any knitter - designer or not. Such as the section on Swapping out Stitch Patterns - so handy! She also has a great chapter on the end that is on Designing from Scratch and she gives you 3 patterns that you can easily learn and design your own using the stitch patterns in the book! It's awesome!  There is a stole, a slouch hat, & some mittens! Also at the end of each Stitch Chapter there is a project using one of the stitches from that section and there are some darn cute patterns as well!

I couldn't resist whipping up a swatch of one of the stitches in the Textured, Slipped & Fancy chapter! I made mine using the Bamboo Stitch! A fun one! Doesn't it look so scrumptious in Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Hand Dyed? This yarn is beyond heavenly and that color......swoon, it's color #2023!!!! I can't wait to knit more with this!

Needless to say this book is great! Patterns, design help, stitch dictionary & more Wendy always puts together books that are so valuable but also inspiring! I recommend this one to any knitter looking to add to their stitch dictionary library. It's got some great ones in it! Plus this book would also be a handy tool for knitting instructors or shop reference.

But that's not it.......I've also got an exciting prize to give away today!!!!

// THE PRIZE
- One lucky winner will win this lovely prize package:

- 3 drool worthy skeins of yarn from Blue Sky Alpacas (shown in the picture above & below)

- a copy of Up, Down, All-Around Stitch Dictionary by Wendy Bernard

- an adorable Pretty Cheep Project Bag

// HOW TO ENTER
- Leave me a comment letting me know what you love about stitch dictionaries.
- Bonus Entry: Like Blue Sky Alpacas and/or STC Craft on facebook and leave me a separate comment letting me know you did that too.

// THE RULES
- Open to US/Canadian residents ONLY.
- You must leave a valid email address in your comment or you will be disqualified.
- Giveaway is open until June 1st, 2014, midnight, PST.

Follow along the rest of the Up, Down, All-Around Blog Tour below! Lots of chances to win!!! Good luck and happy knitting everyone!!! A big thank you to STC Craft/Abrams and Blue Sky Alpacas for having me on the tour! Congrats on the wonderful book Wendy!

May 20: Knit and Tonic - we will also post Tour Info & Schedule on the Blue Sky Alpacas Blog.

May 22: FreshStitches

May 24: Hey Jen Renee

May 26: Very Shannon

May 28: Miso Crafty Knits

May 30: The Sweatshop of Love

June 3: Stockinette Zombies

June 4: Mari Knits

June 6: Lattes and Llamas

June 21: Wendy Bernard on the Ready, Set, Knit! podcast

GIVEAWAY || WARP & WEFT SEWING GIVEAWAY!!

I'm worried for my computer I'm drooling so much over today's giveaway from one of Canada's loveliest fabric shops -  Warp & Weft!!! Wowsa!

**This giveaway is now closed. Thank you for all of your entries.**

Warp & Weft is an amazing online fabric shop that is also proudly Canadian (for all you fellow Canadian shoppers shipping rates are fab!). Esmari has such a great eye and aesthetic so it's only natural that she would stock Merchant & Mills products in her awesome shop! So when I did my book review for the Merchant & Mills Sewing Book yesterday (read it HERE) we only thought it fitting to offer you all a fun giveaway too! Can we say thank you Esmari!!! She's so great!

Besides her generous giveaway prizes she is also offering you all 10% OFF at Warp & Weft and that includes ALL products - even sale items!! Wahoo! Just use code "veryshannon10" at checkout!! Happy shopping my friends! You will not be disappointed! I love shopping online in shops like Warp & Weft.

Esmari has curated a shop filled with exquisite textiles, notions, embroidery, high quality fabric, lovely kits & more! She even has fun workshops! I seriously suggest perusing the website and reading her blog for something special!

You ready to here what you could win?

// THE PRIZES
Prize Package #1
- 25 Merchant & Mills Sewing Needles
- Bamboo Point Turner from Merchant & Mills
- Merchant & Mills Tape Measure
- 1 ounce Dressmaking Pins from Merchant & Mills
- copy of Merchant & Mills Sewing Book

Prize Package #2
- Merchant & Mills Tie-End Bolster Cushion Sewing Pattern
- Rapid Repair Kit from Merchant & Mills

// HOW TO ENTER
- Visit Warp & Weft notions section and then leave us a comment letting us know what your favorite sewing notion is.
- *Bonus Entry: Like Warp & Weft and/or Very Shannon on Facebook and then leave us a separate comment letting us know you did that too.
// THE RULES
- You must leave a valid email address in your comment or you will be disqualified.
- Giveaway open until May 25th, midnight, PST.

You can find all things Warp & Weft below:

WEBSITE || FACEBOOK || TWITTER || BLOG

Good luck and a big thank you to Warp & Weft for the wonderful giveaway!

*All images courtesy of Warp & Weft.

GIVEAWAY || WE'VE GOT SOME WINNERS!

I've been hit with a doozy of a cold this week and didn't get a chance to announce all of our giveaway winners!!!! 

I did get a chance though to cheer myself up with a new skirt from Target (shown above). It's going to be well worn this summer! I also got spoiled by the hubs with a lovely bouquet of flowers on a rainy day after a rough week. So sweet of him!

So we had two awesome giveaways the last few weeks! First up our amazing Caterpillar Green Yarn Giveaway!

The winner is........

COMMENTER #130 - Jenny!

Next up is the amazing Fat Quarter Shop Lotta Jansdotter Fabric Giveaway!!! Can't go wrong with one of my new fave fabric lines - Sylvia!

The winner is.....

COMMENTER #71: Lynne!

Thanks to all of you who entered and congrats to our winners! I'll be in touch with you soon!

Happy Mother's Day this weekend to all you amazing moms out there! Remember you are special and so deserving of this special day. Take some time to pamper yourself and to get pampered. You earned it! Much luv and see you all on Monday for something really EXCITING!!!!

GIVEAWAY || FAT QUARTER SHOP LOTTA JANSDOTTER - SYLVIA FABRIC GIVEAWAY!!!

Who wants to win some fabric? I love having a fabric giveaway and today's Fat Quarter Shop one doesn't dissapoint! 

You all know one of my favorite fabric designers is Lotta Jandotter so I'm super excited to show you one of my latest finished projects using her gorgeous new line "Sylvia"! I am absolutely head over heels in love with this black and white palette. In fact, I'm so much in love with it that I'm now going to bed on it every night. That's right - I made new pillow covers!

What better fabric to rest my head on each night than some Lotta Jansdotter? Hehe. I know. I need help but hey, what can I say - I love these prints and they just happened to be just the thing I needed to go with my new duvet and blanket!

Now I happened to have bought myself a half yard bundle of Sylvia and I decided to use 4 of my prints to make the pillow cases. I got to use my nifty new serger (review coming soon) that I also am smitten with so whipping up these pillow cases was a breeze! I sewed them up the other night while the hubby was working tax season overtime and then slept on them that night!

I used the following prints from the line Sylvia by Lotta Jansdotter for Windham Fabrics for my pillow cases:

// Black Tav  // White Tav // Black Suvi  // White Suvi

Aren't they pretty? I seriously wanted to lay in that spot all day. The sun was out, my bed was cozy, my pillows were soft and the newest issue of Uppercase Magazine (all on textile design) just seemed so fitting to keep in the shot since I've been indulging in it the last week or two. If you happen to read the issue I have a wee mention/pic in it of my Sweetheart Dress!Squeee!

But moving on back to my pillows...ahhhh, the pillows. Don't you all just love new pillowcases? I love anything new for my bed (which I plan on buying this year too), our mattress is currently on the floor thus why my bed side tables look sooooo high. And yes, I'm 36 and my mattress is on the floor...haha. Our bed broke. What can I say? Low on the priority list. I'm saving up for a King sized. Once you have more than one kid you need a King.

I used this tutorial from my pal Dana over on MADE as a rough guideline for sizing etc to make my pillow cases. Since I was using half yard pieces I made a way wider side accent for mine.

What am I going to do with the rest of my half yard bundle - make throw pillows for my grey couch :) Yep. They will go with my Lotta Jandotter quilt and match my bed pillow covers...lol. The house of Lotta happening over here...lol.

Want to see some more pics and find out what you could win? Keep reading for more!

THE PRIZE
- One lucky winner will win a Fat Quarter Bundle of Sylvia by Lotta Jansdotter from our awesome sponsor Fat Quarter Shop.

HOW TO ENTER
- Simply visit this page featuring Sylvia over at Fat Quarter Shop and then come back and tell me which print is your favorite!
- Bonus Entry: Like Fat Quarter Shop and/or Very Shannon on facebook and then come back and leave me ANOTHER comment letting me know you did that too.

THE RULES
- You must leave a valid email in your comment or have a valid email associated with your profile or you will be disqualified.
- Giveaway is open until Sunday, May 4th, 2014, midnight, PST.

A big thank you to Fat Quarter Shop for the awesome prize! You can find all things Fat Quarter Shop below:

WEBSITE  //  BLOG //  FACEBOOK  //  TWITTER  //  INSTAGRAM  //  PINTEREST

Good luck and happy sewing!!!!! I can't wait to see who wins!

GIVEAWAY || CATERPILLAR GREEN YARNS GIVEAWAY!

I will admit I have now become an avid sock knitter. An addicted one at that. I have embraced the sock knitting.

I have knit since I was a young girl but only started knitting socks last year. After crossing it off my list of "to learn how to's" I quickly realized what a silly git I'd been. I mean seriously, I feared the sock. I feared the heel. I feared everything about sock knitting. The base fear though was that I detest wearing socks. I only wear them when I really need to. They bug my feet and always have. I used to pay my little sister to put my socks on my feet for I couldn't even stand that out of the dryer sock feel and I'm still the same way.

So when I slipped my feet into a pair of lovely handmade slippers gifted to me from my friend Buffy (thanks again Buffy) I started to realize...hmmmmm...if I can control what the fiber content is going next to my skin maybe I would actually wear socks? And the rest is history.

I gave it a shot and let me tell you, there are not a lot of things that compare to that moment when you turn a heel and you want to shout out in glee "it's a sock, a real sock, a real, real, real sock, with a heel and everything"! No matter how many socks I make I still get an adrenaline rush from the toe and the heel. They make me so gosh darn happy. It's pretty hard to explain in words but trust me in that it's fun and I now see 100% why it's so darn addicting! The yarn for socks is a plenty and there are tons of amazing ones to choose from! It doesn't break the bank to knit a pair of socks and the best part - you can bring them with you everywhere. And I mean everywhere. I don't leave home without a pair of socks in my bag anymore. Thus leading me to my love of the "vanilla sock". That lovely plain sock that you can mindlessly knit and make out of any fave yarn you come across.

My current yarn obsession - Caterpillar Green Yarns. Seriously. Obsessed. Self striping. Awesome colors. Soft as butter. Did I say self striping? Yep. 'Nuff said. And the icing on the cake - she lives in my city! Heck yeah people! Can you hear the yarn angels singing! Hehe. The dyer behind Caterpillar Green Yarns is the lovely Catherine who has mad skills. Like serious skills. She makes yarn that makes you scratch your head and go "how the heck did she do this?". It's gorgeous. I love that I can just drive by her place and beg her for more yarn...j/k...sort of...lol. Don't worry Catherine...I promise not to stalk you :)

I met & fell head over heels for Catherine's yarns last summer at Fibrations here in town. She quickly became the hot commodity and we all left home with some of her pretty sock yarns. I cast on this fall and have become smitten. I now have acquired a few more skeins. You can purchase her MCN Fingering in 2 different sizes - 115g and 170g!! Both are more than enough to make a pair of socks! Plus you can add on yummy accent skeins for your toe and/or heel! Love! I've also been waiting patiently for something new she's been cooking up as well - self striping shawl yarn! Can you hear me squealing with delight? I can't wait to see it when it's ready!

Ready to see some more pictures? What's the fun in having yummy yarn if you can't share it with others who equally love yummy yarn? I've been dying to show you all my current socks on the needles! 

Aren't they so purdy!!!. And guess what? You can enter to win some today!!!! Yahoo!!! I'm dancing around the house in my one sock right now out of excitement for y'all! 

// THE PRIZE
- One lucky winner will get to choose a 115 g skein plus accent skein (click here to read more about the awesomeness of her accent skeins) of their choice from Caterpillar Green Yarns!!!! Thanks Catherine!

// HOW TO ENTER
- Simply visit Caterpillar Green Yarns and check out all the lovely yarns, then come back here and tell me which 115g skein/colorway of yarn you'd choose if you won!

// THE RULES
- You must leave a valid email address in your comment or you will be disqualified.
- Giveaway is open until Sunday, April, 27th, 2014, midnight, PST.

You can find all things Caterpillar Green Yarns below:

SHOP ||  RAVELRY  ||  INSTAGRAM  ||  BLOG

And don't worry, I didn't forget all the nitty gritty details of my socks! 

And yes, I know my stripes on the 2nd pair don't match At. All. I decided to go a little wild and just wing it and break the sock knitting rules. They make me smile that they don't match. I think it's the gemini in me wanting them different. It's like knitting a brand new sock! And that coral heel on the first pair - my fave thing ever!

Yarn: Caterpillar Green Yarns, MCN Fingering, Colorway: Concrete & Tulips
Needle: 2.75mm/US 2 Addi Turbo Sock Rocket, 32" circular (for magic loop)
Pattern: Gusset Heel Basic Socks from the book Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy D. Johnson
Follow along with it & get more details on my ravelry project page.

Additional Yarns Shown:
1) MCN Fingering, Colorway: Ocean Sunset (170g with accent skein)
2) MCN Fingering, Colorway: Skyline (115g)

Alrighty....who's ready to win themselves some new yarn? Yay! Good luck and HAPPY KNITTING!

MOMENTS || CHECKING IN & A WINNER

Just popping in today to quickly say a hello and draw a winner!!!

My folks just left this morning and after having them here for 2 weeks I'm already missing them. I'm a blubbering baby who spent last night crying. I only get to see them once or twice a year and we are very close so it's hard to say our goodbyes or "see you soon's" as I like to say. I got to take a much needed mini-break from work and spend some time with them and my family with some amazing weather these past 2 weeks knitting and drinking coffee in the sunshine. The sun has been out and it's been soooooo warm!!! It's been wonderful.

I hope you all have had a great week as well! I'm excited to hear what you have all been up to. I also have some fun new posts to share with you in the upcoming weeks as well!

And now I know you're all waiting to find out who won the awesome Tanis Fiber Arts Giveaway we hosted last week! The yarn, the patterns....ohhhhh...such a lovely prize!

The lucky winner is.....

Commenter #157 - Brittani!!!! 

Congratulations Brittani! We'll be in touch soon about your prize!

A big thank you to all who entered and to Tanis for the generous prize!

What have you been up to this past week or so? Any new projects on the needles? What have you been working on? Making? Fill me in! I've missed ya!

p.s. yes, that yarn in the pic above is Tanis Fiber Arts yarn...isn't it gorgeous? It's Orange Label and I am so smitten with it!

GIVEAWAY || LUCKY PENNY BABY COLLECTION FROM TANIS FIBER ARTS!!

Who's in the mood for a fun giveaway? Me, me, me, me! 

I was sooooo excited when my lovely friend Tanis of the amazing Tanis Fiber Arts wrote me to say she had released a new collection all for baby boys entitled the "Lucky Penny Baby"!!!! Seriously....adorable. And even though I have girls I would make every single thing in here. Plus there is definitely not enough go to patterns for boys in the knitting world so it's great to see her filling that void with stylish and cute patterns!

In the "Lucky Penny Baby Collection" you get 4 stylish patterns! 

// SCHOOLBOY VEST

// R&R HOODIE

// KEYFIT BABY BLANKET

// FROSTED ALPINE HAT (sizes infant to adult!)

The patterns feature Tanis's beautiful and scrumptious yarns and showcase her signature style and use of color! I can't wait to cast on the Frosted Alpine Hat and R&R Hoodie! I've got a few little men in my life who could most definitely use these!

Tanis also offers great size ranges for the collection as well! The Frosted Alpine Hat goes all the way up to adult from infant!!! Love that! I also love all the thoughtful details she's placed into each pattern. Any of these patterns would be a great shower present or something special for that little man (or girl) in your life!

Would you like to know what you could win? Click below to keep reading & to see more pics!

Aren't they all adorable? Ready to find out what you could win? Yay!

// THE PRIZE
- One lucky winner will win the following:

- A copy of the "Lucky Penny Baby Collection" 

- 3 skeins of Green Label Aran weight from Tanis Fiber Arts in 3 coordinating colours!!!! Wowsa! Tanis will surprise the winner with the colour of the yarn and the winner can put them towards a Schoolboy Vest or a Frosted Alpine Hat (or both if they knit the small sizes!).

// HOW TO ENTER
- Simply leave me a comment letting us know which project from the Lucky Penny Baby Collection you would make first!
- Bonus Entry: like Tanis Fiber Arts and/or Very Shannon on facebook and leave us a separate comment letting us know you did that too.

// THE RULES
- You MUST leave a valid email address with your comment or you will be disqualified.
- Giveaway is open until Sunday, April 13th, 2014, midnight, PST.

A big thank you to Tanis for her talent, inspiration, this awesome giveaway and for being such a special friend! I can't wait to see who wins this special prize! You can find all things Tanis Fiber Arts below:

WEBSITE || BLOG || FACEBOOK || TWITTER || INSTAGRAM || RAVELRY 

Happy knitting and enjoy!

GIVEAWAY || FABRIC SPARK'S VERY SHANNON FAT QUARTER FABRIC BUNDLE!

As a sewing blogger I admit I've dreamed on many an occasion of having a fabric bundle named after me!

I was thrilled when the newest online Canadian (yes, I said Canadian - whoop whoop!) online store Fabric Spark opened! Daryl is one of our newest sponsors and I'm just thrilled to be working with her! She has curated a fresh and lovely fabric shop!

When she asked if I'd like to choose a fat quarter fabric bundle and offer a giveaway I was just over the moon! Can we say fuuuuuuun people!!! I was so giddy it took me a few days to choose! In the end I decided to go with a fun black/white palette! Since I've been doing some decorating around the house I've been on a serious black/white kick lately! All the pics above are of the Very Shannon Fat Quarter Bundle!

I hope you love this modern mix of prints and textures! I can easily see these fabrics going from throw pillows, quilts, accessories all the way to clothing! How fun would a Patricia Cowl be in these prints?

So would you like to win my "Very Shannon Fat Quarter Bundle"? Find out how to enter below!

// THE PRIZE
- One lucky winner will win the Very Shannon Fat Quarter Bundle from Fabric Spark. This bundle includes the following fabrics:

Suvi in White by Lotta Jansdotter, Tiny Gingham from Michael Miller, Leaves in Charcoal by Carolyn Friedlander, Suvi in Black, Crosshatch in black by Carolyn Friedlander, and Tav in White by Lotta Jansdotter

// HOW TO ENTER
- Simply leave me a comment letting me know what you would make with the Very Shannon Fat Quarter Bundle!
- Bonus Entry: Follow Fabric Spark and/or Very Shannon on facebook and leave me a separate comment letting me know you did that too.

// THE RULES
- You MUST leave a valid email address in your comment or you will be disqualified.
- Giveaway is open until Monday, March 24th, 2014 at midnight, PST.

Happy fabric shopping and good luck! I hope you will all enjoy this fat quarter bundle as much as I do!!!!!

SEWING || PERFECT PATTERN PARCEL & GIVEAWAY!

Ava Dress by Victory Patterns

I love indie designers and I try to support and sew with indie designer patterns as much as possible.

Especially this year as I try to handmade as much of my wardrobe as possible. It's such a great feeling to support another creative designer! So I was super excited to hear about the new Perfect Pattern Parcel!

What is Perfect Pattern Parcel? A wonderfully curated bundle of 5 independent designer patterns that supports charities with a fun pricing structure that let's YOU decide how much to pay!

Who is Perfect Pattern Parcel? "Put together two entrepreneurial makers driven by their internal voices and one self-taught hacker with an "if you build it, they will come" mentality, and Perfect Pattern Parcel was born. We are passionate about supporting independent designers in their craft and fostering a community of makers to grow. Our mission is to offer high-quality pdf sewing patterns written by indie designers while supporting children's education."

What's in Perfect Pattern Parcel #1? "Pattern Parcel #1 includes sewing patterns for women that are modern classics, featuring both flattering silhouettes and garments that are comfortable to wear. From a new little black dress to weekend play wear, the patterns in Parcel #1 have got you covered."

Summer Concert Tee by Dixie DIY sewn by True Bias

// Pattern Parcel #1 features the following patterns:

:: Accordion Bag by Sew Sweetness
:: Summer Concert Tee by Dixie DIY
:: Ava by Victory Patterns
:: The Skater Dress by Kitschycoo
:: Dandelion Dress & Top by Disparate Disciplines

Such a lovely collection of awesome designers!!!!! Each of the patterns in the Perfect Pattern Parcel #1 are highly recommended and a great addition to your wardrobe! Make sure you check out the Perfect Pattern Parcel today! You only have until this Friday, midnight EST! Happy sewing!

You can find Perfect Pattern Parcel here:

WEBSITE // TWITTER // INSTAGRAM // FACEBOOK

And don't forget to enter the Perfect Pattern Parcel Giveaway below!!! Som great prizes up for grabs!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: The 5 PDF patterns offered in the Perfect Pattern Parcel #1 were provided to me free of charge for participating in the Perfect Pattern Parcel #1 Blog Tour but, as always, the thoughts expressed in this post are my own.

NEW GIVEAWAY WINNERS || EUCALAN / KNITTER'S PRIDE AND JOURNEY KAL!!!

I'm back from a jam packed weekend in Seattle for our book signings/trunk shows at Vogue Knitting Live and Tolt Yarn & Wool!

We had a great time but I'm happy to be home! I missed my kiddos and the hubs. I've got some pics to come & fun things to share but with spring break in full swing here & my unpacked luggage everywhere I'll be popping in a tad later to say hello! For now I have had to redraw winners for TWO giveaways!!!

// Let's start with the "new" winner of our Eucalan and Knitter's Pride Giveaway! Our new winner is....

Commenter #28 - SoniaMarie

// And our winner for the #1 Prize Package for our JOURNEY Knit Along Giveaway is........

Entry #53 - Andrea Mowry of the blog I'll Knit if I Want To (rav id: dreareneeknits) 

// Our winners for the #2 & #3 Prize Packages are....

Entry #66 - Becky Stewart of West Coast Knitter (rav id: delishknits)

Entry #120 - Kristen Holmes of House of Holmes (rav id: mamaholmes)

Congratulations ladies! I will be in touch asap in regards to your prize! Enjoy!!!! I hope you had a lovely and awesome weekend!

JOURNEY KNIT ALONG GIVEAWAY WINNER!

Image by Nicholas Kupiak

So sorry for the wait everyone! I've finally got the winners of our JOURNEY Knit Along Giveaway!!!!

I've been under the weather the past 2 weeks with a bad cold that my kiddo brought home from school. Yuck. I even lost my voice for 5 days!!! Can you imagine me - voiceless. Needless to say it was not good. But I'm back and I've got a winner!!!!!

Congratulations to.....

Entry #191 - Kylie from the blog "Like Purls Off a String"!!! Yay!

We'll be in touch soon with your prizes Kylie!

A big thank you again to our prize donors - Quince & Co. and Sincere Sheep!  And to all of you for knitting along with Jane and I. We had so much fun and hope you did too.

Remember you can find all the JOURNEY KAL info here on it's home page.

I also have a fancy new knit along Tips & Techniques page (you should check it out!) and a Knit Along Directory. I'm slowly building all the pages for the knit alongs so you guys can continue to use them as resources if you'd like.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! What have you been working on? Did you get your JOURNEY project finished?

GIVEAWAY || EUCULAN & KNITTER'S PRIDE WINNER!

It's Friday! Bring on the weekend! And to kick it off I thought I should announce our giveaway winner!

Last week we had a fun giveaway from Eucalan and Knitter's Pride! I was so excited to draw a winner it was like I was winning on my own! It was fun hearing about your favorite Eucalan scent and Knitter's Pride needles!

And now without further ado...the winner is.....

Commenter #234 - Kristen

Congratulations! We will be in touch soon! Wahoo!!! And a big thank you again to Eucalan and Knitter's Pride. Check them out if you haven't already!

I plan on finishing up a big project this weekend, starting a new exciting one and gearing up for some fun things I have to announce for you all next week so stay tuned! And amongst that I'm going to kick this nasty cold I've been fighting off and on for weeks, snuggle my babies and enjoy the sunshine that has finally come out.

Happy weekend to you all! Wishing you lots of laughs, coffee, naps, cuddles, sunshine & creating! See you next week! What are you working on this weekend? Any fun projects?

JOURNEY KNIT ALONG || THE GIVEAWAY!!!!

It's time for the post you have all been waiting for! The JOURNEY Knit Along Giveaway!!!!

I have absolutely LOVED seeing everyone's projects from the book. I can't even begin to explain how much fun it has been and how amazing it is to see all these gorgeous items knit up form the projects that Jane and I worked so hard on. It's so special to us and I thank you all for showing us so much love and support. It really truly means so much! Jane and I are both sick this week so it's cheered us up to see all your WIP's and FO's!

So in honor of that we are so excited to have a giveaway for you all today!  Our way of saying thank you for knitting with us and for being so gosh darn awesome!   I wish I could hug each and every one of you! And even though the KAL is over please keep posting your pics! You can use hashtag #journeyknits on all your projects so we can still see them on Instagram and social media! I really enjoy following along with you all!

Now...are you ready to hear what you could win?

// PRIZE 

One lucky winner will receive a $50 Gift Certificate from Quince and Co.!!!!!

// PRIZE

One lucky winner will receive a Skein of Bannock by Sincere Sheep in the colorway of their choice!!!

// PRIZE

- 2 lucky winners will receive the eBook of JOURNEY (this includes all the individual Pdf's as well)!

 // PRIZE

- 2 lucky winners will win 3 patterns of their choice from Very Shannon (that's me!)

// PRIZE

- 2 lucky winners will win 3 patterns of their choice from Jane Richmond

Here's how you can enter....

// PRIZES

Prize Package #1
The lucky winner will take home a $50 Gift Certificate to Quince & Co, an eBook of JOURNEY, 1 skein of Bannock from Sincere Sheep!

Prize Package #2 & #3
A copy of the eBook of JOURNEY, 3 patterns of the winners choice from Very Shannon and 3 patterns of the winners choice from Jane Richmond Designs!

// HOW TO ENTER
- You MUST be signed up for the JOURNEY KAL and you MUST have started a project during our knit along. Note: The project does not have to be completed to be eligible. We will be picking the winner randomly from the number that your entry gets allocated when you fill out the form. If you haven't filled out the entry form yet but you took part in the KAL you can sign up here:

JOURNEY KAL ENTRY FORM

// RULES
- You MUST have at least started and worked on a project during our JOURNEY knit along to be eligible to win. You do not need to have completed your project to win.
- Giveaway is open until Sunday, March 2nd, 2014.

A HUGE thank you to Quince and Co. and Sincere Sheep for their generous prize donations and for their support of JOURNEY! We so appreciate it!

Looking for all the JOURNEY KAL info? Remember you can find all of our info here on our JOURNEY Knit Along Home Page.

Crossing my fingers and toes for your win! Good luck and thanks for knitting with us!!!

GIVEAWAY || KNITTERS PRIDE & EUCALAN GIVEAWAY!!!

Are you in the mood to win some fabulous knitting goodies today from Eucalan and Knitter's Pride? Yay!

I recently got to review some of the great knitting needles from Knitter's Pride! I've been enjoying playing around with all the different tips and feels as well as trying out their double pointed needles in their fun line - Karbonz! I really liked the light feel and the smooth texture of the black portion of the needles. They are lightweight and fast - which is what I want from my regular everyday needles.

I also enjoyed trying out the Bamboo tips. So fancy with their gold plated ends that matched up with cables with the same gold!  but the most interesting ones by far to try were the Nova Cubics! Wow! Now those were definitely fun to knit with! A definite conversation starter for sure! I mean they are square!! Fo'reals! Square needles! One thing I really liked about the Nova Cubics tips is that they have the size printed on them! So handy!

Now, if you know me, you know I love to knit. I also love to try new needles, notions and yarn - but one thing I keep stocked regularly at all times is Eucalan. Eucalan is one of my FAVE products to use when blocking my precious hand knits. I've been using it for years now and can't say enough about it. Last year at Vogue Knitting Live I got my hands on a sample of the scent "Wrapture" and have been hooked on it ever since! And I mean the kind of hooked where I want to block things that don't need blocking just so they smell like it. I just saw they have a Wrapture Fragrant Balm now and damn if I don't need that asap! Then I can smell just as good as my hand knits!!!

Would you like to know what you could win? Keep reading to find out the prizes!

// THE PRIZE
- A Eucalan Getaway Gang pack from Eucalan, a Comby II Sampler Interchangeable Set (Knitter's Pride), Carina Shawl Pin and Rejoice Pom Pom Maker from Knitter's Pride.

// HOW TO ENTER
- Simply leave me a comment below letting me know what scent Eucalan you love best and/or your favorite Knitter's Pride needles!
- Bonus entry: Like Eucalan and/or Knitter's Pride and/or Very Shannon on facebook and leave me separate comments letting me know you did that too.

// THE RULES
- Giveaway is open until February 16th, midnight, PST.
- You must leave a valid email address in your comment or you will be disqualified.

Ohhhhhh! I can't wait to see who wins! I vote for you knitting up a new shawl with your Knitter's Pride needles to wear your pin with and block with Eucalan. Then you could whip up our KEATON hat to pop a pom pom on!!! I swear sometimes hosting a giveaway is almost as fun as winning one! I'll be crossing my fingers for you guys!

A big thank you to Knitter's Pride and Eucalan for the fun giveaway prizes! Now you can whip up some new knits with your Knitter's Pride needles and then block them in some gorgeous Eucalan washes!!! Enjoy!!!

P.S. Be sure to check out our newest free tutorial The Brigitte Needles & Notions Zippered Pouch Tutorial! Now you can keep a few spare knitting needles alongside your notions all in one cute pouch! Works great for makeup as well!