And the winner is....

Today is the happy announcement for the winner of Speckled Frog Crochet Pattern Giveaway
I received a total of 6 comments for the giveaway, and since the last person had the 2 last posts, I used a random number generator and stablished the limits 1-5. Hope that makes sense. What I mean is that the last person only got one entry for the giveaway with her first comment.

Soooooooooo, the Lucky Winner is:::::

¡¡¡Yarner!!!

Congratulations!!!
I'm off to send your email address to Speckled Frog, along with the pattern you picked so she can email it to you!

Thank you to everyone that participated in this giveaway!! it was fun!

:o)
S.

***************
In my previous post, where I was confused that so many people had read the giveaway post but so few commented to enter, I had some comments telling me that the steps that needed to be completed to enter the giveaway where long and confusing. And I'm pretty sure that a lot more people felt that way, even when they didn't leave a comment.
I'm really sorry that was the case and I wanted to make a note on that. The only step I put for the giveaway was the first one, in which I asked you to friend my blog (which I regret because it really conflicts me as I think a person should friend and follow your blog because they want to and they find what you share in it interesting, and not because you ask them to follow you as a condition for something you are going to giveaway... after all, a giveaway is something from the heart, isn't it?)


The rest of the steps came to me as they where by the owner of the giveaway... since this time I was only a host for it, I wasn't able to change the rules.


I'm sorry that those of you that regularly follow my blog felt this was tedious and not fun... that was never my goal!!!

Until next time!!
S.

Speckled Frog Crochet Giveaway!

I found myself a little bit confused.

Blogger has a function that lets you know how many people had seen your posts and when, from which country they are and all kind of fun things...
Well, it says that 85 people have seen my last post for the Crochet Pattern Giveaway from Speckled Frog... And I am just seeing 4 comments...

I don't think that every person of those 85 left a comment, but I would've thought that this giveaway would get more than 4 comments. It's not like I'm having a giveaway in rocket science... it's crochet! which I talk about all the time... and blog comunity likes giveaways, or at least that is my impresion.

I'm also confused because I stoped by SF facebook page a while ago, and she had comments from several people saying that I had sent them, which was the second step to enter the giveaway, but then I don't have their comments on my blog... and there's also some people that left a comment without leaving an e-mail address... there's even an annonymus comment!!

I think Speckled Frog patterns are really cute... I feel bad and sad of being offered to host a giveaway for her that is not being very succesful...

Good luck to all of you that entered!!! 2 more days!!!

See you soon!
S.

Speckled Frog Crochet Pattern Giveaway!!!

Hellooooo!!!!!

I'm happy and excited to anounce that I've been chosen to host a Crochet Pattern Giveaway from Speckled Frog Crochet.

If you don't know her, you'll be delighted to see her amazing designs... If you do know her you'll be very happy to have the chance to get one of her patterns for free!

She has a lot of really cute designs of crocheted hats, baby cocoons, diper covers and more! using fun shapes, textures and colors! all ilustrated with super cute pictures!!!

So don't wait any longer and enter this fabulous Giveaway!!!!

Here are the rules:::

1) Join me in my blogland adventure and friend my blog!

2)”Like” SpeckledFrog Crochet on Facebook and tell her I sent you!

3) Visit SpeckledFrog Crochet’s Etsy Shop and pick your favorite pattern.

4) Come back here and leave a comment telling me which pattern you like best and confirm you have done all the steps! don't forget to leave a valid e-mail address!

You won't be held to the selection!! so if you are the winner after I do the draw, you still can change your mind...

This will give you one entry to the Giveaway... and you have a week to enter. The Giveaway ends on Wednesday, September 28th, at midnight EST. And I'll contact the winner by e-mail on the 29th!

See you soon!
S.

More knitting adventures -- A new exciting project!!!

Helloooo!!!!!
In my previous post I wanted to talk about this, but then the post became so long with all the other things I wanted to share that I have to save this for a new post.

Here it is:

Last month, when I was visiting Mexico, I took time to visit some of the local yarn shops. I went to 6, and I know of about other 8 or 10... but Mexico city is so big, that I'm pretty sure I don't know even half of the exsisting yarn shops there!!!
Now that I'm "living" the daily life of a yarn shop and that I saw (with the moving of my LYS that I helped) what it takes to put a yarn shop... I'm dreaming about opening my own yarn shop whenever we get back to Mexico City!!! wouldn't that be wonderful???
But that's another story, that hopefully will happen some day...

For now, what I have in my hands is a new project. I saw a sample of it in one of the yarn shops I visited in Mexico and I LOVED it...

I can't really show you what it is because I didn't take a picture, and I don't have a pattern for it.
But I can try to explain it... it is a cardigan for myself that pretty much has this shape:

But instead of being worked top-down or bottom-up, what I would call vertical direction beacuse it grows vertically.... it's worked from the opening on one side to the opening on the other, so the rows are worked from bottom to top to bottom again, and the knitting grows in a horizontal direction... (hope it makes sense...)

I think I have figured it out, but I don't know if I can explain it yet... here's the drawing that the lady at the yarn shop made for me as an explanation of the pattern::

She said, using worsted weight yarn (I got 100% mercerized cotton, Fontana yarn by Omega) and 6mm&10US size needles, you cast on 80 stitches and knit 1.5in of 2x2 ribbing... leave the last 12 stitches to work a 1x1 special ribbing that will be worked in short rows respect to the body to form the neckline. For the rest of the stitches choose whatever stitches you want and work your numbers to have them divided in the total amount of stitches that you have... work until you've reached the side and put 40 stitches on hold and keep working with the top 40st to make the sleeve... when you've finished the sleeve, pick up the stitches you had on hold and work the back of the cardigan until you get to the other side, then put your stitches on hold and make the second sleeve as the first one, pick up the stitches and get to the end (the opening) and finish with 1.5in of ribbing.

Simple huh??

Well, so with that I came, hoping not to forget what she had said and explained... I spent an afternoon on Ravelry looking for stitch patterns to use in my project and found a lot that I liked... discarded, reasses, discard again...
When I've decided, I spent more time reading each pattern carefully, working math and numbers to have the right amount of stitches for a repear of two of the pattern... how many stitch patterns do I need? how many total stitches can I use? how will this work???????

Finally, adding some stitches to be worked in garter stitch in between each stitch pattern I decided I was ready to start...
I took my yarn, my 10 US size needles and casted on...

90 stitches to start (because I'm bigger than the lady at the yarn shop), 2in of ribbing... start with the pattern......... Oh no!!!! the numbers match but the fabric is TOO open and you can barely distinguish the stitch patterns wich is the whole point of this vest.

So I took some pictures:::

Rip it all and started all over again... in 8 US size needles...

I added 10 more stitches to compensate the needle size reduction. So I'm working with 100 stitches now. I have 6 stitch patterns going at once. I changed some of the first patterns for cables and for that I changed some of the garter stitches division for stockinet and reverse stockinet, so the patterns and the cables show better.

I've finished the first front and I'm about to put on hold the bottom stitches (60) to work the top 40 for the sleeve... I don't have photos of it at this moment... hopw to take them in a while... when I'm working on it...

I'm SOOOO truly excited by this project... I'm happy that the numbers are working, I'm delighted on how it looks!!! and I'm SOOO proud of myself of being able to figuring it out and actually make it work. It's a big thing for a No-Knitter like me!!!!
I guess I've learned something from watching my friends knit all the time!!!

I'll be back soon with photos of the project... now I'm off to the shop to keep working on it!!!

See you soon!
S.

Knitting Adventures

Back in May, when we had our trip to Rochester, I bought some Vintage Chunky yarn to make a top...
It has been seating in the closet since then and is hoping to see the light sometime this fall to go from this

To this...

you might remember that last year I made a little dress using this free pattern on Ravelry
Well, now I want to make the same one, but for my size!!!!! it'll be interesting for sure...

It looks like my fall will be full of knitting, to have a change from crochet... not really. Is just that I've came along several knitting projects that I've postponed till the fall.

I'm taking a sweater class at the Yarn shop, that will be knitted.

I just finished this nice shawl

It's made with one of those self texturing yarns, something similar to ChaCha  but from a French company. I got it in Mexico, and 2 balls were enough to make this estole (is that the word?)... Here's a close up of the texture:::

It was very fun to knit... I felt like I was knitting with a cloud!!!

Also in Mexico, I worked on a cable hat... which was my first succesful cable project and I am very happy with it and proud that I was able to make it!

It has a long ribbing for the brim, so you can fold it:

 Look how pretty they are!!! I'm still excited about them!!

I used a free pattern that my LYS gave me... and again Vintage yarn (by Berroco), this time in Worsted weight. I sooo love that yarn!

Last, I leave you with a photo of myself in the Annie's Attic top that I told you about here...

I finished it in June I think, but it wasn't until a week ago that MG took me a picture wearing it...

See you soon! more knitting adventures to come!
S.

I'm back!!

Oh my!!! it has been a month since my last post!!!
I knew it had been a while, but it didn't feel like that much.

I was away in a lovely trip back home, and (very luckily) this time with MG.
He hadn't been home since our wedding in March 2009, so it was important that he made the trip, see family and friends and enjoy the food and good company that Mexico offers us.

I, as always that I'm there, was very happy... very pleased with the trip in general and just happy to be there.
We had my Grandma's 91st birthday, I loved how her hat turned out! she didn't notice a lot but we put it on her and she wore it the whole afternoon, so I guess it was fine.

LOL!!! I can't stop laughing at Grandma's face... she loves to make faces....
She had a great time at her party, we had a "piñata" and by the time it broke grandma was tired, but she played with the points of the piñata star and wore them as a hat...

 

My niece also enjoyed the piñata, and used a star point too.... to pick up and gather her candies!!!!

I did another hat, from the same Eco Duo yarn (Baby alpaca + Merino) for my mom, and another one with lines of 2 colors of the same yarn that came out really small so I gave it to a friend.
Sadly, I forgot to take pictures of those, so no showing this time...
I made another hat while I was in Mex... I'll take a pic soon and tell you about it.

I went to a bunch of yarn shops in Mex... all different yarns of whan I'm used to now here!!!! but still a few good things... I have to put them in order and wait for a sunny day to take photos.

I went with my mom to a party... I always have a great time with her!!!!

And we had my Dad's Birthday party too.... I don't have photos of that because they still are in MG's camera... but I do have this one I took from that day!!

Is a crochet carpet made by my Grand Mother (the other one), I don't know if you notice from the photo, but it's made with thread!!! soooooo tiny!!!!
Here's another one where I put my ring next to it so you can see the final size of the carpet...

It was very pretty............ there are some days where I wish so much my Grand Mother was still here so I could talk crochet with her...

And last of all.... my enchanting handsom Husband before a job interview...

He was so handsome that day that if I wasn't his wife yet, I would have fallen for him on that moment... (does that makes sense??)

See you soon my friends!
S.