Sunday, July 11, 2010

Parcels




How often do you get a (pleasant) surprise in the mail? I happen to be a HUGE fan of parcels, and admit that I like ordering things for myself online so that it feels like I'm getting a little present in the mail. I even try to order more than one thing at a time so that when they arrive, I'm not quite sure what it is that I'm opening. Anyways, I did happen to get an ACTUAL surprise on the 8th. I ordered some rayon boucle cone yarn online from a seller I've been using for years. I was looking for a specific yarn that I was sure I wouldn't be able to find again and had just used the last of my own. When it arrived in the mail, not only was it a perfect match, but she had put an extra cone of the yarn in the box as well! That made my day, almost as much as the second package that arrived that day. I was only expecting one package, and my husband was also expecting one. So to my surprise, he tells me they are BOTH for me. I open it and realize it's the hat I submitted to the Vanna White Knit & Crochet Contest. I'd already gone to the site and didn't see my name or my project anywhere as one of the big prize winners. So why had they contacted me to send in the hat, right? Well, they returned the hat along with a few goodies, I HAD actually been a finalist and won a prize which included a Michael's gift card. When I entered the contest it was almost too late and I thought maybe it was a design contest rather than the use of Vanna's yarn. Anyone could have submitted the hat using my pattern. But it was one of my best sellers so I submitted it anyway. I'm not a total loser after all I guess. I'm planning on entering the contest next time, hopefully I'll be more prepared and have a really creative entry.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Emume Bolero - Cropped Version





Finally done with the Emume (ee-moo-may...meaning "Celebration or festivity" in Igbo) bolero pattern. The photo is of the cropped length which is included in the pattern along with lots of pictures. This is the first time I tried testing on Ravelry through the free pattern testers group I recently joined: http://www.ravelry.com/groups/free-pattern-testers. I love how organized this group was and immediately joined. I received such good feedback from my 5 testers and each of them has linked their Ravelry project page to the pattern which is available now on Ravelry and through my Etsy shop. My mother's birthday is on Friday and I think I'm giving her one with one of William's handmade buttons on it. I'll definitely be using this group again to test my next shrug pattern, which is completed, although the pattern is not written out yet. I'm taking a few days off work to relax so I'm hoping to have it written out soon and get the testing process under way.