SereKNITy + Bento Bag Giveaway (closed)

Thank to everyone who entered the Book & Bento giveaway! I loved reading all of your comments. The winner is @arcticmama1 on instagram. If you would like the book head on over to the Running Press Books website. If you'd like the bag, I've restocked my shop with a small supply of Bentos. 

For the last few weeks I've been knitting my way through SereKNITy: Peaceful Projects to Soothe and Inspire by Nikki Van De Car. This book includes more than 25 simple knitting, and crochet projects with simple stitch patterns and construction methods that keep your hands busy, and your mind free. There is everything from a tea cup cozy, to a button front cardigan, and lots of scarves and hats in between. This is exactly the kind of knitting I like to do. I like to keep my hands moving while I binge on Netflix, or chat with my husband at the end of the day. These projects leave a little head space for  other things. In the off chance that I'm knitting quietly alone, this is the sort of pattern that lets your thoughts flow, and good ideas come out of hiding. All of Nikki's projects could go to a coffee date, or beer night with friends, and not miss a stitch, or a word of the conversation. Because all of the projects are relatively simple, they are great for the beginning knitter.

I made the Portland fingerless gloves. I had a partial skein of Brooklyn Tweed Arbor left over from my last hat project, and I thought some spring mitts would go well with my spring hat. The texture of these mitts is made using only knit and purl stitches, and a short 4 row repeat. They knit up quickly over our last two car trips. I was a little worried I would run out of yarn, so I shortened them a bit from the instructions (details in my Ravelry notes). All of the SereKNITYy projects leave room for the knitter to improvise.

THE GIVEAWAY:

Because the lovely SereKNITy cover art and my bento knitting bag go so nicely together, I thought a giveaway would be fun! To win one copy of the book SereKNITy by Nikki Van De Car, and the Wholecloth Bento Knitting Bag shown here:

1. Comment on this blog post. Be sure to include an email where I can reach you with the comment. 

2. Follow me on Instagram. Like my post (which will appear later today) on Instagram, and leave a comment there. 

You may enter both here and on instagram, but only one entry at each place per person. Entries from any country are welcome. I will randomly pick a winner at 8pm Sunday April 23, 2017. 

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Mitts Knitting Pattern: Portland Knit Fingerless Gloves 

Mitts Yarn: Brooklyn Tweed Arbor in Sashiko from Loop Yarn

Mitts on Ravelry

More about the Book: SereKnity : Peaceful Projects to Soothe and Inspire

More about the Bento: Wholecloth Bento Bag

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Running Press Publishing provided this book for free, but the opinions are my own. I reviewed one of my friend Virginia's books a few years ago, and was already familiar with what Running Press has to offer. 

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Madeit Patterns Drop Dress + GIVEAWAY

Please welcome the Drop Dress from Madeit Patterns. (I want to tell you about mine, but stay tuned for the details of the giveaway, and a coupon code below!)The pattern features a drop shoulder, and cocoon shape, accented with a lovely drape down the right side. I thought the side draping was going to be some fussy ruching detail, but I should have known better. Nothing fussy about the Madeit Patterns ladies. It really is made by the cut of the pattern, and drape of the fabric. This dress is as easy, and fast to make as a t-shirt! I had a completed dress, pdf to rtw, in an efficient afternoon. The front, and back are the same shape except for the neckline which they have cleverly consolidated into one piece. When I saw this simple solution to what could have been a paper heavy print job, I gave Olu and Anna a single sewist round of applause right there at my kitchen table. 

When cooking simple dishes, the right ingredients are key. When sewing simple styles, the right fabric is key. Drape is everything on this little number. I lucked into some luscious, burn-out french terry with 100% stretch, and a healthy amount of rayon. I was going to use it to muslin a different pattern, but when I saw the elementally simple construction of this dress, I knew it had a higher purpose. The french terry gives it a nice body, the rayon a nice drape, the stretch some figure hugging structure. I sewed a small at the bust, graded to halfway between a small and a medium at the hips.

Details:

Pattern: Drop Dress by Madeit Patterns

Fabric: Rayon French Terry from Jomar 

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GIVEAWAY!

Check out Lucky Shop on Etsy!

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DISCOUNT CODE!

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CHECK OUT THE REST OF MADEIT FASHION WEEK!