giveaways & resolutions & new projects!

The giveaway is almost over!  It ends this Sunday at 6:00pm EST, so don’t forget to enter!

In other news, I finally broke one of my New Year’s Resolutions.  I bought some yarn for myself.  It’s for a specific project and the yarn was on sale and I didn’t know if the colorway (which is perfect) is one of those that gets phased out eventually, so I spent about $40 on 6 skeins of Berroco Vintage from yarn.com.  It’s in the colorway Macaron:

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Isn’t it pretty?  If you look closely there are actually lots of different hues/tints in there, adding some lovely depth and interest, and the heathered soft effect is so pretty.  I’m going to make the Maeve shrug with it, and if you click on the link you’ll see that this Berroco Vintage yarn is the perfect substitute for the slightly more expensive yarn that is called for, and I know that this yarn will be great to wear because I love the first chunky circle scarf I made with it — it’s so great to wear, so soft and warm (and washable)!  The shrug will be great for work, where our air conditioner works way too well during the summer.

Anyway, even though I broke that resolution, I would have had to break it anyway because one of my other resolutions is to make Christmas ornaments as gifts for people this Holiday season and I need the crochet thread for that.  Silly me for contradicting myself with my resolutions.  However, my resolution to make more projects in 2016 than the 24 items of 2015 is going well — I’ve completed 13 so far.  My pattern writing is on hold for a bit, but I’m still working on that one, too.

I’ve been trying to cut down on my WIPs by just busting out FOs and while I have finished lots of projects, I’ve also started quite a few, so the number of WIPs is about the same.  I started the split back tank a few days ago (with yarn I already had in my stash) with the intention of finishing it before the middle of June — I’m going on a girls’ trip with my mom and aunt & cousins to Pensacola, FL & I’d like to use the tank as an airy swimsuit coverup on the beach.  I say airy because it’s made with sock weight yarn and size 5.5mm needles (that’s one reason I chose this pattern in particular out of lots of cute tanks — the large needles should mean a fast project).  I’m also using KnitPicks’ Lindy Chain, which is 70% linen, 30% cotton, so it should be perfect for summer.  I’ve never made a summer garment before, though, and I’m not sure it’ll be wearable in Florida — will it be too hot there for any hand knit items?  We shall see.  No photos of that yet, but I’ll take some soon once I have a bit more to show.

Well, that’s a pretty decent update.  In other life news my counseling is going well and I’m starting to remember to actually use mindfulness in day-to-day life, which is already beginning to help me.  Also we can finally use both the new side and the old-yet-renovated side of my work building, and now that everyone’s got more space and not falling on top of each other it’s much less stressful.  Other issues still persist but I think everything will work out.  🙂

That’s all for now, thanks so much for stopping by!  See you soon, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

giveaway halfway over already!

If you want to win this awesome stuff here:

You have just a few more days to enter!  The giveaway ends on Sunday at 6pm EST, so if you want a chance at these awesome items, click here and follow the directions!

Good luck everyone!

Spring is here, & it’s GIVEAWAY time!!!

***giveaway now closed!***

And it’s bigger than my last Thanksgiving giveaway, too.  Ooooh, I’ve been waiting to be able to do this one!  Lets jump right into what you could win!  You could win ALL THE THINGS:

Let’s go into details, shall we?

What you’ll win:

Item #1: Frozen Lake Wool of the Andes Sport Sampler

  • 100% Peruvian Highland Wool
  • 2 full size balls each of 3 colors: Sapphire Heather, Midnight Heather, & Thirst Heather.
  • Total yardage: 822 (752 m)

Item #2: Llamarama Tall Mug

  • 14 oz (about 3/4 of a pint)
  • Porcelain
  • ADORABLE

Item #3: Llamarama Steel Pencil Case

  • 8″ long x 3″ wide x 2″ deep (20 cm long x 8 cm wide x 5 cm deep)
  • Can hold small tools, crochet hooks, etc.
  • Also ADORABLE

Item #4: Inspiring Mandalas Coloring Book

  • Mandalas in crochet are all the rage, but coloring is a great stress reliever, too!
  • 18 designs
  • printed on premium paper, & printed on one side only
  • Can use colored pencils, markers, gel pens, and other media

Item #5: Lullaby – Aloft Sampler

  • Lace weight
  • 75% Super Kid Mohair, 25% Silk
  • 1 full size ball each of colorways Pennyroyal, Blush, Oat, & Sky
  • Total yardage: 984 (900 m)

Item #6: Yarn Valet Yarn Bowl

  • Plastic, touted as “unbreakable”
  • 6.2″ wide, 3″ high (16 cm wide, 8 cm high)
  • Suction ring to keep things in place

Item #7: Love + Leche Anywhere Balm – Lavender Mint

  • .5 oz (15 g)
  • Solid lotion bar
  • All natural

Item #8: Locking Stitch Markers

  • 20 locking stitch markers (perfect for crocheters and knitters alike) with pouch
  • Will slide on needles up to US size H/8 (5.00 mm)

Item #9: Pansy Posie Swish DK Sampler

  • 100% Superwash Merino Wool
  • 2 full size balls each of 3 colors: Sugar Plum, Amethyst Heather, & Eggplant
  • Total yardage: 738 (675 m)

So, to recap, that’s the Frozen Lake Wool of the Andes Sport Sampler (6 balls), an adorable Llamarama Tall Mug, an equally cute Llamarama Steel Pencil Case, the Inspiring Mandalas Coloring Book, the Lullaby – Aloft Sampler (4 balls), a Yarn Valet Yarn Bowl, a tin of Love + Leche Anywhere Balm – Lavender Mint, a pack of Locking Stitch Markers, & finally, the Pansy Posie Swish DK Sampler (6 balls).  That’s a lot of stuff!

The retail price would be $118.69, but you have the chance to win it all for free!

How to win:

First off, anyone can win, anywhere in the world.  I’ll ship it wherever you are!

The giveaway starts when this post goes live (Monday, April 11, 2016), and will go through Sunday, April 24, 2016, ending at 6:00 pm EST.  At that time the winner will be drawn randomly and notified via e-mail, with 24 hours to respond.  If the winner doesn’t respond by Monday, April 25, 2016 at 6:00 pm EST, I will draw another winner, who will then have 24 hours, etc.  The winner will be announced here on Not Your Average Crochet as soon as they have responded to me via email with their shipping address.

To enter, here’s what to do:

  1. Follow Not Your Average Crochet (via WordPress, Bloglovin’, or e-mail).
  2. Earn entries (you must do at least 1 but can earn multiple entries if you do more of the following) by:
    • re-blogging this post
    • sharing this post on your personal Facebook page
    • sharing this post on a crochet group page on Facebook (not counting the Not Your Average Crochet Facebook page)
    • sharing this post on Pinterest
    • sharing this post on Twitter
    • sharing this post on Instagram
    • sharing this post on knitting/crochet forums
    • sharing this post on any other social media platforms you’re on
  3. Leave a comment on this post including the following information: how you follow this blog, of the options above, & the links to each of your entries.

Remember, if all three steps have not been completed, you will not be entered!

Also, please keep in mind that if you are a new commenter on my blog I will have to verify your comment before it will appear below, but you are entered once you submit your comment, so there is no need to comment twice!  🙂

Good luck everyone, and happy Spring!

-Hannah

***giveaway now closed!***

finished the cushion cover!

After over 4 years of waiting, my husband finally has his cushion cover:

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The cushion cover definitely did NOT reach 28″ x 28″ (the size of the pillow insert), but it is stretchy and the insert was easy enough to get inside.

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I love the texture of this pattern.  It looks cool but it feels pretty neat, too, even in 100% acrylic yarn (I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby).

I forgot to take a picture of the back, but I seamed the sides to where the ends of the cover overlap, like a pillow sham.  No buttons needed!

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Chris likes it; it’s big and squishy and the pattern is the same as a large blanket his great-aunt made for him (just in different colors — she used solid red, white, & blue).  It fits well on our daybed-turned-couch.

Now it’s time to work on the 8+ other WIPs I have going on before starting anything new.

It’s also time for something special to happen here on Not Your Average Crochet — stay tuned for something exciting!

Thanks for stopping by, see you soon!

books books books!

Guess what I got today in the mail?

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Just published on March 15th, this book has the cutest home decor items:

pie seat cushion

pie seat cushion

birthday cake toilet paper roll cover

birthday cake toilet paper roll cover

donut ottoman/pouf

donut ottoman/pouf

Aren’t they adorable?!?!  Now of course I’m still keeping my New Year’s Resolution not to buy yarn (which makes me want to clap for myself), but I can plan larger projects for the future and maybe do some of the smaller ones with what I have laying around in my stash.  We’ll have to see!

Also, I got this book in the mail yesterday:

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I’m really excited about this, too — already the forward and introduction are speaking to me, so I can’t wait to get to chapter 1!  This was recommended to me by my therapist and I think it’s going to be very useful.

Well, that’s all for today, just wanted to share those with you!  Thanks for stopping by!