From 80skeins‘s lovely stat’s page, you’ll see GAL 2015 has 15,915+ KAL/ CAL thread eligible patterns! Of which, 5,065 patterns are part of the initial gift-a-long kick off sale!All patterns by all participating designers (over 15,000) are eligible for the KAL/CALs and all for sale (not free) patterns by participating designers are eligible to win prizes. So how’s a KAL/CAL-er supposed to find the patterns that they love best? This blog walks you through a few of the options: The Participating Designer’s Thread This resource was addressed in a previous blog, but to recap, each of our 335 designers are listed in this thread with a preview image of some of the delights from their shop. Scroll through and find one …
#GAL2015 Tour: KAL/ CAL Threads
Welcome back to the Indie Design Gift-a-long virtual tour! Today we’re exploring the KAL/ CAL Threads. We have 8 KAL/CAL Threads this year: GAL2015 KAL/ CAL Cowls, Scarves, & Other Neck ThingsGAL2015 KAL/ CAL Foot & Leg ThingsGAL2015 KAL/ CAL Hat & Other Head ThingsGAL2015 KAL/ CAL Hand & Arm ThingsGAL2015 KAL/ CAL Kids & Baby Things (except toys)GAL2015 KAL/ CAL Shawls & StolesGAL2015 KAL/ CAL Sweaters & Other GarmentsGAL2015 KAL/ CAL Toys, Home, & Other Miscellaneous Things What happens in the KAL/ CAL Threads:The KAL/ CAL Threads are where the crafting fun happens! Once you’ve picked a category, jump in and say what you are planning on making. For instance, I jumped into the GAL2015 KAL/CAL Cowls, Scarves, & …
#GAL2015 Tour: The Designers
Over the next few days I’ll be taking you on a virtual tour of #giftalong2015! To begin, let’s start with the incredible 335 independent designers who signed up for the event this year. The Participating Designer ThreadGrab a peppermint mocha latte, sit back and enjoy scrolling through the 14 pages of stunning beauty. Each designer created a stunning collage highlighting some of their favorite gift-able patterns, so it is a fiber feast for the eyes to be sure! When you happen upon one that makes your heart sign, simply click on the hyperlinked designer name in the post to be redirected to their shop page. So let’s breakdown one that I caught my eye, the homey warmth pictured in post number …
It’s Almost Time!
Yes, I know I’ve been as quiet as a church mouse lately, but for good reason. The third annual Indie Design Gift-a-long begins in just 2 days! What is Gift-A-Long? It’s a multi-designer promotion to help you kick your holiday gift-making into high gear! The Indie Design Gift-A-Long is a 6 week long KAL/CAL of holiday gifts made from patterns designed by a rather extensive list of independent designers. This year we have 335 participating indie designers! Starting this Thursday, November 19th at 8:00 pm US EST – Friday, November 27, 2015 at 11:59 pm US EST our 2015 indie designers will be discounting between 5 – 20 of their patterns 25% for this event. Once you’ve got your Gift-A-Long patterns, we encourage you …
Magical Knitting in Photoshop
At then end of the 2 month post-flood apocalypse, I discovered I was even more behind schedule than I realized. I determined I MUST.KNIT.FASTER, but how does one actually accomplish this when stitching pace is set at snail slow? Through Photoshop, of course! The pattern was almost set for test knitting, but I needed an image to go with the pattern for testing. Since I was so close, but not there yet, I turned to Photoshop to “knit” the final sleeve. In just 2 hours I had a week’s worth of knitting done! Remeber, I did confess I knit at the pace of a snail. This is how I did it:Step 1 – I wrangled dad into take a picture …
Introducing the Hand
Perhaps you’ve notice a slight alteration to the Knit Eco Chic logo on some sites. After much thought and analysis of the fibers I use and my philosophical principles of eco fibers, I’m proud to introduce “The Hand” to the Knit Eco Chic logo. The hand represents the eco issues of socially responsible yarn as well as hand dyed yarn. I’ve been drawn to the positive eco issues of socially responsible yarn since inception, such as those seen in Americo Originals, Mirasol, and Blue Sky Alpacas. By looking over my pattern catalogue and recent releases, I realized that hand dyed yarn is of growing importance to me. Beautifully hand dyed yarns like that from The Unique Sheep and Three Irish …
Shawl Pin Shawl Style Guide
With the Shawl Pin Shawl MKAL coming to an end, it’s time for the final blog in the event series, the style blog. The versatility of the design results both from the unique shape as well as the simplicity of the stitch work. Intended as an artistic canvas to highlight your favorite shawl pin accessories, there are several ways to wear this design. Here are just a few of my favorites. Scarf Meets Pin StylesWrapped around your neck like a scarf, the “Scarf Meets Pin” style highlights the pin while the shawl keeps your neck warm! Whether a long stick pin, like Bonnie Bishoff’s Dash pin, on an equilateral or perpendicular angle or a broche style pin, like JUL Designs’ …
With Ruffle Bumpkin Knit Eco Chic Baby Is Born
It all started in February 2014 with a designer’s call and subsequent stash diving. With a history of designing and hand knitting baby items for finished item sale, I had yet to publish a pattern in the “baby” category. But then I saw Storey’s call for 101 One Skein Wonders for Babies and couldn’t resist any longer. A gem of a discovery awaiting in my stash – a single unused skein of Classic Elite Yarns Seedling that I’d picked up at Mary’s Yarn (sadly now closed) in my home town of Unionville, Ontario. What could be more appropriate than designing my first “for sale” baby pattern than designing it with yarn purchased from my own birthplace! For design inspiration, the little …
Hunter Game Review
Curious about the clues from the Shawl Pin Shawl MKAL hunter game? Here’s your chance to take a stab at them and get a sneak peek preview of the Shawl Pin Shawl MKAL’s exclusive FO prize! We had 3 amazing prize donors for the Hunter Game for this MKAL: Black Mountain Yarn Shop JUL Designs Bonnie Bishoff Shawl Pins Each donor became a clue in the game as well as participated in an interview! The rules were simple: clues (some visual and some textual) will be posted at random during the duration of the MKAL. After the clue is posted you have 48 hours to post the correct answer. All correct posts will be entered into a random draw for …
Pin Profile: JULDesigns
From anthropologist to creator of knitting accessory hardware and more, Laura’s journey has held close the concepts of family, art, culture, and history. Learn more about the woman and as well as the company in today’s Shawl Pin Shawl MKAL interview with Laura of JULDesigns! 1. I see strong reptilian and Chinese influences in your shawl pin designs, while your sticks feature more flora and fauna inspirations. Where do you find inspiration for your knitting accessories and how do you turn those inspirations into a finished piece of art?I was trained as an anthropologist and did the fieldwork for my PhD in Indonesia, looking at ideas about cosmology, that is the relationship between humans and the universe. This is really …