Cowtown Knits

It’s Gift-A-Long Time Again

November 19, 2015Leave a comment

For those of us involved in the inner workings of the Indie Design GiftALong, the excitement has been building for months. There’s a lot of work that goes into putting on the big show so for us it’s been a slow but steady buildup.

But, for the participants, now is the time to start getting excited! It’s time! Starting tonight, specifically at 8:00 pm EST November 19th, the sale begins and the crafting gets underway. The knitty-gritty of it is thus:

Infographic created by Kimberly Golynskiy

There are 335 participating Independent Designers, who offer knit and crochet patterns. They have selected 5-20 of their self-published patterns to offer at 25% with the coupon code giftalong2015. This sale will run from November 19th at 8pm EST until November 27th at 11:59pm EST. To find out which designers are participating and which of their patterns are on sale, check out this Ravelry thread. Clicking on the designer’s name in their post will take you to their Ravelry store, and further clicking on their GiftALong bundle will take you to their collection of sale items.

The next part of the fun is the actual GiftALong. Join the Indie Design Giftalong Group and join in the chat and crafting in any of the categories with any pattern from a participating designer. There will be lots of games and prizes given out, and anyone working on a not-free pattern from one of the participating designers will be eligible to win. This part of the GAL will run until December 31st at 11:59 pm.

So, if this sounds fun and interesting, as it should, head on over to the group on Ravelry and read the more comprehensive explanation and rules and join the fun! I will be posting more about the GAL and some of the talented participating designers over the next weeks, so stay tuned for more!

Introducing the Mount Rundle Mittens

September 14, 2015Leave a comment

Hello! Long time, no see! And boy, has life been happening since I last posted. Most of the radio silence of late was a result of a move to a new continent. My husband’s office in Calgary was closed down, and he was lucky to get an offer to transfer to the office in London. Three months later, here we are.

In order to focus on the logistics of moving a whole family across an ocean, I put designing aside until we got here. I gotta tell ya, that was not easy! Ideas were festering in my brain and I so itched to get at my yarn and spreadsheets. But there was so much else going on, I knew it had to wait.

Luckily, I had a pattern that had been completed back in June that was waiting for the right season for publishing. As the days have started getting shorter and colder here, I’m feeling confident that now is the time. So, I present the Mount Rundle Mittens.

These mittens were originally designed for an event at The Loop, my local yarn store in Calgary. They had a Craft Cruise coming through and wanted some patterns and yarns from local artists and I was fortunate that they asked me. These mittens are my homage to the tall mountains and sunny skies of Alberta.

The original sample was knit in my own hand-dyed yarn. I loved how it looked in the navy blue and silver. But, when moving, I decided that the yarn-dyeing operation was best left on hold. Then I was left not wanting to have a pattern only suggesting a yarn that wasn’t commercially available. So, I picked up some incredible Mrs. Crosby Trunk Case from The Salty Sheep while on vacation in Swansboro, NC. The new sample is knit up in Hollywood Cerise and African Grey – both stunning colours with such depth and subtle variation.

The pattern is now available for purchase on Ravelry and Love Knitting. I hope you like it, happy knitting!

Introducing the Fundy Tides Collection

March 20, 2015Leave a comment

Along with the release of Ribbon Weed, I’ve also published the first installment of the Fundy Tides Collection.

This collection features cable patterns that remind me of the shapes of the sea weeds and you’ll find variations of them on each of the pieces. The Ribbon Weed throw has large cables knit in super-bulky yarn for a dramatic effect. The cables on the Sea Oak pillow are more understated, while the Dulse pillow is a celebration of cables.

All of these patterns will be available individually or together as part of an e-book. The patterns will be priced at $5 USD each.

The e-book will ultimately be priced at $10.50 USD, a savings of $4.50 over buying the patterns individually.

But the book will be available at a lower price while it is not yet full. Each time a pattern is added, the price will go up. The introductory price, available when it only contains the throw pattern, will be $6. Once the 2nd pattern is added, the price will go up to $8. When the final pattern is added the price will be the full $10.50.

Each time a new pattern is released, the e-book will be updated with the new pattern. Customers who have already purchased the book will receive an email notifying them that the book has been updated.

So, my advice is to get it while it’s hot! Click the Buy Now button below while the book is available for the lowest price.

Introducing Ribbon Weed

March 20, 20154 Comments

Not only have I chosen my favourite set of names from the naming contest, I’m ready to announce the publication of the first pattern from the collection.

Without further ado, let me introduce you to Ribbon Weed, a super-bulky cabled throw.

You will be able to whip up this cabled throw in no time! The Cascade Magnum produces a luxurious and stylish fabric that is super cozy to snuggle under.

The throw features large double-seed-stitch-filled cables nestled in reverse stockinette stitch and a garter stitch border.

The pattern is available for purchase individually or as part of the Fundy Tides Collection, which will also include two pillow patterns. You can find more information about the collection here.

Once again, thanks go out to Eleanor Dixon for technical editing. And this time a huge thank you goes out to my mom, Pat Bostwick, for test knitting, proof reading, and coming up with the great names for the collection.

Naming Contest!

March 5, 20152 Comments

I am excited to let you all know that I’m going to be releasing a new pattern soon! It will be the first in a three-pattern collection centered around a cable motif. The first pattern will be for a throw that’s worked up in gorgeous super-bulky Cascade Magnum. The other two will be pillow covers made with Cascade 220 Superwash. I’m so thrilled with how the first sample came out and am excited to be working on the others.

Here’s my problem: I have absolutely no idea what to name the patterns or the collection. I sat in front of the computer last night for an hour and still came up with nothing but ridiculousness. Seriously, I had convinced myself to name the collection Charles Cable III – with the throw being called Chuck and the pillows Chaz and Charlie. I really need some help.

Here’s my solution: I’m going get someone else to do the naming.

Here’s what you need to do: If you’re a Ravelry member, head on over to the contest thread, read the details, respond to the post with your awesome suggestions. If you’re not a Ravelry member and would like to participate, you can do so by responding to this post.

Here’s what I’m looking for: 4 names – one for the whole collection, one for the throw, one each for the pillow covers.

Here’s what you’ll get: I’ll be picking 2 winners – 1 for the best set of names, 1 randomly chosen from all the entries. Both winners will receive the entire collection when it is released.

And now for some details to get your creative juices flowing:

The colourway for the throw is called Birch, and the colourway for the pillows is called Pacific.

Here’s a picture of the throw:

So hit me with your best suggestions! Can’t wait to see what you all come up with!