"It's My Birthday!" Giveaway Prize!

I am having an "It's My Birthday!" Giveaway and I wanted to have a super awesome prize! On January 21st '15 I will click on over to Random.org and I will put in the entries from everyone who has sent me a picture of their completed Carmen the Caterpillar! 

Not sure what I'm talking about?? Click over to read about all the details in my previous blog post!

So without further delay... here is the prize that is up for grabs!

What all is included?!

1 Red Heart Super Saver in Amethyst

1 Red Heart Soft Touch in Turquoise

1 Red Heart Foxy in Hot Pink

1 Bernat Pipsqueak in Funny Bunny

1 Bernat Handcrafter Cotton in Lava Lamp

1 Yarn Bee Snowflake Wool Blend in Florida 

1 6.00mm / US 10 - 75cm/29" Bamboo Circular Knitting Needles

1 10.00mm / N-15US Red Heart Crystalites Crochet Hook

2 Wood 1 inch Buttons

2 25mm 1 inch Buttons

& 4 Kinder Chocolates!

A nice little variety?! I can't wait to see who will win it all on January 21st! Good luck to all who enter!

Check out my Facebook page to see what other projects I am working on too!

It's My Birthday Giveaway!

My birthday is coming up in a week and a few days! I will be enjoying my 3rd 29th birthday and I wanna celebrate with an awesome giveaway! 

So, here's the scoop! 

The Giveaway

Everyone that makes a "Carmen the Caterpillar" between January 12th and January 21st and sends me a picture of your completed pretty lil bug will have your name entered in to win a prize pack which will include some super, awesome, yarny goodness!!!

Entries will be accepted unil 8pm PST Jan 21st and the WINNER will be drawn shortly after 8 PM PST Jan 21!!

Get the Pattern

If you don't already own it, you can purchase your copy here: Carmen the Caterpillar

How To Enter

You MUST send a picture of your completed project to my email: foreverstitchin@yahoo.ca
Include your name and any details about your project that you would like to share as well as your picture ;) 

If you do not send your picture to my email, your entry will not be counted so please make sure you send it to my email! It would be super mega awesome if you would also add your picture to a project linked to my pattern on Ravelry! 
Not necessary to be entered but would be REALLY appreciated!!

** By sending your picture to my email, you are giving me permission to share your picture on my Facebook page and in my blog - you MUST have full rights and permissions to use and share any image that you send to me. They MUST be your own photography.

Extra Entry Info

I would LOVE to see multiple Caterpillars BUT only 1 entry per person will be counted!!! 

Time Frame

You can start any time! The winner will be drawn using Random.org on January 21st and notified through the email in which you sent your entry to me. The winner will have 48 hours to respond with the appropriate information which I will ask for in the confirmation email. If the winner does not reply within 48 hours another winner will be drawn.

Other Details

Unfortunately due to shipping costs, this giveaway is ONLY open to residents of Canada and the USA.

If you have any questions please feel free to email me @ foreverstitchin@yahoo.ca or you can find me on my Forever Stitchin Facebook page! I will update throughout the next week!

*** EDITED TO ADD: Link to Post with the PRIZE!

The Pattern Pack *Special Offer*

Did you sign up for your issue of February's Pattern Pack?? There's still some time left to get your subscription for 50% off! That's 5 premium patterns for under $5! Just use the coupon code 48HOURBONUS at checkout get half off your first pack!

Get your Pattern Pack subscription here: http://members.thepatternpack.com/dap/a/?a=357

In case you missed the amazing news! My Roxie the Raccoon pattern will be included in February's issue of The Pattern Pack and I do not want you to miss out so I asked and they are giving away this exclusive deal to my friends! The deal ends soon so get yours now!

Check out my Forever Stitchin Facebook page to see what other projects I am working on now too!

Mini-Stash-Buster Project!

Carmen the Caterpillar is one of my newest patterns! She is the PERFECT mini-stash-buster project! She is versatile with so many color combo's and so easily adaptable to make her longer!

Use reds and pinks to turn her into a Valentine's caterpillar!

Use purples, blues and greens to make her an Easter caterpillar!

Use bright pinks, yellows and blues to have her ready for summer time!

Use oranges, black and purples and give her a mask to turn her into a Halloween caterpillar!

Use reds, green, silver and white with a lil Santa hat and make her the best Christmas decoration!

Use textured yarn to give her unique and fun looks and make her a diva caterpillar!

The possibilities are endless! If you have a bunch of different colored yarn that is 'too much to toss out' or 'not enough to do anything big with' you have the right amount of yarn to make body parts for this sweet lil caterpillar! 

I would LOVE to see your Carmen the Caterpillar projects! You can fave, queue and purchase this Carmen the Caterpillar pattern in my Ravelry store right now by CLICKING HERE!!! 

I would love if you would share pictures of your completed caterpillar on my Facebook page and stop by to see what other projects I am working on now too!!

Exciting Announcement & Special Offer!!

Exciting announcement & special offer!!

I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to network with The Pattern Pack!

My very own Roxie the Raccoon crochet pattern will be featured in the February issue of The Pattern Pack! I am so excited for this opportunity!

Do you like new, premium patterns from top-named designers?

If so, then you’ll love The Pattern Pack. Each month they send you 6 brand-new, premium patterns. I’m really excited to share this with you! Each of their patterns would normally sell for $5 each ($30 total value), but their packs are less than $10. Crazy right?

But that’s not why I’m excited. 

I reached out to the Pattern Pack team and asked if they could do something special for my readers…Well the answer was yes, and it was WAY more than I expected. 

Here’s The Deal

If you sign up for The Pattern Pack in the next 48-hours, you’ll get 50% off your first pack.All you have to do is enter the coupon code: 48HOURBONUS at checkout. 

Take advantage here: http://members.thepatternpack.com/dap/a/?a=357

This is an amazing deal.  5 new patterns for less than $5… You don’t want to miss out on this one!!

Baby Owl pattern

These lil cuties work up SUPER fast and are so adorable! 

Customizable in so many ways they're the perfect extra touch!

Baby Owl

Materials:
White yarn for the eyes & Orange yarn for the beak.
2+ colors of yarn of your choice for the body.
2 post eyes, 2 buttons or Black yarn for the eyes.
I/5.50mm crochet hook
Scissors, tapestry needle & stitch marker.
*Worked in the round *Place stitch marker at the beginning of each round.

Body

With 1st Color Chain 2
1- 6 sc in 2nd chain from hook [6]
2- [2 sc in each st] around [12]
3- [2 sc in next st, 1 sc in next st] around [18]
4- [2 sc in next st, 1 sc in next 2 st] around [24]
5- [2 sc in next st, 1 sc in next 3 st] around [30]
6-11- sc around [30]
Fasten off 1st Color and change to 2nd Color
12-16- sc around [30]
Fasten off and stuff the body.
With your tapestry needle, flatten Round 16 in half and sew it together to create 2 pointed ends on the top. Cut 2-4 pieces of both the 1st and 2nd colors and sew them onto the top of each pointed end.

Eyes x2 if you are using post eyes or buttons

With White Chain 2
1- 6 sc in 2nd chain from hook [6]
2- 2 sc in each st around [12]
Fasten off.
Attach post eyes or sew on buttons and then use your tapestry needle to sew the eyes onto the front of the body with 1 in between the eyes.

Eyes x2 if you are using Black & White yarn

With Black Chain 2
1- 6 sc in 2nd chain from hook [6]
Fasten off Black and change color to White
2- 2 sc in each st around [12]
Fasten off and then use your tapestry needle to sew the eyes onto the front of the body with 1 stitch space in between the eyes.

Beak

With Orange, using your tapestry needle, sew 8-10 loops in between the eyes to create the beak.

Choose as many colors as you would like to create the body, use Fun Fur to give your baby Owl eye lashes or use felt to give your baby owl custom special features! You can add extra increase rounds to make a fatter owl and add extra rows to the body to make a taller owl - this pattern will work up to approx 3.5-4 inches tall.

Add this "Baby Owl" pattern to your Ravelry library and download for free!

Check out my Facebook page; Forever Stitchin to see what other projects I am working on 

and to share your completed projects!

Red Heart "Reflective" Yarn Review!

Red Heart "Reflective" Yarn Review!

Continuing with the reviews of the yarns I received from Red Heart Yarn, next is the incredibly awesome "Reflective" yarn! I loved making this hat so much I decided to go out right away and buy another color so I could make a matching hat! 

The yarn is super soft, works up easy peasy like any other yarn and it has the extra awesomeness of having a reflective strip!!

Without the flash, it looks like green:

But then when you flash light on it.. booya! It is reflective!

This yarn is going to be amazing for adding an extra 'protective' layer to keeping yourself and your kids safe in the cold, dark winter months! When it's dark at 4pm, knowing that my kids will be wearing this reflective yarn on their noodles is great so that while we're out enjoying the sledding or going for a walk with the dog - all of the cars going by will definitely be able to see them, just a little bit better, than without it!

For the hat shown, I used left over worsted weight charcoal yarn that I had in my odds and ends bin to go with the Reflective yarn! I didn't really use a pattern, I just did double crochet increase rounds to make it child sized, switched over to Reflective yarn for the sides of the hat and then I did a couple FPDC & BPDC rounds with worsted weight to finish it off! 

Be sure to check out Red Heart Yarns website and your local retail stores to find this and other Red Heart products! Watch this space for my next reviews of the other products I received and check out my Facebook page; Forever Stitchin to see what other projects I am working on!

New Release Sale! - Christmas Collection

*NEW RELEASE SALE*

Forever Stitchin Ravelry Store

Forever Stitchin Christmas Collection e-book is available now!

Purchase the e-book any time and get 20% off all 5 patterns!

Check out my Facebook page; Forever Stitchin to see what other projects I am working on!

Red Heart "Heads Up" Yarn Review!

Red Heart "Heads Up" Yarn Review!

I can't get this yarn locally, yet (hopefully soon), so it was really great to get to try it out! To start, the feeling of the yarn is just plain amazing! I wanted to snuggle right into it and totally petted it as I was searching for patterns lol I ended up not being able to find a pattern I wanted to make using it so I just 'wung it' and made up my own hat with it!

This is the 'general' pattern I used for the hat shown in the picture below!
Using a size 6.5mm hook:
Chain 60, sl st to join making sure you don't twist.
Round 1 - ch 1, hdc around, sl st to join 
Round 2-5 - ch 2, alternate fpdc and dc sts around, sl st to join
[for Round 2, fpdc & dc in the 2 back loops of the hdc to leave 1 loop on the outside]
Round 6 - ch 1, hdc around, sl st to join
Round 7-8 - ch 2, dc around, sl st to join
[for Round 7, dc in the 2 back loops of the hdc to leave 1 loop on the outside]
Round 9-16- I started with ch 2, [dc in 6 st, dc2tog around], sl st to join and then decreased equally in each round afterwards until I couldn't decrease any more then I used my tapestry needle to fasten off.
I made a cute lil flower to finish it off!

I was able to make this hat in about 2 hours and I still have about a yard of it left over. The color is so vibrant and the softness is really luscious! It's not a 'cloud' soft though like baby yarn, it's more like a memory foam soft and I think that makes it perfect for cold weather items!

I would absolutely use this yarn again and again! Be sure to check out Red Heart Yarns website and your local retail stores to find this and other Red Heart products! Watch this space for my next reviews of the other products I received and check out my Facebook page; Forever Stitchin to see what other projects I am working on!

How To Make "Olaf" inspired Snowman Hat

"Olaf" Inspired Snowman Hat

I've had a few people ask me if I have the pattern I used to make my "Olaf" Snowman hat and unfortunately I don't! BUT I do have this blog space, so I made a quick guide for how I made him!

First - start with whatever standard beanie pattern you love to use to create the base in whatever size hat you want to make! Here's a couple of great freebies on Ravelry:
Charmed By Ewe - HDC Beanie: Newborn to Large Adult
Busy Mom Designs - Basic DC Beanie: Premie to Adult 

Once you have your base beanie portion done, use stitch markers to create ear flaps - I generally use between 15-20 stitches in the front and 8-10 stitches for each ear flap. Measuring the head you're putting it on is helpful but if you don't have that option use your better judgement about placement!

Tooth

Find the middle of the front of the hat and mark off 5-8 stitches (size of tooth will depend on the size of the hat) - attach White to the 1st marked off stitch, sc to the other marker, [turn, ch 1, sc across] x 2-3 (depending on the size of the hat). Fasten off.

Once I have the ear flaps and tooth made, I do 1 round of single crochet all the way around the hat, tooth and ear flaps to give it a finished look.

Braids

With Brown, cut 18 equal lengths approx. 30 inches long. Separate them into 6 groups of 3 strands. Attach 3 groups to the bottom of each ear flap, braid them tightly and fasten them off at the bottom with a knot - make sure they're the same length and trim the ends!

Eyes x 2

NOTE: Repeat each round of instruction until you reach the (#) for each round.
With Black, Chain 2
1- 6 sc in the 2nd ch from hook (6)
Fasten off Black and change color to White

2- 2 sc in each st around (12)

3- 2 sc in next st, 1 sc in next st (18)

Fasten off White and change color to Grey

4- 2 sc in next st, 1 sc in next 2 st (24)

Fasten off and attach them to the front of the hat.

Nose

NOTE: Repeat each round of instruction until you reach the (#) for each round.

With Orange, Chain 2

1- 6 sc in the 2nd ch from hook (6)

2- sc around (6)

3- 2 sc in next st, 1 sc in next st (9)

4- sc around (9)

5- 2 sc in next st, 1 sc in next 2 st (12)

6-8- sc around (12)

9- sc2tog, 1 sc in next 2 st (9)

10- sc around (9)

Fasten off, stuff and attach to the front middle of the hat.

Mouth

With Black, attach to the hat and sc along the front of the hat to create a smile. Use your tapestry needle to give him the cheeky look by sewing 2 strands at the end of each side of his mouth.

Eyebrows

With Brown, attach to the hat above the eyes and do 6-7 sc along to give him 2 eyebrows.

Hair

The hair is worked all in 1 piece with slip stitches onto the hat to secure it in place.
With Brown, attach to the top of the hat and ch 9.
Turn, ch 1, sc across - sl st to attach to the top of the hat.
Chain 15, turn, ch 1, sc back down towards the hat.
Sl st to the next st over on the top of the hat.
Chain 9, turn, ch 1, sc back down towards the hat.
Fasten off and weave the ends in to secure the hair onto the top of the hat.

That should have your "Olaf" inspired Snowman hat complete!

Please feel free to share your completed hats with me on my Facebook page: Forever Stitchin