Category: Indie Design Gift-a-Long

Posted in Christmas, Indie Design Gift-a-Long, Knit Equals Joy Designs, Knit-a-Long, knitters, knitting, knitting pattern

The Fable of the Whimsy Tree, a New Pattern & Discount, and a Gaggle of Crochet Patterns

Posted on by Carol

Hello, dear knitters! I hope that you are having a lovely holiday season. Christmas will be here before we know it, and I wish you a Christmas Day filled with love, warmth, joy…and maybe even a little knitting time.

I’m so thrilled to announce the publication of the latest Knit Equals Joy pattern, Whimsy Tree.  All the details are further down the page.

But first, my friend Jen has created an adorable Far Northern Woods, populated by elves, snowmen, and a variety of knit trees.  Here’s what happened when a new species of tree was discovered in the Northern Woods:

The Fable of the Whimsy Tree

Tooty elf (the one in yellow behind Joyful elf), fancies himself a dendrologist (when he is not making toys) and was therefore thrilled to discover a new tree species in the far Northern woods 😍. Being the first to see it, he named it after himself…Pinus tooty tooty😁. The other elves who are not serious biologists, found the name quite whimsical 🤣😂 and just refer to it as the Whimsy tree.  (copyright Jennifer Wiatrowski)

Pattern Details:

Use self-striping or speckled yarn, or go with a single color and decorate with buttons, baubles, mini-ornaments and lights. This tree is posable so that you can express your whimsical style.

Diameter: 2.25 in. 5.7 cm at base.
Height: 11 in. 27.9 cm before bending or curling.

Yarn: About 100 yds sock yarn.

Other Materials: 1 stitch marker for beginning of round, tapestry needle, ruler, 12-inch pipe cleaner in coordinating color, small amount of polyester fiberfill. Optional: wooden base, buttons, ornaments, battery-operated lights, and other decorations for your tree; as needed: glue gun or sewing needle and embroidery floss/scrap yarn to attach decorations to your tree.

 

About the Indie Design GAL

I’m still participating in the Indie Design GAL #giftalong2018.  The pattern I’m working on is the Adult Modular Cardigan by Loraine Birchall (Woolly Madly Deeply Designs).  I’m using my all-time favorite colorway EVER, Malabrigo’s Frank Ochre.  It’s a fun knit and it’s working up into a beautifully squishy fabric.

Gaggle of Crochet Patterns:

One of the fun things we as designers got to do was to look through all of the patterns by the other craft.  In my case, the other craft is crochet.  I browsed through many crochet patterns by Participating Designers, and created a group of my favorites.  If you crochet, here are some patterns you might enjoy: Carol’s Fave #giftalong2018 Crochet Patterns.

A huge thank you to Jen for allowing me to share her whimsical story here. It’s so perfect for her Northern Woods that she’s created, and perfect for the Whimsy Tree. I love it.

Here are a few more Whimsy Trees for you to enjoy.   Thanks for spending a few minutes of your day here with me.

by Torunn
by Carla
by Linda
Posted in Indie Design Gift-a-Long, KAL, Knit Equals Joy Designs, Knit-a-Long, knitting patterns

GAL – More Sale Faves

Posted on by Carol

Hi again, dear knitters.  The sale portion of the Indie Design GAL on Ravelry ends Thursday night, November 29th, at 11:59 pm EST.  I wanted to share one more set of patterns that I love, designed by other designers.  These designs appeal to me because of their use of texture, color, and pattern, because of the techniques used, or because of an elegance of style.  Remember to use the coupon code giftalong2018 to save 25% on these patterns. My sale patterns are also on sale with the giftalong2018 coupon code through Thursday night (11/29/18).

Enjoy these wonderful designs!

Shoreline Beanie by Ranee Mueller (Arabian Knits Designs):

Aviatrix Pullover by Denise Voie de Vie:

Sandrine Slouch Hat by Katy H. Carroll (Katinka Designs):

Nancy’s Vest by Carol Sunday:

Iago Waistcoat by Kari-Helene Rane:

Katherine Cardigan by Amanda Scheuzger:

Aotearoa Mitts by Sabine Kastner:

Walter by Allison O’Mahony:

Zart Mittens by Julie Hart:

Woodcutter Mittens by Renee Kies:

Cuddle Me Caterpillar by Doreen Blask:

Pippi Lotta Doll by Irina Ferrer:

Happy knitting!

xoxo

Carol

Posted in Indie Design Gift-a-Long, KAL, Knit-a-Long, knitting patterns, Ravelry

The Indie Design GAL – some of my favorites

Posted on by Carol

Hi everyone!  I’ve been spending some time going through the sale bundles of all 349 participating designers in the Indie Design GAL.  It took quite some time, as I looked at the sale bundle of each one.  If you don’t know about the GAL, it’s a knit-a-long/crochet-a-long on Ravelry. It runs through the end of the year, with games, prizes, and a discount for the first week.

349 designers (including me) are offering from 10-20 of their designs at 25% off until Thursday, November 29 at 11:59 PM EST.

I am one of the participating designers, so you can knit any of my paid patterns (even if you already own said patterns) during the GAL to be eligible for prizes.  I’d love to see your finished projects in the GAL, if you feel so led to make one.

But I digress.  As I said in the first paragraph, I browsed through every single one of the designers’ sale bundles to find my favorites.  To be chosen as a favorite, the pattern had to be one that I’d like to make.  You’ll notice that there are very few socks or shawls included.  While I enjoy making those, I don’t seem to enjoy wearing them so much.  That’s also why there are none of those yet in my portfolio (although I do want to add some shawl patterns eventually).  Click here for my Bundle of Favorite Sales Patterns – GAL 2018. You should be able to view it even if you are not a Ravelry member.  To be clear, these are not my patterns but patterns of some of the other 348 designers.  EDIT: The sale is now over, but the GAL continues through the end of the year.

The two patterns I purchased immediately are these two:

Autumn Oak Leaves by Irina Ferrer (Davydova) – because I love everything Fall!:

Petal Drift by Christelle Nihoul – I have admired this ever since it was published:

I’ll share more favorites throughout the GAL, and if I am able to actually work on something by not-me, I will definitely share here about it.  I hope you will check out the GAL; it might be just the thing to encourage your gift-giving knitting (and crocheting, too)!

 

Posted in Indie Design Gift-a-Long, KAL, Knit-a-Long, knitters, knitting, Ravelry

The Indie Design Gift-a-Long (AKA GAL)!

Posted on by Carol

The Indie Design Gift-a-Long (GAL) starts at 8:00 pm Eastern Time tonight (11/23/18).  The Indie GAL is a Ravelry-wide knit-a-long and crochet-a-long that starts this evening and runs through 11:59 pm (Eastern Time) New Year’s Eve.  This year, nearly 350 designers are participating, which means that they contribute coupon codes for pattern prizes as well as offering 10-20 patterns each at 25% off for the first week of the GAL.

There are TONS of prizes (both electronic prizes and prizes like YARN), games, chat…it’s an all-around fun time and a great inspiration for starting (and maybe completing) holiday gifts (for others, or possibly for yourself).

Designer and podcaster Sarah Schira (AKA Imagined Landscapes, designer of the adorable gnomes that took over the GAL last year) has put together a great video describing the GAL and how it works.  With permission given to all of us to share, I’m sharing it with you.  It’s a very clear and engaging explanation of the GAL.

To Recap:

Sale Dates:  Friday, November 23 at 8:00 pm Eastern Time to Thursday, November 29 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time.  The coupon code is giftalong2018.  Look for the GAL sales bundle on each designer’s page or view and/or search the giant sale bundle in the GAL group.

Find my sale bundle on my designer page, here: Knit Equals Joy Designs.  Bundles are found on the page above the single patterns.

GAL Dates:  Friday, November 23 at 8:00 pm Eastern Time to Monday, December 31 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time.

The GAL group is super-well organized, and has answers to any questions you might have.  I hope you will come check it out!

Posted in GAL2017, Indie Design Gift-a-Long, knit equals joy, Knit Equals Joy Designs, knitters, knitting, knitting resources, Ravelry

Final Day of the Indie Design Gift-A-Long Sale!

Posted on by Carol

Don’t miss out on the Indie Design Gift-A-Long sale on Ravelry!!  The SALE ends tomorrow (Tuesday), November 28, 2017 at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time!  Grab those patterns now at 25% off!!!  Use coupon code giftalong2017.

While the sale ends tomorrow, the Gift-A-Long is just getting started and goes through the end of the year.

Click GAL Sale Bundle to check out ALL the sale patterns – over 5,400 of them!

Find my 20 sale patterns here (click on the picture):

Click on this photo to go to my sale

(My sale bundle and the jumbo GAL sale bundle will disappear shortly after the sale ends.)

One other item of note, you can knit (or crochet) any paid pattern by any of the participating designers during the GAL.  This means that all of my paid patterns are eligible. You can use patterns already in your Ravelry library for the GAL – new purchases are not required!  Check out the gift-a-long here:  Indie Design Gift-A-Long.

Soon I’ll share about the patterns that have caught my eye and new designers I’ve discovered. Stay tuned!

xoxo

Carol

 

Posted in GAL2017, Indie Design Gift-a-Long, knit equals joy, Knit Equals Joy Designs, knitters, knitting, knitting resources, Ravelry

Indie Design Gift-A-Long 2017 is Underway!

Posted on by Carol

As promised, now that the GAL is started, here’s a short post with links to the 311 designers (!!!), the sale patterns, and the prize-eligible patterns. It still blows me away: all the work that went into (and is still going into) organizing the GAL!!!

Designers

Click here for designer list

Sale Patterns

Click GAL Sale Bundle to check out ALL the sale patterns.  Over 5,400 patterns are on sale at 25% off!!!  Use the coupon code giftalong2017.

Be sure to catch the sale before it ends at 11:59 PM EST Tuesday, November 28, 2017!!!

Prize-Eligible Patterns

The GAL Giant Bundle has links to all of the participating designers and to all of their paid patterns.  If you begin and complete one of these designers’ paid patterns during the GAL, you will be eligible for one of the myriad of fun prizes.

Prizes are given away in the different threads throughout the GAL.  These prizes are often given away randomly, to someone who answers a question, or to someone who posts a picture of their work in progress.

Join the Group

In order to win prizes during the Gift-A-Long, you do need to join the Ravelry Indie Design Gift-A-Long Group.  This link will take you there: https://www.ravelry.com/groups/indie-design-gift-a-long.

That’s all there is to it!  I hope you’ll check it out if it sounds like fun to you!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that your upcoming holidays are filled with love and joy!

xoxo

Carol

Posted in GAL2017, Indie Design Gift-a-Long, Knit Equals Joy Designs, knitters, knitting, knitting patterns

The Fifth Annual Gift-A-Long! Nov. 21 (8 PM EST) through Dec. 31 (11:59 PM EST), 2017 #GAL2017

Posted on by Carol

Dear Knitting and Crocheting Friends,

Once again it is time for the Indie Design Gift-A-Long on Ravelry!  This is a six-week knitalong and crochetalong intended to encourage us all to get our holiday crafting done. It starts this Tuesday and finishes with a huge bang on New Year’s Eve!

The Indie GAL is organized by an amazing group of people who have already been doing a lot of work gathering designers (more than 300 of us!), organizing the creation of over 1800 prize codes for free patterns, collecting physical prizes, planning games, categorizing, and on and on!  There will be maps, fun stats (which states and countries are the finished objects coming in from?), lots of chatter and encouragement, and the SALE!!!

The Sale: 25% Off All GAL Sale Patterns

Tues. Nov. 21 at 8:00 PM (EST) through Tues. Nov. 28 at 11:59 PM (EST)

Discount Code: giftalong2017

Each participating designer has selected 10-20 patterns that will be offered at 25% off during the sale period. You will find each designer’s sale patterns in a special bundle on his or her designer page.  I’m not sure exactly what it will look like, but there will also be a jumbo bundle of all of the GAL sale patterns.

My bundle is here: Gift-A-Long Bundle 2017. Although you can view the bundle now, the coupon code will not work until Tuesday, November 21st at 8:00 PM EST.  Be sure to use the coupon code during the week of the sale. Also of note – you can use it on as many GAL sale patterns as your heart desires!

These and ten more of my patterns are on sale during the GAL sale period

Prize-Eligible Patterns

All of a designer’s paid (not free) patterns are prize-eligible.  That means that if you complete one of a designer’s paid patterns (whether is was part of the sale or  not) and post your finished object picture in the related finished object thread, you are then eligible to win prizes.

Other Fun

Throughout the GAL, moderators and admins will offer random prizes just for fun. There will be fun games – again, with prizes. Did I mention fun?!?

Other Thoughts

If you’d like a little encouragement as you knit gifts for Christmas and for other holiday festivities, the GAL is really a great place to find it. If you’d like to make something for yourself, no one is going to mind whatsoever! I’m looking forward to using the time to make something designed by someone else.  I’m not sure yet what type of item I’d like to make, and I’m looking forward to looking through other designers’ bundles or the mega-bundle to find just the thing. I’ll be sharing here, on Instagram, and on the Knit Equals Joy Facebook page about the patterns that catch my eye.

I hope you’ll join us!!!

xoxo

Carol

Knit Equals Joy

Posted in giftalong2016, Indie Design Gift-a-Long, knitters, knitting, knitting patterns

So I Went Pattern Shopping the Other Day…

Posted on by Carol

As you know, I’ve been participating as a designer in this year’s Indie Design GAL. Previous posts, here and here. Last year during the GAL, I was madly working on getting The Wayfarer Hat ready for publishing. This year, however, there’s a bit of a lull, and I might actually be able to knit someone else’s pattern.

So…a few days ago I went pattern shopping…just in case! And here’s what I found…

Spate by Jane Richmond. I love the cables on these mitts, as well as the length of the mitts and the folded top cuff. Beautiful! It’s knit in worsted weight on size 7 and 8 needles, so it should be a quick knit. The samples are shown in Sincere Sheep Bannock, which is 100% Targhee wool.  I loooooove Targhee! It is sproingy and it’s perfect for texture!

spate-by-jane-richmond-640x427
© Nicholas Kupiak

Skógar Mitts by Christelle Nihoul. This pattern is from the Colors of Iceland Collection. It’s shown knit here in a yarn called (Vi)Laines Précieuses, a fingering weight that is 70% Wool, 20% Silk, 10% Cashmere goat.  This length of mitt always appeals to me, and I love the button detail. This color of green has been making me swoon recently.

skogar-mitts-900x601
© Christal LK

The Ghost Ranch Cowl by Jessie Ksanznak caught my eye by the way that it mimics woven material through the use of slipped stitches. It could be a lovely addition to my wardrobe.

ghost-ranch-cowl-640x480
© yarnovernewyork

Julia Trice’s Yukiya Pullover has been in my Ravelry favorites for a long time. I love its fluid lines and use of color.  It’s so flattering! The yarn it is shown in here is Shalimar Yarns Paulie (60% Merino, 20% Camel, 10% Silk, 10% Cashmere). Wouldn’t that be lovely against the skin? I really, really want to find the time to make this!!!

yukiya-pullover-334x500
© mindofwinter

Next into my cart went Bogvine by Miranda Grant. Again, there is that wonderful mitt length. This yarn is Cephalopod Traveller (100% Merino DK) in the colorway Bog of Eternal Stench (!). The colorway is perfect for the mitts. And I love the way the mitts are staged…also perfect for the piece.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
© Miranda Grant

My final pattern purchase of the group was Demeter Tank by Ashwini Jambhekar. I have long admired Ashwini’s designs. This is worked in a fingering weight 100% Merino on size 2 and 3 needles. This would be a lovely addition to my work wardrobe, and those cables and eyelet leaves would be a great deal of fun to work. This is definitely in my queue!

demeter-tank-by-ashwini-jambhekar-348x500
© Ashwini Jambhekar

So, yeah, I went shopping! Lots of hours of fun and satisfying knitting here, with beautiful results. The 17,000+ patterns that are available for the GAL can be found here. Remember, the GAL goes through the end of the year and there are lots of great prizes. Enjoy!

xoxo

knit equals joy

~all participating GAL designers have given permission for their photos to be shared on social media.

Posted in giftalong2016, Indie Design Gift-a-Long, knitters, knitting

Indie Design GAL – Sale Thru 11/30!

Posted on by Carol

The Indie Design GAL on Ravelry is continuing in full force.  If you missed my last post, I wrote all about the Gift-A-Long here.

The most important piece of information right now is that the 25% discount on each designer’s discounted bundle of patterns goes through this Wednesday, November 30th, at 11:59 pm (EST). The coupon code is giftalong2016. So be sure to take advantage of this special offer before it’s gone! My sale bundle is here.

If you are up for a challenge, you might be interested in Taming the Opadoo. The Opadoo is the 8-armed Gift-A-Long challenge, in which one completes at least one project in each of the eight GAL categories. Sounds like fun!

Additional ongoing fun activities during the GAL include these two threads: Designers Alphabet Soup and Designer Hunt Game. Both of the games allow you to get to know the indie designers better – and each winner receives a coupon code for a free pattern.

As of this writing, 247 projects are posted in the finished object thread. It’s a great place to look if you want inspiration for your next project. Designers hail from 32 countries, and GAL group members, from 66 countries. If you enjoy stats, here is a thread full of them.

That’s most of the new news about the GAL! More to come later!

picmonkey-collage8

xoxo

knit equals joy