Archive for the ‘Giveaway’ Category

Today I'm excited to be participating in the blog tour for a fabulous new release from Interweave Press: The Crafter's Guide to Taking Great Photos by Heidi Adnum. Giveaway details are below, but I'd love to tell you a bit about this book first...

This book is TERRIFIC. I took it home with me this weekend and almost as soon as I started to read it, I was wishing that I qualified for my own giveaways. I've struggled to take interesting photos of my just-cast-off socks, but with this book, I think the struggles will be over!

Whether you take photos of your handmade items to sell on Etsy, to show off on your blog or to feature in your portfolio, you're sure to find this book comes in handy. It starts with the basics – how to use light, what those mysterious terms like "aperture" and "exposure" mean, and how to choose a camera. I've read about this stuff again and again, but with this book it finally clicked!

From there, you'll learn about how to tell a story with a photograph, and then read tips and techniques broken down by product or craft (accessories, knitting, etc.) The chapters cover planning and set-up, composition and common problems – everything you need to know to help you set up a successful craft photo shoot. At the end, you'll read all about post-production, photo editing, and business advice.

There's also a practitioner spotlight for each craft– an interview with a photographer who is a superstar at taking great shots of his or her crafts. I loved these and noticed many of my favourite crafters and crafts were featured. Paging through this book was like reading a Who's Who of craft photography.

Of course, the photographs are fantastic, and the book is as gorgeous as it is informative. (Click through to take a peek inside the book.)

For your chance to win, leave ONE comment telling us your greatest challenge when it comes to taking great photos of your Finished Objects.  The contest is open to Canadian residents only. Contest will run until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, February 12, 2012; I'll post a winner here on Monday, February 13. Good luck!

(Want to read more about the book? Visit some of the other stops on the blog tour, below. You'll find other giveaways, as well as posts by featured crafters and photographers.)

Thanks so much to everyone who entered for a chance to win the copy of Kate Atherley's new book, Beyond Knit & Purl.

It's great to see such a response and always inspiring to see the ways you want to challenge yourselves (and your knitting!). The winner is:

Congratulations, Michele, I'll be in touch shortly! And stay tuned, because there's another giveaway coming right up.

This week we're giving away a copy of Beyond Knit and Purl, a new book by Kate Atherley. You might recognize her as the designer of the Crest of the Wave scarf from our November issue, or maybe you've been lucky enough to take a class from her. I asked her to tell us a bit about the book...take it away, Kate!

Beyond Knit and Purl is the book that takes you from being confident about knitting to being a confident knitter.

I've been teaching knitting for 10 years, and I’ve found that there's a hole in the knitting literature. We teach you how to hold your yarn and needles, we show you how to knit and purl, and then we send you into a yarn shop and expect you to be able to choose a pattern and yarn and successfully knit it.

My book helps you cross this gap: you'll learn how to choose a pattern and read it, with tips on making sure the pattern will be appropriate to your skill level. I talk about how to find an appropriate yarn, how and why to swatch (and when not to).  I demystify the language used in patterns, and charts. I clearly explain what skills are needed for different types of projects and what the appropriate next steps are for newer knitters.

You'll also find lessons on specific techniques, such as increasing and decreasing, working in the round, socks, cables, lace and colourwork. These lessons explain key facts with lots of helpful photos and diagrams, and provide projects so you can practice.

(Great news: Kate offered to share one of these projects with us. I'll be posting her directions for a cabled cup cosy tomorrow!)

For your chance to win, leave ONE comment telling us which knitting technique you'd love to master. The contest is open to Canadian residents only. Contest will run until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, February 5, 2012; I'll post a winner here on Monday, February 6. Good luck!

Thank you to everyone who entered the Bernat giveaway last week! I loved reading through all your colour combinations and imagining the beautiful afghans you'd create as part of the Mystery KAL and CAL.

The random integer generator chose one lucky winner:

Congratulations to Oshanny1976!

There's another giveaway coming up shortly, so stay tuned....

Thank you for entering. This giveaway is now closed. Find out who won.

Big things are happening at Bernat!

The company just launched a brand-new online community forum, where knitters and crocheters can get together to talk about all things knitting and crochet.

In addition, Bernat is hosting a Mystery Knit-along (KAL) and Crochet-along (CAL), revealing a beautiful new afghan design one clue at a time. Both knitters and crocheters will be able to join in and watch as the mystery pattern is revealed. The fun will begin February 15, 2012.

The afghans will be made using Waverly for Bernat, the new worsted-weight hand knitting and crochet yarn inspired by the most popular Waverly fabrics. It's the yarn pictured here – aren't the colours gorgeous?

To celebrate the event, Bernat’s online shop is offering 25% off the price of Waverly for Bernat yarns with the promo code WAVERLY. And that's not all...

As a special treat for readers of The Craft Blog, Bernat is offering the chance to win all the yarn you need to make either the knitted or the crocheted Mystery Afghan (retail value, $60)! In addition, the winner will be able to submit a photo of the room where you'd like to use your afghan to the Bernat designers, so that they may provide their expertise on colour suggestions.

(For an example of the colour suggestions, and the quantities of yarn needed, check out these hints and tips for choosing a colour palette for your afghan.)

For your chance to win, visit the Waverly for Bernat color scheme builder (it's so cool!) then come back here and leave ONE comment telling me which yarn combination you'd use, and what room you'd put your afghan in. The contest is open to Canadian residents only. Contest will run until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, January 29, 2012; I'll post a winner here on Monday, January 30. Good luck!

Thanks to everyone who dropped by to share their crafty New Year's resolutions with us. You've got some great ideas for stash reduction, finishing projects and crafty Christmases-to-come, and I'm excited to hear about how your plans evolve!

The winner of our prize, Firefly's Step-by-Step Encyclopedia of Needlecraft, is commenter #34, Chelsea, who, like many of us, is ready to embark on a stash-reduction mission in 2012.

Hopefully this new book will give you some ideas for great projects, Chelsea. I'll be in touch with details shortly.

Thanks again to everyone who commented, I love hearing what you're all up to. Have a wonderful day!

UPDATE: This contest is now closed.

It's been a resolution-filled week over here at the Craft Blog. Tina's requesting a do-over, Lisa's making a date, and as for me, I'll be dusting off the sewing machine this weekend.

Did you make any crafty resolutions for 2012? We'd love to hear about them. Share your plans and to-do lists (or even your not-to-do lists!) on this post for a chance to win this lovely book:

For your chance to win, leave one comment on this post by 11:59 p.m., Monday, January 9, 2012, telling us your crafty resolution for 2012.  I'll randomly select and announce the winner on Tuesday, January 10. Good luck!

Hello!

Just popping in to announce the winner of that super fun Christmas tree – Lisa has a great post coming up later this afternoon, too.

There were tons of great suggestions for crafty ornaments in the comments (if you need a way to occupy the kids this week, check them out!), so I let the Random Integer Generator do the hard work.

And our winner is:

Congrats, Connie – I'll be in touch!

Thanks to everyone who entered. Have a happy holiday!

Hi friends,

Just popping in today with a surprise giveaway. I recently received something fun in the mail, and I'm excited to have the chance to share it with one of you.

It's a decorate-it-yourself Christmas tree, the likes of which I'm betting you've never seen before. Check it out:

Yep. It's a recycled cardboard Christmas tree from Cascades that you and your kids can put together and decorate however you choose. For example, crazy crayoned swirls could be the order of the day.

Of course, if it were up to me, there'd be a LOT more glitter involved! The tree is just over 3 feet tall and about 2 feet wide – perfectly kid-sized. Imagine how much fun they could have colouring, painting, collaging and decorating this tree (maybe giving you a bit of free time to enjoy a sip of eggnog?)/

For your chance to win this tree, leave a comment on this post by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, December 20, 2011, telling me the most creative tree decoration you ever made. One comment per person, please; this contest is open to Canadians only. I'll randomly select and announce the winner on Wednesday, December 21.

Good luck!