Thanks to everyone who entered my Red Gold Tomatoes Giveaway! Y’all really wanted that huge can of goodies! It was really fun reading all your silly comments here, and on facebook and twitter.
I’m happy to say the winners are:
How fitting it is that a food blog writer AND a knitter win!
Thanks again to everyone who entered and I look forward to giving out more huge cans of stuff soon!
Huge Can of Tomato-y Goodness
Make sure you zip over here and enter to win this huge can of tomato-y goodness from Red Gold Tomatoes! I’m picking both winners tonight and will announce them tomorrow.
When I got back from my brother’s wedding this weekend I was greeted by this:
Very Large Can of Tomatoes
I should have put a cat next to this can to show you how big it is. It’s the size of one of those holiday popcorn tins. LARGE!
And it was full of this:
Lots of Loot!
Two recipe books, a tin truck (that my brother’s baby is going to love!), two magnets, a soup recipe fold out, a coaster, a refrigerator clip magnet, and a media kit CD about how Red Gold Tomatoes are all grown in the Midwest and started as a family owned business.
Tomatoes!
And, of course, some regular sized cans of tomatoes.
Veggie Pasta!
Right away I whipped up a version of my Veggie Pasta Recipe with the Basil, Oregano, Garlic Red Gold Tomatoes, and it was seriously excellent. I didn’t even season the pasta sauce! It was all in the tomatoes already.
My only complaint, if I get to complain about any aspect of a huge tomato can of free goodies, is with the recipe book. While all the recipes look very easy and use few ingredients and look like they come together very fast and are all pretty healthy, there are only a few vegetarian options. I will be changing them up to make them vegetarian friendly in the future, for sure, but I’d like to give that heads up!
And so, without further ado, the kind people at Red Gold Tomatoes have TWO of these gift cans to give out to my readers! Holla!
Leave a comment to enter! Tweet this giveaway, citing @sweatshopoflove in your tweet, for another entry.
That huge tomato can is already full of yarn, safe away from my kitties, and my tea cup is resting on a tomato coaster right now! And yours can, too. You’ve got until the evening of Sunday, March 14th to enter. I’ll announce the winners Monday morning!
Good luck!
Thank you all for entering my Madison Cowl and Hand Warmers kit giveaway! I say this every time I have a giveaway, but this was our biggest response yet!
The winner of the Madison Cowl Knit Kit is Katie! Who said: “Red, Gray, Blue ahhh decisions, I LOVE them ALL!! I think red is my favorite. The cowl would go wonderfully with my black coats!!!”
And the winner of the Madison Hand Warmers Knit Kit is Beth! Who said: “Happy Blogversary! It is one of my favs and I already have it in my RSS google reader. I like the hand warmers, my self.”
I’ll be emailing both of you right now to get your info.
Thanks again to all who entered and stay tuned for more fun Madison Knitting Kit info soon!
I’ve been working like a crazy person this weekend to:
1) Finish knitting my Dollar and a Half Cardi, my February sweater, before the Ravelympics start and I have to knit all those projects. On Friday. *shakes head*
2) Put together all of the Madison Knit Kits so I can start dishing them out!
When I’m explaining all the stuff I do on my weekends to my grandma she always says, ‘No rest for the wicked! or, for you!’ The wicked, or knitters, I think she means. I’m ok with it.
Be sure you enter my Kit Giveaway! You have until tonight to enter! The winners will be announced tomorrow.
It is amazing how much can be accomplished in just one little year. Today is my one year blog anniversary! I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into a year ago, but I am so happy I did. I’ve written more in this past year than I wrote in four years of writing school. I’ve knit more this past year than I ever have before. And I’ve taught more classes than I ever have before.
And, of course, the launch of the Knit Kits is a huge step forward for my little Sweatshop. And to thank you for being a part of this crazy year 
we are hosting a Madison Kit Giveaway!
Brynn Rockin Out
Win a Madison Cowl Kit or a Madison Hand Warmer Kit! To enter, leave a comment about which knit kit you want, which color, and how you are planning on wearing it. Tweet it with a @sweatshopoflove for bonus points!
You have until the Super Bowl (that is Sunday, February 7th) to enter! Our winners will be announced Monday, February 8th.
HOTT!
And you can take your style cues from our Madison Kit model, Brynn! She rocks the Madison Cowl and Hand Warmers so well it was like we made them for her.
Love It!
She had some lovely things to say about what she was modeling, too! “I am amazed at the vintage feel of the pattern; it makes this set especially unique. I’ve never seen anything like it. I also love how the gloves are like little coats for your hands! I can still rummage through my purse, flick my hair out of my face and get things done without constantly pulling gloves on and off. The cowl feels like a hug around the neck! It not only kept me warm doing my chilly morning shoot, but it didn’t feel confining. Vintage fashion meets function – yes, please.”
Thanks, Brynn!
How sweet! And how cute is her outfit? I couldn’t NOT make this a Style Your Knits.
Navy Floral Strapless Dress: Vintage (Knee Deep in Pilsen)
Cropped Tuxedo Jacket: Twenty8Twelve
Pale Pink Wool Cardigan: I bought it in like 9th grade!
Faux Croc Leggings: American Apparel
Belt: Vintage (Knee Deep in Pilsen)
Suede Booties: Aldo
ZigZag Bracelet: Vintage (Randolph Street Market)
And Tara took all these cute pics! She wanted to give a shout out, “To Atomix and it’s awesome patrons for being so cool with us shooting in and around the coffee shop. Everyone was really radical about it.”
Slouchy Beret, Try #2
Words can not describe how happy I am to be finished knitting this hat.
It probably has some ill will knit into it, along with the few kitty hairs, but it is done and cute, if I do say so myself.
It took three whole days to dry without the help of the radiator. I kept this little guy very far away from any heat after the disaster last time.
But, it is in the mail to Heather, completing my blog giveaway knitting and my holiday knitting at the same time!
No Burning!
I’m not frantically knitting at all hours of the night to finish anything. So, August 1st is a completely acceptable time to start your holiday knitting.
Maybe it is because all the snow that fell in Chicago last week has melted, and it is about 40 degrees out, but I am not reveling in this accomplishment because I don’t feel like Christmas is next week. I’m sitting about 2 feet away from my Christmas tree, sure, but that is the only evidence I’ve got that Christmas is looming.
Cookies!
Not even the baking I’m doing is triggering Christmasy feelings, since I kind of bake a lot.
Cookie Logs
You know when you see a recipe that combines two things you don’t think should go together, dismiss, but then can’t get out of your mind?
Ok, yes, that sounds a little extreme. But if I said that about a pair of shoes it might not sound so wacky. And cookie baking is a much less expensive thing to get obsessive about.
Ready to Bake!
I saw the recipe for Earl Grey Cookies on Food Loves Writing and Kate in the Kitchen before I was sold. I love cookies. I love Earl Grey. But together?
Together they work. These cookies are light and buttery. I followed the recipe almost exactly, too, which never happens. I traded oranges for tangerines, and I wish I would have given it a squeeze into the batter before I ate it because a little more citrus would be welcome.
Roasted Eggplant Pasta
I love to eat them after meals like this; roasted eggplant, broccoli, and carrot pasta with white wine sauce and Parmesan cheese.
Roast the veggies in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes, meanwhile cook the pasta as directed, heat garlic and seasonings in oil, add white wine, add drained pasta and veggies, toss. Cover in cheese. Eat.
How fancy do I sound? Following up a meal like that with Earl Grey cookies. This is one fancy girl over here. One with no more presents to knit and a whole house full of yarn.
Look out.
My only real goal this past weekend was to finish my second Slouchy Beret for the Heather, the second blog giveaway winner. I mailed the first one out Saturday morning, well ahead of schedule, so I was confident I could knock the other one out.
I got some Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick N Quick and knit it all afternoon. I blocked it on a plate, put it on the radiator so it would dry faster, and in the morning I had a cute pink hat!
Pink Slouchy Beret
Or, that was how it was supposed to go. Sunday morning I checked on it and about died.
BURNED!
It got torched on the radiator!
My Poor Hat!
I have put projects on the radiator to dry since the beginning of time and this has never happened before! I throw my wet mittens, socks, hats, and scarves on the radiator when I come in from a snow storm. So what the hell happened?!
I told my mom, who said, ‘Oh man, the woman you are sending it to is going to be so disappointed to see that.’
New Hat
Don’t think I didn’t think of it! But of course I can’t send someone a hat that looks like I used it to clean up cat puke. The second hat, however, is going a little slower. Once you finish a project it is hard to get the motivation to start the same exact thing over again.
Have you ever had a similar knitting disaster?
But I’ll finish it this afternoon, NOT block it on the radiator, and hopefully it will be dry by Thursday.
Breakfast Makes it Better
I always turn to pancakes when I’m feeling sad/sick/like I want to kill someone, and these pancakes with my mom’s apple butter and potatoes made me feel better.
Homemade Tuna Helper
So does Homemade Tuna Helper. I don’t know what it is about shell shaped pasta. It just makes me feel so good. And I love when my food pictures have yarn in them.
Cabled Belt
The yarn next to dinner is from the Cabled Belt from the 2008 Winter issue of Vogue Knitting.
Picture in the Magazine
I have been lazily knitting it because I don’t plan on wearing it until New Years Eve. How fun is it to plan an outfit around a belt?!
The only people on Ravelry to knit it have used gold or grey yarn, but when I saw the picture I knew it had to be in a bright color. The cable pattern is very intuitive and it is knitting up quickly despite the size 5 needles I’m using.
And yes, I’m keeping this belt as far away from the radiator as I possibly can!
First of all, a huge thank you to everyone who entered my Custom Knit Gift Giveaway! I wish I could knit something for all of you, but there could only be two winners, and those winners are:
#15 Heather over at Underfunded Heiress who wants either a slouchy beret or cabled cowl for her co-blogger Melanie.
and
#17 Kate at Kate in the Kitchen who wants a slouchy beret.
I’ve emailed you both and look forward to getting started on your gifts!
Thanks again to those of you who entered! I loved reading your comments here on the blog and on twitter and facebook. Keep your eyes peeled for more giveaways in the near future! I just love doing these!
Have you entered my Custom Knit Gift Giveaway?!
Leave a comment on the original post saying which of my patterns you want me to knit for which friend or family member by tonight and I’ll knit it for you and send your choice their way before Christmas!
You’ve got two chances to win! I’ll email the winners tomorrow.
And don’t forget to find me on twitter and facebook to up your chances!
