The Sweatshop of Lovers Blog

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 9^th 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!

As of this moment I’ve got four tiny gifts to make to complete my holiday knitting. We are talking one weekend’s worth of knitting time. And it’s December 3rd! Holiday knitting success!

Based on the emails and texts, facebook and twitter comments I’ve been getting, not everyone is as close to being finished as I am. So what better way to ease some holiday stress than helping you check someone off your to-knit-for list?

I’m giving away custom knit gifts!

Win this giveaway and you will win the chance to pick a project from one of my patterns and the yarn color of your choice. I will knit it up and mail it to your mom/uncle/wife/best friend/step dad by December 18th! Plenty of time to get to your loved one before Christmas.

Your Hand Knit Present Choices Are:

Cabled Cowl

Cabled Change Purse

Slouchy Beret

Eric Man-Beanie or Eric Man-Stocking Cap

Even better? I’m giving away TWO custom made gifts! So you have two chances to win!

To enter: Leave a comment on this post about which gift you would choose and who the hand knit would be for. Extra points for following me on twitter if you don’t already and tweeting this giveaway and becoming a fan of The Sweatshop of Love on facebook if you aren’t already and saying hi on our wall.

You have until Sunday, December 6th to enter! I will contact the winners Monday to get any final instructions before I get materials and get knitting.

The Sweatshop of Love is here to ease some holiday stress! And I can’t wait to read your responses.

I want to thank everyone who entered my first giveaway! I’m pretty new to this blogging thing and it’s nice to know that there are people out there actually reading!

And I’m so glad I’m not the only one thinking about the holidays in August. I’ve been saying you’ve got to plan! And you are all obviously planners.

Everyone had such great ideas! Beth, Lori, and Gil are on the cowl bandwagon, T is knitting up some cabled change purses, and Alice and Natalia are knitting hats. There were some fun non-knitter ideas, too! Crafty McSchnafty is roasting her own coffee beans! Shannon and Deanna are making jewelery, and Junghwa is making a photobook.

I picked a winner in the most diplomatic way possible: I wrote everyone’s name down on a little piece of paper, twice if you spread the word about the giveaway, and dropped them all in a hat. And the name I came up with was…

Natalie of No No 2 Yo Yo, a really great blog about eating right and working out. And now a recipient of a hand knit, one of a kind winter headband! So, Natalie, email me (allyson@thesweatshopoflove.com) your address and I’ll pop it right in the mail!

Again, thank you so much for entering, and I promise to have another giveaway real soon.

Yesterday I was the super luckiest girl in the world and won a beautiful skein of yarn from Kitchen Sink Dyeworks! It totally made my day, I can’t wait to get it, and it inspired me to think up my own giveaway!

I’ve never done one of these before! I’ve had it on my mind grapes for a while now, and I figure today would be a wonderful day to kick this off, what with the Tigers and Twins having The Double Header of Doom. 11:05am. 6:05pm. My season has come down to these next three days.

… but enough about my self inflicted baseball torture and onto the giveaway!

Knit Headband!

Cute!

This season The Sweatshop of Love is focusing on quick, cute, easy gifts for the holiday season, and this is one of my favorites.

Based on the knitty pattern Quant, but, you know, easier and quicker, I’ve got quite a few of these puppies in The Sweatshop inventory, waiting for the right moment to pop out.

Entrelac Greens

Love Entrelac!

I love me some entrelac! And this pattern is a great introduction. But, why learn to entrelac when you can just win this cute headband!

The i-cord ties make this headband fit snugly to any head, and will keep your ears warm and hair not so hat-heady. It’s perfect for pony tails (I’ve been told!).

To enter, leave a comment with an idea you have for a  present you plan on making for someone this holiday season.

You get bonus points if you tweet this giveaway! I’m at twitter/sweatshopoflove.

And are you a fan of The Sweatshop on facebook?

I’ll pick a winner on Friday, if I’m not curled up in fetal position because the Tigers blew their shot at the ALCS.

Good luck!