Happy Halloween, all!

Thanks everyone for entering my giveaway!  Im happy to announce the winners this morning!

Winner of my newest pattern collection is- Theresa G.

Winners of Pacific Pine pattern- Lorraine, Roxanne, MrsKodi, and Debrakiwi! 

Yes, I realize I said only 2 would win the Pacific Pine pattern, but I was feeling pretty generous today.  If you are on Ravelry, you can comment here with your Ravelry name so I can gift you the patterns that way.  Or please email me at leftcoastknits@gmail.com and I will email them to you.

Congrats winners!!!

Im excited to announce that my Marine Layer Cowl pattern is available NOW on Knit Picks website!

Buy it here now!

Marine Layer Cowl that is knit as one long piece, and can be doubled around the neck for extra warmth. The stacked eyelets and garter ridges lend to a classic, simple and beautiful design that will make a quick knit. This is a wonderful pattern for beginners, especially those who are interested in lace projects, but are afraid to begin with an intricate pattern. Techniques include knitting in the round on a circular needle, yarn over, Knitting 2 stitches together, and slip slip knit.

I LOVE this cowl and it’s versatility!  This is one of my most favorite designs- it’s such a classic, yet simple piece!

What do you think?  Will it be on your Christmas knitting list?

Welcome back to my weekly installment of Must Have Mondays! 

This weeks feature is amazing hand spun yarn company called Plied Together. 

Plied Together is ran by two women- Ceylan and Sarah- who operate from two different US cities (Dallas and Seattle, respectively).  Together, they produce some of the most luxurious, phenomenal hand spun yarn ever.   Using base fibers such as Merino Silk blends, Merino/Cashmere/Nylon blends, and Polwarth from companies such as Sunshine Yarns, Pigeonroof Studios, Funky Carolina, and even Ceylans other venture- Two if by Hand, Ceylan and Sarah have spun such lovelies such as:

Bloodletting (currently available in their etsy shop):

Holly (currently available in their shop):

And this Deeply Green:

The Deeply Green, however, is no longer for sale, as I bought it late last year to knit up my Pacific Pine design:

Plied Together does updates on Thursdays at 3pm PST, and you can keep up to date with their updates and other information by following them on Twitter (PliedTogether) or joining their Ravelry Group.  I’d love to hear about your purchases from them!

Aaaaaaand….. It’s GIVEAWAY TIME!

This week, I will be giving away 3 prizes, just for subscribing to my blog!

First Prize is my latest collection of patterns: Left Coast Knits!

Second and Third Prizes are copies of my pattern, Pacific Pine, which is a perfect design for Plied Together yarns!

**TO ENTER, CLICK ON “+FOLLOW”, THEN COMMENT HERE LETTING ME KNOW.  WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN RANDOMLY ON 31 OCTOBER AT 8am PST.  IF YOU ARE ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER, YOU ARE ALREADY ENTERED :O)**

It’s funny how things work, sometimes.  When I first started Left Coast Knits, it began as an idea for a knitting pattern book.  Got myself an agent, and all.  Things happened, then things didn’t, forcing my idea to evolve.  “Well, an eBook isn’t such a terrible idea.” I thought.  Establish myself as a designer, put out some truly fantastic patterns.  Evolve.  So I worked on that for a bit.  I put out 4 truly lovely patterns intended for what I wanted Left Coast Knits to be.  And then change happened again and I wanted it to be something else.  Something… more.  And so, this morning I set up the 4 patterns as part of the eBook, Left Coast Knits now available on Ravelry.  Im happy with where I ended up with this, but by no means is this the end of Left Coast Knits.  It’s just time for more change.  I’ve submitted a new design to Knit Now! magazine and Im anxious to hear what they have to say.  I’ve never submitted to a publication that isnt my own, so Im very interested in seeing how this pans out.  I’ve sketched.  ALOT.  I have so many ideas, so many designs just waiting to be churned out.  Swatches are piling up and I love it.  Essentially I plan to release some new patterns around January as a new collection, then some closer to Spring as another.  Im excited.  And Im ready.

Phew what a move!!!  After 3 months of not allowing myself to settle into our last house (because you can never be so sure with the Navy!), I think Im finally allowing myself to settle into this one.  It’s much smaller than other houses we have lived in, but honestly, I couldn’t be happier.  No more laundry room upstairs!  No more third toilet to clean!  More tile means less vacuuming!  Navy housing is typically less than overwhelming, but this one will be just fine.  It’s “cozy” as they say in real estate :o)  Plus, as many military families will tell you- there is just something comforting about living on base as opposed to off base.  The family atmosphere, the friendships you build with your neighbors, and the fact that the grocery store isnt miles away- it just works.  And Im happy.  And for living in this area, that’s really something big.

So anyhow- we just got our internet installed after living here for over a month!  Being away from the internet (well, other than my droid phone) has got my brain a’churning with new designs!  I have a design being published by Knit Picks in the coming week or so, and will be submitting another design to a relatively new publication this next week.  Im excited at the prospect, but I’ve also been working on my own designs for LCK.  Things are going great!  There has also been lots of knitting.  I took part in the Tiny Owl Knits Hexipuff swap on Ravelry, and knit this little puff for my swap partner to celebrate our shared adoration of Rebecca Danger’s monster patterns:

Then there was Boo! the Bat by Anna Hrachovec:

And finally Rosebud by Jared Flood:

So that’s it for now!  Hopefully I will have more to share in the next few days!  Have a great week!