On the Second day of Christmas....

You get 50% off Circe!!!  Just place it in your Ravelry Cart, and the discount will apply.

The First Day of Christmas

It's no partridge in a pear tree, but it is 50% off Grow Old With Me today, and today only!!! Head on over to get the discount, now!

12 Days of Christmas

Christmas is almost here, and I want to have a little party!

Starting tomorrow, VANGY Knits will be hosting a 12 Days of Christmas Celebration. 

Here's how it works:

Each day from December 8th to 19th a different VANGY Knits pattern will be on sale for 50% off!  But here's the catch: I won't be telling you which pattern will be on sale until the day of the sale.  So, you will have to watch my Ravelry Group, Facebook, Instagram and this here blog to find out which pattern to check out.  And, by playing along you could win one pattern a day!

So, come back tomorrow to see which pattern we'll discount on the first day of Christmas!!!

Designing with Children

This morning I have the rare opportunity to be home with only 2 of my 5 littles.  And, I've got the littlest of the littles, to boot!  My husband took the day off to take the oldest three to the opening day at the ski hill, and so I will spend the day "stranded" at home with no car, two kids that are happy to just play all day, and knitting needles in hand.

On every other day I homeschool those oldest three children, which means my days are spent on a schedule to make sure that my kids get all the work done that they need to.  Math worksheets, writing assignments, science experiments and piano practice fill every moment of my life, it seems.

Finding time to design amidst the chaos that is my life is difficult, at the best of times.  I sneak in a row here, a row there, usually while sitting in front of Netflix late at night with my husband.  I see inspiration in all the world around me, and have filled notebooks with rough sketches and ideas that will probably never come to fruition, because I just don't have the time. I've turned down direct offers to collaborate with yarnies, because I know that I can't live up to deadlines.

But, in my crazy days I still do find time for it, because I love it. I love the process of seeing something that inspires me and working out in my mind and on paper just how it would look coming off my needles. I love knitting, and re-knitting until my vision and my project actually work together.  I love seeing my kids wear my sweaters, and brag that their mommy made it. I love hearing from people on Ravelry how much they love my designs.  I really do love what I do!

So, what's the secret?  To be honest, if I want to design more, I have to do less elsewhere.  That's the reality.  I don't read much anymore (Audible is my best friend!)  My floors have not been vacuumed for longer than I care to admit, my bedroom is a disaster, and my laundry is never, ever done.  It's about priorities, and I just value knitting over a tidy house, I guess.  Don't judge. Of course, my house gets a quick once over every time my mom comes to visit!

An and example, let me give you a tiny sneak peak (without the peak) of what I've been working on for a while.  Since September I've been knitting two sweaters for my new design. I've run out of yarn on both sweaters, and had to order more. Then they shipped lace weight instead of worsted.  A million other things came up, and a design I meant to publish on December 1, is still on my needles, with a release date more likely in February.

And such is the life! I promise it's not a complaint, it's just the reality. And, I love it. I love every part of it: the designing, the knitting, the homeschool, the mothering, and even the frantic cleaning when my mom drops by!

So, look forward in a few months for Harvey, my next installment of my Little Old Man Collection. And, if it takes a little longer than that, forgive me!

Gift-A-Long 2015

If you are active on Ravelry, you may have heard about the Gift-A-Long. It's a massive sale and knit-a-long that has happened the last two years in November and December.  It's a fun way to get motivated to knit all those Christmas knits, while participating in all sorts of fun games and winning some awesome prizes.

I've participated in the Gift-A-Long the past two years, and am excited to add 6 new designs to my sale this year!!!

Here's how it works:

Hundreds of independent designers, like me, have joined together to offer an awesome sale on our patterns, as well as a fantastic KAL/CAL to help you get all of your holiday knitting done before Christmas!

From Thursday, November 19th at 8 om (EST) to Friday, November 27 at 11:59 pm (EST) 20 of my patterns will be discounted 25%.  Use the coupon code: giftalong2015 to get the discount.

Once you've got your patterns, you can join in on the KALs/CALs for just about every variety of knit.  The KAL/CALs will run right through to Thursday, December 31 at 11:59 PM.  There are games, tons of prizes, communion with fantastic knitters, and a whole lot of fun.

If you've never been part of a KAL/CAL of this magnitude, it is seriously so fun. It's like being part of a knitting club that includes the entire world!!!

I'm looking forward to knitting along with all of you!

People are Good

I posted Oh Christmas Tree yesterday, with the disclaimer that all proceeds would go toward providing Christmas to a family in need.  I can't believe the response that I've received.  I've had so many nice comments and messages, and sold many more patterns already than I thought possible.  Thank you, knitters, for being so good.  I tend to worry more about the state of the world than I should, but my faith in humanity is always renewed when I see things like this. I'm excited for Christmas!!!

Embroidered Star Stitch on a Knit - A Tutorial

Oh Christmas Tree is darling as is, with unique Christmas trees all the way around.  But, to complete the look, I thought it needed something a little more.  A star to top one of the trees!  I love embroidery, but am aware that sometimes the art doesn't look that good on knitwear, as the embroidery stitches tend to pull through the knit stitches.  This embroidered star, though, is perfect for the top of a Christmas tree.

1. Cut a piece of yarn about 1 foot long.  I used Knit Picks Hawthorne in Compass, which is a Fingering weight yarn. I thought the thinner yarn made the star easier to see. 

2. Start from the inside of the hat, and follow the order of the numbers in the diagram.  Go up at the #1 spot, then down at #2, and so forth.  Make the star bigger than you think would look good, because it will pull tighter through the stitches and "shrink."

Up through #1, down through #2.

And, finish off going down through #8.

3. When you are all done, the star will still look pretty messy.  This is inevitable, as you should go in and out of knit stitches, and so it may not be exactly even. To finish it off, go up through the hat at the center of the star, across the star, and back down the same hole into the hat.  Do this once across horizontally, and once up and down vertically.  Once back in the inside of the hat, weave the tails in on the wrong side.