And the winner is...

First of all, thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway. I'm so happy to be able to celebrate with all of you and to be able to share my hard work! It's great to hear such positive feedback around something I am so excited about. Thank you thank you!

So without further ado...

Which means the winner is...

Congratulations! Please send an email to dropandanchorstudio (at) gmail (dot) com with your choice of hand muff and your mailing information.

Again, thank you to everyone who entered. Keep an eye out on the blog and you will be the first to know when the muffs are available in my Etsy shop!

And keep reading the blog because you like it, obviously ;)

it's a celebration!

It's my birthday!

It's my 500th post on this blog!

And I've got something great to give away! 

Let's celebrate!

 

I can't even remember how I got this idea in my head that I wanted to knit hand muffs. It's almost like it grew there silently and suddenly sprouted into this giant idea that I could no longer hold in. No one wears hand muffs anymore, but why? You think if your hands are cold, the best solution is to wear gloves. But gloves can be bulky and hard to do anything while wearing them. I can barely open a door wearing gloves. Operating a touch screen cell phone wearing gloves? Forget about it.

 

 

So imagine this: You're walking down the street in the cold and the wind, your hands cozy and warm inside this lovely hand muff. Your phone rings. You slip your hand out of the muff, find your phone, answer it, and when you're done you slip your hand back into the muff, still warm and cozy. If you were wearing gloves you would have been fumbling around trying to pull the fingers off, and you've probably dropped the glove you just took off while you were trying to find your phone. Not so with your trusty hand muff. It's hanging around your neck just waiting for you to use it.

Now that's practical.

A modern take on an old fashioned idea. That's something I can get behind.

 

 

 

The Giveaway: 

The winner gets to choose either the blue or yellow hand muff. Both are designs that I have been developing for sale in my Etsy shop. I hoped to get to the point where I could do a product launch in the shop and do the giveaway at the same time, but I'm not quite there yet. And I just didn't want to give up on the giveaway. So. There you have it. One hand muff of your choice. A Drop & Anchor exclusive!

How To Enter:

Leave a comment here telling me which one you would choose if you win. Bonus entries if you re-blog or re-tweet this giveaway with a link to my blog, just comment again with a link to the post or tweet. Or pin one of my photos on Pinterest with a link to this post. Again, leave me a comment on this post letting me know that you pinned my photo.
Winner will be chosen at random using the Random Number Generator. You have until Friday October 14 to enter!

Good Luck!

feeling inspired

Been doing a lot of this lately.

And really excited to give you more than just little instagram shots very very soon. I'm loving this feeling, knitting project after project, coming up with different features and variations, finding the perfect little details, but mostly just having this feeling that I am on to something. I think I have a good idea. I think it's coming out well (and I'm working on sewing better. I'm a little rusty.) And I really want to share it with you!

beginnings...endings...one more...and a cat for good measure

my pretties

While I don't personally have a need for a diaper bag (but I know some people who do!) I do kind of love it.

 

That blue (faux)leather is so fabulous-vintage-luggage I can hardly stand it. The straps, the pockets... ohhh the pockets. And oh yeah, it's pretty great in yellow too. 

Spotted over at Oh Joy!

And thankfully all the cats are out of their respective bags and I can finally talk about the fact that two of my friends are expecting! And get this: one found out the day before my wedding, and the other found out the day after. It was kind of a magical time, what can I say? So I've been focusing most of my energy on building my scarf inventory, but believe me the baby knitting will commence shortly. I've got some time. And it is some of my favorite knitting to do. :)

knitting again

Last night I got the urge to knit something new, the kind of urge I haven't had in MONTHS if not YEARS. So I got a little inspiration brewing and am working on a design for a new scarf. I have two designs that I have knit and reknit and knit again, and it was time for something new. Not that I don't love those scarves. I do. But I'm committed to launching an actual line of scarves on etsy this fall, so that means I have got to get moving gosh darn it!

Here's a little sneak peek which gives away absolutely nothing about the final design. I am sneaky that way. :)

There is a potential flaw in the design, but I am still so excited about it that I am pushing forward and hoping I will be able to fix it in the end.

(Oh and remember that last thing I was knitting? It didn't quite work out the way I had anticipated and it is currently functioning as a container for plastic grocery bags. Worth a shot though I guess.)

work in progress

I've had this idea floating around in my head and I decided to give it a go! Totally making it up as I go along. Fingers crossed it remotely resembles what I have in mind.

finished project!

 

 

Hey, remember when I used to knit? Yeah, me too. I should do more of it.

I finished this pretty orange shawl the other day and got it all washed and blocked yesterday, so I am so pleased to announce that I have finished my first knitting project in like 6 months! Hooray for me! I'll try to get some photos of me wearing it so you can see how truly lovely it is. :)

AND in my mad search for fiberfill for another project I have been working on, I came across a giant plastic bin of forgotten yarn and knitting projects. There are finished projects, some things still sitting on the knitting needles (really? how did I let that happen?), and lots of pretty yarn I didn't know I had. So I have that to look forward to as well. I know I promised myself to put some things up for sale on Etsy this year, so there is a good place to start.

And so the To Do list grows...

gifted

 

 

These pictures are super old but I finally got around to giving this blanket to my brother and sister-in-law (who are expecting their first baby very very soon!) so I can finally post it! It was a pretty fun knit, and easy, and I love how it turned out. I felt pretty productive getting this all finished up and sent out, especially since I have been (sadly) not doing much knitting this year. I was browsing through some of my old photos recently and saw how many projects I completed in 2008, and compared it with 2010, and let's just say I would be a very busy lady for the next two months if I were to try to get even close. Shame shame.

bring it on, winter!

I fell in love with these gloves-in-progress on SockPixie, and I'm hoping she publishes a pattern soon! My cold hands could use a little something new and cozy.

The Knitted Mile

This project from Robyn Love involved 90 knitters from across North America, and lots and lots of yarn donated by Lion Brand Yarn. After being laid out on the streets, the piece was installed in the gallery Grey Matter along with photos of the contributing knitters. This all happened back in 2008, so why is this the first I am hearing of it? Apparently she also has something big planned for the NYC Maker Fair next weekend, so stay tuned for that!

it's almost time...

That's right, Summer is coming to an end and Fall is on its way. I have a love/hate relationship with Fall. It's hard for me because I really love Summer so much. I like hot weather, not having to wear shoes, going to the beach, just hanging out outside, ice cream, cookouts, and pretty much everything that Summer is about (except tanning). So I hate to see it go. 

BUT, Fall happens to be rather pretty around these parts with the leaves changing colors and carpeting the ground everywhere you turn. Fall also contains my birthday and Halloween and I love those days. AND it also means I get to wear my beloved scarves. Fun fact: I don't think I ever owned or wore a scarf until a few years ago when I started to knit. And I have slowly created a hefty collection of the warmest, coziest, most fantastic scarves around (if I do say so myself). The oversized chunky cowl is hands down my favorite, as it is the closest thing to walking around wrapped up in a blanket while still being socially acceptable.

I'll break into my box-o-scarves here soon enough to share with you all (I even have several that I knit intending to sell that have been sitting in a plastic bin completely unused and unloved for almost a year. I really need to work on that Etsy shop, it's all about finding the time.), but for now I will share with you some lovely scarves from other designers so you too can feel inspired for Fall. I hope you're ready for it, the high temp for tomorrow is dropping 20 degrees from today!

abbyclark

Happiknits

yarnovermovement

 

So... Fall, are you ready for it?

Making up for lost time

I am happy to report that I finished my first knitting project in more months than I care to count, one work in progress that I'm slowly chipping away at but rather bored with, and one new project which is providing some enjoyment for me. The finished project needs to remain Top Secret until it has been gifted, but the other two are available for photos if anyone is interested. I'm knitting a Clapotis scarf (my second go at this pattern, I so enjoyed the first), and a pair of simple toe-up self-striping socks for the mister. His first pair of hand-knit socks! Unfortunately I do not have photos to share with you today. So what's the point of this post, you ask? Why taunt you with promises of crafty goodness and then fail to deliver the goods? Well, it simply leads me to what I'm currently craving which is some new yarns!

So creamy and buttery, I could just eat it. Inspired by sunflowers (ok, I see it) but you can't tell me that doesn't look like a delicious kernel of popcorn. Yum!

Bold streaks of beautiful color... the things I could dream up for this yarn...

Both of these are hand dyed in limited batches from SockPixie, and neither would be turned away if they showed up at my door, justsoyounkow.

need more time in the day

I have started a new knitting project (sorry, I am not at liberty to discuss the details just yet). And I'm not sure if I'm knitting because I'm feeling a little bit better or if I'm feeling a little bit better because I'm knitting, or if they really have nothing to do with each other at all. But the real dilemma is that the knitting cuts into my blog reading time which leaves me with a short list of blogable ideas. I'm sure I will come up with something.

Fraggles Rock!