Ganiggle Knits

And The Winner Is!

Wendy — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:04:21 +0000

Chris from Oklahoma, USA!!! MsChris on Ravelry has won a set of stitch markers and a pattern of her choice! I have emailed her to inform her of the big win!

Congratulations Chris!

Haiti Results!

Wendy — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:26:22 +0000

It is officially February 1st! On January 17th, I pledged to donate half of my Ravelry pattern sales to the Haiti relief efforts through MSF (Doctors Without Borders) from the 17th until the end of January. The end of the month is here and the total money raised to be donated is $105.25!!! Thank you to everyone who purchased patterns. Every little bit helps!

The money is currently on its way to my bank account from Paypal, and I can then donate it directly by credit card through the MSF website. It has been a lot of fun doing this and it feels good to do what we all can to help out!

Next up: The drawing for the prize in the January resolutions post!

Help for Haiti, Some News, and Some Blues

Wendy — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 07:46:12 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve last blogged and figured I should give you all an update on what’s happening around here.

Help for Haiti – What happened in Haiti on Jan 12th was awful. People all over the world are joining together in order to provide some relief for those in need. Knitters are no different. Ravelry has set up a special way for designers to pledge to donate a portion of proceeds from pattern sales to those who need it most. There is a special search option so that you can search for patterns where the designers have pledged a donation based on pattern sales. From today (January 17th) until the end of January, I have pledged on all of my patterns that I will be donating 50% of all proceeds to Doctors Without Borders. During times like this, it is important that we all do our part. If you haven’t already, please check out the growing database of patterns on Ravelry that you can purchase to help a great cause.

Some News – Sometime in May, the Ganiggle Knits Show is going to be launching on the blog as well as on YouTube. You can expect weekly episodes to appear and I think it will be a fun and informative show hosted by yours truly. I am really excited to take on this project and think it will be a great experience. My number one concern is giving the viewers what they want, so while the show is still in its planning stages I want to know what you want! Please comment and let me know what types of segments you would like to see on my show. If you sell a product, book, yarn, or anything like that and you want me to review it on the show, drop me a line at my email address, which is ganiggle AT gmail DOT com, same goes for potential advertisers. So yes, there are already plans for some reviews to happen on the show, but what else? Well… I’ll probably talk about my knitting, share some hints and tips, and I will be making and entire collection of instructional videos and tutorials on knitting, but that will be separate from the show. I was also thinking of doing maybe a viewer’s question and answer period too, once I get viewers of course. So please, drop me a comment and let me know what you, the knitters, want to see on a knitting themed show!

Some Blues – I have not been doing a whole lot of knitting. Or stitch marker making for that matter. The shop has been pretty dormant for a while as I have been in deep thought due to family issues that I will not be discussing here. However, I am hoping to get back into the groove of things shortly, and you should (hopefully!) see some new stitch markers by the end of next week. I definitely want to make up some more coffee bean markers, as they are just so lovely don’t you think? Anyway, here is one thing I have knit recently. It’s called Ripley by Ysolda Teague, and I absolutely love it. It has a glorious pre-slouched design that makes it slouch just perfectly in the back.

I knit it for the Chocolate KAL that is taking place in several of the FGF groups on Ravelry. I’m going to be making this scarf soon as well, so I will be sure to post pics when it is completed (I’ll be casting on tonight, wheeee!)

Don’t forget to comment about the show!

Shop Update and New Years Coupon

Wendy — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:30:35 +0000

It’s officially 2010 and I wanted to celebrate by updating my shop with some exciting new stitch markers. Here are some photos of the stitch markers I added to the shop today!

Use the coupon code GKNY2010 to get 10% off your order excluding shipping. There will be many more exciting new stitch marker designs on their way for 2010 and I hope you like them!

Ringing in the New Year

Wendy — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:07:39 +0000

Another year has passed and a new decade is about to begin and it seems like just yesterday the new millenium was upon us. It has been an interesting year for me and for Ganiggle Knits. Although I wasn’t as active on the blog as I would have liked to be in 2009, I think I almost made up for it at the end. Thank you to all of my readers who have supported me and commented on my postings. A big thank you to everyone who has participated in the testing process for my patterns, and to everyone who has purchased the finished patterns.

I have done my best, and will continue to do my best at bringing you new designs that are fun to knit and beautiful to wear. I will also continue to create stitch markers, and already have some exciting ones to show you for the new year. I just need to take some pictures, which will hopefully happen tomorrow. I have a set of coffee bean beads made up that I think look really good!

As a new year comes, so too does the time when we all make a resolution of something we would like to change in our lives. Some people will make a resolution to eat healthy, stop smoking, be better at organizing their time, or it could be a career goal. My resolution this year will be to make my blog more personable and exciting. I am not sure yet whether that means to create a podcast, or a videocast, but something along those lines will be happening.

Today is December 31st, and as promised I have drawn the winner of the Relax & Knit 2009 Winter contest. The winner is Sarah A from Ontario Canada, who got two entries in the contest when she purchased Eden and October Moss from the shop. She will be receiving a lovely gift set of body butter and soap just as soon as she replies to my email with her mailing address. Thank you to everyone who entered the contest!!! It was a lot of fun to host the contest and I look forward to having another one in the new year.

I will have a mini-contest for this blog post. To enter all you need to do is post a comment on this post with what your new years resolution is going to be for the year. At the end of January I will make a random draw and the winner will receive a set of stitch markers of their choice from my shop and a free pattern! Comment away!

Holiday Pics

Wendy — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:37:00 +0000

It’s been so crazy around here lately that I didn’t even get a chance to get the pictures I took on Xmas off my camera until today. Without further ado, here are some pictures of my youngest sister opening her presents, and a few of the dogs with their presents!

Click for full size:

Holidays are Over!

Wendy — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:31:11 +0000

And I can’t say I’m not excited for that fact. Phew! I didn’t think I’d be that busy this holiday season, but I ended up being so busy that I neglected my blog, and also my knitting in the process. There were family get-togethers, lots of food, presents to buy, and you know… everything that goes into creating a happy holiday season for the ones you love. By the time the day was done and I was home… most days I didn’t even turn on my laptop.

The new year is right around the corner and I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be a happy and exciting year for me. I have lots of exciting things planned for Ganiggle Knits for 2010. If I can scrape the money together for a good video camera, my main goal this year is to start up a weekly (or monthly) episode of Ganiggle Knits. It will be a 20-30 minute episode where I can talk about… well… knitting! If it ends up being something people enjoy watching, there are a lot of plans I have for this show. I think it could be really exciting and it could really take this site to a whole new level.

Also for 2010 I have some new stitch marker designs (yes… I totally got my shipment!) that I am excited to share with you. They should be entering the shop on Jan 1st, with a nice new years coupon to kick off the year.

I can’t wait to get January Frost released either! It has turned out so good. Because of the holidays, it is going to be delayed into probably mid-January but it is coming, so don’t worry! I will be seeking testers pretty soon and actually already have a few that tested on other projects who have volunteered to test for JanuaryFrost.

The holidays here were great! I was able to find for my little sister Katie, the Webkinz baby penguin. It was what she truly wanted this year, and I was able to find it! None of us thought we could find it this year, but I did and I’m proud to say that I gave her the “favourite” toy this year. It was wonderful to see her face when she opened up the present and there it was… the baby penguin! I don’t think she has let it out of her sight since!

To my blog readers: I hope you had a wonderful Xmas, filled with family, love, and joy. I will post tomorrow and show some pictures of the new beads that I got for stitch markers. A nice little sneak peek

Lazy Day

Wendy — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:55:06 +0000

I woke up at 2pm today and I haven’t done much since. Sure I cooked supper and made a few pots of coffee, but I’m taking a me day. I’m not doing any chores, I’m not taking any pictures, and I’m not dealing with anything stressful. I’m not even wearing a bra. I had a nice hot shower for longer than usual and now I’m just sitting her relaxing at the computer with a cup of coffee. Everything else can wait for tomorrow!

I Love Good Mail Days!

Wendy — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:51:18 +0000

There is no day more special than a day when you get yarn in the mail. This was true for me today. I had made a trade with Tracy a while back for some delicious Malabrigo. I got the Coco a couple weeks ago, and today I got the Marron Oscuro. Behold!

I got more bird tweets! I also got something called Candycane Cocoa, and I can’t wait to try it. It looks incredibly delicious! The colour is very very pretty and I’ll likely knit something with it right away. The Coco I have is already reserved for a KAL that is centered around chocolate coloured yarns, so I have to wait until February 1st, when the KAL starts.

In other news, my progress on January Frost is slow, but I finished another section on it. Here it is!

I’m still really loving how it’s coming together. Just need to find time to finish it! Okay… so time isn’t an issue. I’ve been lazy and I’ll admit it.

In other news, I am no longer getting my very own knitting office. My younger sister, who was going to be moving out of her room and into her boyfriends place is no longer doing so. Turns out he’s a real jerk and she’s better off without him. Although I’m a little sad that I’m not getting an office anymore, I’m happy that my sister is no longer with the guy. She’s at home nice and safe with the rest of her family! Hopefully she meets a nice boy next time, as she’s had a lot of bad luck with men lately.

More Stitch Markers!

Wendy — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:24:56 +0000

I finally got off my arse and took some photos of the new stitch markers I made the other day. I quite like the little buddha ones and the little yarn ball ones. Heck, I pretty much like all of them! They will be put up in the shop this Thursday or Friday so if you are interested in any of these, check the shop then. I think these photos turned out better than the last ones, especially considering the fact that they were taken using artifical light. I put them underneath my kitchen light, on a small table and placed on a sheet of white card stock. I’m still not 100% happy with the photos, but at least they are an improvement and look more professional than the last ones.

Don’t you think?