Socktober: Volteado KAL Progress Report

Did you see Volteado and the KAL on the Knitty blog this morning? I greatly appreciate the mention, and the promotion of the KAL, which is off and running. In fact, one intrepid knitter already finished a pair of socks!

I'm nowhere near finishing, but given that I'm wrangling 2 small people all day long, I don't think I'm doing too badly:

I had forgotten how quickly these socks knit up once you get the rhythm, and I absolutely adore the colors I chose. Inspired by one of the KAL-ers, I think I'm going to reverse the colors on the 2nd sock, just for fun.

The KAL runs through November 30, and everyone who finishes a pair of socks will be entered in a prize draw to win some YARN, so come join us!


Interestingly enough, in honor of Socktober all of my socks suddenly decided to fall apart. I recently found myself wearing a completely mismatched pair out of desperation, and decided enough was enough. So, because I have NO sock yarn in my stash whatsoever, I did a wee bit of shopping:

Some fun yarns from Knitterly Things (self-striping!) and Western Sky Knits. Now I'm fully stocked to knit up some plain vanilla socks that I can work on when my brain is just too tired for Volteado's stranding (which is most of the time, these days), or on the rare occasions that I find myself a passenger in a car and don't want to wrangle 2 balls of yarn.

Sock Yarn Scarves Giveaway!

 

If you like Siempre or any of the other designs from Knit Picks' new collection, Sock Yarn Scarves, you're in luck! I'm excited to share that Knit Picks has generously provided a print copy of the book for me to give away to one lucky reader!

This collection includes 7 beautiful scarf, cowl, and stole designs, all knit in fingering weight yarn.

 

Estivate, by Teresa Gregorio of Canary Knits, is my personal favorite.

 

The Bees and Honeybees Stole, from Stephanie Tallent at Sunset Cat Designs, is just beautiful.

 

The texture on the Ridgeline Trail cowl , by Angela Modzelewski, is fantastic.

 

The mix of lace and ribbing on the Ridge and Arrow infinity scarf, by Courtney Spainhower of Pink Brutus Knits, is so unique.

 

Try your hand at some unique colorwork with the Gradient Waves cowl by Hope Vickman.

 

Or go for a quick, lacy project with the Everlasting Cowl, by Robin Allen from A Texas Girl Knits.

(Queue up or show some love for any or all of these patterns here on Ravelry!)

But wait! There's more! To sweeten the deal, they're throwing in 2 skeins of Stroll Glimmer in Runway so you can knit your very own Siempre!

This is a great collection for fall, and will arrive right at your door, just in time for cooler weather (unless you live in Maryland; then you know that cool weather is, inexplicably, here right now. Not that I'm complaining. I'm just . . . confused.)

So, how do you enter? Just leave a comment below telling me which pattern you'll knit first (I won't hold it against you if it's not mine!). I'll keep this giveaway running until Monday, August 25, and then announce a winner by the end of the month!

CCFA Fundraiser: Final Tally and Prizes!

Thank you to everyone who participated--we raised over $250 for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America!

First thing's first: every donor will receive a copy of a new stranded sock pattern from MediaPeruana Designs. This pattern will be sent to you on or about July 1 (because apparently having TWO socks to photograph is standard practice--who knew?), and will remain exclusive to donors until September 15. I hope you'll like it!

Next, prizes!

All prizes were awarded randomly, with names drawn out of a hat. Or, ok, a bread basket. Whatever. I'm quite tech saavy, you know.

These 5 awesome donors will be receiving a pattern download from The Yarniad:

Beth S
Shari H
Jennifer P
Ellen B
Joanna B

The beautiful Wandering Wool, Alina Shea Creations, Madelinetosh and Verdant Gryphon yarns for this fundraiser will be going to:

Pauline B
Betty C
Cynthia F
Nicolette B
Diane P

The braid of BFL spinning fiber goes to Stephanie D!

And the three pattern books go to:

Catherine C
Jaime H
Eva B

And that's all of them! If you see your name here, please send me a quick email (mediaperuana at gmail.com) or Ravelry pm with your mailing address so I can get your prize out. If you've won a pattern download, I'll let you know how to redeem that too. And if I don't hear from you, I'll do my best to track you down!

Thanks again to everyone who participated in this fundraiser, I greatly appreciate your support, and I'm sure the CCFA does as well!

LAST DAY! 2014 CCFA Fundraiser!

Well, here we are: the FINAL day of the 2014 CCFA Fundraiser! You have until midnight tonight to make a donation of at least $5 and be entered to win a fantastic prize! Let's take a look at those prizes again, shall we?

Lots of great prizes to award to generous donors, plus each donor receives a new exclusive pattern from MediaPeruana Designs--stranded socks perfect for fall!

So, no more procrastinating--make that donation today! It takes just a couples of minutes to support a good cause and be rewarded for your generosity!

CCFA Fundraiser: Prize Update

Today I'm adding a prize for the spinners among us:

This is a 4oz braid of blue-faced leicester top from Misty Mountain Farm in Amissville, VA, picked up at MD Sheep and Wool. This sunny color is called Cantaloupe, and if you win it, you must spin it up and then send me a picture.

Ok, you don't have to, but it's an idea.

So, if this or any of the other amazing prizes for this fundraiser call to you, DONATE TODAY! This is the last week, so don't miss your chance to win yarn, books, or patterns, and support a good cause. We're up to $185, which is GREAT, but falls short of our previous $375 total--so it's time for that final push! It doesn't matter if you're the very last person to donate, just chip in $5 and you have a chance to win any of these great prizes.

Plus you'll get a brand new MediaPeruana Designs sock pattern, which may or may not be an incentive, really, I'm just throwing that out there.

DONATE.

Flashback Friday: Fundraising Edition

Here I am with mom and sis almost 3 years ago at my wedding!

We're closing in on the final week of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation fundraiser, so if you've been putting off a donation, it's time to stop procrastinating! I've got yarn, books and patterns to give away, and you only need to donate FIVE measly dollars to be entered to win one of these great prizes. The more you donate, the more prize drawing entries you get!

And remember, every donor will be receiving a copy of a brand new stranded sock pattern from yours truly.

Even if you're not in a position to donate at this time, please help spread the word about this fundraiser--tweet about it, share it with your Ravelry group, or give it a shout out on your blog. And if you do donate, spreading the word about the fundraiser via social media will earn you an extra drawing entry!

(And you just may see a few more prizes posted here over the next week . . . )

So. Donate. Donate donate donate. You have until next Saturday, May 31 at midnight!

CCFA Fundraiser: Update

Incredibly, it is the last day of April!

So, a quick update as we move into month 2 of the fundraiser.

Things have been moving slowly, which it to be expected when a fundraiser lasts 2 months. We're holding steady at $65.

Don't let time slip away from you, though--May is the LAST month of the fundraiser, and with Mother's Day and Memorial Day to be celebrated, it tends to disappear quickly.

Don't forget all those amazing prizes up for grabs--donate just $5 and you'll be entered to win! (Isn't that the price of a dinky little latte at Starbucks these days?)

Like this copy of Haiku Knits, donated to our cause by the awesome Betty over at Binding Off, which arrived in the mail just the other day. There are some gorgeous patterns in here just waiting to be tackled by a generous knitter like yourself.

So. Donate today. Every $5 you donate = 1 prize drawing entry. Share one of my Tweets or Facebook posts or Pins about the fundraiser to earn yourself extra prize entries just for spreading the word.

And don't forget, every single person who donates will receive an exclusive new sock pattern from yours truly! These socks are called Pumpkin Butter, and I just love them. I hope you will too.

CCFA Fundraiser: Social Media

We're off and running--$65 in our first week, not too shabby! Let's keep the momentum up--and don't forget those great prizes you could win!

If you're looking for those social media links to share, it's as easy as checking out my profiles on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter, where I've been posting like crazy.

They look like this:

And this:

And this:
 

 So make your donation, follow those links, share/pin/retweet those posts, support a great cause, and be entered to win fantastic prizes! GO GO GO!

CCFA Fundraiser - Let's Go!

 
It's time!

Time to start the big 2014 fundraiser for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America!

You have from today, April 1, until May 31 at midnight to make a donation through this link.

And why would you want to do that?

Well, let me tell you.

First, EVERY SINGLE person who donates will receive a brand new SURPRISE pattern from yours truly.

Here's what I can tell you about it: it's socks. And they're stranded. And they're pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

This new pattern will remain a super secret until the fundraiser ends and prizes have been awarded, so donors will be the very first people to get a copy.

But that's not the real incentive.

No, the real incentive is this AMAZING collection of prizes!


Joelle from Wandering Wool is offering up this gorgeous skein of her High Peaks sock yarn, a Merino/Cashmere/Nylon blend, in Copper Penny.

 Shayla from Alina Shea Creations has donated 2 beautiful skeins of yarn. First, this skein of MCN Shmerino Moon in the Belladonna colorway:

And this skein of Crystal Moon Merino/Silk blend in Sweet Pea--an exclusive club colorway that is not available for purchase!

This lovely skein of Verdant Gryphon in Dyeing Poison Frog is up for grabs:

Plus, this skein of Madelinetosh Tosh Sport in Well Water:

A 4 oz braid of blue-faced leicester from Misty Mountain Farm, in colorway Cantaloupe:

Hillary from The Yarniad (creator of Citron, one of the best patterns ever--and FREE!) has offered a bunch of pattern downloads for this giveaway! That means you could get this:

 Glacerie

Or this

 Luna Viridis

Or this

Lysa

Or another pattern in her Ravelry shop. FIVE people will win a pattern download from Hillary, because she's super awesome like that.


A very thoughtful blog reader, Betty, has donated a copy of the book Haiku Knits for this fundraiser.

You can see all the designs in this Japanese-inspired volume here.

I also have a copy of Contemporary Irish Knits to give away

And a copy of Fitted Knits

Wow. That's quite a collection of prizes, right?

And I'm hoping to add a few more before our 2 months are up! But more on that later . . .



For every $5 you donate, you'll get one entry into a drawing for one of these fantastic prizes. So $10 = 2 entries, $25 = 5 entries, etc. I'm sure you can do the math.

I'll also give you additional entries for using social media sites to spread the word about the fundraiser. In the very near future (possibly tonight, but let's face it: it took me the entire day to write this blog post, so more likely tomorrow), you'll find a pin on my Pinterest page, a link on MediaPeruana Designs' Facebook page, and a tweet on Twitter about this fundraiser. Repin, share, and/or retweet, and I'll give you an extra entry in the drawing.

(Sorry, sharing is caring, but these drawing entries are additional; you have to make a donation too!)

And don't forgot: please don't donate anonymously! You don't have to give your full, real name if you prefer not to, but I need some way to identify you.

I think that covers the basics, but if you have any questions, be sure to email me at mediaperuana at gmail.com.

Now, let's start raising some money!