Christmas Giveaway :)

Well i was too late to join in the sewmamasew bloggers giveaway day, but thought i would have one anyway :)

Up for grabs, some delicious 10ply Luxury hand dyed yarn inspired by Ron Weasley ( my new fictional crush ;) hehehe)

To enter, just leave me a comment telling me who YOUR fictional crush is ;)
I will draw the giveaway on Friday morning (17th) and will happily ship internationally :)

Merry Christmas!!!!!

Blogtoberfest Day 31- HAPPY BLOGTOBERFEST

Blogtoberfest Day 31

Today is the last day of Blogtoberfest.
I am so proud of myself that i managed to blog 32 times this month! I only missed two days but had 3 days with two posts so i more than made up for it :)

I have shared with you more about myself, my family, my craft and my business. I have made new friends and gotten to know old friends better.

Ive had fun entering giveaways and having one of my own.

Speaking of giveaways, here is the yarn that i have just dyed and re-hanked up for Joanne, winner of my Blogtoberfest Giveaway.
It is 100g 4ply sock yarn.



Joanne said she liked blues and greens but not necessarily together and this is what i came up with, I've named it "Blogtoberfest" for the occasion hehe.
There are also a couple of other goodies going in the parcel but that will be a surprise ;)

I hope you all had fun reading my posts this month!! it has definitely given me the motivation to blog much more regularly from now on :)

xxx

And the Winner is..............

And the Winner is........

JOANNE!!!!!

Congratulations!!!

Email me at h_carni@hotmail.com and we can talk about what you would like for your prize ;)

Thank you all so much for participating!! hope you had as much fun as i did :)

Blogtoberfest Day 17 - Today is.....?

Blogtoberfest Day 17

Giveaway Time!!!!!!

So who has been following my blog this week and noting down the scavenger hunt words?
Hehe i had lots of fun tyring to fit the words into my posts and hope you guys had fun playing along!!

A reminder that the winner will get a custom dye job by me on a yarn base of their choice!



So what was the phrase i hid in my posts?

If you already answered in my last post or by email that is fine and you will still be counted :)

I am going to draw the winner at 8.30pm tonight (nz time) so you have the rest of the day to enter your answer :)

Blogtoberfest Day 16- MAIL!

Blogtoberfest Day 16

Well after my post yesterday about receiving yarny mail, i had another box of goodies on my doorstep this arvo!!

I have been taking part in a "Purple" themed swap on Ravelry and my end of the deal had arrive woppee!!!

Here is what i scored

A gorgeous hand knit shawl, some Knitsch sock yarn, some gluten free fudge ( so thoughtful) some soap, chocolate and a sponge puff!!!

Here is be wearing the beautiful shawl ( i JUST my colours)


I sent off my package across the ditch to Oz and here is what i put together

Some "Veyla" gloves in Vintage purls sock yarn, some 100purewool 4ply in deep rich purples and some flash kiwi dip sachets ( gift wrapped in shop so no pic sorry!)

Here's a better pic of the gloves

On a side note, i will be closing off the Summer Yarn swap Tomorrow and allocating partners. There are only 4 of us so far so i would love to make some people join up! Click the button on the top right of this page for info.

Also, today is the last day of the giveaway scavenger hunt! so take note of all the highlighted words over the past week and get ready to post the sentence tomorrow :) i will draw the winner at 8.30pm tomorrow night NZ time.

Blogtoberfest Day 12 Gluten Free

Blogtoberfest Day 12

Since having Flynn just over two years ago my body hasn't been acting the way it used to. Through trial and error i have discovered that i am allergic to culture ( yogurt, sour cream etc) and Gluten.
No this was a huge blow for me as i ADORE all the yummy gluten full goodies that are bread, baked goods, pasta etc etc. It has taken months and months of being half arsed and "cheating" but i have come to the realisation that its just not worth it, The repercussions are just soooo not worth it ( hugely uncomfortable, bloated ( like 6 months pregnant bloated) and all the lovely "down below" extras.

So i have come to accept my plight and me and my husband have been experimenting a bit with different gluten free alternatives.

Here was Sundays night dinner:

Chicken breast stuffed with pesto and cream cheese on a tomato and garlic bed, with vege/brown rice pasta with pesto and Parmesan, and fresh basil all over the top .

OMG YUM!!!!!!!!!

Now that i have tried Gluten free pasta i would never go back to normal stuff, it is DELICIOUS and i no longer get the horrible full sore tummy feeling afterwards :)


Oh and one more reminder of the Summer Yarn swap i have set up, check out the button at the top right courner of this blog for details ;)

Blogtoberfest Day 10 GIVEAWAY!

Blogtoberfest Day 10

Time for a giveaway!!!! I've spent today thinking about a fun way to do a giveaway and have come up with a good idea!

For the next 7 days i am going to highlight one word in my daily blog post and next Saturday ( 16th) those who can tell me the whole sentence will go in the draw to win!!! ( if it makes it easier to remember then you can comment on each days post with the word then comeback and read them on sat)

What will you win?

A custom dye job from me :) You can choose your yarn base ( 4ply, sock yarn, lace, 10ply, 8ply) and your fav colours and then i will do the rest!!! i will also add in some chocolate ( of course) and maybe some extra goodies too ;)

Here are some examples of my work ( and pop over to my yarn blog Red Riding Hood Yarns to see more)

Good Luck!

My Creative Space, and giveaway winners!!

Well i did it!!!!!!! and with 12 to spare! i cannot believe i have had an extra 32 followers since this time last week, you guys are AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!

Julia over at Just One WIP generated 7 of those all by herself by pimping me out on Ravelry and her Facebook and Julia it paid off!!! You are one of the winners!!! I drew your name first too (thanks to random.org) so you get to choose which skein you would like first.

Rachel (xmasangels) was the second winner so congratulations to both of you!!!!!! Rachel and Julia could you either PM me ( on TNN) or send me an email with your details please and i will get these beauty's into the mail!

I thought it was hilarious that you are both TNN ( thenappynetwork for those who have no idea what i am talking about haha) members, and i even drew two more names after yours just to see and yup, two more TNNers haha, lovely to see so many of you supporting me :)

right onto the yarn!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Man oh man was it hard to dye this yarn!!! it took AGES for the yarn to absorb the dye and then when it did it just sucked it all up and it hardly made a difference. i had to use ALOT of dye and still the colours are quite "dull" and not nearly as vivid as i was going for. They still look great mind you, just not quite what i was trying to do.

I went with blues and purples, and pinks and greys in the end :) Both would make beautiful shawls i think, but then again I'm a bit biased don't you think? haha

hmmmm that last pic doesnt look right, there is no green, just rich blues and purples
Pop on over to kootoyoo for more creative spaces

5 more to go! What colour shall i dye?

So i am 5 followers away from my goal!!!!! i am going to remain confident that i can make it to 100 by the end of Thursday so i am going to prep the yarn!!



I am going to dye up 200grams of 4ply 100purewool which is the softest and snuggliest yarn you will EVER touch.

So what theme shall i go with? What do you want? earthy colours? brights? pastels? 200grams of the same colourway? 2 separate colourways? ( i have two 100gram skeins) I could also so two winners of 100grams each...............(so double your chances to win ;) )

Thank you to all my friends who have pimped me out on their facebooks!!! i have a new follower thanks to Kate and 2 thanks to Julia!

So, tell me what you want, what you really really want!!!

My Creative Space - and a giveaway.

My creative space this week has been a little quiet.

I started and finished another shawl, #7 to be exact! It is for my husbands grandmothers 75th birthday next month but i haven't taken photos of it yet.

We have been away for a few days at my own grandmothers funeral, so i haven't had any more time for crafting.

HOWEVER! I am 20 followers away from 100, after last weeks mammoth blog visiting expedition and i wonder if i can make it up to 100 by next Thursday??? If i CAN then my creative space next week will be a giveaway of some lovely hand dyed yarn by me, drawn from my followers.

So tell your friends, and if you refer someone here and they follow me, get them to leave a comment saying so and i will give you another entry in the draw :)

here are some examples of my dyeing

I have some gorgeous and soft 100purewool waiting to be dyed!

Head on over to Kootoyoo for more creative inspiration

Emily Rose

It was Emily rose's 21st over the weekend and as she is a dear friend of the family ( and my little sisters best friend) i wanted to make her something very special.
I used some beautiful hand dyed yarn i received a few weeks ago in a shawl swap to make a "Damson" for her. She adored it and wore it for the rest of the day as it suited her dress perfectly!





I had given myself 4 days o knit it up which turned out to be not quite enough time! i was knitting in the car on the way down to wellington, then knitting first thing on Saturday morning to finish it, then had my mum blow drying it after pinning it out to block, up until the minute we had to leave for the party! haha next time i will give myself more time!

This was shawl number 5 for the year! so i am halfway through my 10 Shawls in 2010 goal and it is only the start of may! have only done 1 and a half pairs of socks though so need to get onto those!

I have noticed my followers list climbing over the past few weeks too which is so exciting! once i hit 100 followers i will have another giveaway so tell your friends ;)

A winner!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you all so much for you support in following my Blog :)
I finished my shawl yesterday and had it blocking over night, shot out for a photo shoot this morning and voila!!!!!!










The winner of this little beauty is faerysarah!!!!!!!!!! I have sent you an email so once i have your details i will get this baby into the post for you :)

The pattern i used was called "Damson" by ysolda, and while it looks stunningly intricate and fancy it was a breeze to knit, so much in fact it was a little boring at the beginning ;) but worth it is the end!!!!!!

And so, it rounds up my first shawl for the year, to go towards 10 Shawls in 2010 :)

making progress...

My Damson shawl for my giveaway is FINALLY coming along. The garter stitch section could not keep my interest so it took me way longer than it should have.
I'm finally onto the interesting bit now though so it shouldn't take me long to finish :)


(that little hand took off with my knitting the second after i took this photo! haha)

remember that all new follower before i finish are into win as well and as an extra incentive, if any of you blog about my giveaway you will get a SECOND entry and double your chances :) so get blogging dudes! (post here to let me know)

giveaway update

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!

That is all i can say :)

I jumped from 36 to 53 followers yesterday! so nice to know that people actually like the stuff that i make and like to read my blog! hahaha

All new followers between now and the time i finish the shawl will be in to win too, so don't think you've missed out :) if miraculously i can reach 100 then there will be an awesome second prize too.

I was gifted this scrumdidiliumptious touch yarn merino last night by a friend of mine so this is what the shawl will be made from, I'm still tossing up patterns though ;)

Giveaway time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think it is about time for another giveaway don't you?
I am currently at 36 followers and when i hit 50 i will make and giveaway a beautiful shawl to wrap around your shoulders during the summer evenings ( or winter if you are in the northern hemisphere)
Here are some examples of shawls have made recently ( all "Ishbels"):









I have singed up to knit 10 shawls in 2010 so this giveaway will be one of them :) i have at least 10 different ones i want to make so it will be a surprise!

Each follower gets 1 entry and the lucky 50th will get two entry's :) good luck!

Mail for me!

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
I recieved some exciting mail this morning!



I was lucky enough to win Kellys Giveaway of some upcycled "Where the Wild things are" envelopes and some devine Evoke 10ply yarn. Trouble is i have no idea what to make with 100grams of 10ply merino? Any suggestions?

Hi Ho, Hi Ho..........

.......its off to the post office we go!!!



I LOVE wrapping up parcels to take across the road to the post office!
Today's haul had two going around the country, two across the ditch to Oz and one flying its way up to Canada!!!!!!!!!!!!! Very exciting stuff.......... i love parcels! (even when they cost $41.50 to send!)

This time of the year is extremely busy at the mail box! I'm expecting quite a few things over the next few weeks which makes each morning super exciting as i go and check what goodies await!

Have you got any exciting mail lately?

2 Prizes and an award

Well Blogtober is officially over but the festive "cheer" is still hanging over this house!

I was lucky enough to win TWO giveaways during the Blogtober festivitys.

The first, some lovely handmade beads from Karin over at "The Sparkly Things Blog"
The second some "upcycled" coasters from Stephanie over at "Moobear Designs"

I was also lucky enough to be given the "Gorgeous Blogger Award" from one of my new blogtober friends Renee over at "Of Lemons and Honey"



I am so honoured that she would think of me! So now i have to blog about 6 things you dont know about me, and then nominate 6 more Bloggers to receive the award :)

So here goes:

#1 I only just tured 23. ALL of my mummy friends are older than me, some by more than 10 years but i dont notice in the slightest! Because of this most people assume i am older than i am and i cant really blame then as i dont know many other 23 year olds who are married with two kids hehe.

#2 I couldnt survive without the internet and all my cyber friends. ( Geek yes i know hehe)

#3 My childhood and teenage dream was to be a broadway actress :) I LOVE the theatre, being on and off the stage, and everything "musical". I still get goosebumbs everytime i see a show.
Maybe one day.............

#4 I had a Nomad childhood. Growing up my family never spent more than 2 years in any one place. We have lived all over the north island of New Zealand, on Pitcairn Island and in Lima Peru :) This has instilled in me a lust for travel and hope to take my family all over the world in the years to come.

#5 I LOVE giving. I think it may be a little bit of an addiction for me. Thinking up ways to spoil my friends, making and giving gifts, organising others in BIG Kohas etc. Christmas is my FAV time of year as i get to make and give lots and lots!

#6 I am the worst housewife EVER. Tidyness has never been my forte, couple that with a hubby who is also not very houswork inclined and you get our place.............

Hahaha ok no its not that bad, but i would much rather spend my time playing with my boys and knitting or creating :)

Right so now its my turn to nominate 6 blogs that i think deserve the Gorgeous Blogger Title, its a hard task really as i have so many friends in real life who are bloggers, plus a bunch of new bloggy friends, but here goes:

1. Kelly over at "Knit So quaint" (SUPER inspirational and is always bringing to light fabulous causes etc)

2. Tricia over at "Little eco footprints" ( discovered during blogtoberfest and a wonderful blog about raising an eco concious family)

3. Nikki over at "The redheaded devil child" (educational and entertaining hehe)

4. Cathie over at "m.e" (super sweet blog with amazing photography"

5. The Heart family over at "Heart Felt" ( another crafty family blog)

6. My knitting Guru Sheryl over at "Shortly Stitches" (AMAZING knitting based blog)

ENJOY your awards ladies!

xxx

Blogtober #31 We have Winners!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been overwhelemed with the response o have gotten over this giveaway :)
It is so lovley to know that people actually read and like my blog! haha

well i have gone through every post and every comment and drawn out of a hat and here are the winners..............

First up the skein of Vintage Purls sock yarn goes to.............. Gen!, NZ (also known as paws hehe) congrats babe!

Second up is the World Sweet World magazine which will be winging its way across the ditch to Vic at punky and me !!!!!!!!! I hope you enjoy it :)



And last but certainly not least, the winner of the grand prize goes to.............................. ikkinlala!!!!!!!!!! from Canada!



Congrats everyone, you will be getting emails from me later today to sort out postage etc :)

Thank you to everyone who entered, i hope to see you all at my 200th post giveaway! hehe

Blogtober #29 MY 100TH POST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ive done it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 100 posts baby! And only 1 day later than i had planned so pretty good going i think :)

I am going to leave my giveaway drawing untill saturday so two more days to get in the draw!

As promised i have some new goodies up for grabs ;)

First up, in ths spirit of all things kiwiana i have some more kiwi chocolate to droll over: a BIG bag of Pinapple lumps, a Buzz bar, a Moro bar, a Perky Nana bar and a chocolate fish!


Next up, one of my tea-cup pincusions :) complete with kiwiana collectors teaspoon


Another softie! This time Libby the Hippy is all yours. Libby is one funky chick, she comes with embriodered "peace" and marajuana leaf motifs and a retro flower print on the back.


I have also just started a fern patterned knitted dishcloth to chuck in too.

Now and extra little giveaway to be drawn SOLEY from my followers is the GORGEOUS "Edric" vintage purls sock yarn i received last week

If you want to be in to win this beautiful sock yarn make sure to become a follower of my blog :)

A reminder that the "World Sweet World" magazine will only be drawn from comments made on THIS post too. There are only 5 entrys so far so you have got a great chance to win!