New Knits and a Giveaway

When I'm not making jewelry, I usually baking, cooking, making cards or knitting. Yay for knitting! The only problem with my love of knitting is that the finished products keep piling up. I know you're thinking I should either stop buying yarn and slow down my knitting, or try selling some of it. Well, I can't seem to stop buying yarn and I do try to sell some. But I don't try very hard. I have some scarves listed in my other etsy shop, A Peaceful Life and I have some bags and scarves for sale at Dragonfly Gallery in Soldotna. These two outlets don't even make a dent in the pile of knits I'm looking at.

Soooo, it's time for a giveaway!

 I bought this gorgeous hand-dyed yarn from Phydeaux Designs. Check out her etsy shop where you will find tons of lovely yarns and fun patterns. I purchased a beautiful neck warmer pattern from Rabbit Ridge Designs. It was a match made in heaven. Here is the resulting neck warmer:

Sorry, but that is NOT the item I'm giving away. What a tease, right?

Naturally, I had a bit of that multi-colored yarn left over. I searched through my massive yarn stash and found some solid green pima cotton/tencel blend yarn that looked great with the Phydeaux yarn. I turned to one of my favorite scarf patterns and here is the result:

It's about 62" long and 4" wide and the body of the scarf is done in seed stitch, which adds a nice bumpy (but so soft) texture. The ruffle is done with the leftover yarn from the neck warmer.

 As you can see, 60" is long enough to go around your neck twice. Yes, this is the item that I'm giving away! All you have to do is leave a comment and I will use a random number generator to select the winner. Because this is a holiday, I'm going to keep this giveaway open through the end of the week. I will select the winning number late on Friday, January 4.

May the odds be ever in your favor!

(Yes, I stole that line from the Hunger Games.)

Mitten Giveaway!

I knitted and felted these great mittens some time last year, but they are definitely too small for me.  I would classify them as an adult small or child's large.  I've never worn them, and never will, so I've decided to give them away.  They are 100% wool and have a knitted inner cuff that fits snugly on the wrist to keep the breeze out.  It's a great design.

The wool is variegated in color, but is primarily neutrally creamy.  The other colors are pale blue, peach, cocoa and saffron yellow.  The mittens measure 8 1/4" from tip to cuff.  They are about 3 3/4" wide when measured lying flat.

As you can see, they're pretty cute!

This last photo shows the inner cuff best.

To enter this giveaway, please visit my etsy shop and let me know what your favorite item is.  Please put a link to it in your comment.  Be sure to include your email address in your comment so I can contact you if you are the winner!  Here are some ways to get additional entries into this giveaway:

1. Follow my blog publicly. If you already follow, just say so. And thank you.

2. Follow me on twitter and tweet about the giveaway (one per day).  Provide a link to my blog in the tweet -  @vickiorion is giving away a pair of handmade wool mittens http://vickiorion.blogspot.com #giveaway

This giveaway will close on Friday, March 19 at midnight Alaska time.  Good luck!

Artisan Beaders Giveaway Continues!

We've come up to the last giveaway of the year! Thanks so much to all who participated. The Artisan Beaders appreciate every visit and every comment!


Today, we have a beautiful pair of earrings to give away, courtesy of Donna at Creative Treasures by Donna. They feature freshwater pearls, Swarovski crystals, and sterling silver findings, and measure 1 5/8th inches long. These are so lovely because they are versatile - perfect to carry you from day to night!


How to enter to win:

Visit Donna's shop, then leave a comment on the Artisan Beaders blog* with a link to your favorite item. We will be picking the winner** on Friday, January 2nd, at 5:00pm EST, so you have until then to leave a comment. The winner will be announced shortly after, so make sure you check back Friday night. Thanks for playing!


* If you don't have a Blogger account, please leave your email address or a way to contact you if you win.
** Winning name will be randomly chosen by using Random.org.

Artisan Beaders Giveaway!

We're nearing the end of our holiday giveaways, so don't miss out on a great chance to win!


Today, we have a truly gorgeous necklace to give away, courtesy of Nicole Campanella/Beadwright. This is a necklace that can be worn either by a guy or a gal. The glass focal bead is silver foil with light lavender, dark turquoise and ruby accent glass. Triangle matt silver beads frame the glass focal bead. Step down to size 4mm lavender rounds. The backing is turquoise leather and the edging is 11/o Czech seed beads and 4mm ruby rounds. The necklace is done in a Dutch spiral weave with 11/o Czech seed beads that match the glass focal bead perfectly. The small yellow signature bead guarantees that this is an original piece of beadwork by Nicole Campanella/Beadwright. This necklace measures 22.5 inches long.


How to enter to win:

Visit any of the gallery pages on Nicole's site (Bead Jewelery 1, Bead Art 2, Bead Jewelry 3, Beaded Gourd Art, or Faces), then leave a comment on the Artisan Beaders blog with a link to your favorite item. We will be picking the winner** on Friday, December 19th, at 5:00pm EST, so you have until then to leave a comment. The winner will be announced shortly after, so make sure you check back Friday night. Thanks for playing!

* If you don't have a Blogger account, please leave your email address or a way to contact you if you win.
** Winning name will be randomly chosen by using Random.org

Artisan Beaders Giveaway!

With the holidays almost upon us, we're nearing the end of our weekly giveaways, so don't miss your chance at winning a gorgeous artisan piece of jewelry!


This week, we have a spectacular pendant courtesy of Jael from Jael's Jewels! It is created by hand from polymer clay, and the center of the flower is accented with a dichroic glass cab. This beautiful pendant hangs from a gold plated headpin and measures 1 1/2 inches long by 7/8 inches wide x 3/8 inches thick.


How to enter to win:

Visit Jael's shop, then leave a comment on the Artsian Beaders blog with a link to your favorite item. We will be picking the winner** on Friday, December 12th, at 5:00pm EST, so you have until then to leave a comment. The winner will be announced shortly after, so make sure you check back Friday night. Thanks for playing!


* If you don't have a Blogger account, please leave your email address or a way to contact you if you win.
** Winning name will be randomly chosen by using Random.org.

New Artisan Beaders Giveaway!!

The Artisan Beaders are pleased to present a little holiday present from us to you! Over the next few weeks, participating members will be sponsoring a giveaway of their fabulous handmade items.


This week is a lovely lampwork necklace from Brandi of Catie's Blue! It features an artisan borosilicate lampwork bead, lemon quartz, aqua apatite, fine silver headpins, and sterling silver findings. The chain measures 18 inches long, and has a 3 inch extender chain in the back for adjustments; the pendant itself measures 1.5 inches long.


How to enter to win:

Visit Brandi's shop, then leave a comment on the Artisan Beaders Blog* with a link to your favorite item. We will be picking the winner** on Friday, November 28th, at 5:00pm EST, so you have until then to leave a comment. The winner will be announced shortly after, so make sure you check back Friday night. Thanks for playing!


* If you don't have a Blogger account, please leave your email address or a way to contact you if you win.
** Winning name will be randomly chosen by using Random.org.

Artisan Beaders Giveaway!

The Artisan Beaders are pleased to present a little holiday present from us to you! Over the next few weeks, participating members will be sponsoring a giveaway of their fabulous handmade items.


This week, the giveaway is from me! These Cocoa Waves Earrings feature glass beads and natural brass, and are perfect no matter the time of year. These earrings measure 5/8ths of an inch from the bottom of the earwire.


How to enter to win:

Visit my etsy shop, then leave a comment here* with a link to your favorite item. We will be picking the winner** on Friday, October 24th, at 5:00pm EST, so you have until then to leave a comment. The winner will be announced shortly after, so make sure you check back Friday afternoon. Thanks for playing!


* If you don't have a Blogger account, please leave your email address or a way to contact you if you win.
** Winning name will be randomly chosen by using Random.org.

The Next Giveaway from Artisan Beaders!

This week, the lovely Meri of Elbit Enterprises is giving away an adorable flower brooch! With purple and green, this brooch can transition with you through the seasons. The flower itself measures 1.5 inches wide, and the entire brooch measures 3 inches wide and 2.5 inches tall.


How to enter to win:

Visit Meri's shop, then leave a comment here* with a link to your favorite item. We will be picking the winner** on Friday, October 31st, at 5:00pm EST, so you have until then to leave a comment. The winner will be announced shortly after, so make sure you check back Friday afternoon. Thanks for playing!


* If you don't have a Blogger account, please leave your email address or a way to contact you if you win.
** Winning name will be randomly chosen by using Random.org.

Artisan Beaders Giveaway!

The Artisan Beaders Street Team I'm on is doing a series of weekly giveaways! Starting this week, and every Monday for the next few weeks, one of our members is giving away a fabulous item. This week, it's a pair of gorgeous earrings from Broken Teepee Designs. Visit Patty's shop on etsy to view all of her lovely jewelry.


Aren't they beautiful? And they could be YOURS! For more information on how to enter to win, visit our blog. Winner will be picked and announced this Friday.