Freebie Friday: Nautical Pattern Giveaway

In 2015 the fifth Friday of January, May, July, and October is Freebie Friday! Tune in to find out how to enter my exciting giveaways. You could win yarn, patterns, findings, and more!

It has been another very nautical summer. Last year nautical crochet patterns and projects were all the rage and this year has followed suit. My own Nautical Baby Blanket pattern has been selling particularly well as a result. Are you ready to get in on the nautical craze? This month's Freebie Friday giveaway is a nautical pattern set, both my Nautical Baby Blanket and my Nautical Infinity Scarf!

There will be three winners this time. Wanna enter the giveaway? Just follow me on any of my social media channels; Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram. Then send an email to illuminatecrochet@gmail.com with the following information:

- Put "Nautical Pattern Giveaway" in the subject line

- Tell me which channel you're following me on

- Give me your username on that channel

It's that easy! And guess what? You can submit a separate email entry for each channel you follow me on! This means that supporting me on multiple channels will give you a higher chance of winning the giveaway. I will randomly select the three winners on the evening of Monday, August 3rd and I will announce them the following Tuesday. Good luck!

Should You Start Another Crochet Project? A Handy (Read: Humorous) Guide

Features Announcement

Hello lovely readers! I want to let you know that I've decided to stop scheduling new features. I am still going to run the features that I have already arranged, but I am no longer seeking to fill the empty slots. I've made this choice for a couple of reasons, but the biggest one is that I just don't have the time anymore. It takes a good deal of time to search for potential featurees, contact them, remind about and secure the information necessary, and then re-contact new potential featurees if I don't receive responses. I thought that moving from three to two days a week of blogging would be enough, but some special projects have come up (yay!) and it isn't possible for me to continue the features. I'd love to tell you about the special projects, but I'm afraid they have to be kept secret for now :)

This is also a good opportunity to admit that I'm just one person, as are many of the other crochet brands out there. It's not as common for designers to have assistants or employees. Sometimes I need to do the human thing and accept my limitations. Thank you for being patient with me as I refine myself as a crochet design profession.

As a side note, I want to shout out to all of my fellow, hard-working designers who are lucky enough to be at the CGOA conference in San Diego. Have a wonderful time!

I'm on Instagram!

That's right, I finally got an Instagram. There isn't much on it yet, but I hope to add more soon. Are you on Instagram? Let's mutually follow each other! I need to be a followEE right now just as must as I need followERs. Are there awesome pages you follow on Instagram? What are they?

First Finished Knit: An Ear Warmer!

Hey, friends! I am so excited to have finished my first actual knitting project. It's a soft ear warmer made out of only 40 yards of alpaca yarn. Check it out! Ah, the glories of my newbie, wobbly garter stitch :)

Success! Also, you may have noticed that my regular Friday features haven't been running lately. I'm taking a little break from them and they'll be back soon. TGIF! (At least for another half-hour...)

Crochet in Mad Men Season 7

I know, I'm a little late to the Mad Men final season party aren't I? I've had a lot going on in my life and less time for Netflix watching. However, recently I was able to get through the first half of the final season. I can't wait for the final episodes to be uploaded! Nobody spoil me in the meantime, okay? :)

I found several crochet pieces while watching. Here are some screen caps. Enjoy!

I especially love that purple dress!

Proud Pineapple Baby Hat

I love reorganizing my stash. Looking at my yarn provides me with happiness and new inspiration. The other day I was optimizing my storage space when I came across some leftover Vanna's Choice in these colors...

The yarn not so subtly told me that it wanted to become a pineapple. I had no choice but to immediately write up a new pattern, the Proud Pineapple Baby Hat. Check it out!

The pattern is written in two sizes, 0 to 6 months and 6 to 12 months, and is available on Ravelry and Craftsy.

Review: A Good Yarn Sarasota, Exclusive Colorway from Dream in Color

Today I'll be reviewing Jilly Laceweight Yarn from Dream in Color yarn in a special colorway hand-dyed exclusively for A Good Yarn. Disclaimer: I received this complimentary yarn in exchange for a review. I am not being paid to write this review and everything shared here is my real opinion.

I love nature. Even the smallest of creatures captivates me. Look at this beautiful, delicate little moth I found the other day. (Don't worry, my precious yarn is secured and safe from moths)

Nature is so inspiring. Indeed, many designers and dyers are inspired by the great outdoors. A Good Yarn Sarasota loves nature as much as I do, especially sea life. In fact, they've partnered with several yarn companies to develop a whole line of exclusive colorways based on nature, predominately ocean life. Cool, huh?

I was lucky enough to receive this hank of lace weight yarn to try out.

The colorway is called Cabbage Patch, named after cabbage coral. It's a great blend of greens with touches of blue. The hank is very generous in yardage, coming in at 880 yards. That's plenty of yarn to complete any shawl, scarf, or other traditional lace project.

I decided to use this yarn to work up the Summer Sprigs Lace Scarf pattern by Esther Chandler. This project will take me a while to complete, but I think it will be lovely when it's done.

I'll keep you posted on my progress. So far, working with the yarn has been quite nice. When I made a small mistake it also frogged fairly easily, even despite its halo. Sometimes colorful yarns aren't advisable for intricate stitch patterns, but I don't think that will be an issue here. The colors blend subtly enough that I think my finished project will be crisp and pretty.

What do you think of Cabbage Patch?

Cloud 9 Cinch Bag Pattern

My newest pattern, the Cloud 9 Cinch Bag, is a versatile item. It can be used as a project bag, as a toy catchall, as a pool bag, as a place to keep special items while traveling, and more. How will you use your bag?

The pattern is available on both Ravelry and Craftsy.