Yarny Prizes and a New Design - Yes, They're Connected!

Well, it's Fiber Arts Friday (although pretty much everyday is a fiber arts day at chez Voie de Vie), and I'm here with a new design. Fresh off the virtual presses at ILikeCrochet.com, I'm so thrilled to share with you my Springtime Decadence Shawl.

Photo (c)  ILikeCrochet.com and used
with kind permission

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed designing and working up this shawl. Made with an incredible Shades of Jade gradient set in the Rustic Fingering base from Neighborhood Fiber Company (oh Karida and her most awesome dye pots!), this shawl is everything spring - glorious shades of green (and if you look at my photo background at left, you'll see some of those shades reflected), an easy lace pattern that just flows off the hook, and a shape that stays easily on the shoulders. This is a great piece to have on hand in transition weather.

And get a load of that awesome color!!!!

I must also take a moment to express my appreciation to both ILikeCrochet.com and Neighborhood Fiber Co. Both of these entities have been real supporters of my design career, and their continued support means a lot to me. I took a quick look at my designs catalog over at ILikeCrochet.com (and it's sister publication ILikeKnitting.com), and they have published over 15 of my designs since they started publishing in 2014, as well as several technique articles.

Additionally, I cannot say enough good things about Karida Collins and her team (well, ok, it's Kristen, but hey, she's amazing!) at Neighborhood Fiber Company. Some of my most beloved designs have used her wonderful yarn (and there will be more from her showing up in my designs later this year). There is something about Karida's saturated colors that just speaks to my color-loving heart. I put the Springtime Decadence Shawl up next to one of my paintings just to show the yarn's vibrancy. It absolutely stands up and says "Notice Me!" while still playing well with other colors in the sandbox. It doesn't get much better than that, my yarny friends.

And folks, this photo was snapped outside in the
middle of the day. That's how dark it can be here
in the rainy, springtime Pacific Northwest.

And now to the yarny prizes portion of this blog entry. As some of you may know, I will be starting a new Cowl-o-rama K/CAL in my Ravelry group on Monday (and people are already signing up - yeah!). I am super thrilled to reveal the prizes to be awarded in April at the end of the a-long, and you'll see the tie-in to the Springtime Decadence Shawl in just a moment, so wait for it folks.

First, I am so pleased that another indie dyer has donated this lovely skein of yarn to the left. Denise over at Lost City Knits dyes beautiful yarn. She and I have been virtual friends since our days hanging out in a rather large shawl group on Ravelry - she, a sponsor and me, the sponsor coordinator. Well, once I started designing for publication, Denise kindly supported the cause with a skein of her luscious Twin Canyon Merino/Silk fingering that I turned in my Embossed Coleman Muffler (originally published by, you guessed it, ILikeKnitting.com in April, 2015). So, to honor that yarny support, the first prize I'll be awarding in the Cowl-o-rama a-long is Lost City Knits Twin Canyon Merino/Silk fingering - 500 yards in the glowing copper penny colorway + a copy of the Coleman Embossed Muffler pattern. It's a great one-skein project, easy enough for beginner knitters, yet still has a lovely stitch pattern that will keep more advanced knitters happily meditating over their sticks.

And yes, you can thank Karida at NFC for this most
awesome prize - 1,250 yards of Rustic Fingering gradient
yumminess!

Finally, I am also so thrilled to announce that I will be giving away to one lucky cowl finisher a Shades of Jade gradient kit from Neighborhood Fiber Company! I think I'm almost more excited to give it away than those who might have the opportunity to win this yarny package. I cannot provide the Springtime Decadence Shawl pattern (darn those contractual obligations), but you can purchase an individual month of ILikeCrochet.com and receive the shawl pattern automatically on your device of choice.

See how this all ties together so neatly? Love that. 

Head on over to the Cowl-o-rama thread on Ravelry and
get in on all this yarny prize action by making a cowl
with us, alright?