A Giveaway!

As I'm sure you know, I am working on launching the new brand, Mercantile 519. I am hosting a giveaway on my Facebook page for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the shop, once it opens. If you are interested, you can check it out here!

The Giveaway Winner, and My Week In Instagrams

I've been away from the computer quite a bit this past week, what with our drives, and movie watching and what not. I nearly forgot about the giveaway with Pymatuning Crafts! But, I just picked a winner!
Congratulations Sierra J!

I contacted the winner, and I will be sending her information to Pymatuning Crafts. Thank you everyone who entered. I wish I could give you all a pack of these buttons! They're awesome!
In other news, this week has been a fun one. Here is a little bit of what I've been up to.
Next weekend, The Beer Store is having Returns for Leukemia. What this is, is a fundraiser for blood cancer research, where the money raised is collected from the money a customer would normally receive from bottle returns. I have never participated in this event, I didn't get hired until June last year, and this event is held at the end of May, but from what I've heard, it can be a lot of fun. I have my red teeshirt at the ready, and sunblock, too, as we spend the majority of the day in the parking lot. I'm really looking forward to it.
Rick, Winston and I went for a nice drive a couple days ago. Normally, we stay to the south of the 401, but decided to head north of it this time around. We saw quite a few new places. And some old ones too: we stumbled across a bake shop we had been to in 2010, and picked up some goodies. We made a couple other stops, which I wrote about in my last post, and had a fantastic time. Winston is getting better about being in the back of the Smart Car. There isn't much room for him in the back, but he manages to make the most of it. Since it's been warm out, we put a dish with water back there for him. He's never been one to eat or drink in the car, but on this trip he did drink some water. We were really happy with this. When we took him out to do his business, he wasn't as scared as he usually is, which made us even happier.

There is one downside to having a convertible. That is being out in the sun all day. I was really good and put sun screen on my face, neck and arms. I was wearing shorts and patterned tights. I didn't even think about putting anything on my legs. That was a big mistake. I felt my legs burning after about 2 or 3 hours in the sun. I knew they'd be red. I didn't expect the pattern of the tights to show up so clearly on my legs. This is my leg thigh. Rick says it looks like a piece of salmon. Don't feel bad for laughing at my misfortune, I laugh every time I look at my legs. Just take my advice and put sun screen on everywhere. Even if you think you won't need it.
Overall, this week was a fun one. I wasn't at the computer as much as I normally am, which was a nice change.
How was your week?

Wooden Button Giveaway with Pymatuning Crafts

Last week, I posted about the buttons I got from PymatuningCrafts. I got cherry, apple and yew. All super pretty. I had a really hard time deciding on just the three packs to get. They were packaged nicely, and labeled so I would know what they were. Not to mention, SUPER fast shipping! Especially considering there was an international border! I haven't actually used any yet, but I can't stop going through the bags and playing with them constantly. They feel amazing! So soft and smooth. I have lots of plans for them, starting with some of the baby hats I've been working on lately. I can't wait to share those projects with all of you!

I talked with Leigh about the buttons, told her how much I loved them, and asked if she wanted to do a giveaway on my blog. She happily said yes! So here it is! There are lots of entry options, some of which you can repeat daily, so make sure you read all the details. The entry will close May 17, at 12:00am, and is open to residents of USA and Canada. Good luck!
If you can't wait to win them, and you'd rather purchase, you can use the code SPRING10 to save 10% on your entire purchase (excluding shipping)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday's Are For Gratitude: February 20, 2013

Every Wednesday, I post a short list of things I am grateful for. There are myriad reasons that I do this, the most important is that people who show gratitude are happier with their lives. I could use a little boost in that department some days. Here goes!
My yarn stash / My KnitPicks knitting needles / Richard and Winston / Yummy food / My iPad / The blogs I follow / The podcasts I subscribe to / Meanz of Koi Story / Casey of CsqDesigns / Melina of Midwest Yarn / My iTunes library.
What are you grateful for?

Keep an eye out later today for a giveaway I am taking part in!

The Evermore Studios Giveaway Winner!

Monday is here! For me, this is a cause for celebration, as I now have three consecutive days off. Which is actually pretty nice. I have a lot of plans to get things done, starting with laundry. The first load is in the wash as I type this.
Anyway, onto the winner! I had to go through a couple people, because some didn't do what the entries required them to do. That's a bummer, but I want to be fair. If you didn't do the work (which isn't much at all) you shouldn't get rewarded.
The winner is

Lindsey

Lindsey hearted this gorgeous raspberry yarn. I love this colour, too. I think it would make a beautiful cowl or hat. Or really, anything, it's that pretty!
I've contacted her to let her know she won, and she will let me know which prize she wants.

Thank you everyone who entered! I'm hoping to do more giveaways, so if you would like me to host a giveaway for you, please let me know!

A Giveaway From Evermore Studios! CLOSED

I'm sure you've seen my hexipuffs. I posted them a little while back and I mentioned that I'd bought yarn from Evermore Studios to make some puffs. I contacted Lori to see if she'd be interested in me hosting a giveaway, and she said yes!
I ordered yarn from her shop in November, and received it not long after. I had some important projects to work on, so I put the Beekeepers Quilt on the back burner. Once I got the right sized needles, I went to town! I cranked out quite a few in a short period of time.
The yarn is absolutely beautiful. The colours were exactly as they were pictured in the Etsy listing, maybe even prettier. There were NO knots in any of my mini skeins, which is another plus. I also didn't experience any colour bleeding/rubbing off on my hands while knitting, even from the really saturated blues and pinks. This has happened to me on some of my other commercial yarns and it's a bummer when it happens. I get worried that the colour is going to fade, or change. I don't have that problem with this yarn!
I can't recommend this shop enough. Quick shipping, beautiful product, and a fantastic price point. You definitely need to check out Evermore Studios!

You can enter to win a skein of hand dyed yarn OR a pack of mini skeins. Either one would be a fantastic prize. There are lots of ways to enter, just check out the Rafflecopter below!

If you are impatient, or aren't feeling lucky, you can also use the code "knkrocks" to get 20% off your purchase!

You have until 12:00am on February 11, 2013 to enter. There are a bunch of ways, so make sure you check them all out!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
I was not compensated in any way for hosting this giveaway.

Congratulations, Winners!

Drumroll please! It took a little time to find these winners, because a few people who entered didn't actually do all the required entries. Kind of a bummer that they missed out!

Congratulations Anna, Brittany and Sam! I've emailed you all, and will mail your prizes within 24 hours of receiving all the responses.
Thank you everyone for entering the giveaway, I can't wait to hold another one!

Still Six Hours To Go, and a Craft Show Recap

There are still about 6 hours to go in the giveaway! Hurry and get your entries in!

This past weekend I had my craft show. I didn't do well at all, but I will definitely do a show organized by these ladies again. The show was very, very well run, it just lacked audience. They made sure to only have one vendor of each type, which was fantastic. I don't know how many shows I've done where there are two or even three people selling identical items. Usually, it's the resellers (like Tupperware, Scentsy, Konad and Avon) that are duplicated, but sometimes, there are several hand-makers that are selling incredibly similar items.
This is the first show I've brought my mannequin to, and I will definitely be bringing her to more. (I decided to name her Olenka) She helped add another dimension to my table, bringing a couple items up form laying down so people could see how some of the items looked while being worn.
I can't wait till my next show!

A Knit, Nicole, Knit! Giveaway!

Want a chance to win some Knit, Nicole, Knit! flower earrings? Enter this rafflecopter giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Night Time Knitting

It's been a little while since I've posted any photos of myself. Here's one of me knitting tonight.

I'm working on building up more stock for my two upcoming craft shows, and Etsy shop. I'm trying a new style of neck warmer, hopefully it goes well!
Also, make sure you check the blog at 12:01! I'm doing another giveaway, and there are three prizes!

Another Giveaway!

Yes, that's right, you can enter a second giveaway to win some of my earrings!! This one is being hosted by Rachael of Talk2TheTrees. The prize is THREE pairs of earrings in the colour of your choosing!

Rachael is a year-long sponsor of Knit, Nicole, Knit, and an absolutely awesome person. If you didn't win the giveaway on here (or even if you did!) go and check out her blog and enter to win!

The Giveaway Winners

Finally, the post you've been waiting for! Here are the winners. I am emailing all of them, and they have 24 hours to respond. If I don't get a response from any of them, I will draw a new winner, and contact them tomorrow.
Congratulations everyone!

 B_Ahoot wins an ad space.

 Aquariann wins an ad space.

 Jenny Chang wins an ad space.

Marija wins a pair of earrings.

 Lisa S wins a pair of earrings

Sarah wins the $25 voucher!

It's My 500th Post, So I'm Doing A Giveaway! GIVEAWAY CLOSED

It's my 500th post!

Wow, 500 posts on this little ol' blog of mine! I'd like to thank every one of you for following me, whether you've been here since the beginning, or this is the first post you're reading, it means a lot!
To celebrate, I am going to giveaway THREE one month long ad spaces to three of you lovely folks. But that's not all, I will also be giving away TWO pairs of earrings to two lucky people. Lastly, one person will win a $25 voucher for the Knit, Nicole, Knit shop! I am working on some new items to put in there, so you'll have an awesome selection. The voucher can be used on the cost of shipping. If you want more than $25 worth of goodies, I will send the winner a paypal invoice for the difference.
There are lots of ways to enter to win, so just take a look! Make sure you leave your email address with your comments so I can get in touch when you win. Also, please note that the voucher and earrings can only be won by US and Canada residents.

• First off, you have to be a follower of the blog. I'll be announcing the winner on here, so you want to make sure you see that! You can follow with an RSS reader, Bloglovin', GFC or any other way. Just leave a comment saying which one you are following with, and that's your first entry!

That is the only mandatory entry, the rest of these are completely optional, but I'd definitely recommend doing as many as possible to up your chances of winning! Make sure you leave one comment for each entry, otherwise they won't be counted.

• You can follow me on twitter.
• Tweet about the contest. Use "Check out @KnitNicoleKnit's giveaway for a chance to win a $25 voucher to her shop!" and include a link to this post. You can do this once a day! Leave a comment each day with a link to your tweet.
• You can "Like" my facebook page.
• Heart my Etsy shop.
• Tell me your favourite item in the shop.
• Follow me on Pinterest.
• Pin one of my items in my etsy shop, and tell me which one you pinned. You can do this once a day! Leave a comment each day with the link to your pin.

There you have it! Lots of ways to enter! The contest will run until noon on February 21, so you have one week to enter. Once again, be sure to leave one comment for each entry. I will be checking to make sure you did what you said you did. If I draw your number, and the task is incomplete, I will draw a new number.

Good luck to you all!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Trying Heartsy out Again

Thanks so much to everyone who has entered the giveaway already! Still lots of time to enter, so please go do that!

I tried to get on Heartsy a while back, and just missed the required number of votes. I am trying again. So if you could go vote for me, it would be greatly appreciated!

I've been so incredibly exhausted lately. We're finally getting chiropractic care for the car accident, and I am starting to feel a little bit better. The stress from all of this has been awful, and making it very difficult for me to sleep. I am trying to take it easy now so I don't hurt myself any more than I already am. I really hope Rick starts getting better as well. He has some pretty severe injuries that are making his life way harder. You could send him some get well wishes on his blog.
In any case, I am going to take a nap before I start my day.
Hope all of you are doing well!

Reaching SABLE

SABLE is an acronym for yarn artists that stands for Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy.
I've been there for a couple years now (and I'm 21, so I have a lot of life ahead of me) and I needed to get rid of some. I am going to be moving about a 10 minute drive from where I live (shorter if you hit all the green lights) and I really don't want to bring all this Stuff with me.
I decided to start sorting through my yarn into piles of "use regularly", "use once in a while", "rarely use" and "what the HECK is THIS stuff?" The first pile got sorted into my storage containers, the second is sitting on my couch waiting for a destination, and the last two have been bagged into shopping bags and listed on Kijiji.
For Free.
Yes, I am giving away an obscene amount of yarn. For Free. I've given about 3 pounds away already, and I have another 30 or so ready to go. That's a lot of yarn.
A friend of mine contacted me through the ad, and asked for some yarn to make hats for the cancer centre patients. I set aside a large box for her, and I'm just waiting for her to let me know when she can pick it up.

I can't believe how much yarn I am actually giving away.
How much yarn (or fabric, or buttons, or beads, or thread) do you have that you never see yourself using?