Two Weeks of Holiday Giveaways!

As our way of saying "thank you" for being such wonderful fans, Knitter's Pride is pleased to announce our gift to you this holiday season: two weeks of giveaways!

Over the next two weeks we’ll be giving away fabulous prizes to our fans on social media - on each day listed below, visit the specified channel to find out how you can win that day's prize.

• Day 1 - December 4: Marblz Deluxe Interchangeable Set - enter NOW by commenting on this blog post! We'd love to hear about your holiday traditions; be sure to also mention your email address or Ravelry ID so that we can contact you if you win.
• Day 2 - December 7: Shawl Pin on Facebook
• Day 3 - December 8: Nova Platina Interchangeable Starter Set on Ravelry
• Day 4 - December 9: Waves Crochet Set on Instagram
• Day 5 - December 10: Marblz DPN Set for Newsletter Subscribers
• Day 6 - December 11: Knit Blockers on Facebook
• Day 7 - December 14: Wool Winder on Ravelry
• Day 8 - December 15: Nova Platina Special Interchangeable Set on Twitter
• Day 9 - December 16: Nova Platina Cubics Deluxe Interchangeable Set on Instagram
• Day 10 - December 17: Nirvana Pom Pom Maker Set on Facebook

Look for our announcements each day on the Knitter's Pride social media channels linked above for your chance to enter each giveaway; we will be announcing the winners for ALL prizes on our next blog post on Friday, December 18. Good luck!

Winner + Holiday Gift Guide

Congratulations to Barbula, who has won our Marblz DPN giveaway this month! We will get in touch to arrange for the delivery of your prize. Thanks to everyone who entered this month's blog giveaway!

What's at the top of your wish list this holiday season? Today, we'd like to share some of our top picks for knitters and crocheters; you may want to send this link to your friends and family to give them a hint or two - we've conveniently arranged this year's list by craft to help folks find the perfect gift for everyone on their list!

Gifts for Knitters
An interchangeable needle set is perfect for prolific knitters, and we have a quite a few to choose from (click here to see them all). Our limited edition 2015 Holiday Gift Set, Royale, is the ultimate set to gift this year: we've paired our color-coded wood needles with sharp brass tips to provide an unparalleled knitting experience.

Marblz needles are another crowd-pleaser, and we offer both Interchangeable and Double Pointed Needle sets in this line. Each needle features a unique marbled pattern in a range of eye-catching colors which are color-coded for easy size identification.

Gifts for Crocheters
Waves Crochet Sets continue to be a favorite among crocheters; each set includes 9 crochet hooks with ergonomic soft grips which are color-coded by size. Choose from a fluorescent green or pink faux leather zip case they can take on the go!

Gifts for Everyone!
Our Knit Blockers are the blocking tool everyone needs - don't let the name fool you, they are great for finished crocheted projects as well as knitted ones! Click here for our Knit Blocker tutorial from the Knitter's Pride blog archive.

A roomy tote bag makes crafting on the go a breeze! Each bag includes a matching notions case and yarn bag, and other clever features include a spot for storing a mobile device, a key fob, and two inner zipper pockets secure other valuables. Choose from 3 styles (shown below, from L-R: Danube, Rhine, and Volga), we also offer coordinating needle and hook storage cases in each line!

If you're looking for stocking stuffers, guild gifts, or something for everyone in your knitting group, we've got plenty of affordable ideas! Zooni Bead Stitch Markers come in 17 colorful styles to suit a variety of tastes.

We also offer many different styles and colors of in our range of shawl pins - below are just a few of the many options!

If you're planning to knit or crochet gifts for your loved ones this holiday season, we're collecting lots of great pattern ideas here on Pinterest, many of which are available for free! Shown below is the Gingerbread Boy by Sara Elizabeth Kellner.

Wishing all of our fans a merry and festive holiday season!

Giveaway + Designer Spotlight: Angela Tong

This month, we have another designer spotlight to share with our readers! Angela Tong recently used a variety of Knitter's Pride double-pointed needles while filming her newest Craftsy Class, My First Mittens and Gloves. This beginner-friendly class is a great introduction to knitting on double-pointed needles (DPNs), and Angela does a great job of explaining how to choose the right type of DPNs for your project! In addition to teaching, Angela is a knitwear designer, weaver and hand spinner. We hope enjoy getting to know her better on today's post - enjoy!

Angela on the set at Craftsy with a selection of Knitter's Pride DPNs.

How long have you been knitting? Weaving?
I have been knitting for 14 years, since 2001. I learned to weave on the rigid heddle loom in 2009.

Curvilinear Hat by Angela Tong

 
Where do you find inspiration for your knitting designs?
I have an eye for details. Even ordinary things that I encounter during my day can spark an idea. I use to live in Brooklyn and I found myself being bombarded with inspiration everywhere I walked. It could be what someone was wearing, a window pane on a building, or even a doorway. I use the inspirations to add details to my knitting designs.

For weaving, do you use specific patterns or make up your own?
I definitely make up my own. It's fun to experiment on the loom to see what kind of fabric can be made with what I have on hand. I tend to use mostly knitting yarns for weaving because that is what I have a lot of.

What do you love most about knitting? Weaving?
What I love most about knitting is that I can take 2 sticks and yarn to create something that can be worn, used or be decorative. It's so basic yet there is so much you can do with it. I love weaving because I find it meditative. Once you set up the loom, you can go on auto pilot and just repeat over and over again to create fabric.

Tell us a little bit about your new Craftsy class, and why you chose to focus on DPN needles.
My newest Craftsy Class is called My First Mittens and Gloves. It's focus is to teach knitters how to knit their first pair of mittens and gloves. I chose to teach the class using double pointed needles because I believe we all should learn how to use double pointed needles. It's a knitting skill that can be applied to other different types of patterns. Plus, it's really much easier to knit fingers and thumbs using double pointed needles.

What is your best knitting tip for beginners?
Making mistakes is good. That is how you learn to be a better knitter. I have learned so much by tinkering back my knitting mistakes.

Angela Tong is a fiber arts designer based in New York and New Jersey. Her designs have been published in magazines, books and yarn company pattern collections such as Interweave Knits, Knitscene, Knit Simple, Scarf Style 2, Free-Spirit Shawls: 20 Eclectic Knits for Every Day, and more. She is a certified knitting teacher through the Craft Yarn Council of America’s Certified Instructors Program. You can view her designs here on Ravelry and follow her blog here.

November Blog Giveaway
This month, we're giving our blog readers a chance to win a Marblz DPN set! If you're excited to try knitting in the round with DPNs, leave a comment on this post telling us which pattern you would most like to make using our Marblz DPNs. Remember to also tell us your Ravelry ID or email address so that we can contact you if you win. We will randomly select one lucky winner to announce here on the blog on Friday, November 27. Good luck! 

Winner + Designer Interview: Anna Hrachovec of MochiMochi Land

Congratulations to globalite, who is this month's blog winner! We'll get in touch with you to arrange for the delivery of your prize, a copy of Adventures in MochiMochi Land and a Nova Platina Cubics DPN Set!

Today, we have an extra-special interview with a designer whose work has been exhibited internationally: Anna Hrachovec of MochiMochi Land! You may recall Project Gnome Diplomacy from earlier this year, which culminated in an art installation in South Korea. Anna's work was also recently on display at Vogue Knitting Live Chicago, an event we were proud to sponsor. We hope you'll get to know Anna just a little bit better in today's interview. Enjoy! 

Some of the first-ever Mochis

How long have you been knitting, and how did you get started designing toys?

I started knitting when I was 18, so it’s been a good 15 years now. I began designing toys on a whim, when I wanted to make something fun as gifts for my friends—I was a little bored of knitting things to wear and washcloths and so forth, and wanted to create something more unique. My first designs were simple toys that I knitted flat and stitched together, and they were actually in the shape of the logo of the gallery that I worked at at the time. I was so in love with these creatures that right away I knew I wanted to design lots more toys. This was in 2007, and basically I just haven’t stopped knitting toys since. Early on I started a blog, and maybe because there weren’t a lot of patterns for knitted toys at that time, people took notice pretty quickly, and after a while I figured out that I could make a job for myself out of designing. 

Where do you get inspiration? 

My inspirations have come from all kinds of sources, but more and more I like to think of my designs as existing in their own world together, so I’m often thinking about landscapes and environments and also relationships between things, conflicts and cooperation. So I get a lot of ideas from our own world, and also from things like Japanese design and classic cartoons. 

How did you get involved with Nickelodeon?

The creative director for their on-air promotions had seen some of my creatures at gallery hanahou (the NYC gallery that I had worked at and that inspired my first toys), and after expressing interest in working together for several years, he finally made that happen via my agent in 2013. I had actually just moved to Chicago when that happened, so one of the first things I did when I got to Chicago was go back to NYC to work on those animations, which made the whole thing extra surreal. 

Gnome Genome project at the Everyday Moonday gallery in Seoul

We loved Project Gnome Diplomacy earlier this year. How did the exhibit go? Can you share any photos or stories? 

Thank you! It was such a fun project to just ask people to send me gnomes that they’d made and get all kinds of surprises in the mail. (I got 333 gnomes in the end!) The show at Everyday Moonday gallery in Seoul went really well—it was a big task to set it all up (we basically spent a whole week in the gallery), but the response from the people who came to see it was really warm, and I heard that lots of people brought kids to see it during the month that it was on display. 

The gnome diplomats are currently being distributed to people in Seoul via the gallery’s cafe (shown above)—each one has a little note with it saying something like “take me to your favorite place!” or “give me to the first person you meet!” I love to think about the care that the knitters and crocheters put into making these little guys and the way that they’re being given to strangers on the other side of the world just for the sake of spreading fun and little surprises.

Gnome Genome project at the Everyday Moonday gallery in Seoul

Where else has your work been exhibited outside of the knitting world (or inside it, if you prefer!)?

I was lucky enough to be invited to show my work twice in Berlin for the wonderful character art festival that Pictoplasma holds annually. Like with "The Gnome Genome Project" in Seoul, I took those opportunities to do something really different with Mochimochi Land, and challenge myself to explore new forms that my world can take. I’ve also shown my work in NYC quite a few times, and also in Ann Arbor, thanks to the cool people at the district library there. And I’ve had a blast showing my work at many Vogue Knitting LIVEs around the country. 

Mochimochi Land display at Vogue Knitting Live Chicago 2015

What does MochiMochi Land have in store for us this holiday season? 

I have a fun holiday pattern planned for release that I'm quite fond of! And if all goes well, there will be a little animation starring the new characters coming this December too. 

Anna Hrachovec is a Chicago-based designer and artist who combines her passions for knitting and characters to create cute and weird toys that all ages can get excited about. When she's not designing patterns to share with her fellow knitters, she is working on character-based art pieces and animations. In 2013 and 2014, her creations were featured in animated holiday network IDs on Nickelodeon. 

Anna has written five books of patterns for knitted toys, the newest of which is Adventures in Mochimochi Land, a combination storybook and pattern book. Her patterns and blog can be found at mochimochiland.com. 

2015 Gift Set Reveal + A Giveaway!

We’re pleased to introduce the 2015 Gift Set from Knitter's Pride: Royale - The Luxury Collection! This interchangeable needle set is a wonderful gift to give and get this holiday season.

This specially-packaged set includes 9 interchangeable tips made from color-coded wood in a striking new striped pattern; we’ve added shiny brass tips to the ends of each needles and lazer-printed sizes on each metal connector. The unique combination of wood and metal not only gives a refined look to the needles, but also provides an incomparable knitting experience. Sizes include: US 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10.5, and 11.

This set also includes color-coded cords and a set of connectors:

• One 24” (green)
• Two 32” (orange)
• and One 40” (red)

All of the accessories are carefully packaged in a stylish Paris-themed silk fabric pouch that can be used for multiple purposes, and the set itself is presented in a specially designed box with pearly effect.

As always, the 2015 gift set is available in limited quantities for the holiday season. They will begin to arrive at an LYS near you soon! Be sure to ask your preferred Knitter's Pride retailer to order these sets while supplies last!

GIVEAWAY
We'll be having a special guest for our Designer Spotlight on our next blog post - can you guess who? Share your best guess in the comments to be entered in our prize drawing to win a copy of Adventures in MochiMochi Land and a Nova Platina Cubics DPN set!

Be sure to also mention your Ravelry ID or email address so that we can contact you if you win. We'll randomly select a winner to announce on Friday, October 23. Good luck!

#KPrainbow Photo Contest Winners

We've seen so many wonderful photos throughout the last few weeks as part of the #KPrainbow photo contest. Thanks so much to everyone who has participated! You can see many of the wonderful entries we received here on Ravelry or by searching the #KPrainbow hashtag on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.

Today we're announcing our lucky winners. If your photo is featured below, please PM us on Ravelry with your shipping address to claim your prize!

Facebook
Congrats to Aemelia Sweeney, who won a  Marblz Interchangeable Set!

Instagram
Congrats to dinasmiles2, who won a  selection of our new Color-Coded Cords and a set of Zooni Bead Stitch Markers!

Twitter
Congrats to @Dancing_Lawn, who won a Set of Knit Blockers!

Ravelry
Congrats to joannethreadhead, who won a Marblz DPN Set!

Thanks again to everyone who participated, we hope you enjoyed the photo contest and would love to continue to see how you use your Knitter's Pride tools! Be sure to share your photos on your social media channel of choice by using the #knitterspride and #kprainbow hashtags!

Knitter's Pride Rainbow: Photo Contest

With so many brightly colored needles and hooks in our lineup, we'd love to see how your Knitter's Pride tools match your yarn, clothes, accessories, and anything else! Today we're launching a photo contest: Knitter's Pride Rainbow!

How to participate:

• Pair your Knitter's Pride Dreamz, Marblz, Trendz needles or Waves crochet hooks with anything that matches. 
• Post your photo on your choice of these eligible social media channels using the instructions below: 
• Facebook: Post a photo on the Knitter's Pride Facebook page and use #KPrainbow in your post.
• Instagram: Use #KPrainbow and tag @knitterpride to submit your photo!
• Twitter: Tag @knitterpride and use #KPrainbow in your tweet.
• Ravelry: Post a photo here in the KP Rainbow Contest thread in the Knitter's Pride Ravelry Group!

Prizes

These fabulous prizes are up for grabs:

• 1 Marblz Interchangeable Set
• 1 Marblz DPN Set
• 1 Set of Knit Blockers
• A selection of our new Color-Coded Cords and a set of Zooni Bead Stitch Markers

Enter as many times as you like! We'll announce the four lucky prize winners from the pool of entries here on the Knitter's Pride blog on Friday, September 25. Good luck!