Saturday, December 4, 2010

Giveaway Recap

Hi Everyone I wanted to remind you all right now there are 2 giveaways happening....no wait there are 3 giveaways going

  1. First one is for a copy of my soon to be released (say the beginning of January) Dish Rag of the month pattern, which is 13 patterns that are themed to each month see this post to join!
  2. The mystery Dish Rag KAL and giveaway of 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces sock Yarn see this post for the start of the KAL.
  3. And of course our Zippy Pins $20 gift Certificate give away (we are giving away 2 of them) which you can find starting on this post!
Thank you all for following my blog and have a great weekend!  Oh and keep watching for more fun giveaways!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

The Felted Foot Stool is now Available!

My newest pattern is my Felted Foot Stool! It is 18 inches across by 22 inches high and is very very easy to knit, using stockinette stitch and knit in the round! You can of course make it higher if you would like! This is a great addition to any room and perfect for you to prop up your feet while you knit!




And here is a picture of it before felting


Here are some of the stats!

Size 10 US Needles dpns and a 30-40 inch circular needle once you get too many stitches for the dpns.


11 skeins of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky, picture is in the Hand Dyed Garden Party color way, 1507 yards.
 
This pattern is perfect for doing while you are watching TV because it is done in the round and you are only doing stockinette stitch!  Please go to our second page located here to get the pattern!

Zippy Pins interview and giveaway!

Welcome Back for day 2 of our Zippy Pins review and interview.  Today is the interview I got to have with the owners!

I had the opportunity to ask Jamie, one of the owners, a few questions that I would like to share with you.




1. What is your company’s message or slogan?

Zippy Pins is a unique button – badge emporium that offers a world of way to express yourself with pins, magnets, key chains, zipper pulls and mirrors in a variety of sizes. Zippy pins helps the world speak true and celebrate the fun, fantastical elements of your. Say who you are, what you think, create more opportunities to meet like-minded people. Open dialogues, broaden views, make connections, it’s up to you, witty remarks, clever retorts and political sparks, wearing a Zippy Pin Shouts it out.


2. What first made you and your daughter start Zippy Pins?

Zippy Pins had an accidental humble beginning on my kitchen table; here is the story of Zippy Pins:


Several years ago, one of my daughters, Logan, was on a crew team and her time commitment to the sport was so great that she had no life outside of rowing. I had purchased a used button maker and she asked me to make her a pin that said “I Can’t, I Have Crew” so she could put it on her book bag and point to it every time someone asked her to do something after school or on the weekends. Girls on the rowing team liked the pins and started asking her for them. When I found out the team needed to raise money, I created some new crew designs and started making hundreds of pins and selling them at regattas and donating the money to the rowing club. Sayings such as “Fast Girls Finish First”, “Some People Party, I Erg”, “Rowers Do It Backwards”, “Kiss My Stern” as well as more than 70 other sayings proved to be very popular. In December of 2007, on a whim, I created some knitting themed button – badges as Christmas gifts for my friends in the guild. They suggested listing the crew and knitting pins on eBay, which I did in January 2008, trading as Emblazon Yourself. From the beginning, there was great demand for the pins. I decided to create pins about things my kids were interested in like geology and Irish Dance plus things I was interested in like bigger arts, gardening, antiques and collection. Very quickly, my eldest daughter, Jenna, saw the potential for growth and we decided to go into business together. Wanting to establish an online marketplace dedicated to celebrating people’s interests, it because apparent that to take our business to the next level we should create and e-commerce website and rename our business Zippy Pins. The specialty website ZippyPins.com was launched in October 2009, offering a broader selection of designs and a variety of products in many sizes, as well as Create Your Own Designs and Buy in Bulk pricing. In September 2010 we found ArtFire and realized it offered a unique opportunity to reach more customers in a creative, new way. Customers have requested our saying and designs as bumper stickers, so in October 2010 we began offering knitting bumper stickers in our ArtFire Studio.


3. What is your business background and how did it prepare you for running this business?
I (Jamie/mom) am the creative force behind Zippy Pins. I was a business and marketing major at the University of Delaware, but I have never worked in the field. I am a homemaker with 6 children. I have a lifelong interested in the arts and crafts, gardening, I have raised sheep and goats, I am an avid spinner and I belong to a fiber guild.

Jenna (my daughter) is the organized, business minded force behind Zippy Pins. Jenna has a strong entrepreneurial spirit combining her sales and marketing experience with her communications and journalism major.

4. Is there a meaning behind the name of your company?

While searching for a name and an available dot com for our business we came across the word “zippy”. “Zippy Pins” became the obvious choice since it captured our vision for the business and it was memorable and fun.

Zippy literally defines both the strikingly fresh, lively, and appealing products we sell, as well as the speedy, friendly service that ZippyPins.com delivers.



5. Is it hard running your online business?

I think the hardest part is trying to figure out a way to let people know that Zippy Pins exists and to be seen on the World Wide Web. We have a unique product, and an incredibly designed website and we strive hard to please our customers, but we haven’t broken through for search engines to return Zippy Pins as a result when people are looking for pin back button – badges.


6. Is it hard running a shop on Artfire?

Setting up the ArtFire Studio took some time, but was not very difficult. ArtFire is very easy to use and the people from the company I’ve emailed or spoken with have been very helpful.


7. What fiber festivals can we find you at?

In the past we’ve had the opportunity to share a booth with friends, but primarily our pins are resold by vendors at fiber festivals in the USA. Over the years, they have been sold at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, NYS Sheep and Wool Festival, Wooster Fiber Festival, Sock Summit, Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF) and even at the first Fiber Festival of New England this fall. Most vendors sell our line of pins with popular knitting and fiber arts sayings, while others do giveaways of customized pins to promote their products and create brand awareness.



So as you can see this is a home-based family run American business that offers fun and value to its customers! Since Zippy Pins was so excited about doing this interview and review of their products they wanted to do a giveaway too! Zippy Pins is generously offering two $20 Gift Certificates that can be redeemed in their ArtFire Studio.


So I know you are asking “How do I win one?” Just go visit their website or ArtFire studio and then come back here and leave a comment on this blog post with your favorite Zippy Pins saying. The winner will be picked by Random Number Generator dot com on December 9th.  Also go check the post from yesterday for a 2nd chance to win which will be drawn on December 8th!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Zippy Pins etc!

I forgot to add the link to Zippy Pins Artfire site this is where their bumperstickers are located http://www.artfire.com/users/ZippyPins

Zippy Pins Review

Happy first day of December everyone!  Today I want to talk to you about Zippy Pins their pins, key chains, and stickers are amazing!  They offer products to knitters and spinners that are fun and can show the world your love of your craft!  I highly suggest you check them out!

Zippy Pins offers an eclectic collection of witty and sometimes irreverent sayings for fiber artists, all of which are available as pin back buttons, magnets, key chains, and zipper pulls in a variety of sizes. They also just created bumper stickers with some of their most popular sayings that allow you to show your love for knitting and spinning! Their products are handmade using quality materials and would make great stocking stuffers or small gifts for guild friends.


Zippy Pins is a mother and daughter collaboration born out of a creativity and passion for helping people share and connect over hobbies, sports and collections as well as social and environmental causes with humor. Mom is Jamie O’Sullivan – Director of PINnovation AKA Chief PINhead – married mother of six. Daughter is Jenna Montgomery – Chief PINnovation Officer – 29 years old – proud mom of a long haired Chihuahua and 4 cats.

Starting out as Emblazon Yourself on eBay in January 2008, they quickly decided to create an e-commerce website and renamed their business Zippy Pins. The website ZippyPins.com was launched in October 2009.

This year at the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival, Zippy Pins debuted their new collection of bumper stickers. They are printed on durable vinyl with a protective laminate and pressure sensitive adhesive so it will stay on your car (or any other smooth surface) and will look great for years to come. You can see their display in this great Letsknit2gether Video at about the 9 minute mark.


The bumper stickers come in three sizes:



Rectangle 3” x 11.25”

Oval 4” x 6”

Rectangle 7.25” x 3.75”



So the kind owners of Zippy Pins have offered 2 yes two $20 gift certicicates to they website to be given away here.  The way this will work is go to their site the link is the blue writting above, pick out your favorite saying and then come back here and comment on this post what your favorite saying is.  One week from today December 8th I will use the Random Number Genirator to pick a winner.  But wait there is more on Tomorrows post you will get a second chance to enter commenting on that post, that one will have the drawing done on December 9th.  Good Luck everyone!

Come back tomorrow for my interview with the owners and a second chance to win!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Mystery dish rag KAL Pattern is now live!

I have posted the pattern on Ravelry here is the link http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/camero-dish-rag Please post your project pages linking to the pattern and on December 9th I will bring all the project pages up and pick a winner by Random Number 's web site! You can enter as many times as you like but please do different projects and different dish rags for each one! Good Luck!  Remember the prize is the wonderful Lorna's Laces sock yarn pictured below!


NaBloPoMo I did it!

I have been taking part in NaBloPoMo http://www.nablopomo.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network for the month of November.  It is National Blog Posting Month in which you post a new blog at least once a day every day for the month, and I did it!!!!  There are prizes that will be given randomly for those who did post everyday and I will let you all know if I win something here is a link to the prizes http://www.nablopomo.com/prizes/2010-prizes!  Going forward I will try to post every day but if I miss a day here or there please understand.  I will try to do more mystery KAL's and giveaways too as well as reviews of knitting and spinning related products!  Thank you all for reading my blog and I hope you and your family have a great Holiday season!

Monday, November 29, 2010

How was your Cyber Monday!

So how was your Cyber Monday???  Mine was quietly spent at home, I did get my yarn support from Lion Brand Yarns so I started working up the samples out of that yarn so I can get the pattern into testing, it is 13 very very small projects.  I was going to do the first part of a 2 part interview with Zippy Pins today but it isn't quite ready but I should have it up Tuesday!  So keep watching because they have graciously agreed to have a give away for two $20 Gift certificates to their site! Why don't you check them out http://www.zippypins.com/.  I am wishing you a great relaxing evening of knitting!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Cyber Monday Sales!!!




Do you love shopping online????  Do you love saving money????  So do I!!!  So here is a list of all the Cyber Monday Sales I could find!  First off I am also having a Cyber Monday Sale, you don’t need a coupon code of anything just make a purchase and you will have 33% automatically reduced from your bill!  Go here to save your 33% on Knits 4 U Designs patterns.  Go here to save 33% on Knits 4 U Designs Patterns!

I thought it would be fun to do a list of other Cyber Monday Sales so here we go!!

  • Jennifer Rice is offering 30% off with no coupon code needed in her Ravelry store located here or 30% off with coupon code Cyber2010 in her Etsy shop located here.
  • Mary Annarella is offering 20% off with no coupon code needed on all patterns in her Ravelry shop located here.
  • Louise Knits is offering 15% off on her Art Fire site located here.
  • Terri Kruse is offering 20% off in her Ravelry Shop located here.
  • Dianna Morgan is offering a buy 2 get 1 free sale that is 3 patterns for $4 when you use the coupon code NEKO in her Ravelry shop located here
  • Carrie at http://www.wedonothaveaknittingproblem.blogspot.com/ is having a 25% off sale on all her patterns, you can find the list of patterns in the side bar of her blog, click on it and then you can purchase the patters from there!

How about a Review????

Today I want to review the incredible yarn from Lorna's Laces, and we will be talking about their Shepherd Bulky 100% Superwash Wool Yarn.  Just take a look and this squishy, lovely yarn!


So the stats for this yarn are it is 100% Superwash Wool, you get 140 Yards of Bulky yarn per skein, and you get a gauge of 3.5 sts per inch on size 10 needles.  This is the Chocolate color way and I love love love the way the shading on the color is in this yarn.  Take a look at the throw I am in the process of making with it and you can see what I mean!



This yarn is so soft and squishy and warm and well it is close to perfect!  I suggest you go over to Lorna's Laces site, located http://www.lornaslaces.net/, so you can see all the wonderful options and yarns they have!

Surprise Saturday Giveaway Results

Our winner is AEWS who is also known as Alice Simmons.  We had 10 people comment so I went to Random number generator and put in between 1-10 and it came up 3.  Alice has requested the Celtic Trinity Knot Throw Pattern, and it has already been emailed to her!  Here is a picture of the finished piece.


Thank you everyone that joined in and please join the Mystery Dish Cloth KAL (you can find the pattern below) for a chance to win 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Sock yarn. 

Also stay tuned because we have another big give away coming very soon!


And we have a Winner!

The winner of our Surprise Saturday Give Away is.........................................

aews who said... Celtic Trinity Blanket although you have several wonderful designs. :)
at November 27, 2010 5:17 PM

Congratulations and please Email me your Email address so I can send your PDF of the Celtic Trinity Blanket My email is knits4udesigns@gmx.com But Saturday surprise winner in the subject.  Thank you all that played along and remember you have till midnight tomorrow (24 hours) left to save 25% on all my patterns in our Black Friday Sale!