SockBunny Sorbetto . . . . . . . . and Giveaway Winner!

I only managed to finish off one more Sorbetto this week (stinking cold and packing up the house to move) for the PatternReview 'One Pattern Many Looks' contest.  By the time the top was finished, it was too late to model and photograph it, but I managed a cheeky 'straight off the machine' shot - artificial lighting an' all!:

The fabric for this top is a supersoft 'something' It has some stretch and is a little thicker than other shirting/quilting cotton so I thought that I would probably have a problem using it for the bias binding so instead I used a quilting fat quarter that I had floating around,  The colors are very pretty and immediately reminded me of some buttons that I received in a Secret Santa that I took part in on Ravelry.  This is what the generous SockBunny sent me:

I used three of the buttons that she sent me - the top one on the Sorbetto is the large green one that you can see above.  The color is a bit off on the photo of the actual top.  It so happened that these buttons were a perfect match for my fat quarter, hence choosing it for my binding.  I am really pleased with this top, it will go perfectly with my Ikat Winter Collection Cardigan and is very fresh and 'zingy'!!  I love it!  Incidentally, the yarn was specially dyed for me by SockBunny after I mentioned that I loved beach colors - blue/green sea, sand etc.  And this is what she called it:

 

Ah, she knows me well!  The yarn will make some gorgeous socks!

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So, without further ado, I have a winner for my 'Sandra Betzina why buy one pattern when you can buy a duplicate' giveaway . . . .

Congratulations Scenic Route - drop me an email (see the link on my profile) and the pattern will be mailed out to you early this week.  And thanks to the other participants - this has been fun, and I know that I have a number of duplicate patterns in my collection, so they will be up for grabs in the near future!

Who's been a Good Girl?

Well, I must have been a little as Santa was very good to me!  It really was a 'sewing' themed Christmas for me this year as far as gifts were concerned, with some knitting thrown in as well.

Amongst the goodies received, I had a box of fabric (I placed the order and hubby picked up the bill!  Some of this fabric will be debuting in the 2013 SWAP on Stitchers Guild.  More details to follow!) and Gertie's book:

 Source

Which is full of fabulous 'top tips' not to mention the lovely patterns!  I have a feeling that I will be referring to this book quite a lot in the future!

I also took part in a Secret Santa with Krafty Kat and received these lovely gifts:

 

The yarn is quite stunning,  As a sock knitter, these will make a lovely, soft cushy pair of socks . . . . for me!  The parcel included some pretty shell buttons and was wrapped up in the delicate blue lace that will become attached to the lining of a skirt sometime in the future!

Thank-you 'swappee', I was truly spoilt!

How about you - were you good?!

Krafty Kat's Secret Santa

I am a sucker for all things Christmassy - the sparkly lights, dressed trees, snow, happy smiley people, treats, spoiling friends, family and strangers - I could go on . . . . . but the point is, mention something like secret Santa - and I am all over it!  So when KraftyKat spoke about it on her blog - I was there.

Now I can't speak about what I have purchased for my Santee (KraftyKat's excellent new word for the person you are sending a gift to), but I can share the lovely surprise that arrived through the post for me this week:

It has been beautifully wrapped with some very pretty lace that I think will be used to trim some lining on a skirt in the future - and I haven't even opened the gift yet!  It is tucked under the tree, awaiting Christmas Day!

Thank-you KraftyKat for organizing this fun swap - a follow up post will appear in a couple of weeks . . . . .