Sundays AND Another Giveaway - with Kat Goldin!!!!!

We are having a quiet one today. Yesterday saw the boys dressing up as characters from Lord of the Rings for their cousin's party. Lots of fun and LOTS of preparation. Always handy having real bows and arrows on hand for costumes though.

Archie and I are still in our pyjamas this morning. He has been up in his room having a serious Lego morning with another cousin and Hugo is busily writing a speech on magic (which has to be performed tomorrow.....).

I couldn't resist showing you Hugo's cork castle that he made earlier in the week - complete with a Japanese kokedama ball in the centre.

 So much care and love went into this project - it was made as a thank you present to Jonno for our trip.

 I love the happy person at the top.

And now for some more exciting news, Kat Goldin - my absolute hero and author of 'Crochet at Play' and the soon to be released 'Hook, Stitch and Give' is holding a 'Stanley and the Hot Air Balloon giveaway  over here! Go and visit her now and say hello.
I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.
Lots and lots of love,
Kate. xxooxx.
p.s. don't forget to enter into the crocheted Stanley giveaway in the post below.

A Crocheted Stanley Rabbit Giveaway!!!!!

 This is a bit exciting - the first Stanley Rabbit giveaway ever. He is such a friendly little rabbit, I think you will be good friends. We took him on our adventures this year and he was so well behaved, taking in the sights and making friends. Stanley is also very humble, you wouldn't believe that he is the star of his own book. We love him. 

Read on for the giveaway details at the bottom of this post but in the meantime, see what Stanley got up to on our journey!

 This photo is of Stanley posing at the Tower of London. So exciting although I did end up with a few round, brown little pellets in my hand.

 In the Swiss Alps visiting Heidi's cottage. Archie wanted to carry him about on this day.

 He really is the baby brother in our family.

 Exploring a mini castle in Lichtenstein.

 Enjoying the view in Lichtenstein (odd place I must say...)

 At Loop in London.

 Stanley really loved Loop....

 At Glastonbury Abbey.

And once again, at Wool in Bath - a place that all people who love knitting, crochet, wool or even sheep should visit. Now, here is the trick. To enter into the giveaway, you have to locate Stanley who has been hidden somewhere in this photo by Laura's mum. Look carefully.

I don't sell crocheted Stanley Rabbits. One of the many reasons is that postage is astronomical as he isn't very flat. But, I also understand that not everybody crochets so it's nice to think that there is another way to end up with a Stanley in your life. A little bonus is that when I make a Stanley, he comes with a little signed birth certificate. This means that he is really yours.... forever..... and ever... not matter what, it's legally binding.

So, as mentioned previously, all you have to do is find Stanley in the 2nd last photo (at Wool in Bath) and comment in the section below. I will draw out a winner next Friday. Good luck.

Lots and lots of love,

Kate. xxooxx.

A Giveaway with Little Woolie.

 Did you know that Stanley came travelling with us? He was very well behaved, no food or toileting require. In my mind, a perfect travelling companion to have.  He even came to my most favourite shop in Bath - Wool. I am going to do a whole 'nother post on it because I love it sooooo much but here are a couple of photos for the meantime.

Now, onto other news. Did you know that Julie from Little Woolie is having a Stanley and the Hot Air Balloon giveaway over at her blog. If not you had better pop there now and enter. Quicksticks!

 Isn't this just the most beautiful shop ever. I can't wait to show you some more photos. 

Lots and lots of love,

Kate xxooxx.

Stanley and the Hot Air Balloon; The Book Giveaway!

 I can't believe that I finally have a copy of the book in my hands. It's not due for release until July, however.... I have one copy ready for one lucky reader!

This book has been such a labour of love. I started writing it about 4 years ago and now, well now it's sitting on my kitchen table!!!!!

 It is a children's book but there are patterns included too. I love the thought of children reading (or being read to) while cuddling their very only Stanley. I will show you photos of the projects another day.

 So I hope you like this sneak preview. 

To enter, leave a comment in the section below and I will pick a number (randomly through random.org) on Monday, 5th May. Good luck!

Lots of love,
Kate xxooxx.
p.s. This giveaway is available worldwide. The book will be ready for purchase in July and will also be available worldwide via airmail (postage will be a pittance).

Simply Crochet Mag Winner!!!!!

Congratulations, we have a winner. I went to random.org and put the numbers in (I was going to put all of the names in a hat but ran out of time today) and I am happy to announce that W Gniasdku Na Akacji will shortly be receiving a copy of Issue 17. I just had a quick trip over to her blog and saw the most amazing bunting with little crochet balls from it. Truly inspirational.... and now could you please email me with your address!

 Now for those of you who missed out (and there were so many lovely comments) I am having a giveaway tomorrow with a special pre-release copy of my new book. So pop around and you can have a sneak preview.

Lots of love,
Kate xxooxx.

Simply Crochet Mag Giveaway.

 It must be about time for a giveaway don't you think? Tanya from Simply Crochet has sent me a copy of their latest magazine for one of you lucky people to win. I am happy to post it anywhere in the world so leave a comment below and I will pull it out of a hat on Wednesday 30th April. 

 In this copy you will find a couple of patterns by me! Can you remember when I was working on these roses. Look at the bicycle basket on the cover and you might recognise them. The bunting too!

 I so enjoyed working on that project as roses are my absolute passion. I've included some photos of my inspiration. There truly is nothing like a rose from the garden.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. We were a bit flat out with ours as this year it coincided with Archie's birthday... hmmmmm. Since then we have been taking it easy with the boys on school holidays.

Anyhoo, don't forget to enter below and hopefully this magazine (with a lovely crochet hook) will be all yours.

Lots of love,

Kate xxooxx.

And the Winner is....

 Well done Crafty Mermaid - could you please email me with your details and I will send out the hand wash to you!

Aside from drawing names from hats, I have also been packing a suitcase... 

Thank you so much everybody for entering into the giveaway - I can't wait to have another one soon.

Lots of love,

Kate xxooxx.

A Giveaway!

 This parcel arrived for me in the mail the other day - the most divine set of cleansing handwash and moisturiser from the New Zealand company, Banks & Co Botanicals. They were very kind to email earlier in the week asking if I would like to test drive their new 'Luxe' range and I said yes because a. it is made in New Zealand, b. owned by New Zealanders and c. phenoxyethanol free;  paraben free;  and sulphate free. I have extremely sensitive skin and regularly break out in reactive rashes, making me paranoid about applying petrochemical based cosmetics to my skin.... strange that.

 Anyhoo - after a week of using the most divinely scented moisturizer (Peony and Rata) - my skin is happy. Apparently it has an oil in it called Meadowfoam which is rich with Vitamin E AND is grown down in Southland.

Banks & Co were very generous in sending two bottles and so I am able to use the Cleansing Hand Wash for a giveaway. The only catch however, is that the bottles are made from gloriously thick glass and would be terrible heavy to send overseas. As a result, the giveaway will be for New Zealand residents only. However, international readers are welcome to enter the competition on behalf of any New Zealand friends or family they may have here. All you would have to do if you win the draw would be to email me with the intended recipient's name and address. 

To enter, please leave your name in the comment section below and I will draw the winner from a hat next Friday (the 13th...).

As for other news, I have been very busy growing a forest of crochet and wool. The trees are still needing trunks, but they will sprout with time.

Lots of love and good luck,
Kate xxooxx.