Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! Definitely a holiday filled with lots of fun and traditions for our family! I took Irish Dancing for 10 years as a child and March was filled with lots of performances, especially the St. Patrick’s Day parade in San Francisco, rain or shine!

The past three years we’ve celebrated  with a buy one get one free pattern sale on any of my individual IGK patterns and I’ll be doing the same this year!! I started the Irish Girlie Knits Ravelry Group three years ago and there 989 of us there....wouldn't it be a great day to hit 1000 members!

Some music to get us in the spirit and then the sale details!












Here are the details everyone...
March 17-18

BOGO Free! with the coupon code: LUCKY

Buy one pattern, get one free (lesser priced pattern will be free; Merrily and Sleepy Hollow Collections included, but other ebook collections excluded)!

Only includes patterns published by Irish Girlie Knits Designs in my Ravelry shop here (e.g., does not include patterns published by Kollage Yarns, BMFA). However, see below for some new patterns that are now IGK patterns as well!

Discount can be used more than once, but patterns must be bought in multiples of 2 (e.g., 2, 4, 6…). Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Feel free to share this info with your friends or any appropriate groups on Ravelry. The more the merrier!



In the past week I've added three new patterns to the IGK pattern line...


Slip Jig


Pont Neuf


Le Petit Pont

And there may just be a new release tonight or tomorrow.

Now....more importantly, how are you spending your day today? Or did you celebrate this weekend? Isn't everyone Irish on St. Patrick's Day?!



Irish Soda Bread



And Pa's Corned Beef and Cabbage.....so good!!!

If you want more of my favorite Irish songs, check out last year's post.


Here's to a fabulous day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
xoxo Irishgirlieknis

Stitches East 2010

Wow! I can't believe this last week has flown by so quickly. Stitches East was a bit, just a bit, like sock camp in that I had way too much fun in a very short amount of time and sacrificed sleep for more fun!

I guess that is what happens when you get four sock campers together!


Erica, Me, Debbi, and Marcy

I'll take it as a sign that they have all had a hard time reentering real-life after last weekend's fun by the fact that none of them have had time to blog either :)




Check out Marcy's gorgeous vest that she finished knitting right before Stitches East!

The best part about an event like Stitches East was seeing and meeting other knitters! I have to thank Kollage Yarns for sponsoring me in their booth everyday to meet and greet other knitters, sign my patterns, and do a lace demo.

Here are just a few of the knitters I was able to meet....




Dawn, from NE Knits and Beads, and I have been reading each other's blogs so it was so nice to finally meet her in person. She's wearing a her gorgeous Icing Scarf by KnitQuest (another sock camper!!) and has already cast on Le Petit Pont!

More knitters.....


Maureen


Joanna


Kathy, who loved that I was an "Irishgirlie" :)


Heather, aka YarnYenta, and creator of Intwined Pattern Studio, the designing software that I use for most of my patterns (and love!!), had a booth right across from us so I got to see lots of her.


And fellow Socks that Rock lover, Robin aka histoknitter! I was so excited to finally meet her! She is just as fabulous in person as she seems on Ravelry.

Anyone notice my pretty blue Pont Neuf Infinity Scarf that I'm wearing?! Yes, I stayed up late (again!) finishing this before my trip back east so that I'd have one to wear for myself :) I absolutely love the infinity scarves, so you may be seeing more around here!

Speaking of staying up too late, I must to bed. But first, I promised a winner. Thank you all for entering the contest for Bellingrath last week. There were some awesome blog suggestions, app suggestions, and what you want to knit now. If you haven't checked out the comments, take a minute to do so. Lots of good stuff! I heart you guys!

And the lucky winner of a skein of Sock-a-licious and Bellingrath is...

Sarah from Sarah with an 'H'

Congratulations Sarah! Send me an email with your address at irishgirlieknits AT gmail DOT com and I'll get your prize out to you soon!

Stay tuned for more Stitches East fun in my next post!

Happy Friday!!

xoox Irishgirlieknits

Paris Anyone?

I'm so excited to share my two new designs from Kollage Yarns! Introducing....

Le Petit Pont

When Erica from Kollage Yarns asked me to design a one-skein scarf project out of 200 yards of this gorgeous, silky, Creamy yarn, I'll admit, I was a bit nervous. Would that be enough yarn? It almost felt like my own version of Project Runway. Make it work!

The color and the lace reminded me of springtime in Paris, sipping on cafe au lait and enjoying a fresh macaroon. Le Petit Pont....the little bridge. This little bridge in Paris. I also knew that for me, I'd want the flexibility of a slightly larger scarf for those breezy walks along the River Seine (oh, how I wish the photo shoot budget allowed for this!).

400 yards of fingering weight Kollage Creamy yarn was the perfect amount for this larger version of Le Petit Pont. The pattern features both sizes.

My test knitter, Discoknits, did a fabulous job knitting up this version. I can't wait to cast on my own! Gaylen test knit TWO of the smaller versions and I'll share pictures of those once I get to Stitches East. Thank you, thank you Disco and Gaylen! You both are such wonderful knitters and were beyond super speedy!

Le Petit Pont features an easy to memorize 8-stitch, 8-row pattern. Every other row is a simple purl row without lace patterning. As I knit on my scarf, I fell in love with the ease of the pattern and the gorgeous results, and immediately thought of a warmer, cozier version for the winter. And, if it was a cowl or infinity scarf, then every other row would be knit, which equals an even easier design. Which is a definite win for me. I pitched this idea to Erica, and a few days later, gorgeous skeins of Kollage Yarns Solace arrived on my doorstep.

Pont Neuf

I'll admit it. I'm enamoured with the infinity scarf version of Pont Neuf. I'm already on my second one (for me to keep!)! A big thank you to Nartian who test knit this in less than three days! Seriously, where would I be without my knitting friends?! The pattern uses approximately 300-325 yards (you'll need 4 skeins of Solace, but will use less than 3 1/2 skeins) makes me think of lots of yarns I can stashbust with. Can anyone say Christmas gifts??

The cowl version uses approximately 125-150 yards (2 skeins) and knits up in a flash. You can probably get both versions out of 5 skeins. Again, holiday gifts!

For a few minutes during our photo shoot, as we sat outside Pamplemousse Patisserie et Cafe, on a misty Sunday morning when the Bay Area got its first rain, I almost felt like we were in Paris. My dear friends, Thayer, aka Ilikecake, my gorgeous model, and Tricia, my photographer who is willing to climb ledges and chairs to get just the right shot, were absolutely amazing again. If ever there is a book (hey, a girl can dream), you know who will be on the cover and who will be behind the camera. And I promise to pay them in actual money, not just macarons and quiche :) Big hugs ladies!! I so appreciate it!

Both patterns are available for immediate download at Patternfish (Le Petit Pont and Pont Neuf) and will be available this weekend at Stitches East in The Fine Needle booth #218, 220, 222. You'll find me either in their booth or the Kollage Yarns booth so be sure to stop by and say hi and to check out the new patterns in person! The patterns will also be available at your favorite LYS that carries Kollage Yarns.

With less than 2 months until Christmas, both Le Petit Pont and Pont Neuf will make quick, gorgeous gifts this holiday season! I know what I'll be knitting a few more of.

Quick reminder about the Sock-a-licious and Bellingrath Pattern giveaway going on. Enter here for a chance to win! And don't forget about my pattern sale. Receive 20% off any of my individually sold patterns by using the coupon code stitcheseast from now until Nov.1.

Happy Knitting! Au Revoir!

xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Coming Soon!!

I'm so excited for this week to get here! Just 5 more sleeps until I leave for Stitches East! Not only do I get to see my dear friends Erica, Marcy, and Debbi, but hopefully I get to meet many online and new knitting friends too! Are any of you going?

I'll also have two new designs released this week for Stitches East! They should be available online Monday or Tuesday too!

Here's a sneak peek from our photo shoot last weekend...

What would I do without my gorgeous model, ilikecake, and fabulous photographer, cheekyattitude? We had a great Sunday morning last weekend at Pamplemousse, a lovely local bakery.

I'm also celebrating with a pattern sale too! From now until midnight, Nov.1, enter the coupon code stitcheseast when you buy any of my individually sold patterns from my pattern store and you'll receive 20% off! Feel free to spread the word!

Happy Weekend!!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits

And the winner is...

I've picked a name for my new scarf pattern! Thank you again for all of the suggestions!



Introducing.... Le Petit Pont (little bridge in French). And when I googled it, this picture showed up, and I knew it was perfect. Notre-Dame. Eleven years ago when I was in Paris, I probably stood on this bridge. I have to thank Sandi Rosner for her fabulous name suggestion! Yes, that Sandi Rosner, the one who designed the Four Seasons Wrap that I happen to be knitting on right now. And I'm not sure I have yarn in my stash that Sandi would want, but I have a better idea of a prize for her!!



So I picked another random winner from the name contest too! Elizabeth D! Congratulations! Email me at irishgirlieknits AT gmail DOT com and I'll get a prize out to you!


When I was knitting this scarf and thinking of springtime in Paris, I also knew I wanted to knit this pattern in a worsted yarn. I just loved the texture the lace fabric created. And then I suggested my idea to Erica for an infinity scarf and cowl pattern out of Solace and she loved it! So, really, I needed two names, since I thought these patterns coordinated nicely.

The next pattern will be Pont Neuf, another bridge in Paris. I suggested a photo shoot in Paris, but for some reason, that didn't make the budget :) Maybe next time.

Here is a sneek peak of the infinity scarf version of Pont Neuf in progress.



It is blocking now! Phew! As the photo shoot is tomorrow.....

Patterns coming soon!!

Happy Weekend!
xoxo Irishgirlieknits