Sale at Smitten Kitten Knits Shop!

Sale on select items from June 5, 2015 through June 8, 2015. Get the jump on autumn & winter now, receive 20% off cowls & infinity scarves. No code will be needed & items ship 1-3 days after payment received.

free shipping @ smittenkittenorig on Etsy

Autumn has begun so get your warm wearables early & be prepared for the coming winter. To that end, I'm offering FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE on all orders of minimum $25. Use code SWEATERWEATHER  at checkout. Offer valid 09.23-09.27.2014.

spring sale: price slash & free shipping

it's the time of year when all things warm, woollen & alpaca are off season ( in the northern hemisphere, that is) & a sale is in order. generally, this is the best time to shop for the next winter if you happen to be a bargain hunter or you've loved something but it was a bit out of your spending budget (oh to have an unlimited clothing & accessories budget!). to that end, i'm having a shopwide sale & that includes all the posh alpaca infinity scarves & cowls here .
Additionally, there are Free Shipping coupon codes to use at checkout:
US FREE SHIPPING on orders of $45 or more use: FREESHIP
INTL FREE SHIPPING on orders of $75 or more use: FREESHIPINTL
Cheers!  :-)

happy monday: book arrived in the mail

the only thing that brings me more joy than yarn, is books. and a free book is even more awesome. i won Lauren Miller's Free to Fall in a giveaway on Goodreads and it arrived this past weekend. I'm beginning it today! I also have a crochet scarf to finish as well.

Here's to Happy Mondays for all! :)

Introducing the Riordan Infinity Scarf & Giveaway Coming

I wanted to make something a little special to add to my shop offerings for this winter & came up with the RIORDAN. It's roughly the same size as the SAMANTHA but made with a different stitch. I've made these scarves with a crochet stitch that lends texture & cuddliness. The yarn used is extremely soft & in some quite lovely jewelled colors. I'll be adding them to the shop this weekend, so do look for RIORDAN infinity scarves here.

Additionally, one of the lovely RIORDAN scarves (the royal purple) will be given away on GoForTheGusto Blog. Halley's blog is lovely & has wonderful style collections, so drop by & check it out. I'll post here with the direct link to the scarf giveaway when it goes live, so stay tuned.
Have a Great Weekend!
xoxo

etsy shop coupon code & something bookish

This month, in addition to cosy new items being added to my Etsy shop
(like that chunky cowl up there^), I'm offering Free Global Shipping
on orders of $75 or more until 09.24.2013
HERE .

Also, I'm totally late to the J.K, Rowling circle but I can't even get
over how much I'm enjoying her not-so-undercover-anymore book 'The
Cuckoo's Calling". If you're thinking about reading it, do. I've
already put the second book in the series on my TBR list. I saw on
Goodreads that it's due in 2014 & is already written. I truly don't
need one more series to try to keep up with but I'm thrilled to be in
on this one.

In kitchen challenge news, it's going very well. We've had various
dishes (that I've not photographed) since my last update, including,
chicken soup, Swedish meatballs, lamb chops & over roasted potatoes,
veggie curry (I had fresh mushrooms that I needed to use) & a very
successful pizza night. The cupboards are still fairly stocked & I
really don't anticipate having a problem putting off major grocery
shopping until October 25 or so. I'm making a pot of black bean soup
tomorrow because I discovered a bag of them in my cabinet. Dry lentils
move along fairly regularly in this house but I'd overlooked the black
& kidney beans.

xoxo

New Design: The Snowflake Cowl

I've debuted a new cowl in my Etsy shop today! Her name is Sybil (yes,
she was my favorite Downton Abby character) & this one is in the
fabulous autumn shade of Pumpkin Spice . I love the stitch because it reminds me of snowflakes & that is so
apropos.

More colors are coming but I just have to say that I'm ready for my
latte from Starbucks & foliage to begin.

Free Shipping Weekend, August 22-25

That's right! It's that time of year again, just before September rolls in & I offer free shipping. This one is just for US domestic orders (I still love all my international customers, truly). Shop, stock up for the autumn & winter seasons & enjoy free shipping.
Coupon Code: FREEWEEKEND
Valid: August 22-25, 2013
Goto: http://smittenkittenoriginals.com
Cheers! xoxo

Ides of March Sale in the 'Tique

It's that time of year again & the Ides are almost upon us, so I'm
having a sale in the SHOP. Use coupon code IDESOFMARCH20 at checkout to get 20% off purchases made
between March 13-15, 2013. The discount only applies to those
purchases made March 13-15, 2013 & is for domestic & international
shoppers!

Embrace the Ides & treat yourself to a little something. xoxo

Just In: Walnut Brown Pure Wool Infinity Scarf

I love natural fibers & have a fair amount of wool & alpaca existing
in my usual yarn stash. I went with a bit of pure wool in this lovely
Walnut Brown Pure Wool Infinity Scarf Loop SAMANTHA. All the style and perfect for winter. When I looped it to photograph, it reminded me of
a rose.

Stay tuned for more that's new in the 'tique. Also, my review for "The
Chaperone" should be up in the next day or two. I've been really busy.

Big & Chunky Eternity Scarves

I had some really nice thick yarns in my yarn stash & I never really
seem to get around to using them, so this summer, I dove in & got to
work. Two things happened. I made some really great big & bulky
infinity scarves & I found out that my wrists don't like working with
big chunky yarns for prolonged periods of time. Ouch. I do love the
results of the chunky yarns though & here are the two I made.

The top is Long Chunky Infinity Scarf Brown Cream PERRI. The other is Fern Green Alpaca Blend Infinity Scarf Unisex LINDEN.

And yes, LINDEN is named after Sarah Linden of AMC's The Killing. The
show may be cancelled but her big chunky sweaters are what the scarf
reminded me of when I'd finished making it.

What I've Made: Olympian Blue Infinity Scarf SAMANTHA

I'm a bit obsessed with the Olympian Blue shade this year & it made
its way to my crochet. The result is a new Olympian Blue Infinity Scarf SAMANTHA. Long live the loop! ;)

What I've Been Up To: Striped Infinity Scarves

So it's pretty clear that I'm an infinity scarf addict. Love them,
love to make them & love to wear them. Anyway, I'd been wanting to do
something a little bit different with them so I came up with striped
versions. No-brainer, right? I love them & one of the best things
about them, they're even more versatile with dual complimentary
colors. The grey & black was like, the ultimate for me because it's
two of my favorite colors & pretty much goes with anything in my
wardrobe (not that the same couldn't be said for a good number of
other people). The red & black was inspired by Helena Bonham Carter's
Queen of Hearts in Burton's Alice In Wonderland. It also kinda reminds
me of Halloween & Freddy Kruger but that's not macabre at all. Right?

Look Out Yarn, I'm Coming For You!

I went on a yarn buying jag on Sunday. For some reason every time I go on a yarn binge, it's a Sunday & it's for hours. I've no idea why that is but it prompted me to think of something with regard to the yarn stash I currently reside with.

What if I could use all my yarn? Like really, make something out of all available skeins. I'm a little scared & excited at the prospective results of such an endeavor. I'm always either writing or working with yarn so why not see what I could do? I can honestly say that for all the yarn I've in my possession, I had a plan or three for all of them, so I think it may be time to just see those plans come to fruition.

I'll be posting pictures of the things I make here & on Flickr, so stay tuned for more on that. Currently, I've 3 things I need to photograph. I was in a crochet frenzy this weekend.

And now a word about NaNoWriMo 2009... I won! Yay! I need to post my little winner banner but I needed to share that I hit just over 52K. Of course the story is not even remotely over & since it was a prequel to a current story I'm working on it provided me with a lot of background on my characters. All the specifics on that are over on my LJ.

Besos!

Yarn Creation Confection Follows...

Oh yes! It's all about the pretty with this custom Samantha & Evie for a fabulous customer of mine. She gave me the incredible opportunity of working with some phenomenal yarn.

The Samantha turned out perfectly. Apparently the 2-ply alpaca yarn actually rolled on it's own ever so slightly when I was making it, so the end result is just that much more lovely. It is seriously scrolling naturally. I just love that. Additionally, I extended the circumference a bit & made it just a little wider than the usual Samantha design. Mostly in an effort to counteract the 2-ply thinness but still achieve the same drape & warmth. It seriously all worked out.

There was additional yarn left over & I made this Evie as well. Posh yarn should always become a posh something or other, so Evie was a good decision. The drape of course is somewhat different than the usual Evie but it's just as sleep and very beautiful.

Anyway, it seems my adventure in yarn is not quite over as my customer has found another yarn from Irish Meadows that she's loving and would like to have made into an Evie. I'll be sure to post about that bit of posh yarn when it arrives. For now, enjoy the sumptuousness.

Besos!

Bite me!

The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith
Originally uploaded by smittenkittenorig

It's been a great (& busy) week & I'm excited it's done. It's time to close out the summer officially with Labor Day weekend & one more cookout & beach jaunt. And that's all good & well, but I'm looking forward to next week also.

Next week The Vampire Diaries premieres on The CW. Kevin Williamson is trying his hand at angsty teen vampires... so like Dawson's Creek with teeth? No, not so much if it's done correctly. ;) The books are a fun & quick read that I really enjoyed. And I must admit, I'd not have had any inclination to even pick them up if I'd not heard that Ian Somerhalder was going to be playing Damon. Happily Damon turned out to be my favorite character & I know Ian plays skeevy sexy very well, so I don't foresee disappointment.

Anyway, as with most things I adore somehow my love of it & string merge & I wind up making things with a theme. It happened with BSG, Jericho & Sons of Anarchy & now... it's Vampire Diaries. What can I say, it happens. ;)

This week I finally posted 2 new creations that were inspired by the guys and what I feel their "color" is.

Damon is a slick pure alpaca scarf in charcoal black. Always stylish & perfect anywhere... just like the character.

Stefan is made of the same pure alpaca but in a deep sanguine red. A bit more emo but fired embers on the slow burn. Felt like Stefan to me.

I'm still thinking about the other characters but I have to admit, that I don't see the tv embodiment of Elena as a lapis blue (maybe it's Nina Dobrev's shading being opposite what ut was described as in the book) but no matter, I'll have that worked out by next week I'm sure. Jury is also still out on Alaric & Bonnie as well. Hmm.

That's all for now but don't forget to check out the show on Tuesday the 8th on the CW. Happy & safe holiday weekend!

Besos!

Forecast: Mainly crochet with periods of writing & occasional reading

More Posh Yarns!
Originally uploaded by smittenkittenorig

That's what I'm all about today. It's overcast & rainy out, so it's more than perfect for what I've planned.

I've been spending my evenings getting to know my NanoWriMo characters so that's meant less crochet time this week. It's all good, because balance is absolutely important. So to keep the balance I need to get on with my adventures in yarn today. I've a black and gold scarf that's been begging to be finished for two days & I want to start another Samantha as well.

And no matter what, I'll be sneaking in some NaNo prep time (most likely @ lunch) and read more Rimrunners (cause I want to get to the next Cherryh book in my stack). Look for another Chewing Chica post because I'm making a really neat soup today.

And do stop by the NaNo blog to check out the new NaNoWriMo 2009 gear (it goes on sale Sept 1 & I'm seriously trying to get one of each shirt!) & am hoping that there are red mugs this year!

Happy Friday!

That 70's Scarf

CARLY- Men's/ Unisex Retro Autumn Smash Scarf Orange Brown Yellow
Originally uploaded by smittenkittenorig

Yes, that's exactly how I feel about Carly. It's all retro and fun. When I picked up the yarn, it didn't dawn on me that it'd work up this way or that the color scheme gave off that vibe. After it was finished & I looked at it, it was so clear.

I've often wondered why the colors of the 70's seemed to be really earthy with all the browns & oranges (I mean really, ORANGE?!). Did something happen that made these the standard... and not always in a good way? I've seen pictures of brown wall paneling & orange & yellow patterned lino on the floor my parents had and all I can say is... WOW. ;D I'm all for it in combination in small pieces, but all over a house in decor, not so much.

What's Up @ The 'Tique & General Miscellany

Things are getting busy already! :D I'm always in the midst of making something so that doesn't really count so much as part of the busy thing. But, I've a good deal of merch that I need to tag & label to get off to consignment at the end of the week. Additionally, I've a list of Evie Hood Cowls (online particularly in Grey & Eggplant for some reason) & Samantha Infinity Scarves that need to be made as well. They're flying away online and IRL so I feel like I'm constantly behind on stock for those. That can't be helped and is totally a good thing so I'll keep plugging away. :) I also need to get more pictures done & update my Flickr with my vacation shots not to mention my product pics. I keep telling myself I'll get to it

Also, I should know by the end of the week if I'll be able to participate in FiberFest. It's October 10th in Snow Hill, MD, but I need to make sure my sched is clear for that timeframe.

In non-'tique business, I have had a smashing idea for this year's NaNoWriMo & can't wait to get down more of my ideas for it. At least I've plenty of time this year to think about my characters & plot since we're already many months out. I have to thank my Twitter peeps for mentioning it & prompting me to get on. The idea though was totally a lightbulb moment & I could totally see how it's all going to go down. I'm so excited!

That's all for now. More dispatches from between the skeins & words later.

Besos!

NORRIS- Men's/ Unisex Ribbed Scarf Pumpkin Orange

NORRIS- Men's/ Unisex Ribbed Scarf Pumpkin Orange
Originally uploaded by smittenkittenorig

Well, autumn is coming & orange is one of those colors. Actually, orange seems to be good for both summer & fall. Hm. Well, either season it reigns is, Norris is fresh and eye-catching. I love it!