The winner has been announced and this giveaway is now CLOSED. Thanks to all who entered!

I’ve been meaning to do a giveaway for a while now, but have been drowning in  yarn and writing over here. Nevertheless, I wanted to share some cool products that I’ve been given to give to you.

Here’s how it’s going to work: to enter the giveaway, leave a comment below. For a second entry, either tweet (@lindamade)  this post, join my facebook fan page, or link to this post on your blog, then come back here and comment again telling me you did so.  I will check up on you cause I stick to the rules like that, so just be honest. It’s free stuff! You have until Wednesday, August 18th at 12 midnight (central) to enter.

The first set of goodies is all from Boye/Simplicity, and would be great for crocheters and knitters alike. Included are: some “Crocheted By” sew-in tags,   yarn sleeves (for keeping your yarn from becoming yarn barf), a gauge check,  removable stitch markers, beaded stitch markers (these would only work for knitting, but you can always give them to a friend), a hairpin lace tool (might I suggest you make this?), and yarn talkers. The yarn talkers are the only non-self explanatory thing in here, they are little tags that say things like “right side” and “large” and “sleeve.” I’m a big believer in making things as easy as you can for yourself, so I love these. It’s much easier to remember what the right side is after you work the first row of any crochet project (as it typically is the first row, while it’s facing you), so I’m constantly telling my students to mark it while they still know what it is. Some labeles are also helpful if you know a project will sit for a while–as projects that need seaming often do– so you  can easily identify the pieces even if it’s been a while. The words are on one side in raised lettering, and I’ve also been using the other side with my own sharpie-written reminders. Yes, I kept some of these for myself.

I also have a few sets of cute Knit Knotes that I’ll throw in the bunch. These are from designer Meg Strong’s new collection of cards (which are available on etsy and at your local yarn store). I love the cheeky sentiment. Each set comes with 4 cards and the messages are cute and fun. We sell these at Yarnivore and I think they are perfect enclosures for handmade gifts.

To the pile, I’m also throwing in a size XL “Handmade is Better” shirt from Craftster (photo is directly from the Craftster site). I actually ordered this shirt for yours truly, but it was the wrong size. (There’s an involved story where I did try to get the right size, but sizing between different colors of the same cut apparently varies. I gave up even though the customer service was excellent). I’d say this fits a size medium, truly. A size large if you like feeling like a sausage. But the shirt itself is very cute and I only wish I’d ordered it in the right size. It’s not doing any good in my closet, so I hope one of you will enjoy it!

Again, to enter simply leave a comment below by Wednesday, August 18th at 12 midnight (central) . For a second entry, either tweet (@lindamade) this post, join my facebook fan page, or link to this post on your blog, then come back here and comment again telling me you did so (leave a link to your blog or twitter name, etc).  Please remember to leave your email so that I can contact you if you win.

Good luck!