Saved by Spindle Cat -- and a GIVEAWAY!

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One of the first Etsy sellers ever featured on this blog was S. Kate Hutchison of Spindle Cat Studio (see story here). Back then, in spring of 2009, I was still trying to figure out my way around Etsy. I was also trying to figure out how to keep a stitch marker intact for more than a week or so.

You see, I am really hard on my stitch markers. I started out with those plastic loops from the craft store and was going through about one a week. After those turned out to be a total fail, I switched to a paperclip -- but that kept snagging my yarn. Then I tried using a yarn stitch marker, but it just got in my way. I was at the end of my rope.

So, I shopped around on Etsy and found S. Kate Hutchison. She makes her own beautiful stitch markers from copper and was willing to work with me to do a custom crochet stitch marker. After a few tries, we had a set that I liked. But then she went one step further. She played around with what we had discovered and came up with MY stitch marker.

If you have my patterns, you've probably seen it peeking out from my projects. It is a beautiful Czech glass tear-drop-shaped marker with a twirl of copper. After receiving my "embrace" crochet stitch marker from S. Kate, I never used the set I bought from her. I was in love.
Until a few weeks ago...

My wonderful, perfect stitch marker gave in to all the abuse I put it through and broke. I contacted S. Kate in despair and told her my story. She had never had one of her stitch markers broken before me! S. Kate agreed that if I sent back the broken marker, she would fix it for me -- at no cost. And fix it she did...


You see why I love this lady and her work?
 So, here's the deal. I noticed that recently my blog passed the 400 followers mark and decided that it was time to do something to celebrate. I special ordered four more of the embrace stitch markers from S. Kate -- just like mine. And, I've decided to offer them as a giveaway: one stitch marker for every hundred blog followers!
S. Kate was even willing to throw in some little treats of her own... so each of the winners will also receive some Spindle Cat swag -- including a nifty little keychain pen that is perfect for marking patterns!



So, here's what you need to do to get yourself entered for this prize...

• First off, you MUST be a follower of my blog via Google Friend Connect or Networked Blogs. To join, scroll down to the Google Friend Connect widget on the right side of the screen and click Join This Site. Or, click the Networked Blogs link and then click the Follow button there.
• Next, complete this form.

That's it!
The giveaway runs from today (8/29/11) through midnight EST on September 5, 2011. I will select a winner at random and announce the winner via blog and Facebook on September 6.
Good luck!


The Terms and Conditions: This giveaway is open to anyone -- unless your country specifically prohibits the import of the items offered in this giveaway (for a list of import regulations, please see the USPS web site). In cases where import license is required, the winner of the giveaway is responsible for obtaining such license. Winners will be contacted on Septmber 6, 2011 via the email address provided in the entry form. If this email goes unanswered for more than one week, The Itsy Bitsy Spider reserves the right to choose a different winner for the prize package.
Prizes will be shipped via USPS first class mail during the week of September 6, 2011. Once prizes have been shipped, The Itsy Bitsy Spider claims no further responsibility for delivery of the item.

Finally... The PUPPY!

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Has this whole thing dragged on for nearly a month? Well, yes... I suppose it has. But I hope to be able to tell you that is was well worth the wait. In fact, I hope that you tell me it was well worth the wait, because that adorable puppy you saw my daughter cuddling is finally here!


The pattern is loaded into Ravelry and likewise available for purchase on Etsy. Keep in mind that -- like all my other patterns -- if you purchase on Ravelry, you will receive a discounted price of $3.00 (Etsy is $5.00). I offer the discounted price because it's easier for me to manage sales on Ravelry and it costs less to use that venue. Of course, I am happy to provide patterns through Etsy and will have all purchased patterns emailed within 24 hours.

And, if you prefer to go without creating a Ravelry or Etsy account, you can always purchase my patterns using the Buy Now button!

 Playful Cotton Puppy pattern $3.00

I can't wait to see all your puppies (I have a feeling there are going to be quite a few popping up here and there as we move into the holiday season!)

And the winners are......

To contact us Click HERE


It's a rainy Tuesday afternoon here -- perfect for cuddling up with a hot cup of coffee and my latest project. But before I do that, I have some winners to announce!

I ran the entries through my good friend RANDOM.ORG and got back the following entries:

• ebonyspalace
• Melissa Murray
• Tee*
• Ashley

Congratulations! I'll be sending an email out shortly to get your shipping addresses... then your stitch marker prize packs will be on their way!

For the rest of those who entered and did not win, I want to sincerely thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and for leaving your encouraging comments. The online crochet/craft comunity is such a wonderful group of people that I am proud to belong to!

And... keep your eyes peeled for some new posts coming very soon. I have plans to walk you through recycling yarn from a sweater (photos are already taken -- I just need to write it up) and I'll have another new pattern coming very soon. Cheers!

Clem's Little Secret

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Everyone has their dirty little secrets... some are dirtier than others.

Take Clem, for example. It started off with a long summer walk through a dusty Texas town. Clem was hungry. He stopped at a diner. The menu read ham-burger...

Isn't ham supposed to be pork?

One bite and Clem was in love. Two bites and he realized his mistake. Three bites and it was impossible to go back.

Now - when he thinks the rest of the herd isn't looking - Clem sneaks off to that diner. He is oh-so-careful in keeping his little secret... he even makes sure to bring his little bib so that he doesn't dribble on his sweater.

Oh, Clem.

The pattern (called "Clem's Little Secret") is now available for download on Ravelry ($3.00) or you can purchase from my Etsy Shop and have the pattern emailed directly to you for $5.00. As always, the pattern is loaded with step-by-step instructions and photos to help you create Clem, his little bib, and the fateful cheeseburger.

And for those of you who would rather purchase without creating a Ravelry account ($3.00 download), just click the Buy Now below!

Free Pattern: Kawaii Candy Corn

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Halloween is my favorite holiday. I mean, forget opening Christmas presents or hunting Easter eggs. I am all about darting through dimly lit streets, creating a legendary sugar high, and playing the occasional good-natured prank.

The other thing I love about Halloween? Candy corns!

Well, that is until I get my hands on the little nuggets o' sugary goodness! You see, inevitably, each year just before Halloween time, I find myself buying several bags of the suckers to satisfy my annual craving. And each year, I consume nearly one entire bag in a single sitting.

Uggggggghhh!

Needless to say, I want nothing to do with candy corns after that until the next year, when -- without any shadow of a doubt -- I will repeat the process to the same end.

As a matter of fact, I bought a small bag of candy corns to use as a photo prop for this pattern and proceeded to consume most of them before I even charged my camera battery. You see where this is headed, right? (You'll also see no "real" candy corns in any of my photos -- oops!)


So, the pattern... I haven't done anything exciting, fun, and free for a while -- and since this is my favorite holiday coming up, I figured I was well overdue. The candy corn pattern (which includes both the large and small candy corn instructions) is available as a free Ravelry download. Or you can head straight through and download immediately by clicking here ==> download now

I hope you enjoy these little sweeties... and while you're hooking them up, please try to think happy thoughts of self-control.... there's another bag of candy corns in the kitchen with my name on it!

Pumpkin Seed Flour Test!

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So this whole concept of using pumpkin seeds as part of my flour mixture for my cupcake base is only just a theory, and it needs to be tested to see how it holds up.


First, making the pumpkin seed flour is not as simple as it sounds. There's a lot of factors they may become a problem to consider when blitzing nuts or seeds. An good example is the natural oils in the nuts or seeds itself may cause the mixture to clump up into a semi paste if your blade is generating too much heat from spinning. So you might have to think about doing this in a 2 step or 3 step process, giving time to allow the nuts to cool down and dry off a bit before continuing to blitz the nuts into a finer consistency.

 Just some simple tools. Hand blender with the food processor attachment.  
Luckily, my kitchen aid hand blender comes with 10 speeds. The blender is a roaring beast. But even at it's highest speed, it is unable to slice the seeds into a finer, flour-like consistency.

I had to stop the machine eventually because the cup was getting warm and I knew if I had let it continue spinning, it would create too much moisture and clump up into a semi-paste.


Then I sifted out the pumpkin seed flour and there were still some bigger nibblets that I had to go through again with my blender. However, the pumpkin seed flour is still too big for me to use, so tomorrow I will have to blend it again, hoping it will become finer.


The end result of today's trial for pumpkin seed flour. As you can tell, it looks alright but it's still a bit too gritty. If all else fails and I cannot get it to be like powder then I'll just tell the judges that "I did it on purpose to add the gritty texture". YUP! all part of the master plan.

Pastry Chicago Cupcake Competition!!

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I decided to attend the cupcake competition hosted by Pastry Chicago and the French Pastry School that will take place on October 23rd, which is this coming Saturday. The winners will receive awesome prices from Kitchen Aid products, and I believe the 1st place winner will get a Kitchen Aid Mixer!! How exciting is that! So far I believe there are already 35 competitors signed up, and judging from last year's winners, it's looks like I am going up against some tough, highly skilled cupcake masters!


For this competition, I cannot reveal too much of what I have planned for my cupcake, but what I can tell you is that, I am experimenting with pumpkin seeds as my flour. That is why in my previous post I wrote about using my Kitchen Aid hand blender with the food processor attachment to turn my pumpkin seeds into a flour-like ingredient. And use the pumpkin seed flour as part of my flour mixture in my cupcake. I am hoping this will bring some kind of unique flavor and texture into my cupcake base.


One of a challenge for me would be finding time to practice my recipes since both of my roommates are also in French Pastry School, and one of them is also competing! So we have to be real cautious of each other, not to reveal our ideas or secret recipes. After school, I head towards the gym for a 2 hour work out, it's a must, since every day I consume a brick load of butter, sugar, and other fattening French pastries. When I get home and shower, it's roughly about 11PM and that's when I start my practice cupcakes.


I cannot reveal any recipes for these cupcakes yet, but if I win the competition, I will surely post up the winning recipe! On this tray of cupcakes, there are 3 different types of flavors, methods and textures. As you can clearly tell, there's an obvious difference in the color, height, and shape of the 3 rows of cupcakes. But all of them have one thing in common, they all have the pumpkin seed flour that I've made earlier incorporated into the cupcake batter.


As for the frosting for the cupcake. I'm still not sure what flavors I'm reaching for, but I do have ginger and honey on my mind. So perhaps a 'Ginger Honey Cream Cheese Frosting' ? That does sound very delicious, but we will see how the flavors bind with cream cheese as a frosting. I hope I win! I want that Kitchen Aid!!