Handmade Summer Card Giveaway!

To celebrate the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere, I thought that it would be fun to have a little giveaway on Crafts on a Budget!

This is a card that I made to celebrate some of the good things about summer! It would be ideal to send to a friend or relative, especially someone who is going on a long summer vacation or who is looking forward to the summer for a special reason.

The card is blank inside for your own message and it comes with a matching envelope. The card and the envelope will be protected inside a cellophane bag.

Entry to the giveaway is open to anyone living anywhere in the world. The card will be sent by Australia Post if you live in Australia and by airmail if you live outside Australia.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post. If you would like a second entry, please write a blog post about this giveaway and then leave another comment with a link to your blog post.

The closing date for this giveaway is midnight on Friday, June 6 2009 (US West Coast time). The winner will be chosen by using the random number generator at http://www.random.org/ on Saturday June 7 2009 and the winner's name will then be posted on Crafts on a Budget. I will contact the winner to ask for the mailing address details.

Good Luck!

At Last! The Random Stripes Sweater is Finished!

Here is the sweater that I knitted for my daughter using a free knitting pattern for a random stripes pullover.

I am very pleased with the result. I like the way that the cuffs and the neckline curl up slightly. It makes a nice alternative to ribbed cuffs and edges.

Although my daughter saw me knitting this jumper, I was careful not to let her see me sewing it up, so the finished product was a surprise for her! She was delighted with it and it looks very good on her. It will be a good addition to her winter wardrobe!

I would highly recommend this free knitting pattern. You can create your own colour scheme and use up leftover yarn, if you wish.

I left a larger gap at the neck than that recommended in the pattern as I know that my daughter has a large head and sometimes has difficulty in pulling sweaters over her head. When she tried it on, we found out that the gap I had left was perfect for her. So, if you make this sweater, I would recommend measuring the gap required before sewing up the shoulders.

I am so pleased that I've finally finished this jumper - it took me about a year to complete, due to a lack of free time! I think I'll do a couple of short knitting projects next before embarking upon my next large project.

You can find out the total cost of this project and a little bit more about the design on my previous blog post - Autumn is the time to start knitting in Australia.