girly knits

Aug 7
2014

New Summer Collection “Boardwalk Beauties”!

by Lauren

I am so super excited to share with you my brand new collection of knitting patterns “Boardwalk Beauties”! It is a collection of 5 sunshine loving designs that you will not only love knitting, but will love wearing when you’re out having fun in the sun! Inspired by everything lovely about Summer and my favorite new fashion trends, you will love these fashionable tank top, t-shirt, and skirt designs. They are all knitted with lightweight summery fibers like cotton and bamboo to keep you cool in the warm weather. I hope you love these patterns as much as I loved designing them!

Below you will find a video of me doing a show and tell of the collection, going into more detail about the inspiration behind the collection, and the different ways you can customize each design!

These patterns can be purchased through my Girly Knits pattern stores on Ravelry and Etsy, as well as through my website, girlyknits.com! They are $7 each, or can be purchased as a full collection for only $21 here. Here are all of the patterns in the collection and their descriptions below:

“She’s Electric” Aztec Pattern Bodycon Skirt

Be the belle of the boardwalk this Summer is this electrifyingly cool skirt! The unique Aztec inspired texture of this skirt will not only turn heads, it is a blast to knit too! The skirt is deceptively simple, composed of simple knit and purl patterns that create a beautiful knit fabric that will fit and flatter your curves. The skirt is finished off with a fold-over waistband to enclose an elastic that will make this skirt fit you like a glove. Made with Knit Picks Shine Sport, you are sure to emit extra super shiny electric waves! In the words of Oasis “She is electric, can I be electric too?” the answer is YES! Just knit this skirt 😉 For more details and to instantly download this pattern, check it out on Ravelry.

“Sunshine and Lollipops” Braided Strappy Back Tank Top with Geo Lace Edge

Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows everything that’s wonderful is what I feel a-when I’m wearing this tank top…hehe well that is how I feel when I wear this tank top, and I hope you feel wonderful and bust out into song when you wear it too! There is lots to love with this sunshine seeking tank top with it’s super chic chunky geo lace edge and unique braided straps that show off your beautiful back! Braiding these straps will bring back memories of Summer Camp and friendship bracelets and all that is wonderful about Summer. An option is also included for a trendy t-strap back, as well as a cropped or regular length fitted tank to give you lots of options to suite your unique preferences. For more details and to instantly download this pattern, check it out on Ravelry.

“Bow Crazy” Chevron Lace Open Back Tank Top with Bow

Go crazy with your love for bows and everything girly with this pretty little lacy flirty oh-so-cute tank top! With sweet and feminine details like a lace ruffled waist, a picot neckline, and cable braided straps, this tank top is sure to make you feel pretty. With the option of making a festival ready solid tank top, or a retro-inspired beach ready striped tank top, you can let your imagination run wild with the adventures you will have when you rock it! Knit with a lustrous mercerized cotton, this tank not only keeps you cool in it’s sassy open-back design, but keeps you looking cool in it’s fashionable chevron lace pattern. The bow on the back is a super sweet touch that will make you go bow crazy! For more details and to instantly download this pattern, check it out on Ravelry.

“With Sprinkles on Top” Ice Cream Bow Back T-Shirt

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream during the Summer? Vanilla with multicolor sprinkles? Mint with chocolate sprinkles? Plain chocolate? Show it off in this super fun perfect for Summer t-shirt! Made with Knit Picks Comfy Sport, it is not only knit with a lightweight cotton yarn, it is soft, comfy, and machine washable too! The ice cream intarsia chart is a blast to knit and wear, and the bows on the back offer some flirtiness and flair. Adorn the bows with your favorite buttons and your back will be the talk of the town. The bow on the back is a super sweet touch that will make you go bow crazy! For more details and to instantly download this pattern, check it out on Ravelry.

“Heart to Heart” Embellished Tank Top with Heart Cut Out Back

If you want to sparkle this Summer and show off the amazing knitting superstar you are, “Heart to Heart” is your one stop tank top! Featuring two of fashions hottest trends, jewel embellished necklines and heart cut out backs, you will have everyone saying “Who is that girl? I want to know her!” Knit with your choice of sugar cane or cotton yarn, you will be keeping cool and looking fabulous. Warning: I would recommend making 2 of these beauties, because you just know your BFF is going to want one too! For more details and to instantly download this pattern, check it out on Ravelry.

Thanks so much for checking out the “Boardwalk Beauties” collection! These patterns can be purchased through my Girly Knits pattern stores on Ravelry and Etsy, as well as through my website, girlyknits.com! They are $7 each, or can be purchased as a full collection for only $21 here. I hope you enjoy!

♥Lauren

Jan 22
2013

New Girly Knits Valentine’s Day Knitting Pattern Collection “Follow Your Heart”

by Lauren

follow-your-heart-cover I am so super excited to share my brand new collection of knitting patterns with you, “Follow Your Heart”! It is a collection of 7 lovely knitting patterns inspired by Valentine’s Day and all of the fun girly goodies that come along with it! The collection includes gloves with flirty valentine’s messages, a skirt and legwarmer set featuring a heart cable pattern, playful and romantic reversible eye masks, a cupcake inspired hat and mitten set, and more! Check out the video of me below doing a show and tell of the collection, and telling a little more about each piece! A fun thing I also did with the collection was to include girls sizes in the patterns, yay!.

In the video, I also share a fun Valentine’s Day promotion!:

You can get the full collection of all 7 patterns for only $24 through Ravelry here! You can also purchase the patterns individually for $6-$7 each through Ravelry.
When you purchase the collection you also get a free bonus pattern, “Trifecta“! If you’re on Ravelry, just make sure to add the pattern to your cart and it will be free at checkout.
Receive a very special Girly Knits Valentine from me when you purchase the “Follow Your Heart” collection by February 5th! Just make sure to e-mail me your mailing address after purchasing the collection. (Note: This date has passed but I do have some Valentine’s left over – if you send me your address I will still send you one until they run out 😉 )

Here are all of the patterns in the collection and their descriptions below:

“Heart Me Forever”

If you were looking for a skirt that you will heart forever that will heart you back, you are in luck! “Heart Me Forever” is the most lovable skirt you will meet – with a super sweet heart stitch pattern, elegant mirrored cables, charming bobbles, and a playful bow drawstring with pom-poms, you will believe in love at first sight! This skirt will love you back with its flattering fitted shape and cozy warmth that only hand knit pieces provide. Knit with the ever hearted Knit Picks Swish Worsted and in the round as one piece for ease of finishing and ability to try on as you go, there truly is nothing not to love. I hope you love knitting “Heart Me Forever” as much as I loved designing it!

“Heart Warmers”

Keep your legs and wrists warm this Winter with the warmest type of cables, hearts! Hehe so that may not be technically true, but hearts make everything extra warm and fuzzy feeling, right?! This stylish set of legwarmers and mini mitts are knit in the round for ease of finishing and custom fit! They also feature a heart cable pattern that alternates between open and filled in hearts for a super fun and fashionable knitting experience and look! Whether you are making these for yourself or a very special recipient, the love and warmth will surely be felt. Enjoy!

“Be My Valentine”

Give “talk to the hand” a whole new meaning when you stylishly wear and flash these fun and flirty fingerless gloves! With phrases such as “Be Mine”, “Kiss Me”, and “I Heart You”, you will be sure to surprise and delight the recipient of your message. These valentine’s day themed gloves feature many different style options to suite your fingerless needs, including an oh-so-cute removable mitten hat! The pattern contains a heart and lip color chart to sass up your mittens, and interchangeable word charts to make your message your own. Choose your preferred worsted weight yarn in your favorite color combo and you are good to go! Have fun!

“Eye Candy”

Treat your eyes to something sweet with these colorful knitted eyemasks! Whether you’re sleeping next to the one you love or enjoying your sweet dreams solo, this mask is sure to express your desires! The reversible eyemask is 2-sided to for double the fun, and includes 10 interchangeable charts for you to choose from! It also includes 2 blank charts so you can design a custom message and motif of your own! The mask knits up with less than your average ball ‘o yarn, making it a great stash buster, and a bite size project to practice your awesome colorwork skills. Sweet, colorful, and bite size, this mask really is just like candy! Yum! Enjoy!

“Sweeter Than a Cupcake”

What is sweeter than a cupcake? You are of course, especially when you’re adorned in this cute and cozy hat and mitten set! The matching hat and mittens are knit up with your 3 favorite colors of cupcake, and topped off with delicious colorful sprinkles and a pom-pom! All pieces are knit in the round, and have a hint of Fair Isle for just a sweet little taste of colorwork. The mittens feature a detachable top for your fingerless needs, which looks just as cute on or off your fingers! While this pattern may cause cupcake cravings, I promise your sweet tooth will be satisfied when you complete this set! Enjoy!

“Care to Cuddle?”

For times when life is too much and you are feeling in despair, what could cheer you up more than a cuddle from a cute fuzzy koala bear? You needn’t go down under to experience his charms, you can make him up in your favorite worsted weight yarns! With his big fuzzy ears, and large button eyes, he knows just what to do to make your spirits rise. He will keep your ears warm, your wrists and fingers too, as all he wants to do is cuddle with you! “Care to Cuddle” can be other fuzzy things, as an Owl he will enlighten you with the wisdom he brings! Just remember as you come out of despair, “Care to Cuddle” wants to be shared! Enjoy!

“Your Time You Shine”

It is your time to shine girl when you make and rock this super stylish hat and glove set! Featuring a charming eyelet and garter stitch stripe pattern, and the option of adorning yourself in a big flower or bow, you are sure to shine! The bow set is made with Patons Lace Sequin with 2 strands held together for extra sequin sparkle, with the addition of bling at the center of the bows! The flower set uses Lion Brand’s Amazing for a fabulously chic color changing effect. Fear not the flowers, they are actually knitted using dpns! Whether you want to go glam or bohemian chic, this pattern is sure to suite your unique style! Enjoy!

Special Vday Promotion!

I hope you enjoy the patterns as much as I loved making them! You can find all of these patterns on Ravelry, where they are $6-$7, or you can buy the entire collection for only $24 on Ravelry! For a limited time I will also be giving you “Trifecta” as a free bonus pattern when you purchase the “Follow Your Heart” Collection – simply add the pattern to your cart on Ravelry and it will be free at checkout.

“Trifecta” (Bonus Pattern!)

Staying warm in the Winter can be a challenge with all of the knitted accessories you need to keep track of. Between a hat, scarf, and 2 gloves, something is bound to get lost in the mix. As the knitter of said items, this causes quite the dilemma! In comes Trifecta, a fun and fashionable accessory with all 3 of your favorite wooly Winter wonders combined! Trifecta will warm up your head, neck, and hands all at once, with an added bonus of making you look extra cute and cozy in the process! Knit with two strands of yarn held together in a stylish moss stitch and cable pattern, Trifecta knits up into an extra chunky fabric that is guaranteed to keep you extra warm. Trifecta will be your new favorite one stop cold-weather accessory, there’s no way you’ll leave this hand-knit beauty behind!

Purchase the “Follow Your Heart” Collection by February 5th and I will personally send you a Valentine!

be my valentine fingerless gloves knitting pattern i heart you 5 Another fun thing I wanted to do was to send you a Girly Knits Valentine! Just email me your address to girlyknits@gmail.com after purchasing the collection, and you will receive a fun valentine from me in the mail! Yay!

Thanks for checking out the new collection! I hope you enjoy it! Happy Valentine’s Day!

♥Lauren

Oct 10
2012

Girly Knits Photo Contest Winners!

by Lauren

Woohoo! The winners of the Girly Knits September photo contest have been chosen! 25 photos were entered by awesome knitters from around the world, and 5 Girly Knits fans helped judged! Thanks to all of the talented knitters who entered, and the knitters who volunteered their time to judge the photos! You are awesome and totally inspire me 🙂 🙂

It was honestly really tough to choose the top 3, more than half of the photos were chosen as the judges top 5 favorites! The photos were all so great and a lot of fun, but I had to choose winners for the prizes, so here they are!

I was also fortunate to be able to get in touch with the top entrants for back stories behind their photos, I hope you enjoy them! They all illustrate what knitting is about for a lot of us – sharing, love, and family. Awwww 🙂

First Place

“3 Little Owls”

Janet from Fairbanks, Alaska is the proud Grandmother of the 3 adorable children in this photo that she knitted owl hats for. She started with knitting the pink owl hat for Emma for her birthday, then went on to make them for her brothers.

“I like making my Grandkids stuff. My Daughter-in-law saw some owl hats at the fair this summer. She said you could make one of those, so I started looking for an owl hat pattern. I came across yours and showed it to her and she liked it too. The colors were her idea. As you can tell the Baby wasn’t very happy, and that’s my Sons arm you see putting the binky in his mouth. I have 4 Grandkids and I’m always knitting for them. I usually knit for my youngest Granddaughter, but trying to knit for the other 3 now. I’m a Widow so have a lot of knitting time, and it’s how I unwind after work.”

Janet won all of the materials to make the Lion Brand Norwegian Wristers, an online learning class from Craftsy, a $25 gift certificate to her favorite yarn store (Inua Wool Shoppe), and a $25 gift certificate to spend on Girly Knits patterns! Congratulations Janet!

Second Place

“Wise Old Granny Owl”

This photo was submitted by Sarah from Birmingham, England (left), who made this owl hat for her Grandmother to wear to her Garden Party themed baby shower.

“The photo is of my brother, my gran and myself. My friend organised the baby shower and demanded it be fancy dress, I said I wanted to be a bumble bee to utilise my pregnant belly and the garden theme was chosen. My gran has had several strokes over the last four years and moved in with the family so we could look after her. Last year she had a really big one and is now unfortunately in a nursing home. She cannot talk but she understands everything people say to her, and still gives us attitude through the faces she pulls. She loves being involved and your hat pattern was the perfect intermediate for her to have a costume (wise old owl) that she could keep and use again. She thought it was funny when I showed her a mirror. It gives people who see her (nurses etc) a fun topic to talk about when she wears it again in the winter, rather than just commenting on the weather :)”

Sarah won an online learning from Craftsy, an issue of her favorite knitting magazine (tbd), and a $15 gift certificate to spend on Girly Knits patterns! Nice work Sarah and congratulations on the new baby! Baby Ralph was born just last week!

Third Place

There was a tie for 3rd place! Both Kelly and Anya were winners of the Third place slot!

“Love Birds”

This clever photo was submitted by Kelly, who currently resides in Minneapolis. She had her 15 year old son help her take the photos.

“My son, Nick, who loves photography took the photo and I promised the share the prize with him if we won. He was really excited…..of course, I waited until after he took the photos to tell him the prizes were knitting stuff!!! LOL, sometimes with a teenager a little trickery is needed to get them to do something nice for Mom! Nevertheless, it was fun to combine our two hobbies and I think the prestige of winning a contest will be reward enough. Besides, maybe I’ll knit him a pair of mittens next….maybe.

Taking photos was a really fun way to spend some time with Nick! *whisper* I also didn’t tell Nick that the contest was with Girly Knits, so I don’t think he’ll be telling his friends about it! Hehehe.”

“Warming up for Knitting is a Workout!”

Anya from Denver, CO shared a very fun and creative photo of all of the prep work that goes into knitting a new pattern!

“My inspiration came while I was prepping my yarn to do a gauge swatch before I even started your pattern. I set up my winder and swift and my husband saw it and thought it was cool/weird/old-fashioned, and he seemed impressed, so I thought I would take a prep picture, since not everyone uses or has seen this equipment before (I was guessing).

I took the picture with my camera on the tripod with the timer. My husband was sitting right next to me on the couch like a foot away…I had to angle the tripod so he wouldn’t show… he was watching Sunday football and would NOT move for me to take a pic (we alway swatch football on Sundays. I mean he watches, and I knit). At first I tried taking the picture and smiling but that was too boring (and I was embarrassed to do something dorky in front of him, because he would know it was posed). Then I tried this sweaty-breathing-hard-pose and he totally laughed at me right when I took it and asked “are you trying to look like you’re working hard?” [That is why my eyes are turned to the side- I was looking at the camera before he made fun of me!] But then he said the picture was good and I was going to win the contest! Guess he was right :)”

Kelly and Anya both won a $15 gift certificate to spend on Girly Knits patterns! Great photos!

Honorary Mentions

Since there were so many great entries that deserve to be awarded, here are some extra special entries that deserve to be winners too 🙂 All will get a free Girly Knits pattern of their choice!

“Most Facebook Fan Votes”

Caitlin’s photo had a whopping 27 likes and 19 comments! Go Caitlin!

“Best Fall Themed Photo”

Love this picture of the mittens and the scarecrow! So creative! Great job Kelly!

“Knittin’ Pretty Award”

Ursula from Germany submitted such a beautiful photo of herself knitting! It’s truly stunning and felt is deserved to awarded for its quality.

“Best ‘Friends Forever’ Photo”

“My friend Kaylee moved to Camrose AB for the summer and I had crocheted her a blanket, and wanted something to use to keep it rolled up in gift form, but was still functional afterwards and I saw mine that I’d made last year and thought that it was perfect. Turned out the blanket was bigger than the headband would stretch, but I ended up taking them over and she loved them. Her roommate Deanna wants one as well! She moved back to Woodstock last weekend, and so there’s a bow in Alberta, and a bow in Ontario! I’m going to make Deanna one next and send it out to her for Christmas :)”

Fun photo Coreen! Another fan favorite!

“Knittin’ Kitten Cover Girl”

Special thanks to Jessica for being the very first knitter to enter the contest, and for letting me use her fantastic smile to spread word about the contest! In case you haven’t seen her awesome knitting skills, I did a whole post on her talent here 🙂

And lastly, as promised, the three entrants who will win a copy of “Smitten Mittens” or a Girly Knits pattern of their choice are Claudia, Barbara, and Debby! Congratulations everyone and thanks again for participating! It was a lot of fun and I look forward to doing more contests in the future!

♥Lauren

Oct 8
2012

Vote for your Favorite Photos!

by Lauren

The entries for the September Girly Knits photo contest are now up here! Please go take a look and like and comment on your favorite photos! The entries were all so fun 🙂 I had a hard time myself picking my favorites, so I enlisted Girly Knits fans to help judge! The winners will be announced on Wednesday here on this blog.

Check out the album of entries on my facebook fan page here!