Design reveal time!

Yes, it is finally that time!  The designers have all done such an amazing job!!!  I do not envy the judges one little bit this round.  They are going to have a very tough time choosing the winner of this round, and so will you!  Yes, you get to cast your vote for your favorite design, too!  Here is a quick peek at the designs, but you can head over to our website to see more details about each design and cast your vote for your favorite.

As with the last two rounds, we will have two winners.  One winner is chosen by our judges and the other by you, our fans.  Our lucky winners will each receive an AMAZING prize package! 

 

So, hop over to Battle of the Stitches website to vote for your favorite design. Voting ends on Sunday, December 28, 2014.  One vote per person, please!  Be sure to wish each of our challengers the best of luck!  Stay tuned next week to find out which design belongs to which designer!

 

Melanie Padron, 3 Boys & A Ball of Yarn

Donna Knox, Articles of a Domestic Goddess

Sonya Blackstone, Blackstone Designs

Stacey Williams, Busting Stitches

Christine Norris, Chris~Cross~Crafts

Kate Wagstaff, Crafting Friends Designs

Rebecca Goldsmith, Desert Diamond Crochet

Lisa Egan, Pink Snail Boutique

Samantha Bagley, Silverdragon Crafts & Critters

Sheri Weber, The Country Willow

Jacqualyn Walker, The Crafty Geekette

Michelle Ferguson, Two Brothers Blankts

How well do you know the Round 4 challengers?

Get the lowdown dirty details on our Round 4 challengers, muahaha….

Here are some MORE fun factoids about the Round 4 challengers for the Battle of the Stitches. Let us know what you think!

 

 

Lisa Egan~Pink Snail Boutique

 

1. Favorite song is Little Drummer Boy

2. Favors her size G Bates crochet hook

3. Prefers cake over cookies

4. Prefers to cook vs order take out

5. Prefers popcorn over candy at the movies

6. Likes sausage, instead of bacon, with her eggs.

 

 

Sonya Blackstone~Blackstone Designs

 

1. Believes in conspiracies AND aliens

2. Favorite Christmas songs are Silver Bells and Jingle Bell Rock

3. One of her fave Disney Princess is Pocahontas (because of her Native American ancestry)

4. The Griffin is her favorite mythical creature

5. Prefers Pepsi over Coke

6. Her dream vacation location is Massachusetts

 

 

Rebecca Goldsmith~Desert Diamond Crochet

 

1. Doesn’t eat ice cream

2. Is a night owl

3. Hot chocolate is her go to drink for cold mornings (doesn’t drink coffee)

4. Prefers warm weather to cold weather

5. Favorite pizza topping is pepperoni

6. Favorite candy is Lindt truffles

 

Stacey Williams~Busting Stitches

 

1. Has never had a driver’s license

2. Prefers cotton yarn over wool

3. Favorite animal is the Jackalope

4. Favorite ice cream topping is raspberries

5. Believes in psychic abilities and spirits/hauntings

6. Likes to eat homemade condensed milk with coconut and oats

 

 

Jacqualyn Walker~The Crafty Geekette

 

1. Prefers rainbow colored lights on her Christmas tree

2. Likes infinity scarves (combination of scarf and cowl)

3. Is most proud of her Always Deer design

4. Favorite TV show right now: The Walking Dead

5. Her two kitties names are Erza and Pancake

6. Also enjoys painting, sewing, clay work and spinning/dyeing fibers

 

Donna Knox~Articles of a Domestic Goddess

 

1. Can drive (and I quote) ANYTHING!

2. Favors Red and Gold decorations on her Christmas tree

3. Favorite design of her own is her Meeky Mice

4. Prefers hot weather, but cold coffee

5. Favorite ice cream? Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla

6. Prefers Bates crochet hooks over Boye

 

Samantha Bagley~Silverdragon Crafts and Critters

 

1. Served 6 years in the Army as a Chemical Operations Specialist

2. Has her nose, ears and tongue pierced

3. If she was a Disney princess she’d like to be the spunky Scot, Merida

4. Loves the Charisma line of yarn at Michaels

5. Prefers glazed donuts over powdered and her popcorn with extra butter

6. Favorite line from a movie? “I’m going to bed before you get us all killed….or worse expelled” (Hermione in Harry Potter)

 

 

Sheri Jepson-Weber~The Country Willow

 



1. Favorite color combo is pink/green/grey

2. Favors this quote by Moby Dick’ author Herman Melville, “It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation”

3. Started crocheting in 2012

4. Began designing patterns in 2013

5. Also creates handmade jewelry and fabric totes/purses

6. Has 3 dogs

 

 

Christine Norris~Chris Cross Crafts

 

1. Least favorite color of yarn to work with? Black

2. Is addicted to Pinterest (umm, who ISN’T, lol?)

3. Took over a decade’s hiatus from knitting, and has taken it back up

4. Won multiple ribbons for items she entered into her local county fair this past summer

5. Also sews handmade dresses for girls and capes for boys

6. Dreams of having her patterns published in a book, flyer or magazine

 

 

Michelle Ferguson~Two Brothers Blankets

 

1. Favorite yarns are I Love This Yarn and Heartland

2. Last time she’s done a cartwheel was High School, and probably couldn’t do one now

3. Favorite pattern from another designer? Sincerely Pam’s Madison Vest

4. Passed her first driving test

5. Has two son’s (aka the two brothers in Two Brothers Blankets), Noah and Isaac

6. A fan of being in the outdoors, and college football!

 

 

Melanie Padron~3 Boys and a Ball of Yarn

 

1. Prefers Silver Garland on her Christmas trees instead of Tinsel/Icicles

2. Is an avid gardener

 

3. 4th generation crochet artisan

 

4. Favorite Christmas movie is Elf (which she watches year round)

5. Fall is her favorite time of the year.

6. Her Grandfather was a WWII Veteran

 

 

Kate Wagstaff~Crafting Friends Designs

 

1. Prefers sugar cookies (a specific homemade recipe) over candy canes

2. Would crochet, garden and eat when she wanted if she had a whole week to herself

3. Her favorite animal is the wolf

4. Has no tattoos and her only piercings are her ears (one in each)

5. Prefers wearing shoes (or at least flip flops) to going barefoot

6. Sings and plays the piano

 

The Stitch, Sneak Peeks & Games, Oh My!!!

Are you as excited as I am to see the designs this round???  While it's not quite time to see what our challengers have designed, it is time for a peek at what they are working on!

Our theme for Round 4 is "Love is in the Air".  Our challengers have been tasked with choosing a type of love to focus on (romantic, family, pet, sibling, child, friend, etc) and design something that portrays that love.  As with every round of Battle of the Stitches, they were also given a stitch to focus on.  This stitch needs to be their main stitch.  Other stitches can definitely be used, but, they cannot overshadow the main stitch.  What stitch goes better with the love theme than the love knot?  :)

The love knot, or Solomon's Knot, is lacy and flowy...and intimidating.  It can be, anyway.  And, if you've ever searched the stitch, it's rare to find it used for much more than a shawl/wrap.  The wraps are beautiful, but, the purpose of Battle of the Stitches is to push the stitch, and ourselves as designers, outside the box and show that these stitches are versatile, and that a group of designers can work along side each other and use the same stitch and theme and come up with designs as unique as they each are.  The eBook for Round 4 will be released on New Year's Day and will include at least 14 patterns (from our challengers and a couple bonus patterns from our Admins) all using the love knot stitch, and a photo tutorial to show you how to make the love knot as it has been used for this round.

So, how about a little sneak peek at what our challengers have been up to?  Below, you will find their peek photos numbered 1-12.  Let's have a little fun for some nice prizes, shall we?  We have two games to play and two prizes up for grabs.  First, we want to know WHAT you think each design is.  And, second, we want to know WHO you think designed it.

Two people will be randomly selected as our winners.  Each will win a copy of the Battle of the Stitches: Round 4 eBook when it is released on January 1, 2015 (Happy New Year to you!).  The first winner chosen by random.org will receive the yarn winder pictured below.  The second randomly chosen winner will receive a copy of The Crochet Answer Book pictured below.  Awesome prizes, right?  I'd love to have either of these, myself!

And, don't forget to check out the Battle of the Stitches website for your chance to win one of several pattern kits being given away throughout Round 4 and beyond!

Now, on with the games! To enter, comment on this blog post.  Number from 1 to 12.  Next to each number, tell us what you think the design is and who you think designed it.  You have until the end of the day on December 21 to make your guesses (one entry per person).  Winners will be selected on December 22, 2014

Our Challengers:

Melanie Padron -
 3 Boys & A Ball of Yarn

Donna Knox - Articles of a Domestic Goddess

Sonya Blackstone - Blackstone Designs

Stacey Williams - Busting Stitches

Christine Norris - Chris~Cross~Crafts

Kate Wagstaff - Crafting Friends Designs

Rebecca Goldsmith - Desert Diamond Crochet

Lisa Egan - Pink Snail Boutique

Samantha Bagley - Silverdragon Crafts & Critters

Sheri Weber - The Country Willow

Jaqualyn Walker - The Crafty Geekette

Michelle Ferguson - Two Brothers Blankets