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

And last but not least...Our final 2 Challengers in Round 4 of the Battle of the Stitches are:

We're rounding out our 12 challengers with these 2 final designers. We hope you are as excited about this as we are!   Our Round 4 of the Battle of the Stitches will begin next week and all 12 ladies are eager to get going and anxiously waiting for the news....
WHAT crochet stitch will they be given to be the focus of a completely new design?
WHAT will the theme be?  There is a slight twist to what is going on behind the scenes of the Battle for this round and you're about to find out what that is.

Who - Oh Who could our next 2 Challengers be? Check out this post and you will see!

Isn't it amazing that we can have so much crochet talent out there? How awesome is it that  the internet can bring the love of our craft to everyone around the world!  The Battle of the Stitches crochet challenge has already brought so many Crochet Designers together to help build friendships and continue to grow businesses together and we're excited to open the ring to 2 more wonderful women.

2 more Crochet Designers are joining the Battle of the Stitches Ring

Are you loving the talent we're bringing to Round 4 so far?  This week we're announcing 6 more "New to the challenge" crochet designers and playing a fun "Factoid" game for your chance to win a prize.  Make sure to follow The Battle of the Stitches on FaceBook so you can enter to win.

Welcome our 2 Newest Challengers to the Battle of the Stitches Crochet Challenge

One of the most rewarding things about the Battle of the Stitches crochet challenge is being able to meet and work with different designers!  It's amazing to see their talent in action and being able to help all of you find or remember some of the many wonderful designers out there.

2 More challengers are returning to Round 4 of the Battle of the Stitches. Who will it Be?

Entering our stadium for Battle Round #4....  

Let's hear it for Rebecca from Desert Diamond crochet!!!  
Rebecca is well known for her amazing Character hats, but she's ready to keep you guessing as she decides on something unique to design for this round.  In round 3, she designed the beautiful Braided Scoodie Wrap!

Where Are They Wednesday: Featuring ShopKimberlie

Welcome to Where Are They Wednesday.  This week, we're chatting with ShopKimberlie who was one of our fantastic Round 1 challengers.  We were excited to have her join our first ever crochet competition and love seeing her work. We asked her what she's been up to since the challenge and this is what she had to say...

Are you ready? ... I Can't Hear You...ARE YOU READY??? Let's Get Ready To RUMBLE!!!!!

We Heard you that time!  We know you're ready and we are too!  So, let's start introducing our returning challengers who will be competing in Round 4 of the Battle of the Stitches.
 
In corner #1, we're bringing back the lovely miss Lisa from Pink Snail Boutique.  Lisa is fairly new to designing, but trust me, she can hold her own! She was thrown into the fire in Round 3 and did a fantastic job designing her Braided Cable Poncho. Hook in hand and yarn at her side, we know she'll bring her all!

Hi, My name is Lisa, the crafter behind Pink Snail Boutique.

This is my second battle round and I am so excited. I was a challenger in Round 3 and had just released my first paid pattern the month before. Now with a couple more designs under my belt I am ready to go.

Braided Cable Poncho by Pink Snail Boutique

I have been crocheting at least weekly for the past three years. Prior to that I mainly made blankets for family members. I started my business offically on Dec 20, 2011. It started mainly with custom orders and I have added some non-crochet items to my lineup as living in the deserts of California does not require a big need for scarves, beanies or gloves.  (We love seeing her bright and fun chunky necklaces too)

You can keep track of Lisa and the many adventures from Pink Snail Boutique on various social sites:

FaceBook

www.pinksnailboutique.com

Ravelry

Blog

Pinterest

Google +

Twitter

Etsy

Instagram

And in corner #2, we're bringing back our Fan's choice winner from Round 3 sporting her beautiful Chilly Cables Coatigan,  You've got it!  Sonya Blackstone of Blackstone Designs has her yarn wound up and hooks are still hot. 

Hey there! If you followed last round you remember me; I’m Sonya, owner of Blackstone Designs and the round 3 fan’s choice winner! I’m so glad to be back and I’m super excited for another fun challenge! 

I have been designing crochet patterns for two years and I just love it. When I’m not crocheting, you will find me doing some other type of craft! Right now, I am learning to knit and I can’t wait to see where this takes me! Living in Central Maine there isn’t much else to do. Luckily, I have crafty kids too, so it doubles as family time! Win-win!

Thanks for taking time to read a bit about me. Follow me on your favorite social media to keep up on all the latest news and offers.

Ravelry

Facebook

Twitter

Blog

Pinterest

Google +

Etsy

Instagram

 Welcome back ladies!  We've got an awesome line up once again and will continue announcing challengers and judges, so make sure you are getting your notifications on the various social sites or stay tuned here so you don't miss out.  Tons of games and prizes are on the line!