We Have a Winner of the Crochet Tote Book Giveaway

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in this blog tour giveaway. I'll have to come up with more reasons to do giveaways because it's really fun. It's like hosting a party at my blog! (In fact, if you have a creative idea for one, let me know.)

Using a truly random number generator to select a commenter on my previous blog post, I discovered our winner: 
Congratulations CATLADY, it's your lucky day! 
I hope you enjoy your goodies. I've accumulated a few things from yarn conferences I've attended, so I'm including these in your package: a Della Q project bag with Lorna's Laces pin; samples of different stitch markers; new Eucalan fabric wipes; and crochet hooks from Boye, Susan Bates, and Lion Brand's commemorative pink hook for women's health awareness. I even scrounged up a Leisure Arts pen that I forgot I had! 


The white hang tags have a special significance. Marty and I found out that we both love using them for our crochet projects. I'm sending you two sizes, in case you've never used them. We like to attach the larger size to a swatch so that we can record notes about it; the smaller size is perfect for noting just the hook size used, or page number of a stitch book, or part of a sweater ("left sleeve" for example), etc.


Catlady's comment was: "I generally use a cotton for totes - my "go to" brand is Bernat Handicrafter. And my "go to" colour is pink. :) But, I may try a felted wool tote - I've knit some, but want to see how some crochet stitches felt up for totes. I bought some feltable dk weight wool in pink and grey, that I thought about trying for a tote..."
I wish I had some pink yarn or some Bernat Handicrafter to include! Pink is my "go to" color too, and I need to get more. Maybe Catlady can somehow use two skeins of a rich red Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece yarn, or knows someone who likes red.

Chance to Win: Marty Miller's TOTES FOR ALL REASONS

This is no ordinary book review here at ol' DesigningVashti! I've always wanted to do a giveaway on my blog. 

In honor of Marty Miller's new crochet tote book, Totes for All Reasons, I'm giving away a copy of the book plus some fun crochet swag to a lucky commenter on this blog post. In your comment, please describe the yarn you would use to crochet your next tote (for example color, fiber, brand). Winner will be randomly picked at the end of this Monday Sept. 5 and announced Tuesday morning, September 6. 

Congratulations to Marty on her new book! These crochet totes were carefully designed for this collection to be fun to crochet and to use. I can see Marty's personality all over it and I know it was a blast for her to design these totes. 

When I see this I think YES. I need more fresh flowers
 AND a way to tote them!

I've been yarn shopping with Marty in craft stores and in yarn shops. She has this knack for seeing the tote that a new yarn wants to become. It's remarkable. I've also crocheted with her side by side, and you should see how fast and enthusiastically she can whip up a new tote, right off the top of her head.


Come to think of it, at conferences I've helped lug her crochet class materials to her classes--USING HER TOTES--and I can attest to the strength and comfort of the tote handles she designs. I can't imagine a better designer for a book of crochet totes. Period. 


Also, the photography is beautiful. This is a 24-page Leisure Arts publication, so you can expect clear images, clean layout, and easy to follow instructions. You can expect accuracy because Marty's an expert technical editor of other designers' crochet patterns, including mine. 


After me, there's one more stop on the blog tour. Please visit Kate Steinke's blog tomorrow (Sunday). And also see Marty's blog tour post about the totes she crocheted. She made me want to go and pick up a crochet hook and find a good tote yarn in my stash! Here's the complete tour schedule:


August 29: Marty Miller
August 30: Ellen Gormley
August 31: Drew Emborsky
September 1: Kimberly McAlindin
September 2: Doris Chan
September 3: Vashti Braha (c'est moi)
September 4: Kate Steinke


DON'T FORGET to leave a comment for a chance to win this book and some extra goodies. What yarn would YOU use to crochet your next tote?