Meet the Round Rug. It's one of my crochet patterns. And it's been around for awhile. But last Tuesday it was featured in an Etsy email. And people, that is like winning the designer lottery! Seriously. Suddenly your views go up by thousands. Orders start pouring in (relatively speaking) and it is better than Christmas morning! I was ecstatic! 

It was a good day. Now let's fast forward to this Tuesday. Yesterday. Around noon, the Round Rug starts to blow up AGAIN. Views are climbing dramatically, orders are coming in, favorites are skyrocketing. I'm thinking "Geez, did Etsy feature me AGAIN just a week later?" (which totally could happen, I've just never been a part of that particular 'lucky designer' group).

So I searched and searched through Etsy. I see no features. I see no popular treasuries. I know it's coming from Etsy as my stats tell me so, but I have NO IDEA how so many people are seeing my pattern. I am ETERNALLY grateful for this... but mystified. By the end of the day, I had nearly double the views that I had gotten from the Etsy email feature. Which is insane, to say the least. So what magical thing happened to get that many lovely people checking out my listing?? Any ideas?? Maybe one of you is an Etsy guru that knows about such things? 

You can go check it out and see what all the hoopla is about for yourself right here. Or if you are a Raveler and would like to purchase for your library, go here.

I know most of you are knitters. Which is cool. But you can do this rug pattern. Even if you are a brand new crocheter, this pattern is so easy and fast. Holding two strands of bulky weight yarn and working with a giant Q hook, the rug is so satisfying to work. Each stitch is making INCHES on the project. Pretty fun stuff that! :) 

Join the BULKY KNIT (or crochet!) home trend and check out the Round Rug. Work it in any size you want - 2 feet to 6 feet - or even bigger if you get crazy with it! You'll be glad you did! ​

Anaid is having a lovely little Thanksgiving Sale on Ravelry! WooHOO! For TWO WHOLE days you can get a BOGO deal on my patterns. ALL patterns are buy one get one FREE! Yippee! 

It's a great time to stock up on patterns - or if you are REALLY motivated make some items for Christmas gifting! Either way, with a BOGO deal you can hardly go wrong! ;)

This little sale is from Midnight tonight until Midnight at the END of Black Friday - so all day Thursday and all day Friday! Just place TWO patterns (or more) into your cart and you will get $5.50 discounted off of your order! No matter which two patterns you choose - $5.50 off! 

Visit Anaid Designs on Ravelry for this great deal! 

​Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

And I'm back! Wow... crazy time to have left my computer for the last few days! I am BLOWN AWAY by the outpouring of love for the Vintage Swoncho pattern. THANK YOU! I cannot even explain how much that means to a designer. And I am just thrilled at all the new subscribers that have joined us here at Anaid Designs! Wow. So not only was my vacation spectacular... my whole week was made even better by you guys! :) 


I believe that I have caught up with my new subscribers and sent a freebie code to each of you. However, if I somehow missed you... message me and I'll get that to you immediately! 


Did I mention that the vacation was great??? Oh I did?? OK... Luckily I am not your great aunt and won't bore you into a coma with photos! ;) But it was just what I needed - and my whole little family too - we are all rejuvenated and ready to be back to 'real life'.  


I feel like I always have approximately a thousand design ideas in my head. Seriously. How can I knit faster??? But now that I have been away from it all... I am seriously overwhelmed by all that I want to do. Husband and I spent hours on the road trip talking about all things Anaid and what I would like to do/ could do to move my little company forward. SO MANY great ideas! Husband is amazing at thinking waaaaaay out of the box. Usually into the realm of me saying 'there's no way!' But every once in awhile he makes me think big too and then I get all giddy! 


I'm not sure which of these ideas will come to life in the months and years to come. But I am super excited and trust me... Anaid Designs is going places. Big places. And maybe it'll be scary and maybe it'll be shocking, but I know that it will be amazing! Watch out! 


I'm so thrilled that you guys are all here at the very beginning and one day (hopefully not too long into the future) you'll be able to say 'I was there when she was just starting!'. That's my hope and dream! 


So yes, I am back from vacation. But more importantly I am BACK at Anaid and ready to move forward! What fun we will have! 

EVERYONE!!!! 

As you all know, I am just in the infancy of my little blog here. And would LOVE to have tons of lovely followers some day. But of course, I have to build up to that. And that is why I am SO grateful to the three lovely ladies that commented on the contest entry. I appreciate their input on the name for my new design and on their knowledge of stitches! :) THANK YOU! 

The winning name of my new design? SWONCHO! Combining Sweater and Poncho. Super great! Let's make this word a trend! Use it everywhere... make people wonder! ;) 

And I am happy to announce that YES, everyone is indeed a WINNER! I will be sending all three of the ladies the new "Vintage Swoncho" pattern. Yippee!!

Thank you again - I hope that we can continue to grow and build our little community here. Tell everyone you know to come and join us! AND... I am still giving away a free pattern to each new subscriber! 

It's coming along! I have pieced the front and back together. And done one sleeve. HOWEVER, after piecing and trying it on... I really love it 'short sleeved' too! So I thought I would take some photos 'sans sleeves' and put the option on the pattern. To sleeve or not to sleeve. That is the question! 

I now have one sleeve on (and love it that way too, fyi). I am doing ribbed 3/4 length sleeves. I wanted the entire piece to stay 'light'. So even though it is warm enough to wear any time.... it doesn't have a bulky winter feel to it. I like that for this piece. 

I am working on the second sleeve. But the funny thing is... I'm going to finish it, photo it, and then rip those sleeves right back off! haha! Waste of effort? Yes. BUT it's starting to be Spring here, and I love it short sleeved for this time of year. So, yeah, gonna do it. And wear it. And love it! 

OH and you are wondering about the poncho part right??? Looks like a normal top in the first photo doesn't it? Here's a second little sneak peak for you......

You don't actually get to SEE the poncho/sweater/thing. Because it's still in pieces at the moment. BUT I am going to give you a sneak peak....

I'm calling this cable pattern Chained Circles. Or maybe Circles in Chains? Too 'Fifty Shades'? ha! I think Chained Circles may be better... 

I came up with this out of my brain. However, I CANNOT believe that no one else has done this fun little cable before. So I looked, and looked, and looked online and I cannot find it anywhere. Did I really invent something new?? Naw... doubtful. More likely I just can't find it. SOOOO... 

Homework assignment #1 -- Does anyone know of this cable being used somewhere else? If so, I'd love to call it the right thing! ;) 

OK... now on to the next perplexing dilemma. What to call a poncho with sleeves? It's almost a REALLY drop shouldered sweater. But more poncho-y. My concern is calling it a poncho. This thing is hip, modern and OH SO fun! And unfortunately people have pre-conceived notions of a 'poncho'. Eeeek. Not good. So I'm kinda leaning toward calling it a sweater instead. But I really feel like we need a new word for this awesomeness. Well... you'll see. So that brings us to...

Homework assignment #2 -- Anyone have any ideas of what to call a 1/2 poncho 1/2 sweater?? That sounds cool, amazing and totally something everyone would want? :)

Whoever gives me the best answer (in my opinion) for each of the assignments will win a free pattern! Whoohooo! Unfortunately I have limited time for this as the pattern will be ready soon. So put your suggestions in the comments below by Friday, March 13th! 

Let's finish with a couple more shots of the blocked and drying pieces of the... sweatero? ponter? dang... I've got nothing! HELP!

Yes, I am still here! WOW how did 10 days go by so so fast? 

I've promised you the Apple Picking pattern... and it IS coming. I promise. In the last 10 days I have made progress. The video tutorial for how to make tassels is done and you can see that here. I'm trying out a new video set up. It seemed to work pretty well. My lighting is not the best so everything looks yellow-y. But that's a cool vintage look right? Right?! It was fun messing with closeups and splicing them in with the wide shots. I'm learning so cut me some slack! :) 

I have also managed to write the pattern. So now... I just need to take the photos. Sometimes that is THE hardest part of making a pattern. And yes, I am including actually making the garment! First off, I have no extra money for hiring of models. And strangely at 39 I have no super attractive 20-something friends... weird. SO I have to model all of my own stuff. UGH. And you know how difficult it is to 'like' a photo of yourself. Basically every time I do a photo shoot, it's torture. I will take upwards of 100 photos and maybe, MAYBE I'll get 5 decent shots. Not even good... just good enough. I need models!!!! If you happen to live in the greater Oklahoma City area and are just drop dead gorgeous in that cool earthy way... please contact me! :) I'd love to have you. I can't actually pay you... well maybe minimum wage. haha!

Stay tuned... I'll be tackling the photos SOON and will get the pattern up quick. Also, I've started working on TWO more of the yarns in my last shipment, so I will be posting about those in the very near future!