Saved by Spindle Cat -- and a GIVEAWAY!

One of the first Etsy sellers ever featured on this blog was S. Kate Hutchison of Spindle Cat Studio (see story here). Back then, in spring of 2009, I was still trying to figure out my way around Etsy. I was also trying to figure out how to keep a stitch marker intact for more than a week or so.

You see, I am really hard on my stitch markers. I started out with those plastic loops from the craft store and was going through about one a week. After those turned out to be a total fail, I switched to a paperclip -- but that kept snagging my yarn. Then I tried using a yarn stitch marker, but it just got in my way. I was at the end of my rope.

So, I shopped around on Etsy and found S. Kate Hutchison. She makes her own beautiful stitch markers from copper and was willing to work with me to do a custom crochet stitch marker. After a few tries, we had a set that I liked. But then she went one step further. She played around with what we had discovered and came up with MY stitch marker.

If you have my patterns, you've probably seen it peeking out from my projects. It is a beautiful Czech glass tear-drop-shaped marker with a twirl of copper. After receiving my "embrace" crochet stitch marker from S. Kate, I never used the set I bought from her. I was in love.

Until a few weeks ago...

My wonderful, perfect stitch marker gave in to all the abuse I put it through and broke. I contacted S. Kate in despair and told her my story. She had never had one of her stitch markers broken before me! S. Kate agreed that if I sent back the broken marker, she would fix it for me -- at no cost. And fix it she did...

You see why I love this lady and her work?

 So, here's the deal. I noticed that recently my blog passed the 400 followers mark and decided that it was time to do something to celebrate. I special ordered four more of the embrace stitch markers from S. Kate -- just like mine. And, I've decided to offer them as a giveaway: one stitch marker for every hundred blog followers!

S. Kate was even willing to throw in some little treats of her own... so each of the winners will also receive some Spindle Cat swag -- including a nifty little keychain pen that is perfect for marking patterns!

So, here's what you need to do to get yourself entered for this prize...

• First off, you MUST be a follower of my blog via Google Friend Connect or Networked Blogs. To join, scroll down to the Google Friend Connect widget on the right side of the screen and click Join This Site. Or, click the Networked Blogs link and then click the Follow button there.
• Next, complete this form.

That's it!

The giveaway runs from today (8/29/11) through midnight EST on September 5, 2011. I will select a winner at random and announce the winner via blog and Facebook on September 6.

Good luck!

The Terms and Conditions: This giveaway is open to anyone -- unless your country specifically prohibits the import of the items offered in this giveaway (for a list of import regulations, please see the USPS web site). In cases where import license is required, the winner of the giveaway is responsible for obtaining such license. Winners will be contacted on Septmber 6, 2011 via the email address provided in the entry form. If this email goes unanswered for more than one week, The Itsy Bitsy Spider reserves the right to choose a different winner for the prize package.

Prizes will be shipped via USPS first class mail during the week of September 6, 2011. Once prizes have been shipped, The Itsy Bitsy Spider claims no further responsibility for delivery of the item.