Little Cotton Rabbits

A little lamby giveaway

 

 

Hello there, I hope things are good with you. Everything here seems to be taking longer than anticipated and I'm counting any day a good day if I manage to tick one thing off my to-do list. Today however will be a good, good day, as posting this blog post means I've doubled my target and already ticked off 2 things, and it's only 8.30 in the morning :)

This little lamb has been in progress in my workbasket for months now, but at last she is finished. At the beginning of the year I had a quiet and secret plan, which I've not yet spoken of to anyone, and that was to give away one animal for each of the four seasons throughout this year. I'm still not sure if I'll manage to pull that off, but this is a lamb for Spring, so that's a start even though summer is almost upon us.

So, here's what you need to do if you'd like to be in with a chance of winning her and her little basket (which will arrive empty as the daisies have already wilted and I don't want her to arrive with her new owner with a basket of mushy compost). Simply leave a comment below, if you're in a rush just type enter or some such, but if you have a little time then please write a few words about something that has made you smile recently, it won't mean you have a better chance of winning as the draw will be a random one, but I do love reading a collection of happy comments.

Meanwhile I've got lots of pictures from our spring to edit here, so I'll pop back at the end of next week to confirm the winner and to share some of those. I hope the rest of your week is a good one, J x

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To enter the draw , draw closed on Thursday May 30th:

As usual I'll use a random number generator to pick the winner, so to be in with a chance of winning this lamb please leave a comment on this post, you can simply write enter, or if you have time to spare tell me about something that is making you happy at the moment.

Important note:  I'm not able to add in comments sent by email, left on a blog reading service or on any location other than this blog post. Only comments left on this post will be counted in the draw. If you are reading this on a blog reader or an email then the actual post is here: https://littlecottonrabbits.typepad.co.uk/my_weblog/2024/05/a-little-lamby-giveaway.html 

Can I also please ask that you only post once in the draw in order to give everyone a fair and equal chance. Thanks for your kind understanding of these conditions of entry in this free prize draw.

I'll draw the winner on Thursday 30th May 2024 and will update this post with the winning name.

Please also note I am reversing the flow of the comments whilst comments are open so that people can immediately see whether their comment has posted (new comments will be first) and so your comment number will be constantly changing as more new comments are added. Once the draw has closed on Thursday I will change the flow of comments so that they begin with the first one left on the post and end with the last one - this will be when your comment will be allocated the unique number for the draw.

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The winner of the random draw is Gretchen, comment number 213

Many thanks to everyone who took the time to enter, I hope to have more giveaways later in the year, J x

 

Anniversary giveaway no. 2

 

 

 

Well, this is a little later than planned, but here is my 2nd giveaway for my special anniversary year.

There are two prizes in this giveaway: two little mice all snuggled up against the cold wintery winds that we have here this week; one in a removable dress, cardigan and scarf with knitted on stockings and shoes and one with removable sweater, shorts and pom-pom scarf.

The first prize winner gets to pick which of these 2 mice they would like, and the second prize winner gets the remaining mouse.

The prize draw is open to anyone, anywhere and I will post out the gift-wrapped prizes in sturdy cardboard boxes via Royal Mail track and trace postage.

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To enter the draw:

As usual I'll use a random number generator to pick the two winners, so to be in with a chance of winning one of these two mice please leave a comment on this post, you can simply write enter, or if you have time to spare tell me about something that is making you happy at the moment.

Important note: Only comments left on this post will be counted in the draw If you are reading this on a blog reader or an email then the actual post is here: https://littlecottonrabbits.typepad.co.uk/my_weblog/2023/03/anniversary-giveaway-no-2.html 

I'm not able to add in comments sent by email, left on a blog reading service or on any location other than this blog post.

Can I also please ask that you only post once in the draw in order to give everyone a fair and equal chance. Thanks for your kind understanding of these conditions of entry in this free prize draw.

I'll draw the two winners on Monday March 13th 2023 and will update this post with the winner names.

Please also note I am reversing the flow of the comments whilst comments are open so that people can immediately see whether their comment has posted (new comments will be first) and so your comment number will be constantly changing as more new comments are added. Once the draw has closed on monday I will change the flow of comments so that they begin with the first one left on the post and end on the last one - this will be when your comment will be allocated the unique number for the draw.

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I had fun making the scarf for the mouse in a sweater and thought I'd share how I did so in case you'd like to make one too:

I used two 4mm DPNs (double pointed needles) and bulky yarn to knit a 4 stitch i-cord (i-cord tutorials are easily found on your tube) to a length of around 35cms / 14 inches (enough to fit around the neck of your animal with sufficient dangle left over). Then I made 2 small pom-poms using a fork - it's handy as you can thread a strong cord through the tines to tightly tie the middle of the pom-pom before cutting the edges and freeing it from the fork. After cutting I trimmed them to make neat balls, then lightly steamed them over a pan of water to encourage them to full poufiness.

 

 

 

 

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Edited to add: Comments are now closed, 2pm, Monday 13th March

Here are the winners, I've emailed both and am waiting to hear back,  J x

203  Bernice said...

Oh Julie, such a sweet little chap to give away. Yours was the first blog I ever started to follow and after all these years, it's still my gp to read. Thank you for sharing your creative genius. It is always a pleasure.

March 06, 2023 at 01:11 PM

 

1009 Cathy Bodini said...

My happiness , at the moment, is because my bestie is soon flying over to visit me for 5 days.

March 06, 2023 at 09:05 PM

 

Anniversary give-away no. 1

 

 

Hello, I hope that your new year has got off to a good start. Toby has started back at college and so I'm just beginning to find my feet after the Christmas break. I am trying to ignore all of the household chores that have built up and instead have spent my morning photographing bears and mice - a much nicer use of time in my opinion.

As I mentioned in the previous post 2023 is a big anniversary year for the Little Cotton Rabbits and me, being 20 years since I started making them and 10 years since I wrote up the bunny patterns. To celebrate I am planning a series of give-aways across this year and this is the first of them.

Free Patterns giveaway...

This giveaway will be for 10 people to win free copies of all of the new 'Little Cotton Rabbit' patterns that I produce in 2023 (I'm hoping for at least 5 new patterns). As always I'll use a random number generator to pick the 10 winners, so to be in with a chance of winning one of these 10 prizes please just leave a comment below, you can simply write enter, or if you have time to spare tell me about something that you are looking forward to this year.

Important note: Only comments left on this post will be counted in the draw. I'm not able to add in comments sent by email, left on a blog reading service or on any location other than this post on my blog. Can I also please ask that you only post once in the draw in order to give everyone a fair and equal chance. Thanks for your kind understanding of these conditions of entry in this free prize draw.

I'll draw the 10 winners on Monday January 9th 2023 which will be just before the release of the 3 new patterns that I've been working on. I'll be back next week with full details of those.

Enjoy the tail end of your week and thanks as always for dropping in to visit with me, J x

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Edited to add: Comments are now closed, 17.08 Monday January 9th

Here are the winners (I've now emailed the patterns, so if you are one of the winners and have not received your first 3 patterns please let me know) J x.

57 Alice Smulders said...

You knitted animals are so delightful and they bring joy to all that see them. Thank you.❤️Alice

January 05, 2023 at 01:13 PM

 

169 Christine Lewis said…

I’m looking forward to being able to sit down and knit some more LCR animals now Christmas is over. Thank you again for such awesome patterns

January 05, 2023 at 01:36 PM

 

698 Jan said...

I love your patterns (and the company name!). Currently making a lot of mini bunnies for an Easter Garland for my Granddaughter. Can't believe it's been 20 years - well done and thank you for all the super designs.

January 05, 2023 at 04:47 PM

 

1025 Julie Paquet said...

Thank you for this nice giveaway. Happy anniversary!

January 05, 2023 at 06:38 PM

 

1048 Abby said...

Love your animals! I’m always hoping for a horse 😊

January 05, 2023 at 06:47 PM

 

1241 Christine Agnew said...

I am now officially obsessed with your little cotton rabbits! My 3 yr old granddaughter insisted on a pink bunny tail on her rabbit so I now ask her what other colours she wants in the dresses. Truly custom made rabbits (though the answer is mostly pink) I have 7 other grandchildren under 6 and they all want one so I am knitting at every opportunity!
Christine

January 05, 2023 at 08:08 PM

 

1248 Teresa said...

Love your cute patterns! I am looking forward to the 2023 new Creations.

January 05, 2023 at 08:11 PM

 

1623 Roxanne Vanslette said...

I’m so excited for your new patterns! I knitted my first Little Cotton Rabbits pattern last month and I have knitted 6 different animals since and I cannot stop!

January 06, 2023 at 01:55 AM

 

1892 Beatrice said...

Thank you so much for this beautiful blog, so inspiring, and you marvellous patterns.

I wish you a very happy new year, for you and all your family.

And I hope I will be one of the happy winners. Your patterns are so nice and clearly written.

January 06, 2023 at 04:31 PM

 

2025 Lisa said...

Love your patterns! Always look forward to seeing your new patterns!

January 07, 2023 at 01:48 PM

 

An autumn giveaway

 

 

 

Back on September 3rd I celebrated my 15th blogging anniversary. In previous years (up until 2018) I have held a little celebratory giveaway of finished animals, but the last few years I've been so busy with writing patterns that I've not actually managed to fully finish many animals (I'll show you my rather large collection of unfinished ones another time).

To be honest I have deeply missed the joy of just making, because knitting samples for pattern development and step-by-step photos simply does not hold the same peaceful and relaxing pleasure. At heart I am a maker and making these two animals has given me the most knitting pleasure that I've felt for quite some time. I hope that they will also bring pleasure to their new owners, which brings me to announce a giveaway.

 

The Giveaway:

To win either this little black bear or grey rabbit all you need to do is leave a comment below.

You can write anything you like (just the word 'enter' is enough) but if you have time, I'd love to hear about something that has brought you some recent pleasure and enjoyment.

Your comment is automatically given a number and on Monday November 15th at 12 noon UK time I'll close the post to further comments and use a random number generator to pick two numbers from all of the entries.

The first number picked will be the first prize winner who will get to choose between the two animal prizes and the second number picked will win the remaining animal.

 

Here's a more detail description of the prizes:

The little black bear is knitted from Camarose Snefnug yarn in 7313 and comes with a pair of brown dungarees knitted from Krea deluxe organic cotton shade 53, a little cream blouse knitted in Krea deluxe organic cotton in shade 02, a light brown cardi knitted in hand dyed yarn from the Wool Barn, a scarf knitted in The Uncommon Thread Lush worsted yarn in 'Belle Epoch', a cream dress with knitted leaf design and two pairs of shoes; a light brown pair with eyelet detailing and a plain dark brown pair. The extra outfit will be packed in a little tin suitcase from Maileg.

The little grey bunny is knitted in 1 strand of Rowan Alpaca Classic in 'feather grey melange' held with 1 strand of Rowan Kidsilk haze and comes with a pair of brown dungarees knitted from Krea deluxe organic cotton in shade 53, a little cream blouse knitted in Krea deluxe organic cotton in shade 02, a light brown cardi knitted in hand dyed yarn from the Wool Barn, a red scarf knitted in Rowan kidsilk haze in 'ruby', a brown dress with embroidered toadstools and two pairs of shoes; a red pair with eyelet detailing and a plain brown pair. The extra outfit will be packed in a little tin suitcase from Maileg.

Wooden toadstools, pinecones etc. are not included and are just used in the pictures as props.

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To recap: Leave a comment below to be in with a chance of winning one of these two animals and their assorted clothing (giveaway is now closed). Giveaway closes at 12 noon on Monday 15th November.

Please can I ask, only one comment per person, thanks J x

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The number for the first prize is:

774

DianeD said...

I would so love to win one of your beautiful animals. They are all sooo gorgeous.

November 09, 2021 at 04:48 AM

 

 

The number for the second prize is:

1674

Norma Bingham said...

Thank you for being so generous with your time and your talent! As I write this, the sun is shining brightly on a very frosty morning. I have my daughter's dog, Miss Molly, to keep me company today and my favourite local radio station playing in the background. My joy comes from counting the many blessings I have in my life right now. I wish you much joy in return.

November 10, 2021 at 04:50 PM

 

Time for a giveaway

 

 

 

Back on September 3rd it was my 12th anniversary of starting this blog, and in keeping with tradition (which admittedly lapsed a bit last year) I'm going to celebrate (a little belatedly) with a giveaway.

In this crate are fourteen little animals that have been patiently waiting for me to finish them for most of this year and I am now nearing the point of completing them all. I will be putting them up for sale soon, but before I do I'm going to pick 2 comments at random from any comments left on this blog post, and those 2 people can each pick their favourite one as their prize. The draw is open to anyone and I'm happy to post for free anywhere in the world. If you'd like to be included just leave a comment below. You can write anything you like, it really doesn't matter, but if you have time I'd love for you to tell me about anything that has made you happy this week.

Please can I just ask:

A. Just one comment per person, and

B. Make sure you fill out you email address in the space provided (not in the actual comment field as there it will be displayed for all to see) so that I can contact you if yours is the comment picked.

This post will be open for comments until 12 noon on Friday 26th October (a week from now). At that point I will close the comments and use an online random number generator to pick 2 comments, the first drawn will have 1st choice of the available animals and the second drawn will have 2nd choice. Oh, and please don't leave a comment on bloglovin or any other blog following service, as those will not be counted - only comments left right here on this post will be eligible for the draw.

Thanks so much for following me here, I know some of you have been popping in almost since the beginning of my adventures in blog land and some of you are new visitors. Whoever and wherever you are, please know that I really appreciate you taking time out of your day to stop by and I love reading your comments when you have time to leave them. This blog is such a source of support and friendship to me and I hope to keep it going for a long time yet. I hope you'll continue to join me when you can,

J x

 

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Thanks so much to everyone who has taken the time to leave a comment here, together all of the comments are a wonderful collection of diverse, heartwarming, moving and personal accounts of what happiness can be. Thanks for sharing xxx

Here are the winners:

The first number that has been generated is 498, which is Nina Chester

498

Nina Chester said...

Please put me in your fabulous hat x

October 19, 2018 at 05:34 PM

And second number picked is 1624, which is Linda from Boston

 

1624

Linda from Boston said...

Congratulations on 12 years!! I've been with you from the beginning. Throw my name into the contest pool!!!

October 22, 2018 at 11:02 PM

Thanks again to all who entered, J xxx

Ten years and a giveaway

Ten years ago today, on September 3rd 2006 my four year old son Toby was about to start school. It was a big deal for me because not only is he severely autistic but I was ending a six year period of being a constant stay-at-home mum and I wasn't entirely sure what to do with my days.

To counter my anxiety at whether he'd cope with the dramatic change and to keep my mind occupied I wrote my very first blog post and so embarked on a journey which has meandered and rambled over the last decade to arrive at this very point here.

When I began I had no plan or any real aims. I was simply looking for a little online companionship and something to keep me from feeling isolated and anxious about Toby and all of the challenges he continues to face. Well, I found that and so very much more. I've made friends both near and far, both online and in person. I've been on the receiving end of the most wonderful encouragement and compliments for my knitted makes and over the years have been lucky to have sold and sent off many of my knitted animals to all corners of the world. And more recently I've had a fabulous reception for my range of knitting patterns. In short I feel so incredibly blessed and lucky to have stumbled in here and found such a wonderfully supportive community.

 

 

To celebrate my anniversary I am having a giveaway of two animals. The 2 winners can choose an animal each from the batch I have almost finished which will also come with a change of clothes and a little suitcase to keep them in. To be in with a chance of winning one of the two animals in the giveaway please just leave me a comment on this post. The giveaway will close on September 12th and I'll use a random number generator to pick the two winners on September 13th.

 

 

 

As a thank you to all the knitters who visit with me I also have a special discount code which for the next 3 days (ending on September 5th) will get you 25% off any of my patterns:

TEN25

So if you've been meaning to try one of my patterns or if there's one you'd like to add to your collection then please just enter the above code at the checkout either on Ravelry or on Etsy (please note that you will have to enter the code in order for the discount to be applied). If you want to use the coupon code here on my shop please note that you will have to use the 'add to cart' function and not the 'buy now' in order to enter the coupon code.    Sorry, the offer has now expired

I've covered a lot of blogging ground over the last 10 years and had planned to show you some of my favourite moments and pictures but there are too many to know where to start. So instead here are some of the changes of look my blog has had and a few stats...

2006

2010

2012

 

 

10 years of blog stats:  7,832,269 total page hits, 703 posts and 36,917 comments

When I think about ten years passing it seems to have gone so very quickly. But when I look back at the photo taken on the morning of Toby's first school day (September 4th 2006) and how tiny Amy and Toby were, it feels like such a long time ago and really shows how much has changed.

 

So, as I start my second decade of blogging I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who visits me here, especially those of you who take the time to leave a comment and those of you who buy my patterns and finished work. It means so very much to have your kind support, thank you xxx

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Please leave a comment below to be entered into the giveaway draw. Comments will be closed on the morning of September 13th and two winners will be drawn by random number selection.

Thanks so much for all the comments! The competition draw is now closed and the winning numbers are 107 which is Justpootling and 2018 which is Maggie Richardson.

Because there were so many comments I decided to give an extra animal away and the random number generator picked 1703 which is modestine.