Over the Kitchen Counter: Angie's Place for Cooking and Crafts

CRAFTSY CHRISTMAS SALE!

**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:** The great folks at Craftsy are tempting us again with a CHRISTMAS SALE on all their classes!  Click HERE to go to the sale or you can use the special links to the right of this post to select the classes you want and get the discount - UP TO 75% OFF!.  All classes are priced between $9.99 - $24.99.  The sale ends on Christmas Eve (12/24) so hurry if you'd like to add a special class or two to your homeroom.  Merry Christmas from Craftsy!!! :)

I know I will be hunkering down in January catching up with all the Craftsy class projects I've wanted to make.  I have some new supplies to play with and am excited to start.  First on my list are some purses and totes.  I even plan on doing some of my own alterations, thanks to Angela Wolf's awesome class!  (**Scroll down for today's post!**) 

Big Craftsy HOLIDAY SALE!!!

** This sale is now over! **

Wow!  Craftsy is offering a Black Friday Sale and all their classes are being offered for $19.99 OR LESS!  If you have already been checking out the awesome classes NOW is the time to get all the ones you want!  What a great deal!

You know how much I love all the quilting courses available at Craftsy and I think I've taken almost every single one.  They are fabulous and I have learned so much from each amazing instructor.  I've also really enjoyed the non-sewing classes, like the Croissants and Artisan bread making classes, and the scrapbooking and knitting lessons.

I enjoyed the FREE Bag Making Basics class so much that I thought, just for fun, I'd enrol in the Design Your Own Handbag class.  It is a very in-depth look at purse construction and embellishment.  Included are instructions and schematics for making 4 different kinds of bags, from a tote to a slouchy hobo purse!  I think it's going to be so fun to try to make my own purse and design it the way I want it to be!  I don't know if I'll be any good at it but Brett Bara makes it look really easy and she explains all the steps well.

If you'd like to take advantage of the fantastic Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale at Craftsy you can click on the special holiday link to the right of this post to go directly to the class and check it out.  Even if you don't have time to watch your course right away, you own it FOREVER!  When the time is right, your classes will be right there waiting for you to watch over and over again, as many times as you want to.  THE SALE ENDS ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26TH so HURRY and get registered now for all the classes you want in your library.

Who knows?  I might enjoy making purses and bags so much I'll have to take a break from making quilts!  Or combine the two!  (Hey, have you SEEN the price of a quilted Vera Bradley purse?????)

Knit Lab

When I wrote about finding some surprise goodies in my old knitting bag, it inspired me to pull out that very first (and only!) sweater I made for hubby.  I can't believe all the work I did on it and actually, how nicely it turned out!

Knitting that sweater took many hours of dedication and I had a lot of help from my sister.  She explained the pattern to me and corrected my mistakes.  She also attached the sleeves since I had no idea how to do that.  Basically, she was the brains behind the operation and I was the work horse knitting my fingers to the bone!

Seeing that sweater re-ignited my desire to knit once again.  Since I don't remember how and I never even learned to cast on by myself, I knew I'd need help.  My sister lives hours away but Craftsy is right on my computer.  I signed up for Knit Lab taught by Stefanie Japel in the hopes that I could re-learn this fun, and portable, skill.

After watching the first session on supplies, I re-organized my knitting bag.  I have almost all the tools I'll need, including a nice zippered case of all different sizes of needles.  I was missing a few but located them around the house (ie. in my daughter's closet!).  I have some helpful notions (wool holder, stitch counter, darning needles) and really just need some new wool to get started on the lacy keyhole scarf project.

Following Stefanie's instructions I cast on and knit 20 rows with practice wool all by myself!  It took a few hundred '30 second repeat' segments to get it right but the knitting part came back to me once I got started.  (By the way, that's a Craftsy feature I love!  You can hit the 30 second repeat button and the video will replay in that spot over and over until you turn it off.  It is perfect when you have a particularly tricky section and want to review it until you get it right!  I needed to see how Stefanie was holding her fingers in relation to the wool and that took a few tries.)  I'm excited to learn some more and get going on the 'real' project.  This is the perfect thing to take along to my sister's at holiday time...I can keep busy...and she can help if I get stuck!

If you'd check out the Knit Lab class at Craftsy, use the link to the right to watch the previews or get the class on sale.  This one is a great class for winter: you can watch the course while you're warm and cozy and then knit a scarf or sweater for when you have to go out in the cold!

CRAFTSY'S ENDLESS SUMMER **SALE**!!

***NOTE: This sale ends at midnight September 17th, 2012***

Ooooh, so exciting!  It's time for Craftsy's Endless Summer Sale!  All their classes are $19.99 or less!

You already know how much I love Craftsy and I've gushed about all the great classes I've taken, from Classic Croissants to scrapbooking to (my FAVOURITES!) all different types of quilting.  I can honestly say Craftsy finds us THE BEST instructors and they each have something different to share.  I have learned so much and truly feel a part of the community of students and teachers on this phenomenal platform.

If you've been pondering whether to take a class or two, NOW is the time!  This is a great sale and once you purchase a class, it's your forever.  Even if you're busy right now you can get the class on sale, enjoy viewing it at your leisure, and then dig in to the meat of the lessons when you have more time.  The classes have so much content it's great to know you can preview the lessons, skip ahead to something of particular interest right now, go back to another section later, bookmark an item with a video note, upload pictures, ask questions, get feedback, leave feedback, or hit that awesome 30-second repeat button as many times as you need to!

The sale starts Saturday (9/15) and ends midnight Monday, September 17th so hurry and use the link to the right to go to Craftsy and pick your class!  Doing just that was a life-changer for me!!

***CRAFTSY Class GIVEAWAY!!!***

DRAW IS NOW CLOSED. As soon as I get the winning names from Craftsy I will update this post.  Scroll down for today's post...

DRAW CLOSES AT MIDNIGHT! STILL TODAY TO ENTER!!

**This post will stay at the top of my blog until the draw.  SCROLL DOWN FOR TODAY'S NEW POST!!!***

I am so excited to share the news!  Over the Kitchen Counter is partnering with Craftsy to give away 3 FREE Craftsy classes!!  Three lucky winners selected at random will each win a Craftsy class of their choosing.

You may have heard how much I LOVE Craftsy!  I can already recommend the amazing quilting and sewing classes but there are so many great courses available, from gardening to jewelry making, food crafting to weaving or paper crafts!  If you are into crafting and want to learn through this amazing platform, ENTER NOW!

All you have to do to enter the draw is click on the link at the top right of this blog (where is says "Click here to enter the Craftsy Class Giveaway") and sign in to register your name.  (I CANNOT ENTER FOR YOU!)  The draw runs from today, August 1st and will close at midnight, August 15th, 2012.  The winning names will be drawn at random and announced here and on my YouTube channel on August 16th.

Thank you Craftsy for letting me host this giveaway!  I am soooo excited to share this fantastic educational platform with my readers and subscribers.  Craftsy has changed the direction of my life...I have learned so much already and can't wait to take the next class - they are always introducing new courses, new instructors, and new techniques.  Totally interactive and 100% guaranteed, this is THE BEST way to learn on-line.  I am completely hooked and totally devoted...join me!  ENTER NOW and GOOD LUCK!!!

Craftsy Course: Beyond Basic Machine Quilting - 50% OFF!

Ok, I just signed up for YET ANOTHER Craftsy course!!!  I am seriously ADDICTED!  As soon as I finish one class I go into withdrawl and find another one...they keep offering such interesting classes I can't resist!

This class is Beyond Basic Machine Quilting.  I was torn between this class and another taught by Ann Petersen, Quilting Big Projects on a Small Machine...but this one won out.  Even though I have some experience with free-motion quilting, I'm still frustrated at my technique.  I want to keep at it until I improve and this class seems perfectly tailored to help me do just that.  I can't wait to get started!!!

We get to make a pretty larger sampler wall hanging and practice all the beautiful new stitches on it.  I am looking forward to getting more quilt marking hints and all the reviews of this class rave about Ann's teaching ability.  Maybe she can help me get better!

The other exciting thing is I got the button for you guys to save 50% off the class if you want to take it too.  Just click on the link for the class to the right of this post and you'll save.  Craftsy just keeps getting better and better and I'm excited to be a part of that.  Just so you know, I've paid for all the classes I've taken and just really want to promote this way of learning - it has opened up so much for me in and I am so thankful for this experience!!!!!  At this stage in my life I have a bit more time for myself when everyone is busy and I would go crazy if I didn't have something to enrich my mind and stimulate my creativity.  It's so nice to have something that I can refer to anytime without any pressure of time constraints or deadlines.  "Forever" is plenty of time for me to take the classes so I'm buying them when they are on sale because I know I can get to ALL the projects at some point as my schedule allows!  Happy crafting! :)  I have to go watch my lessons now...