Christmas at WildCat Designs

Where there's cold weather, there's knitwear. If you're looking for something cosy to give as a gift for a loved one, or even just a little handmade treat for yourself, look no further!

WildCat Designs has lots of colourful scarves and other woolly warm things for winter. You'll find more information on my website: www.wildcat-designs.co.uk or visit one of my online shops here: wildcatdesigns.etsy.com & wildcatdesigns.folksy.com.

Below are my order deadlines for Christmas:

Last order dates for December 2015

Africa & Middle East - Thurs 3rd
Asia, Eastern Europe & Cyprus - Sun 6th
Central & South America, Caribbean - Mon 7th
Australia, New Zealand & Greece - Tues 8th
Germany, Italy & Poland - Sun 13th
USA, Canada, Sweden & Finland - Mon 14th
Austria, Iceland, Ireland, Portugal, Spain - Tues 15th
France - Wed 16th
Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, Slovakia & Switzerland - Thurs 17th
UK - Sun 20th

Please note that custom and made to order items will usually take a minimum of a week to be completed and so may not be ready in time for Christmas.

Woolly Wovember

Have you heard of Wovember?

Well, as you might have guessed, it takes place in November and it's a collaborative celebration of my favourite fleece, wool!

There are retailers out there who use a pitiful quantity of wool in a garment (say 5%) and somehow feel they can still justify calling it woollen or misleadingly marketing it as "wool". Wovember hopes to reconnect consumers with *real* wool, its beauty and rather marvellous properties, as well as educating them on the process behind creating different woollen yarns and fabrics, from fleece to finished product.

Image via Wikimedia

How can we support Wovember? It's really simple, actually! You can wear woolly things - and believe me, I have been... there's a definite chill in the air and what better way to stay cosy really. Also by spreading the word and generally helping to raise awareness of the wonders of wool.

If you've read my blog before, you will probably know just how passionate I am about wool. As a knitter, consumer and textile designer, I would definitely feel cheated if a piece of clothing (or yarn, for that matter!) was sold to me as wool but had little to none of the real deal off of an actual sheep's back in it.

Almost everything I make for my WildCat Designs label is made from wool. The majority of my accessories are handmade by me from gorgeous 100% bona fide Merino wool, which I carefully sourced from a UK woollen mill. One thing I wasn't willing to comprimise on was quality.

One of the reasons I love wool, as I'm sure I've probably said many times before, is its versatility. The folks at Wovember are celebrating wool in all its glory and variety by hosting an Instagram competition this year - you can join in the fun and submit your woolly pics using the #WOVEMBER2015 hashtag. You could even win a wool-themed prize if you're lucky!

Find out more about Wovember and how to support the campaign on the wovember.com website.

Season's Greetings!

Free Shipping at WildCat Designs!

A little something, just for the bank holiday weekend...

Get free worldwide shipping on everything at http://wildcatdesigns.etsy.com until the end of Monday 26th May. Just quote "FREESHIPYAY" during checkout to claim this offer.

Sunday Treat

It's February (already?! Where did January go...) so I figured it's time to unveil the next part of my 2014 Desktop Calendar Project.

You can download the freebie desktop wallpaper calendar I've designed for February 2014 - click here to view (then right-click on the image and select "save image as..."). This is optimised for 1024 x 768 screen resolutions. (I'm happy to make other sizes on demand - just email info {at} catcodes {dot} co {dot} uk to request it!)

...Romance is in the air...

If you're looking for a little romantic inspiration, I happen to have a section in my WildCat Designs Etsy Boutique entitled "Be my Valentine" featuring some scarves with a heart pattern I designed. I can vouch for the fact that they are not only cute, but super cosy as I made (kept!) one for myself and love wearing it.

P.S. As love is in the air this month, and I'm feeling generous, I've extended the Super Scarf Sale! It will now run until Friday 14th February, giving you a chance to snap up a brand new scarf - or treat your Valentine.

Does your winter need warming up?

Well, I might be able to help with that...

Chase away the January blues
with a brand new WildCat Designs scarf
- snap one up in my Super Scarf Sale!

You'll find lots of my best selling designs marked down
in my Etsy online shop, available while stocks last...

Merry Christmas!

I hope all my readers, WildCat Designs fans and customers have a lovely Christmas, and that Santa is good to you! I'll be back soon with more ideas and inspriation, but for now I am enjoying the festivities, and hope you are too :)

Thank you for reading my blog, commenting on my posts and 

supporting my little independent business in 2013!

Cyber Monday 2013

I'm having a flash sale in the WildCat Designs online boutique - 

Cyber Monday means you'll get 20% off everything in my Etsy shop!

To claim your discount, 

just enter coupon code 

"CYBERMONDAY20" 

during checkout.

Happy shopping!

Christmas 2013

WildCat Designs last order dates for Christmas 2013

UK orders: Wednesday 18th December

Orders for Western Europe: Friday 13th December

Orders for USA: Wednesday 11th December

Orders for Canada & Eastern Europe: Sunday 8th December

Orders for Japan, Oz, NZ & everywhere else: Monday 2nd December

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I *will* be accepting orders after these dates but

please be aware that items may not arrive in time for Christmas,

after all, it is a very busy time of year!

The order dates also apply to my WildKittens online shop.

Shop online: Bigcartel, Etsy, DaWanda or Folksy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Custom orders: If you are interested in a custom order,

please get in touch by Friday 15th November.
Email enquiries {at} wildcat-designs {dot} co {dot} uk

Winter is Coming!

It has certainly been feeling a little autumnal round here lately. So I thought it was high time I did a little WildCat Designs update. Cosy knitwear ahoy!!

Etsy shop

I have been updating my WildCat Designs Etsy online shop in the last couple of weeks - this is definitely the best place to see the full range of knitwear accessories I have on offer for autumn/winter. There are some brand new designs for 2013, along with some of my best sellers!

Custom Orders

If you're interested in commissioning something special for a loved one this winter - or fancy getting a bespoke handmade piece made especially for you - please do get in touch, I am happy to discuss custom orders. Should you wish to do this, please feel free to email enquiries {at} wildcat-designs {dot} co {dot} uk or contact me directly through one of my online shops.

WildKittens

I also have a collection of felted Merino lambswool scarves for kids, along with cute hand knit baby gifts and PDF knitting patterns.

Find out more by visiting the WildKittens Etsy store.

If you want to find out more about my WildCat Designs label, my dedicated website should tell you everything you need to know. (P.S. there's a bit about me & my designs on my new blog bio too, for the curious!)

Where to Buy WildCat Designs

You can find my WildCat Designs creations online:

Etsy (WildCat Designs)

DaWanda (offered in three language flavours) - EN - DE - FR (€)

Bigcartel (£)

WildKittens Etsy shop

Valentine's Giveaway Winner

Thanks to all who entered my little romance-themed giveaway!

I'm happy to announce that the winner - chosen at random - was commenter number three, Shandi Naugle, who said "I would choose blue, the most romantic thing my fiancée has done for me is get me flowers just because :)" - well, if that isn't romantic, I don't know what is!

I'll be in touch to find out her custom brooch design preference :)

Wintery goodness from WildCat Designs

There is something wonderful about this time of year - I really do like all the seasons (each has its merits, naturally) but I find the act of wrapping oneself in warm, woolly things against the cold quite satisfying. Plus it does feel *right* to be knitting cosy comfort when it's chilly outside, and it's just not quite the same doing so on a hot summer's day somehow!

Not that I let that stop me from knitting all year round of course (yes, I wholeheartedly admit it, I'm utterly addicted, but at least it's a productive obsession!) - I always have at least a handful of different projects on the go.

So...on a somewhat related note, if you feel like getting your paws on some of my lovingly handmade goodies this winter, and wish to receive them before the 25th of December, here are my recommended order dates.

UK orders: Tuesday 18th December

Orders for Western Europe: Monday 10th December

Orders for Canada, USA & Eastern Europe: Saturday 8th December

Orders for Japan, Oz, NZ & everywhere else: Sunday 2nd December

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I *will* be accepting orders after these dates but
please be aware that items may not arrive in time for Christmas,
after all, it is a very busy time of year!

These order dates also apply to my WildKittens online shop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shop online: bigcartel, etsy, DaWanda or folksy.

...or alternatively, find my hand-crafted creations
at one of my UK stockists:

Edinburgh: Flux or Bliss
East Lothian: Peter Potter Gallery
England: Vertiline in Love

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Custom orders: If you are interested in a custom order,
please get in touch by Monday 19th November.

Last Chance Saloon

If you're wondering why things have gone a little quiet on the blog lately, well, it's because I'm ever-so-slightly snowed under! Not the weather particularly, more a case of lots of orders, commissions and unfortunately a sore throat too into the mix.

Anyway, on a brighter note, I finally got my Christmas tree up last night, hurrah!



I just thought I would do a little update, to highlight the fact that if you're based in the UK and looking for some of my WildCat Designs or WildKittens goodies in time for Christmas, you're in luck - my last order date is this Saturday, 17th December.

If you live outside the UK, I'm afraid that I now cannot promise that your order will arrive in time for Christmas, but I am still accepting orders at the moment if you are willing to chance it, or just want to treat yourself! ;)

* Custom Orders * - I am somewhat inundated with Christmas commissions so I am currently not taking on any new custom work until after the festive period.

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Find my WildCat Designs handmade woolly wonders on Etsy, Folksy (£),
DaWanda (€) & Bigcartel (£).

See also my WildKittens knits for babies & kids!

Christmas Post

I think the time has come for me to announce my last order dates for Christmas 2011, now that we are well into November and there's a chill in the air!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UK orders: Saturday 17th December

Orders for Western Europe: Saturday 10th December

Orders for Canada, USA & Eastern Europe: Wednesday 7th December

Orders for Japan, Oz, NZ & everywhere else: Saturday 3rd December

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note: if you are interested in a custom order, please get in touch as soon as possible, preferably before Monday 21st November, to allow enough time for the item to be made and sent in time for the last posting dates. (My current lead time on commissions is 1-2 weeks.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Find my WildCat Designs handmade knitted goodies on Etsy, Folksy(£), DaWanda(€) & Bigcartel(£). See also my WildKittens knits for babies & kids!

We have a Winner!

...aaand we have a winner!

The lucky recipient of the WildCat Designs scarf is Kristen, commenter #54:

"My favorite is the Skinny Felted Merino Lambswool Scarf in Teal and Chocolate."

Kristen, please get in touch with your contact details to I can arrange to send out your prize!

I just want to say a massive thanks to everyone who entered and thank you for all the lovely comments :)

Win a WildCat Designs scarf!

That's right - it's giveaway time! :D

I'm celebrating passing the 500 follower mark on Twitter by offering the chance to *win* yourself a gorgeous handmade WildCat Designs scarf. (If you want to follow my witterings on twitter too, find me here: @wildcatdesigns or click the 'follow me on twitter' button on my blog sidebar at the right!)

To get your mitts on this twitter-y teal blue and white striped scarf, made from beautifully soft felted Merino lambswool (perfect for keeping cosy now that autumn has started to set in), all you need to do is comment on this post and tell me your favourite WildCat Designs creation - see here!

One winner will be chosen at random, competiton closes at midnight (GMT) on Friday 28th October 2011. [EDIT: This competition has now closed.]

This prize draw is open to all, I'm happy to post it internationally! (Note that your comments will not be published instantly, as they are moderated, so please be patient.)

Join the (Ox)jamboree!

Come join in the fun at the Edinburgh Oxjamboree - an Arts Market, Oxfam style! It's happening on Saturday 17th September from 10am - 4pm at the church on the corner of Pilrig Street & Leith Walk (map here).




 
The Oxjamboree will feature a range of stalls from lovely vintage finds to indie designs, crafts and jewellery. Don't miss the raffle, music and parlour games! You'll also be able to grab a cuppa and home-baked cake.
I'll be there too, along with handmade goodies from both my WildKittens and WildCat Designs ranges - do pop in and say hello! It's only 50p entry :)

The facebook event page is right here.

Magpie July

Coming very soon... another crafty extravaganza, brought to you by Magpie!


This will be the second Magpie Market held upstairs at The Hub on Castlehill, and if the last one was anything to go by, it'll be fab - featuring vintage clothing, handmade goodies and naturally there will be cake too!


I'll also be showing off my WildCat Designs & WildKittens wares, if you want to see 'em in person, this your opportunity! I plan to showcase a few new designs, so this is a rare chance for a little sneak peek :)

Mayday! Mayday!

Mayday! Mayday! Get a cheeky 10% discount in my etsy shop today with coupon code "MAYDAY11" ;)

My Design Process

I recently designed and created a custom scarf for a friend of my sister's and as I had documented the work throughout, I thought I would provide a little insight on my design process for it.


First of all, I needed to work out a pattern, based on what she had requested. This involved lots of looking at pattern libraries for inspriation as well as scribbling and sketching on squared paper. This is generally how I plan out any design before I hand or machine knit one stitch.


Once the pattern was worked out and agreed on, as this scarf was going to be made on my Knitmaster (a vintage mechanical - that's hand-operated to you and I - knitting machine), I needed to create a punch card with the pattern 'punched out.' This means I can easily make my own original designs for fair isle or individual motifs.


Next, I whizzed up a swatch to test out my pattern design on my machine using Merino lambswool yarn and felted the test swatch to see how it looks in the chosen colours.


Once this had been approved, I got started on the final scarf. After felting and trimming of floats/tufts on the reverse, blocking and sewing on my little WildCat Designs label, it was ready to go!