Contest Deadline extended! October 27, 2007
Keep those entries coming! I realized that I wont have time to pick a winner tomorrow, so I am extending the deadline until Weds at midnight pacific time.
And the prize will be self-striping….
Fake Rhinebeck Contest entry – this is how you do it October 23, 2007
As I mentioned yesterday, I did not attend Rhinebeck, and am getting jealous of looking at everyone’s loot. Rhinebeck booty is all over blogland. I can take this time to show myself that I don’t need any new yarn, and get excited over stuff I already have. For example….
All of this yarn and fiber. From the top
- Finn top – supersoft fine roving, about 8 ounces
- Socks that rock Mediumweight Space Dust – I didn’t sign up for the sock club, because I am perfectly happy to spend that money on colors that I get to pick out myself.
- The bottom two are Sport Weight Lovesticks self striping yarn in ‘Watermelon slice’ and ‘With a twist’. I love this stuff.
Wanna play? Here is the low down. Anyone can play as long as you head to your stash and get re-excited about yarn/fiber that is NOT new. Take pic, and blog it*, and leave me a comment so I know you are playing (a linkback is helpful but not mandatory). The comment can be on this post or the previous one, but you must leave it by midnight (Pacific time) Wednesday, October 31. (DEADLINE EXTENDED!!) A winner will be chosen at random. I haven’t assembled all of the prizes yet, but rest assured that there will be yarny- and fibery-goodness.
*If you don’t have a blog and would still like to play, flickr entries would work just fine.
Fake Rhinebeck October 22, 2007
It is the time of year where knitters flock to NYC for the New York Sheep and Wool Festival (aka Rhinebeck). I am in NY right now, but unfortunately I am locked up in the airport and I didn’t go to Rhinebeck. I am just here on a layover from Ohio to California. Even the geographically impaired probably realize that NYC is not between Ohio and Cali, but I do what I can for cheap tickets.
Reading knitting blogs in the wake of rhinebeck can be a rough time for those of us that didn’t attend. It seems that almost everyone was there, and is eager to show off all the yarny and fibery goodness they acquired. It makes me jealous. So last year, I decided to have a contest exclusively for those that DIDN’T go to Rhinebeck, and I am going to have it again this year! You probably really don’t need any yarn, and have plenty of little gems that you have forgotten about hiding in your stash. So dig them out and take a picture of them, as if they are your new purchases. Post your pic to your blog, and tell us about your yarn as if it was new. Then leave me a comment by Saturday, October 27 at midnight Pacific and, viola, you are entered! edit: I forgot to mention that the winners will be chosen at random. I’ll summarize the rules again tomorrow
If you did attend Rhinebeck, and have a pile of new loot, you can still play. BUT you still have to head to your stash to re-photograph and reappreciate some of your old yarn to enter the contest.
Stay tuned tomorrow to see my picture, and see what prizes you can win!
p.s…. Ohio is pretty in the fall
Thank you Internets! July 12, 2007
Working at home sure has its advantages… You can compose a blog post on your lunch hour, and you can enjoy whip up delicious treats at a moments notice.
I added some fruit to a glass of Odwalla Limeade, and I am ready to face the afternoon.
I am a litle remiss is in thanking the internet for the goodies it provided me as of late… For simply entering her blog contest liquidgirl sent me a consolation prize
Adorable stitch markers. Thanks! Stop by and check out her self-designed row counters. Now I finally understand how those things work.
A shout out to Liz the genius behind Hobbledehoy Handspun. I won her blog contest and she sent me a beautiful skein of handspun.
Stop by her shop and even if you don’t want to buy anything, you can get inspired – her handspun is beautiful!
I think I still have one overdue thank you which I am mentioning in case that someone is reading. Don’t worry, that random gift will warrant a post all it’s own… (cryptic, huh?).
And I finally a note to add that I cannot believe how shitty it is that my blog is rated G. G!! Can you believe that?? Apparently they can’t appreciate the Juicifixion post, because that is not for children. Clearly assholes designed the rating system. Hopefully this paragraph will at least get me up to PG. We’ll see (Thanks JenLa!).
Winners June 25, 2007
I am back from vacation. More on that later. Today’s order of business is announcing the contest winners! I printed out everyone’s name and did a very random drawing
There were so many entrants that I decided to also draw a second prize winner.
The GRAND PRIZE WINNER is ….
Julia!! Her comment was even about carders. Perfect!
And the lucky second place winner is
Debbi! I was thinking Debbi might enjoy a skein of handspun
Color totally misrepresented in this photo. It is shades of red, pink and white.
(Here’s the proof of the winners. I went a little overboard with the cameraphone.)
I thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone’s comments (sorry if I didn’t reply to all of them!). Some tools that I love to use that were mentioned were post-it notes and sheet protectors. And the dental floss suggestion… cassandra is genius! It seems like many knitters would be a total loss without their swifts and ball winders. Speaking of ball winders…. look what I found at Value Village:
That’s right baby. $2.50. Hells yeah I bought it! It is a Toyota. As much as I love thrift stores, I thought finds like this were just a myth (along with finding Le Creuset at goodwill). But now, I am living the dream. Colleen is right – Thrift stores are an awesome resource for knitters and crafters alike.
Thanks for all of the helpful carder info. I have been pretty lucky with the Kitchener stitch markers over at the Loopy Ewe (currently sold out!), so I might have one before you know it. I wonder what Sheri would think if I named it Loopy?
Knit in Public June 4, 2007
Saturday June 9th is World-wide knit in public day. I knit in public at least once a week, but I am still excited to join the crew assembled by Kimchi in Berkeley. The Berkeley Knit-out is happening on the west lawn of the UC Campus (see a freaky-good pic of the lawn from Google’s new street view – and you can still zoom in more), just a few blocks from my house, so I will be sure to stop by.
How freaky is that picture? Seriously. Wow google, you have outdone yourself. For example, here is my neighbor working on his motorcycle. Here is my little car on the street. The resolution on the Bay Area street pictures is much better than the New York ones. i am totally fascinated by this and keep looking around zooming in to see if I can recognize anyone. I am weird.
Don’t forget about the contest… Leave me a comment telling me your opinion on drum carders OR your favorite knitting/crafting tool/material and you could win a prize. I am truly enjoying reading all of the comments and discovering new webpages!
What’s Your favorite: a contest June 1, 2007
If you are not a spinner, just hang in there. There is something for you at the end
I have had this nagging in the bag of my head telling me that I want a drum carder. I have looked into it a few times but never bought one. I want one primarily for blending merino wools with fine fibers. It should be able to handle the slightly coarser wools that I like – Romney and wensleydale for instance. And it should be able to handle the occasional fleece. Ultimately I would like to be able to make blends with soy silk and camel down and other finer fibers. I think the one that might be right for me is a Strauch Petite. I like the petite-ness (studio apartment) and the fine cloth. The only complaints that I was that when processing fleeces on the fine cloth, the second cuts didn’t get separated but that seems preferable to not being able to card fine fibers. And I shouldn’t forget to mention that the comparatively low price is a major factor.
Here’s where you come in… What do you think? Do you know anything about carders or own one that you have an opinion about? Leave me a comment and let me know! You will be eligible to win a prize from me if you do.
Don’t worry if you don’t know anything about drum carders, you can still be eligible to win a prize. Just leave me a comment and tell me about your favorite knitting/ crafting material or tool. For instance, you might tell me that you you couldn’t survive without medium-weight Socks that Rock. Or that your Bernina is your most dear possession. Or that you cannot resist alpaca yarn. I want to hear about what you like!
The contest will be open until next Saturday, June 9th when the winner will be selected at random. I’ll send you some sock yarn, and a sock knitter’s needle case. If a non-knitter ends up as the winner, and doesn’t want the prize we’ll figure something out.
Want to see the prizes?
The red yarn was dyed by me, but never made it into my etsy shop. I dubbed it “unphotographable red” and had to screw with the photo in photoshop to get it to look kinda normal. The colors go from a red-orange to a medium red and it si a superwash wool nylon blend. The Needle case was hand sewn by me in the style of the ones in my shop. Perfect for circulars, DPN’s and crochet hooks. I threw in a little crochet hook that I got at Daiso – you’ll get that too. Finally I added two skeins of Brown Sheep Handpainted yarn. Nice traditional wooly sock yarn. So get commenting!
I am not worthy May 15, 2007
I like me some sock yarn. In fact it is possible that I like sock yarn more than actually knitting socks. But let’s leave that for another post. I know of Sweet Georgia sock yarn. i mean I ‘ve seen pictures and seen people rave about it on their blogs…. but I had never seen it in person, let alone knit with it. I also knew that Felicia was planning on taking an extended break from dyeing and everyone was going bonkers trying to snatch up her yarn while they could. And I wasn’t one of them.
Enter Moirae, whose blog is one of my frequent stops. She had a blogiversary contest that I won. And my prize… Sweet Georgia sock yarn
Oh man. It is good looking. I chose the colorway “rusted” and I think it really suits me. And for such an act of kindness on Moirae’s part, I am sure she has just amassed an awesome amount of good knitting karma. I try not to enoy the yarn too much since it might be all I ever get… kinda reminds me of the ribwich…
In other news, the Maker Faire and Bazaar Bizarre are happening this weekend (recent craftzine post contains all the links you might need), and I am very excited to attend. I immensely enjoyed the event last year, and by all accounts it should be bigger and better this year. i hope to start the day with a visit to Nine Rubies to enjoy being in the presence of yarn (and podcasters). I think that I might have some local Bay Area readers out there… I will be at the maker faire probably all day Saturday. I will also be packing a load of moustache and i *heart* yarn pins. So if you see me, say hi and i will shower you with buttons. I might be forcing them on strangers anyway. Have to spread the love of ‘stache.
Remember how I was bummed that I didn’t get a table at the Bazaar? Now I know that it was so that I could have a relaxing week this week (not caught crafting under a deadline). And the money I had set aside for registering at the Bazaar… Now it is spending money! Expect a full crafty shopping report.
85.8 May 7, 2007
Excuse me if this post if a bit fragmented and nonsensical, but it is almost 8 p.m. as I write this and it is 85.8F in my apartment. hot. People, that is HOT! This is one of those days that make you realize that there are randomly hot or cold days everywhere, and even the famous SF fog can’t save you from a scorcher now and then. Those that know me are aware that I operate in a narrow temperature range – approximately 75F to 50F. I like to think that I can tolerate low temperatures, so I might extend the low end of this estimate, but my friends might disagree. I’m sure I complain when I’m cold, but really its not as bad as the heat. When it’s cold I can hide under a comforter, or wear a ridiculously warm sweater, or two pair of socks. When it is hot, or I am in the sun, my brain hurts. Hurts in an awful way.
Today the only thing Carmen I could do at 5 p.m. to get a respite from the heat was to drink Mint Juleps. I made them in a Mason Jar and felt totally like a Hazzard county Duke while doing so (a feeling which I am always trying to capture). Free mint from the shady courtyard outside my apartment – hooray!
So even though as I write this it has cooled of to 85.5F in my apartment I am going to do some knitting. If it were a weekend I might have attempted some more solar dyeing (it is all my crappy car is good for, really). But instead I am going to pick up some wool and enjoy it. And I am going to have visions of Sweet Georgia dancing in my head – I won some from Moraie. At this point, doesn’t giving away Sweet Georgia qualify you for knitting sainthood? Check out her purse – I love it.
gratuitous photo of Noro that I bought during the ‘Knit Happens’ sale.
You are about to fall in love with Mosaic Knitting April 27, 2007
In case you haven’t noticed yet, the Knitty surprise is up. I couldn’t help but notice that one of the patterns, Arietta, is a entire sweater done as a mosaic pattern! Fantastic! This also made me remeber to tell something to all those would-be-mosaic-knitters out there… We have another fantastic prize over at the Walker Treasury Project! Rachel, a generous wtp contributor, has provided a Lantern Moon Needle case as a prize. You will have one chance to win it for every Mosaic Knitting swatch you knit between now and… May 15! This prize (and only this prize) has an extension! And frankly, if you knit even one swatch, you are going to have a pretty good chance at it.
The next installment of the Amigurumi eyes series of posts will appear this weekend. And since I am talking about it, I need your help… Does anyone have any good online resources for plastic eyes? Leave me a comment or drop me an email if you would like to add any links to my (as yet unfinished) compiliation.
