Category Archives: Contests

Contests

Time for a contest!

126 Comments

At long last, I’m having a contest! 🙂 This is the belated birthday contest for Mayhem (who was one on May 31) and early birthday contest for Chaos (four years old on September 28). To participate, simply leave a comment with some useful advice for Chaos and/or Mayhem. Leave your comments by Wednesday, September 19, 5 pm CDT. Winners will be selected by random number, and no non-knitters will be forced to take a yarny prize if they really don’t want to (appropriate non-yarny prize to be substituted).

With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month (and with October rushing toward us!), the first prize will be a “Think Pink” prize, featuring a breast cancer awareness travel mug from Caribou Coffee and a skein of luridly pink sock yarn that I dyed.

If you win the mug and yarn, I highly suggest washing the mug again before you use it… On the plus side, it does have the Mayhem Sniff of Approval.

*sniff sniff sniff* -Mayhem

Additional yarny prizes include a ball of Trekking 126 (look familiar?! I bought two!) and a nice aumtumny skein of One Sheep Hill sock yarn, donated by Yarnzilla.

“Dum de dum de dum de dum de dum.” -Mayhem

“Wait, this isn’t the same skein of yarn that was just here, is it?! I’m so confused! Where did that other skein go?” -Mayhem

Contests, Randonymity, Reading

Everybody needs black kitty pants!

42 Comments

Holly’s having another destashing contest! Leave her a comment about a pattern you’ve knit multiple times and you could win a skein of Manos Cotton Stria and a lovely dpn case. Contest closes midnight, PDT, September 14.

Reading Update
The Ever-Running Man by Marcia Muller. The latest Sharon McCone mystery is a compelling read – I thought I had things figured out more than once, and I was wrong!
Final Payment: A Posadas County Mystery by Steven F. Havill. It looks like Havill has written quite a few mysteries set in Posadas County, New Mexico. I picked this one up because it featured a cross-country bicycle race, but I might have to check out some of the others.
“Alpha and Omega” by Patricia Briggs, in On the Prowl. This short story focuses on one of the tangential werewolves from Briggs’ enjoyable Mercy Thompson series.

Recently, Amy gave me some good-natured grief about helping her find some wonderful Day of the Dead goodies. 😉 What I didn’t tell her is that I saw the Day of the Dead nightgown at Target while I was buying some black kitty cropped lounge pants for myself… Tragically, the matching black kitty shirt was not a good fit for my body type.

“My goodness, these kitty beds come in no end of shapes and sizes, don’t they?” -Mayhem

“Are these black kitties?!” -Chaos

“You are so right, big kitty! Hmph. Doesn’t Mom have enough black kitties already? I mean, she has me, um, us.” -Mayhem

“Really smooth, May, really smooth… not.” -Chaos

“Ow!” -cat on crop pants, under paw…

Contests, Randonymity, Reading, Viewing

The Baleful Glare of the Cat Chaotic

39 Comments

Mrs Pao and Pao are back in the UK, if you’re curious to see and read more of their adventures in the US. Can you believe they lost weight on vacation?!

Becky’s looking for ideas on how to use some Rowan 4-ply yarn. Leave a comment with your suggestion by September 16 and you could be randomly selected to win a prize.

Reading Update
Aunt Dimity: Detective, Aunt Dimity Takes a Holiday, Aunt Dimity: Snowbound, Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin, Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea, and Aunt Dimity Goes West by Nancy Atherton. Have I mentioned how much I like this cozy series? 😉 The only thing that could make it better was adding a black cat – oh, wait, that happened. And the most recent book takes place in Colorado, Kristi!
Thursday Next: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde. It always takes me a few chapters to get back into Fforde’s rollicking Thursday Next novels, but it is definitely worth it.

Viewing Update
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Colin Firth in a fountain instead of a pond – I know that must whip you ardent fans into an utter froth! 😉
Flatliners. I haven’t seen this movie for many years (probably since it came out in 1990), but it was still enjoyable – the hairstyles were only slightly distracting. And maybe it’s just me, but some of the scenes out in the city reminded me of The Lost Boys and of another film I can’t quite nail down… Maybe Blade Runner?! Something darkly atmospheric and rainy like that.

“Oh, how you will pay for this, Mom. This is much worse than that guy sitting on my cat tree.” -Chaos

Contests, Randonymity, Reading

Thursday thank yous

29 Comments

Dotty’s celebrating her first Sockiversary and she’d love to hear what you love about sock knitting. Leave her a comment before midnight PDT, September 30, and you could win sock yarn, a sock project bag, and other goodies.

Jeanne’s got a great shot of Chaos shooting Jeanne’s husband Michael the Glare o’ Death and a bit more about our adventures with Mrs Pao and Pao last week. And just so you know, there were many more things on sticks – I only captured some of them.

Reading Update
The Big Over Easy: A Nursery Crime by Jasper Fforde. I have the strangest desire to brush up on my nursery rhymes now… Was Humpty Dumpty a suicide? Or murdered? Answers to age old questions are revealed in Fforde’s rollicking tale. I love this bit from the book:

[Jack’s mother] opened the door within two seconds of his pressing the doorbell, letting out a stream of cats that ran around with such rapidity and randomness of motion that they assumed a liquid state of furry purringness. The exact quantity could have been as low as three or as high as one hundred eight; no one could ever tell, as they were all so dangerously hyperactive.

I would argue that you really only need two cats to achieve that state!
Aunt Dimity’s Christmas by Nancy Atherton. Waiting for more of the series to arrive at my library! These are lovely British village cozies.
Mad Mouse: A John Ceepak Mystery by Chris Grabenstein. Fast-paced and well-done, I found the second in the series to be as enjoyable as the first.

Thank You Update
I’m a little behind on thank yous, but not too bad. First, let me thank everyone who weighed in on whether to knit my Trekking 126 plain or with pattern. I decided to go with plain, and have ripped back and reknit to where I was earlier in the week.

Next, some fun things I got in the mail recently. On the left is an adorable crocheted black kitty wallhanging, sent to me by Wendy because for some reason it made her think of me. On the right is a Chococat notebook (with Chococats on every page!) and a nifty little bookmark, sent to me by Ruth. Thanks, Wendy and Ruth!

Chaos and Mayhem were mightily intrigued by that there bookmark.

“What is it, big kitty?” -Mayhem

“Obviously a most unusual and shiny cat toy, May.” -Chaos

“Hmm, it sure doesn’t seem to do much.” -Mayhem

“Here, let me help, May.” -Chaos

“Let’s see if I can get a fang into it and carry it away…” -Chaos

Failing that, Chaos turned to admire the gift from Wendy and absorb every possible molecule of Lucy scent there might be.

“Mmmmm… sweet Lucy…” -Chaos

Contests

Woe the Mayhem – is her cuteness in danger??!

28 Comments

Yet another telephone switch upgrade last night, although it fell apart really fast, so I was in bed by 11:30 pm – just going to sleep in a bit with my snuggly kitties as you read this…

If you live in the Twin Cities and are interested in going to see A Prairie Home Companion at the Minnesota State Fair Friday night for free, let Annie Modesitt know ASAP. She has tickets to give away because that’s the day her husband has surgery. Send good thoughts his way!

Ari is having a raffle over at Baking and Books to support the 2007 New York Jewish Environmental Bike Ride, held by Hazon. a non-profit working on sustainable agriculture, organic farming, and other food issues. She has over 75 cookbooks/prizes, donated by publishers, to give away for the raffle (which ends September 3).

Schrodinger is celebrating her own string of contest wins by having a contest. She’s giving away three very cool “cube” sock bags – leave a comment by 11:59 pm EDT, September 4, if you’d like a chance to win.

“Moooooooommmmmm!! Can’t we go to sleep yet?! You’re really messing up my beauty sleep again with this working overnight stuff. What if my cuteness starts to fade from exhaustion?!!” -Mayhem

Contests, Knitting, Randonymity, Reading

I solemnly swear that I do not knit catnip into my socks

50 Comments

Ugh – the past two nights I’ve been awakened in the wee small hours by some very serious thunderstorms. Last night it was 70 mph wind, torrential rain, nonstop blinding lightning, and thunder that set off car alarms. Poor kitties – they are nervous wrecks!

Hockeymom’s having a contest – caption the (a-hem!) picture and you could win some of her hand-dyed yarn or roving. I think Tink or MamaTulip might have a lot of fun captioning this picture (hint: taken while tailgating before a Foreigner/Def Leppard/Styx show..) – maybe you could convince Hockeymom to come up with a non-knitting prize. 😉 Leave your captions by 6 pm, September 3.

Reading Update
Spare Change by Robert B. Parker. I’m not big on Parker’s Spenser mysteries, but I do enjoy the Sunny Randall mysteries. In this one, Sunny teams up with her father.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling. Yeah, I listened to it again. 🙂
Vineyard Stalker by Philip R. Craig. I love the J.W. Jackson Martha’s Vineyard mysteries, but sadly, they will soon come to an end, as Craig died earlier this year. According to his son Jamie, Craig left three completed mysteries (of which I assume Vineyard Stalker is one) and one incomplete mystery.

Knitting Update
Friday night I finished the 9-to-5 Socks (follow that link for yarn and pattern details). They took six days and I totally love them!

Although not as much as some around here do…

“Don’t make any sudden moves, Mom – I’d hate to have to hurt the socks.” -Chaos

“Because I really, really love these socks. How do I love them? Let me count the ways…” -Chaos

“Mmmm… purple stripey socks…” -Chaos

Contests, Randonymity

Dragonfly Zzzzzz…

52 Comments

Cheryl is celebrating her blogiversary – leave a comment by midnight, August 23 (aka today!), telling her something about a knitter you know or admire. A randomly selected winner will receive a cool Cabled Sheep mug.

Jess is having a contest – tell her a vacation story, and you could win some gorgeous sock yarn. Leave your comments by midnight CDT, August 31.

I’m still giggling about all the drooling over Colin Firth on Monday! Good thing this is a virtual space, or I’d have a mop out right now.

I was glad to hear that from others who are feeling the blogging doldrums right now. It’s cloudy. It’s humid (but at least it’s cool!). The fog this morning is the thickest I’ve seen in years. It’s been raining enough for southeastern Minnesota to catch up all of its missing rain almost overnight – yikes! My company is in the process of being acquired. *sigh*

So, stupified by the cloudiness, imagine my delight at finding a dragonfly on my car Tuesday. Hello! That dragonfly, that’s an entire blog post! Woo-hoo! 😉

“Hmm, I wonder if dragonflies are tasty. How com you didn’t bring it home for me, Mom?!” -Mayhem

Contests, Those Cats

Hand over Chaos

29 Comments

Pam’s been on the road – help her catch up with the knitblogging world by telling her about “the most awesomest craft creation” you’ve seen online since July 1. You could win a knitterly trinket for your trouble.

Brenda’s having a multi-stage contest to celebrate her blogiversary. For this stage, leave her a comment about what she should do for the second stage of her contest. Leave your comment by noon PDT, August 25 – and stay tuned after that for info on the next stage. There will be prizes at each stage.

Kat’s having a contest – guess how many different states’/provinces’ license plates she’s seen since last Friday and you could win sock or lace yarn. Leave your guess by midnight EDT, August 24.

Today’s just one of those days when really – I got nothin’ else. But, look! Over there! Chaos! Although, other than the ginormous paws, it could almost by Mayhem in this picture, couldn’t it?

“I am sniffing your hand with great sniffings, but I am not discovering any sign of tuna. Hmph.” -Chaos

“Hey, wait a minute! You aren’t putting this on the blog, are you?! This is so undignified. How could you do this to me, Mom?! Or, wait, is it a good look for me?” -Chaos

Contests, Knitting, Reading

Working 9 to 5… ha!

40 Comments

Lynne is celebrating her third blogiversary with a contest! Leave her a comment (by midnight, August 24) about why you started blogging and you could win some lovely sock yarn.

Reading Update
Careful What You Wish For by Lucy Finn. A light romance about a single mom who finds a genie in the Diaper Genie… Of course the genie is sexy. Duh. 😉
The Ghost Orchid by Carol Goodman. If you haven’t read one of Goodman’s novels, lucky you! You have them to anticipate. This one’s about a medium and some mysterious events related to a seance in 1893, which come to light more than a century later when resident artists stay at the same house. Goodman blurs past and present, reality and dream, until you’re not exactly sure which is which.
The Scent of Shadows: The First Sign of the Zodiac and The Taste of Night: The Second Sign of the Zodiac by Vicki Pettersson. This series, set in Las Vegas, is about superheroes named after signs of the Zodiac, Shadow battling Light as is the way of superheroes. 🙂 It’s very involving and well-written overall, although I think there’s a major logic flaw…

Knitting Update
Friday afternoon I started another pair of socks – the 9-to-5 Socks. The name particularly amused me, since I was home early from work, resting for a bit more switch work that night – only midnight to 3 am this time! Woo-hoo! (Although rumor has it we have one more night of this stuff, sometime this week…)

I’m knitting these from Wool2Dye4 Supersock, as dyed by me in May.

Initially, May was more interested in the cord on my sock bag…

“Mmmm… rattail cord… Funny, I would’ve thought that rat tails had more flavor.” -Mayhem

“But oh, Addi cords are ever so much chewier!!” -Mayhem

*off-camera snatching away of Addis*

Contests, Randonymity, Reading

Stripey redux

38 Comments

This post is coming to you via the miracle of pre-publishing. As you read this, I hope to be snugly asleep in my bed, after having worked on a switch upgrade from midnight until 4 or 5 am. Do I have a wild life or what?! 😉

Have you seen the IKEA cat beds on Cute Overload?! They would so match my slippers, wouldn’t they?

Cara’s holding Spin Out 2007! By donating to Heifer International, you can be eligible for some absolutely amazing prizes – besides helping reduce hunger worldwide.

Julie’s participating in the Light the Night Walk to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphona Society in honor of her friend Betty. If you donate to support Julie’s effort, you will be entered in a prize drawing.

Reading Update
Dark Thirst by Sara Reinke. A little trashy, but a nice distracting read. Probably the only book (obviously intended to be a series, since it stopped in the middle of the action) about a deaf-mute vampire…
White Night: A Novel of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Mmmm… Harry Dresden. Latest book. Tall, smart alecky, sexy wizard in Chicago. What else do you need to know?
Dead Sexy by Tate Hallaway. Witches and vampires and zombies in Madison, Wisconsin, oh my! This second Garnet Lacey book is an engaging read, too.
Death by Chick Lit by Lynn Harris. If this was supposed to be a spoof of chick lit, I’m not sure it succeeded very well. I found it to be a boring read…

Stripey Update

“You don’t think that big kitty’s going to try to steal my stripey socks, do you?!” -Mayhem

“He better not! These are my stripey socks! Mine!! All mine!” -Mayhem

“Now I’m really worried.” -Mayhem

“Really, really worried! I better hold on tight to my stripey socks so the big kitty can’t sneak up and take them.” -Mayhem