Category Archives: Contests

Contests, Reading

*sniff*

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Susan’s having a humorous caption contest – best caption wins Koigu! Leave your caption comment by midnight EDT, August 14.

Wendy’s giving away a copy of The Yarn Girls’ Guide to Knits for All Seasons – to enter, send an email to her contest line before noon EDT, August 12.

Cute Overload is having a meerkat caption contest (your odds are going to be a lot better in Susan’s contest!) Winners will be announced Monday and will win a packet of goodies from Animal Planet.

A Message from Chaos and Mayhem
Mom doesn’t seem able to blog today. She finished listening to something called Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince late last night and even though we know it wasn’t the first time she’s listened to it, her face got all wet and it took a lot of purring and bringing her fetch toys before she seemed all better. She did seem cheered about being all ready for when book 7 comes in for her at the library, and she sure got a lot of her second Spiralling Sock knitted while she listened!

Maybe you could toss a fetch toy or two while you wait for her to be all blog ready again on Monday? We’re waiting.

Contests, Knitting

Serpentines finished!

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Jenn’s having a contest – guess what material the pictured countertop is made from and you could win some dishcloth cotton. Contest ends at midnight CDT today (August 6).

Bethe’s having a contest – guess what color she picked for the zipper, lining, and thread of her bag and you could win a fibery prize. Leave your guesses by 3 pm EDT, August 7.

Rosemary’s having a contest – guess what processing the featured picture went through and you could win one of her gorgeous shawl pins. Leave your comment by midnight PDT, August 8.

MezzoDiva is participating in the Toronto 2007 Weekend to End Breast Cancer (September 8-9). If you donate money in support, you will receive a copy of her lovely Campanula sock pattern.

Knitting Update
I finally finished my Sockamania July Serpentine Socks on Saturday! (Why, yes, that’s after the July 31 “deadline” and well after the end of the Tour de France…)

I knitted the socks from Sundara sock yarn (Lenten Rose colorway). I used 80 stitches instead of 68, adding my extra stitches in the stockinette columns between the paired cables. The stockinette columns looked too wide and plain after I added the extra stitches, so I added left and right twists down the middle of each stockinette column to increase the visual interest.

“Oh, big kitty, I see what Mom’s talking about. It really does help.” -Mayhem

“Whatever, Mayhem! Like you have any clue what she’s talking about.” -Chaos

“Hmph. The big kitty didn’t have to be so mean! I’ll show him!” -Mayhem

“MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! The big kitty was mean to me!!!!!!!!!!” -Mayhem

Contests, Those Cats, Tunes

Furry distractions and Project Spectrum mix cd contest

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Thanks so much to everyone for your words of comfort and support in the wake of the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge collapse. I, like many other Minnesotans, am still in shock over the whole thing. And as additional information comes out suggesting that this was preventable, I suspect our shock is going to turn to anger and outrage…

But I need to think about other things for a while, you know? To that end, I continue to listen to Harry Potter Book 5 (I’m moving up the library list for Book 7 at a shocking pace!) and frantically knitting my Serpentine socks, trying to finish both. I think I’m about to start the final ribbing on both cuffs of the Serpentines.

And guess what? It’s time to give away some Project Spectrum mix cds for August – September. The colors are orange-brown-purple, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, the mix is weighted toward purples. Some artists on the mix include Neko Case, the Moutain Goats, Greg Brown, Los Lobos, the Okra All-Stars, and the Vitamin String Quartet. I will give away copies of the mix to three randomly selected people who send email to my contest line by 6 pm CDT, Wednesday, August 8.

Chaos hops into his my chair each time I set down ipod and knitting to get up and use the facilities or get a drink of water.

“Maybe if I look cute and asleep, she won’t roust me out of my chair.” -Chaos

You can always hope, Chaos!

“Try the extremely cute upside-down-kitty pose, big kitty. It works for me.” -Mayhem

I hope you all have a good, safe weekend.

Contests, KALs, Reading

Serpentine Mayhem

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Lisa moved her blog to her own domain and is having a contest to celebrate! Leave her a comment by 5 pm EDT, August 5, to be entered and possibly win a gorgeous fibery prize.

Thanks to Janna for the heads up on this silly “test”: Which lolcat are you? I was Cheezburger Cat. If you don’t want to end up as Cheezburger Cat, you should probably have a snack before taking the test.

I’m very behind on blog reading after a weekend away. Please do let me know if you have a contest you’d like me to post about this week!

Reading Update
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (audio). Plodding along, but I will finish listening to these again before I listen to Book 7. I’m #96 on the waiting list (and there are 94 copies) – I need to speed up my listening, don’t I?!
A Killer Stitch by Maggie Sefton. Is it just me? Or do others have trouble getting into these knitting mysteries set in fictitious Fort “Connor,” Colorado?
Passon, Betrayal, and Killer Highlights by Kyra Davis. The second book about mystery writer Sophie Katz and her cat, Mr. Katz, is as enjoyable a read as was Sex, Murder and a Double Latte.

Knitting Update
Alas, I didn’t finish my TDF KAL project – the Sockamania Serpentine Socks. I got about 1.5″ knit on them Friday at the cabin (on the dock, with the cool breezes blowing off the lake…. ahhhh…) before everyone else arrived. Didn’t touch ’em again after that. (The cabin was great fun – it was sunny and there were no bugs worth speaking of.) I would’ve had to knit every waking minute (and a few sleeping ones, too) in order to finish these in time. Ah well, at least I wasn’t kicked out of the Tour for drug use, eh?! (Please ignore how shockingly dirty the bottom of my foot was in the picture below – what can I say, I was just back from the cabin.) (And obviously too lazy to go wash my foot and take another picture!)

“While Mom is obsessing over having such a dirty foot, I’m just going to steal this Addi. I’m sure she won’t miss it, since she isn’t using it right now anyway.” -Mayhem

Contests, Randonymity

Take that, Muffin Man!

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Wendy’s giving away a copy of Starmore’s Fishermen’s Sweaters. If interested, send an email to her contest line before noon EDT, July 29.

Tink’s having a contest throughout the day today (July 27). Check in and answer the questions and you could “a mixed bag of surprise goodies” or a personal post from Tink!

If you remember the muffin incident, you will know why this made me very, very happy:

Mmmm… gluten-free, dairy-free cherry almond muffins… *wipes drool from keyboard*

But the fact that Bloglines hasn’t been picking up my main RSS feed (it had an ominous red exclamation point by it yesterday) makes me unhappy. (Note: Looks like it’s all better now – whew!) Good thing I’m heading to the cabin later this morning, eh? Have a great weekend, everyone!

“Welcome to my Fortress of Solitude. Would you like a tour?” -Mayhem

Contests, Dyeing

No yarn was harmed taking pictures for this post (although it was a close call)

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Danielle needs participants for an online survey. If you have a four-year degree from a US college, you can take the survey and perhaps win a prize! (If you don’t have a four-year degree from a US college, you can leave her a comment that you would’ve taken the survey, had you been eligible.)

The yarn I dyed on Saturday with Jeanne and Deb is finally dry! Deb even took a few pictures of the process – way to go, Deb!

“Hmm, which flavor looks the best?” -Mayhem

“I have selected my victim!” -Mayhem

At that point, it seemed prudent to collect my yarn and whisk it off for reskeining. The “tasty” looking yarn is rather tangled, so it’ll be a project for another day. From the left, the base yarns are the KnitPicks superwash/nylon blend, two skeins of Wool2Dye4 (similar twist to Louet GEMS Pearl), and the KnitPicks superwash/nylon/speckled stuff blend. I was pleasantly surprised at how much better the KnitPicks superwash blends are than their previous non-superwash “bare” sock yarn. (Oh, and that pink skein is destined to be a contest prize, should I come up with a good idea for a contest.)

“Hey, where did that yummy yarn go?! Well, this skein looks like it might be good… if Mom doesn’t snatch it away like she usually does.” -Mayhem

(I did.)

“MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!” -Mayhem

Tuesday I finally bought a container for my dyes – I had them crammed into a plastic shoebox that wouldn’t stay closed because it was overstuffed. This is a scrapbooking box from Target – the other side also opens (for carrying paper) and will be perfect for my color card and color wheel… when I find the very, very safe place I put them.

“Well, what fun is that, having all those little rollable jars shut away?” -Chaos

Contests, Dyeing, Knitting, Those Cats

Attack on the Fortress of Solitude

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Jackie’s giving away two Ravelry invites – check out the details on her blog. She’ll select two lucky participants at noon EDT, July 27.

Speaking of which, the Knitty Professor needs help naming her new Delft “puking cow” creamer. Submit your name ideas by the end of the Tour (July 29) and you could win some yarn and your very own “puking animal” creamer!

Well, I was going to have pictures of the yarn I dyed with Deb and Jeanne on Saturday. However, now that the yarn is finally dry, it’s been very cloudy and too dark to photograph well. Maybe tomorrow! For knitting, I continue to plod away on my Sockamania Serpentine Socks (1.2 completed), which are also my TDF KAL project. Likelihood of completing my Tour is very low, especially since I’m heading “up nord to da cabin” on Friday for the weekend. But hey, at least I haven’t resorted to doping, right?!

Chaos has long considered the top of the refrigerator and adjoining cabinet as his Fortress of Solitude, because Mayhem wasn’t able to get up there. All of that changed recently…

“La la la la la la, I can’t see her!” -Chaos

“Hey, this is my Fortress of Solitude, Mayhem! Mine!” -Chaos

*whistling innocently* -Mayhem

“Go away! My Fortress! Mine!” -Chaos

“Hey!” -Mayhem

“Take that, big kitty!” -Mayhem

“Eeeeek! Run away!” -Chaos

“I rock.” -Mayhem

“Hmph.” -Chaos

“I didn’t want to sit on that stinky old refrigerator anyway, so there!” -Chaos

Contests, See the Sights

The Obviously Eternal Travelogue

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In the last installment of the eternal vacation, I was driving down from Estes Park to stay with Kristi and Drew in Ft. Collins for a few days. We had a great time! (Well, Kristi and I did; Drew carried on with his usual workaday schedule and joined us for tasty dinners out.)

Kristi and I hiked Coyote Ridge.

We got a tour of Interweave Press and met Sandi and Erin of Knitting Daily.

We went to the Swetsville Zoo.

We enjoyed many lovely coffee beverages and blogged on the street.

We visited bookstores and yarn stores.

And on Wednesday morning, I got back in my car and drove north and east into the wilds of Nebraska.

“Mom, the big kitty and I wish you would stop talking about that horrible time you call ‘vacation.'” -Mayhem

Contests, Reading, Swappin', Tales of the Neighborhood

Randomly Monday

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Congrats to Anne of Paper Tiger Knits who won the Biteberry yarn and thanks to everyone who participated!

Leah is celebrating her one-year blogiversary at her own domain. Leave her a comment with a specific pattern suggestion for the amazingly yummy laceweight yarn she has, and you could be selected to win a fun fibery prize. Leave your comments by midnight EDT, July 29.

Swaps
If you haven’t tried swap-bot before, I have to warn you it can be kind of addictive… although not quite as bad as I Can Has Cheezburger! 😉 Here are a couple of swaps that I’m signed up for:

Hand-Dyed Sock Yarn Swap – If you enjoyed Dye-O-Rama last summer, this could be for you. Currently, I think Jeanne, Deb, and I will just be exchanging yarn, because we’re almost the only people signed up!
Indie Music, Coffee, and CD Cover Art Swap – Now, since I’m obviously a mix cd junkie and a notorious coffee fiend (give me that espresso roast for my soy mocha and no one will get hurt… much), this one seems made for me, although I am a bit nervous about the cover art! But I’ll be brave and give it a try. 🙂

Reading update
“Banshee Cries” by C.E. Murphy (novella found in Winter Moon). Murphy describes this novella as book 1.5 of the Walker Papers and I have to agree. If you can, do try to read this after you read Urban Shaman and before Thunderbird Falls.
Charmed and Deadly by Candace Havens. I really do enjoy this sweet and fluffy series about Bronwyn, a witch who protects the British prime minister. This series is worth reading in order (Charmed and Dangerous, Charmed and Ready, Charmed and Deadly).
Sex, Murder and a Double Latte by Kyra Davis. A light-hearted mystery about mystery writer Sophie Katz and her cat, Mr. Katz. I believe there are two more books in the series so far – and I’m already on the list at the library for them.
Decaffeinated Corpse by Cleo Coyle. This is the fifth “Coffeehouse Mystery,” and I continue to enjoy the series. But really, who knew that owning a Manhattan coffeehouse could be so fraught with danger?! 😉
Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead. It’s not easy being a succubus with a conscience in modern Seattle… This is the first book in what looks to be a promising new series – I’m definitely looking forward to the next book!

A few random images
A business in my neighborhood that I’m sure is much more fun to wonder about than to know about…

At least May seems to recognize that the water might not be so good to drink, right?! And this would be why there’s another water dish in the bathroom…

*crunch crunch crunch* -Chaos

“I think the water looks fine, but I’ll wait to have a drink until Mom’s not looking.” -Mayhem

“Whoa. Maybe Mom was onto something about the water.” -Mayhem

Contests, Those Cats

Nip nippin’ away

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Don’t forget about the Biteberry Yarn contest, which runs until 6 pm CDT, Friday, July 20 (aka as today)!

Wendy’s giving away a copy of The Celtic Collection. Send an email to her contest line before noon EDT, July 24.

Miss T is giving away a copy of Getting Unstuck Without Coming Unglued by Dr. Sue O’Doherty, which Miss T thinks “every woman who’s an artist of any kind – painter, writer, dancer, sculptor, singer, whatever – should read…” Leave a comment by noon CDT, July 24, if you’d like the chance to win.

Beware! My neighborhood pet store, Urbanimal, has some adorable rescue kitties (from Underdog Rescue) in need of homes. That’s how I ended up with Mayhem… There’s an adoption event at the store (2106 Hennepin Ave S, Minneapolis) on July 21 from 2 – 4 pm. Check out some of the kitties I was petting today: a little black kitty boy named Davis, a very fluffy and extremely affectionate black kitty boy named Wendell (I was oh so tempted), a handsome tuxedo kitty boy Clark Gable, a fluffy tabby and white kitty girl named Harriet (she looks like Matisse, Fraro!), and more…

Yesterday morning I was in the shower and May tried to jump up on to the shower curtain rod. I saw paws over the rod and then her little face peeking over. I could see the outline of the rest of her dangling body through the curtain… and then she fell to the floor with a mighty thump. Fortunately she seems ok. But it was scary for both of us! At least the commotion definitely woke me up.

I mentioned yesterday that KnitNana sent some homegrown catnip along with the stitchmarkers. May was quite taken with it…

“Hello? May?? Helloooooooo? Um, maybe you could let Mom get some of that nip out of the bag? Never mind, I can see it’s a lost cause… You’re such a niphead.” -Chaos

Hmm. Chaos might be onto something there…