Category Archives: Contests

Contests, Randonymity, Reading, Tunes

“Oh, it’s just a harmless little bunny, isn’t it?”

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Diane is having a rant contest. Share a good rant with her before May 31, and you could win some sock yarn!

An Aquarium Drunkard is giving away copies of the forthcoming Soul Sides Vol 2: The Covers cd. To win, answer the trivia question in an email before midnight PDT, May 19.

Anyone in the Twin Cities interested in going to see the National at the 400 Bar on Friday, June 8? Let me know!!

Reading Update
Setting up a new computer has really cut into my knitting and reading time! Hopefully things are mostly set up by now so life can go back to normal around here.
A Finer End and And Justice, There Is None by Deborah Crombie. Continuing on with the Kincaid and James mysteries – only a few more left!
High Profile by Robert B. Parker. Another combined Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall mystery. I’m actually getting frustrated with both characters at this point! Why bother continuing either series if these characters are just going to stay stuck??
The Accidental Florist by Jill Churchill. This most recent Jane Jeffrey mystery didn’t feel very mysterious at all. Actually, I’m really not sure why I kept reading the book. Not a series I plan to continue reading anymore…

Today’s Shepherd’s Harvest Cute Animal Photo
The sign on the cage reads “For your safety, no fingers in cages!” Oh no! Run away! Break out the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch! 😉

“If you think that bunny is fierce, check this out! Rawrrrrgh! Are you running away yet? It’s hard to see with my eyes all squished up like this.” -Mayhem

Contests, Festing, Randonymity

The sweetness of the lambs

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Once again, Claudia’s riding her tandem in support of the MS Society and giving away fabulous prizes to donors. For every $10 you donate, you get another chance to win.

HeidiHo’s friend Karen has two children with cystic fibrosis. Karen and her children are participating in the Great Strides walk this coming weekend. If you pledge money to support them and let Heidi know about it before Friday, May 18, you will be entered in a drawing for a skein of Scout’s yarn.

Amy! had a good post about a knitting wiki – and do read the comments for a link to another one. Zenifer posted a nice list of one-skein projects. Vicki posted a list of triangular shawls organized by how many yards of yarn they use. Both things sound as if they would be great additions to a Wiki!

Yesterday I had the most amazing gluten- and lactose-free frozen dessert – Organic Rice Divine by Good Karma Foods (make sure your sound is turned down and that you have Flash installed). Click Products, then Pints. I tried Mudd Pie, which was very tasty (coffee flavor, with gluten-free brownie bits in it). But I am totally in love with Carrot Cake, which tastes exactly like carrot cake and even has bits of gluten-free carrot cake in it. I hadn’t had cookie/cake bits in ice cream or “frozen dessert” for over 10 years (since being diagnosed as celiac). Bliss.

Jeanne and I went to Shepherd’s Harvest on Saturday. We had great weather! I’m going to spread my report out over a few days and today is Lamb Day, featuring some pictures that Jeanne took of me. The little black lamb was a Shetland and the white lamb was an Icelandic. Aren’t they adorable?! (I don’t know how Jeanne always manages to get so much, um, chest in the pictures.) (Please note that the cats are taking a vacation day today. They’re just too hot to do much of anything – it was 92F yesterday!)

Contests, Randonymity, Tunes

First ever wireless blog post!

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Yay! I finally got all that geeky stuff configured so that I have a wireless network at home! In honor of that, I’m just going to blog with found photos in my unused photos directory, along with a few random thoughts from the week. You have been warned. 🙂

Dotty’s having a contest – guess how much she’ll spend at FibreFest today and you could win a mysterious prize (probably fibery). Remember that your guesses will be in Canadian dollars and guess before 11:59 PDT today, May 11.

I just discovered, over at Minneapolis F*ing Rocks, that today is the anniversary of the day that Minnesota became the 32nd state in 1858. MFR has a fun Minnesota playlist to download to celebrate, if you’re into music.

So quite the buzz about Ravelry, eh? Last week, when I caught up after getting behind on bloglines, it seemed like every other blog I read was talking about Ravelry. I started to feel like I hadn’t been picked to play kickball during recess. In fact, I left a whiney little comment about that at Jennie’s and Elinor took pity on me and sent me an invite. Thanks, Elinor!

Right now Ravelry’s in beta testing and is by invitation only (although you can sign up to be on the waiting list). I don’t have any invites to hand out, alas… But if you’re starting to feel left out, here’s an interesting article to read and think about – Ravelry’s a social networking site. So are MySpace, Facebook, and others. How well do these social networks connect? Are we building bridges between our social networks, or erecting self-contained silos? After the beta testing is over and Ravelry is free and open, will it be inclusionary or exclusionary? Inquiring minds want to know…

Anyway, since last weekend, I’ve been poking around Ravelry and checking things out. I like the integregation with our blogs, which are, with interactive commenting, a type of social network. I don’t like entering all of my project and stash and needles and such, when I already have all of that information on my own computer at home. Hopefully they add some sort of import/export facility for that, because I personally am unlikely to replicate my effort. I also am not as likely to include pictures, since Ravelry just uses Flickr as an image source. If they incorporate other image hosting services, sounds like it will be services like Photobucket. Doesn’t sound like those of us who host our own images and are happy doing so will be able to have images on Ravelry unless we start using Flickr, etc.

Ok, on to lighter things… Who’s going to Shepherd’s Harvest on Saturday? If it’s nice out, Jeanne and I will be there, probably late morning to noonish. If it’s raining, I’ll be there at around the same time. 😉 After my unsuccessful attempt last year, I’m not going to try coordinating a blogger meetup. Who’s good at that sort of thing?

Here’s a picture from 1996 that struck my fancy when I was scanning yesterday’s Colorado pictures:

I used to see that Starry, Starry Night VW everywhere! I loved that car – it made me happy just to see it.

And of course, we must end the week with a cat picture… *sound of rummaging*

“What? I didn’t do it! I swea… Oh, that’s not what you wanted? Never mind. No, I don’t have anything profound to say. Can I get back to watching the bunnies now?” -Mayhem

Contests, Randonymity

Rainy days and Tuesdays…

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Woolgirl’s having a contest – pick the yarn color scheme you like best and come up with a name for it before Mother’s Day. Two lucky winners will get skeins of the winning colorway.

If you’re looking for a knitting book review, check out the knitting book review list at Eclectic Closet! Janelle has reviewed nearly 40 knitting books and is always looking for ideas on other knitting books to review.

Jeanne offers more proof (with cat modeling) about bibs being the perfect baby gift.

Remember last Monday when I mentioned we needed more rain? Apparently I should’ve wished for world peace at the same time, too. (At least we’re supposed to have a few days of sunshine now!)

All the rain made May a little crazy.

“Oh no!! Big kitty, it’s happening again, only this time it’s my head! Help!” -Mayhem

Contests, Knitting

Lucky healing thoughts

46 Comments

Stephania is having a blogiversary contest. Leave her a comment by midnight CDT, May 6, about what your favorite post or project of hers was and you could win sock yarn – possibly even a skein of Sweet Georgia! If you live in central Minnesota and are interested in attending Stephania’s blogiversary party on May 5, let her know. Alas, I have a prior commitment on Saturday. 🙁

Frarochvia is having a contest. You can see the amazing prizes in her post of yesterday! Contest closes at 8:30 am CDT, May 11.

My dear friend Frarochvia is also having surgery today to remove some infected metal plates from her face. Please send lucky healing thoughts her way!

I sent my thoughts to her in the form of a comfort shawl. This shawl was mostly the Eyelet and Garter Shapely Shawlette, although I added an extra few rows at the bottom of the shawl and I knitted back across the wrong side instead of purling back (no time for purling – I had a deadline!). I used Brooklyn Handspun sock yarn, color Black Cherry. Yup, I was working on this at the same time I was working on the baby dress. Sneaky, huh? 😉

And of course, the modeled shots…

“I hope this this my good side.” -Mayhem

“I wonder what Black Cherry tastes like?” *munch* -Mayhem

“No! It’s a gift! Stop!!” -me

Contests, Knitting, Project Spectrum, Reading

Please put on your sunglasses

49 Comments

Many, many thanks to everyone who sent such kind words yesterday. I hope that Mayhem responded courteously to you all! I’m feeling about the same – wiped out. Hopefully the lab work comes back soon so we know what sort of anemia (iron, B-12, folate) this is.

Trek has had a lifelong dream of reaching 145 comments on a single post. Toward that goal, leave a comment for her before June 1 with a suggestion about fun things she and her daughter can do over the summer. When lucky number 145 is reached, Trek will draw a random winner who will receive a mysterious but sure to be fabulous prize!

Brenda moved her blog and is having a contest to celebrate! Leave her a comment about what you named your blog and why. If you’re blogless, leave a comment with what you would name a blog. She’ll draw two winners on May 8 (also her eighth wedding anniversary) – you could win some Schaefer Anne or Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn.

KitKatKnit is trying to find the lentil soup recipe she and her college roommates used to make. Leave her a comment with the recipe by noon PDT, May 3 (when she has to shop), and you could win a hat pattern and the yarn to knit it with.

Reading Update
All Shall Be Well, Leave the Grave Green, Mourn Not Your Dead, and Dreaming of the Bones by Deborah Crombie. Continuing on with the Scotland Yard Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma Jones mysteries. These are very well done and I will continue to read them – in order. 🙂

Knitting Update
I finished my Bird of Paradise slip stitch rib socks! These are from Sundara’s yarn, colorway Bird of Paradise (from her sock club). The stitch pattern is one round of K3, P1, followed by a round of K1, slip one as if to purl, K1, P1. The slip stitch ribbing makes great vertical stripes in yarns that have two colors alternating rounds. I had to tweak the colors a bit because it was very dark when I took the pictures – however, the colors are accurate. Hence the need for sunglasses…

“What, you don’t think I have better things to do with my time than sit here by your socks?! I have fan mail to answer, Mom!” -Mayhem

“Hee hee, May – better you than me! I’ll just lurk here unobtrusively in the chair… wait, was that the flash?!” -Chaos

Contests, Knitting, Randonymity

How can it be Monday again already?!

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Andi’s having a contest – guess which STR colorways she ordered for socks for she and her husband and you could win a Blue Moon Fiber Arts gift certificate. She’ll accept guesses until noon MST on April 30 (aka today).

Check out the Knitflix Summer Blockbuster Swap – you can sign up until May 11.

My apologies to everyone in bloglines who was pinged to death over the weekend by my “The lacy dress, it is done” post of last week. I’ve tried a few different things and hopefully it’s all better now…*crosses fingers*

Check out the great picture Jeanne got of Chaos and I Friday night when she and Deb came over to knit! And Peeve has some fun pictures of Mayhem from when the Peeves visited us.

We had a gorgeous weekend here in the Twin Cities – lots of sun and temperatures in the upper 70s and lower 80s. Things are getting green out there, but more rain would definitely help.

I’ve been meaning to test knit a dishcloth pattern I designed over a year ago, and Carrie’s contest gave me the perfect excuse to do so.

“Big kitty sent me to ask if that’s a bib…” -Mayhem

Oh, it would make a very thick and absorbent bib, May! But it’s just a dishcloth. Isn’t the texture fun?

“I don’t like Mondays, either, Mom. You leave us alone forever. It makes me a little crazy.” -Mayhem

Contests, Knitting

In which I finally post a clear picture of the lacy tank dress

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Nicole is celebrating her blogiversary and a comment milestone. Leave her a comment by May 6 with a link to your first blog post and you could win some really amazing prizes. If you don’t have a blog, you can leave a comment with a link to the first blog you remember reading.

KnitNZu is having a contest – by April 29, guess what sort of critter is living on her kitchen table and you could win something from her stash.

Ta-da! The lacy tank dress, mostly dry.

Pattern: Lacy tank dress from Knitting for Babies, modified by knitting in the round to the armholes and by picking up and knitting a round on the hem, then binding off in purl (hopefully to help control the curl). If I knit this again, I will probably knit a few rounds of garter stitch on the hem to control the curl a bit better, but I didn’t have enough yarn this time. This took me 10 days to knit and finish.
Yarn: Five skeins of SWTC A-MAIZ-ing (100% corn fiber, machine wash and dry) in Imperial Purple. This yarn is a knit tube type ribbon yarn. I thought it had good stitch definition and a lot more give than cotton.

I don’t think Mayhem is too emotionally scarred by wearing the dress, as she certainly made herself comfortable while it was blocking (it’s inside out in the next two pictures).

*slurp slurp slurp* -Mayhem

“Pssst. Hey, big kitty, this is that dress Mom made us wear. I’m showing it who’s boss now!” -Mayhem

“Um, May? Like the dress really cares.” -Chaos

Contests, Randonymity

Hiding out

36 Comments

Valerie’s celebrating her blogiversary with a contest. Suggest a name for her new spinning wheel by midnight, April 30, and you could win “something nice.”

Mistress of the Stash is having a contest – leave a comment (by 12:00 pm CDT on May 2) about your favorite colorway and you could win a skein of sportweight Claudia’s Handpaint.

Carrie is having a contest to celebrate spring and starting new things. To participate, cast on a crazy new dishcloth and send her a picture by May 5 – you could win a skein of Austermann Step sock yarn.

I don’t know if you’re following the pet food recall, but contaminants now have been found in not only wheat gluten, but also rice protein and corn gluten. Over 889 pet food items under 100 brand names have been recalled. Some of the recalled pet food may have been fed to hogs destined for human consumption. Pet Connection and Pet Food Tracker seem to be doing a good job covering all of this.

Knitting Update
You will get to see other pictures of the dress! It’s blocking even as I type – hopefully it will be dry by tonight.

KitKatKnit wondered if Chaos would be happier if the dress complemented his eyes, so she sent me this:

Nope, he doesn’t look happier to me, either.

“Go away, Mom. We’re hiding from you.” -Mayhem

“Hmph.” -Chaos

Contests, Festing, Reading

I think I bruised my checkbook…

53 Comments

Ginger’s having a contest – guess what she named the three chicks she just brought home and you could win some sock yarn. A knowledge of country music will help your guessing! Someone already guessed correctly! Now anyone who comments on the contest post by midnight April 27 will be entered in a random drawing for another prize.

Reading Update
A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie. This is the first mystery about Scotland Yard Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his assistant, Sergeant Gemma Jones. I’ll definitely be reading more in this series.
High Heels and Holidays by Kasey Michaels. The most recent book about mystery writer Maggie Kelly, whose formerly fictional characters the Viscount Saint Just and Sterling Balder materialized in her living room a few months ago… Silly but fun and occasionally steamy.
High Stakes: A Tale of Vegas Vampires by Erin McCarthy. The first book in the Vegas Vampires series isn’t great literature by any means, but it was an amusing and somewhat steamy read. My big complaint is that the book ended abruptly, almost as if it had been split into two parts…

Yarnover Update
Well. I, um, might’ve picked up a bit more at the Yarnover market than I had anticipated… No one’s going to be particularly surprised by my purchases. 🙂

I bought some skeins of purple laceweight Euroflax.

Whoops, it looks like I forgot to take a picture of the knitting mystery I purchased – Cast On, Bets Off by Jack Olesker. I hadn’t heard of it before, so we’ll see… I also bought a black sheep magnet and a WPI tool (I’ve wanted one for ages!).

“Hmm, this doesn’t smell particularly sheepy to me. Plus it looks hard to pick up and steal.” -M

Jeanne and I each bought enough Blue Sky Cotton to make the Eyelet Cardigan (sorry, you can’t see the pattern at all in the picture). Um, yes, I bought black…

“Big kitty, I tell you, the only possible conclusion you can draw is that she’s going to make more black kitties. We have to put a stop to this!” -M

“Where do you come up with this stuff, May?!” -C

And I bought some amazingly soft true black (not dyed!) alpaca, which came from an alpaca named Orphelia.

“Now this smells like something very interesting! Not a sheep… What could it be?” -M

“Mmmm… Alpaca, you say? Soft. Mmmm… Mom, can we have an alpaca? I promise I won’t eat it.” -M