Category Archives: Contests

Contests, Knitting, Reading

Another bib bites the dust

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KmKat wonders what office buzz words bug you the most. Leave a comment by midnight CDT, April 17 (the same time taxes are due in MN!) and you could win a mysterious prize – not necessarily yarn.

Reading Update
Bloody Mary and Rusty Nail. I think these are the last two Lt. Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels mysteries I’ll read. I like the writing, I like the main characters, but I really hate the ongoing theme of serial killers.
Blind Spot by Terri Persons. Of course, after just whining about serial killer books, I read this one, although I skipped over a few gruesome bits… This well-written and suspenseful novel is about an FBI agent who has “the Sight.” She’s just been reassigned to the St. Paul office, which made this particularly intriguing to read. I hope this becomes a series!
Web of Evil by J.A. Jance. The second book about Arizona blogger Ali Reynolds finds her back in Los Angeles for her divorce hearing when things get a little complicated…
Blindfold Game by Dana Stabenow. I love both Stabenow’s Kate Shugak and Liam Campbell series, so I gave this non-series thriller a try and enjoyed the read. It features a CIA agent and his wife (an XO in the Coast Guard, stationed in the Bering Strait).
Plum Lovin’ by Janet Evanovich. This is billed as a “Between the Numbers Novel” and features Diesel, a vaguely supernatural character introduced in Visions of Sugar Plums. Definitely not as enjoyable as the “regular” Stephanie Plum series, since Ranger and Morelli only had bit parts. Mmmmm…. Ranger….. Ooops, sorry, didn’t mean to drool on anyone. Moving right along…
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off: The Yarn Harlot’s Guide to the Land of Knitting by Stephanie Pearl McPhee. Do I really need to say more?! 🙂 It’s a funny, quick read – and anyone who knits will find a point or two that hits too close to home to be entirely funny….
The Opinionated Knitter: Newsletters 1958-1968 by Elizabeth Zimmermann. This compilation of EZ’s pre-book newsletters was an enjoyable read for this EZ fan. I loved the little snippets at the end of each newsletter, announcing new products that she was selling (such as Barbara Walker’s first treasury!). This was one of my TBR Challenge books.

Knitting Update
Friday night I knit the second of the two bibs I needed. How amusing is it that I knit both of these with a US4 instead of a US6 (just grabbed the loose needle in my knitting bag because I knew it was a US6) and my only thought was that they seemed a bit smaller than usual?! The smaller needle is probably why the colors didn’t form their customary argyle patterning.

Chaos was very alarmed at the sight of May in this bib – note his poofy tail.

“Who are you and why are you wearing that abomination?!” -C

“Maybe if I bite it, it will leave me alone.” -M

“So much for that idea…” -M

I took pity on May, removed the bib, and caught Chaos enticed Chaos to model for old time’s sake.

“I have the strangest sense of deja vu…” -C

“Easily remedied, however. THIS is how it’s done, May.” -C

“Hmph. Did the big kitty have to make it look so easy?!” -M

Alongs, Contests, Knitting

Let us bib

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Signups are open for Sockapalooza 4 – sign up fast, because they won’t be open for long! I think I’m going to skip this one – the pressure of knitting socks for someone other than myself or my family – oh my. I did sign up for Sockamania, which is limited to 25 people, so act fast if you’re interested in that, too! 4/13/07: Sockamania is now closed.

Signups open April 16 for Knitters’ Coffee Swap Round 2! Mark your calendars – Round 1 was a blast.

Not only is it the month of prizes for participating in the Walker Treasury Project, but Karrie is offering an additional special prize to a randomly chosen mosaic swatch knitter. Since the only mosaic swatches so far have been knitted by Karrie and one other person, you have great odds on this contest!

You could win a free Jordana Paige knitting bag – winners will be announced on April 23.

Knitting Update
Coworkers whose wives are having babies… what to do but knit bibs? 🙂

“I do not approve.” -M

“I do not approve. At. All.” -M

“A little help here, big kitty? No?” -M

“Heh. The secret is to look so pathetic and betrayed that Mom removes the bib herself!” -M

Doesn’t taking a picture without the flash (even as terribly blurry as it was, since May moved her head) convey a totally different feeling? How would you caption this last picture of Mayhem?

Contests, Randonymity

In which I allude to the cruelty of April snow

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Susan’s having a contest in honor of her blogiversary and a comment milestone – guess which yarn her daughter chose for socks and you could win the other yarn plus matching stitchmarkers. Leave your guess by midnight, April 15, CDT.

Jimmy Bean’s Wool has a pattern contest every month. Their prize pack is amazing and probably beats what many online knitting magazines would pay you. I know many of you have designing skills, so I hope you give it a shot!

Snow. Blech. Need I say more? Here’s a picture from back in the snowy days of March… I liked the “Minnesota Nice” sticker and how it tied in with the “Snow Emergency Route” sign. Plus the balloons were a festive touch to an ugly, dirty snowbank. We better not have enough snow to make snowbanks. I might lose my mind…

Moving right along to happier things, remember when I swapped Knit a Fantasy Story with chittavrtti? Here are the goodies she sent me – two gorgeous 225 yard skeins of Socks that Rock in a lovely deep green (Beryl, probably the only green I’ll see around here for a while) and some espresso roast Peet’s coffee beans. Mmmmm… Thanks, CV!

“Smells… green. Mmmm… Greenies.” -M

“I can tell from here it isn’t tuna yarn! Hmph.” -C

(from a distance) “Look out for that coffee, May! Did I ever tell you about the time I ate a coffee bean when I was a kitten? Man, that was a rush.” -C

“Yeah, whatever, big kitty, and I bet you had to walk a mile uphill in the snow to get to your food bowl.” -M

Contests, Randonymity

Ding, dong, the espresso maker…

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…turns on! Woot-woot! All is well. Apparently, my espresso maker wasn’t dead, merely on strike until it was thorougly cleaned and decalcified. *hangs head in shame* Amusingly, I was so freaked out that it didn’t work yesterday morning, I completely forgot that I have a stovetop espresso maker for just such a crisis… Moving right along!

Through the Loops and Olga are having a birthday contest to celebrate that they turn 45 within days of each other. You can leave a comment at one or both blogs, identifying each of them from the baby pictures. Leave your comments by 11:59 pm (PDT? PST? EDT? EST?) on April 14 for your chance to win yarn and chocolate.

In the midst of my groggy day yesterday (even though I did stop for a moosed soy mocha, no toppings, on the way to work), I got fun mail – my Nana Sadie Rose Posy Sock Sack arrived! This is a really cool bag – it’s padded and very sturdy (even somewhat freestanding), with a shoulder strap and pockets inside to anchor a scissors, pencil, needles, etc. It’s about 10″ tall (everything looks small with Chaos in the picture). Looks like there’s plenty of space for a pair of socks-in-progress, along with keys, cellphone, and wallet. Thank you very much, Knitnana – I love it and can’t wait to use it! (You can email Knitnana to get your own Posy Sock sack.)

“Hmm, it isn’t a sock, so I guess I can relax my tuna and catnip rule. After all, there are cats on it.” -C

“*mumble*…pockets…*mumble*” -C

“Ok, ok, I’ll pose nice with the bag…” -C

“Can I go play now?” -C

Contests, Knitting, Project Spectrum, Reading

I was awakened yesterday by…

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…Mayhem chasing her tail on top of me. *oooof* Today started out inauspiciously when my espresso maker gave up the ghost…

Looks like the Yarn Harlot got a not-too-bad picture of me… If you’re looking for the Twin Cities “linkorama” Stephanie mentioned, here you go. Hey, our singing “O Canada” is available on You Tube! And here’s a link to the Strib article about the event.

Jenifer’s having a contest – guess what one-skein project she’s knitting and then share what your favorite one-skein project is (not from any of the one-skein books). Submit your entries by midnight, April 14, and you could win a mysterious prize.

Reading Update
Um, I haven’t apparently done a reading update for a while… Brace yourselves.

Maggie Needs an Alibi, Maggie by the Book, Maggie Without a Clue, and High Heels and Homicide by Kasey Michaels. Maggie Kelly writes mysteries set in Regency England. One day she turns around to discover that her hero, the dashingly handsome Alexandre Blake (the Viscount St. Just) and his amiable sidekick Sterling Balder have come to life and are standing in her living room… These aren’t terribly well written, but they are light and amusing.
Ready or Not? by Chris Manby. Light chicklit about a British radio producer who isn’t sure her fiance is right for her as the wedding approaches.
Out of this World by Jill Shalvis. More light chicklit (although significantly steamier than the previous title – *fans self*) about an LA muralist who inherits a mysterious B&B in remote Alaska.
Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews. Quite possibly inspired or at least influenced by Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan series, this book (possibly the first in a series? It has that feel) features magical mercenary Kate Daniels in an alternate future in which tech is in decline and magic ascendent.
Whiskey Sour by J.A. Konrath. Book one in a (so far) short series about insomniac Chicago police lieutenant Jacquelyn “Jack” Daniels. Sufficiently entertaining that I’m reading the second book and have the most recent book queued up. Please note that these are pretty gory at times.

Knitting Update
I finished my Regia Crazy Colors socks yesterday for my first completed Project Spectrum April/May project. Although it was a struggle, I resisted doing the Ms. Matchy Matchy thing.

*sniff sniff sniff* -C

*sigh* “She’s still not making the tuna and catnip socks I requested, May.” -C

“Ok, big kitty, then I won’t even bother to stop and check them out.” -M

Alongs, Contests, Knitting, Project Spectrum, Randonymity

I hope you’re all sitting down… oh wait, you’re at your computers. It should be ok.

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Yay, KnittyMama! She actually got a decent picture of me from Wednesday night. 🙂 (Please note that I’ve been updating yesterday’s post with links to people’s pictures and tales as they’re available.)

Twitching about the upcoming Harry Potter book release? Maybe participating in the Hogwarts Sock Swap will help distract you for the next several months. You have until April 30 to join.

You can sign up for Jennie’s Sound Swap until April 11. However, number of participants is limited, so sign up early!

Julia is having a contest a day for the next week. Check in each day to see what the new contest is! Winners will be selected randomly on Friday, April 13.

Question for Those in the Twin Cities
Does anyone know where I could take an ASL class in the area?! The Minneapolis Community Ed class I was signed up for was canceled (even though it still appears on their website). I’m not interested in taking a college level course (even just auditing). Thanks for any leads!

Pet Food
Obsidian Kitten has some great posts about making your own pet food – definitely something to think about in the light of recent events.

Jeanne turned me on to a good blog for tracking the current pet food issue, as well as others that come up.

Knitting Update
Ready for a bit of color shock? I’ve been working on Project Spectrumesque socks that are a bit different than my usual colors, but this week has been so crazy, I haven’t had a chance to blog about them until now. You might’ve seen this first sock in some of the pictures from Wednesday night – it’s a plain stockinette sock, knit from Regia Crazy Colors. This sock has some black and purple in addition to the pink and red, so it isn’t too much of a stretch. (The purple bag with black cats on it was made by Trek!)

“I am much cuter than the kitties on the bag, of course. Oh, Addis – my favorite!” -M

The next sock is quite a bit further outside of my usual color range…

“Addis, Addis, tasty tasy Addis…” -M

That’s Sundara’s sock yarn in Bird of Paradise, the most recent colorway in the Petals Collection. Initially I tried a garter rib, because I wanted to avoid the less stretchy slip stitch rib in the pattern that came with the yarn. However, the garter stitch broke up the colors way too much. Here’s a shot of the sole (stockinette) – imagine this with much, much more color choppiness.

“Are you going to eat that entire Addi, May? Maybe you could save a little nibble for me?” -C

So I conceded that Sundara knew what she was doing, using slip stitches to pull the alternating rounds of color together. I didn’t use the same ribbing as in the pattern; instead, I decided to use R1: *K1, slip 1 (as if to purl), K1, P1*; R2: *K3 P1*. I like it. A lot. And I’ll probably try a variation of this ribbing on other socks in the future – as long as I remember to make my sock heel deeper to compensate for the slight loss in stretchiness.

Contests, Those Cats

Mayhem has eaten my brain

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Heather’s giving away a Project Spectrum pink/green/yellow themed cd – leave a comment about what you like about spring before midnight MDT, April 6, and you could win a copy.

You could also win a Dyson vacuum cleaner from Five Minutes for Mom, but you have act quickly – the contest closes at 1 pm EDT today, April 4!

It snowed last night. It’s snowing right now. Waaaaah!

The pet food recall has expanded a bit. However, neither of the Science Diet dry foods that Chaos eats (w/d and c/d) contain wheat gluten (it’s the m/d that’s being recalled by Hills), and May eats a grain-free food called Innova EVO. For treats, they get Feline Greenies (fortunately, they chew their Greenies and don’t bolt them, so no choking/breathing problems), which don’t contain wheat gluten, either. Thanks to everyone who has inquired! We all appreciate your concern – especially since I don’t watch TV and missed the initial furor. Jeanne’s looking out for me now and making sure I’m up to date. 🙂

Work is still crazy. But I’m done early today for the Yarn Harlot festivities and I’m taking tomorrow off. Woo-hoo!

“Mom’s brain was pretty tasty! But there sure wasn’t much left after work ate most of it Monday and Tuesday.” -M

Contests, Randonymity

Work has eaten my brain

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Scout’s having a Project Spectrum contest. You can play along in two different ways: by describing or showing a picture of the preppiest outfit you’ve ever worn, or by writing a Project Spectrum limerick containing the words pink, yellow, and green. Leave your comments by noon, MDT, April 4, and you could win a skein of Scout’s yarn in the Prepster colorway (which is pink, yellow, and green).

Ok. That’s it. That’s all I have. After sitting in front of a computer and working for 16 hours yesterday, I don’t have a lot of brainpower left. I’ll catch up on bloglines later in the week, everyone. I miss you already.

So let’s see what I have in my spare photo folder… Whoops. There’s a picture I took for Tink, who was wondering if Knit a Fantasy Story had any patterns for fairies in it. Yes, indeed it does, Tink, although I’m pretty sure that dandelion isn’t knit.

Oh, look at this! Here’s a picture of Mayhem lying on the floor, underneath the chair rungs. It doesn’t look comfortable to me, either.

“La la la la la la la…” -M

“Mom! I can’t believe you posted that unflattering picture of me!!” *sniff* -M

Hee hee – just wait until she wants to start dating! 😉

Contests, Randonymity, Reading

Ahhh… Friday.

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Wendy has started giving away books after she reads them – if you send her an email before noon EDT, April 1, you could be selected to receive her copy of Past Reason Hated by Peter Robinson.

Lorette is celebrating her third blogiversary! Leave a comment about your favorite knitting trick or gadget and you could win some sock yarn. Comments must be left by midnight, April 1.

Reading Update
Innocent in Death by J.D. Robb. The latest Eve Dallas/Roarke (mmm…. Roarke…) mystery is good, but pretty standard fare. I swear, didn’t Born in Death just come out?!!
The Return of Jonah Gray by Heather Cochran. I was expecting this chicklit tale of Sasha, an IRS auditor, to be pretty standard fare, too. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it had a bit more substance than I expected.

Life Update
Some things I’m looking forward to over the next few days – as part of their World Tour of the US, Peeve and Mr Peeve are coming to Minneapolis tomorrow and they’re staying at Casa de Chaos y Mayhem! Now, if I can just remember to bring along my camera… 😉 Hopefully the flood watch we have going through Saturday night remains just a watch…

Also, next Wednesday, the Yarn Harlot will be speaking in St Paul and signing copies of her new book. Rumor has it that there are 400 knitters who’ve reserved spots, with a waiting list. Should be very crazy indeed!

I’ve had a rough week at work and things will continue on in that fashion at least through the early part of next week. So imagine how finding this in my mailbox yesterday afternoon cheered me up:

“I don’t remember being in the mailbox, but I know I always cheer Mom up!” -M

*snort* “Yeah, that’s what she meant, May… not.” -C

Hmm. I didn’t mean for you to have to imagine quite that much. Let’s try again, shall we?

*sniff sniff* “I will allow you to accept this gift.” -C

Gee, thanks, Chaos. Anyway, Imbrium and I exchanged mix cds – the mix she sent me arrived yesterday, along with two gorgeous skeins of Interlacements Tiny Toes sock yarn in Midnight Blues! (Yes, there’s purple in there – it just didn’t photograph well.) Thank you so much, Imbrium!! Hey, I can’t get to your blog… 🙁

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Contests, Those Cats

RIP SRM (This post may not be suitable for those sensitive to sparkly mouse carnage)

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Elspeth is having a contest for “WIP It Out” on March 31st. There will be a prize for identifying the movie quote, and another lucky participant will receive one of E’s frogged WIPs.

Cindy is having a contest – leave a comment about any Greek affiliations you may have had in college (or just leave a comment if you were independent and unaffiliated). Comment by 11 pm CDT March 29 and you could win some sock yarn. Although I wasn’t in a sorority, I was in Xi Sigma Pi, the National Forestry Honor Society…

Sallee the Knitnana is having a contest to celebrate a comment milestone. Leave a comment about the Meezer by midnight EDT March 30 and you could win a Nana Sadie Rose sock bag (a new design)!

So perhaps you are wondering about the post title… I think a picture will speak a thousand words.

Yes, that is the skin and skeleton of Chaos’ beloved SRM. If I hadn’t witnessed Chaos demolishing SRM, I would’ve blamed Mayhem, known to be very hard on her toys… Compare the picture above to this picture of SRM, taken in January of 2006:

When asked why he would treat his beloved toy in such a fashion, Chaos didn’t have much to say for himself.

I guess we’re left to find our own answers about this senseless loss of sparkly mouse….