Category Archives: Contests

Contests, KALs, Randonymity, Those Cats

The contest edition

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Whew! Brace yourselves…

Craftlilly Jennifer has a nice list of KALs and contests for you to check out.

Keohinani is having a model your socks contest. Deadline is September 30, 12 pm, Hawaii Standard Time.

Celtic Kelly and her husband Moose will be Walking for the Cure on October 1. She’s awarding a prize (probably Fleece Artist) to a random sponsor for this good cause!

MrsPao is having a “What flavour crisps does James Bond eat?” contest to help her husband Pao make it to Google’s number one hit for that topic. A winner will be selected randomly after 9 pm GMT, October 31 – knitters can win some lovely Fyberspates sock yarn or non-knitters will receive other non-yarny goodies. (Hee hee, I just participated by posting that link! Woot woot.)

Teyani is having a “guess how many skeins of fiber she’s dyed since the beginning of the year” contest. The winner will get to pick a skein of Chasing Rainbows Superwash Sock Yarn; contest runs through September 24.

Andi is having a contest – she’s giving away a goodie bag to the first commenter to guess Baby K’s name.

Geraldine is having a caption contest and is giving away copies of her vegetarian cookbook. The deadline is September 30.

Check out Zimmermania – a knitalong that starts September 23 and features the patterns of Elizabeth Zimmermann.

Have I mentioned how impressed I am at the amazing breadth of contests and knitalongs y’all come up with?! Very cool. Keep on sending them in to chris at stumbli……

To finish off my crazy busy week last week (well, crazy busy for me at least), I went to see Greg Brown at the Fitzgerald Theater Friday night with my friend Wendy. Somehow Wendy scored amazing seats – 5th row, main floor center. Damn. I think the last time I saw Greg Brown at the Fitz, we were second balcony, obstructed (a genteel way to say the seats were behind a massive damn pillar!). This show was way heavier on the blues and less folksey than I’ve experienced at a Greg Brown show before. Good show, but I think both Wendy and I were ready for some more up tempo music that never arrived. Probably my favorite part was Greg’s second song of the evening, a no holds barred political song that had everyone laughing and cheering.

I spent the rest of the weekend lounging around, reading, not cleaning, drinking mochas, knitting up my pattern that will be in the December MagKnits (I need to finish tweaking and take a few pictures), and just generally recuperating from last week. I need to start getting things together for my Knitblogger’s Tour of the West – can’t believe I leave on the 30th already! Oh yeah, I stubbed the #$*^&!! out of my left pinkie toe on Saturday. I’ve never had a stubbed toe turn such amazing colors in such a short time…

Ok, ok, I know you’re all actually just here for the cute cat pictures! 😉

Mayhem is about as sweet and wispy as she can possibly be – to give you an idea, those little pokey hipbones there? About 1.25-1.5″ across! Awww…

*purr*

She and Chaos had a pretty rough weekend… Although poor Chaos is on a diet – he snuck a pound or two on while I wasn’t looking these past few months!

“Ha! I have the best spot! That big kitty is out in the cold!”

May also practiced her posing – the pressure of being a knitblogger’s cat!

“Because, really, aren’t I the cutest of them all?”
Contests, Reading, Those Cats, Tunes

“When the villagers come to my door, I will hide underneath the table in the dining room.”

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Reading update: Slow week reading here! Dead Wrong by J.A. Jance. In the latest Sheriff Joanna Brady mystery (Arizona), she’s coping with a staff shortage, murder, and being 9.5 months pregnant.

Last night I went to the Triple Rock Social Club to see one of my very favorite bands, the Mountain Goats. (This post’s cryptic title is from their song “If You See Light.”) It was very, very traumatic for me, staying up that late and being out and about! Fortunately, I had good parking “carma” and then snagged a prime spot to watch the show when I got inside. They basically played their new album Get Lonely in order, with a few detours (Heart’s “Barracuda” was the best!), then played some of their older stuff. (And Leah, the new stuff was mostly excellent live – it had a lot more zing than on the cd.) It was a great show, especially considering it was the first stop of their tour! But damn, did I feel old – I was probably one of the 10 oldest people there… This was the first time I’ve been to a show at a bar since the Minneapolis smoking ban went into effect last year – I know it’s been controversial, but it was amazing to not need a shower after a show and also not to wake up with a “hangover” from second-hand smoke.

Largehearted Boy is having a Get Lonely contest! Could the timing be more perfect?! 🙂

Time for a decent picture of Mayhem – she’s purring and making happy paws because I’m looking at her, the sweetie. She definitely has the stealth tabby thing going, as well as maybe being a “smoke” (check out section 2 in that link). Her eyes are actually a sort of gold amber, not the green that they’ve appeared in photos.

*rumbling*

I think Chaos and May are playing now. I’m hoping that’s what it is! Either that, or she’s running for her life much of the time. I caught Chaos giving her a bath this morning. Awwwww… (No, there isn’t a picture – it was 5:30 am…)

“Ha ha! I got Mom’s spot and that big kitty isn’t anywhere around!”

“But why am I feeling so nervous? It’s as if someone’s watching me…

Contests, Knitting, Randonymity, Those Cats

SoC staff not responsible for any kittens procured as a result of this blog

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Kate is having an amusing contest: the Look Back and Cringe Contest. On your own blog, explain to her why you don’t want 80s fashions to come back. Leave Kate a comment with a link to your post anytime through September 24th.

Kate, I don’t need to tell you – I can show you. Just say no to big hair that took forever to achieve, high-waisted pleated jeans (Zena, anyone?), stirrup pants (fortunately, I was too tall to wear those successfully), knee-grazing tunics, shoulder pads (I already have a linebacker build, thank you!), and all that. Been there, done that, not going there again! 🙂

Thanks to everyone who’s been sending me contest and swap information! Keep it coming – send an email to chris at this domain.

Knitting update: Yup, I still knit. But gosh, it’s a bit challenging to knit with a kitten around – I’d forgotten about that! I’m about to bind off my first Regia Silk sock and I’m still plodding along on the border of my moderne log cabin baby blanket. Ummmm… Oh! Did I mention that I entered some socks in the Minnesota State Fair? Jeanne talked me into it and really, how could I refuse when she was willing to drop them off and pick them up from the Fair?! (Thank you, Jeanne!) I entered my Chaotic Black Lagoon socks (toe-up, using Maeve’s Cherry Blossom Lace pattern and Sundara Black Lagoon yarn). I got full marks for general appearance, color, design, condition (even though I ran out of time to block), and materials used, but only 35.5/40 for workmanship. Here’s what the judge had to say: “Beautiful Knitting – This was an extrememly competitive lot this year. Watch out for twisted stitches during grafting.” Interesting, since these were toe-up, no grafting required – but obviously I need to switch to the Turkish cast-on, as mine is leaving a row of twisted stitches.

Tink and I are doing a mix cd exchange and Tink is way ahead of me (I’m still working on the mix). Along with the cds, she included some lovely little shells from Florida. Thanks, Tink! Chaos was intrigued by the shells.

“Mmmm… oceany…”

Big thanks to everyone who’s provided info and handholding during the cat acclimation process!! Here’s another picture of May and the catnip mouse:

*kick kick kick kick kick bite bite bite bite bite*

But eventually… the mouse flew from her grasp.

“Oh oh…”

And though she be but little, she is fierce. – William Shakespeare

“Take that, big kitty! I’m not afraid of you!!” – M
“Good grief!” – C

Contests, Randonymity, Those Cats

Wandering through WTF Wednesday

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Cherry Tree Hill Yarn is having a contest to create designs for their solid sock yarns. Socks must be received by Thanksgiving.

I’m clueless about this tv show (you know me and the “doesn’t watch television” thing), but there’s a Grey’s Anatomy knitalong starting if you’re interested.

Ok, for WTF Wednesday, from the misguided advertising campaign files… Is coffee the first thing you think of when you see this sign?!

Me either.

I swapped some yarn with Danielle for one of her very cool little jars – imagine my surprise when I opened the package to discover not just the jar, but other goodies, too! Danielle included a ball of Peaches’n’Cream cotton from the MDK bag o’ yarn she received (bib or dishcloth with this yarn from the source of all such cottony madness?!), as well as some tasty chocolate, a cute card, lovely stitchmarkers that she made (they’re in the jar), and a package for Chaos. Thanks, Danielle!

When I presented the package to Chaos, he got busy.

“I’m sure this would be easier with opposable thumbs.”
<
“Probably much easier…” *mmph*

But with some assistance, he eventually persevered.

“Neener, neener, May, I got catnip mice!”

And so of course May got right up there and took one, because all the mice are all for her now…

*fight fight fight bite bite bite*
Alongs, Contests, Those Cats

S is for…

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Hold that thought! 🙂

MrsPao is having a contest for her first blogiversary! Come up with a mnemonic for her cats’ names (Jasper, Ariel, Merlin, Perdita, Ophelia, Phoebe) by 9 pm GMT on Tuesday, September 12.

Jeanne is having a contest – guess the number of socks in her sock pile before midnight, September 15, CDT.

Ok, so where were we? Oh yeah… S is for Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.

Yesterday, Deb, Jeanne, and I (along with many other Twin Cities knitters) journeyed east to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, to see Yarn Harlot Stephanie.

First, we met a lot of great knitters and knitbloggers – more on that later this week. Then we walked to the Temple of Free Masonry to hear Stephanie speak.

She was, of course, terrifically funny. She showed off her Olympic sweater (the heap by her feet in this picture, as I was too slow with the camera) and her Icarus shawl:

Then Stephanie signed copies of her books at Yellow Dog Knitting (we provided the Leinenkugel Honey Weiss – thanks for the tip, Louise!):

And graciously posed for a picture with us (pretend I’m not in this picture, because it is a horrific picture of me! What the hell am I doing back there?! My simple photoediting program didn’t have a red X or dot to put over me – drat.):

Curious about Chaos and Mayhem? Chaos likes to keep a close eye on May, whatever she might be doing…

“What are you doing in there?!”

Um, yeah, two guesses, Chaos…

I’d like to say that May is unconcerned about Chaos, but she keeps a wary eye out, since he’s been trying to beat the crap out of her. She is safely shut in the bathroom when I’m not around to supervise! (It’s funny how sleek she looks in pictures, because she’s still got some kitten fluff and is amazingly gangly.)

“Man, that big cat is crabby! I wonder where he is right now…”
Alongs, Contests, Dyeing, Reading

Of yarn and keychains

38 Comments

Heather of What’s Cluttering My Couch is having a contest. It’s different. And nice.

Celia of Unraveling is doing the Asthma Walk. If you contribute, you could win a pair of handknitted socks, tailored to your preferences!

Reading
Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher. The most recent Dresden Files novel. This series about Chicago PI and wizard Harry Dresden continues to be enjoyable, funny, and unpredictible. Definitely recommended.
Danse Macabre by Laurell K. Hamilton. The most recent Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, novel was ok. The bit about unpredictible being good re: the Dresden Files? The Anita Blake books are seeming awfully predictible these days. I ripped through the book, but I can’t say that I really enjoyed it.
The Ritual Bath by Faye Kellerman. Kristi recommended this book so highly a few weeks ago that I had to check it out. This is the first book in a series about LAPD Detective Peter Decker and Jewish widow Rina Lazarus and I already have the next book on my library list. For a more eloquent review, head on over and read Kristi’s.
China Trade by S.J. Rozan. MrsPao recommended this book to me and I’m very glad she did! Another enjoyable read that’s also the first book in a series about PI Lydia Chin, based out of NY’s Chinatown, and fellow PI Bill Smith.

I did a few things besides read this weekend. I knit – I’m now on the borders of my Moderne Log Cabin Baby Blanket! I did a tiny amount of catsitting. I touched up some dyed yarn. I rode my exercise bike and watched it rain outside. I walked around my neighborhood on Monday when the sun came out and took a few pictures. I played with the Chaos Kitty. I contemplated getting him a little sister… but maybe that should wait until after my epic vacation this fall. Anyway!

The sky was so dreary on Saturday and Sunday, I wasn’t tempted to get my camera out. But on Labor Day, I was. So here’s my Saturday Sunday Monday sky.

Last week I mentioned that I was saving the pictures of my dyed yarn and fun stuff from Deb until this week. Here’s the nifty keychain sock blocker and skein of Online Supersocke from Deb. Thanks, Deb! I hadn’t even seen the Supersocke before and that keychain is amazingly cute! Must knit minisock for minisock blocker…

“Hee hee – you think you’re going to knit a teeny little sock like that and keep it out of my clutches?! Don’t you remember the miniskein?”

I dyed more than one skein of yarn, but the self-striping hot pink and black not only defies photos, it’s also drying again – I had to redye the black because it was blotchy after the first time around. I think the skein below is my favorite so far of the skeins I’ve dyed, but I just couldn’t capture the colors. This is the best that I managed, but the colors are more intense in reality:

“You can drop that yarn, Mom. I promise nothing bad will happen to it…”

I also picked up some Silk Garden DK, inspired by Julia’s gorgeous socks.

“Um, excuse me? You put this on my why?! And you expect me to not rip it to bits?!! Hmph.”
Contests, Dyeing, Reading

Frantic Friday Finale

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Domesticat is having a contest to celebrate her second year of knitting and that she and Duck are moving. All you have to do is send email or leave a comment with your guess as to where she and Duck are moving before 8 pm EST, September 4.

Cookie (yes, that Cookie) of Knitters Anonymous is having a contest. Entries must be submitted by 11:59 pm PDT, September 10.

Final SRP Update
Although this is it for SRP, I will continue to log what I read, as I’m definitely enjoying that. I must admit that I didn’t read a single blog Thursday night – I went home and knitted on my Regia silk sock and read and read and read…

Charmed and Dangerous by Candace Havens, 261 pages. Fluffy light chick lit mixed with a spot of magic, as witch Bronwyn protects a prime minister and a shiek from magical attacks. I enjoyed it and will be reading the other books in the series.
Blue Screen by Robert B. Parker, 306 pages. The fifth Sunny Randall mystery intersects with another Parker series, which I haven’t read, about Jesse Stone. I don’t like Parker’s Spenser mysteries, but I definitely enjoy the sexy, hardboiled Sunny Randall stuff.
The Dreaming Place by Charles de Lint, 138 pages. One of de Lint’s early books about Newford, this teen novel (and this specific copy) is the first or second de Lint novel I ever read.

Last Saturday, Deb and Jeanne and I got together to dye some more yarn at Casa de Deb. Deb has some pictures up already – that first one so flatteringly features my baggy shorts and saddlebags, heh. (No pictures of the yarn I dyed or of the thoughtful goodies Deb gave us for braving the drive west – should we tell her we don’t mind the drive or not?! Anyway, pictures and details on all that stuff next week. I can feel the anticipation from here.)

As Deb notes, Jeanne is very serious when she dyes yarn.

Although Deb’s pretty darn serious, too…

And we all puzzled over what this dye was up to – can you see the strange aggregates forming on the yarn?! If one of you more experienced dyers could shed some light on that mystery, it would be much appreciated. I believe the color in question was Ripe Tomato (Country Classics).

What dyeing event is complete without noshing? (Hmm, I just noticed that the chips and wine were almost gone, but there were still plenty of vegetables left.)

And I stalked Deb’s cat Tig for a while, until he ran away at the sight of me with the camera. (But don’t you just love Tig’s curly whiskers?!)

“Mommy?! Help me!! Your friend is weird. She follwed me under the dining room table with that camera!”

Chaos didn’t appear thrilled about sharing blog space with another boy cat…

“Hmph. You’re going to push me too far, Mom. I’m warning you…….”
Alongs, Contests

O is for…

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Hold that thought for a minute, because first – Lisa of Black Sheep is having a contest: if you pledge in support of her son Brett’s MS 150 bike ride, you’ll be entered in a drawing for something fun.

Some of you might remember that I skipped O in the ABC-Along and I’ve fallen terribly behind – I should be on R, but I haven’t done Q (or O) yet. So, let me present…

O is for Oddity. This ever-so-Odd “knitting machine” is something I found at the thrift store a few years ago and was forced to buy – I sure couldn’t resist the hyperbole:

The KNITTING MACHINE: Knitting! Made fast, easy & beautiful! No knitting experience needed! Knit GRANNY CIRCLES in seconds! Create afghans, pillows, purses and shawls incredibly fast! Patterns for 24 projects included! As seen on TV! Full 1 year warranty!

Wow! Of course, if using this machine means that my living room is going to look like the one pictured on the box and booklet……. Chaos seems pretty skeptical, doesn’t he? (I highly recommend clicking on these pictures to get the full effect from the larger versions.)

“I think you’ve reached a new low here, Mom…”

“Yikes!”

Hmm, you can see why he was startled, can’t you?! Here’s the machine (made of lovely and sturdy plastic), the project booklet, and a somewhat alarming looking project that the previous owner left in the box. After consulting the booklet, I believe that’s “Peter Pinworm” – I’ll wait while you wipe coffee and Cap’n Crunch off your monitors…

Here’s a page from the booklet, explaining how to knit a “puff” (aka a “knitted granny square,” albeit not square). I’ve always wondered if I could use this thing for making the ever-do-tedious felted bag handles, but based on the warnings, I would have to be very careful with worsted weight yarn… unless it was Orlon. Ewww! I don’t think they make Orlon yarn anymore, do they?! And that’s a good thing…

Contests, Randonymity, Reading

This one’s for Marina, who has been ever so patient

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SRP Update
Ok, somehow I didn’t realize SRP ended on Thurday (August 31) and not on Labor Day. D’oh!
Repair To Her Grave by Sarah Graves, 291 pages. Yet another Home Repair Is Homicide Mystery. I might have finished them all now. Or maybe I have one left. Hmm.

Janelle of Eclectic Closet is having a reading-related contest. Leave a comment before September 15 to enter.

I won a contest! It was a surprise contest – apparently I made Valerie’s 100th comment, so she sent me a wonderfully thoughtful package – it’s almost eerie how well she knows me. Check out the purple and black tissue paper and the crazy cat lady card! 😉

A skein of lovely purple Sugar’n’Cream (although, since Valerie suggested it was for a dishcloth and not a bib, I now suspect she’s yet another of y’all on Chaos’ payroll) and some very cool pen bookmarks. Thank you, Valerie!

Ok, poor Marina has been reading for months, waiting for the answer to a question I posed back in January, when I posted this picture and asked if anyone could figure out what was going on here. The cats in question are Chaos’ mom Riley (black) and his brother Diablo (white), taken at my brother’s house last summer – and nope, my brother wasn’t trying to make pressed cats.

These naughty cats jumped between the screen and the glass on the breezeway. The first few times they did it, they were able to push out the screen and escape the house. However, in this picture, they have just discovered that my brother cat-proofed the screens from outside with blocks of wood. These cats are very trapped.

Here’s the the little wooden ledge that my brother had to build to keep the cats from jumping down between the screens:

Sorry you had to suffer through so much purple for that, Marina!

I’m not sure Chaos remembers he has family…

“Just feed me, dammit, and be quick about it! The service in this place is abysmal.”
Contests, Festing, Reading

Picnicking

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I had a busy (for me) weekend. I’ll talk about Saturday tomorrow (maybe the yarn will be dry by then!). So on to Sunday, when I met lots of bloggers at the Twin Cities Knitters’ Picnic. Tragically, in my efforts to contain my “cargo” to my tiny bicycle bag, I remembered my knitting but forgot my camera… Whoops. Um, so just imagine 25 or so knitters, sitting around on blankets under a tree in the Lake Harriet Rose Garden, knitting and eating and talking and laughing.

Here are the knitbloggers I met:

Kelle of Knits and Giggles
KnittyMama (I met KnittyBaby! And Little Man! And the Husband Who Has No Blog Nickname Yet!)
Christy of Purling Away, owner of the Minnesota Knitters webring (Christy took pictures!)
A new resident of Minnesota, Moraie Knitting (tragically welcomed by the evil hailstorm of last week)
Rina of Rahardjo Knits (Rina took pictures!)
Nancy of Clicking Sticks
Catherine of Yogurt and Granola
Melissa of HyveTyrant
Rebecca of Onspock
Tipper of Daily Fiber Therapy

Hopefully I didn’t miss anybody!

SRP Update
Tool and Die (323 pages) and Nail Biter (260 pages) by Sarah Graves. The two most recent Home Repair Is Homicide mysteries – with a very startling development in Nail Biter! I sure didn’t see that coming…

Jerry is having a contest to test her Random Knitting Theory #1. Deadline is Friday, September 1.

Here’s my entry for the contest: I knit continental, sometimes combination and sometimes using Norwegian purling, depending on the situation. Oh yeah, and it’s awfully hard to take pictures of your own hands!

Chaos could not be reached for comment on today’s blog post.

“….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….”