Wendy’s giving away a copy of The Splendid Table’s How To Eat Supper. To be included in the random drawing, leave her a comment (before May 15, 5 pm EDT) with an easy and healthy recipe.

Jane’s having a contest – she’s about to become a Mac owner for the first time ever. By May 15, leave her a comment giving her your favorite Mac tips if you have any, or tell her why you think she’s making a good/bad choice.

Sarah’s giving away a copy of Shear Spirit: Ten Fiber Farms, Twenty Patterns, and Miles of Yarn. To be included in the random drawing on May 17, leave her a comment with a link to your favorite sock pattern if you’re a knitter or include your favorite recipe if you’re not a knitter.

Are you a list maker? If so, check out Listography, where you can build your own personal database of lists.

Who knew Chaos was moonlighting at lolcats?! 😉 And how cute (and accurate) is this one?!

Knitting Update
The Radioactive Panda (Cotton) Socks are done!

“Ow! My eyes! My eyes!” -Chaos

Hmm, you can’t really see the second sock in that picture, can you? Is this better?

See that little bit of fluff on the floor between the socks? That’s all the yarn I had left over – less than a foot. I had to rip out my bindoff on one sock and start binding off 1/2 round sooner so I wouldn’t run out of yarn. In addition to my other complaints about Panda Cotton, please add “pathetic yardage.” Here’s a closeup of the “extra” yarn:

Marsha’s having her final of three birthday contests. Leave her a comment about your favorite knitted object and you could win yarn, a giant blue IKEA bag, and a tasty treat. Leave your comment by May 7.

Cathy’s celebrating her blogiversary with a contest/raffle. Every $5 you donate to Doctors Without Borders, Knitters For Knockers, or The House That Yarn Built between now and midnight CDT, May 11, gets you a chance to win some great prizes, including Socks That Rock, Wollmeise, Twisted Fiber Arts yarn, and more.

Trek’s collecting box tops as part of a fundraiser for the Neatnik’s school and is having a contest to encourage people to send her more box tops. You have until August 1 to collect the box tops. One random box top collector will be selected to win a $25 Amazon gift certificate.

Knitting Update
Brace yourselves – I’m not knitting a sock or a bib, nor am I knitting with purple or black. (Can someone help Marina up off the floor and make sure she’s ok? Thanks!)

I’m knitting a dodecahedron (Celestine). It isn’t much to look at yet, as I’ve only completed eight of the 12 points, plus I will need to stuff it. The yarn is Regia Crazy Color 6-Ply and I think its random nature is perfect for this project.

I did attempt to get some modeled shots… The first is of Celestine mid-fall.

“Why the heck would I want to model an unfinished dodecahedron, anyway?! It’s a toy, not a hat.” -Chaos

“Did someone say toy?!” -Mayhem

If so, then I guess it’s spring. 🙂

Take a questionnaire about creativity for a research project that Eve is doing, and you could win one of four $25 Amazon gift certificates. Contest ends May 15.

Looking for an adorable new kitten? Live in central Minnesota? Limedragon has info about a kitten that her aunt recently rescued.

Apparently Mayhem isn’t the only one who’s inspired to acrobatics by flying toys – Deb’s black kitty Sammy sure seems to be enjoying her new toy, doesn’t she?

Over the weekend, I finished that mysterious item I was knitting. Not surprisingly, it was a pair of socks. 🙂 The pattern was my variant of Rebecca’s Spirited Socks pattern, using an early and experimental test dyeing of her Black Beauty colorway. I knit one sock from each end of the ball of yarn.

“Hey, it was past time for a new cat bed around here. Cool.” -Mayhem

“Oh no – a mussed spot on my leg! Nobody look, please!! The shame…” -Mayhem

What? You couldn’t get a good look at the socks?! Ok…

…but with our warmer weather (nearly 70F) yesterday, we also had wind advisories and winds gusting to 40 mph! Still no green in my neighborhood.

*sniff* Please keep the Craftylilly family in your thoughts – their beloved kitty, Wiji, fell and was severely injured yesterday and now is no longer with them. 🙁

V’s been very busy and hasn’t blogged much in recent memory, so to entice people back, she’s having a contest. Guess what she named her Webkinz (by 9 pm EDT, April 17) and you could win a kit for an adorable hat.

What sort of crazy, completely over-the-top thing would the Best Aunt Ever be doing for an incipient nephliece? Share your ideas with Michaele by midnight MDT, May 1, and you could win a puking animal creamer or other wondrous prizes! You can enter as many times as you’d like, and the contest is not limited to knitters. (This should give you an idea of just how far Michaele is willing to go, knitwise, to be the Best Aunt Ever.)

And really, I am knitting! I actually have two projects nearly done. Here’s a tease for one:

Yes, I do know it’s black and purple, Marina. 😛

Oh oh – obviously some of you made eye contact with May yesterday…

“Still waiting… Your feeble ‘behind-the-screen’ excuses are pathetic. I grow displeased.” -Mayhem

Grumperina’s giving away two skeins of the Lorna’s Laces Grumperina colorway – leave her a comment before 11:59 pm EDT, April 8 (aka today), to be included in the drawing.

Check out the Third Annual Movie-Plot Threat Contest. Entries are due by May 1. Last year’s winner got a $50 Amazon gift certificate and signed copies of Bruce Schneier’s books

Kmkat nicely sums up my feelings about the brief bout of snow we had yesterday morning. Hmph.

Knitting Update
On Sunday, I finished a pair of socks you didn’t know I was knitting. 🙂 These were started March 11. The pattern is Elegance, from Sockamania. The yarn is ALWO Strumpfwolle, which I begged off of Jane after she decided she didn’t like the colorway (06). Jane, how many stitches were you using when it was pooling like that?! I really like the effect I got at 72 stitches on 2mm needles (around 8 stitches/inch).

“Mayhem!! I’m trying to take pictures of my socks! Not the time or place for a bath!” -me

*groom groom groom* -Mayhem

“Sheesh, simmer down there, Mom. Um… you aren’t going to use that picture, right?” -Mayhem

“Hee hee hee. Of course not, sweetie. Hee hee hee.” -me

It’s Wendy’s 6th blogiversary and she’s having a WendyKnits trivia contest. First prize is a $50 gift certificate to the Loopy Ewe! Deadline to enter is noon EDT, April 3.

Knitnzu is having a snow melt contest – guess when the monstrous pile of snow will finish melting and you could win yarn. Leave your guesses by April 4, 6 pm EDT.

My KnitPicks Options needle case arrived from Zonda! I also had her make me a sock knitting bag from the same fabric. I absolutely adore both.

“Can’t… quite… reach… itchy spot.” -Chaos

“It sure was nice of Mom to get us this brand new kitty bed, wasn’t it, big kitty? Is this a pillow over here?” -Mayhem

“Dum dee dum dee dum… Maybe if I ignore the itchy spot, it will stop itching… Did you say something, May?” -Chaos

“I was just wondering if this was a pillow or what.” -Mayhem

“Um, May? You’re a cat. You don’t need a pillow. Suck it up and be tough like me! Cursed itchy spot. Where’s Mom when you need her?” -Chaos

“Well, that sent May off in a huff, didn’t it? Oh, what do we have over here?” -Chaos

“Cool! This comes with a nifty purple cat toy! Purple’s my second favorite color, you know. Hey, I don’t feel itchy anymore!” -Chaos

Oh oh – gotta go and rescue that cable!