Saturday, April 26, 2008

We have a winner!


Christy Hawkes won the knitty mysteries. Thanks to everyone who entered.

Cindi

Monday, April 21, 2008

Distractions

Here are some of the reasons why I haven't been getting much knitting done lately. I was setting up a photo of the current project on the needles. A puppy squeaked, and of course I had to go see why. Just because they're so cute. And sweet. And soft.

So I set the knitting down AWAY from the puppies and rescued the one who'd wriggled out of the dog bed. They all woke up. They all heard me. It's amazing how fast they can scoot. I rescued the yarn before they could do too much damage or the needles could hurt one of them.

The project - a neck cozy from Patternworks, free with purchase of a skein of Koigu Premium Merino. If it works out, I plan to make lots of them. The older I get, the more careful I have to be about keeping my neck muscles warm. This nifty little neck cozy is just what I need when a regular neck scarf's too bulky or too warm. The pattern is simple, the yarn's awesome and knits so smoothly without splitting.

I'm taking this and an extra skein to a writers retreat this weekend. With luck, I'll come back with two finished neck cozies. That means a warm neck, protected from the breeze, in those early morning gardening sessions. Warm neck, less neck pain, more time at the keyboard, more writing. It's a win-win situation.

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Sock Yarn Winner!

Well, I can't upload the pic of the sock yarn again so you'll have to scroll down a couple posts to see it, but - ta da! - the winner is:

JILL E. JOHNSON

Congratulations, Jill! If you'll send me your mailing addy, I'll send you the Cascade sock yarn.

Now I've kept the names of everyone who entered this contest because my LYS owner called and said she's got a bag of sock yarn for me if I'll come and get it. She didn't say how big the bag was or how many pairs could come out of it but I'll get down there and get it sometime this week or early next and I may be pulling some more names out of the hat when I do.

Fran

P.S. Cool present, Cindi! Those look like books I'd enjoy. Which means a trip to the bookstore, too.

Book Giveaway


Since this is a blog of writers who knit, I thought it would be fun to give away fiction that relates to knitting. I have the first three volumes in the fun Knitting Mystery series by my friend Maggie Sefton. These are new, signed copies. The books are set in Colorado and center around an LYS. Each book contains a free pattern. If you'd like to win these books, send your name and address to me at CMyersTex@aol.com. Be sure to put Contest in the subject line of your email.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Sock It To You!

This Cascade Fixation sock yarn was too good to pass up. Not only was it a steal (I got it out of the sale basket at my LYS), it encompassed some of my favorite spring colors: new grass green, lilac, and peony pink.

So here's what I did. I bought two balls for one of you and two balls for me.

I'll draw a name for the yarn on Monday, April 21, so if you're interested, send an email to Fran AT FranBaker DOT com and put Cascade in the subject line.

Good luck!

Fran

P.S. The yarn is 98.3% cotton and 1.7% elastic.

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Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Full disclosure: This has nothing to do with knitting



In spring, a middle-aged woman's thoughts turn to...THE HOCKEY PLAYOFFS!!!!

Yes, that's me with my "cheer towel" (you wave it around to encourage your team and it sheds white fuzzies everywhere) at Game 1 of the playoffs. Alas, my beloved but offensively challenged Devils were defeated by the New York Rangers 4-1. But it's only the first game of a "best of seven" series so there's plenty more action to come.


Here the Devils take the ice.


The world's greatest goalie Martin Brodeur watching the action at the other end of the rink.


Your basic hockey scrum.


The best the scoreboard looked all night: tied 1-1 at the end of the second period.

I know there are other hockey fans on this blog. So who are you rooting for this spring?

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Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Spring Has Sprung!

At least I thought I heard the "boing, boing, boing" when my pretty pansies started blooming. And I could swear I smelled that wonderful smoke-y aroma that says someone's fired up the grill for a cook-out. Even my daffodils, lily of the valley and crocuses were poking up out of the ground.




Then Mother Nature - bad girl! - decided she wasn't quite through with us and tossed some more snow our way. Not a lot of snow, as you can see in the picture, but just enough to let us know that this endless winter hadn't ended.


So what's an antsy, angsty gardener to do when she can't get outside? Besides read seed catalogs and the "Grow" section of the newspaper - and work on her new book, of course. She knits some socks, that's what! I can't remember if I already posted this picture, which I took a while back, but here's my latest pair of socks.

I also knitted a kind of cross between a tote and a purse and felted it but I haven't been able to get my camera to work properly yesterday or today so I can show it to you. Which is a real shame because I've got a great "Spring Has Sprung" prize I'm going to put up as soon as the silly thing starts working again.

What's happening weatherwise where you are? Sleet, snow, sunshine? And what are you planning to make to celebrate spring?

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