Heeeeere's Janet!

Barbara's done a terrific job of introducing me, and I'm excited to be here, among people with exactly the same interests as me. I've been looking at the knitting projects you've shared, and I'm humbled beyond belief--and inspired to work beyond my usual scarves, hats, mittens, and bags.

There's no yarn store where I live, so I live for out-of-town shopping extravaganzas to yarn shops. And I do have a full-blown Malabrigo thing going, which creates a supply-demand problem. No supply, but I demand. So I travel. For yarn. Ah. I knew you'd understand.

I was checking the Malabrigo site last night and found the totally coolest thing ever. First some background: I go by the name Jaen on some writing sites, mainly because I'm a klutzoid typist and I tend to type my name as either Jaent or Jaen, so I just went with Jaen.

Then I saw a copy of my geneology and found out I have an ancestor named Jaen!

That's cool, but not nearly as cool as this: Malabrigo Yarn

I can't get the picture to paste in here, but if you scroll down to the "Variegated" section.... YES! YES! They named a yarn after me! YES!

Okay, maybe it's not named after me, but it could be. My living room is decorated in baskets filled with Malabrigo, some on needles, some just waiting.

I hope to meet many of you in San Francisco this year at RWA!

Thank you so much for letting me part of this group!

Please welcome JANET SPAETH

Let's just say I know a good writing knitter/knitting writer when I meet one.
I am delighted that Janet Spaeth has agreed to join us here at Romancing the Yarn. She'll be along soon to introduce herself but let me give you a preview.

Janet is a three-time GH finalist who found success at Barbour. She's published three novels with Heartsong Presents (a division of Barbour) with three more in the pipeline, and seven novellas for Barbour Publishing. She's also written for Woman's World (me too, Janet) and a scholarly study of Laura Ingalls Wilder's writing. (I'm copying and pasting so I hope I have it right.)

Nancy, you'll appreciate this: Janet is also battling a serious Malabrigo addiction, an addiction that threatens her daughter! Oh no!!!

Here's is how Janet put it, "I love the feeling of the yarn in my hand, and watching it come together into something. I just taught my daughter to knit, and she's also got the Malabrigo sickness. Apparently it's wildly contagious."

Janet maintains a personal blog -- definitely worth a visit.

Welcome, Janet, and get ready to have some fun!

And the winner is...

(Drum roll) STEEL CITY KNITTER with lucky number 12! Congratulations! Email me at nancy@nancyherkness.com with your snail mail address and I'll send you the stunning Malabrigo yarn. Enjoy, enjoy enjoy!

Prize alert: Malabrigo gorgeousness!

I promised you Malabrigo "Molly" but, alas, it was sold out. However, I fell in love with this stunning Malabrigo worsted in "Brisa", a lovely, lovely colorway of lavender, pink, and misty grays. So I bought two skeins of 216 yards each for one lucky winner. Add your comment to this blog and I'll break out the Random Number Generator on Friday and pick the person who gets this beautiful yarn in the mail.

(I saw a funny tee-shirt which said, "The generation of random numbers is too important to be left to chance." Mathematician humor!)

Yarnapalooza Winner #19A

Congratulations to Carol Turner, our Yarnapalooza Winner #19A! Her Opal sock yarn is on its way. (I think it's Petticoat but it's already with the mail carrier so I can't check.)

Our handy-dandy Random Number Generator chose the lucky winner of Nancy's gorgeous Malabrigo. I forwarded the info to Nancy and she'll be posting it here ASAP.

I don't know about you, but I'm having a great time!

The photo is Sea View, the house in Litherland Park, Liverpool, where my grandmother, her sister Edith (Dede), and their brother Charles were born. This is where Dede lived after their father "sold" her vwexteto another family member. They were all reunited when the family returned to England and emigrated together to the U.S. Apparently their grandfather considered himself the lord of the manor and expected all to bow to his wishes. My grandmother said he died in flagrante delicto with the daughter of the local dairy farmer. They also had an aunt they called "Hairy Toes" (yes, it's a sickening image) because she never said anything, just crept noiselessly about the house, eavesdropping and taking notes.

Sounds like a writer, doesn't it??