Sock It To You! (Contest)

I've got four balls of Paton's sock yarn to give away. Two are Plum and the other two are Licorice. I'll draw two winners (one for the Plum and one for the Licorice) next Tuesday - the day after Labor Day. To enter, send an email with Sock Yarn in the subject line to

Fran at FranBaker dot com.

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.

Making It Up As I Go Along

Call me crazy. You wouldn't be the first. Or call me a writer. Someone who makes it up as she goes along.

Whatever, I've designed a pattern and am going to knit it up with the James C. Brett black and white and gray Marble yarn pictured on the right. It's 100% acrylic (I'm allergic to wool) and there's 240 yards to the ball. Since I figure I'll need about 1,600-1,700 yards, I bought 7 balls for a total of 1,680 yards.

Here's the deal: I couldn't find a pattern and yarn that went together the way I wanted them to. Originally, I was going to make the Marble Cardigan. I ordered some of the Patches yarn for it but found it didn't quite look right. Didn't feel right, either, because it had wool in it. So I sent the Patches back (minus the one ball that it had taken for me to figure out it wasn't going to work) and decided what I really wanted to make was a cuff-to-cuff cardigan. Then I got to doodling around and decided I could design the pattern myself.

We'll see ... right? I'm going to knit the sleeves from cuff to underarm on the same circular at the same time. Then I'll put each sleeve on its own circular, increase for the body, decrease a little for the neck and do a three-needle bind-off in the center back. If you'd like, I'll throw up a picture now and then as I progress so you can see if I can really do this as well.

Oh, and while I'm here: I'll be giving away some sock yarn too this coming month.

So what's on your needles now?

Yarnapalooza Winner #18

Three cheers for New Zealand Kim, our Yarnapalooza Winner #18! (It's winter in New Zealand and I'm deeply envious.)

The photo is actually a postcard ("Real" postcards were popular in the first decade or so of the 20th century--the "real" refers to the fact that the postcard is an actual photograph.) You're looking at my paternal great grandparents, my grandmother El, her brother Cass, and somebody named Ben. There was another daughter but my Great Grandfather Charles "sold" her to a childless relative for the money to escape from Litherland Park (Liverpool) to New Zealand. He had run a successful family butcher shop then apparently run afoul of someone for some reason (I've been told he had [how shall I say this??] a wandering eye . . . ) and needed to get out of Dodge. So to speak.

I believe they lived in that house on Ponsonby Road in Auckland from approximately 1904 until 1918 or thereabouts when they sailed back to England and then from England to the United States. One of the many incredible stories my grandmother told me about New Zealand (a place she loved with her entire heart) was the one about the earthquake that rattled their house on the hill while they were clearing dinner dishes from the table. My grandmother went sailing across the room and suffered a major gash in her forearm.

Not much knitting content, I'm afraid, but when I saw the Kim was from New Zealand my mind started to wander . . .

Yarnapalooza Winner #16

My second favorite crochet hook, a beautiful Brittany Birch. (My favorite crochet hook is a white plastic N of unknown origin.

Congratulations to a very good friend of mine, Peggy Jaegly, our Yarnapalooza Winner #16! PJ, I actually let out a little shriek when I tracked down Random Number Generator #103 and your name popped up! PJ is a knitter/writer/harpist/all around good person. We met many years ago when we were both new to central NJ and have been friends ever since. PJ lives in Maryland now but what's a few miles between friends?

Goldisox and I had our regular Monday date. We headed down to Cape May but ended up in Atlantic City instead where we enjoyed a free buffet at Harrah's and shamelessly people-watched. I actually saw a man with French-manicured toenails. He carried a floral totebag and wore pale peach-colored shorts. Those three facts almost overpowered the fact that he was staggeringly handsome. Clearly unavailable but movie star gorgeous. (Further strange observations on my other blog.) (Contests there too!)

I worked on my Outback Mohair Scraps Shawl all the way down and back up again. We listened to 1) the end of Bill Bryson's I'm A Stranger Here Myself and 2) the beginning of the first Stephanie Plum One For The Money.

A good time was had by all.

BREAKING NEWS: Central NJ Mountain Range Adds a Small Hill

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The mysterious mountain range that appeared in central NJ north of Princeton increased today by one small hill. To add to the strange nature of this geological anomaly, the hill is already populated with pricey homes with names like Socks That Rock, Lisa Souza, and Spunky Eclectic. A small elephant was seen attempting to scale the heights.

A middle-aged red-haired woman, who goes by her Chippewa name She Who Needs To Get Back To Work, was found unconscious at the base of the hill, clutching a half-finished Step sock and a badly curled Addi Turbo size 0US.

So far nobody has come forward to identify her. Police are asking for your help. If you know the identity of the anonymous knitter, please contact Knitters Anonymous. Your identity will be protected.

Photograph supplied by NASA.

BREAKING NEWS: Mountain Range Discovered in Central NJ . . . film at 11

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A new mountain range has been discovered seven miles north of Princeton in central New Jersey. Eyewitnesses said that the sudden emergence of a "rainbow-colored series of mountains" snarled traffic between Philadelphia and New York and has led to widespread speculation that this is only the beginning of a major new geological era.

The major peak is currently flanked by two lesser peaks of equally vivid coloration. A truck driver motoring south on Route 206 claimed he saw sock-shaped clouds and the words "Surrender Barbara" in the skies over Somerset County but that remains unconfirmed.

NASA claims sightings of new and larger ranges in Oregon. Details as they emerge.


















Aerial photos courtesy of NASA

Something's Gotta Give!

I don't know if any of you have noticed, but I've been absent of late. Partly because I've been writing - I actually finished two chapters of my new book these past couple weeks. And partly because I've had a month of Friday the 13ths ... and it's only April 19th! IOW, everything that can go wrong, has. I'm talking peoples' health (not mine, thank you very much), accidents (again, not me) and just general, everyday old craziness.

One evening while I was sitting in my office sorting through some of the week's emails and business correspondence that I'd ignored while writing, I glanced out my window and saw this breathtaking sunset. I grabbed my cell phone/camera and took a chance on capturing it for you. The photo I've uploaded is pretty but still doesn't do the colors of the sky justice. However, there was something so peaceful and soothing about this scene that it helped me realize that ... something's got to give!

So here's what's giving. Me. To one of you. I've got these three skeins of Panda Cotton sock yarn, two (matching) in every shade of green you can imagine and one in a coordinating bright green that I'd planned to use for the heels and toes of the socks that will not now be knit by me. (Don't cry for me, though ... I'm getting ready to knit a one-piece shrug/sweater that I've been dying to get to work on. And, of course, I've got my book to write, write, write.)

Here's the deal. I'm leaving town on Friday, the 20th and will be back on Tuesday, the 24th. That gives you five days to post your bid for this FREE yarn before I throw all the entrants' names in a hat and let my DH draw one. I'll pull a name out of the hat on Tuesday night and post the winner in a new post.

Good night and good luck. (Won't say goodbye, because that's bad luck.)

STASHBUSTER GIVEAWAY: Because it's Tuesday, that's why

I'm tired. I'm cranky. I'm suffering from Deadline Psychosis and Cabin Fever which means Goldisox is busy hiding all the sharp objects.

Yarn, however, isn't sharp. It's soft. It's cuddly. It can be manipulated into a great pair of socks.

You know the drill. Stake your claim in Comments and I'll pick a randomly generated winner on Friday.

BTW: Aruni and mizmikie, your wins are still awaiting snail mail addresses.

3 skeins of ELANN SOCK IT TO ME Essential 4 Ply (enough to make a lavish pair of socks with some left over)

50 grams - 230 yards per skein

Made in Italy

A rich vibrant blue #7318

Don't be shy!

STASHBUSTER GIVEAWAY: because it's still Tuesday

What I said before.

3 skeins of Elann SOCK IT TO ME Collection Essential 4 Ply in a lovely cream color.

You know the drill!

ATTENTION ARUNI AND MIZMIKIE: YOU ARE WINNERS!

<==Sister Mary Dominic used to whack the desk with a metal ruler to get the girls' attention but I've found this to be much more effective.


ATTENTION: MIZMIKIE AND ARUNI

You are both sock yarn winners! Please email me your snail mail addresses and I'll pop your prizes into the mail.

Congratulations!