Shamrock Yarn Winner and some other fun stuff

Hi Knitters,

Today's the day to find out who won the Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille, 2 skeins, to make the Shamrock Washcloth. The winner is:

Judy Resop!

Congratulations, Judy! I will email Susan Druding, the owner of Crystal Palace Yarns, your mailing address and she will send off your yarn. That was easy, right? Thank you all for entering and purchasing the pattern. There is still plenty of time to knit up some fun Shamrocks before St. Patrick's Day, a full month actually. There are going to be more yarn giveaways coming up so stay tuned.

Now, maybe you noticed the shamrock soap on the washcloth above. I was thrilled to find this soap here. It has a minty fresh scent and it looks so cute with the washcloth. The store has an online shop with full delivery service if you are interested.
The Collector has been busy at work on her fairy notebook. This is an ongoing project. She is determined to fill the entire notebook with her fairy drawings. She comes up with her own original fairy designs, complete with fairy garb and names. It is so fun. Let's take a peek inside to see a few of her creations.
Fairy Clarice, love her crown.
Fairy Oliva, love her hair.
Fairy Autumn, love her pumpkin colored dress.

I think she has close to 50 fairies drawn out so far. I love the ongoing project that has been continuing on for almost a year now. She doesn't lose any steam on her fairy love. It grows bigger and bigger. She is saving her money and doing chores for money to buy an enormous outdoor fairy house. It is a long-term goal for sure. What's really cute is that her little neighbor friend is saving with her to buy it together. Her friend came over last night with her wallet and they spread out their money and counted it. They have a long way to go but I can see their little heads churning with the possibilities. It's so sweet.
I don't lose any steam on my rainbow love either. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I continue on and on with rainbows everywhere I turn. I used some of the Noro Kureyon sock yarn in my upcoming book but I hadn't knit any socks with it yet. I had this ball just sitting around and I grabbed it this weekend to start a pair of simple stockinette stitch socks. I went to a long swim meet on Saturday and I thought I would knit my way through the meet. However, I did not knit one stitch during the meet. It was extremely hot and crowded and mainly it was extremely exciting to watch. I also just love watching those kids on the high school team swim. They are all amazing. Both of my boys are on the team.

Anyhoo, I stitched away at other times during the weekend and I have to say, the Noro sock yarn is fantastic. I always love the Noro striping, can't ever get enough. It is a fingering weight, I am using a US size 2 needle at about 7 stitches per inch. It is working up in a nice dense fabric, perfect for socks. I have read varying reviews on this yarn but I love it and will use it again. It's just plain fun. I can't wait to wear these socks.

I bought my yarn here and it is #182 and they have a lot in stock right now. One ball has 420 meters, plenty for a pair of socks. I did a 64 stitch cast on, k2, p2 rib for 8 rounds and then did a 6-inch stockinette stitch cuff before starting the heel flap. (I know someone will write me and ask so I thought I would just include it here: )
I was straightening up my front entryway this morning, don't even ask. We have a tornado in there every day. I can't keep up. We don't even have enough room for all of the kids' stuff so I can't get mad at them about it. We do our best with what we've got.

While straightening up I gathered this cool stack of 6 handknit hats and I thought you might like to see it. I think I have knit easily over a dozen hats, maybe even 2 dozen, over the last couple of years just for the family. There is always a big stack to chose from by the door. The kids even loan them out to friends as they head out the door to play or sled. I love that.

Okay, Monday Knitters, let's make it a good week ahead. Knit on. I'll be back soon.

best, susie