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Monday, February 16, 2009

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

14 comments:

  1. I just have to comment on the entry way problem and all the hats. I finally bought one of those over the door shoe holders. (here is a link: http://www.hangercity.com/12pashhoovdo.html) It has plastic see-through pockets and it is made to hold shoes, However, it is a great holder of mittens and gloves and scarves and sunglasses and they can easily see what is in each pocket. It has made my life so much easier.

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  2. Hi Mortensens,
    Good idea! Thanks for the link.
    susan

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  3. Hi Susan,

    Thank you so much for running the contest and drawing my name! I never win anything and I almost fell off of my desk chair when I saw that I was the winner. Also, thanks for designing the cute patterns. I sent off two heart washcloths of cotton chenille to my daughter and her room-mate in St. Louis. Now I have to decide who will get the shamrocks. Thanks again!
    Judy

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  4. Love all the hats. I keep collecting them as well. I know I've seen the pattern for the bottom hat but just can't think of the name of it (the green and blue one with the squares? circle?). Just wondering if you could refresh my memory?

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  5. Jfibers,
    That hat is on Knitty and without looking I think it is called Center Square. I hope that it correct. It was the cover shot for the winter issue a couple of years ago.
    It is a super fun knit, I have made a few of them.
    susan

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  6. HI SUSAN !!!!

    HAPPY MONDAY !!!!
    I SURE AM "HOPPING" THAT CUTE BUNNY PATTERN IS COMING OUR WAY SOON !!!!! I LOVE IT :0)

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  7. Dear Susan,

    I am so impressed with your daughters talent. She is a delightful graphic artist. I think her Fairies need to be in one of your books. Please choose an art school that will nurture her personal independent creative view. I'm serious she has real talent! Love the quirkiness of it. So cute.

    On another note, which yarn did you use for those striped hats?

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  8. I want one of the fairy houses for my garden!

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  9. Hi Sandy,
    The stripey hats are done in Manos del Uruguay wool and the pattern is the Stripey Stocking Hat in Itty-Bitty Hats. The largest size in the book fits my older kids.

    I would love for The Collector to go to an art school then I could live vicariously through her: )
    susan

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  10. I am so impressed with the 'Collector's' Fairy Book! What a wonderful and beautiful idea. I can see that her talent does not fall far from the tree. Those are great drawings...geez, they are beautiful!

    I love the rainbow socks, thanks for the mini tutoring on how many you cast on and knitted. I'll have to put those on the back burner. I am totally reorganizing my crafting space! It's a huge job, but already I'm making lots of progress. I hope to post picture's of the before's and after's on my blog once I'm done. I organized ALL of my yarn stash and now I know what I have ....A LOT! Now I'm onto purging my books and other non-essentials! I have a vision and I won't stop until I've reached it! Happy Knitting!

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  11. Those fairies are adorable, and the fairy house is awesome! What a fun hobby!

    And that salmon-colored hat with cables is so cute!

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  12. I love the Collectors drawings! When we were girls we used to draw a template page for drawing dolls. We had Hairstyles at the Top, Eyes below, Dresses, shoes, lips, etc, and then our friends would get to take the sheet and pick out their favorites and we would draw them for them, mix-and-match. Made the 3rd & 4th grade more fun! Do you (you must) have the book Fairy Houses from Monhegan Island? We spend a lot of time in Maine and I started my son off on his Fairy Houses very young :).

    Love the hats. I have dreams of a basket overflowing with handknit mittens, and one in a guestroom with sleep socks (is that gross?).

    Fun post!

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  13. Many nice things :-)
    Greetings from Norway :-)

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  14. I love that pile of hats - it seems that just in the last 6 months I have knit about a dozen hats, and most of them live in our home still, my 3 year old loves to pick which one he wears. I hope someday that we can loan them out to friends too!
    Melissa

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