MY FAVORITE THINGS-A KNITTING HOLIDAY CONTEST!

Sadly, there's been some PC issues that Mike is trying to resolve in his free time so I'm unable to share with you any personal knitting photos. Needless to say, this little detail has given way to a bit of knitting photo posting withdrawal while I await resolution of this temporary inconvenience. The cute mittens photo is courtesy of Picapp and is probably from an advertisement. Love the colors!

Thinking another contest would be a nice antidote to my computer angst, I decided to base it on folks posting a comment naming their FAVORITE KNITTING THINGS!

Just post a comment naming one or more of your favorite knitting things and I will select a random winner from the group on January 2, 2010.

Oh, yes, the prize!

I'm putting together a nice little goodie box that will include a very lovely skein of sock yarn, among other knitting related items! So, why not try your luck?

I 'm including a list of my favorite knitting things that make knitting a joy for me and for which I am extremely grateful!

I tried to limit the list to 12 spots, which was very hard to do.

MY FAVORITE KNITTING THINGS:

1. My Knitting Amigas! Eileen, Jean, Nan, and Roberta, who share the joy and always provide hugs, laughs and inspiration in abundant doses! Also, my not so secret anymore pal, Maggie from Virginia, who I met through the Ample Knitters Digest in 2004(?). If I had never picked up the needles, I would have never blessed with their friendships! Or all those wacky unfinished projects.

1.5. My OLOM Knitting Ministry Members and My NACC Knitting Students. Both old and young folks dedicated to the art of handknitting.

2. My Yarn Room, a containment area that provides some sort of order and sanity to the stash.

2.5. My knitting stash. Beautiful. Diverse. Always singing the sirens song.

3. 40 % off coupons from Michael's, AC Moore, Joanne's, which enable me to stock up on acrylic yarns for my Knitting Ministry projects.

4. Knitting Pattern Central. Let's face it, if you need it quick, it's probably there! No offense, Ravelry, but I tend to take extremely looong trips on your site, verses the express line. Not always able to take the time to take the leisurely browse.

5. My local Barnes and Noble Bookseller for stocking all those great knitting magazines and knitting books that keep the knitting dreams alive!

6. Bethlehem Public Library, for their fabulous selection of new and old knitting books. No more buying the whole book just for one or two great patterns!

7. My home library of knitting books. Nothing beats curling up with a beautifully designed knitting book.

8. Anything Mason-Dixon Knitting Related. Anything at all.

8.5. The Ball Band Washcloth Knitting pattern. Bow your heads when you say this out loud.

9. Local Yarn Shoppes who get all my money and keep me in the knitting poorhouse. You all know who you are and my bank account and I do thank you!

9.5. WEBS and Elann. Lots of yarn bang for the buck!

10. The Feather and Fan Stitch Pattern. Beautiful in any yarn.

11. Noro Kureyon, Silk Garden, Cascade 220, Koigu, Balangor Angora, Patons Classic Wool, Rowan Cashsoft, Plymouth Encore Worsted, and Peaches and Cream Cotton. Sock Yarn. Any kind will do.

12. The many, MANY knitting blogs that provide the inspiration and their bloggers who are kind enough to drop by and comment on whatever I happen to be doing.

So, what are YOUR favorite things?

Hugs to you all, may all your knitting gauge always be spot on and your holidays as joyous as this found video!

THE BLANKET BONANZA CONTEST WINNER IS....

Many thanks to Maggie, Roberta, Timiae, and Pam for the lovely 7x9 inch squares donated to my son, Shaun's, class project-My Brother's Keeper.

The students, at last count, had made or collected more than 88 knit and crocheted squares and gathered at school yesterday to sew them together into 3 blankets. Others worked on quilts and fleece tied fringe blankets. We ate hot dogs, baked Ziti, beef barbeque, killer brownies, cookies, well, you get the picture.

Here are the squares sent last week

My pal, Maggie, donated the pretty green crocheted squares, while the crocheted reideer came from Timiae. I absolutely adored all the squares donated by my old and new friends! The kids really liked all the different squares that were donated to their project and they plan to continue knitting and crocheting the rest of the school year. The moms and dads of the students also helped by joining the the long sewn up square strips into blankets, by crocheting around the outer edges to give the blankets a more finished look. My job was to take those not so nicely squared, more, ahem, geometric, abstract shaped masterpieces and perform an extreme makeover in order to measure 7x9 inches. I'll be working on those for a while. Perhaps I'll post a photo or two so you, Gentle knitter, can see the challenge.

As to the CONTEST WINNER......... Congratulations Roberta!!!! Your name was drawn and you will be receiving your book later this week!

Again, many thanks and hugs to all who so generously gave of their time and talent to this good cause!

LOOKING FOR THE COMFORT OF WARMTH....

This has been the typical view lately from my front door.

Makes one want to remain indoors, roastey-toasty warm, and knitting from the always expanding yarn stash. Einstein would have understood the dynamics of yarn expansion-yarn is not finite.....every knitter knows this universal rule! Think of the energy I am generating through the act of knitting.

The winter chill is slowly leaving us this week but I still look for the comfort of warmth.....
Chicken pot pie offers comfort with, I admit, some unwanted calories, but *substitute skim milk for whole* in the recipe, and NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW. Honest.

Recipe for Chicken Pot Pie

2 Cups leftover cooked chicken

2 ready made pie crusts

1 can mixed vegetables-the ones with the little potato cubes

1 small can of corn

2 cups milk*

4 TBSP flour

salt, pepper, minced onion, parsley

1 egg- for the egg wash on the top crust before baking.

Place one pie crust in Pam sprayed pie plate, and add chicken, vegetables and corn. In a pot combine milk, flour and seasonings, heat and stir until thickened. Pour over pie filling and cover with 2ND pie crust. Seal and crimp edges around the pie. Brush beaten egg over top crust. Bake in oven on 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

Wonderfully warm things came my way this week too!

My dear Wednesday knitting friend, Roberta, generously knitted 5 squares for my son's Blanket Bonanza School Project.

And then... warm comfort arrived in my mail box....
Pam, aka "Grammie Pammie" of the Ghana Project sent these 3 adorable squares to be added to the blanket square donations. How did she ever find the time to knit these? I mean, the lady has surpassed the 100Th afghan mark on her own! Drop in on her by going to my link in my sidebar.

And, not to forget! I heard from Timiae, whose profile says is a student from Georgia, that she'll send something to the cause also! My Virginian pal , Maggie, from my Ample Knitters Secret Pal days also signed on for a square or maybe two! Thank-you, you sweet knitters, for the generosity of your time and needles!

The DEADLINE for mailing your squares to me is Friday, February 13th, postmarked.

I will hold the drawing on Sunday, February 22, at 12 noon and post the name of the winner here.

BEST OF LUCK TO ALL OF YOU WHO ENTERED THE DRAWING!!!

I managed to complete four more squares over the last few weeks.

Warming heads...

I've been wondering for the longest time how this Doily

would look as a hat of some kind so I decided to play with the pattern, designer unknown. I hope, who ever they are, that they are pleased with my results!

I used less than a skein of Red Heart Super Saver, Aran Fleck. I'll be donating it to our Knitting Ministry's Winter Hat Drive.


Here's another hat knit with what was left of the skein. I finished the top by doing a Kitchener with the last 2 dozen stitches or so to get the top flat.

Comfort of the familiar....

Just my way of working through that Peaches n Cream cotton stash of mine.The possibilities are infinite. Please don't ask me to do the math!

Warm knitting to you all!

A CONTEST TO WARM YOUR HEART AND SMASH THAT STASH!

My son, Shaun and his 7 Th grade religion class have been working on a charitable group project since before the holidays. I've been helping his teacher and the class with knitting and crocheting 7 inch by 9 inch squares in preparation for their BIG BLANKET BONANZA on February 21st. There will be lots of sewing squares together that day. Hot dogs, too, for sale. I already volunteered my husband. Others in the class are making the ingenious tied flannel blankets. The kids really are into it and surprisingly very quick to improve upon their beginner knitting and crocheting skills! But, it's slow going sometimes and they've almost completed enough squares to make up TWO WHOLE BLANKETS!
Here's where YOU, Gentle Knitter, come in!

I know you must be thinking of a way to lower the fiber footprint within your home.
Knit or crochet a 7 x 9 square of any Acrylic yarn weight for my kid's class! Any design your little heart desires, just as long as it measures 7 inches by 9 inches. You can fudge an almost-there square by crocheting around the outside, if you want. Go Here for free worsted weight patterns, Here , Here , Here and Here for some more in heavier weights.

I, also, have scads of oddballs and leftovers taking up the very limited room available to store my yarn stash. Please note above the beginnings of a, yes, BALLBAND 7 x 9 inch square!

In red and purple, be- still- my- heart all you Red Hat Lady wanna-bees!!

Knit with leftover LionBrand Homespun on size 11's ( I knit a loose Continental method) I cast on 17 stitches (multi of 6 plus 5) so I would have an even 5 stitch count on both ends starting with the first pattern sequence. Scroll down for the pattern of my modified ballband at the end of this post. It's a real quick knit project. I can usually churn one out as I sit waiting for my slooooooow PC to load, so don't feel like I'm wasting my time waiting...... I've completed 4 squares so far to donate. And, I'm just so gosh-darn happy to be rid of that yarn!

Anyway... You can click on below and read the class project details:

I think the letter set home to the parents was so charming...

So, what's in it for YOU?

Well, besides doing something toasty good to warm up someone in need-

And, at the same time lowering YOUR fiber footprint of unloved, unwanted and forgotten yarn...

You get a chance to have your name placed in a drawing for the chance to win THIS TERRIFIC BOOK, (which was an extra copy because it's just impossible anymore to try to buy My Knitting Amiga, Nan, a book for a Christmas present because she already has them all!)

For every square you send me I will enter your name that many times in the random drawing. More squares, more chances to win a free book! The shipping is on me.

The DEADLINE for mailing your squares to me is Friday, February 13th, postmarked. I will hold the drawing on Sunday, February 22, at 12 noon and post the name of the winner here.

Leave a comment on my blog of your commitment to donate and a contact email address and I will email you my home address. Or, you can contact me at knitoriousmissusb@yahoo.com

Include "BLANKET BONANZA" in the subject line.


Kringle *heart* Ballband



BLANKET BONANZA MODIFIED BALLBAND HOMESPUN SQUARE

by Linda Ball

size 11 or 13 needle or whatever size will make a 7 x 9 in. square.

Leftover Homespun yarn in any color-knit this square in one, two or more colors!

With MAIN COLOR CO 17 stitches

Row 1: Knit

Row 2: Purl

Row 3: With Contrast Color: Knit 5, Slip One, Knit 5, Slip One, end Knit 5. ( wow! what a quick row!)

Row 4: Knit 5, *yarn forward, slip 1, yarn back, k5** repeat from * to ** once.

Row 5: Purl 5, *YB, sl 1, YF, purl 5** Repeat from * to ** once.

Row 6: Repeat row 4.

Row 7: Main Color: Knit

Row 8: Purl

Row 9: Contrast Color: K 2, Sl 1, knit 5, Sl 1, knit 5, Sl 1, end knit 2.

Row 10: K 2, * YF, sl 1, YB, k5** Repeat from * to ** once, end YF, Sl1, YB, K2.

Row 11: Purl 2, *YB, Sl 1, YF, Purl 5**, Repeat from * to ** once, end YB, Sl1, YF, Purl 2.

Row 12: Repeat Row 10.

Repeat these 12 rows until approaching 9 inches in length, end by working rows 1 and 2 in Main Color and then binding of on right side. Tidy up along your edges if you'd like by single crocheting a round.

That's it, folks! Hope I hear from you, many thanks and good luck with the drawing!

A CONTEST TO STIMULATE THE BLOGCONOMY!

Having been AWOL from my blog for (shamefully!) over one month now, I'll try to regain re-entry into the good graces of you, Gentle Knitter, by offering up this contest to coincide with my much anticipated Sunday pilgrimage to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival!

The Contest:

Guess how much money is in this bowl!

The 2 folks who come the closest to guessing the exact amount ($.cc) without going over will be declared the winners!

Just post your guess in "comments" by Sunday, May 4, 2008, 6 pm. I'll announce the winners on Tuesday, May 6 th.

I raided our piggy banks to supplement my yarn expenses and will be cashing in these coins today. At this point, I don't even know how much money I have here!

The Prizes:

I have 2 pristine Debbie Macomber paperbacks, brandy new, bindings not even cracked, which I purchased at a recent American Assoc. of University Women charity book drive. Be one of the lucky 2 best guessers and I'll send one to you!

Good Luck to you all!

Now, onto the knitting....

I was just so pleased with my food coloring lace weight yarn dying experiment that I blew the dust off my brand new Addi lace circs and cast on for the "Comfort Shawl. "

I'm at row 31 now, and liking both the colorplay of the yarn and the smooth knitting of these #4 needles. The pattern begins at the top and just keeps expanding outward and downward.

I'm determined to complete this Noro Kureyon buttoned wrap in time to wear it on Sunday! Yes, I am totally deluded. But, immensely happy in my delusion!

So happy you asked...

No, it's not been neglected. The sleeves to Mike's Christmas/Birthday sweater continue to move along at a snail's pace, it seems, but I do see progress. I have actually surpassed the bend of the elbow at this point. But, still a ways to go! Can we say "Father's Day?" I'm renaming this the "Holiday Sweater" as one never knows just which holiday is going to coincide with it's completion!

Say it loud, I'm cheap and I'm proud!

A lovely link to "whiskers" was posted in a recent Monthly Dishcloth yahoo group digest. Since I have oodles of scrap balls of PVC/SNC cotton to play with, this was the perfect mindless project to use up some of that stash. I had people randomly select the next color to be used and this was the end result. Oh, I wasn't able to stop at dishcloth length, so addicting tying just another color ball on became, so I just kept going until I ran through all the colors in my basket. It's my summertime table runner, folks! I will need to trim down the tails but I love it! Next I will do some cloths! If I can control myself! A nice way to "tie one on" without the morning hangover!

Winter hibernation is over....

These socks ( Sockotta) were started sometime last year -end of summer perhaps? I decided to try an afterthought heel in order to continue in my mindless 2 Toe Up one long circ needle knitting mode. They'll travel to Maryland with me.

A new 3 Amigas Knitalong...

In the past Jeanie, Nan and I have attempted once to knit the same project. We chose knitting an entralac bag,each with a different yarn choice, but the sizzle fizzled! We discovered this pattern at the 2007 Stitches East at the Woolplay booth. The (bait)display model of the jacket was gorgeous, albeit rather ambitious. So naturally, we were hooked. Note my meager progress. Have test knit several squares over in order to get gauge. Each square is 2 3/4 inches, knit in Koigu. Finally, motivation to dig into that multicolored Koigu stash I've been accumulating over the past 10 years!

Charity baby knitting rediscovered.....

Inspired from my membership in the Baby Sweater Knitting Yahoo group a while back, I've been playing around with a pattern from the Leisure Arts Precious Layettes leaflet. This is the Precious Lamb Pattern, with a few adaptations.

I've only profiled a few of the many knitting demands on my time. I'm convinced that the only way I'll ever finish Mike's sweater is if I lock myself in a empty cell, devoid of all other knitting stimuli. Rather drastic.

Any suggestions?