Stash Enhancers

The other day when I posted about the toddler socks, I forgot to mention my latest stash enhancers. Can't believe I did that! So, here is a little post just for that!

First up, I have my August purchase from the Robyn's Nest sock club. The yarn is a reddish colour (I honestly had trouble deciding if it was a dark pink or red. Some of the yarn looks closer to pink, while some looks red...regardless of how you'd classify the colour, I think it's pretty). It's from Tanis Fiber Arts, is hand dyed and feels nice and soft and squishy. The pattern is called Mathematical Equation, and was designed by Robyn herself! Looks like a great pattern Robyn, good job on designing it! There are also 2 stitch markers included as well (in red to match the yarn).

The next item to show is 2 balls of Reynolds Fusion, colour #22. It's a blend of mohair, acrylic, and wool. I think this will more than likely become a scarf. Also, there were two patterns, one for socks and the other for the Pea Pod baby set. There was a cute little cow (which I forgot to include in the picture...silly me) and some lollipop suckers which I love and were long gone before I got the picture taken. This was my prize from Robyn's contest she had a little while back - guess the number of meat balls on the plate. Thanks so much for the wonderful prize Robyn!

I haven't been doing much knitting lately. I have a feeling my knitting may suffer (again) this year. Though school has just started and we haven't done a whole lot yet, things will start to get busy soon. I have the first assignment due tomorrow and then nothing until Monday, but then soon after that, things will start happening. There is also going to be group work, so other than one class, we haven't been put into our groups yet. With the group work will come meetings and what not to get our presentations and lesson plans done up, so that will eat up time as well.

I have no classes on Fridays, but that will be the day I'll do the observation part of my training. I will be starting that soon - it could take a week, or a month or somewhere in between to get placed so that could start as early as next week. Once I finish that, I'll have to start the teaching part of the training. I will more than likely be doing that Fridays next semester as well because I don't have classes then either.

But, I know I'll need to take some down time here and there so I don't crack. I am hoping that knitting will be a part of that and that it won't be just sitting or lying in front of the tv all the time. I find knitting relaxing, so hopefully I will do that to relax.

Anyway, must head off and get some lunch now. My next class starts in about an hour so I need to eat and change (did I mention I have four hours between my two classes on Wednesdays? I just come home for that time...but I'm sure there will be times I have to get together with a group or something at some point) so I won't be late. Thankfully, I don't live to far away from the school so I don't have to deal with a lot of traffic!

Happy Knitting!

Winners!

Ok...here are the list of the winners from my stitch marker contest! The answer to the first question, what is the provincial flower for New Brunswick?, is the purple violet. The winner of the colourful set of stitch markers goes to:

Lisa

The answer to the second question, the name of the actor I have a crush on, is Matthew McConaughey (I can never spell that guy's last name). Yum! OK, back to the post...the winner of the shiny purply set of stitch markers goes to:

Michele

And, the bonus stitch markers (for someone listing that person as the source for finding my blog), goes to:

Heddy

Congrats to all the winners (ladies, please email me your addresses and I'll get them sent out to you). Thanks to everyone for playing!

I'll be back later with more to post!

A Prize For Me!

Not too long ago, Holly of Knitnspinner had a little contest and I was one of the winners. She emailed me and asked me what I would like for a prize - some yarn or some roving. I said that either was fine, and told her she could surprise me. Well, she did; and here's what she sent:

It is some merino/silk top and it is sooooo soft!

Now, this made my day - I love getting mail (except bills and stuff like that). I was thinking that it might be my scarf from my ISE4 pal because she emailed me a few days ago to let me know she'd send it out and I should be getting it soon.

However, when I looked at the customs sticker, it said nothing of the package containing a scarf. To be honest, the fact that I had entered the contest and this awesome package was on its way had completely slipped my mind; and I haven't ordered any more yarn for a little while - since finding out I'd be going to South Korea (so now I'm trying to save my money for that - no more yarn purchases for me for a little while), and when I opened the box and saw the contents (there were also some chocolate included - yummy!), I remembered the contest. Holly, thanks so much for the prize - it is awesome and I love it! I can't wait to spin it up! The closeup (above) is close to the actual colour.

I took a pic with and without the flash (this one is without) outside a little while ago. I'd say in reality, the colour is a smidgen darker than the picture (the other picture wasn't very accurate).

On the Sockapalooza front - I think I've decided on yet a different pattern to knit for my pal. While cruising the SAM3 blog, I came across a post that had the link for the Fluted Banister Socks and thought they looked great. Now, the pattern says that you use sport weight yarn, 350 yards/100g, and I have fine/sport weight that is (I think) 225 yards/100g. It is noted in the pattern that the test knitter has plently of yarn left over...it also said that for the pattern repeat in the leg that 15 repeats gave 7 1/2 inches. My pal only wants 7 1/2 inches from heel to cuff (so that would include the heel flap too, presumably) so I won't be making that many repeats. I am just wondering if my 225 yards/100g will be enough. My pal also said that she prefers cuff down socks as opposed to toe up, so I can't start at the toe and knit until I run out. I've really got to get these socks started

Mail Call!

What a great mail day this was! Not only did I get a book to review for CFBA (Christian Fiction Blog Alliance), which I joined a couple of months ago (see my writing blog, Ink Scrawls, for reviews of some great books), but I got another little gift from my awesome Secret Pal and my prize from a contest I won!

Ok, first up, the gift from my secret pal:
Sorry for the terrible pic. She sent me some stitch marker supplies and some scrapbooking supplies (at the bottom). The stitch marker supplies are the pin thingys you put the beads on, and the scrap booking supplies are letter tiles that look like bottle caps. She also said that my big package will be sent out the end of the month so that I get it in June - I'm so excited! Thanks so much SP, I love it and I'm looking forward to the June package!

The prize I won was for some sock yarn, Sol Joy (100 grams, 100% Superwash Merino) in the colour Polar. It looks and feels yummy! I can't wait to see it knit up into a pair of socks. What pattern would I use? Not sure just yet, but whatever I choose, I know it will look awesome! It looks light in the picture, but in actuality, it is a little darker. Kerry held a contest on her blog back in April and she drew the winning name and I was surprised that I had won. I had actually forgot that I had entered the contest. So, I was scrolling her blog on the weekend (I had been busy and hadn't been by her blog or several others for a few days), and lo and behold was a post saying that I had won. I emailed her to let her know I had finally saw the post and given her my address. However, she informed that she had it already because she is my group hostess/leader for SP10, and she already had the yarn in the mail! Thanks so much Kerry!

Now, a couple of people tagged me for the 7 thing about me meme that is going around blogland. I am supposed to list 7 things about myself and then choose 7 others to tag, they in turn do the meme themselves. So, let's see if I can come up with something...

1. When I was little I was scared by fire truck sirens. My dad used to volunteer at the fire department (driving a tanker) and one year at Christmas he was holding me up at the Santa Claus parade when the decorated fire truck drove by (they would have some of the firemen dressed up as clowns and they would throw candy to the kids in the crowd). The driver saw my dad and right when he got in front of us, he blew the siren and it was so LOUD. I must have been about 4 at the time, and for the longest time (probably until I was about 9 or 10) I got scared and would cover my ears whenever I heard a fire truck's siren - especially it was close to us.

2. When I was about six or seven, there had been rumors that the world was going to end and naturally I got scared when I heard that. I envisioned everyone and everything floating in space forever and that just didn't really appeal to me. So, the day after it was supposed to happen, my brother, my mother and I were in my brother's room (don't remember why, just that that was where we were) and I looked out the window and asked my mom if the world had ended. My brother said to me, "No Stupid, we're still here. If it ended we wouldn't be here."

3. I have a crush on Matthew McConaughey. 'Nuff said.

4. I love rocking chairs - ever since I was little, I have loved rocking in rocking chairs. I find it relaxing and do all my knitting (at least when I'm at home knitting) in my rocking chair.

5. I am allergic to many scented products like flowery scented perfums/lotions/bath products/candles, some household cleaners, smoke (and dust but that isn't scented). However, fruit scented things do not bother me in the least.

6. I love the cranberry lemon muffins from Tim Horton's. However, this has only been a feature product now and then, and they don't offer this kind of muffin all the time. Such a shame really, because they are yummy!

7. Apparently I can't count. I had typed a 7 instead of a 6 and was in the process of saying 'ok, there are the 7 things about me' when I noticed the error. Sheesh.

Oh, and to end off, yesterday my friend Sarah and I took the morning off from our jobs so we could drive up to Fredericton (about 1 1/2 hours away) to the provincial passport office to take in our passport applications to hurry the process along. Anyway, on the way there we drove past a farm (there were more than one, but just this one in particular applies to the story). I look out the window and what do I see on the hill - sheep! So, naturally I point and say in an excited joy-filled voice, "Sheep!" Sarah just laughed at me as though I were nuts (ok, I am, but that's besides the point). I told her I would blog about this experience because anyone who is a knitter (and/or spinner) would totally understand my reaction. Sheep are a knitter's/spinner's best friend; we like sheep. I told her that I was going to tell you all how she laughed at me for my joy at spotting the sheep. She laughed at me again. These non-knitters, I'm telling you...I told her I was going to teach her to knit and she agreed; I don't know how serious she was though. She might have just wanted to humour the crazy knitter sitting in her car.

And The Winner Is....

Do you want to know who the winner of my little contest is? Well, you'll just have to wait til the end of the post (Mmmwwaahahahaha!).

Firstly, I want to show you the pair of children's socks I finished for Socktopia and SAM3:

These are the socks I was working on for the above KALs. I got them finished with about 2 hours to spare on March 31st. They look like they'd fit a stick figure, but that is because of the ribbing effect. They'll stretch out some and should hopefully fit. I made them for a child's size 2-4 out of Knit Picks Simply Stripes in the Storm colourway. The Chevron pattern is from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch (page 70).

I call these socks "Mom, the cable is out!" to fit into the "what's on tv" category for March's Socktopia entry. I was trying to use colours and a pattern that would give it that effect of the rolling, snowy type pattern you get on the tv sometimes when cable goes out.

Oh, and Secret Pal, I got those postcards today! Thanks so much! That must be where you went on your little trip last weekend...awesome! Too bad you didn't get to go to those yarn stores like you said in one of the notes.

So, are you ready to find out the winner of the contest for the stitch markers? Well, without further ado...here is Tinker Belle in pictures to tell you who won:

Firstly, she had me write down everyone's name on a slip of paper (without opposing thumbs, it's kind of hard for her to do). So, I got my trusty purple pen with purple ink and wrote down all entries.

Next, I put 3 kitty treats beside each name to make it even...you know, so that she wouldn't gravitate to one that had the most on it. You can see in the picture that I used Temptations...my mom heard last night that they are pulling Pounce treats off the shelves just in case it has some of that stuff that's been harming the cats and dogs in it...so until I find out if they are safe up here, I decided to use the Temptations ones.

So, by the time I got them ready and the camera turned on to take the pictures (I think I got the first one taken), Tinker Belle strolled into the room without having to be called. First she gravitated to the right side and sniffed around. I thought she was going to eat from one of those ones...then she moved and smelled the ones elsewhere. Finally, she stopped and chose a little pile of 3 to start eating. You can see in the picture she chose one. This is odd, because she never sticks to the outskirts of something. She always heads for the middle, stepping on everything around her. But today she didn't do that. So, we have a winner. The name on the slip of paper belongs to (not sure if you can see it in the photo):

http://www.GlitterMaker.com/ - Glitter Graphics - MySpace Layouts

So, Janice, send me an email with your snail mail, and I'll get your stitch markers out to you soon!

Contest Alert!!!

Ok, well since I've never really held a contest yet here at Kitten Knits Yarn, I've decided to have a little one now...just 'cause. Before you get too excited, it's just a little prize right now. I made some stitch markers today with some beads I got not too long ago and thought I'd use those as a prize.

I think you can click on the image to make it larger. There are 5 turquoise stitch markers in the set with one of them designated as the one you could use at the beginning (it has larger glass beads on it than the others do, so that it matches but is just a little different.

I tried to take a close up of the "lead" marker but it didn't work out too well. I have the camera set for macro, but I can't seem to get it to work the way I want it to. Guess I'll have to go through the instruction manual again to make sure I'm using it correctly.

Anyway, I will run the contest all weekend and draw the winner on Monday morning. You'll have until Sunday midnight Pacific time...since that would make it 4 am my time, and I'll draw when I get up Monday.

All you need to do, is leave a comment and tell me what my cat's name is (easily found on my blog...just look for pictures of her and her name will more than likely be there). If you don't know what her name is and don't feel like looking it up (or don't care, lol), then tell me how you found out about the contest. Either way, your name will be entered for the draw.

Now, go tell everyone about it. I'd like to see a lot of entries ;o)

Surprise!

What a great way to start the weekend! This morning when I got up (which was around 10am because I don't have any classes today, and can sleep in), the mailman/woman had already been to the house. I had mail! I love getting mail (as long as it isn't a bill or junk mail)!

The first thing I read was the post card from Toronto, from my SP10 pal! So, I am thinking one of two things: either she lives in or around Toronto, or she has visited there. The package was mailed in Canada (could tell because of the Canadian stamps), so I am going to assume she is a fellow Canadian!
Ok, so after reading the post card (which is awesome), I opened the package. Inside was a pattern from the Lion Brand site's weekly stitches. It is a drop stitch pattern, which looks cool.

Next, in a little sheer pouch (I'm not sure what you'd call the fabric, but I love that little pouch...I wonder where one finds cute little pouches like that!) was a set of 7 stitch markers, each with a letter from my name! How cool is that?! I would never have thought of making stitch markers with someone's name. What a cool idea!

My SP 10 pal seems to be awesome (and I'm sure she is, and doesn't just 'seem' to be that way). I've had a few emails from her that brightened my day, and now this surprise package - what a great way to end the week. I've got a 3000 word term paper to do for Tuesday, but how can I concentrate on that when I have cute new stitch markers waiting to be used, and a cool pattern to try! I'll have to do some knitting when I take breaks from working on the paper this weekend so I can use them. Thanks so much SP10 Pal!! You rock!

Now, not only did I get an awesome package from my SP10 pal, but a couple of weeks ago, Chrissy over at Knittin' Mom had a little contest. She and her family had gone to Japan (way cool!) because her husband was running in a marathon there. While in Japan, she visited some yarn stores (which is what any good knitter would do) and brought back some Japanese yarn.

Anyway, her contest was to just leave a comment saying that you wanted to be put in the draw for a skein of any of the yarn she brought back, and a needle case with three needles (the ones used when you sew up the toes of socks...darning needles or embroidery needles...someone please put me out of my misery and let me know what they're called...my mind is going blank right about now).

So, to make a long story short (if you call this short), she drew my name! I was surprised because I never would have thought I'd get picked because this is the Sock A Month KAL lady, and I think she gets TONS of people visiting her blog (even when it's not home to the KAL).

The yarn is Alpaca, which is what we assume since that is on the tag. I have no idea what the rest says because it's all in Japanese (which one would expect since that is where it is from). I've got a closeup of the yarn so you can see it. It's pretty close to the true colours (at least on my computer), though it might be a smidgen lighter in the picture. The first pic above is probably closest. It's 40g adn 112m, and I'm thinking it might make a nice scarf in the One Skein Wonders book I got not long ago. There is a pattern I had my eye on in there, and this might be the yarn for it.

The yarn content is 80% something (assuming alpaca) and 20% of something else. Ok, I just did a search typing in Alpaca Rimisto (which is on the yarn label, maybe the brand name or something - it's from Puppy Yarns), and this site (or blog) has a sweater done up in this yarn. They give the contents of the yarn as being 80% alpaca and 20% wool, and they used a Japanese size 6 needle, which is recommended on the label, which they have converted as being a 3.9mm needle. I don't know if 3.9mm even exists, but I would think you would just round up to 4.0mm.

The yarn is sooooo soft, and I can't wait to see how it looks all knit up. Of course when I do get it knit up, I'll post a pic of it! Thanks for your contest and in offering your new yarn and the needles as a prize Chrissy!

I'm planning on possibly getting out this afternoon to look for something for my SP10 person to spoil, as well as some yarn to use for my International Scarf Exchange pal's scarf. I've contacted her and she sounds excited to be a part of this (as am I). I just hope that she'll like whatever I make for her - that's the scary part, making a scarf and your pal not liking it. I've yet to hear from whoever has my name, but I'm sure he/she has a reason. If I don't hear from him/her by next week, I'll contact the organizers to see if there is any problem.

Well, must be off to get started on my paper so that I can get closer to completing it, and get a break to use my awesome new stitch markers and yarn! Happy knitting!

Scarftacular!

Ok, well I haven't been able to get much knitting accomplished in the last few weeks, owing to a rather heavy schedule for school. I had a midterm in history, a book review to finish (reading the book and writing the review), a presentation on the book review (all for history), as well as a two page essay for my Post Exilic Writings class. But that is all done now, and I am on March break! Woo Hoo!! I will have to work on my term paper for history though, but I'm not spending all my time on it. No, the majority of my time will be used to read for fun and knit.

So, without further ado, here is my progress on the Noro scarf I've been working at (allbeit slowly because of school):

The picture isn't the best - in fact, looking at it now it looks a little blurry...sorry about that! The colours are pretty close to the picture; they might be a little brighter though. When I used the flash for the picture, they were way too bright and not accurate at all; so, I settled for this one. See that little clump of pink up in the upper right portion of the picture? That is what remains of my first skein of Noro. I'll be starting the second one shortly.

When I can knit on this, it works up fairly quickly, and the pattern isn't hard to do at all. I like the way the pattern is with this yarn - funky looking in my opinion. I'm still not overly fond of the oranges, browns, rusts that are in it, but they are sort of growing on me - not enough that I want something done totally in those colours though. Besides, I don't think they're "me".

Not long ago Ingrid at Saltwater Purls had a little contest on her blog. Guess who won? Yup, it was me. She made the cutest little chili pepper stitch markers! Ok...this picture doesn't look as bright as I had hoped either. Hmm...I seem to have a little theme going with my pictures here.

Anyway, there are four of the stitch markers and I just love them! You can see a close up of the one I am holding with the others in the background. Thanks so much Ingrid!!

On the sock front...I haven't worked at the Falling In Love sock yet to fix the problem. I think I will either try the larger needle binding off, or the Elizabeth Zimmerman sewing one that was also suggested. Haven't figured out which one yet. When I get that little problem fixed, then I will start in on the second sock and remember to finish it off the same way ;o). I also have a pair of kids socks that I had put on the back burner that are almost finished. I've started into the leg portion of the second sock, so that shouldn't take too long to finish either. Hopefully in the next day or so I'll have a picture of them to show you.

Well, I'm going to head off to practice my flute and then get back to the knitting! Hope your day is knitacular!

ETA - Thanks to all who offered suggestions and left the link for help on solving my cast off problem on the Falling In Love socks!!