Quickie

Just a quick entry to remind you that time to enter the contest is running out! Only 27 hours left! No guess is too outrageous! Have fun!

Oh, and if you're living in a knit blog cave and somehow haven't yet heard of Knitters Without Borders (Tricoteuses Sans Frontieres), do yourself a favor and click on this button to see how we can be the change that we want to see in the world:

Thrift store sweater in the next entry, I promise, but The Amazing Race is on now and I've gotta watch!

Works in Progress

Hooray for people entering the contest!!! There's still plenty of time (I'm taking guesses until Wednesday), and the odds are still good. If you missed the contest news, all you need to do is guess how many miles of yarn I have in the stash, and e-mail it to me, or leave it in the comments to Saturday's entry. It's as easy as that!

And now for the Works In Progress. I updated the sidebar, so that may give you a hint. First of all, Tanja is mostly done:

I just need to weave in the ends. And try to block her a little bit bigger. If this was a summer sweater to wear next to the skin, the fit would be perfect. But since I probably need a turtleneck to go under, I'd like it just a bit bigger - 1-2" would be fabulous. Worst case scenario, I'll steek the front and add a cardigan button band. I have enough yarn left (I think). Aside from the fit, I'm very pleased with how she turned out.

Since I finished (OK, almost finished) one project, I gave myself permission to cast on something new. I chose Banff:

I know that that's a completely boring picture of a dark yarn in 2x2 ribbing, but since my New Year's blog resolution was to post more pictures of Works in Progress, you get to see it anyway. Since I took this I've made a bit more progress and am now up to the raglan shaping. This is turning out to be a big sweater. I know the pattern says oversized, and I want it to be oversized and comfy, I'm just not sure how big it's going to wind up. I held a measuring tape up stretched out to the finished size, and it was huge. But I'm going to knit on, and see what I get. If it's a sad sack, I'll just have to either seam it up smaller or re-knit it. (the Horrors!)

Also in knitting news, I managed to join a few knitalongs. Am I crazy? Remains to be seen.
First up, Alison's Sockapalooza.

I'm in the beginner group, because the only socks I've thus far managed to finish are my Fuzzy Feet. I did start a "normal" (Regia) sock once, but ripped it out to make a baby sweater instead. Speaking of, I've never seamed that up. I'll have to finish it, and then I'll get to start a new project - hooray!
Anyway, back to the socks. I'm still trying to pick my pattern. The socks are due to the recipients by March 15, so I've got some time. I've also got plenty of sock yarn in the stash, but I'm waiting to see what their desires are. I hope I get my partner soon!

And last but not least, Stacey's Fry Up Along:

I have been talking about making this pattern for a long time, and I decided it was time. It will also be a good use for some of the acrylic I have in the stash. I think I'm going to try to ad lib a bit, though, and figure out a way to make toast (since I'm not really one for eating peas for breakfast, and I don't like the sausage). Oh, and mine will definitely be a purse - I'm not really into the whole beret thing, even when it's a breakfast plate. Now to find some fun fabric for the lining, too!

Next post: my thrift store adventure!

Holiday Update and Contest!

So, the holiday recap (let's ignore the fact that I'm 12 days behind, OK?). My family visited including my sister and brother-in-law, and a great time was had by all. Except maybe Linus, who couldn't understand why we had to ruin his holiday with a white fluffy dog thing.

My parents brought their dog Toby, and Linus wasn't terribly amused. He did stop becoming the total puffy cat around day 2, though, so the rest of the time wasn't so bad.
Cleo was bothered more by having strange people in her house than by the dog. She and Toby reached a clear detente:

I gave and received many fabulous Christmas presents, including several knitty ones (yarn and pattern books). The knitted presents all went over well - Mom's clogs, Dad's balaclava (pattern of my own), and Jenna got the purple purse from the craft fair. Probably the best present I received was my mom helping me do yarn inventory. Linus and Cleo helped too (see how helpful they are?). We went through every box and tote, typed everything into a spreadsheet and then reorganized by fiber type and how soon I think I'll use it. There was a lot of yarn there. The photo above is the merest tip of the fibery iceberg. Enough yarn for me to contemplate a Yarn Non-Buying Agreement with myself. Possibly until Sheep & Wool, but we'll see how I do.

Did I mention that I figured out the total length of all of the yarn I have? Yarn that's in stash, not counting anything currently involved in projects on the needles? Does anyone want to guess how much (how many miles worth (yes, I said miles))?

I know, it's time for a CONTEST!!!!!

I've never had a contest on my blog before, so this is very exciting! If you have a guess as to how many miles of yarn I have in my stash, send it to me in an e-mail or leave it in the comments. The person who comes the closest without going over (Price is Right style) will win a fabulous something from the stash! There may even be second place prizes, too! I'll take entries until Wednesday, and then reveal the winner and the correct answer here on the blog. [NOTE: This contest is not open to blood relatives who already know my yarn mileage.]

Alrighty, this entry contained practically no knitting content, but I'll get to that soon. The cats are cute, though, right?