Latvian Smackdown

Mom's green sweater is almost completed. I just need to sew in the left sleeve and side seam. I am VERY happy with this project - I think she's going to love it and that it will be a good fit. I've got a few qualms about the DB pattern mistakes and the sleeve sizing but I'll not get into that at the moment. I'm planning to finish it up this week but I keep getting distracted by this:



I finished the first of this pair up on Saturday (minus the thumb) and have been patting it and admiring it ever since. It wasn't until I took this picture that I realized there is a big honking mistake. Why did I not see this before? Why did I sew in the ends at the mitten tip - why, why, why? That is what I get for feeling so smug I guess. I'll have to dig out the ends and rip back a couple inches to correct it. If it was one stitch I could live with it but an entire row is too much. Sulk.

(Updated with error: The very top flower has a line repeated in the bottom petals for those who are having trouble spotting it.)

And the Winner IS....

Well, I'm officially 30 and the TTAAL contest is officially over!

The lucky winner of the Fleece Artist yarn is Rita!! Rita I have no email or website for you so please send your mailing details to knittenknots@hotmail.com so I can send out your prize. Thanks!!

Here are the correct answers for those who are wondering:

Week 1 - Twilight Zone Edition
#3 was the lie - I was NOT patted on the head by a ghost although I realize the other options were just as (if not more) far-fetched and that it probably says something about my psyche that I believe I've possibly seen a UFO and a sea monster.

Week 2 - I Was Almost Killed Edition
#2 was the lie - I did NOT open a taxi door into oncoming traffic - I was appalled at how many of you thought I was this stupid actually. Thanks guys! ;-)

Week 3 - Yarn Buying Expedition Truth
#2 was the truth - I bought the prize plus a few other things for Christmas presents. I did not go hog wild though I was sorely tempted and it would have been extremely easy to do. Great little shop!

Your Prize and the Final Question/Countdown...

I visited London Wul this weekend (1.5 hours away) and picked up the contest prize. It is a gorgeous hank of "Peter Rabbit" from the Fleece Artist. This yummy stuff is 250m of handdyed bliss (70% angora, 20% nylon, 10% wool) - the colors in this picture are fairly accurate too.



If you are anti-angora or don't like the colors, I can offer up some DGS sock yarn to the winner instead - it's perfect for Jaywalkers.

I was going to post some pics of the finished fronts of the DB cardi but I'm going to try to push through and finish it by the weekend so decided to wait. Instead you get the final installment and last chance at a correct guess for the Lies contest.

This week is a little different - which of these is the TRUTH!?!

While at London Wul, I got to play with and snorgle the excessively charming Finn and admire the handsome though somewhat aloof Angus. Most importantly, what did I buy?

1. I went there to get one thing and one thing only. The skein of Peter Rabbit for the contest winner.

2. I browsed for a long time and finally decided on several skeins of yarn for Xmas presents. Enough for a few pairs of socks, a couple scarves, hats and some mittens.

3. I went hog-wild people!! I bought yarn for 2 sweaters, an afghan, at least 4 shawls PLUS Xmas projects.

I Was Nearly Killed! and a Latvian Swatch

What do you think of this little swatch? I'm trying to decide if the colors are too "something" for a latvian mitten. I think I may want something more subtle but they may not be for me so I'm confused. Thoughts, opinions please?



And here is the second installment of the Two Truths and a Lie Birthday Contest. Guess which story is a lie and you get another chance to win the grand prize (also feel free to continue to post guesses for week 1's Twilight Zone edition.) The contest is open til Oct. 21st.

TTAAL "I was nearly killed!" Edition

1. My friend Erin and I were both selected to be flag bearers in the Canadian Divisional Figure Skating Championships held in Summerside, PEI the winter of 1993. This was huge as Canadian ice-dancers ShaeLynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz were competing - wooooo! On the way home from our first night of practise, we hit some slush/ice and totalled my parents car. We were lucky to have absolutely no injuries and were able to complete our flag-bearing duties.

2. Brad and I travelled to New York the Summer of 2000 for an extended weekend trip. On Saturday night, we headed out to a couple of comedy clubs where we had a few drinks and lots of laughs. We walked through Time Square until about midnight and then took a taxi back to our hotel. Having had a few drinks and, quite frankly, growing up in a town that doesn't even have a taxi, I threw open the driver's side back door to exit the cab and it was promptly struck by a passing car resulting in a good deal of damage to both our taxi and the car that hit the door. Luckily I was a little slow to exit so was completely unharmed.

3. In the Spring of 1998 (my last year of University), a few friends and I headed to France for a 2-week long vacation. We flew into Paris and drove to the South of France where we spent the majority of our trip. On the drive down, we took a few scenic routes. One in particular was a winding road up into some hills that was essentially one 90 degree turn after another with a deadly drop off to the side. As we approached a sharp curve, a bright blue car with a racing stripe down the center careened toward us obviously trying to break some sort of land-speed record. The driver in a completely controlled fashion neatly sidestepped us and was around the next curve and gone before our mouths had even fully dropped. It was one of those "did that just happen? I think I'm gonna be sick." moments.

Two Truths and a Lie Birthday Contest (Week 1 - Twilight Zone Edition)

It's birthday month here and I'm trying really hard to stay positive about the end of my 20s. How'd it happen, where'd they go? Sigh...

Anyway, in the spirit of being festive rather than horribly depressed - a birthday contest! Back in August, JulieFricknits played a little game called Two Truths and a Lie. Over the next 3 weeks, I'll be posting a new Two Truths and a Lie every week - spot the lie and post it in the comments and you could win the grand prize. Every correct answer gives you a chance to win. I turn 30 on the 21st of Oct so all entries prior to that date will be included and the prize will be really, really good. Trust me.

The theme of this week's TTAAL is 'Welcome to the Twilight Zone'...

1. In mid-August of 1994, the Perseid meteor shower peaked. On the evening of the 12th, my mother, my little brother and I were lying on a blanket watching for meteors in the flatbed of my dad's truck. After about 20 minutes of meteor-gazing, we saw a strange yellow light similar to that of a plane but moving much faster pass by. We all thought it was a bit unusual and decided to walk to the edge of the yard so we could have another look at it. In the field behind my parent's house, we witnessed glitter falling from the sky similar to what you see after fireworks have gone off. Suddenly 3 horizontal lights became visible about 150ft off the ground, after a few seconds this became 8 lights and started rotating. About that time, we ran like the dickens into the house where my 12 year old brother was hysterical for the better part of an hour. Mom and I may have started running without him - whoopsy.

2. One sunny summer day when I was about 8 years old, my dad, my older brother and I were walking to our favorite swimming spot. We called this place "the rock" because there was a big rock jutting out into the water that we could jump off of - creative naming was obviously not our forte. So just as we're about to scamper over the cape and cool off, my dad (a fisherman) saw something out in the water. It was approx. 100ft off shore and basically looked like a GIANT sea snake. Black on top, white on the bottom and 20-30 ft long at least. We didn't go swimming that day or any other day for the rest of the summer. A couple of years later I was paging through our Childcraft Encyclopedia "Stories of the Sea" edition and saw a drawing of exactly what we had seen surfacing next to an American sub.

3. The second year I was living in residence at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia (love that place) I had a single room. Even though I was a second year student, I still had a couple of 8:15AM classes that I would drag myself to in winter, hurrying back to my room afterward to crawl under the covers for a nap (never was a morning person). One particular day I was lying on my side and just about to fall back to sleep. My hair was in a ponytail and I felt someone lift it gently and set it back down. There was no one in the room with me. That year 4 other girls had their heads stroked by unseen hands in Plessis House.

LOL - so take your best guess at which of the above is the lie. Did I NOT see a UFO, did I NOT see a sea monster or was I NOT touched by a ghost?? Please note: I realize there are perfectly reasonable possible explanations for the above - don't judge, just guess! ;-)

Also doing some knitting - these are Xmas socks for Brad's dad. No way to glam them up - they're your basic work socks. Same ones I always make him...