And it’s a total non sequitur for this blog — I just happened to be thinking about it.

I’ve been having lots of fun knitting on my Chevron Stole because I keep falling asleep while knitting it, then I wake up and continue merrily on to the end of the row. Then a few rows later I notice that I dropped a stitch while knitting in my sleep and have to fix it — whoopsie!

It’s been a tiring week, so I’ve had lots of knitting entertainment of this sort.

I’m estimating that I am approximately two-thirds done with the stole, so assuming I can stay awake long enough to finish it, finish it I may. In the not-too-distant future.

Book Give-away

I awoke the great and mighty Random Number Generator from its slumber to choose a winner for a copy of Rachael Herron’s How to Knit a Love Song. The winner is Kendra. Kendra, I have emailed you. Thanks to everyone who left a comment to enter.

Hey, Look

I won the lottery.

Whee.

This Weekend . . .

It is supposed to rain and rain, and then rain some more. Could be worse, could be snowing. And I might manage to get some knitting done.

If I can stay awake, that is.

Exhibit A:

I received a copy of Haapsalu Shawl, A Knitted Lace Tradition from Estonia. I purchased my copy from The Needle Arts Book Shop (here’s the link to the book for sale there). They are lovely to deal with — wonderful customer service and fast shipping.

The book is magnificent. Yeah, it’s expensive, but if you are into lace, I think it is worth every penny. It’s about the history of Estonian lace knitting. There are many many great photographs and illustrations. While there are no patterns for knitting shawls, there is a lot of explanation of how the traditional shawls are constructed and a huge stitch dictionary of the lace stitches used. Wow. Just . . . wow.

Exhibit B:

Speaking of wow, you probably know that our own dear Rachael has published her first novel, How to Knit a Love Song.

I call her “our” Rachael because she is a member of the knit-blog family. I’ve been reading her blog forever (I remember when it was called “My Glass House”). She is one of the “old-school” knit-bloggers from way back when there were only a handful of us.

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her a couple of times and can assure you that Rachael is as delightful and genuine in person as she is on her blog.

So you’ll excuse me, I hope, for being a little misty on the occasion of her first book coming out. I remember back when she was an aspiring writer and I’m so proud of her and so freaking happy to see her well-deserved success.

Rachael very kindly signed a copy for me and sent it to me (and I’ll confess to you that I also bought the Kindle edition so I can read it on the go as well). I’ve started reading it and I’m loving it.

Rachael has offered a second copy to one of my readers. And I’m betting if we ask nice, she’ll sign it, too. If you’d like to be entered into the drawing for How to Knit a Love Song, leave a comment to this entry by 4:00pm Eastern time this Thursday, March 11. The Random Number Generator will select a lucky recipient.

Lucy sez:

“Hey, Digit’s momma wrote this book!”

And just to prove it, I’ve recently purchased another shawl pattern: the Brandywine Shawl, by Rosemary Hill. You can check it out on Ravelry, here, or on Romi’s blog  — read her post about the pattern here. She is donating $5.00 of the purchase price for each pattern sold to Doctors Without Borders and has set herself quite a goal for the number of patterns she hopes to sell and the amount of money she wants to donate.

So if you think it’s pretty and like me need another shawl in your life, buy the pattern!

Meanwhile, I’m still working on the Chevron Stole.

I am halfway done. I know this because I have just about finished the first skein of yarn, and I bought two skeins. The finished shawl will block out to at least 72″ long, I’m thinking.

Winners!

The great and mighty Random Number Generator has chosen winners to receive copies of my new book! So many of you left a comment (Yowies! 1400+ comments!) that I decided to give away three copies. The winners are Sarah, Jayne, and Kelly-Ann. I’ve emailed the three of you, so if you think one of those individuals might be you, check your email! Thanks to everyone who entered the contest!

Here are some details about the way I pick the winners . . .

I check the total number of comments on the blog post, and then have the generator pick 3 numbers within that number range. In WordPress (my blogging software) it is pretty easy for me to go in and find the comments with the winning numbers because I can display the comments for a particular post 20 on the screen at a time.

Why am I telling you this? I am telling you this because  this is the reason why I ask that entries be left in the comments and not emailed to me or sent using the “contact me” form. If one sends me an entry via email or the “contact me” form (which is also emailed to me and in fact sometimes ends up in my spam filter, for whatever reason), the entry is not assigned a number.

Okie dokie, gotta run! I’ve got a busy Sunday planned. Lucy does as well:

She has to “make biscuits” on her sheepskin!

A kitty’s work is never done.

This is a new mousie that the very wonderful Keri made to replace the mouse (also made by Keri) whose tail Lucy bit off. Keri’s kitty Slick carefully tested it for Lucy before it was sent off. (If you click on the link above, you can see proof of this.)

Keri included a gift for me too! A wrist tag:

Don’t you love the fabric?

Thank you Keri and Slick — we love you!

There was something else waiting for me when I got home — a large heavy box.

What could it be?

It is full of advance copies of my new book, Toe-Up Socks for Every Body! Eeeeeeeeeeeee!

Publication date is March 23 — just a little over 2 weeks away.

Want a copy now? Leave a comment (don’t email me, don’t use the “contact me” form, but leave a response at the end of this blog entry by clicking on the “x responses” link you will find at the end of this post and filling out that form) by noon Eastern time this Sunday, March 7, and the Random Number Generator will chose a couple of winners to get a copy asap.

Lucy sez:

“Huh. I like my mousie better than this silly book.”

That’s, reading from left to right, Dragonfly Fibers Dragon Sock in the Prophets of Persia, Golden Pear, and Villainness colorways, Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in the Clover colorway, and Miss Babs Yummy in the Spring Lettuce colorway.

Winners!

The Random Number Generator has chosen five winners in the Crazy Aunt Purl book contest: Laura S in MD, Liz T, Amy in Atlanta, Kathy D, and Jackie. The winners have been emailed, so if you think one of those individuals is you, check your email!

Current Knitting

I haven’t talked much about what I’m working on at the moment. I started another lace shawl, then decided I didn’t like how it was looking, and ripped it out and started over. Here is what it is looking like now:

This is Wollmeise 100% merino sock yarn in the Herzblut colorway. I finally got around to putting “herzblut” into the Google online translator and discovered it means “Lifeblood.” I figured it was blood of some sort . . .

I’m using a U.S. size 4 needle for this. After ripping out the all-over lace pattern I started, I went back and started with stockinette in a more-than-a-triangle shape, and am now doing a lacy edging on that. I think I’ll like this much better.

Lucy Sez

I got this toy for my birthday. I’m not exactly sure what to do with it, but it has catnip in it!

News Item One:

There is a turkey stowed in the fridge. Lucy is hopeful that there will be some sort of interaction with said turkey later in the week.

News Item Two:

The Random Number Generator will chose the winner of the Kristin Nicholas book tomorrow evening.

News Item Three:

I finished some socks.

News Item Four:

I started more socks.

News Item Five:

I had a brief encounter with a squirrel:

News Item Six:

Lucy is napping.

I was all set to purchase the multimedia docking station for the Droid — the one that charges it while displaying weather, time, photos, etc. I figured I’d replace my alarm clock with this nifty little solution that costs $29.99.

Well, you can download a free app from the Android Market called “Dockrunner.” It puts your Droid into multimedia mode without the dock. Here’s my little Droid running multimedia mode and going commando without a dock.

You need to plug your charger in on what is now the bottom of the phone, so you do need some sort of stand for it if you want it to stand up nicely on your nightstand.

I ordered this stand from ThinkGeek.com for $3.99. Beats $30!

I’ve had my Droid for a week, and I am still in love with it.

Current Knitting

I’m working on a sock design using the lovely MacKintosh Iona sock yarn pictured in yesterday’s blog post. Here is the first sock, which I completed yesterday:

I’m calling the design “Thistle and Heather Socks” and it will eventually be available for sale from MacKintosh Yarns.

Or maybe “Heather and Thistle Socks.”

We Have a Winner

The winner of the Nicky Epstein book is Carol R., chosen by the great and mighty Random Number Generator. Thank-you to everyone who left a comment. If your name is Carol R., check your email.

Psssst! I’ll have another book to give away later this week . . .

Meanwhile, Lucy hasn’t done any more mountain climbing.

MY plane landed in OKC late Friday afternoon and I was met at the airport by three of my very favorite people in the world: Stacy, Keri, and Muriel. We checked me into my hotel, then headed over to Cattlemen’s Steakhouse, where Mary, Courtney, and Laura were waiting for us and we had a very yummy leisurely dinner. The place was packed and we were lucky to be put into a private room.The food was fantastic! I’ll be sure to watch Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives this weekend, because Cattlemen’s Steakhouse is one of the featured eateries on this episode.

On Friday morning we headed out to the National Cowboy Museum — here we are:

Here’s just Muriel and me with a full view of the statue:

The rest of the weekend was spent at SWAK in the City: classes, a party, and just all-round yarny fun!

Here is the one photo I took:

Oklahoma sunrise!

On Saturday night a bunch of us headed over to Muriel’s house for good food, margaritas, knitting, and a whole lot of laughing.

Here’s Muriel and me under a tree outside her house. I love seeing the leaves change!

I had such a wonderful time, but was happy to return home to my sweet Lucy. Today she’s been staring out the window:

This is what she looked like when I left the house on Thursday:

While I was away, it turned into autumn here. The view out my window:

And another view:

Book Giveaway!

The Random Number Generator chose Susie B to win my copy of The Polymer Clay Cookbook. Susie, I’ve emailed you, but my email has been wonky today, so if I don’t hear from you soon, I’ll try again!

Speaking of The Polymer Clay Cookbook, the authors have posted a tutorial for making stitchmarkers on their blog, here.

It was founded after seeing the conditions the girls live in while they’re in orphanages there.  They started by cleaning up the buildings, fixing windows and the like, but they’ve moved on to vocational training.  Specifically machine knitting as opposed to broom making, which is what they were being taught before.

The organization has established an online auction of mostly hand-made goods in order to do some more fund-raising. The auction is live now, and the items are on eBay, here. There are a lot of lovely handmade items, as well as some knitting kits. This would be a great opportunity to do some holiday shopping while supporting a great cause. I believe the auctions went live yesterday, and are all 10-day auctions, so you have time to browse through the offerings there. I’ve bid on a couple of the items there and I hope you will consider doing so as well.

Book Giveaway!

The Random Number Generator has spoken! The winner of Haiku Knits: 25 Serenely Beautiful Patterns Inspired by Japanese Design by Tanya Alpert is: Angel!

Thank you to everyone who left a comment!

Today

Today I am venturing into the stash room to try to do a bit of much-needed organizing. If you don’t hear from me after, say, three days, send help, okay?

Lucy sez:

“It’s chilly in here and I don’t think Momma’s gonna turn the heat on anytime soon!”

Since you haven’t seen it for a while, I’m posting a pic of the sock-in-progress:

This is Madeline Tosh sock yarn in the Malachite colorway. I’m loving this yarn. It’s got my favorite base — tight twist 100% merino. And it’s green! How could I not love it?

And it is being knit up very slowly. Since I’ve got a big lace project to work on at home, this sock only comes out during my commute. And more often than not, the morning commute only. The afternoon commute has been too crowded for knitting lately.

But I’m hoping to finish this sock by the end of the week and have the second sock started to take to New York with me this weekend. I’ll be at Knitty City Saturday evening for a book signing (5 – 7 pm), and Sunday for classes. I hope I’ll see some of you there!

Here, for Johanne, a pic of the shawl in progress.

I’ve named this design “True Love Stole.” Johanne will understand.

iTunes!

I just got enough reward points from my VISA card to order a free $50 iTunes gift card. Wheeeeeee! So soon I’ll be buying 50 songs from iTunes. Wanna help me out? Leave the name of a song from the 1960s to 1990s in the comments to this post and on Monday (September 14) about noon-ish my time I’ll fire up the Random Number Generator and pick some folks to win the WendyKnits pattern of his/her choice, which will be delivered in pdf format via email.

Doesn’t matter if the song you name is one I’ve already got — I just need some inspiration here!

Lucy sez:

“Treats, please.”