More Yarn to Give Away, And Some Books

Gertrude disapproves of all this packing nonsense.

Well, folks, it’s been quite a month. School (my day job) ended and the big push to pack for England started. The house got turned topsy-turvy with people repairing things, people moving things, people making the lawn look like a lawn, people making the porch look like a porch. Chaos. Inside, as Mr. Trask said, it looks like a strip mall exploded, with books, DVDs, kitchen appliances, and divers other belongings all over the place, being packed to store, ship, or give away.

All of which is to say I’ve had trouble telling which end is up, which is why this blog got away from me. Not a good excuse; just an explanation. I did manage to get the last two giveaways mailed out, to Dovile, Sarah, Fran, Ivanna, and Deb. Congratulations to everyone who won, and everyone else keep trying. There’s lots more yarn yet to be won! I’ll be doing the Dream in Color Starry packages tomorrow, those of you who won the pretty sparkly pink yarns.

In lieu of a well-thought-out blog post (it’s coming, soon; I promise!), here are some nifty knitting moments from around the Internet:

1. This lady knit a surprisingly cat-like cat. I wish she’d give us the pattern, although I suspect the wire frame requires more artistry than I possess.
2. Franklin Habit wrote a lovely post about his grandmother, with photos of a shawl he designed to honor her. If only I were impressively shawl-y, I could make this. Instead, I sent the post to my shawl-y friend Michele.
3. The Sweatshop of Love is selling these amazing nautical knot bracelets in an array of colors. They remind me of the fisherman’s bracelets sold in New England when I was a pre-teen. You’d buy one and wear it all summer; as you bathed in the ocean, showered, etc., it would shrink to your wrist. These are like grown-up versions of that first sign of summer.

Meanwhile, the show must go on from underneath these piles of belongings – which means, of course, more yarn to give away. A new and exciting addition: books. Some books are coming with us to England, and I’m selling some to powells.com, and some I’m giving away to good homes. Here’s what we’ve got this week:

1. Two skeins of Canopy Fingering: one in Plum and one in Cat’s Paw.
2. One skein of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in Mallard (SUCH a pretty color).
3. One copy of Anne L. MacDonald’s No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting.
4. One copy of Lisa R. Myers’ The Joy of Knitting Companion, a nifty book that includes patterns, tips, design information, and even knitters’ graph paper so you can sketch your own stranded knitting motifs. I have used one page of the graph paper, but no more!

As always, the yarn has been stored in air-tight containers in our no-smoking, one-cat household. Before I mail each of the packages, I freeze the yarn for 24 hours – just in case of any pests. (I’ve never had a moth problem, but if I were receiving yarn from a stranger I might want them to freeze it first.)

Comment on the blog for a chance to win; I’ll select the four winners at noon on Sunday, June 26, and post the results soon after.  Good luck!