FO: Secret of the Stole--Guinevere!

Still don't know the theme. The most popular guesses are Guinevere and Excalibur.

ETA: The theme was revealed to be Guinevere.

I'm a winner!

I've been having good luck recently. Before the Innernets, I only ever won one prize in any kind of drawing or contest: an 8-lb chocolate bar. I was going for the trip for four to Disneyworld, but oh well. We had that sucker on the kitchen table for what seemed like months, it was about the size of a shirt box. Everyday after school, my friends would come over and we'd chip off a couple of chunks and eat it while watching Jeopardy and doing homework. It was Nestle's chocolate, and I'm really not fond of that particular brand now.

Anyway, with the advent of the Fiber Cyber Community, all that has changed. It started last year, when my entries (1, 2, 3) in Flash Your Fiber Stash won me a prize--some merino/alpaca blend that I have yet to spin up. Then, a long dry spell, and suddenly--two prizes! Whoo hoo!

First, Rebel had a little quiz contest in honor of her birthday, and I was a lucky winner.

Apparently, in Portland, Oregon, they sell fancy wool wash in the bookstore! Can you imagine? I have only one bookstore in the entire county, and it sucks, nothing but science fiction, Oprah's bookclub and religious meditations. Certainly no wool wash. I have to drive at least 40 minutes to get to a decent bookstore, which is why I patronize Amazon so much. But I digress. This prize was a wonderful surprise. I have actually been out of any kind of wool wash and have been using a sample bottle of moisturizing shampoo, but that bottle is just about empty. So, perfect timing! And the little button has a spinning wheel on it. I'm getting quite a button collection these days. I'm going to fix up something to display them on.

Next, I found out I was a winner in the Secret of the Stole knitalong. Yippee! And the prize just came today:

Awesome! Some absolutely bewitching yarn: Radiance by Yarn Botanica, in Dragonfly. The yarn is a fabulous merino/tencel blend, fingering weight, and a generous 400 yards per skein! Wow! Also: At Knit's End by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, which is great, because I don't own it and my library never has it checked in, some really pretty clip-on glass beaded row markers and a discount card to One Planet Yarn & Fiber. Yep. Hit the Jackpot!

Wanna see that yarn close up?

Secret of the Stole Hint Five

The picture is a bit wonky, but you get the idea.
The blocking wires are working out well, they were a good investment. I'm still completely clueless about the theme. Maybe my brain does not equate lace with abstract ideas.

FO: Nantucket Jacket

It's done! And I'm very pleased.

It fits well, it's warm and soft, and not unflattering. I'm probably going to replace the buttons at some point, but I went to three different stores on Tuesday and these were the best I could come up with. I'm going to cut the top button off. The collar lays better with it open.

I really need a haircut!

Stats

Pattern: Nantucket Jacket by Norah Gaughan, Interweave Knits Fall 2006

Yarn: Knit Picks Swish, 100% superwash wool, in Copper. 16 50 oz balls used

Needles: Knit Picks Options size US 7

Size knitted: 48.5 inches chest measurement

Modifications: Lengthened sleeves from 3/4 length to full length. Naturally, I made them a smidge too long, so I omitted the crochet edging from the cuffs.

Started: September 1, 2007 Finished: November 2, 2007

Blogstalking--What's for breakfast?

Pretty self-explanatory. The tea in this instance is Stash Spiced Chai, which is my favorite chai. My favorite of all teas, however, is Lloyd's of Harrowgate Yorkshire Gold. I don't drink it on work days, though, because one teabag makes two cups and I don't have time to drink two cups before I go to work, so I don't like to waste it. I get my supply of Yorkshire Gold from my world-travelling friends who go to England about once a year. They are very kind to always bring some back for me. When I'm out, I really miss it!

And that is the story of my breakfast. Really, more about tea, but what else can I say about breakfast?

Secret of the Stole Hint Four

I almost fell behind this week, due to working a lot of unexpected hours, but I finished Hint Four: Luckily this week's hint was all bubbles, easy to memorize and no beads to fuss with. I opted to knit the stole at the designed length, without shortening or lengthening it. I am still really enjoying knitting this. Meanwhile, I ordered some blocking wires which should arrive tomorrow, so I'll be able to put them to the test on Hint Five! I still have no clue on what the theme might be. I do think the motif in the middle looks a bit like a church, but I'm not really sold on that.

In other knitting news, I'm almost done with the cap of sleeve #2 of the Nantucket Jacket. I hope to have it done and seamed this weekend!