Now Norma Knits

Another Scarf, Many More Wonderful Prizes, and Two More Surprise Drawings!

Robin V. (Ravelry Link) sent this pretty Corrugator scarf in to the OFA last week, along with a Target gift card and a donation to the fund -- another person who rounded all the bases.   

Thank you so much, Robin.  All of your efforts and your gifts will go a long way towards brightening up someone's day.  (Here's another example of how hard it is to photograph red.)

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Let's talk prizes, shall we? Here's something wonderful to sweeten the pot:

THE SWEET VERMONT PACKAGE:

My lovely sister Gail, President and Founder of Vermont Nut Free Chocolates, has donated a 24-piece assortment of her delicious gourmet chocolates. 

 

You will not be disappointed -- I can guarantee it. These things are to live for, and my mouth is watering just looking at that picture.  Gail's chocolates are the Real Deal, people.

And in the Sweet Vermont Package, there's a jar of my homemade rose petal jam in the freezer that I'll send out to the same winner.  

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BABY COCKTAILS:

My friend Thea, the designer of the wonderful Golden Vintage Cardigan that I knit in red Rowan Calmer, like so:  has donated four prizes -- one copy of each of her BabyCocktails patterns -- Golden Vintage, Nantucket Red (two are still being test-knit -- Short Lucky and Long Lucky), together with vintage buttons suitable for each of the patterns.

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KNITTING AS FAST AS I CAN:

Susan, with whom I have shared so many laughs and a Very Interesting Wine Party with a great backstory she once hosted in my honor, for which I will be forever grateful, not to mention being responsible for me experiencing the full-on Salt Lake City (aka the must-have green jello and associated items) dining experience, has donated a copy of EACH of her ten patterns.  Susan's patterns are always favorites, as they are so well written, so varied, and so accessible to knitters of all levels.  Did you know there is a Ravelry group for lovers of Susan's patterns?  

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FIBRE-ISLE FINE YARNS:

Fibre-Isle Fine Yarns has donated two stunning lace scarf kits, complete with bison yarn (I'm drooling), bamboo needles, stitch markers -- even trimming scissors! -- and a gorgeous lace scarf pattern.

 

(Click to make the image bigger.)

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GALE ZUCKER PACKAGE:

Our Gale has donated a pack of her photo art gift cards

 

 

(soooo beautiful) and one of her distinctive seaglass buttons.

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And last (for today) but definitely not least, Carol has donated two copies of Vogue Knitting Holiday Edition!

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And today, in a little surprise drawing, we have given away one of Thea's patterns AND one of Susan's, so after today there will only be three of Thea's left and nine of Susan's. 

Want to be sure to get in on all of the drawings?

Donate now:

and be sure to notify us at redscarffund@gmail.com of the amount of your donation.  You get one chance at the drawing for each $5 donation.  

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AND THE WINNERS ARE:

• Of Susan's Beautiful Fingerless Mitts, Elysian: Ann M. 
• Of Thea's Wonderful Golden Vintage Cardigan: Stephanie B.  

I've emailed both of the winners and they've already got their patterns.

Congratulations and thank you for your donations!

Off To Rhinebeck and I've Given Up Cake

So I'm off to Rhinebeck today for the New York Sheep and Wool Festival, where much merry-making and overindulging is the theme of the weekend. 

Forgive me if this post is a bit more odd than usual (I know it's a high bar I've set for myself, but...), but I am giddy on the plastic fumes of my new Discover card which arrived YESTERDAY. Yesterday!  Barely 24 hours after the reported loss. Those people know how to do business, I'll tell you. They overnighted it via UPS without us asking them to. Now THAT is service. Hello, Amazon VISA, which is going to take five to seven business days -- I'm talkin' to YOU. Turns out Discover is based in Salt Lake City, UT, and not only that, but I spoke to a young man right there in Salt Lake City -- and I don't mean Salt Lake City, India, either. A real, honest-to-goodness on-American-soil, English-speaking nice young man who thanked me for being a loyal customer since 1988 when I called to activate my new card. Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about. One more thing for me to love about Salt Lake City. (Another is JetBlue, and several others are the individuals in my huge crowd of wonderful women friends out there.)  

So I HAVE A CREDIT CARD that I can use to do such essential things as check into my hotel and eat.  Really it's just the hotel thing, and the fact that I hate to carry much cash and I really don't even hardly know how to use a checkbook (Joan can attest to that fact, since I tried to forge her check at Vermont Sheep & Wool -- am I right, Joan?)  I kid. But STILL. A very good feeling to have that little card on my person. Truly. Now there is just that little issue that not every place takes Discover, but at least the hotel and the eateries I plan to frequent, I think, will. It's a big help.

Now, what's all this about me giving up cake? No, despite the fact that I continually whine about That Ten Pounds, I am NOT going to turn down a piece of chocolate lava cake at the Eveready Diner. No way, no how. I mean another kind of cake:

 

The yarn cake.

I've just about had it with the yarn cakes from yarn-winders. No matter how carefully I try to wind them up, I always end up with knots and tangles and problems pulling from the center-pull ball. I always seem to have to rewind it into a regular ball. What a PAIN. So though it takes a bit more time and effort, I think I'm just going to skip the multiple steps of winding the things on the ball-winder and then doing it over anyway, and go primitive again, with the plain-old round ball of yarn. Yes, I do know about the nostepinne, but I think plain-old plain-old ball-winding is just more my cup of tea. 

Look:  Here's evidence of knitting activity:

 

(Don't you love those 'shrooms?  I do not know if they are edible or not, and I'm not about to find out. The extra skeins of the luscious blue yarn came, along with the Discover card. BONUS. Look at that gorgeous blue, nice ROUND ball.)

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I know this looks a bit weird because it's not blocked out, but it is an almost-completed left front of the Lush Shaped Cardigan. The back is completed, in case you had forgotten....

 

... though Mr. Jefferies made it a bit challenging to photograph.

Hello. I'm super-cute, and I'm about to eat your lens.

  

All About My NYC Yarn Crawl

There's so little to tell. I only went to one store. Isn't that pathetic? But at least I chose a winner.  And it had the added benefit of a next-door latte, a pumpkin tart, and a wonderful gab with Kay and her daughter who has A+ skills at Sitting and Pretending Not to be Bored and Unhappy When Mothers Gab.  That girl has awesome skill and talent!  She could win gold in the Olympics in that sport!  Not only that, but when a stranger comes along who is admiring and trying to furtively touch The Mom's handknit Shadow Box, she even cheerfully models it for said stranger who *gasp* has never heard of Ravelry.  Hopefully she remembered the word, because she did not write it down, but Kay urged her to JOIN.  Seriously! You mean there really is a knitter left on this planet who has not joined Ravelry? And we met her. Not only that, but when I was in Purl, the helpful and cheerful staff kept asking people if they were there for the yarn crawl, and many of them said no.  You could tell they were wondering why it was so sardine-like in there.  Made me feel so very cosmopolitan.  There I was, having flown down from Vermont for The First Annual NYC Yarn Crawl.  

I really did intend to hit more of the shops on the crawl, but instead I spent all of Sunday with the kids and the dog.  Not much surprise there, I suppose.  And it was a blast.  The weather was wonderful, we walked miles and miles, and though my best NYC walking boots were in the repair shop, I managed to make it through with only a couple blisters and minimal aches and pains, thanks to plenty of "are you gellin'"-type inserts in my shoes.  

I know you want me to shut up and show you what I bought already!  So here it is:

 

Two skeins of splendid, exquisite softness known as Swans Island Certified Organic Merino worsted-weight yarn in Indigo.  This is such gorgeous stuff, I'd like to take a bath in it.  It's made in Maine, and the stunning dye is natural indigo.

The softness is amazing, but as we knitters all too sadly know, the tradeoff with such softness is often that the knitted item pills like a mofo. This yarn has a bit of a tighter twist, and I'm hoping that prevents the pilling. Fingers crossed. I bought it with something very specific in mind, but after I got home, my idea morphed slightly.  The new idea will require more yarn, and I promptly called Purl and ordered two more skeins.   

I've already cast on for the first part:

Look familiar?  Yup, another Palindrome. And since I cast on and knit and ripped out and recast on and reknit a total of four times the other night, in order to get the width I wanted, and the yarn held up really well to all of that nonsense, I have high hopes that it will not pill and be ratty in no time.  I sure hope it won't, because it's meant for something special, and I certainly don't want it to turn into a schmatte suitable only for wiping down the car after a few wears.

And after mucho waffling, the decision has finally been made:  I will be going to Rhinebeck, though I may be walking around with a tin cup asking for donations, since I freakin' lost my freakin' wallet at UVM last night. So all the credit cards have been canceled and I have to start over.  Off to the DMV for a new license today, unless someone miraculously has turned the thing in and I get it before I go to start to recreate my life.  It's the return of WTF Wednesday.  *siiiiiiiigh*

EDITED TO ADD:  The wallet is sitting safely in someone's office.  I will pick it up later today.  Dang it, though, all the credit cards are canceled.  But still, this is the best sort of outcome, and I got the call before I went to get my license replaced.  Big whew.

A Win-Win-Win Gift from JessaLu

I bet you, like I, have always been a sucker for JessaLu's cute, very well made, and functional bags. Maybe you already have one or two. But there's always room for another!  They are so perfect for carrying around a small project - socks or mitts or a neckwarmer - or a spindle and fluff - or even as a makeup or art supplies bag - keeping things neat, tidy and organized, in a very stylish way. 

 

JessaLu's Halloween-themed line

And here is a fabulously creative incentive idea straight from her to you:

She has donated a coupon code for 10% off a purchase in her ArtFire shop to be sent to each person who donates more than $5 to the Red Scarf Fund from today forward (so now you get an extra thank you if you donate again). 

You can apply the coupon code to your purchase in her ArtFire shop. This code is in effect for the next year; however, each person can only use it once.

To claim your coupon code, let us know at redscarffund@gmail.com the amount of your donation to the Red Scarf Fund greater than $5, and we will send you the code.  

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!

JessaLu has also donated three prizes to the prize basket for the main Red Scarf Fund drawing.  (I just realized we have not set a final date for the drawing. I hereby decree that the final date is December 15, 2009, but we will be doing surprise drawings along the way -- you never know when that cashmere or that other coveted item might be drawn -- so get your donations in early and often!)

Added to the main prize basket are three gift certificates for JessaLu's $25 bags.  So that's three chances (times however many multiples of 5 your donation is) to win a JessaLu bag, AND for your donation of greater than $5, a coupon code for 10% off a purchase in her shop.  

Please let us know the amounts of your donations -- you get one chance at the big prize drawing for each $5 donation.

What Do You Think?

Our Margene is in the hospital, soon to undergo an important operation. I'd appreciate it if everyone would send great love and healing thoughts her way.  I love you, Margene. Please be well.   

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Yesterday Linda asked:

Will we have an opportunity to send money/contribute prizes to a raffle to raise money for the fund again this year?  Knitting time is tight but I'd like to be able to contribute again in ways that suit me better this year.

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I'm game if you are.  I was a bit worried about donor fatigue and just too many things going on -- too many requests for money in these tight times -- too many contests going on, and worried that my readers might have had too much of my begging.  

So I'm here to gauge interest in another Red Scarf Fund Challenge.  Poor Paula, who was my spreadsheet maven and coordinator extraordinaire last year, probably doesn't even want to hear the words, but maybe I can either convince her to give it another go, or I can find another hapless spreadsheet volunteer.  ;-D      <---------- [This position is taken.  I have two early volunteers.  Thank you!]

What say you?  We'd need willing donors of prizes, and more importantly as always, donors to the fund, to make it work.  

The fund of which I speak, in case you want to get an early start on the donating, is the Red Scarf Fund For Foster Youth that we set up to help the OFA cover emergency needs of their students -- all made possible through the well-known generosity of knitters and crocheters.  (Lovin' that new logo!)

You Can Help

The RED SCARF FUND FOR FOSTER YOUTHprovides emergency aid because life happens and foster youth don’t have the safety net most people call ‘family.’

Red Scarf aid has paid for:

· medical bills

· eyeglasses

· musical instrument repairs

· new tires to pass inspection

· and sadly, funeral expenses

All the things a traditional scholarship fund doesn’t cover, all the things a parent would – our young people count on the Red Scarf Fund to help them.

Donate now.

 

Oh, That AnnaMarie!

Let's just say, the number of necessary gym visits has been increased.

And I will probably be taking her name in vain with every additional 30 minutes on the elliptical machine or the rowing machine or the hiking simulator.

But it was worth it.  

Not photographed:  Homemade ginger cookies and a latte courtesy of Barista Wes.

Mmmmmmmm.

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And there was knitting.  I cast on for the new wider Palindrome scarf.  

An added cable to the width makes all the difference!

I'm crossing the cables every 8th row instead of every 5th.  AnnaMarie says I'm a fast knitter.  Who knew? 

Random Wednesday

1.  After some deliberation, I decided to rip out the Palindrome scarf and start it over with four cables instead of three.  It presently looks like this:

2.  Mr Jefferies and I took a hike on the hill behind my house with my sister and nephew yesterday.  There is a lookout partway up that is a classic spot for viewing the entire city of St. Albans, the lake, and the Adirondacks beyond.  There is a wonderful turn-of-the-(20th)Century sketch done of the city, when St. Albans was quite the railroad boom town, from up there.  A few copies of it are floating around, like in the county courthouse and the historical society, etc., and it's very cool to look at that when one is familiar with the actual spot from which it was drawn. My sister and nephew had never been at the lookout, so I took them there.  It was a very lovely day and the view was pretty good.  I tried to get a Rin-Tin-Tin-style photo of Mr J, but he wouldn't stand still long enough.  He was all like, "I'm busy!"

 

3. I've been working out a lot lately and keeping a close watch on my calories/fat/protein/carbs/calcium.... oh, cripes, the list does go on and on.  I want to get back solidly in the "excellent" BMI range, as I'm topping out that range right now and NOW is the time to nip that in the bud.  But I'm going to visit AnnaMarie again today, and so this will likely be a "one step back" day, since she serves me up with delicious and delectable food every time I'm up there.  I did the hike in addition to a regular workout yesterday, and tons of weight-lifting, and I attempted some unassisted chin-ups and pull-ups (not very successful, but better than ever before) so I'm hoping that will mean something, and I will eat my cookie without guilt.  

3.a).  It certainly is a lot easier to fulfill the carb/protein/fiber/calorie requirements with the garden.  I have so many fresh, fiberful, low-carb, low-calorie veggies available at my fingertips and can add them to every meal.  I'll miss it so much when it's gone.  

4.  Don't hate me because I have beautiful tomatoes!  I've still got a big bowl of them that need to be taken care of, and picked these yesterday:

5.  A friend asked me yesterday if I had enough to give away.  Oh yes, I certainly do.  This basketful is going to AnnaMarie today:

We have a little barter arrangement going on, and today her payment is in tomatoes.  

A Long-Overdue Modeling Session For Cookie and Kristen

(Click on the pictures to make them bigger.)

Longtime readers will remember the story, but for the casual reader or the new visitor to this blog, when my friend Kristen spent a year in Moscow doing research for her dissertation, she needed warm hands and I sent her some thrummed mittens that I knit.  She sent me, among other things, this lovely orange Russian yarn.  It is cobweb-weight wool, the kind that is used to knit the famous Orenburg shawls.  Kristen has long since been back to the U.S. now, back in Pittsburgh where first she procrastinated on (but not really), and then she recently obtained, her Ph.D.  

I bought the pattern for the Faux Russian Stole (in the book A Gathering of Lace) years ago at a sheep & wool festival in Upstate New York, but I am just not much of a lace knitter, and it sat undone for years.  So finally this spring I called upon our ever-energetic, ever-talented and giving curmudgeon Cookie in California, who knitted this gorgeous shawl for me in practically no time flat -- and she held the super-skinny yarn TRIPLED in order to do it. 

This blog has brought me no end of wondrously warm friendship stories. I met both of these friends through the blog. Wait, did I say "met"?  Though Cookie has done many, many lovely things for me and we have a very close relationship, we still have not yet met in person.  But now I have this sunshiny orange token of warmth from around the globe.  

I am a rich, rich woman indeed.

Thank you, Cookie and Kristen! 

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Queen (and Prince) For A Day

Yesterday was another one of those days when I drove over the mountain to the Northeast Kingdom to be pampered, soothed and smoothed, head to toe, by AnnaMarie.  I brought her a few things she needed from Gardener's Supply and a few things from my garden, and she served me another one of her award-winning lunches, complete with the BEST strawberry shortcake in the world -- Balsamic-dressed strawberries over her amazing lemon-ginger muffin tops, and whipped cream.  HEAVEN ON A PLATE!

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day not only for me, but also for Mr. Jefferies.

Being a city dog, he has not ridden in a car much, but living with me he will have to ride.  My poor little Vincent never did learn to ride well.  He just hated it with a passion 'til the day he died.  I wish I had known about this for him -- it might have helped:  Mr. Jefferies has a new car seat (I paid less than that at PetSmart).

I've been trying to get him accustomed to riding in it, and this was a good long ride to break him in.  He was a champ.  He whined a bit about it on the ride over, and panted a lot, but he finally settled down and adjusted to the new experience, as he always seems to do.  He's really such a good, good boy.  He played with the Corgis, supervised the primping and preening and the pretty and restorative pedicure (my feet and legs have been killing me from all the walking with Mr. J., and after AnnaMarie got done with them, they felt like a million bucks),

and he got nice and exhausted, so he gave in and slept in the car seat, all snug and secure, on the way home:

 

Thank you for another fabulous day in the Kingdom, AnnaMarie!

Tough Times For Fundraisers (duh)

I know this does not count as a news flash:  Times are tough for everyone.  In this uncertain economy, we're all suffering in one way or another.  Many of us have lost our jobs, or we wonder if our jobs will be there tomorrow.  Things like basic services, fuel, and certainly health insurance (if we are lucky enough to have it) are more expensive, and yet we are making less and less money.  In my case, I'm self-employed.  But my volume of work has been cut drastically back, I'm spending a lot of money on professional development, fulfilling continuing education requirements, and networking, all the while searching for more work in my highly specialized niche, and I have much-needed house repairs that are waiting to be done and quarterly taxes that need to be paid.  I feel a bit ridiculous for writing this -- this is news to no one.  None of us is feeling terribly flush or secure these days. 

So it comes as little surprise that people who previously had no trouble raising big amounts of money via the blogs are not having the same success this year.  Claudia was the number one fundraiser for the MS Society bike-a-thon for the last two years.  

I copied this from her fundraising page:

Knitters Against MS

Last year, knitters all over the world generously supported my ride and this charity to the tune of over $32,000 and were the NUMBER ONE FUNDRAISERS in the entire ride! Last year I also heard from knitters all over the world who are struggling with this disease, which among other badness can compromise their ability to knit. NO! UNACCEPTABLE! How about we kick some more fundraising ass for them?

But so far she is quite short of her goal.  Her page is here.

Claudia is not the only one riding for MS.  Isela is also!  Her fundraising goal is far more modest and thankfully she's closer to reaching it.  Here's her page.

In addition, for another cause, the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk For The Cure, Jessica is having a difficult time reaching her goal.  Click here for her page.

I don't know about you, but you know I calls it as I see it.  I get really tired of people knocking on my door and calling my home and sending me emails asking me for money.  And yet, soon I too will be one of them.  I will be asking for your help in supporting my favorite cause, the Red Scarf Fund for the Orphan Foundation of America.  I know from personal experience that it is not an easy thing to do, this fundraising thing -- and in the case of Claudia, Isela and Jessica (and probably others I'm forgetting about or don't know about), they are doing big things and expending big energy -- getting blisters and sore muscles and spending endless hours training -- to earn the money to donate to their favorite causes.  Last year, because Claudia's eyesight is bad and she needs to ride a tandem bike with someone in the front to be her eyes, she had to scramble to find a riding partner because her husband, also her biking partner, broke his ankle.  A wonderful knitter and fellow bike-racer, Michele, came to her aid.  Now that is commitment, people!  Lazy me, I just fly to D.C. to do a little networking and consulting, have lunch with some teenagers and a couple of good friends, and then ask for your generosity. 

How many hundreds of thousands of members are there on Ravelry now?  (I couldn't find the number on the Ravelry pages last night -- I used to see it all the time, but now it's not there...but suffice it to say ... A LOT.)  I was thinking.... if each person just donated a dollar, or the cost of one skein of yarn -- even Red Heart -- even on sale!.... I know, right?!

Anyway, in support of my three good friends -- Claudia and Isela and Jessica -- I have pledged to give up my usual almost-daily Starbucks this week (unless a sweet friend decides to treat me or something.  I'm not stupid.) and instead of buying my lunch/dinner, I will pack it the three days I have classes this week.  Not big sacrifices.  They are small things, but they do add up.  I've donated the money I might spend on those "luxuries," plus a bit more, to my three friends' rides.  And, at Seanna Lee's suggestion, I plan to make 10 jars of rose petal jam.  If you are one of the first ten people interested in the actual jam, rather than just a chance at it (this ensures that the people who get the jam are actually interested in the jam), and would like to make a donation to any of the causes I mentioned -- the amount doesn't matter -- just let me know and I will send you a jar.

Thanks for listening, and thanks for considering it. 

EDITED TO ADD:  The response has been wonderful!  Thank you, everyone, and keep it coming!  The 10 jars of jam are spoken for.