Treasure Hunt – Clue 3
Your treasure hunt is nearing its conclusion. Unfortunately, the you may find the clues to be a little tougher. Here are this weeks clues.
Happy Hunting
Clue 3
(26 November 2011)
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Posts from the ‘contests’ Category
Nov 26
Treasure Hunt – Clue Two
Hope you had fun finding last week’s treasure hunt clues. Thanks to all of you who have participated and given me feedback on the game. If you missed last week’s clues, you can find them along with the game rules in the Saturday Surprises post.
Here are you next clues.
Clue Two
(12 November 2011)
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Saturday Surprises
I have had an idea for a game bouncing around in my head for a while. Something that would be fun, a bit silly and where everybody wins. It is also the time of year when I start thinking about a holiday gift for my loyal fans. So why not combine the two??
May I present my first every Holiday Treasure Hunt.
The Thing about Summer (Contest)
…is that it gets away from you really quickly. This summer is no different. It has zoomed by a light speed.
Here is a quick update on what’s been going on this summer.
Jun 26
AWOL
Boy, has the time slipped away from me. Summer is fully upon us and I haven’t had time to blog since that “knitting injury” I told you about in my previous post. My ankle is greatly improved though still not 100%. But I am being much more careful with my photography shoots now.
It has been an eventful spring and summer. We took a lovely vacation, I have been designing like mad and I survived another Week of the Screaming Hordes (aka Vacation Bible School). So where to begin?
I suppose I should begin with the vacation. You didn’t think you could escape without seeing the vacation photos, did you?.
What I Did on my Vacation
A Photo essay by tabitha
I saw trolley cars
and pyramids
and really cool bridges
and I knit socks.
I saw Old Mills
and museums
and more cool bridges
and knit more socks
I saw the Titanic
and butterflies
and Sock monkeys (scary)
and Donnie and Marie (even scarier)
and Mr Spock (live long and prosper)
and even a McDonald’s with a caboose (though I’m not exactly sure why a McDonald’s needs a caboose)
and knit still more socks.
And then I came home.
The End
I actually finished some socks but that is a story for another day.
To make up for the long absence, how about a blog contest?
See how many of the places pictured you can identify. Include the name of the attraction and the city and state, if possible (the entry with the most specific information will be chosen in the event of a tie). Just ignore the photos that are the interior of the car on some highway since I am not sure I can tell the highways apart. The person who can identify the most locations will get a copy of my two soon-to-be-released sock patterns (unless you don’t like knitting socks, in which case, I will offer a substitute prize). There are a total of 10 locations pictured because a couple of the photos were taken at the same place.
To enter, just comment with a photo number and your guess for the name of the attraction (if applicable) plus the city and state of its location. As a hint, all of these locations are within about 500 miles driving distance of one another. Those of you who I met in person along the way are not eligible since it gives you an outrageously unfair advantage. In the event of a tie, the entry with the most specific information will be chosen. If there are loads of people who have identical entries, winners will be chosen at random from among the correct entries. If no one guesses anything correctly, a winner will be chosen at random from all of the entries. Contest ends at midnight PDT on 4th July, 2010. Winner will be announced on the blog some time after 5 July 2010.
Aug 26
Clearing the Drawing Board Month Continues
I am so excited. I have two patterns with the tech editor and test knitters and a third that will be there by tomorrow – Friday at the latest. All three should be a reality soon. I love seeing my ideas end up in written form that someone else can read. It is also a lot of fun working with test knitters. They are the most helpful bunch. It is helpful to know if the words you wrote convey the meaning you intended. Oftentimes, they do not. So a big thank you to all the lovely test knitters who were willing to knit an untried pattern to help me improve my pattern writing skills. Thank you so much.
But Clearing the Drawing Board Month ( which may actually last for two months but we won’t mention that) doesn’t end with three patterns. No, I still have another half dozen ideas in varying stages of completeness that you will be hearing about quite soon. I can’t believe I had that many design WIPs floating around in miscellaneous notebooks.
One final reminder. The blog contest ends Saturday, 29th of August so get those comments posted. Surely some of you are more creative that me when it comes to pattern names. And there is a thick stack of prize patterns up for grabs. Put on those thinking caps and post those comments.
Mar 6
The Hurrieder I Go, The Behinder I Get
Just when I think I am getting caught up, life throws me another curve. Here are a few things I forgot to share with you.
First, knitting photos.
Finally Finished
The Eternal Socks
I forget how long ago I started working on these socks but they were supposed to be summer socks so that gives you a hint. I started the pair as part of a knit-along and then decided that I didn’t want to knit the second sock. So I knit the second sock in a different pattern for another knit-along. Voila! Two KALs complete in one pair. And seriously who is really going to notice.
The patterns are Express Lane socks by Diane Mulholland
and Tidal Wave Socks by Deby Lake. The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Summer Sock in Rose. I was excited about getting a summer yarn from CTH because I normally love their yarns. The color of this one is rich and full just like the other CTH yarns but is not the knitting dream that other CTH yarns have been. I think the blink may have too much acrylic. It doesn’t have good stitch definition, the thin-thick texture of the yarn fights with the lace pattern and the acrylic content makes the yarn hot. I think I will avoid this yarn in the future.
I also forgot to show you photos of my latest knitting pattern. I mentioned it in passing when I was telling you about the Rowan Classic Silk/Wool DK that Uncle Sam got me. But here is the finished item knit from that glorious yarn.
The Jessica Scarf
This is a fun to wear scarf because it narrow enough to be comfortable in a variety of styles.
It is also suitable for a variety of yarns. This blue version was knit from Sinfonia mercerized cotton
The leaning of the decreases in the lace pattern cause the edge of the scarf to have a slight wave to it making it very feminine.
The pattern is available as a Ravelry download
$2.50
add to cart
One final order of business is the awarding a winner to the acronym contest. No one correctly guessed that PBRMPCC meant Peanut butter with raisins, marshmallows, pecans and chocolate chips (which is actually pretty tasty as peanut butter sandwiches go) so we let the random number generator chose a winner.
And the Oscar goes to …..
Dorothy aka DotTap1956
If you will email me at tabitha AT tabithasheart DOT com (substituting the symbols for the words in caps and deleting spaces), I will email you your patterns. And since your entry made me laugh, I will throw in a copy of the Jessica Scarf pattern too.
Jan 10
Acronyms
Kids are fond of secret languages and weird ways to say things that stubbornly avoid actually saying what they mean. SmallFry’s latest kick is acronyms. He no longer speaks in words but in strings of unrelated and often undecodable letters.
Now, I am no stranger to acronyms having worked in a career that dealt with the EPA, DOT and OSHA on a daily basis. The government is riddled with acronyms which is why no one ever knows what exactly knows what they are doing. Don’t believe me – have you noticed that the 17 Billion dollar (or whatever outrageous sum they finally decided on) bail out plan in no longer called the bailout plan but the TART fund. Sounds like something to pay for the senators extracurricular activities to me. The internet is filled with acronyms. Knitters use acronyms too. EZ = Elizabeth Zimmerman; FLS = February Lady Sweater; CPH = Central Park Hoodie. But I digress.
The problem arises when I attempt to communicate with my children. When I ask the kids what movie they want to watch, Small Fry can no longer say Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but instead says CATCF; Star Wars – The Empire Strikes Back becomes SWTESB. He has gotten especially creative when asking for lunch. He will hand me a note that says “For lunch, I want CNSWPBJ” – which translated means chicken noodle soup with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Sometimes gets quite inventive with his lunch choices particularly the sandwich choices. He likes to combine odd things. For example, PBM would be peanut butter with marshmallow, TWCOL means turkey with cheese, olives and lettuce. I get quite a mental work out trying to decode his lunch requests. So last week, I decided to fully embrace his acronym lunches (and give him a dose of his own medicine at the same time) and I served him PBRMPCC. SmallFry couldn’t guess that one. You probably can’t guess what I served him either.
So how about a contest. I will give a free download for two of my designs (the Raindrops on Roses bath set and my latest and soon to be published sock) to the person who correctly guesses what I served SmallFry for lunch. If there is more than one correct answer, I will have SmallFry draw a name out of a hat. If no one gets the correct answer, I will choose a winner with a random number generator or have SmallFry draw a name out of a hat.
I will tell you that he ate what I served him (only after peaking inside to make sure it wasn’t toxic)and he lived to tell about it, so everything on his sandwich was entirely edible. Have fun decoding.
Aug 5
The Waiting is the Hardest Part
I am totally psyched because the Ravelympics Cast On is only 3 days away. I have my yarn (sure hope it’s enough), I have my needles located, cleaned and empty (didn’t think I would ever find those US4s) and I have my swatches complete. I am ready to cast on.
Except…(earlier confidence wavering) I keep changing my mind on the gauge for the sweater, redesigning the towel set and waffling on the ribbing for the sweater. I have changed my mind on that cable panel so many times my head hurts. I might be hopeless.
So to keep my mind occupied so I won’t obsess about my Ravelympics projects, (too late for that), I have been reading Crock Pot recipes. Here is what I am thinking. I have so much knitting to do that I can’t possibly have time for much cooking. So I am thinking that if I can find enough crock pot recipes that my kids will eat (therein lies the problem), I will have tons more knitting time. It will also mean I won’t have to spend as much time in my kitchen which is only a million degrees in the afternoon (west side of the house – can you tell a non-cook drafted that house plan). It might even make it possible for me to carve out a bit of sleeping time.
So how about a contest. Does anyone have a tried and true crock pot recipe? Kid friendly is a must. We don’t eat beef so no pot roast recipes. If the recipe is good with an alternative meat or vegetable, that will be fine. I figure I need about 35 recipes since I cook three meals every day. Breakfast is not really a problem since I can start the slow cooker while I am preparing breakfast. If you have a great slow cooker recipe that I can use during the Ravelympics, leave it in the comments or a link to the recipe if you got it online. Remember, only recipes that you have actually tried AND liked. I will enter your name into a drawing and the winner will get a copy of the two patterns I am designing for Ravelympics – a sweater and a towel set – and will be credited in the pattern for their contribution to making it all possible. I might even throw in the yarn for the towel pattern (in your choice of colors). In the event that both my patterns are garbage, I will select something from my stash as an alternate prize. So let’s get cooking. Cast on at 7:00AM on Friday morning but I will leave the contest open until August 15th and draw the winner sometime after the closing ceremonies on August 24th. Whenever the feeling returns to my fingers after the mad knitting.
