I'm addicted.... to color work!

If you're here for the blog contest, please see this post!

I had another exciting weekend, filled with family I haven't seen in a while and a football game on Sunday in which the Eagles slaughtered the Lions. To cap the whole weekend off, Joe and I headed down to Atlantic City to take some pictures.

But all the excitement cut into my knitting time, leaving me a little cranky today. I can't help it, I want to knit, I can't wait to see how my latest project comes out, it's just so much fun!

I decided last week that I needed a pair of colorwork mittens, and after some searching on ravelry, I settled on Eunny Jang's Anemoi Mittens.

They're highly addictive, and the pattern is so well written that they're an extremely stress free, easy pattern.


Despite the well written pattern, I did completely mess up the cuff, however that is no fault what so ever of the designers. I just wasn't paying attention. The cuff of the mitten is supposed to be ribbed, and those rows of orangish color are supposed to be purl stitches. I however alternated between knit and purl stitches, resulting in an odd ribbed/garter stitch combination.

I debated ripping it out and starting over, but I actually kind of liked the look of it, so I left it.


By the way, some of you may have noticed a difference in the way the commenting now works on the blog. I had used Haloscan previously, but have been having trouble getting it to work properly with the new blog, so for the time being, I'm back to blogger comments.

I'm hoping I can find someone who knows a little more about html code than I do to help me out. The problem I've been having is that Haloscan works on the main page, but when you go into just that post, the blogger comment link is there and active. It's been driving me crazy and I can't figure it out.

It's contest time again!

Knitters are by far a generous group of people. We see proof of these generous acts all over blogland. So when it came time to hold another contest here at Midnight Purls, I thought that instead of going the guessing game route as I have been, I'd ask everyone to do something generous and kind.

I was listening to the radio on the way to work this morning, and the radio station was talking about how they were working with the Make A Wish Foundation to try and make a local boy's wish come true.

For those of you who don't know what the Make A Wish Foundation is, they are the largest wish granting organization here in the US. Since 1980, they have been granting the wishes of children with life threatening medical conditions.


To be entered in this contest, all you have to do is go to the Make A Wish Foundation website and make a donation to the chapter of your choosing. It doesn't matter if you donate $1, $5 or more. Donate whatever you feel comfortable giving.

Then email me at midnightpurls at gmail dot com to let me know you donated. (Substitute @ for the at and . for the dot.) Please put the word "Contest" in the subject line so that I can be sure no entries get lost. I'd like for you to let me know how much you donated so I can share the total on the blog at the end of the contest, but if you don't feel comfortable including that information in the email, it is by no means mandatory.

And now for the prize. The winner will receive 2 skeins of handpainted sock yarn. I dyed these hanks back in June, using acid dyes. They are my favorite hanks that I have dyed to date, and they can be yours!



The winner will also receive a cute bag, the perfect size for carrying around a sock in progress hand made by me in their choice of Japanese fabric.








And of course, I'll throw in some other goodies of my choosing along with the sock yarn and the bag.

The contest ends on September 27th at 12 noon Eastern Standard Time. After the contest closes, I will use a random name generator to choose the winner from everyone who donated. Good luck, and thank you for playing along!

I've always been kind of a tease....

Here's a little tease as to what I've been working on. Surprisingly this Christmas Stocking isn't as hard as I thought it would be and it's going rather quickly.



Don't mind the quality of the picture, despite having a brand new digital camera, I used my cell phone because it was late and easier than setting up the digital camera and uploading the pic. There will be better pics to come soon!

In other exciting (for me anyway) news, I finally took the plunge and moved to my own domain. You can now find me by typing in midnightpurls.com. Please update your links, and keep your eyes peeled as I move into my new home by updating the look of the blog!

HSKS 3 Trivia

1- b. Charity Burbage
2- c. Alecto Carrow
3- c. The wand chooses the wizard.
4- a. to kill the owner
5- d. Jack Russell Terrier
6- a. Otter
7- a. Stew
8- c. Roast potato
9- b. ‘Three up... two across
10- d. ‘For those who take, but do not earn'

Scavenger Hunt Photos in order of:

Professor Hooch:


Firenze:


Filch:


Myrtle:


Colin:

Weekend recap, now with 20% more pictures!

This weekend was a good one. Not only was it a three day weekend, but it was also filled with much excitement for me.

Joe and I have been talking about buying a new digital camera for a while now. I'm perfectly happy with any decent point and click variety, but since Joe has a ton of lenses for his now broken film camera, he wanted something compatible, something he could use with them.

Enter the Canon 8.0 Megapixel Rebel XT SLR Digital Camera.




It fit all the criteria he was looking for, and it was still good enough for me to use as a point and click camera for taking pictures of yarn and knitting.

He went up to Best Buy on Saturday to purchase it, and we then spent Saturday night playing with it.

I love it. It takes amazing pictures, the quality of them is amazing, and even when using the flash to photograph yarn, the colors are pretty spot on!

Sunday was even better. I picked up knitXcore, and we headed to our not so local yarn store for a sale they were having.


If you ever have the pleasure of driving through, past or anywhere near Mount Holly, NJ, be sure to look up Woolbearers. They just recently moved into a bigger shop which really showcases their selection of yarn. They have something for everyone, and they sell a lot of their own hand dyed yarn. (BTW, if you aren't in the area, you can still pick up some of their hand dyed yarn. It's available for purchase here.)

Robbie and I both picked some up to knit a Baby Surprise Jacket. The colorway I picked out is called Raspberry Sorbet and it sure looks delicious!


And because Starbuck has been the subject of almost all picture taking, I leave you with a few pics of the little guy. (Click on the images to see them bigger, in all of their awesome digital quality!)

He really is a character. We went out and bought him a nice cat bed, and instead he decides he'd rather have one of the old kitchen chair pads as his own little place to rest. He loves that damn thing. He sleeps on it, he rolls around on it, he plays on it. He even lays next to it, hugging it with his legs!


Starbuck playing with his mousie:



Starbuck posing for the camera:




And Starbuck showing his appreciation for the fiber arts. (That's an afghan Joe's grandma crocheted for him when he was younger.)

Christmas Around The World Swap

When Mikey, my awesome swap partner from round one of the Knitter's Coffee Swap, told me about this swap, I couldn't help but want to join. Christmas is my second favorite holiday!

Here's the Questionnaire, for whomever will be my partner:

1. Are you religious?
   Not particularly.
   
2. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider yourself a Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced?
   I've been knitting for three or four years now. I think I'd call my self Intermediate.
   
3. Do you have any other hobbies besides knitting?
   I dabble in baking, sewing, dying yarn, embroidery, and cross-stitch.
   
4. Favorite color(s)?
   Red. And light blue. And light green. Just not all together.
   
5. Do you collect anything?
   Yarn! :) Also, coffee mugs.
   
6. Are you allergic to any fibers or animals?
   I am terribly allergic to mohair and angora. Certain wools really bother me too. Lopi makes me break out in hives, but stuff like Cascade 220 or Merino Wools don't bother me at all.
   
7. Do you have any pets?
   Yes. One Kitten (Starbuck), and one dog (Peaches), there's also Mittens, my brother's cat that lives with us.
   
8. Coffee, Tea, or Hot Chocolate?
   Mostly coffee, but once in a while a cup of hot tea is rather nice.
   
9. Cookies or Sweets?
   I'm not huge on the sweets. I'll have one here and there, but I'm more inclined to eat a cookie over a piece of candy.
   
10. Do you knit socks?
    Yes!
    
11. If not socks then what? (tell us about your favorite knits)
    I really enjoy knitting socks most. I always have at least one pair on the needles.
    
12. Do you put up a Christmas tree? If not then what do you do?
    I put up a Christmas Tree.
    
13. Favorite holiday treats?
    Christmas cookies.
    
14. Favorite holiday smells?
    The smell of cookies baking.
    
15. Do you celebrate Christmas in a traditional or unconventional way? Please elaborate.
    Well traditionally my family and I celebrate on Christmas Eve because when we were younger we would have to leave at the crack of dawn to go up to my grandparents house on Christmas day. Now that my grandparents, and most of my extended family have moved to Florida over the last few years, we still celebrate that way because it's what we've always done. Christmas Day, my siblings and I go around to our various close friend's houses to spend time with them and their families, before we all meet up again in the evening for a big holiday bash.
    
16. What are your favorite holiday traditions?
    Knitxcore has a classy Christmas Party every year that I always look forward to. Another tradition I really enjoy is putting up the Christmas Tree and decorations at work. And of course, baking cookies and shopping for gifts.
    
17. Finish the sentence: “For me Christmas is all about....”
    Making people presents.
    
18. If you were a Christmas ornament you would be…….?
    One of those classic glass balls, but with a really cool twist, maybe some glitter on it, or in a bright jewel tone you wouldn't normally think to use for Christmas.
    
19. What was your favorite gift you've ever received? Or given?
    My favorite gift I ever received was the story Joe wrote me last year. He's such a talented writer, and to receive something so personal was awesome.
    
20. When do you start your Christmas?
    Usually the week before Christmas I start with the friends. Then Christmas Eve with my family.
    
21. Do you send Christmas cards? Do you make them or buy them?
    I buy them.
    
22. What is your favorite Christmas dish?
    Mashed potatoes.
    
23. Carolers are at your door. What do you do?
    I'm probably not home. But if I am, offer them cookies.
    
24. When do you open presents? Christmas eve or Christmas morning?
    Christmas Eve.
    
25. Do you celebrate with family or friends or both?
    Both.