And the winner is . . .

The Ladies of the Interim House! They have received at least 15 shipments of yarn and other accoutrements, and it's all because of you, your generosity, and your overstocked warehouses of yarn. :^)

Another winner is the donator whose name I just pulled from the hat. It's Lis L.!!

You have a package ready to come to you, a Jordana Paige bag filled to overflowing with wonderful things. So I'm emailing you to let you know that it was your name I drew, and to get your particulars.

Thanks to all of you for your donations--you have provided something truly helpful to women who are rebuilding their lives. ~Stacie

One more day--win that Jordana Paige bag!

It's Tuesday where I live, and tomorrow at 4 p.m. PST I will draw a name for the Jordana Paige bag and accessories.

Have you sent your yarn and other knit-knacks to Interim House yet?

Do it now!

You want to be included in this contest, and you want to win!

(So much for mind control!)

Happy mailing! Sophi is getting out her cookie sheets and recipes!

SEVEN MORE DAYS TO GO, ALL YOU WINNERS!

Yes, my math skills are limited. :^/ and I didn't forget that Feb. hath only 28 days, but I need to correct the impression that you have more than a week to send off that gift of stash yarns etc.

Next Wednesday, Feb. 28, is the day I will put all the names in a hat and shake it up, get my totally impartial DD3 to help me out by pulling one from the hat, and award the prize package to that lucky recipient. Bells is already certain it will be she who wins, and has requested her favorite cookie type. :^) Thanks for your enthusiasm, Dearie, and I hope it will be you, but randomness dictates that everyone get a fair crack at it.

What are you waiting for? Send off your donation, no matter how small, and then email me at keramoso@yahoo.com so I can add your name to the hat!

EIGHT MORE DAYS!

Yup, you have eight days to mail off your package to Interim House and email me with your contact info, so that on Feb. 28 I can pull a name out of a hat and make someone a very happy camper (knitter!). What is shown in the picture is not the whole prize package either--a few other goodies are included!


And if that isn't enough to motivate you to send some of your stash to the knitting project in Philly, my DD3 is going to bake some of her always-tasty cookies when it's all ready to go, so that we can include a sweet incentive! You get your choice of peanut butter, chocolate chip, shortbread (the best ever!), or perhaps a surprise if you prefer. She can also make some of these cookies vegan if you prefer.

I been outta town, folks!

Goodbye to the spirit of "aloha" and pineapple/papaya/banana breakfasts. Goodbye to doing what you want when you want to. It was fun while it lasted!

And now I get to return to real life, after the gorgeous and relaxing world of O'ahu.

If you're counting, there are now ONLY TEN MORE DAYS to mail off your yarn donations to Interim House and email me your shipment, so I can put you in the running for the Jordana Paige bag filled with goodies.

Here's the addy:
Kathy Duffy, Social Worker
Interim House Inc.
333 W. Upsal St.
Philadelphia PA 19119

Remember, they like receiving a postcard or short note telling them a bit about your part of the world.

Thanks, Cate!

Got your note, Cate, and your WOTA and other yarns will be much appreciated at Interim House! Please be sure to email me from your own contact email address when you have sent them a shipment, so that I can put your name in the hat for my drawing.

Tomorrow I'll catch up with my knitting projects and a request for advice!

Hey, does anyone besides me LOVE The Sopranos? I just got the memo and started watching it a few weeks ago, and now I look forward to every new episode. Even the theme song is outstanding! I love how Tony and Carmela don't have a totally dysfunctional relationship, even though there are huge issues, and that they are pretty darn good parents. I say that knowing that perhaps people who keep guns and ammo in the kitchen cabinets might not be ideal parents ;^) but still. They are totally complex characters. Yeah, I'm probably saying what everyone else says about why this show is so great, but I as I said, I just got the memo.

Happy knitting and Sopranos watching, y'all!

Plug for Swag

I love Scout's Swag! Check her out, but be warned--hang on to your self-control, since she has SO many tempting items. And her yarns are yummy too!

Interim House update

I looked at the amazing array of knitted items being made by the women of Interim House in Philadelphia, and was thrilled to find a note from Kathy, who runs the knitting project (among other things) there:

I have received notices that Stacie is having a contest for us and we have received some packages already. Thank you all so much and we love it when you add something about where you are from. I always read the notes to the clients and talk about the different parts of the country. People have also asked if we would like odds and ends of yarn. Yes!! Our women are so creative. What many of them are doing is making long scarves on circulars casting on 150 stitches and changing colors and textures every couple of rows so they are always looking for bits and pieces of something different from what they have.

So if you haven't gotten your mailing ready yet, here are some great ideas. I forgot to include information about my neck of the woods when I sent my box last week, but I encourage you to send a postcard or just jot down a little about what your region is like, whether it be rural, suburban (like mine), or urban. The US (indeed, the WORLD) is so big and so varied and people who haven't seen much of it find that the vistas open up when they begin to imagine life further afield. I must be mixing metaphors so I'll end for now. Get your mailing ready this weekend, and you can get it to Interim House by next week!

Contest info? Scroll down!

28 days and counting, people!

Yup, it's 28 more days until I draw a name out of a hat for the Jordana Paige Prize Package!! Scroll down to see more about this.

I have a three part story to tell. First this is the tear-off calendar entry for StitchNBitch today:

Wartime knitting initiatives witnessed huge spikes in production after the attack on Pearl Harbor, when it was reported that more knitting projects were begun in the two days following the attack than in the preceding three months. The knitting center of a college for women in New Jersey ran out of wool within 48 hours! Wait—colleges used to have knitting centers?

Sent this email to a few fambly members:

Just read this fun fact from my Stitch N Bitch tear-off calendar. I guess college used to be way more fun back then, and that those who knitted got more respect. :^) --Not that I'm saying I get no respect. Ahem.

Then my dear sister sent me this information, and a perfect bon mot to use at will--see the last line.

This reminds me of something I read in an WS essay--young women college students used to all bring their knitting to classes in their "girls colleges"; they were encouraged to do so by their (often female) professors, as it "helped them think better." Can you imagine having great discussions re: Stalin, Joyce, or the Panama Canal while in a sea of knitting? In fact, one of the complaints women students had when most girls' colleges became coed was that knitting was no longer encouraged. : > Put that on your needles and purl it.