And the legs arrive...just in time for my birthday!

Yes, today is my birthday.  I've never particularly cared for my birthday.  I don't hate it, but I don't look forward to it either.  As far back as I can remember, I've always felt this immense pressure to make this day so special and exciting and nothing I could ever do seemed to live up to the hype.  Kind of like New Year's Eve, but much more personal.

I remember on my 5th birthday my mom had this big campfire party for me, complete with a super cool caterpillar cupcake cake that had Twizzlers for legs.  All my friends were there and it was a beautiful evening and I got a big box of pop beads (remember those?!) so it should have been a pretty great night, right?  Well, I got so freaked out that all these people were there for me and I didn't like that the focus of attention was all on me.  Too much pressure!  So I went into the house and cried my little eyes out.  My mom came in and asked me if I was having fun and I point blank told her no.  Even all these years later, I can still see the hurt on my mom's face after she had done all that work to try to make me happy.  (Sorry about that, Mom.  You know I'm your most ungrateful child, don't you?)

So, yeah....me and my birthday have a long and rocky history.  There's not a birthday that goes by that I haven't cried at least once.  I haven't had my cry yet today though.  Looks like I better get the tears worked up soon, because I'm headed to bed. ;)

Anyway, the point of my story (and I think I MIGHT have one), is that my mannequin legs arrived!  I stopped by the post office on my way home and there they were.

I immediately raced home and tore into the package to find the calf-length legs creepily tucked in between some bubble wrap.

I grabbed my camera and my mayflowers sock and went upstairs where the good light is so that I could finally snap some shots of the new sock design.  So excited!

All in all, it's been a decent birthday.  I had dinner with good friends and I got a pair of mannequin legs.  What more could a girl ask for?

Tagish Mitts

Wow, I have no idea where the last week went!  I had planned to introduce this pattern last week, but I seem to have blinked and about 8 days disappeared.

This is the third and last pattern that went live on Knit Picks on April 1.  The Tagish Mitts (Rav it) were created to be a complementary accessory to the Tagish Cowl, or they can be perfect on their own.

This is a super simple project that can most definitely be finished in an evening or two.  Perfect for a last minute gift!

Details

Pattern:  Tagish Mitts (Knit Picks link)
Yarn used:  Knit Picks Swish Bulky in Merlot Heather, 1 hank
Notions:  Tapestry needle, three 1/2 in buttons
Thanks to my test knitter, Allison H (yes, another Allison H lives in my tiny little town!)

Waiting on some mannequin legs...

...are words I never thought I'd utter.  But I am waiting on them nonetheless!  I ordered some mannequin legs a couple weeks ago off ebay and even though I paid extra to get them here quickly, they still have not arrived.  After about 4 days of me obsessively checking my PO box twice a day, so sure that they would get here any minute, I got an email last Thursday from the guy I bought them from saying that he had accidentally sent them to Alabama instead of Alaska.  Grrrrrr....

I've been really wanting to take some good shots of my Socks Revived Design Contest sock design, but I stupidly made the sample size too small for any of my big-footed friends to model!  And they are surely too small for me.  I wanted to make them in the smallest size to get them finished more quickly and off to the test knitters  (thank you Heather and Hege!) and tech editor, and if I had made them in my size, well, let's just say my feet are so big I'd still be knitting them.

So I continue to wait for the legs....but here's a sneak peek of the sock off the foot.  It could still use some blocking, but I'm otherwise I'm happy with how it turned out.  Cables in bloom...perfect for spring!

As soon as I have the feet, I'll be taking some better shots and I'll give the design a proper introduction.  Until then, I'll be enjoying this wonderful Alaskan spring weather!

And we have a winner! Or two...

Can I say that I love giveaways?  I love the fact that you get to make new connections and find new blogs to read, which leads to more inspiration and great ideas.  I think I'll have a giveaway more often. :)


I was so overwhelmed with the amount of entries that I decided to pick two winners!  The first number drawn will get the three skeins of green sock yarn as advertised and then the second number drawn will get to choose 1 skein of the three green yarns (I have more than 1 skein of each in my stash so I'm covered!).


Okay, I'll stop blabbering and get to the point!  I used the random number generator and....

Here are your random numbers:

83 153 

Timestamp: 2010-04-08 08:11:18 UTC

So, #83 Jolene (JoboDesigns on Rav) is the first number drawn and wins the 3 skeins and #153 SisuGirl is the second number drawn and wins 1 skein of her choice of the three green yarns!

I'll be contacting each of you for your mailing address so that I can get the lovely yarn in the mail to you right away!

Thanks to everyone who participated in helping me celebrate 100 posts!  I truly enjoyed reading all about your favorite springtime sight and sounds.  And I look forward to enjoying all the new blog friendships I've made over the last week!

My long lost love...Grape Hyacinths!

Let me tell you, I have LOVED reading all of the comments on my giveaway post.  It made me forget about all of the signs of spring that I remember from my childhood.  Spring here in Alaska is definitely not the same as it is in Ohio.

The one thing that a few of you commenters have reminded me of is my love of Grape Hyacinths!

birdsandblooms.com

I remember I got so excited when these things would shoot up through the earth and I would pick them just as fast.  I was so in awe that they smelled just like grapes and I would practically inhale the entire flower in trying to get more of that smell.

*sigh* I do love my life here in Alaska, but there are certain things I do miss about growing up in my parents' house in Ohio.  Grape Hyacinths are definitely one of these things.

While I've loved reading each and every one of your comments, I'd have to say the comment that made me laugh the most came from Amybel:

My favorite sign of spring is when you get that first really warm day outside. At first you're all crossed up because you started the day wearing a sweater and a coat, but now desperately need to change into your shorts and you have NO IDEA WHERE THEY ARE!!! So instead you send the kids outside in their underwear and turn on the hose for them, and roll up sleeves and pants to sit and soak up the beautiful warm sunshine! Ahhh. (In case you're wondering, we did that today and it was awesome.)

Thanks for bringing the humor, Amybel!  And keep the comments coming, everyone!  Only 4 more days left in the giveaway.  

Tagish Cowl

As promised, here is another of the patterns that were released yesterday in Knit Picks Independent Design Program.  I give you Tagish Cowl. (Rav it here)

I've been admiring this lovely shade of Swish Bulky for awhile now, and searching for the perfect cowl pattern to create with it.  But that cowl pattern never surfaced, so I took it upon myself to make one of my own!

As discussed in yesterday's post regarding the Taiya Scarf, I've been on a bit of an all-things-brioche kick lately.  I just love how the stitch is so light and airy.  And having it wrapped around your neck is a little piece of heaven.

I knew that I wanted to incorporate buttons somehow, and in the prototype of this pattern I had initially had 7 buttons/buttonholes all the way down the closure.  But that seems a little bit much, plus it had already been done, so decided to cut out a few buttons and make it an asymmetrical closure instead.

The top of one end of the cowl is buttoned to the bottom of the other end.  This created less bulk around the neck and I also like how on one side the cowl flips over at the top and on the other side it flips up on the bottom.  A cute little detail that keeps things interesting!

Details
Tagish Cowl via Knit Picks IDP
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Bulky in Garnet Heather
Needles:  Size 9 and 10 straights

This is such a quick knit...great for last minute gifts or just some mindless movie knitting!  I hope you'll check it out.

Taiya Scarf

Thanks so much for the overwhelming response to my giveaway!  It's been inspiring to read all of the comments...makes me wish spring in Alaska would get here already!

Well, I thought I had another week to get my blogging act together before my new patterns went live in the Knit Picks Independent Designer Program, but *surprise* they went live today!

I'm so excited to debut Taiya Scarf (Rav it), Tagish Mitts (Rav it), and Tagish Cowl (Rav it).  These are the stealth projects I've been working on these last few weeks.  I'm so glad to finally be able to reveal them to you!

I'm going to profile each of them over the next couple days, and today I'll start with Taiya Scarf.

I've been on a bit of a brioche kick lately (in this case, I used a variant of brioche, Fisherman's Rib) and I was hoping to combine my love of that squishy soft stitch with my obsession of lace knit in bulky weight yarn.  And this is how Taiya Scarf was born.

As I draw inspiration from my Alaskan environment on a daily basis, I found it was only fitting that I name my patterns after locations or places here in the North that inspire me.  The mighty Taiya River flows just east of my Alaskan town and every summer there are vast amounts of wild irises that bloom at the mouth of the river where it meets the sea.  When I was working on this scarf, the purple hue of the yarn reminded me of the color of the irises, hence the name.

I love the fact that the squishiness of the Fisherman's Rib is the part that wraps around the neck.  It's like wearing a cloud!  And the diamond lace at either end of the scarf keeps things interesting.  

Details:

Pattern:  Taiya Scarf (Knit Picks link)

Yarn:  Knit Picks Cadena, 3 hanks in Blackberry

Needles:  Size 11 straights

Model:  My good friend, Trish.  The best model/friend/spin drive companion a girl could ask for.

Stay tuned over the next couple days where I'll be showing off the Tagish Cowl and the Tagish Mitts!