contemplating a contest?

hello all~... so I've just realized that the end of this month... the 31st to be exact... will be my Blogiversary..... and I'm thinking I might want to have a contest... you know the usual sort... leave a comment and a random # generator will pick a number and that person will win a prize?~ I'm just not sure what I want to put up as a prize yet (if you have any special requests... you can leave it in the comments... I'm really thinking that I might want to give away yarn from my stash~ or a hand knit prize if your a non-knitter?)... till then~ I will be thinking about it~~... just a heads up~

What I've been working on...


Pattern: technically speaking... I think its my own~ its just the gull lace pattern knit as a tube with a thumb thrown in for good measure~
Yarn: Morehouse Merino 3 ply
Needles: Empress DPN's size 7
Notes:
no really, its just the gull lace pattern (same lace as the February lady sweater) knit in a tube... with garter at each end... and a thumb picked up along the way~
It took me 10 days to knit... not literally... just... i started it... and i knit a little bit on it every other day or so~


Pattern: February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne
Yarn: Morehouse Merino 3 ply (none of the yarn I bought- like 8 skeins- was labeled with a color... but I think its Rosebud?)
Needles: Knit Picks Harmony Options Size 8,9,10, Empress DPN's size 7
Notes:
I knit the body with Size 8- Cast off with size 10; knit the arms with Size 7, cast off with size 9. The pattern is a modification of an Elizabeth Zimmerman February baby sweater- its really easy to knit... top down, seamless raglan~ but the sizing on the pattern does run large (as everyone who has knit this before me... have come to realize) so I knit the Medium size and it fits just fine~
the Yarn is really soft and nice to work with- it is like roving so it pulls apart quite easily- but this wasn't a problem while knitting... the knitted fabric seems just fine (noodles and I had many a tug-o-war sessions with the sweater!... and it survived)... it also has a good amount of vegetable matter- but again... not a big deal~ just pick them out as you work~ I bought the yarn at Brooklyn general- in January during their sale (I paid like less than $8 a skein)... so it was definitely a good value~ I would use their yarn again~


Pattern: Pocketbook Slippers by Lisa Vienneau & Allison Barrett modifications by: Miss Twiss
Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky- Verdes
Needles: Knit Picks Options Size 6
Notes: I knit the slippers basically as per Miss Twiss's modifications~
because I used a chunky gauge yarn I went down a needle size... CO 2sts... increased to 4~ and the strap was also knit across 4sts. I increased to a total of 36 as opposed to the 44 called for... it did produce a smaller size... which works well for my grandmother and my e-moh's feet (they wear like a size 5 women's.) These slippers are very cute, and a quick knit~ I'm fairly certain I will have to knit these until they come out of my ears this year~

and here is some Yarn 'pron'... I'm trying to cut back on my yarn buying and just knit from stash... I KNOW~~ me... yarn DIET? only because I want to go to Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and my stash has expanded quite a bit this past year... Yarn Diet is HARD!! It helps that I'm in quite a few (will not state exactly how many at the moment)... yarn clubs... here is the kit I received most recently... from Woolgirl ... it is the February Kit from the Sock Club

see the shiny black pen in the photo? it says... Queen of Knitting... yes, yes it does~

and others...