Now Norma Knits

Trick or Treat!!!

Treat, of course. 

It's a surprise Halloween drawing in the Red Scarf Fundraising Drive, and the winner is..... drum roll, please....

MELANIE P. 

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Melanie is the winner of the following:

a JessaLu bag

 

a skein of Twinkletoes sock yarn just donated yesterday by Ann K.  This is very cool yarn with twinkly contrast yarn for heels and toes.  

(Thank you, Ann!)

A $10 gift certificate to Knitspot

and

A copy of Vogue Knitting Holidays donated by Carol.

Congratulations, Melanie, and thank you for your generous donation -- and thank you again to all the prize donors.  

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, everyone!

INSTANT SOCK YARN STASH BUILDER Prize Package

BUILD UP AN INSTANT BEAUTIFUL AND VARIED

 SOCK YARN STASH!

Jan H. has sent two beautiful lots of sock yarn:

 

Shibui Sock in this gorgeous blue.

 

And Lorna's Laces in the Grumperina colorway.

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Ann K. has donated Sanguine Gryphon Eidos in the colorway Emoige 

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Rabbitch has donated a 460+-yard skein of her fabulous sock yarn in her new colorway Aurora

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Kristin S. has donated these two skeins of Socks That Rock and two skeins of Lorna's Laces:

and 

Kate L., Annobananos & ShelbyKnits have teamed up to donate a skein of Sundara Santa Fe Sock Yarn (This wonderful yarn is available only by subscription.  They have a combined subscription, and have very generously donated their next shipment to our cause!!)

THIS ENTIRE PACKAGE OF 11 SOCK YARNS WILL GO TO ONE LUCKY WINNER!

and don't forget to notify us of your donation amount at 
redscarffund@gmail.com

You get one chance at winning for each $5 donation, and for every donation over $5 you are entitled to a discount in JessaLu's Artfire shop.

We're Doing GREAT! Keep Up the Good Work

Well, that prize post yesterday got a few people's attention.  I think it was the chocolates.  In fact, I KNOW it was for some people, as they said so! We all know that knitting and bonbons go hand in hand; am I right? Knit a row, eat a truffle.  Knit a row, eat a caramel.  Knit a row.... 

Well, all I can say is, these had better be BIG ROWS, and not just, say, a scarf or a baby sweater.  Be kind to your hips:  I'm just sayin'.

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Here is an update of the donations as of 1:45 p.m. yesterday, information from Lynn of the OFA.  

1.  Paypal donations since 9/1/09 -- $4,165

2.  Scarves processed (with more boxes yet to be unpacked) -- 487 

(This is pretty far short of our goal of 2,500-3,000 scarves.  Keep knitting, weaving and crocheting!)

3.  Donations packed in with the scarves (cash, checks, gift cards & stamps) -- $462.60

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WAY TO GO SO FAR!

So, we're not done.  We've got more prizes, and more are pouring in every day, thanks to the wonderful response I've got from my casting of lines. Thank you, everyone!

1.  First up for today, Marcia has donated this box of unique pewter beads to be knitted (or added via crochet hook, whatever) into your garment as a signature mark, initials, whatever you want to do.  How cool!  They're called Sig'nits, and they are from the Nancy O shop.

 

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2. Here is a reminder of something wonderful that I've been remiss about a) reminding about in the blog, and b) consistently adding to our thank-you emails, as was our intent.  I'm going to back up a bit and try to make sure that these go out, but if you are interested in this and you have not received your coupon code via email from me or Cookie, please do write us to remind us at, of course, redscarffund@gmail.com

What I'm referring to is that for everyone who donates more than $5 to the Red Scarf Fund, JessaLu will donate a coupon code for 10% off to be used against any purchase in her ArtFire shop. The coupon can be used for the next year, once per customer.

 

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3.  Susan R., (who I'm sorry I managed to unintentionally elude while she was searching for me all day at Rhinebeck) has donated a $25 gift card to Little Barn, Inc.

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4.  Andrea has donated 2 lovely skeins of Malabrigo Brillante worsted. Thank you, Andrea!

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5.  Elaine C. has donated a new copy of Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines. 

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6.  And Linda M. has donated a new copy (still in shrink wrap) of Yarn Girls' Knitting Journal.

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I've run out of steam for today, but as I say, there are more to come. Cookie and I have not yet definitively bundled up the prizes into bigger packages. Some of these things will be awarded individually and some will be put together with other related items to make our mondo prize packages.  We wish you all the best in winning something you love.

 

Be sure to notify us of your donation amount at redscarffund@gmail.com.

You get one entry in the prize drawing for each $5 donation you make.  

Another Scarf, Many More Wonderful Prizes, and Two More Surprise Drawings!

Robin V. (Ravelry Link) sent this pretty Corrugator scarf in to the OFA last week, along with a Target gift card and a donation to the fund -- another person who rounded all the bases.   

Thank you so much, Robin.  All of your efforts and your gifts will go a long way towards brightening up someone's day.  (Here's another example of how hard it is to photograph red.)

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Let's talk prizes, shall we? Here's something wonderful to sweeten the pot:

THE SWEET VERMONT PACKAGE:

My lovely sister Gail, President and Founder of Vermont Nut Free Chocolates, has donated a 24-piece assortment of her delicious gourmet chocolates. 

 

You will not be disappointed -- I can guarantee it. These things are to live for, and my mouth is watering just looking at that picture.  Gail's chocolates are the Real Deal, people.

And in the Sweet Vermont Package, there's a jar of my homemade rose petal jam in the freezer that I'll send out to the same winner.  

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BABY COCKTAILS:

My friend Thea, the designer of the wonderful Golden Vintage Cardigan that I knit in red Rowan Calmer, like so:  has donated four prizes -- one copy of each of her BabyCocktails patterns -- Golden Vintage, Nantucket Red (two are still being test-knit -- Short Lucky and Long Lucky), together with vintage buttons suitable for each of the patterns.

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KNITTING AS FAST AS I CAN:

Susan, with whom I have shared so many laughs and a Very Interesting Wine Party with a great backstory she once hosted in my honor, for which I will be forever grateful, not to mention being responsible for me experiencing the full-on Salt Lake City (aka the must-have green jello and associated items) dining experience, has donated a copy of EACH of her ten patterns.  Susan's patterns are always favorites, as they are so well written, so varied, and so accessible to knitters of all levels.  Did you know there is a Ravelry group for lovers of Susan's patterns?  

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FIBRE-ISLE FINE YARNS:

Fibre-Isle Fine Yarns has donated two stunning lace scarf kits, complete with bison yarn (I'm drooling), bamboo needles, stitch markers -- even trimming scissors! -- and a gorgeous lace scarf pattern.

 

(Click to make the image bigger.)

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GALE ZUCKER PACKAGE:

Our Gale has donated a pack of her photo art gift cards

 

 

(soooo beautiful) and one of her distinctive seaglass buttons.

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And last (for today) but definitely not least, Carol has donated two copies of Vogue Knitting Holiday Edition!

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And today, in a little surprise drawing, we have given away one of Thea's patterns AND one of Susan's, so after today there will only be three of Thea's left and nine of Susan's. 

Want to be sure to get in on all of the drawings?

Donate now:

and be sure to notify us at redscarffund@gmail.com of the amount of your donation.  You get one chance at the drawing for each $5 donation.  

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AND THE WINNERS ARE:

• Of Susan's Beautiful Fingerless Mitts, Elysian: Ann M. 
• Of Thea's Wonderful Golden Vintage Cardigan: Stephanie B.  

I've emailed both of the winners and they've already got their patterns.

Congratulations and thank you for your donations!

Terrier Tuesday -- Clothes Hound Edition

 

Dear Readers:  A. Alpha did it!  She made my sweater for me, and she loved every minute of it -- she even said so! And I'm pretty stylin' in it, if I do say so. I think I mostly got the hang of what she wants me to do when she's got the camera out, too.

Pattern:  Soho Cables, Size XS, from Style Hounds - kit purchased in Rhinebeck 2009

The yarn is 100% alpaca, natural charcoal grey.  I love it and I never want to take it off!  It's so much more comfortable and warm than my other sweaters that A.Alpha calls "cheap acrylic".  And this is so well designed for a boy dog like me -- no pee accidents, if you know what I mean.  So even though it's not machine washable, that shouldn't be much of a problem.  I love it and I never want to take it off.  It makes me feel so warm and secure.  She's got enough of that yarn left to make me another one, or maybe she could make herself some matching dog-walking mitts. I'm good with it either way, because....

...look!  A. Alpha made another sweater for me.  She said they're kind of like Lay's potato chips, whatever that means.  Look at what a good little model I've become:

 

 

 

Sweater Number Two was made of natural oatmeal colored Cascade Ecological Wool with accents of the grey alpaca and grey buttons, she made it just a tad bigger, made a mock turtleneck instead of a turtle, and she changed the cables slightly. I think it's quite spiffy and verrrrrry comfortable. 

That's two sweaters she made in two days; I think it's possible she is having maybe an unhealthy amount of fun making these. 

Soon I think we're going to need to go to IKEA to get me a new bureau. Till next week,

Love,

Mr. Jefferies

 

Caramelized Squash & Apples -- Somewhat of a Recipe

Oh. My. 

Sundays this time of year are often for experimenting in the kitchen. Yesterday I decided it was finally time to cut up a couple of the squashes I harvested a while back. I only ended up with two butternut squashes from the garden this year, and I've been rather loath to use them up, but really, how silly is that? I grow them to eat them, right? 

Oh, golden nuggets of wonder! This method really did them proud -- adding flavor interest, without being overly sweet. There really isn't much of a caramelized glaze to this. If you want that or want it sweeter than just a hint of sweet, of course, just add more brown sugar.

But oh, how nice it smells while cooking. Autumnal and spicy.

The two squashes were rather small (or at least I thought so until I cut them both up), so I used them both. I also cut up four small red onions, and four smallish apples from our local applefest a couple weeks ago, that had gone almost mushy (they go bad so fast). If I had had some cranberries on hand, I might have sprinkled a few of those in the mix. 

I coated the vegetables and fruit with sunflower seed oil from Rainville Farm which is about eight miles from here. I then added a generous sprinkling of cinnamon, a little sprinkle of kosher salt, and about a tablespoon of brown sugar -- just enough to help to bring out the naturally sweet flavors of the squash, apples and onions. I mixed it all up and put it in the oven, spread out on a large roasting pan, at 350F for just under an hour, giving them a couple of stirs along the way. 

I served this dish with local chicken breasts coated in maple-chipotle glaze. 

Holy cow, was that delicious. 

Sometimes the simplest of combos just totally rocks the house. 

Showing Off Ann's Nice Work

I want to give Ann a little shout out.  She mailed her scarf this weekend, together with gift cards to Subway and a phone card, and an encouraging note, and she made a donation to the fund. Her scarf also won a ribbon at her local fair.  

 

Thank you, Ann!

I'd love to showcase YOUR scarves, too -- all you need to do is send me a photo and a link to your blog if you have one, and I'll post it here.  

Just Another Friday Night

...but not really.  As of yesterday, my stint with my wonderful med student has ended, at least for the time being, because she is off to a rotation in a different state.  So.sad.  I'm moping. I'm going to intensely miss her, her fellow students, the wonderful faculty, the totally

jazzed 

way that I have felt at being in med school classes at this stage in my life -- the whole damn wonderful experience has been life-changing -- and oh, yeah...

the income.  There is that, too. 

I've still got some other classes which are also fun and interesting and will keep me from applying for food stamps, but I'm going to definitely feel like a fish out of water for a while, with not enough to do -- a feeling I'm not too fond of. 

Oh, but wait.  It's not all bad: This will give me a chance to get back to the gym on a more regular basis, knit more, and study (which really just means "practice a lot," because there is no real "studying" to be done) for the LSAT which is scheduled for December 5th.  

AND it'll give me time to turn up the heat for the Red Scarf Fund fundraising.  I spent last evening contacting friends and shops for donations, and OMG, people, put on your seatbelts.  You are gonna like this. 

For example, here is my lovely friend Miriam, modeling her gorgeous design called Cloisters....

...which is but ONE of the fabulous patterns she has donated for some lucky winner(s).

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And my hilarious and fantastic friend Laurie has donated six bars (winner's choice of scents) of her amazing Blessed Juno soap.  This is my absolute favorite soap of all time, and I'm never without a stockpile of it. Many a day I have lingered in the shower just.one.more.minute, all because of Laurie's wonderful soap.

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If you are a shop owner, an Etsy shop owner, a bookshop owner, an indie spinner or dyer or fiberista or chocolate maker or soap maker or potter -- or have connections with any of the above or more that I may not have thought of -- we can use your donated gift certificates or tangible items to further entice people to make donations to the fund.  Be creative! Have a gift certificate for an online cupcake shop or something unique from where you live? Let us know, and please email us a photo of your donated item to redscarffund@gmail.com (that's also where you should email us your donation amounts to be entered into the drawings).

I'd ask that you ship the items directly to the eventual winners, so that I don't have to bear the expense of all the shipping.      

In exchange for the donated prizes, I will give you or your shop my blog and Facebook exposure, you will have the wonderful feeling of Doing Good, and you will have my and Cookie's and the OFA's heartfelt thanks.

Pass it along!  And thank you.  

Or, if you wanted, you could just donate now:

Yarn.....Fiber, Yarn/Fiber, Yarn? Fiber? Oh, Wait: Patterns! No, Yarn. No, Fiber*....Wait...OH, WHAT THE HECK -- WHY DON'T WE DO A SURPRISE PRIZE DRAWING?!

SURPRISE PRIZE DRAWING!!!  Last night, just to spice up things a little bit, Cookie and I decided to do a little unadvertised drawing.  Kristin S. won a gift certificate from Knitspot, generously donated by Anne Hanson.  Thank you so much, Anne, and congratulations Kristin! 

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Get your donations in, folks!  You never know when something good might be drawn that you could win!  

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*Can't decide which you want to choose?  Well, then we have the perfect prize for you:

A $50 gift certificate from The Painted Sheep Etsy Shop -- you can choose all yarn, all fiber, all patterns, or some of each!  This prize is generously donated by Kris, the owner of The Painted Sheep.  Thank you, Kris!!!

All you have to do is donate to the Red Scarf Fund.  One chance to win all of our fabulous prizes comes with each $5 donation reported to us at redscarffund@gmail.com

Win More Prizes! The Sock-Knitter's Mega-Mondo Package

I've let some time elapse since the last mention of donations to the Red Scarf Fund.  I'd say it's time to get back on the stick and start to let you know some of the wonderful prizes that you can win, right?!  Well, then, let's just get on with it!  And we're not just fooling around, either. Cookie has put together a really big, really wonderful package compiled from donations from four different generous folks.  A big thank you goes out to the donors, of both prizes and of money donations to the Red Scarf Fund. We appreciate each and every one.

This prize package is called the 

Sock-Knitter's Mega-Mondo Package 

Included in this package is a copy of Vogue Knitting's Ultimate Sock Book

 

donated by Linda M.;

a set of Signature Needle Arts DPNs in your choice of size (!) donated by Jean E.;

Sanguine Gryphon Skinny Bugga! sock yarn in Blue Metalmark (a silver-denim color), donated by Ann K. [Correction..through a mistake on Ann's part, the Skinny Bugga! was sold, but she has substituted another gorgeous yarn -- Wollmeise Rittersporn.  Thank you, Ann!]

and a wonderful JessaLu bag.  Here is an example of one of her gorgeous project bags:

This, if I do say so, is a highly desirable prize package. Get your donations in! You get one chance at winning this prize package for each $5 donation to the Red Scarf Fund before December 15th, 2009.  

Your previous donations made in the fall of 2009 fundraising do count, but more donations will mean more chances to win!  And don't forget -- for each donation over $5, you can get a discount coupon for JessaLu's ArtFire shop -- Cookie will send you the details in an email if you tell her the amount of your donation at redscarffund@gmail.com.

Click here to donate through PayPal, and be sure to report the amount of your donation to redscarffund@gmail.com

THANKS! And BEST OF LUCK!