an etsy treasury collection! i haven’t done one of these in eons…they really are fun to do.
circa yesterday:
so, early in the summer, i traded my knitting services for some yarn. i knit this mousie (my design) for a rav friend’s cats:
it seems that the cats liked it, because i have received word of its demise. rainbow entrails! avert your eyes!
(pic ganked from the lovely emm1e, owner of some rather enthusiastic cats!)
it was so well-loved that it was torn apart. i’m going to take that as a compliment.
never too much!
i’m talking about yarn, of course. i covet pretty yarns. my most enthusiastic blog posts seem to always be about yarn. this particular contest, sponsored by bergere de france, has all sorts of prizes to tempt a knitter. the first stage of the contest ends at midnight tonight french time! that’s early evening in standard time here in the US.
cliquez the pic to link to the contest! don’t worry, there’s an explanation in english as well as french. 
to enter this contest, you have to explain your concept of “the new generation knitter”.
knitting is certainly not what it used to be! i make knitting stitch markers like this:
and this:
along with stitch markers with quotes from all sorts of hit tv series and movies. my grandmother used to knit, and she just used plastic rings as stitch markers. now we have all sorts of options. i don’t know if my grandmother would approve of the ones i make, but i think they’re fun, and customers seem to agree.
the new generation knitter gets addicted to ravelry or other knitting forums, and discovers all manner of techniques and stitches and patterns. i’ve learned so much from the amazing abundance of information and help that the internet affords! people chat on twitter and facebook about patterns and yarns and projects, though it’s still always wonderful to get together with knitting friends in person. and then there’s youtube and other video possibilities for learning! i originally learned english knitting, like most american knitters, but now i use the portuguese method because it’s what i find to be fastest and easiest for me. it’s not the most common method–i certainly never would have discovered it without the internet. i love it!
ravelry has also inspired me to photograph every yarn i own, and every knit article i own, whether it’s knit by myself or someone else:
a ravelry friend knit those for me. they’re the paraphenalia pattern. i love the intricacy of the cables.
here’s a hat i’m knitting. it’s a simple improvised design:
there are all sorts of things i’ve seen in giveaways that have just stuck in my head. sometimes i bookmark them, sometimes i buy them, sometimes i consider them for a very long time.
like this wonder ball thing. it’s a plastic ball that you throw in with your laundry, with no need (or minimal need) for other detergent. with the agitation of the washer, the ball washes your clothes because of the “frequency enhanced mineral blend” inside. you can use it over and over for up to three years, and it supposedly removes residues of laundry detergents from your clothes. that seems pretty cool–good for the fabrics, and good for people with sensitive skin. like me. i’m ridiculously chemically sensitive.
the wonder ball is supposed to clean your laundry through Physics. they don’t go into any detail whatsoever about the scientific basis for this thing, which seemed fishy. but i am very curious about things that seem implausible, so i called the company. the woman i talked to was very kind, but she didn’t offer much in the way of scientific detail either. it seems that something with minerals and electromagnetism treats the water in such a way that makes it an excellent cleaning agent by itself, thus ridding you of the need to use excess detergents. or something. my scientific brain is kind of in hibernation, but it was nonetheless clear that i wasn’t going to get much in the way of meaningful detail explaining how this worked.
in any case, the woman on the phone offered me a sample of this wonder ball if i’d write a review on my blog. i told her i’d write one if i liked it. i figured that if i hated it or felt indifferent, i wasn’t much interested in disparaging someone’s small business.
so i used it, with no extra detergent. my clothes and sheets smelled like nothing. and so of course i wondered if maybe they weren’t that dirty before i washed them. i was leery of this thing–i mean, magic eco-friendly wondrous plastic laundry gizmo? come ON.
but i used it again and again from time to time, and after this week’s laundry, i was convinced: this thing WORKS. i’ve had a hair towel that has smelled strongly musty and mildewy for some time. i’ve washed it in my usual seventh generation scent-free extra-gentle laundry detergent, and the smell never went away, despite several washings. i figured it was hopeless, but threw it in the laundry with the laundry ball. and, once again, no extra detergent. just water and a plastic ball filled with Scientific Magic.
now, i have a hair towel that doesn’t smell like anything at all.
so, much as i prefer more explanation about how this works, it does indeed seem to work. my laundry smells like nothing because it’s clean. my skin is happy that i’m not using detergents. and if i can handle one load at a time, i have no need to spend money on detergents for laundry for three years. that’s pretty great.
i’m surprised to be recommending this, but i love this product.
mine came with two dryer balls to hasten the drying process–they’re nice to use, but i imagine you could get that effect by using a couple of tennis balls in your dryer, or something similar.
i also got samples of the wonder lip balm and the wonder goat milk soap. (that’s a lot of wonder!) both are very nice products–comparable to natural balms and soaps that you can find at whole foods or etsy.
but i’ve never heard of anything like the wonder ball for laundry.
(and i still want to know how it works. but it does work!)
i have a special love in my heart for pretty yarns. and so, let me show you the yarn i would want if i won this giveaway:
it’s calling to me. it wants to come live in my yarn stash, and eventually get knit into something amazingly beautiful. it takes a while for my yarns to get knit–i stare at them and pet them and obsess over patterns for a good long time, first.
anyway. the giveaway. it’s here. it’s for a $20 GC to theurchiness etsy shop.
and, as i may have mentioned, i want to win. yesss.
– GC for cupcakes giveaway
– holiday shortbread mix giveaway
– homestead company bath and body goodies– $40 GC giveaway. and another.
– burt’s bees $75 GC giveaway
– cream and body scrub giveaway
– the eco chic blog is having an eco holiday gift guide, which includes a giveaway for body, home and baby products.
– ecostore ecological cleaning productsgiveaway
– organic hooded pullover giveaway at the funky monkey blog.
– custom handbag giveaway
edited to add: it rained! (nov 23)
dubai is on the other end of the world from me, and it’s interesting to read about in the sandier pastures blog. it’s hot and dry there–it hasn’t rained since march! that’s just amazing to me.
here’s a pic of a main street in dubai that grace, the blogger on sandier pastures, sent to me:
just for fun, grace is fielding bets on her blog on when it’ll rain in dubai this month. my bet is on today. not sure how that’ll work out–i think it’s night time in dubai right now. ah well.
the prize is a surprise! something dubai-themed, grace says. that just makes me curious, and makes me wish i could bet on other days too! how tempting is it to consider a treat from the other side of the world?
if it doesn’t rain in november in dubai, she’ll prolong the contest and take new bets for december.
here’s my little niece, selenie beanie, these days. the pictures of her look amazingly like the baby pictures of my sister.
my mother was on the phone the other night, and mentioned going to jo-ann fabrics. i had to pick my jaw up off the floor, as she frequently shows either disdain or disinterest in anything handmade/crafty. but she has a granddaughter now, and she wanted to make a quilt/blanket/whatev.
she decided against sewing something with her sewing machine, because she has a hard time seeing to thread a needle. so she bought some fleecey stuff and she and my dad are doing something with a lot of hand-tied knots. i can’t quite envision it, but they’re bringing it by sometime next week for me to see. naturally, she just wants to cut fabric and go, and my dad is being very exacting about measurements, and they’re both rolling their eyes at each other. they’re cute that way.
since i’m the only one with crafty interests in the family, i’m really wishing i’d made something! but i just haven’t had the energy for much in the way of knitting or crochet projects. it’s gotten embarrassing how easily i tire from such a strenuous activity as knitting. cue eye roll.
i started a bear for selene some time ago, and it is languishing in a knitting bag til i can finish its arms and legs. i figure it’s okay–she’s not growing out of it anytime soon.
and meanwhile, we can give selenie something i knitted before i knew my sister was ever going to have a baby–a bear that i’d knit quite a while ago, when i was doing bears for the mother bear project. mom had insisted on buying one from me, and i gave her the one in front, on the left. it’s my favorite.
