Final Countdown

Wow how time flies! Just 5 days until I leave. Crazy!

Today is the last day for the raffle drawing. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far!

I've gotten quite a few hats over the course of the last week. Currently we are at 881. I am still knitting hats and I've asked a few local knitters to make a few more in hopes of making it an even 900. (At this point, I do not doubt for even a minute that this is a very real possibility.) I have pictures but I don't have my camera handy at the moment.

Thanks for all of your comments and emails about the project. It really has been awesome. I am so excited about this trip. So many things to accomplish at home and work between now and Saturday but I know this week is going to be a whirlwind.

And the Winners Are...

Hurray! We have winners of prizes! I am pleased and excited to announce that I have picked winners for all of the wonderful yarn prizes. I wish I had prizes for everyone but sadly, I don't. I do have some nifty prizes, though. Here we go!


First Up: Embarrassing Stories: Thank you SO much to everyone who shared their embarrassing story. I laughed and laughed - and cringed inwardly for each of you. They were all wonderful stories but I did pick a favorite and that was....Susanne. Congratulations, Susanne! I hope you knit socks (or want to learn to knit socks) since this Trekking XXL and basket combo will be heading your way later this week.
There was no correct guess to the number of buttons question. I was as surprised as anyone when I counted my buttons and discovered that I have - drumroll, please - 733 buttons. Colleen's guess of 500 came the closest without going over. Congratulations, Colleen!! I will be sending you two skeins of SiSu Sock Yarn and Leeway Cottage on CD.
Susanne, Kniterella, DaayDream and Tactless Wonder all guessed the contents of the cookpot correctly: Tapioca Pudding. Extra contest entries for them!! I love tapioca pudding and my favorite way to eat it is while it is still hot. Yum!




So I added up the entries and put everyone's entries into this orange bowl then I started drawing names for the remaining prizes.


The book and candle prize goes to:
Tactless Wonder!


The three skeins of Softwist go to:
RobynR


I added another prize without telling anyone but I haven't taken a picture of it. I will, but didn't want to delay the posting of the prizes for this one picture. Two skeins of Sugar and Cream and some of my handmade soaps. And the winner of this one: Ikkinlala

Last but certainly not least, the Anne and accompaniment go to: Marit!!!

Congratulations to everyone and thanks so much for playing along. Later this week, I'll post my most embarrassing story and I'll show you the progress on the embroidery.

Right now, I am knitting up Tribbles. Our church is having a craft fair fundraiser on September 15th and my mama asked me to make some handmade soaps and Tribbles for sale at the fair. We'll see how many Tribbles I can get done in that time. Our A/C is on the fritz (today's high: 104 F) so I will not being hanging out at home knitting.

RC, I have your mailing address but for the rest of the winners, please email me (crickitleigh at hotmail dot com) with your mailing address.

Today's Quote:

"A friend who is far away is sometimes much nearer than one who is at hand. Is not the mountain far more awe-inspiring and more clearly visible to one passing through the valley than to those who inhabit the mountain?" -Kahlil Gibran

Yarn Party

I would like to point out that it is right now 11:29 p.m. at my house so technically speaking I got this in on Thursday, as we discussed.

It is no secret that this last year has been a trying one here at house of Ok! What Next?? I don't think it is a secret, either, that I am so very thankful for all of the kindness everyone has shown around this blog during that time. The encouragement and friendship and laughs and warm wishes have meant more to me than I can possibly put into words. That's where this contest comes from: I figure, what I can't say with words, I can probably say with free yarn and goodies.

I love a contest. Who doesn't, really? I've thought and thought about how I could make this contest fun for everybody and spread the winning around. My original plan was to have ya'll tell me your most embarrassing stories and I would pick one at random to get a prize. But then I decided, maybe people won't want to tell their most embarrassing stories on the internet and that's ok. They should still be able to win right? So, because it is my contest, and I can do what I want, I've decided on a three-pronged approach. (Do the words "three-pronged approach" suck a little of the fun out of it?) There are three ways to get in on this contest:

1. Leave me a comment with the story of your most embarrassing moment(s). It can be recent or years and years ago, painfully, scarringly embarrassing, wishing you could fade into the wall embarrassing or just I-can-never-show-my-face-in-this-place-again embarrassing. Of course, I would never expect ya'll to do something I wouldn't so on the day I announce the prize winners, I will tell ya'll my most embarrassing story, too. And yes, sadly, there are more embarrassing stories than the yarn dying incident with the police. You get 3 entries for telling me your embarrassing story. You can even tell me more then one (up to 2) and I'll give you entries for both.

2. Remember that pot of mystery cooking I showed you on Monday? This is one of my favorite things to eat. Leave me a comment with your guess as to what I was making in that pot. This can be worth 2 entries - one entry for guessing what it is and a second entry if you get it right. (Sorry, if you know me in real life, you are disqualified from #2.)

3. These are my buttons. (And their Tootsie Roll tin that I found at the antigue store for a dollar.) Guess how many buttons are pictured. You get one entry just for guessing and the first person to guess the right number (or the person who comes closest without going over) automatically wins a prize. (which prize, I haven't decided yet.)

Ok! So, what are you playing for? Here are the prizes:

1. Hardback copy of Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes and candle.

This is the only non-yarn related prize. If you comment and you aren't a knitter (or crocheter) and could care less about winning yarn, tell me. I will be drawing separately for this prize if I have more than one person who enters and isn't interested in the rest of the prizes, otherwise this prize goes into the pool with the others.

2. Three skeins of Berroco Softwist in Red.

3. Two skeins of SiSu Fantasy sock yarn in a nameless black, while, purple, grey, and blue along with a book-on-cd, Leeway Cottage by Beth Gutcheon.

4. Beautiful round, lidded basket with one skein of Trekking XXL in the 182 colorway (olive brown, gold and natural) and Lantern Moon sweater keychain.

5. This one I have considered keeping for myself ( but I won't!)Beautiful little handled basket containing one wonderful skein of Schaeffer Anne and a set of 5 Brittany dpns, size US2.

There you have it! I am so excited about these prizes. I can't wait to give them away to ya'll!! (Of course, if no one wants to play and I end up keeping all of these prizes, I promise to give your prizes a good home.) Oh, also, each prize will include something that isn't pictured because really, prizes and surprises? Who doesn't want that?!?

The contest starts now (11:29 p.m., Pacific time, California, USA and all entries must be received by 11:59 p.m., pacific time USA, Saturday, September 1, 2007. I'll post the winners and their prizes on Sunday night.

Please, please, please if you are not a blogger, please leave me your email in your comment or email me (crickitleigh at hotmail dot com) with your contact info. I would hate to pick a winner and then not be able to send you your prize.

Good luck!!!

Today's Quote:

"If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else." -Yogi Berra

Tomorrow, Tomorrow

Did I say Wednesday? Umm. No. No, not Wednesday. I meant Thursday. Tune in Thursday (evening) for details on the contest. See, I've been mustering up this contest in my mind for a while now and I've been accumulating the prizes for a couple of months so really, it was to be j-u-s-t-s-o. Plus, I need to get some good pictures.

Do you hear Annie singing? Tomorrow, tomorrow. I love ya', tomorrow. You're only a day away.

I'll tell you this: there will be three prizes (and maybe a fourth, depending on how I group it), including one prize for non-knitters. There's yarn, of course, and Brittany needles...It'll be worth the wait, I promise.


Today's Quote:

"If you take out the killings, Washington actually has a very, very low crime rate." - then Washington D.C. mayor, Marion Berry