…listed below. The draw was done last weekend in a highly scientific manner – names of all the entries were printed out, cut into individual pieces, folded up, placed in a bag and my husband then picked out 7 tickets. The same was done with the prizes and the first name out won the first prize out, second name got the second prize etc. Three people had two tickets pulled out of the bag but one of those asked that one of the prizes be put back and another ticket drawn.

So the names and prizes as they came out of the bag are -

• Susanne who blogs at http://suse-dol-amroth.livejournal.com wins the stitch markers donated by ShelbyB
• Kathryn wins the sock kit donated by Amanda at The Natural Dye Studio and she also wins a Kool Aid Dye Kit donated by Bright Dyes
• Nic who blogs at www.talesfromtheplain.blogspot.com wins a Kool Aid Dye kit from Bright Dyes
• Sue from my knitting group in Marlow wins 2 skeins of yarn from my stash (to be decided on – this replaces the sari silk which was withdrawn as a prize)
• Melanie wins the Apeldoorn sock yarn donated by Sonja at Thank Ewe

• Glynis wins the 2 skeins of Bealtain yarn donated by Jo at Celtic Memory Yarns
• Lisa blogs at www.saratogaknitting.blogspot.com wins a Forget Me Knot pattern from Noni Patterns and also the Opal sock yarn from my stash.
• Mary who blogs at www.silverbellsallinarow.blogspot.com wins the Fleece Artist “Parrot” yarn donated by Get Knitted
• Kaedekat wins the Fleece Artist “Hercules” donated by Get Knitted
• Sally A who blogs at www.xanga.com/miserycord wins the Rowan Pure Wool pattern book.
• Roo who blogs at www.rooknitting.blogspot.com wins the “Indigo Plus” sock yarn from The Yarn Yard. This was rather fitting as it was Ruth who introduced me to The Yarn Yard when she was my swap partner in Sockret Pal and it was Natalie at The Yarn Yard who donated this skein of yarn and gave me the idea to run this prize draw.

• Dianne blogs at www.randomknitter.blogspot.com wins 2 skeins of “Sorbet” sock yarn donated by Dee at Posh Yarns.

• Sally, who has a Ravelry page at www.ravelry.com/projects/sallyjoy81, wins a Forget Me Knot pattern from Noni Patterns
• Michael Woelfel wins the Scarf Kit donated by Art of Yarn. I have sent several emails to Michael to inform him that he has won but had no response. If you’re reading this then please contact me as I need your address to send the prize.
• Helen Kilcoin from Putney blogs at easystitcher.blogdrive.com wins the Fleece Artist “Tiger” donated by Get Knitted

Finally, I want to say a really big THANK YOU to everyone who donated and helped me to raise over £300 from the Prize Draw. In total, since last June, I have raised over £1,600 for breast cancer charities and this is way beyond my original target of £1,000.



Prize Draw £307.64

Moonwalk £667.03

Sale of knitted items & phone charms £238.00

Thames Trail Walk £212.30

Sales on eBay/Carboot £192.81

Total £1,617.78



THANKS!!

technorati tags:breakthrough, prize, draw, raffle

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The Prize Draw has now been running for a week and I’ve had lots of entries, there is still plenty of time to enter as the draw will not be until 9th June. The cause is very worthwhile, sadly I expect all of us know someone who has been touched by breast cancer and Breakthrough do wonderful work. Entry in the draw is £1 and you can have as many entries as you like – please tell all your friends, mention it on your blog, link from your website!

I have today updated the prize list as I have had two Dye your Own kits by Chrissy at Bright Dyes

Each kit contains 100g 4ply machine washable wool, 4 packets of Kool-Aid, pair of gloves, instructions for dyeing. One kit is Orange & Yellow and the other Blue & Green. If you fancy trying your hand at dyeing your own yarn this is a good starter kit.

technorati tags:prize, raffle, competition

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Would you like to win some brilliant yarn! Of course you would!

I am running a prize draw in support of Breakthrough Breast Cancer and it’s just £1 to enter. I am sure that all of us know someone whose life has been touched by this disease, or indeed have been affected ourselves so you’ll agree it’s a wonderful cause.

These pictures are just some of the prizes on offer, one entry in the draw is just £1 and you can buy as many entries as you like. Please spread the news about the draw and if you can link to it on your own blog/web-site/message board/knitting group please do – just grab the link and the badge from the side bar on the right.

Click here or on the badge in the right hand bar to find out how to enter and get in with a chance of scoring some swag.

Oh yes, and I need to say a BIG thankyou to my wonderful DH who helped me with building the page into the small hours of the morning….big kisses!

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I had my stall at the local school bazaar this Saturday – not terribly successful. Unfortunately the organisers chose to put myself and the other sellers who had paid for stalls in a side room tucked away in the back of the school and put all the face-painting, tombolas etc in the main hall. Consequently I think a lot of people didn’t know that we were there …. there were some great stalls as well, a girl with wonderful handmade jewellery, another girl with ceramic plaques and nativity scenes…and hardly anyone came to look.

I also heard from a friend who had knit a load of scarves for her daughter’s school bazaar that the woman running the stall had sold them for £2.50 – the wool cost her more than £3 for each scarf!!! It seems that some people don’t appreciate hand crafted items and have no idea of the work that goes into them.

I had finished these final items over the last couple of weeks –

A Noro Blossom shrug (quite like this so happy if it doesn’t sell”); ladies socks from Knitting Vintage socks in Regia Stretch colourway “denim”; circle shawl in Noro Blossom; Felted handbag in hand-dyed wool; Shell pattern socks in handdyed wool; spiral scarf in handdyed mohair loop.

I sold 5 or 6 scarves and a couple of other items and made about £60…not very impressive for 3 hours. Did get 2 orders for pixie feet for adults though, so now have to work out the dimensions for those.

So I have a box full of hand knitted items to sell – I sent an email round at work yesterday and hope to sell some there and also at my hubby’s office.

To top my day off on Saturday I had taken a photo frame to hold a sign telling people what I was selling and that I would take orders for slippers. It’s a wooden frame that used to belong to my Great Aunt and usually holds my wedding photo. It was the only thing big enough to hold the sign that I had. It was right in the middle of my table but somehow the woman on the stall next to mine managed to knock it off my table an break the glass and some of the tack came out leaving a piece of wood trim loose -not happy.

And finally this weekend I realised that my spoiler in the Sockret Pal swap as welched on her end of the swap deal. After emails with the organiser and trying to contact my spoiler I have been assigned an angel….thank you angel whoever you are …..and to my spoiler if you are out there and reading this, I realise that sometimes life throws up situations that mean we can’t keep promises but it would have been polite to inform the swap organiser, and myself, as we would have understood if there was a valid reason. I’ve been sitting expecting a parcel for 2 months so it’s very disappointing not to get anything……

Moan over!

On the needles at the moment, I’m knitting socks for a friends child as a commission from her for Christmas.

The sale date is next Saturday, 2nd December, so I’m going like mad getting as many items finished as I can.

Finished up the pixie feet this weekend, my best-friends kids helped me with the pom-poms and the reaction of them (and their mum) to the slippers was fantastic. Her little boy immediately asked if he could have the blue pair for Christmas – so I now have a commission to make a pair for him and one for his sister!

Here are the two finished pairs complete with pom-poms :

these were knit with wool dyed with natural dyes from www.thenaturaldyestudio.com in their Atlantic colourway

these were knit with Twilleys Freedom :

to finish them off I ironed on some Regia Anti-Slip Sock Stoppers to make them a little less dangerous for little people racing about on wooden floors!

I’ve also knit these items :

A curly corkscrew scarf in Noro Blossom and edged with a loopy mohair yarn from www.thenaturaldyestudio.com

Really easy – cast on 90 stitches with 7mm needles stst 2 rows then increase in every stitch. Repeat these 3 rows 3 more times then cast off.

I love the colours and the textures in this scarf

Another curly scarf this time knit completely with the loopy mohair in a lovely baby blue. This is so light and soft it just feels wonderful to wear!

This is a gorgeous little baby hat in Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran. The pattern is from Knitty and is called Miss Dashwood

It is wonderfully soft and the little earflaps are really cute.

Another scarf this is RYC Soft Lux Glimmer in Amethyst. The photos don’t do it justice as it has a gold metallic thread running through which makes it glitter and look really special.

The pattern was just 2×2 rib on 9mm needles over 20 stitches with a fringe added on at the end.

Finally the latest pair of Pixie Feet in the pipeline. These were fascinating to make. They are knit with more naturally dyed pure wool from The Natural Dye Studio . The colourway is called Magenta but pre-felting it is almost an orangey pink -

the tape measure is in to show how big they are pre-felting. After two 60 degree 1hr 17min wash programmes in my machine with Ecover wash liquid for Delicates the slippers are about 9″ long and the colour is now a fantastic fuschia pink (or magenta!)

After stretching and stuffing the slippers are about 9″ long in the foot excluding the curly two. This is about a UK childs size 13. I love this colour -

I just got delivered a bag full of felting wool to make more of these so check back for more pixie feet soon!

I haven’t posted any finished objects for a while and that doesn’t mean I haven’t finished anything – I just haven’t had time to post.

I’m still knitting away to make items to sell for Breakthrough and have just signed up for a stall at the Christmas Bazaar of my friends’ kids school on December 2nd so I’m on a deadline now!

Here are some photos of the items I’ve finished over the past week or so…sorry the colours are not good, I am not at home during daylight hours except at weekends – if weather is good this weekend I’ll take some daylight shots.

Anyway, here goes –

A couple of pairs of socks – Opal Prisma in a royal blue knit to a child size (around age 6/7 I think) and a really tiny pair of baby socks knit from the remains of the Opal Lollipop I knit my first every pair of socks from…I underestimated how much yarn was left so there was enough for the little bag as well. I may fill this with lavender or simply put the baby socks in it….

Toddler “elf” hat and booties from red & white double knit. This was some baby double knit yarn my mum donated to me, there is also some orange. I made a hat and mittens for age 5/6 years in red/white/orange stripes with some of it. This pattern was in a magazine I bought the other day and I thought it was fun!

Not too happy with the cast on edge of the hat as it’s a bit loose but otherwise it’s fine.

Two hats and a scarf from bright red baby aran. Colour doesn’t show in this photo at all- it’s a really lovely bright red, very cheerful!

One hat and the scarf are in moss-stitch and another hat as a cable pattern on the front. All are to fit age 2/3 years. The yarn is lovely and soft and cuddly.

Next some more Pixie-feet slippers, I love these. They knit so quickly and look so cute….this is the slippers pre-felting…

and after…

these two pairs were knit from Twilleys Freedom which is the yarn given in the pattern I followed. They only took one wash in the machine whilst the hand-dyed yarn I used for the other pair took 2. However, this time I put an old towel in to help the felting process.

They also turned out slightly smaller than the others. I need to make pom-poms for the twos and sew them on now.

Finally, two more fun-fur scarves, one in a mauve Lion Brand Fun-fur and the other in a deep red eyelash yarn from Paradise yarn in Turkey bought on eBay.

the red scarf is about 3″ wide and 64″ long, 6mm needles, 12 stitches, garter stitch till the yarn ran out - very stylish for Christmas. The mauve is about 5″ wide and 60″ long – 6.5mm needles, 14 stitches, garter stitch till the yarn ran out.

I’ll post some better photos when I get a chance. On the needles at the moment are a pair of socks from Knitting Vintage Socks – Little Child’s Sock in Regia stretch in a Denim colour.

Also, my friend had her baby so I really need to finish the border on the baby blanket and sew it on.

Just got back from the second day of our Adoption Preparation Course (for anyone who doesn’t yet know we are going through the assessment process to be approved to adopt). We have two more days next Thursday and Friday and if they are anything like this week I’ll be exhausted.

We’ve spent two days being told about Attachment, Loss, Child Development and discussing the issues in small groups and it was quite draining emotionally.

Anyway, after the hour drive home I had just sat down when the door bell rang and I opened it to find my neighbour clutching three parcels that had been left at her house for me!

Voila –

Clockwise from the top they are from Germany, America and Staffordshire and they each contain:

Parcel No 1 – from Germany

A HUGE sack containing 8 – yes that’s EIGHT – skeins of Opal Rodeo which I bought on eBay.

One of these is destined to become a pair of socks for the daughter of a friend (Tracey, I’ll take some close-up’s later and send to you)

…oh, and there were two little sweets tucked in the box…yummy

Parcel No 2 – from America

This is fantastic – a specially designed Sock-ret Pal Hot Sox yarn from Scout’s Swag and two really sweet little stitch-markers attached to them.

I can’t wait to start knitting this as I really want to see what it knits up like.

…oh and inside the tissue was a whole load of little glitter bits which are now all over my lounge floor. Thank’s Susie!

Parcel No 3 – from Staffordshire

This is the November issue of Simply Knitting which I somehow missed. My local WH Smiths carries about 2 copies.

I bought October and there was an advert for this issue with a picture of that cover pattern for the tie-front cardi which my mum really liked. It’s knit in Kid Classic which I love so this could be a Christmas present…

It also has a wonderful pattern for a pair of lacy “toe-socks” and a pair of stripey over-knee toe-socks….both these may be destined to live in my sock drawer.

At the moment I’m knitting like mad for my items for Breakthrough which I am probably going to be selling at the Christmas Bazaar at our local primary school on 2nd December.

This week I’ve knit another couple of pairs of Pixie Feet which are now waiting to be felted. A couple of hats and a scarf from some lovely bright red Baby Aran – size 6-12 months and one of a pair of toddler socks from some the Opal Lollipop left over from my first ever pair of socks.

Tonight I hope to finish the second Lollipop sock and then over the weekend maybe another pair of pixie feet and another felted tote bag. Also hoping to knit up a few more fun fur scarves.

Will post some pictures over the weekend to let you know my progress.

A selection of “fun fur” scarves – if you would like one of these styles in a different colour just drop me a line and let me know!

Keyhole Scarf £7

A lovely scarf with a keyhole in one end through which the other end is tucked to secure it.

This scarf can be worn two ways, to the left it is wrapped around twice to give a cosy look or wrapped once and worn long for a more dressy look.

This scarf is approx 90cm/35.5″ long and 7cm/3″ wide but quite stretchy.

Long Stripey Scarf £10

Lovely stripey scarf, long enough to tie at the neck or wrap around neck once.

This scarf can be knitted up in several other stripey colours or in solid colours.

Dimensions: approx 1m/39″ long and 15cm/6″ wide.

Skinny Scarf £5

A long, skinny scarf – very trendy at the moment. The scarf is very skinny and the nature of knitted fabric is to curl up and give the impression that it is a tube.

This one is knit in a slightly variegated fun-fur but can be knit in any colour – just ask!

Dimensions: 160cm/63″ long, 7cm/2.5″ wide when flat, 4cm/1.5″ when curled

 Feather Scarf £7

This is another skinny scarf knit in a “feather” yarn rather than fur, this one has a “keyhole” 15cm from one end

This gives a different effect to the fun fur and this can be seen in the detail shot below.

Again, this can be done in lots of other colourways.

Dimensions: 120cm/47″ long by 4.5cm/2″ wide.

Payment terms: I prefer payment by paypal (international customers must pay with paypal) but will also accept UK cheques and cash.

Postage: postage and packing with the UK will be charged at £1.50 for each scarf. For international postage costs please contact me.

To buy: please email me indychick_uk@yahoo.com

All proceeds to Breakthrough Breast Cancer

This is a gorgeous little cravat or scarf in a lovely yarn – Noro Silk Garden is made in Japan and is 10% Wool/45% Silk/45% Kid Mohair and is dyed in shades evocative of nature.

This scarf is in shades of pink and blue and would be a wonderful addition to a winter wardrobe being equally at home with jeans or a little black dress.

Dimensions: length 96cm/38″, width 11cm/4″ at the widest points

Price: £15

Payment terms: I prefer payment by paypal (international customers must pay with paypal) but will also accept UK cheques and cash.

Postage: postage and packing with the UK will be charged at £1.50. For international postage costs please contact me.

To buy: please email me indychick_uk@yahoo.com

All proceeds to Breakthrough Breast Cancer

A long scarf with an interesting pointy shape and diamond pattern details. The main colour is Rowan Yorkshire Tweed in a lovely pink with tweedy flecks. The diamond patterns are alternating colours of cashmerino aran in red and dusky purple.

This is a real statement scarf.

Dimensions: length 180cm/70″, width 17cm/6.5″ at the widest points.

 Price: £15

Payment terms: I prefer payment by paypal (international customers must pay with paypal) but will also accept UK cheques and cash.

Postage: postage and packing with the UK will be charged at £1.75. For international postage costs please contact me.

To buy: please email me indychick_uk@yahoo.com

All proceeds to Breakthrough Breast Cancer