Finally....a winner!

There were many things I intended to do before we headed off for a much needed family holiday to Phillip Island. Drawing my giveaway was one of them. Ahem. Now we're back, so I'm finally getting around to it! At least this way, I actually managed to finish the bag before finding out who the winner was. That's what I'm telling myself, anyway...

So, one chubby, very grubby hand picked out the winner...

...Bells!

Bells, I will be in touch shortly to get your address details. I promise it won't take as long to post it as it took to make it!

Thank you to everyone who entered! Clearly I need to decide either never to hold a giveaway again (given my tardiness), or I need to have lots so that I get more practice!?!

100 posts and a giveaway!

I've been preparing (rather inefficiently) for this post for a while now. However, I do have something to show for it, even if it's not quite complete! To celebrate making it to 100 posts, and to thank you for joining me for the ride, I'm giving away a string bag, made by me, from Louet Euroflax Linen in Caribbean. (The colour is a lovely rich, bright blue that my photography skills don't do justice!) If I can find a couple of spare hours over the next week, I may actually have a finished bag by the time the giveaway closes. Ahem.

I'm really quite amazed that I've made it this far. My usual journalling efforts peter out after a few weeks at best, so this really is a significant achievement for me. I suspect it's related to the interactive nature of blogging, and that I've met so many lovely people out there in blogland that I'm motivated to keep going. It's also very nice to have a record of all the projects I've worked on and completed over the last few months!

So thank you! Thank you for commenting to let me know you're there, and thank you for letting me get to know you a bit better. To enter, just leave a comment on this post. I will close the giveaway at 7.30pm (Melbourne time) on Tuesday, 16 March.

P.S. I will post anywhere!

Another prize!

I seem to be having a run of rather good luck recently. Last week I won Knitter Sue's 500 posts giveaway!

The package included a range of different yarns that I've had lots of fun holding and imagining what they might become! I think there's at least 2 pairs of socks here (I haven't managed socks yet, so here's some more motivation!), some baby things, a monkey (that one was obvious), and there's 3 balls of dark crimson and purple mercerised cotton that seems to be screaming out to be made into a jug cover a la M*. Do you ever hold a ball of yarn and try to imagine what it might become? Or is that just me....?!?

There was also a couple of knitting pattern books for children's winter wear (I forgot to include them in the picture). And the coolest knitterly card ever. You can kind of see it, but my photography skills leave a little to be desired. Ahem.

With all of this winning, I'm going to have to have my own giveaway before too long! Fortunately my 100th post is bearing down fast, so that will be a fantastic excuse! I anticipate it will be on within the next week or so. Stay tuned!

Thank you so much Sue. Your generosity has definitely increased my growing stash. I bet my mother will be very jealous!

A degree of success...

I'm making progress! I've gotten further than ever before which is rather exciting. This Knitting Olympics business appears to be working! Now I just need to work out how to detach my provisional cast-on. I'm a tad stumped on this one, and am considering using scissors (very carefully). Wish me luck, or if you have any idea of what I'm talking about, maybe you've got some helpful advice?

On another note, I eventually realised that the hot water bottle cover and wheat bag that Sally included in her giveaway prize used her very own fabric design! I'm obviously a bit slow at the moment, especially given that when she first showed us her design, I thought it was pretty fantastic. Now that I've seen it in person (and had my lightbulb moment - finally) I KNOW it's fantastic! Thanks again, Sally, and apologies for my delayed brain functioning!

A package and a crazy lady*

When I got home today I was greeted by a rather large package on the front step. I was lucky enough to win Sally's pamper pack giveaway, and inside was the (very generous) prize!

Inside was a body and bath set, a face masque, some rose petal soap, a hot water bottle cover, and my favourite: a wheat bag for my neck and shoulders. This will get LOTS of use!

Thank you so much, Sally! It's a really generous prize and I can't wait to start using it!

In other news, I have signed up for Yarn Harlot's Knitting Olympics. The deal is that you cast on your chosen project during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics and finish by the end of the closing ceremony. Yes, I'm aware that I possibly did this in a slightly less than sane moment, but it's supposed to be a challenge and wouldn't life be boring if we were sensible all the time?!? My chosen project is the Ishbel Beret by Ysolda, which I've cast on 4 times previously without success. So, fifth time lucky?

*That would be me.

A parcel in the post!

Early on in Blogtoberfest, I entered Tinniegirl's giveaway and somehow managed to win! The prize was a mystery, and was to be based on Cathy's exploration of my blog. Yesterday, an enormous parcel arrived on my doorstep. Here's what was inside....

A tinnie! With a lovely magical castle on it. I love it! But there's more. Inside....

Yarn (she obviously did her homework!), some trim (it probably has a proper name but I don't know it), a card of buttons, and another tiny cute little tin absolutely packed with vintage buttons! But there's more.....

A very generous pile of vintage knitting books and patterns....

And a pincushion! Now I have two, which is good, because the other one I made isn't very big. I've already filled it up and it's only got about 18 pins in it. So this one is not only lovely, but also useful.

Thank you, Cathy, for your generosity. This package will keep me amused for hours!