Bella announces the first winner:

(I caught her mid-yawn, but it kind of looks like she is talking, right?)

**Dana at Read, Write, Knit, Panic! gets the Cowboy Kerchief scarf kit! 

I originally intended to do only one giveaway, but I was so moved by your thoughtful responses that I wanted to do another one – you all are so amazing and generous!  Your responses meant so much to me, and I have read them several times over!

…and Jen announces the next winner:

**Rasa Chambers! gets the (other) Cowboy Kerchief kit!
 

Congratulations!  and many thanks (again) for taking the time to read my blog

(If you want to see more photos of all my furry babies, check out my photostream on Flickr!)

**Ladies, please contact me by email so that I can get your info and get the prizes to you very soon!

Now it is confession time: this is the part of Socktoberfest that I woefully neglected. For some reason, I was just hoping it would come together magically… and it didn't! I received SO many emails offering donations, and I have to say, I could not handle them all. I left several emails unanswered, and for that, I am very sorry. However, several prizes were confirmed, and can gladly be offered up to some lucky winners. So, if you contacted me, and I did not write back AND you are still willing to offer a Socktoberfest prize, please let me know. This time, I will write back. Promise. Cross my heart.

So, without further ado, here are the winners of
the confirmed prizes!**

—-

Weezalana at Knitty Whipped wins some gorgeous Woolarina Handpaints!

Paula 460 at Manos… wins a cashmere blend from Posh Yarns!

Knitsense wins a hand-dyed yarn from Chewy Spaghetti Etsy shop!

Jessica at Yarnmonster wins some hand-dyed yarn from Spunky Eclectic!

Kelly at Keowdie Knits wins some sock swag from The Sweet Sheep!

Denise at Knitting Without Needles wins a skein of Yarn Pirate in Neopolitan!

Everwhelming Liz wins a skein of Yarn Pirate in Punkin Head!

Tonia at Knits Galore! wins a skein of Yarn Pirate in Brown Sugar!

Lauren at Knitting in the Dark wins a sock bag from Tipsy Knitter!

SweetFigs wins sock yarn from Simply Socks Yarn Co.!

Kathy at Work in Progress wins some swag from Scout's Swag!

Satu U at Puikkotera wins a Kristi's five sock patterns!

Rachel at Learn Something! wins yarn from Aquaknits' sKNITches shop!

Petunia wins yarn from The Loopy Ewe!

My House Full of Wool wins a handmade needle tote from Splityarn!

It's a Knit Thing wins a handmade needle tote from Splityarn!

DefendedtoClick wins a hand-dyed skein of Mama E's C*EYE*BER Fiber!

Brenda at Close to My Heart wins handspun sock yarn from Crown Mountain Farms!

Snowdrop's Sense wins hand-dyed sock yarn from my stash!

Rebecca at Socks-for-Mum wins a sock tote from Amy's Etsy Shop!

Karrie at Girl on the Rocks wins sock yarn from Yarn 4 Socks!

Ainsley at Purplexity wins sock yarn from Mia!

Lynn at Never a Dull Moment wins sock yarn from Mia!

Rebecca at Skumringen wins a gift certificate to Miriam's shop!

—-

If your name is here, please EMAIL ME and include your mailing address in the message! The lovely goodies will be on their way to you very soon!

Please understand that if I do not correspond with you by NOVEMBER 3rd (Friday), another name will be chosen for the prizes. I can't let these linger for any longer!

**I used the *highly scientific* web-based random number generator for my results, just in case you are curious!

• 10.04 :  Secret Pal was extremely generous

• 11.04 : Blogging my New Orleans vacation

• 12.04 : Handknitting Christmas presents for the family

• 01.05 : Got my own domain name and website

• 02.05 : Started my first knitalong and recycled my first thrift shop sweater

• 03.05 : My first felting and teaching boys to knit

• 04.05 : I dyed and went to heaven

• 05.05 : First Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and a Finished first MAN sweater

• 06.05 : My little sister got married and I went on my beach vacation

• 07.05 : My largest knit to date and My first sock ever

• 08.05 : Blogging DC museum tours and my first pair of finished socks!

• 09.05 : School was working me overtime

• 10.05 : Socktoberfest extravaganza and a tropical island vacation

• 11.05 : An ode to my favorite fruit and family knitting lessons

• 12.05 : Interview with a Knitting Celeb and a very Merry Christmas

• 01.06 : A trip down south and a colorful idea was born

• 02.06 : New diet and exercise regimen and a big ol' yarn swap

• 03.06 : Painting the town red (and pink!) and jaunting around the Big Apple

• 04.06 : Bathroom Makeover, Knitters on the National Mall, and meeting Kay and Ann

• 05.06 : Second Maryland Sheep and Wool and construction work

• 06.06 : Beach Vacation and a pretty popular knit 

• 07.06 : Two years of blogging in the greatest community ever! 

How can I say thank you enough?  How can I express the amount of joy that you bring me?   When I think of you I just break out in a huge smile! Thank you for reading my blog! my thoughts, my questions, my struggles, my crazy ideas … and thank you for your amazing support and encouragement through it all!

To many many more happy years in this wonderful place!

I did not snap a picture, but I purchased a big felted bag kit for mom – lovely purples and greens.  It uses both Lamb’s Pride and Noro Kuryeon.  I hope she likes it!  Dad bought her the beautiful handwoven basket pictured in the photograph.  He chose it from one of the artisans at the Sheep and Wool Festival, and it is already storing some of her (growing) stash of lovely yarns.  She cast on for another bag pattern, this time using Cascade 220.  And you can see that I started a new project too…

This is the Sweet Georgia Handpaint yarn, and it is knitting up so well!  Beautiful variegations, and a nice texture.  I originally planned to try the “Magic Loop” method with this yarn, but I found that I needed longer needles.  I tried with 32″ and found it cumbersome.  So, next trip to the LYS (I need to stay away for awhile – I spent a lot at the Festival!) I will buy the 40″ circulars.  In the meantime, I went back to tried-and-true DPNs.  I opted for the anklet length: perfect for summer! (plus, my friend Heather just made some adorable anklets, so that reminded me that I wanted another pair!)

I am experimenting with some new heel and toe techniques, outlined in Nancy Bush’s Knitting Vintage Socks book.  I tried a German heel, with purl rows on the edge, and a center garter stitch in the middle of the heel.  I love the look!  I am planning to try a new toe technique as well, although I have not chosen one in particular.  Any suggestions?

As I knit mindlessly on these socks, my mind wanders to all of the other projects in my head…  I have some lovely green skeins in my stash – not enough to make large projects, but perfect for those “one skein” creations.  Perhaps mom’s new love of felting is rubbing off on me, because the minute I saw this Cascade 220 in my stash, I was ready to felt! 

 Luckily, I came across a wonderful new felted cloche hat pattern, designed by Lani at Isis in Life.  This is just perfect for this random skein! and I have some great little scraps and buttons that would make nice accessories for the hat! 

The new Project Spectrum MAY colorway is available through Hill Country Yarns - and I am so excited about it!  The colors are so vibrant!  I got the “Instant Gratification” yarn, which is larger gauge, and uses a US 4-6 needle.  I have seen many sportweight sock patterns, so this will be a great chance to try one out. (I used HCY for my Strawberry Swirl Socks, and I loved knitting with it!)

… and here we are in the second half of May – how did that happen? – and I am also thinking ahead to some of my projects for June.  I love blue.  I have lots of blue in my stash, so it will be another month of knitty creations.  I have some socks in mind, a tank, and maybe even a sweater.  Seems like I am setting myself up with all of these projects.  I am not the only one thinking about JUNE though – Mama E just unveiled her new blue colorway for Project Spectrum:  JUNE BUG!

She is taking orders now!

As you know, I love socks, and I am always happy to see other knitting them too! Socks continue to be a very popular knit on many blogs, and Jessica decided to start a summertime knit-along specifically for socks! 

Make sure and sign up for the SUMMER OF SOCKS – you’ll be knitting them anyway!

Remember to save up some sock love for the 2nd Annual Socktoberfest in October though!  Socktoberfest is a month-long sock celebration right here at Lollygirl.com!

As you have probably gathered, Project Spectrum has a lot of participants. About 2/5 of the participants are also a part of the Postcard Swap, the monthly color-themed card swap between members.   However, from the first month, this swap has been riddled with problems: incorrect email addresses, unanswered emails to/from swap pals, participants dropping out without telling the administrator… and last week, it even escalated into some nasty emails.  

Please understand that I am not responsible for your pal not writing back to you.  I do my best and return emails and make another match for you in a timely manner, but it is inevitable that some of these emails go unanswered, and for that, I am sorry.  However, you must remember that I am also getting emails from other “disgruntled” swappers whose pals have disappeared as well.  At one point, I had over 100 emails in my Inbox about the Postcard Swap – and I had very little time to devote to it because I was studying for my course finals, and was bombarded at work. When my computer problems started in the beginning of the month (my site crashed, and I had major problems with my mail server) I was ready to pull the plug on the Postcard Swap altogether – it was just causing too much stress.  Thankfully, Kris offered  some amazing technical support, and I can say now that the Postcard Swap will continue, but there are MAJOR changes in the administration. 

There were problems in May, and I know that some participants did not receive a pal’s name.  As this is the 17th of the month, and time is short, I ask that we start with a clean slate, ready for JUNE. 

The new system is on a month-by-month basis.  This means that you go to the form, and fill it out every month that you want to participate.  Please be certain that the information provided is complete, and spelled correctly.  If the email you provided bounces back to my inbox, you will not be included in the swap. There are no longer ** next to the names of participants, so please remember that you signed up for the monthly swap.

The other rules are:

• You must be willing to ship internationally. Most postcards ship internationally for less than US $2.00.
• You must sign up for each month you wish to participate. If you cannot send out a postcard this month, please do NOT sign up.
• All postcard swap partners are assigned randomly. Please do not request a different partner once assigned.
• The sign-up period for each month spans from the 16th of the previous month to the 10th of this month. (i.e. Register for June’s postcard from May 16th to June 10th.)
• Postcard swap partners will be assigned and mailed out by the 15th of each month. If you have not received your partner by the 16th, please email Lolly.

Signups are available through THIS FORM, written by Kris, who really saved the Postcard Swap.  Go ahead and thank him – he reads the comments

Thank you for your patience – I hope that this system makes it easier for everyone participating. 

Good news is, if you see this, your server has synched with my host’s server, and recognizes all of the newly updated techie bits behind LollyKnitting Around.  I moved to WordPress blog software, which is supposed to be more stable, and can put up with all of the Project Spectrum business! 

Thank you for coming back!  Sorry about the down time – it was totally out of my control!

More after I take my final – think good thoughts!

Thanks for all of the lovely emails while my comments were down.

I will be back with some progress and news soon… in the meantime, I am sending my thoughts and prayers to London.