the big winner of wwjk...

...is Amy of knitter of hats!  she said...

...I am certain Jula Roberts knits quick projects like hats, berets, in particular using only natural fibers of course! She probably uses circular needles for everything. While she is knitting, she must listen to her lines she has pre-recorded. Fun contest!

amy, just pop me an email and i'll ship out the mal and markers out to you!

thanks everybody for playing along!  i loved reading everyone's responses!  i had loads of fun, and hope you did too!

many thanks to  http://www.random.org/sequences/  for picking the winner:

wwjk?

i was digging through the pile of magazines near my bathtub when i read an article about one of my favorite actresses, julia roberts, in a recent issue of elle.  she was discussing her movie "eat pray love".  i was so excited to read:

..."[preparing for a scene] as the scene is about to be shot, roberts trades her ratty pink plastic shopping bag in which she carries around her downtime knitting for a leather briefcase...later, in her bathrobe, alone in her trailer, surrounded by knitting projects, including a cap she has just finished for [tom] hanks, and a sweater in progress for her son henry..."


this is one of the rare instances that i read about her knitting.  i loved the glimpse that the article's author gave into the actress' hobby.  i was surprised that she hauls her knitting in a shopping bag.  i think i expected her to have a namaste bag, or at least a jordana paige.  even a granny's fold up knitting basket.  she carries her knitting in a shopping bag.  how down to earth is that?

then i wondered what kind of cap she knit for tom hanks.  was it a cabled beanie in a rich warm wool?  a floppy stocking cap in funky stripes?  i mean, what do you knit for someone like tom hanks?  i'm sure it's not with shitty red heart.

then there's the sweater she's knitting for her youngest child.  i wondered if it was a simple sweater, maybe with cables?  a colorful fair isle?  a stockinette sweater with an intarsia dinosaur on the front?  how warming is it that this woman, who has access to the best clothing in the world, is lovingly making her son a sweater, perhaps for christmas or his birthday.

a couple searches through ravelry came up short on anything about julia roberts - there were no groups or forums dedicated to her and unless she has a pseudonym, she is not a fellow raveler (although there was a juliaroberts, who lives on the east coast, is a SAHM with three kids and likes to knit for small children).  comments in forums about here either pertained to her movies or knits she wore in movies.  i did find this little tidbit that she has a craft room and relaxes there, knitting and sewing. how adorable is that?

image courtesy of agirlnamedbong.blogspot.com

                                                                   

no images of julia knitting (except ones of her carrying a funky felted bag, presumably knit by herself), but doesn't that just look like my shrug?  how freaking cool is that?


imaging julia's craft projects put me in the mood for another blog contest.  here's the rules:

1.  leave a comment about...what do you think julia knits?  what kind of yarns do you think she uses?  do you think she has a favorite knitting gadget?  does she knit with knit picks interchangeables or good old reliable susan bates aluminum straights?  what do you think she sews or crochets or weaves?

2.  get creative!  pick one, any or all of the above!  i can't wait to read what you think!

3.  mr. number generator will pick the winning post!

4.  the winner will win:

these wonderful skeins of mmmmmmmmmmalabrigo in hummingbird!




and these cute stitch markers!




not to be a grinch, but this contest is open to readers in the US (overseas postage is killer - with my last contest, the postage cost more than the yarn and markers put together!)  i will take comments until sunday afternoon, december 12.  have fun with this, and good luck!

and the winner is...

a bad case of strep throat has kept me from my blog, and i've been chomping at the bit to get back to my blog.  i got a lot of great suggestions for my rainbow stitch markers, but i found a winner...

my new markers are called...

PIXIPEARLS!!!

thank you greenpixey for the suggestion!  the stitch markers and the cool rainbow yarn are yours!  just email me your address and i'll send them right out!


thank you to all who participated in my first contest!  it was a lot of fun!

name that stitch marker!

i feel like i just jumped off of a cliff.

for the past several months, i've been tinkering with making stitch markers.  that's one of my favorite hobbies.  i scour my favorite bead store and find whatever bead tickles my fancy, then create a stitch marker from it.  the majority of my stitch markers are the eye pin/jump ring variety, but i did recently branch out and made snag-free markers last month.  also, my stitch markers don't match.  the ones you can buy on etsy come in sets, mostly matchy.  mine aren't matchy.  and that's okay.

anyway, i inadvertently created a set of stitch markers last winter.  the angel heart, the fairy, the butterfly and the dotty disk.  i called them the HAPL healing garden after the ravelry group i frequent.  we were sending "care packages" to several members who were experiencing difficulties, and i sent a couple sets of the markers for the group "goodie" box.

i thought about selling the markers and giving the money to a group like the march of dimes or something for pregnancy loss awareness.  life has a way of disrupting things tho, and the markers went on the back burner for a while.

after sitting on my craft desk for the past few months, i decided it was time to get off the pot and start moving units.

So i present to you, diva mcknitster's stitch markers.  FOR SALE!!

click on the hapl healing garden stitch markers link at the side under "diva knits with these" (or click on the hyperlink if you're feeling particularly lazy!)  and it will give you more details on my stitch marker sets.  i plan on selling these at my favorite LYS in the near future, but you can also order a set from me - just drop me an email.

the other reason i feel like i'm jumping off a cliff... I AM HAVING A CONTEST TOO!  


i obviously have a name for my HAPL healing garden markers.  and i call the stained glass ones my "cathedral" markers.  but i wish i had a zingy name for the rainbow ones.  right now they are my "rainbow" markers, but i wish they had a more "colorful" name.

this is where you come in!  here's the game plan:

1.  what would you name these markers?  shoot me a comment with your suggestion!

2.  i'll sift through the names, and the one most zingy and colorful that tickles my fancy will WIN A SET OF STITCH MARKERS!

3.  i'll also send you an equally zingy and colorful skein of yarn too!

4.  easy peasy, right?  :)


have fun with this!  and good luck!