Tag Archive for ‘contests’ at adam knits!

Tag Archive for 'contests'

Drink More Ovaltine 30 Nov 07

Ah, the moment is finally here. The unveiling of my first handknit sweater. A sweater that I love so much, it hurts a little bit when I take it off. So without further ado, I give you my Seamless Hybrid.

Pattern: Seamless Hybrid from Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Knitting Without Tears
Yarn: Cascade 220 in Cordovan (5 skeins) and Olive Heather (1 skein)
Needles: US #7 - 24″ Circular, 8″ Circular, DPNs
Price: $30 for 6 skeins at WEBS
Knitting Time: Sept. 1, 2007 - Nov. 21, 2007

Inspired by so many others before me, I used EZ’s recipe to create a comfortable sweater with a few personal touches.

I chose Cascade 220 because it was inexpensive, and because it’s a true workhorse. Perfect stitch definition, beautiful colors and a dream to knit with, it’s really a great sweater yarn. I shamelessly copied Fricknits color choices, originally planning to only use the olive color for hems on the sleeves and body. But once I worked the brown and olive yarns together, I fell in love with the combo and knew that I had to include some green in the body. So the idea of stripes was born. (More on this in a bit…)

Once the striping was decided upon, all that was left to do was knit, knit and knit. I actually switched between English and Continental a few times, since a few tests showed that my gauge was the same in both, even though I was fairly new at Continental. It was the first time I’ve ever really thrown caution to the wind with my knitting technique, and thankfully it worked out fine. Not to mention that I got some good speed with my left hand on the body, which helped out a lot. Then once all the pieces were done, I joined them up and worked the yoke, finishing in time to wear the sweater for Thanksgiving.

The neck was the only part that gave me a bit of grief, since there were a few holes after picking up all the stitches, but I was able to use a bit of darning needle magic to close them up at the end.

All in all, I’m pleased as punch with this sweater, and I’ve already worn it 4 times since its completion. It was quite effective at staving off the cold lake air in Chicago. I’m definitely going to have to get a new sweater on the needles, because I think I’ve spoiled myself for store bought sweaters. It’s just such an amazing feeling to wear something you made with your very own hands…I get a bit of a high everytime I put the sweater on :)

Now that the sweater is unveiled, we get to have a fun little contest. See, the stripes might look a bit random, but they actually spell out a hidden message. What could it be? That’s your job to figure out. So get out your Little Orphan Annie decoder rings and get ready, because here’s the rules:

The picture shown below is the exact stripe sequence on the body of the sweater, and the entire message is hidden in those stripes.
The message starts at row 1 and ends at row 80 as shown in the picture. I’ve split it up into two pictures to save space, but don’t assume that the location of the split tells you anything about the message.
Anyone is allowed to make a guess at what the message is, but you must back that guess up with reasoning; i.e. “I think that the message is X, because Y and Z.”
Guesses without proof will not be eligible, i.e. you can’t guess “Emma and Dallas!” on a gut feeling. This is like when your math teacher would mark you down for writing down the answer without showing supporting work ;)
You don’t have to make a guess to comment, so if you aren’t the puzzle type, and just want to say hi, please feel free to chime in with other comments!
The first person to make a correct guess will win a lovely Yarn Nerd prize package, guaranteed to have 3-4 skeins of yarn and maybe a few other goodies.

Got all that? Good. Now here’s your clue. Happy decoding everyone! (And don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about my last contest…I’ll announce the winners of that one when I get a winner for this one, promise!)

Oh, and if you’re keeping track, I will be 23 tomorrow. Man I’m getting old! ;) I highly doubt I will post tomorrow, so I’m going to wish myself Happy Birthday a day early!

Published

Adam

in contests, continental, finished objects, knitting, nerdy, sweaters and techniques

The Secret Lives of Dog Models 04 Nov 07

57 Comments

Dallas and Emma? It has come to my attention that you’re not quite the svelte dogs that you used to be. I know that shaggy is the look for dog models these days, but that’s a bit more than a winter coat you’re both growing. Dog modeling is a human eat human business, and you can’t keep up if you’re rolling around like little lard balls. It’s either lose the weight, or get replaced by some newer, hotter dog models, like that vixen of a Chihuahua down the street. It might seem rough, but it’s business baby. There are plenty of dogs who would kill for a spot on this blog, and just because you were on Cute Overload doesn’t mean you can sit around all day stuffing your faces. I can’t have my lovely knits being shown off by anything but the hottest dogs.

And hey, don’t you stick that tongue out at me! I will break you, you hear? You’ll never work on this blog again! Sheesh.

Yeah, so the dogs are a bit chunky these days. And stupid me, I didn’t even notice; it took my Mom (who hadn’t seem them in a few weeks) to point out that they had grown a bit in the lateral direction. So I guess it’s more walks and no more wet food. I’ll have to be strong, especially when Emma gives me that pitiful look when I serve her dry food only. Sorry sweet cheeks, it’s dog model fat camp for you.

In less superficial news, I recently gave my shelf in my home office a yarn upgrade, and it makes me quite happy. Up to this point, all my yarn was stored in bins on the ground, and well it was about high time the stash had a more central place in the office. So I reorganized my shelf and banished a bunch of engineering books to the bottom, since yarn is way more fun than reading engineering books.

Two shelves of yarn might seem a bit pitiful, but it’s a beta lambda* for me, the man who used to only buy exact yardages for a project, without ever buying “unnecessary yarn”.

*(a beta lambda is the official nerd unit of measure for a “butt load” of anything. it’s metric, so you can have a kilo beta lambda, which would be an obscene amount of yarn)

You may also have noticed that there are 2 big cones of the much coveted Valley Yarns English Tweed on the bottom shelf. I sat on that page for days, watching the available pounds go down, until it was too dangerous to not buy, so I picked up a cone of Light Sage and a cone of Lichen. At least one will be a Cobblestone, and I’m not sure about the other one.

In addition to giving my stash a central location for fondling, I also finished a sock this week, right after the Socktoberfest cutoff. I’m still counting it though, since technically it was done on the 31st, I just didn’t like the toe, so I replaced it with a different one a day later. That brings my grand total of Socktoberfest socks to 2, and non-matching even. Not the most prolific sock knitting month, but then again, it was a prolific yarn dyeing month.

This one is a single sock for a swap, wherein I’ll send the sock and remaining yarn to my pal, who will knit the second sock for herself. It’s a fun idea, and a great way to knit a complicated sock and ensure that you will end up with a pair.

The yarn is Yarn Nerd 900 MHz Merino, in the lovely Pumpkin shade I’ve been posting all over the blog these days. (I love me some Pumpkin), and the pattern is Cookie A’s Thelonious. It’s a nice combination of lace and ribbing that isn’t too hard to knit and looks really nice with a semi-solid yarn.

Oh, and I almost forgot, it was my 2 year knitting anniversary a few days ago! It seems like it’s been way longer, but the calendar doesn’t lie. Maybe someday I’ll be celebrating my 60 year knitting anniversary :)

So, leave some encouraging comments for my fattycake models, and I’ll pick 3 winners to be the recipient of some hand-dyed Yarn Nerd goodness. I have some tasty BFL coming in soon, and I’ll be happy to dye it up any color you like.

That’s it for me peeps, have a great Sunday!

Published

Adam

in contests, dallas, emma, finished objects, gifts, knitting, nerdy, schnauzers, socks, sweaters, the stash and yarn nerd

Speed Reading 23 Jul 07

84 Comments

So I’m in the mood for a little contest. How about you? (Hehe, of course you are, since there’s yarn involved!)

All you have to do is venture your best guess as how fast of a reader I am. How long do you think it took me to finish Book 7?

I’ll give you a hint. I finished sometime in the afternoon on Saturday, and I did take a 4 hour sleep break at one point during the marathon. Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?

I’ll pick 2 lucky winners who have the correct guess (guesses are open through Wednesday) and send them a skein of yarn (of your choice!) from the Yarn Nerd stock.

At any rate, the book was really really good, and I think it was a very fitting end to the whole series. I’m a bit sad that it’s over, but I’ll manage somehow. (Can you say His Dark Materials trilogy?)

I also got bitten by Second Sock Syndrome, and my love for the new Love and Peace or Else colorway, and cast on a new sock. The Tree Scum socks are still on the needles, but I used up the first skein and didn’t have the next one on me; but I did happen to have the Love and Peace yarn…(what a coincidence eh?) It’s going pretty fast anyhow; I’m at the heel already, and will probably be done with the first one in the next day or two. Maybe I’ll even try to set a personal sock record!

It’s hard not to speed along when the knitting is this fun! Hopefully it will last through the second sock! ;)

Published

Adam

in contests, knitting, nerdy, socks, works in progress and yarn nerd

Soup and Sore Muscles 14 Feb 07

5 Comments

I have both tonight! After a strenuous afternoon at the gym, I was in the mood for something warm and comforting, so I made some Chicken Tortilla Soup. Mmmmm, so tasty! Especially when you have fresh tomatoes, avocados and bell peppers for garnish. And now I have some tasty lunch for tomorrow! I also made some Rum-Glazed Whole-Grain Banana Tarts for dessert, but they got eaten before I could get a picture. ;)

Now that I’m finally over last week’s nasty virus, I’ve finally been able to get exercise in these past few days. I really missed not being able to go to the gym last week, I never thought that would ever happen! I’ve started lifting weights, which has seemed to accelerate the weight loss, despite making it painful to walk the day after (i.e. tomorrow!) So far I’ve lost 7 pounds! It might not be a ton, but I look great and am super pleased with my progress. Now I just have to catch up on my Runagogo mileage!

In Yarn Nerd news…thanks so much for your comments and e-mails! The opening was better than I could ask for, and I’m overwhelmed by everyone’s support! I’m so glad that Yarn Nerd is finally open for business, I’ve been waiting for the big unveil for quite some time now. I still have lots to come, so stick around to see what comes next!

There’s still 8 skeins left in the shop, so grab ‘em while they’re still around! And there’s still one hour left until the contest closes, so go register and enter to win some yarn! I’ll be announcing the 5 winners tomorrow, so good luck :)

Alright, I think I’m being beckoned to come to bed…have a great week!

Published

Adam

in contests, cooking, dallas, exercise, school, shop, unm and yarn nerd

The Moment of Truth 12 Feb 07

25 Comments

is finally here!

Introducing Yarn Nerd!

The yarn is dyed, the site is done and everything is finally ready to go. So get to www.yarnnerd.com before it’s all gone!

Also, for your chance at winning the 5 skeins up for grabs, all you have to do is register on the Yarn Nerd site! Easy as pie. I know I promised a bit more than that, but I was just unable to pull it off with the time I had, and I couldn’t postpone things any longer. So just register at yarnnerd.com (be sure to sign up for the newsletter so you can keep up with the latest stuff!), and I’ll pick 5 winners at random from those registered. You have until 11:59 PM on Valentine’s Day to sign up, so don’t put it off to the last minute like you will with Valentine’s gifts! ;)

Please go poke, prod and browse around the site, because I’d love to hear questions, comments, bugs, etc. I had a lot of fun coming up with this concept, and I hope you enjoy the site and the yarn!

Oh, and Happy Birthday to my little brother Clay! I can’t believe you’re 17 already hito! Oh vey, I’m getting old.

Published

Adam

in contests, dyeing, shop and yarn nerd