time for some random numbers...

MG: hi there! we've numbered the contest entries--knitters and spinners in separate series. if your blogger profile email is on or if you left a link that led to an email address, i've replied with entry numbers so you'd have them in hand. i think this means we are all set for the drawing!

it gets a little sad now, since we can pick only two winners. we've had a lot of fun with the contest, and we are grateful for the hellos and kind words and delurking. a sincere and mushy thank you from us! ok, for knitters #1-35... Kitty Kitty to the random integer machine!

KK: ok! drum roll... number 8!!

MG: and for the spinners, #1-17... once more, Kitty Kitty.

KK: ... 12!!

MG: knitter #8 and spinner #12--ikkinlala and cthulhulovesme! we'll be needing your mailing addresses!

MG: need giant buttons

hi! thanks for the contest entries; Kitty Kitty and i are really enjoying them. it's thought-provoking--the interaction of materials and outcomes, of the crafts we co-pursue. it's also been fun to meet the delurkers. thank you all for saying hello. we'll leave the contest open until the end of the day this Friday the 11th, so there is still time to enter if some stragglers so desire.

twinkle hoodie reknitting was completed a few weeks ago. but i'm not sure where to look for giant buttons, so the hoodie sits neglected, asking for its finishing wash and darning. i do like the sweater a whole lot. squishy nubbiness. and the fit is lovely now; worth the new 15mm needle and frogging and reknitting.

will i find cute buttons large enough to befit thee?

* * *(the separation asterisks up there make me nostalgic for books of my young adulthood.) other making-type goings on:

bfl the color of lemon creme

roasted butternut squash soup

contest contest contest!

(eta: contest now closed)

MG: happy new year! knitbuddies is in its fourth year this year(!). Kitty Kitty and i have been reflecting on how much the space and people here mean to us. just seeing lurker IPs appear in our stats makes the world warmer--every visit means someone is checking in, listening, sending us a bit of care. we are amazed and humbled by what being here has given us: camaraderie, inspiration, edification, compassion, encouragement... very true, very real, profound and bona fide friendships, and the love & art of snail mail packages. so, we'd like kick off the year by sharing some goodies with you, thus contest!!

KK: Hey, Merry New Year from me too! (Don't forget that January 1st is the snowiest, rainiest, hottest, coldest day of the year.) On a serious note though, MeowGirl and I have spent a lot of time just sitting around talking about how much you guys really mean to us. When we started this blog, frankly our families didn't think we would last 6 months and some of them doubted that we would have any readers at all. We frankly didn't know what to even expect when we started writing this blog together.

First of all for me, the thing that I feel most fortunate about is the fact that it has really brought MeowGirl and I a lot closer. We have both been through a lot of hard times these past couple of years and I will always treasure the close friendship that we have built through crafting, late night talks, and blogging. Thank you MG for always being there even if a girl is Chicken to start a project. *hug*

Second of all I feel so very fortunate to have met and become friends with so many wonderful people, that without this blog I would have never had the fortune to meet. Some of your have become my best friends over the years and I don't know what I would do without you guys. So enough of me being sappy and crying, lets get on with the contest.

MG: the contest goes like this... to play, leave a comment to this post and tell us if you are a knitter or a spinner. or a spinning knitter. or a knitting spinner (kninner?). elaborate if you wish. we are very curious... are the knitters at all tempted to spin? do you knit with handspun? did knitting lead you to spinning or vice versa? how else do you use your handspun? all that good stuff. we'll randomly select one knitting winner and one spinning winner (your answer will put you into the appropriate drawing--self-identified knitters in the knitting drawing, spinning knitters in both, etc) to send the goodies to, wherever they are in the world. incidentally, is it really a contest if the winner is randomly selected? hm...

KK: So it is only fair if we answer the question we are asking you to comment on. For me I guess it would be knitting weaving spinner. Knitting is definately my love, but if I had the room I am not sure that weaving wouldn't be just as strong. Spinning holds a special place in my heart, but to this day I think the only two people who have acutally knit with my handspun is Mia and Olga. I have mainly knitted MG's lovely handspun.

MG: i'm definitely a spinning knitter--a knitter who spins. i started spinning because of yarns i wanted to knit with--sock yarns strengthened with hemp or linen rather than nylon, fewer chemicals, more variety, closer to the source to know more about how the sheepies were treated, etc. when i spin, i'm more playful. i want to perfect a kind of thread or a kind of technique or see what happens with colors or textures; but i always worry, a lot, about how the yarn will knit up. at the same time, i'm just not very brave about knitting up my handspun, uncertain in dealing with the "imperfections." i'm working on this though, trying to discover my handspun aesthetics.

ok, your turn. we'd love to hear you! i'll shamelessly beg you to not let our contest be lonely. thanks for hanging out with us!! now, parading of the goodies...

for the knitting winner:
Neopolitan sock yarn by Orianna
a Pluckyfluff box--kitty not included
a bit of knitbuddies handspun
plant-dyed yarn, MG has yet to pick the color

for the spinning winner:
Pluckyfluff batt
Habu stainless steel & silk for plying
fibers of above handspun & Hochberg reprints (TOC)

for both winners:
lovely handmade soap by Naiad
japanese knitting book!!