Thursday, August 31, 2017

Tick, Tock People

The deadline is looming.  Your KH and KC nominations must be in by tonight.

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Two Day

This is said every year: Your nominations for Knitters' Hunk and Knitters' Chick are superb.  As in,  "Of COURSE!  Wonderful --- and obvious --- choices."  So, thank you.

31 KC nominations have come in, along with 32 for KH.  There is still today and tomorrow left to nominate, so tell your friends!  And, yes, if you want to change one of your nominees, you certainly may, as long as it's done by tomorrow night.

I realize I'm showing you how the sausage is made here, but:
It all starts with my putting nominees' and nominators' names on index cards.

Then each nominee's name is put on a piece of paper, and those papers will go to --- say it with me, now --- The Fedora of Fate.  From thence, they are drawn one by one and placed in brackets.

[brackets photo unavailable as yet]

Voting begins Tuesday, September 5th.

Monday, August 28, 2017

Here We Go

Good Morning.  May peace and safety flood Texas, as opposed to rain water and rivers.

It seems sort of selfish to begin this silly contest when there is so much going on to bring us to tears.  Please help how, where, and as you can.  Let's see if we can muster a few smiles, though;  let the nominations begin.  You have today, tomorrow and Thursday to put your names in the comments sections.  You are allowed up to three nominees for Knitters' Hunk, and up to three for Knitters' Chick.

This year, I'm going with
Chris Evans
Robert Redford
Khary Payton
and
Lucy Liu
Keira Knightley
Melissa McBride.

You?

Special Announcement the First

Please notice to your right evidence of a new page.  In celebration of Knitters' Hunk's 10-year anniversary, a Hall of Fame has been established.  It will grow each year.  For now, however, enjoy its beginning, and appreciate the inductees.


Friday, August 25, 2017

Almost There

I failed to mention that my association with "red" is
red boots.

"Red wine" was the answer for four of you, including teabird, who wins the final Countdown Contest prize.  Teabird has been a participant in Knitters' Hunk from the very beginning. and I congratulate and thank her.

On Monday, I will make one of the two announcements KH and KC are bringing.  Then you can begin submitting your nominees on Tuesday.  Nominations will also be taken Wednesday and Thursday.  Simply as a reminder, you do not need to nominate
Ewan McGregor
Denzel Washington
Sam Elliott
Mike Rowe
Helen Mirren
Tina Fey
Maggie Smith
Isabella Rossellini.

If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask.

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Heavy Lifting

Sooooo. . .  Things are gearing up here at KH/KC HQ.  The big stack of index cards has been moved from the drawer to the kitchen table.  

Each nominee's name is put on a card, along with the names of his/her nominator(s).  That way, I can keep up with who's in and who's out of the contests.

You start nominating next Tuesday.  I probably ought to take a pen over to the table, too.

Monday, August 21, 2017

Before It Gets Dark

I'm assuming lots, if not all, of you are going to be eclipse-viewing later today.  Because of that, today's prizes and questions are available now.  (And they're the last ones.  Nominations start coming in next week!)


The yarn and stitch markers match exactly.  Thanks once again to Laurie for the markers.

This week's question is actually a word association:

When you hear "red," what's the first thing you think of?

Saturday, August 19, 2017

Penultimate

Hey, Camille!  You win this week!

There's only one more week of counting down before KH and KC nominations can begin to roll in.  Have you made your selections yet?

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Chewy Influencer, August

First up
Treats for "immune, eye and respiratory health."  This seemed a good thing to try, as each of my cats are considered "seniors."

All three devour these little treats.  Any of them would gladly eat and eat them, but the instructions are for 2 treats (at most) twice a day.  Which is the same we ran into with
Iams oral care treats.  Again, gobbled by all three cats.  Again, specific "dosages" which keep the cats from downing as many as possible at once.

Two A+s this month, as part of the Chewy Influencer program.  I am sent products each month to try for free, in return for my honest reviews of those products.  No money is involved.

Monday, August 14, 2017

Priorities

First things first.  Today is Kathy's birthday!  Head here to wish her a good day.

Now then.  This week's prizes are
another coloring book and a box of crayons,
this very clever little thing that gives you gauges of all sorts,
and a hank of sport weight yarn in Gnome Acres' "Gnomesicle."

Your Question of the Week is
When the popsicle man came through your childhood neighborhood, what were you most likely to order from him?

Me, I'd go for a Nutty Buddy or an ice cream sandwich. . .

Sunday, August 13, 2017

Sorry 'Bout That

Did I make an extra-large mistake yesterday.

Each year, the top four seeds going into Knitters' Hunk and Knitters' Chick are the previous year's winners, the previous year's runners-up, and the winners from the two years before that.  Prior to this morning, I hadn't been able to find --- either online or in my files --- last year's last match-ups, so I went with my memory.  

Bad idea.

These are the people who go into the draw automatically, and, therefore, do not have to be nominated:
Ewan McGregor

Denzel Washington

Sam Elliott

Mike Rowe


Helen Mirren


Tina Fey

Maggie Smith

Isabella Rossellini

My sincere apology.

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Brass Tacks

Vera --- you win this week!  The plan was to have the prize out in today's mail, but I missed the run.  First of the week for sure.

There are two more weeks before I start accepting KH and KC nominations.  I'll take them Tuesday through Friday, August 29th, 30th, and 31st.  Voting will start the day after Labor Day --- September 5th.

These lists will be posted again, but for those of you trying to figure out your nominees, know that you do not have to nominate these men
Ewan McGregor
Viggo Mortensen
Sam Elliott
Liam Neeson
or these women
Helen Mirren
Tina Fey
Maggie Smith
Isabella Rossellini.
They will all go into the draws automatically, as past winners.

And speaking of winning
these boxes are being filled with prizes for the winning KH and KC nominators and the nominators of the runners-up.  It's sort of like filling stockings at Christmas, except these boxes don't hang from the mantel so good.

Friday, August 11, 2017

Photographic Evidence

And the reason I'm not getting a whole lot of knitting done today:

I can't get to my yarn.

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

These Days

Seeing all the nominees for Knitters' Hunk and Knitters' Chick each year makes me happy.  There are always such wonderful choices, surprises, and names of people I wish I had thought of.  So, thank you for at least letting me know that options are swirling around in your brains.

One of you, and you know who you are, understands this:
Honestly, when the history of KH is written (as it surely will be, right?), this might make for the best cover photo choice:

There are now two special announcements to be made around the contests this year.  On my mind is how to time them.  Maybe one right before we start and one as we close out.

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Adulting

I don't drink coffee.  Never have.  Hence, I don't know how to make coffee (except for when I was growing up and used to make cups of instant for my parents.)  Dale was a coffee drinker, and always made his own each morning.

I do drink hot chocolate and tea.  (It may be some sort of rule that if one knits, one must drink tea.)  Several months ago, I bought myself an electric kettle,
which is one of the best small appliance purchases I've ever made.  Still, on Amazon's Prime Day, I found a Keurig machine speaking to me.  You can make both hot chocolate and tea with one, you know.

Now, when I go into the kitchen to feed the cats in the morning, I can make myself a cup of something.  It's usually hot chocolate, but either way, that brewing sound and resulting mug of a hot drink make me feel like a real grown-up.

Monday, August 7, 2017

Right to the Point

Have you settled on your nominees for KH and KC this year?  You needn't tell me who they are*, but if you'd like a chance to win this week's Countdown prize, simply leave an answer here, or in any post, before Midnight Friday.
That's Sock Yarn Shawls from KnitPicks,
Cascade Heritage Sock Yarn in Como Blue,
and ten teal-bead stitch markers.



*Although Kathy asked an interesting question about men with long hair. . .😉

Saturday, August 5, 2017

Going On

Those of you who have Facebook accounts know that there's a feature there called "On This Day."  It lists your statuses over the last several years for a given day.  My "On This Day" shows that the Knitters' Hunk and Knitters' Chick nominating processes had, in the past, already begun by now.  I knew I was delaying the start of things this year by a little;  who realized it was that much?
Still, we'll stay the course, as there are Countdown prizes yet to be won.

Speaking of which, Kathy wins this week!  A box of Pink will be on its way soon.  Next chance to win comes Monday!  

Friday, August 4, 2017

And Then, And Then

I believe I found the perfect Want-To-Knit-A-Sweater-But-Will-Get-Bored-Knitting-A-Sweater project:
This vest kit is from Peace Fleece.  Vicki posted about the site a few days ago, which led me to it, which led me to this.  The yarn is Zarya Fog, which is tweedy, which I love.  Tweeds are, without question, my favorite yarns of all.

Dear, dear, darling Twinnie has a new addition to her alpaca family.  This is Duke of Calypso, just after his birth Sunday:
Here he is today:
He has grand black markings, and has just about gained control of his back legs.  Such a cutie.  (I will be calling him "Bomber," but that's another story.)  Welcome to the world, young man.



Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Bubbles In The Lead


Ooops. . .  Wrong Bubbles.

There we go.

I'm not particularly surprised that almost all of you chose "bubbles" for a summer day.  I can't remember ever hearing anyone say they don't like bubbles.  Still, I appreciate that a couple of you bucked the trend.

I finished a pair of mitts the other day.  My wrist looks a little swollen in the photo where I'm wearing them, but my suspicion is that that's a result of my bracelet rather than a design shortcoming.
The design is actually meant to be used with four different yarns, as the pattern goes 2x2 rib, 3x1 rib, stockinette, double seed stitch around the middle, then reverse the order to the end.

I'm sort of at loose ends about what to knit next.  I'd like to make a sweater, but know that once it began, I wouldn't want to make a sweater anymore.  It looks like the It-Was-Diamonds-But-Now-It's-Stripes will have to do for now.






48

If you've ever rented a movie on Amazon Prime, you know you have 48 hours in which to watch it.  (By the way, why do we "watch"...