Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Ninth Row

The brackets are really beginning to fill in now!  Someone asked why I don't show, or post, the brackets.  It's because you could see who was where, and maybe adjust your voting accordingly, silly geese!  Isn't it fun to have sort-of-surprises every day?  Like, in this round, many nominees are showing up for the first time.  No one's been forgotten, I promise.

These folks are now safely through to Round Three:
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Full disclosure: Melissa McBride was my nominee)
Jon Hamm
Emma Watson
Idris Elba
Lupita Nyong'o
Andrew Lincoln

I'm beginning to get the prize packages together.  The nominators of the winning Hunk and Chick, plus the nominators of the runners-up in both contests, will be getting gobs of good stuff.  Some has been donated by very generous friends (you know who you are), and I thank them very, very much.

Okay --- next on our stage:

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Eighth Circuit

Unfortunately, some of you have already "lost" either all of you Hunk or Chick nominees.  It's just that time of the contest.  I certainly hope you'll continue to vote daily;  there are some whoppers of match-ups on the way.

There will be one more full round after this one before the Quarterfinals.  Thank you to all of you who nominated so many great contenders!

Moving on along into Round Three are
Denzel Washington
Kristen Bell
David McCallum
Lucy Liu
Dwayne Johnson
Daisy Ridley
Yo-Yo Ma

Here's your next daily slate:



Monday, August 29, 2016

Seventh Leg

WOW.

In a blizzard of overnight voting, fortunes changed dramatically,  As in, some who were handily in the lead when I turned in were defeated.  And, goodbye to our reigning Hunk.  You served well, Sam.

So, from yesterday:
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Emma Thompson
Shemar Moore
Christine Baranski
Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Caitriona Balfe
were your winners.

For those of you who haven't seen some of your nominees yet, Round Two will answer your concerns.  Some nominees get First Round byes, lucky ducks.  Everyone should be in play now.

Whom do you want to send forward today?


Saturday, August 27, 2016

Whew, and Here's A Color Prompt

The first week and the first round of Knitters' Hunk and Knitters' Chick are over.  There have been some difficult choices, for voters, and for me.  Finding matching photos of some of the pairs has been super tough.  I'd have a smiler versus a non-smiler.  Someone whose better side was right versus someone whose was left.  One who was dressed to the nines quite a bit against someone who seemed to never dress any way except casually.

 If you've been participating for a while, you know that my goal in choosing photos is to have two as similar in style, expression, clothing and tone as possible.  The pictures I select may not be the best of a nominee, but I do my dead level best to keep from showing obvious bias.

I have come across some great pictures that wouldn't work for a poll, and I'm going to post a few of them as we go  Like these:

But let's move from hunks and chicks to blankets.

While the temperatures here are still in the 90s, the air has begun to feel a little cleaner, a little less oppressive.  Could Summer be on its last legs?  For the sake of argument, let's say it is.  Therefore,
WHAT COLOR(S) DO YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU HEAR THE WORD
"AUTUMN"?

Happy Knitting!

But They're All Winners, Don't You Think?

Our last Round One victors are:
Jon Bon Jovi
Lupita Nyong'o
Tony Leung
Sophie Turner
Claire Forlani
Daniel Craig
Lin-Manuel Miranda

Voting resumes tomorrow.

Friday, August 26, 2016

Fifth Lap

We had a staff meeting here at KH/KC HQ, and decided that there will be no voting on Saturdays.  A lot of you have a lot to do on those days, we know, so we'll all take the day off, and get back to business on Sundays.

Is anyone else finding match-ups really hard?  (And I mean other than finding photos.  Jeeemanee.)  For this early on, it seems like there are some really tough choices.  But just you wait. . .

Yesterday,
Emmylou Harris
John Hamm
Neil Gaiman
Lucy Liu
Michael Keaton
Felicity Huffman
moved on,
and, there was finally a winner in our first tie:
Alan Cumming

Here are you last pairs for setting up the second round.  Happy Voting!
Enjoy your day off tomorrow. See you back here on Sunday.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Reel Four

Your choices for moving ahead to the second round are:
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Aidan Turner (Full disclosure: Jerome Flynn was my nominee.)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Richard Dean Anderson
Emma Watson
Matthew McConaughey

Let's move some other folks into the Second Round, whatta ya say?

And let's break that pesky first tie, too.

Barring any more ties, we'll wrap up Round One tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Chapter Three

Yesterday's winners:
Salma Hayek
Sam Heughan
Bette Midler
Jon Stewart
And, we have our first tie of the year.  You'll get to revisit Alan Cumming versus Daniel Radcliffe soon.

As for today --- here you go!

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Page Two

The first day of voting did not go off without a hitch or two, and for that I apologize.  Here are your winners from yesterday:
Shemar Moore (results here)
Denzel Washington  (results here)
Jane Goodall (results here)
Cote de Pablo (results here)
Christine Baranski (results here)

Waiting for your opinions today:


Are you getting your voting legs under you? Because we have oh, so far to go.

Monday, August 22, 2016

Are You Ready?


VOTING IS CLOSED


One of today's pairs matched two people who had both been nominated by one person.  It's unfair to ask the nominator to vote against the nominee.  Therefore, I'm deleting today's Sam Heughan vs. John Oliver pairing, and will put them each back into the draw elsewhere.  Sorry for the bumpy start this year.


Photos that match are already difficult to find --- this is going to be fun! I've set these polls to stay open for 24 hours: roughly 8 AM to 8 AM (Eastern.) That should give everyone plenty of opportunity to vote.  Yes, I realize that you can't see the running vote totals here.  That will be corrected for tomorrow.

  Here are your first six choices:

There!  That wasn't so bad, was it?

And we're off!

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Working, Working, Working

I need to go to Polldaddy frequently throughout the year, as I always have trouble getting the voting polls to show up.  SO aggravating.

Also?  Matching photos are already difficult to find.


Your seeds are as follows:
Knitters' Hunk
1.  Sam Elliott
2.  Viggo Mortensen
3.  Mike Rowe
4.  Ewan McGregor
5.  Idris Elba
6.  Prince Harry
7.  Andrew Lincoln
8.  David McCallum

Knitters' Chick
1.  Tina Fey
2.  Meryl Streep
3.  Maggie Smith
4.  Isabella Rossellin
5.  Kristen Bell
6.  Jennifer Lawrence
7.  Kate Middleton
8.  Helen Mirren

Get a good night's sleep;  polls are opening early in the morning.  See you then!  And may the Hunkiest and Chickiest win.

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Quick --- Improvise!

About four hours ago, I sat down here, in front of the computer, to write a post about stuff.  And things.  And then, dual life issues with both my children thundered in.

SO. . .

. . . Let me just say that I will be working on KH and KC brackets tomorrow.  Barring any other crises, voting should begin on Monday.  Both contests have 40+ nominees, so it looks like we're going to be at this for a while.


Friday, August 19, 2016

Probity

Perhaps I say this every year.  If I don't, I should.  If I do, indulge me.

When KH and KC nominations start coming in, there are always nominees that make me do a little fist pump.  Impartiality is out the window for a few seconds, because one (or more) of you has chosen brilliantly.  You nominate people who make looking through photos almost sinfully easy.  You nominate people who are exceptional in so many ways that I wonder at your abilities to choose.  Thank you.

Then, some of you offer to donate items for the prize packages.  After nine (!) years of this, I should not be taken aback by your generosity, but I am.  Thank you.

Over on Facebook, I'll be changing my profile picture daily, featuring as many nominees as I can.  I'm picking these totally at random, so don't read anything into who's there and who's not.

(I'm sorry --- in the first year of this, I got hammered by someone who accused me of cheating, of rigging the results.  She was bitter and unrelenting.  Hence, my Caesar's wife stance every year since.  How things like that can hook into you and never let go. . .)

Anyway, where was I?

Oh, yes.  As of right now, there are 32 entrants for Knitters' Chick, and 35 for Knitters' Hunk.  Nominations will be accepted until 11:59 PM (ET) tomorrow night.  Spread the word!!  Tell folks to nominate; the more, the merrier.  Truly!


Thursday, August 18, 2016

So. . .

. . . I am a great believer in symbolism.  Things that stand for, mean, remind one of, other things.  I surround myself with talismans --- in the house, in my car, even in my billfold.  If I don't have something nearby that puts me in mind of something near, dear, irreplaceable, I feel sort of lost.

When it came time to choose the nominations start date for Knitters' Hunk and Knitters' Chick this year, a glance at the calendar made the decision simple.

Today is Robert Redford's birthday.

Nominations are open!

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

Nominations for Knitters' Hunk and Knitters' Chick will begin to be accepted.  The nomination process will be open until 11:59 pm (ET) Saturday, August 20th.  Nominations can be placed here, in the Comments section, or, if you prefer, you can e-mail them to me at handeyecraftsathotmaildotcom.

The plan is for me to work on the brackets Sunday, and voting to begin on Monday (the 22nd.)  if there's a problem with that, I'll let you know.  Otherwise, prepare to vote just about every day between now and, well, whenever things are over!  I'm considering taking Sundays off --- would that upset anyone?  Or is there a day each week you would prefer?  Please let me know.

Remember that
Sam Elliott
Viggo Mortensen
Mike Rowe
and Ewan McGregor
do not have to be nominated.  They are automatically in the draw.

The same goes for
Tina Fey
Meryl Streep
Maggie Smith
Isabella Rossellini,
so, the rest of the world is yours to choose from!


Monday, August 15, 2016

The Prompts Will Go On

Even during Knitters' Hunk and Knitters' Chick, gentle readers, the color prompts for Blankapalooza squares will go on.  

Today, the last non-KH, non-KC prompt for a while:
WHAT COLOR WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?

My first car was a 1972 Chevy Nova:
This isn't mine, as the sweet rims weren't a thing oh so long ago.  But this is exactly what mine looked like.  It pains me that I never took a picture of it.  I suppose when you're 16, things like that don't cross your mind.

ANYway, I'm going in search of dusty blue yarn.  What color will you be knitting with?

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Number Nine Hundred

Finding it hard to believe that this is my 900th post.

Waiting for the Men's 100m race.  It's the only Olympic event I refuse to miss.

Finishing a scarf for Harry's Hundred.

Remembering my Beagle, Country, when looking at this photo:

Listening to Rupert falling asleep.






Saturday, August 13, 2016

Rupert's Turn

Rupert (pictured)
often gets left out of the monthly Chewy trials.  Lily (pictured) and the other cats have gotten to try the most products.  This month, I decided to treat Rupert alone.

First up, Science Diet Fruity Snacks.  Speaking for myself, these are pretty little treats;  think granola in the shape of little bundt cakes.  Well now, Rupert has 17-year-old teeth.  Even pretty little bundt cakes must be broken into tiny pieces for him to chew.  

The bag these are in, when opened, sounds like the bags several different types of cat treats come in.  So, lots of little cat feet came cruising into the kitchen when I was giving Rupert his taste test.  For the record, the cats like these.  Rupert has eaten them sometimes, ignored them entirely at others.

Next up was freeze-dried food, with which I have no experience whatsoever.
This is to be mixed with water before serving.  So far, I haven't found the exact ratio of food-to-water that suits Rupert.  He sniffs at it as if he wants to dive in, but the texture seems to put him off.  I'll keep trying to find the perfect formula, but, for now, this seems to be a bust.

Each month, Chewy.com allows me to select pet products to test in my home.  They send the chosen products in return for my honest reviews.  There are no monetary transactions nor incentives.

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Backward From Seven

One week from today, you are free to send me your Knitters' Hunk and Knitters' Chick nominees!  My six had been set since a couple of months ago, and didn't seem likely to change.  Then, I heard an interview with someone whom I had considered from early on, and had to rethink.  As of right now, my KH nominees are
Athlete
Actor
Singer
and my KC nominees are
Actress
Actress
Singer.

Wonder if they'll change?

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Ten on Tuesday

Ten Words That Describe Me
(Each beginning with the first letter of my name)
(Kathy, are you having as much trouble with this as I am?)

1.  Knitter (!)
2.  Kidder
3.  Knower (of stuff)
4.  Knee pain sufferer
5.  Known
6.  Keeper to myself
7.  Keepsake collector
8.  Kennedyphile
9.  Key lime pie liker
10.  Kick-off anticipator

Monday, August 8, 2016

And Kathy's Questions Are. . .

*Ice cubes or fake cubes?
Neither, really.  There aren't too many cold drinks that I don't take straight up. 

*Shawls or Stole? 
Shawls. 

*Campfire or fireplace fire?
Fireplace. 

*Blanket: fringe or border?
Border.  On scarves, too.  I don't do fringe on scarves or pom-poms on hats.  I'm a rebel that way.

*Rowdy Gaines or Phil Liggett?
(Swim announcer or cycling)
Liggett.  I'm a sucker for an accent.

*Suet or Seed?
I like seeds.  Probably because my children always did such cute crafts with them.

*Mt. Rushmore or Statue of Liberty?
Having been to neither, I'm going to guess Mt. Rushmore.  'Cause. . .  Lincoln.

*Beret pattern or headband?
Beret.

*USPS or Fed Ex?
I misread this and thought the choices were UPS and FedEx.  (*cough*UPS*cough*)  I don't really have a preference between the other two.

*Knit on a screen porch or knit on a beach?
If "beach" is an answer to most anything, that's likely what I'm going to say.  But here, the porch wins.  Knitting is too "heavy" for the beach.  And I'd rather walk and hunt for shells anyway.

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Projects

I'm already hearing from some of you regarding your Hunk and Chick nominees.  As usual, there are some remarkable choices.  I don't know how many times in these nine (!) years I've seen someone's nominee and said to myself, "Why didn't I think of that?  It's so obvious!"

One of the square hats I made is going to Harry's Hundred.  I like the two-sided-ness of this one.  There was enough of the grey yarn to make a scarf, so I've moved on to that.  These are acrylic yarns, and have good heft to them;  they should keep someone quite warm.


The socks I'm working on are almost done;  I turned the heel on the second one this afternoon.  Here is the first:
Kind of a wonky picture;  sorry.  Again, using baby yarn.  It's almost always substantially cheaper than sock yarn, it wears well, and it can survive lots of machine washings.  This is a new pattern for me.  The construction of the sock is nice, but my stitch count was way off at the heel.  Why is still a mystery.

Friday, August 5, 2016

Floored

Yesterday, a large plastic pouch was in my mailbox, from friend Grace.  Can you guess what was inside?

Three dozen squares for Blankapalooza!  

I honestly shouldn't be surprised by knitters' generosity at this point, but I was, and still am, knocked out.  All of the squares are mitered, which is a great look.  Here are some of my favorites:

Thank you, Grace, beyond all things my words can express.  I will try to do your contribution justice, and put all the squares in with everyone else's, to make blankets to keep someone warm.

Really, right?  Knitters are the greatest.

The Piret Scarf I told you about before?  I sent it off to Kelli, where it got a proper blocking, and is now appearing in a trunk show:
See it hanging there, on the right?  I've never done anything like that, so I'm kind of wowed by seeing it "out in the world."  Again, all thanks to Kelli, and to Teresa Ruch, who provided the yarn.

Teachers are awesome, too.

And nurses.   Nurses are great.

Librarians rock.

(Any group I'm leaving out?)


Thursday, August 4, 2016

It's the Two Week Countdown

That's right --- two weeks from today, nominations open for the 2016 Edition of Knitters' Hunk and Knitters' Chick!

For those of you who may already be thinking about your nominees, know that the following are automatically going into the draws:

Sam Elliott
Viggo Mortensen
Mike Rowe
Ewan McGregor

Tina Fey
Meryl Streep
Maggie Smith 
Isabella Rosellini

As always, I'm anxious to see whom you all choose!

The year Isabella Rosellini won, she had been nominated by my friend Camille.  Part of her prize package was some yarn I found that was called "Isabella."  She sent me photos of the gorgeous shawl she made with it:

Is that beautiful, or what?

What will this year's winning nominators win?

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Just Under the Wire

Today has been a CRAP day.  Which is why I have only now remembered that you are due a Blankapalooza color prompt.  Sorry for the delay.

You are to go 
find your birthday
and 
make a square of THAT COLOR.

For example, my birthday is 2/12.  "My" Pantone birthday number color is

Once you start looking at the colors, well, you may be there a while. . ,

Monday, August 1, 2016

Questions? Anyone?

Happy First of August to you all;  rabbit, rabbit to my Twinnie.

Another Monday, another terrific set of questions from Kathy.  Let's get to them, shall we? 

*Do you have a mosquito bite? 
I do not.  We have a significant number of dragonflies here --- I think they're keeping the mosquitoes at bay.

*Have you been to a garage or rummage sale this summer?
I have not.  I am, however, planning to have one of my own.

*Have you purchased a knit pattern this summer?
I bought a knitting magazine a couple of weeks ago, so, technically, I've bought several!

*Have you seen someone else knitting in public this summer?
Unfortunately, no. 

*Have you knitted with cotton this summer? 
Yes!  I've made a lot of washcloths.

*Have you used Ravelry's road trip planner this summer?
I wish.  No road trips on the horizon for me.

I'm knitting a sock now, in addition to the square hats.  I'm also still playing Pokemon Go, and have caught three of my favorite "monster," Oddish:
I shan't be evolving him, as this is his cutest stage.  (Hey, you get hooked on this stuff!)

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"...