AND THE WINNER IS!!!

As with all great plans sometimes there is a glitch.  I took so many projects on my knitting vacation.  Those of you who guesses I would complete a lot, I am sorry I did not.  I think I spent far more time on the black lace stole than I ever imagined that I would.  Also the World Strip Wrap, easy knitting it is but there is sure a lot of it and I have only half finished that one.  so with out further procrastination I announce Emily the winner.  She said she always has great plans and takes far more  yarn than she can knit up.  How right you were.  I completed the scarf and the gloves and parts of other things.  As all of you know there are times you can knit a pattern and times  you can not.  I like to be social with my friends so paying attention to a chart or pattern does not let this happen.  Here are the finished pictures and I will be putting Emily's gift in the mail tomorrow.  Congratulations and this was lots of fun.  We shall do it again sometime.

HEADS UP!

Tomorrow is the day.  What do you think I finished on my trip?  I will announce the winner on Saturday and ask for a snail mail address.  I already have a couple of guesses posted so now we wait and see who wins.  I think I might even add a runner up prize.  I will work on that.  Now off to the Halloween Sock swap project.

SOMETHING FINISHED

At last finished and blocked for my dear friend Paula who is here for a very brief visit.  I wanted something very special for her to remember our 50th class reunion so I knit a shawl.  I used cobweb lace weight merino and alpaca blend from Elan.  I used #6 needles from Signature with the sharpest points you can imagine, short ones( 7") I chose however they come longer.  I have nothing to do with this company but enjoy the fantastic needles.  Those sharp points made it oh so much easier.  I now have to have more for some more lace scarves.  

A bit about Paula, she was an exchange student when I was a high school senior 50 years ago.  We lost each other for many years and now thanks to the internet I have found her.  She lives part of the year in Finland and the other in Spain.  She attended the Iowa reunion while I did the lodge in Minnesota with my knitting friends.  Then the special part she stopped to visit me on her return home.  We are having a grand time and I gave her this present.  After she leaves tomorrow I shall do some pictures of the lovely knitting gifts she brought to me.  Now I must go and be a good hostess when she awakes from her siesta.

UPDATE

I am back home from the knitting vacation and will get with the contest shortly.  It was a grand trip and I shall have some great photos to post in a few days.  Get your guesses ready about what I did or did not complete.  You can post a guess as a comment on this blog.   I will do pictures and announce the finished projects next week towards the end.  You can also if you wish make guesses as to what items were not completed....

Now here is the scoop.  In 1958 when I was a high school senior in Council Bluffs, Iowa the family across the street from me hosted an exchange student.  As their children were small Paula who was from Finland became a dear friend.  We kept in touch after graduation for a while and then as these things so often do we lost touch.  When news arrived about the 50 year reunion and her name was on the missing list.  I was motivated to find her.  Thanks to the internet I did.  We have been communicating with email and live chats on Skype.  It has been wonderful.  Paula decided to fly to the reunion which is tomorrow.  Due to my recent trip to Minnesota I had to pass.  But here is the wonderful part.  Paula will arrive in Buffalo on Sunday and I will be there to meet her.  I can hardly wait.  I am going tomorrow to stay with a knitting friend and then pick Paula up in the afternoon.  We will all have dinner together and then she will spend a few days here with me.  

Those of you who have been long time blog readers here will remember the Paula mitten I designed in honor of her.  Now you will get to see the real Paula as well as what I knit for her to celebrate this glorious visit.  

Check in late next week for the update and pictures.  I have some wonderful ones from the vacation.

She's done it again!

My sweet friend and knitting guru has done it again! Every time I see the Beautiful project she's completed or the wonderful yarn she's using I just have to order it. So.......I now have in route the Wonderful Wallaby sweater pattern and since the site I used had so many cute things I also ordered yarn for a sweater pattern I got in Memphis and a pattern book for dog sweaters. There's so much available and so little time. Then I proceeded to order the lovely Halloween type yarn she displayed along with a nice Christmas yarn to knit socks. No matter if you know how to post a link Joan. We who love to knit and admire the guru's of knitting like yourself will find a way to serch out and purchase the yarns and beautiful patterns that you blog about.

Joan is on a wonderful trip right now. She's knitting like crazy and having the time of her life. She'll be back with wonderful posts and finished projects.

I can only say.......I want to be Joan when I grow up!!!