Amanda Hat Winners!

I am SO sorry that this post is extremely late. Little Ben has had a fever and stomach virus since Friday night and I've been sitting beside him for days....("Pwease, Mommy, sit with me!")...so most knitting/spinning things have been pushed aside for some big, healing hugs.

Yes, the fantastic Blogless Amanda did pick out the winners on her birthday and...without further delay...here they are!!!

1. Winner of the Best Hat knit in a MALABRIGO yarn:



Nikkiana of Every Tomorrow
Colorway: Sapphire Jade
Ravelry name: nikkiana

She is the winner of this yarn (as well as other goodies):


Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in colorway, Cuarenta


2. Winner of the Best Hat knit in a NON-MALABRIGO yarn:



Tanis of Canada
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay Worsted in colorway, Flame
Ravelry name: marquessa

She is the winner of this yarn (as well as other goodies):


Yarn: Malabrigo Laceweight in colorway, Lavender

3. Winner of the Best and Most Original Amanda Hat photo:



Boo of Cats N Co
Yarn: Lopi Worsted in a handpainted colorway, Grapes of Wrath
Ravelry name: carys

She is the winner of this yarn (as well as other goodies):


Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in colorway, Apple

I want to thank every single person who knit an Amanda Hat (especially those of you who knit more than one!!). I've truly enjoyed opening up my email and seeing a new hat (or hats) every day. I still have about 5 hat pics to add to the Gallery...though those were sent after the contest was over. Please keep those hat pics coming if you have them -I would love to see them!

Another HUGE thanks to Caroline, who knit 8 Amanda Hats...got other people to knit them...and who made me feel so happy about my pattern. You Rock!!! (I'm mailing your gift to you, too! Yours is a surprise!)

One last, amazingly big hug to Sonya, who asked me to create this pattern. If she hadn't said anything, there wouldn't be over 180+ hats out there today. Woo-hoo!

Before I go, I wanted to share my progress on my winter white Icarus Shawl...I love it!!!.....I've just about finished all the "plain" knitting and I'm ready to start on the lace. I'm a bit nervous about that, but I think, once I put my lifeline in, I'll be okay. Each row takes l-o-n-g-e-r and l-o-n-g-e-r to finish, but I know it will be worth it in the end. I've definitely been in the lace knitting mood!


Yarn: Alpaca with a Twist's FINO in First Frost.

Now that Ben's snuggled into bed, I'm off to watch a scary movie with Tim (and hope to get some more lace knitting done, too!) Happy Knitting!

P.S. A quick pic of my mom blowing out her birthday candles...Happy Birthday, Mom!!!!

I'm Alive!!

Before I headed out to knitting group tonight, I just wanted to say hi to all of you...my wonderful friends...and thank you so much for all your well wishes...it's so nice to open up my email and see such kind comments : )

I'm FINALLY better. I had a double ear infection, sinus infection and, because of my migraine meds and infections combined, had very high blood pressure. And I'd no idea! I'm finally off all meds and now only taking a very low dose of hbp pills until everything is "normal" again. My head is feeling sooo much better and it was so funny because I felt like dancing around today. Woo-hoo!

I was able to go back to the gym (never thought I'd be happy for that!) and today was also Ben's first day back to school after being so sick himself. He was even able to wear the new mittens I knit for him. His teacher and friends loved them!

Check these out: (well...this one anyway)



Pattern: Morehouse Merino Critter Kit "Lobster Claw Mitts" for kids
Yarn: 1 skein of Morehouse Merino 3 ply in red
Needle: Knit Picks size 5 32" circ and extra bamboo dpns
Fun Level: A (So quick, so fun, loved this yarn and the mitts are soo warm!)

Ben was wearing just one of these the other day and looked so sleepy and cute....



One more belated FO:



Pattern: Bea Ellis "Moose Hat"...scroll down for patern.
Yarn: 1 skein of each color of Dalegarn Heilo and 1 skein of Mandarin cotton
Needles: Knit Picks size 3 and 5 16" circs
Fun Level: B (Very interesting knit, really liked this yarn, though I think I let my carries go a bit long...5 stitches, instead of 3 or 4.)

This hat is for my father-in-law...as a very belated birthday gift. He lives in TX, but when he comes here, he needs an extra warm hat..and, man, this hat will be VERY warm. Hope he likes it!

Now...onto the bigger stuff....

Number 1: Yes, I am VERY behind in adding the Amanda Hats to the gallery. I have about 15 hat pics all ready, sized and labled to go in. I will be adding them tomorrow and asking Amanda to pick her choice on Friday, instead of on her birthday tomorrow (Happy Birthday, Blogless Amanda!!).

Number 2: Remember that there will be 3 prizes plus a special prize for Caroline for knitting the MOST Amanda Hats...8! The other prizes will be for the:

-Best Amanda Hat knit in malabrigo yarn.

-Best Amanda Hat knit in a non-malabrigo yarn.

-Best and most original photo of the Amanda Hat.

Good luck to everyone and I'll let you know after Spa who the winners are...though it will probably be the last day of Feb before everything gets figured out, blogged and such. I'm so excited!!

Will try to blog before I leave for Spa on Friday, but I may not have time to. So, if I don't....I'll miss you!!! I can't wait to SPIN!!!!

Caroline....The Amazing Amanda Hat Knitter!

If you can believe it, my wonderful friend Caroline has knit...count'em....8 AMANDA HATS!!

Every time we'd get together for knitting, Caroline would look at me with a slightly shy (and sweetly guilty-ish) look and say something like, "You know, Gina, I'm starting another Amanda Hat." And I would always be so surprised and excited! (After the 5th hat, I was less suprised, but just as excited.) Wow! Each "confession" prompted me to ask...."So, what yarn are you using??" and she'd take out some beautiful skein of yarn that was either perfect for her complexion/hair or perfect for someone else in the group...who'd immediately say, "Ooh, let ME try it on!"

I've had a number of knitters make 2 and 3 hats, but no single person has made more than that...except for Caroline. With that in mind, I decided to crack open Caroline's brain and feast on the gooey insides....oh, wait...I mean, gently probe into Caroline's brain and investigate her Amanda Hat Obsession (which I am totally in approval of).


(Caroline with Amanda and all the hats that were made so far)

Here we go!

1. So, Caroline, what made you knit this many Amanda Hats? I made the first one because I loved the one you brought to Grand View weekend, and was impressed by the way it looked good on everyone. I was working on a long term project at the same time, and it felt so good to finish something that I thought I would like to do another. I started thinking about all the yarn options for the hat and just decided to use a different yarn each time. I had no idea that I would do this many.

2. If you didn't know me or Amanda, do you think you still would've knit the pattern this many times? I hate to admit it, but I might not have made one at all! I would probably have saved the pattern to my file of "I like this but don't have the nerve to make it" patterns. But you were so encouraging and put the pattern right in my hand. If I had made the one, without knowing you or Amanda, I might have stopped at 2 or 3. It was fun to keep bringing another hat in to knitting.

3. Not many people know that you used a different yarn for each hat. Which yarn that you used was the most enjoyable to knit with? The best was the last, Malabrigo! Dream In Color was a close second.

4. Which yarn knitted up the prettiest hat? I think, maybe, the Patons SWS or the Lorna's Laces.

5. Which hat is your favorite and why? That one is a lot harder to answer. The Malabrigo, for its color and softness and the fact that my technique was so much better than in my earlier hats. Or the Manos, for its awesome color, even though its tension was all over the place.

6. What will you do with all these hats?? I'll keep at least one and gift the others.

7. Did you change your needle size for any of the hats?> No, I'm too much of a rigid instruction-follower. You said 9's so I used 9's. I will make this hat again someday and I might try changing needles then. I would like to make the hat in both larger and smaller sizes.

8. Was there anything you would change about the pattern? Not a thing!

9. How many people have you "converted" to "Do-ing" Amanda? Definitely my mother and my sister, Kathleen (well, I don't know how much credit I get for Kathleen). Through my mother, a handful of women down in Key West (do I get any credit for secondary conversions?). And I "pattern-dropped" in a couple yarn stores and in Borders, but I don't know if those took root.

10. Will you be submitting a unique and crazy photo for the last hat entry for the Gallery/Contest? I've got a pose in mind, I just have to have someone take the picture.

Caroline, I am so thrilled that you loved the pattern and the hats and thank you so much for taking time out of your hat knitting (ha ha) to answer all my questions. It's been such a treat to see all of your hats and the choices that you've picked for yarns. You are an Amanda Hat Inspiration!!

Please check out Caroline's blog post, I Will Not Be a Guppy!, for a deeper look inside Caroline's brain...it's a really good post ; )

Now...onto my FAVORITE AMANDA HAT PICS!!!! (remember, I won't be the one judging...only Amanda is..so I can be as prejudiced to my friends as I want...he he)

Jackie's Hat with Her Sweet Girl


Marion's Hat (Caroline's mom)


Elizabeth and Mom's Hat


Melissa from Minnesota's Hat


Donna B's Hat


Laurie from Salem, MA's Lime Set


I have some prizes picked out, but waiting on a few, so I thought I would wait until they are all together before taking pics. But, there will be at least a couple skeins of Malabrigo yarn, stitch markers, fancy knitting needles and other skeins of yarn (as well as goodies...that means chocolate) for the winners.

There's still time for more hats and if you know anyone who has knitted an Amanda Hat and hasn't emailed their pics/info to me, make sure to tell them ASAP!

And, again, you can check out the Amanda Hat Gallery anytime you want : )

Comment with what hats (or pics) are YOUR favorites!

Slightly Wavy

Whoa, I can't believe it's been almost a week since I blogged. I am BEAT! I still have my Christmas decorations up and my house is very slowly becoming a pigsty. Just enough so that I can feel it creeping up around me....damn dust bunnies and other crap!

Meanwhile, I've been working on no less than 5 PROJECTS at once:

-A new design using Heather's gorgeous Sereknity yarn in "Luxe", the 100% handpainted cashmere....oooooh....

-My Winter White Icarus shawl, which is about 12 inches long and coming along sooo beautifully. I just saw Hilary's last night and it's just lovely.

-My Wavy Scarf, shown above....which is about 2/3 done and coming along quickly. I bring this everywhere and I can work on it anytime...easy and mindless...compared to last time when it was kicking my ass. I think you get the hang of it once you make it once. I'm using Ella Rae Classic 100% wool, it's practically identical to Cascade 220.

-Tim's "Spherey" toy, which is also half done...in Lamb's Pride Worsted. It's going to be MUCH smaller than "Squarey", but very cute.

-A shop sample using SWS Oasis in Bistro for the Phiaro Scarf, found in the newest KnitScene. Very simple, but somehow this keeps getting pushed to the side. Must work on it more at work.

I've got the sniffles today and, thankfully, Ben hung out in bed and played with toys while I snoozed for a few extra minutes. I had lots of fun last night at knitting group, though we were missing some of our "regulars"....hopefully I'll see them on Friday. We had two new ladies join the group and I hope we didn't overwhelm them....we still had a HUGE group, even missing about 6 people.

I wish I could say that today I could rest, but I've got to take both kids (Tim's got midterms today so he'll be coming home from school early) to Exeter to get Ben's birth certificate. I can't believe I never got that! DUH! He's 5 years old now! Jeez...

AMANDA HAT KAL UPDATE

Gallery Photos: 40 HATS and more than 6 that I haven't had a chance to add yet....it's sooo cool! (BTW, the Gallery, I've just found out, is only viewable if you actually go to my blog itself here. It doesn't show up if you're on a blog reader, for some reason.)

Bobby Awards: If you're on Ravelry, they are having a mini awards ceremony and The Amanda Hat is one of the chosen patterns for BEST FREE PATTERN 2007. Isn't that awesome??? If you're on Ravelry, I would truly appreciate your vote! Thanks!

Prizes: Pictures of the prizes are coming soon, so please keep a look out. If you have something you'd like to contribute, I'd be happy to advertise you and your blog/website, as a thank you. Anything knitting related is welcomed. Please email me if you'd like to contribute ; )

What Amanda hat is your favorite so far in the Gallery?

Squarey...and the Amanda Hat UPDATE!

I am in LOVE with this little knitted guy that I made for Ben this week. Ben couldn't wait for me to finish him and asked every, single day if he was "done yet ?". I had lots of fun knitting this toy, too. Tim, trying not to look interested, kept passing by while I was knitting Squarey and then, finally, he couldn't contain himself anymore....he started looking at the pattern book and pointed to "Spherey" and said, "Uh, can you make me that one?" (of course!)

Here is Ben loving his Squarey:



DETAILS:

Pattern: "Squarey" from "Unusual Toys for you to Knit and Enjoy" by Jess Hutchinson
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Worsted- 1 skein orange and a few yards of purple and turquoise
Needles: Size 8 32" circular for Magic Loop
Time: 5 days
Fun Level: B+, loved knitting with this yarn, the pattern was very easy to understand, well written and cute as hell...the only thing that took away from super fun is the final sewing up of the body, arms and legs. That was a bit tedious.

I'm looking forward to starting Tim's "Spherey" and I think he'll be even easier...he's knit in the round! I'm getting the yarn on Friday at the store. Woo-hoo!

Now....on to....the "Do the Amanda" UPDATE!

Ravelry: 133 people heart my hat pattern and there are 49 knitted hats finished or in progress at the moment. I am thrilled!!!

Gallery: I have 25 hats in the gallery so far and I have at least 4 more that I need to put in. I've been adding new pics to my other galleries, as well, so make sure to check those if you're interested.

Other News: The yarn store, Nana's Knitting Shop in Illinois has asked my permission to have an "Amanda Hat" class! They'll be taking pics of everyone knitting their hats and pics of the shop, too, to send to me to share. I can't wait to see the diversity of those hats and how nice they'll look wearing them....

Prizes: As of this moment, I am getting together delicious skeins of yarn, stitch markers and other goodies for the winner of the contest. (so much fun!) And, Blogless Amanda has had another idea as well. Giving three prizes...first, second and third prizes. This way, more people have a chance to win...Amanda is the judge!

There will be a prize for:

1. Best Hat using Malabrigo yarn
2. Best Hat using a non-Malabrigo yarn
3. Best and Most Interesting Photo wearing the Amanda Hat

There is still over a month for the contest, so you have plenty of time to knit another hat, if you'd like. There is no limit on the number you can enter. I love opening up my email and seeing all these new and beautiful hats. It's like Christmas!

*A few people have sent me links to their photos or told me where they are so that I can add them in, but...if it's at all possible...I would really appreciate the pics being sent to my email address if you'd like to be added to the gallery. I'm getting a bunch every day and need to edit the pics as well, so I don't always have time to go and find a picture. Thanks so much!*

One more thing....I wanted to give Sonya a HUGE thank you on the blog because she is one who gave me the idea to make this hat. She is the inspiration behind this super comfy and quick to knit hat that we're all enjoying and I wanted to make sure that she knows how grateful I am for her great idea. You rock, Sonya!!

Before I go, I wanted to say a HUGE "HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!!" to my hubby, Ian and share a pic of Ian (and Ben) blowing out the candles on his ice cream cake. He turned 35 on the 8th (and I can be younger for another 4 months!!! he he) and we had a small party while his parents were visiting from Texas. Love you, Ian!!



Happy knitting and keep those hats coming!!!!

"DO the AMANDA" KAL/Contest

It's almost FO Friday!

To start off the first Friday of 2008 in the best possible way, I am having a KAL/Contest!

Wanna know more? Read on...!



DETAILS:

What? A Knit along for my Amanda Hat pattern...a contest and prizes!
Where? Here, on my blog, of course!
When? Starting now until Blogless Amanda's birthday - February 21st, 2008.
How? Knit as many Amanda Hats as you'd like to win a prize and to have your hat (plus name and webpage link) in my "Amanda Hats" Gallery! Grab the button on the right (link to this post) and you're ready to go...!

*Note: The Amanda Hat was named after one of my closest (and most fabulous) friends, Blogless Amanda. (She is the model for the hat on the pattern.) After all of the Amanda hats are knit and pictures posted (pics must be sent!) to the Gallery, Amanda herself will pick her favorite hat and that person will win an awesome yarn-y prizes!!! All submissions must be sent to me by midnight on the 21st and the winner will be revealed on the last day of February.

Wanna join in? Start now...!

MATERIALS:

The Amanda Hat pattern

Size 9 16" circ and dpns (or needle size to get gauge)

2 oz/60 grams of Malabrigo worsted yarn or a heavy weight worsted yarn of your choice. (You can click on the Gallery at the right to get yarn inspiration!)

*Note: I was able to use only half a skein of Malabrigo for this hat, so 2 hats are possible with this exact yarn, but you must be very, very careful...leaving a tail of only 3 inches at the start and a 5-6 inch tail at the end. Knitting to gauge (though I know is tedious, but necessary) is a must if you want to get 2 out of 1 skein. I was also able to make 1 Amanda Hat and also a pair of little boy mittens out of one skein with a yard left over.

One more thing about the yarn- I strongly recommend Malabrigo, not only because of the yardage and thickness, but because the hat becomes just truly LUXURIOUS and SUPER CUDDLY and you'll love it more if you use this yarn. Some have used other yarns and still fell in love with them, but others thought the yarn they used was a bit scratchier than they thought and were slightly disappointed. But, it's totally up to you! Amaze me (and Amanda) with your gorgeous hats!

If you have something you'd like to DONATE for this KAL, I would love to hear from you. I will advertise and link to you, if you have a store for the entire duration of the KAL/Contest.

*I will try to get this on Ravelry as well, so if you get a chance, you can check it out there...I can't promise I'll have time, but I WILL try!*

Now...go on...."DO the AMANDA"!!!!