And the winner is…

And the randomly selected winner of two skeins of Panda Cotton is:

Kelli of Knitterbunny!

Thank you everyone for your sock pattern suggestions. Surprisingly there was very little overlap and a number of them were unknown to me. Here’s a rundown of everyone’s favorites (pattern links are to the Ravelry page):

Kelli of KnitterBunny loves the Uzume pattern from Monkeytoes, but she likes Marilinda by Cookie A. for a challenge (and that one is going in my queue for sure).

Zarah of Zarahwithahook likes the So Square Sock by Anne Hanson.

Deb from rather-be suggests the Embossed Leaves by Mona Schmidt.

Allison from Simply Socks Yarn Co. also likes Embossed Leaves by Mona Schmidt and in addition recommends Hedera by Cookie A.

Emily of MLE Knits just discovered a new favorite, Nutkin by Beth LaPensee.

Blogless Leslie always enjoys the Broadripple pattern by Rob Matyska (That was one of my very first socks!).

Liz of Sisyphus Knits let me know about Ridges and Ribs by Criminy Jickets. I have a feeling this will become one of my favorites too!

Suzanne from 4theloveof is enjoying the anklet pattern featured in the May 2008 issue of Creative Knitting Magazine (page 51).

Blogless Shayla thinks Clessidra by Gabriella Chiarenza is a gorgeous pattern and I agree (though the name of the pattern sounds a tad bit like something you don’t want to catch). Shayla also recommends the Mata Hari pattern by Craftoholic.

Blogless Janet enjoys plain ol’ stockinette socks (I have a soft spot for them too).

Drin likes to knit the Merino Lace socks from Interweave’s Favorite Socks book and she also enjoys the Tyrolean stockings pattern from Interweave Knits, fall 2007.

Blogless Colleen also likes to knit the Merino Lace Socks from Favorite Socks.

Blogless Debbie hasn’t yet gotten the hang of socks, but she says that the first pair she gets right will be her favorite. 🙂

Tamara says she has knit socks, but just doesn’t love it. She does however collect sock yarn (that’s how it starts!).

Blogless Kim is another fan of the plain stockinette socks, but she likes to add a picot cuff (cute!).

Susiequeue thinks that Wendy’s Cabletini socks are comfy and a perfect fit.

Thank you everyone for playing along!

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And the Winner is…

Jodi of A Caffeinated Yarn! Jodi is the winner of the lovely skein of Trekking XXL 126. For the curious, her favorite book is Jane Austen’s Emma and her favorite yarn is Malabrigo. Both excellent choices. 🙂

I had an fantastic time reading all of the comments. The hands down favorite yarn was Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock. 9 out of 35 people picked it as their favorite (it’s mine too). Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock and Schaeffer Anne were tied for second with 3 votes each. I love Lorna’s, but I haven’t tried Schaeffer Anne yet…hmmm…maybe after the move I’ll have to pick up a skein.

As for favorite books, four of you picked Pride and Prejudice as your favorite (Emma and Persuasion were other favorite Austen novels). I love that the Pokey Little Puppy and A Wrinkle in Time both are favorites too. I remember reading those books over and over again as a kid. Personally, I am awful at picking a favorite book. There are just too many! For now I’ll pick my favorite out of all of those submitted. While I did love Stephen King’s The Stand (Kristen picked that as her fav), I think I would have to go with On the Beach by Neville Shute (Kathy chose that one…). That book has stuck with me for years. It is such a powerful, well-written story.

Thank you all for participating in my little contest and congratulations again to Jodi! It was a blast. I think I may have to make this an annual event. 🙂

And now some actual knitting content. Excellent progress has been made on the Big Bad Baby Blanket. I am no longer afraid of running out of yarn and I think I can finish this up before I leave on Wednesday. Hooray! It’s coming out quite a bit smaller than the last one I made since I’m not double stranding, but I think this blanket will be perfect for the baby carrier (or whatever you call that baby car seat thing).

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Also, just so I did not go insane from boredom with the baby blanket, I cast on for a new pair of socks. I’m using the Periwinkle Socks Pattern and Crystal Palace Panda Cotton in Lacquer Red. Love love love it all! The yarn is a bamboo, cotton, nylon blend and feels terrific while knitting however it splits like crazy! Once I switched from bamboo dpns to Knit Picks metal dpns things have been going much better. The fabric is so soft and fluffy. I can tell this yarn is going to become a favorite.

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Happy Blogiversary to Me (and a contest!)

Two years tomorrow! I’ve never kept up with any sort of journal for that long, but something about knit blogging appeals to me. I started this blog in order to record my knitting projects, but it’s more than that now. It is a place for me to focus on my knitting, the process and the product. I can admire the yarn and discuss the patterns that occupy my free time. I love meeting people through blogging and always enjoy reading comments.

In honor of my blogiversary I’m having my first contest. The contest is simple. All you need to do is leave me a comment with the title of your favorite novel (fiction book) and the name of your favorite yarn (words and wool, get it? 🙂 ).  You have until midnight central time on Friday, June 8th to leave a comment. The winner will be selected randomly and will win a skein of Trekking XXL #126. (I knit some socks with this yarn last year and absolutely love them!)

On Monday, June 11th, I will announce the winner!

* Edited to Add The Following:*

There is an online “virtual lemonade stand” fundraiser for pediatric cancer research. Ali of Skeins Her Way posted about it (and tells you all the details) and I just wanted to let everyone know. The goal is $1000, but I’m sure if everyone chips in a little, we can blow that goal out of the water! Ali pointed out that many of us drop $15 0r $20 bucks on a skein of yarn without too much thought – maybe this week donate that money to a good cause. 🙂

http://www.firstgiving.com/peewee

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