your last chance

Today is your last chance to bid on Gladys' woven scarves. There are currently no bids.


Phoebe sez, "I bid one catnip mousie!"

Sorry, Phoebe but the Canadian Cancer Society needs people money to find a cure for cancer. But if they ever decide that catnip works/helps, I will gladly mail them one of your (unused) mousies.

the power of yarn

A very big thank you to everyone who donated!!!! Hubby is completely blown away by the power of yarn. With the funds raised from the WM auction ($175!!!), the current total is $1000! That is awesome! I am sure you are anxiously awaiting the draw results. Here are the winners (in no particular order): Katie H, Linda R, Debra H, Gail D, Hilary G, Phyllis C, Lynne R, Cynthia L, and Alice C. Congratulations! I will be contacting you via email over the next few days so keep your eyes peeled. You might also want to check your spam folder in case your spam filter snags my email.

There is less than 2 weeks til the big day (Sat Jun 18th) and the riders have completed their last big training ride last Sat (almost 200km). The final push is on to get ready. Bikes are being tuned, riders are making last minute gear purchases, food is being prepared, etc. And fundraising is no exception. We have one last thing to auction (technically, there's 2) to help raise just a little bit more money. The famous I-am-teaching-at-Sock-Summit Gladys and her loom have been busy making two scarves which she has donated. I am auctioning both of them this week.

The first scarf is woven from Noro Kureyon Sock (warp) and a merino/angora blend (weft).


The second scarf is woven from the oh-so-soft Knit Picks Chroma.


These scarves are the perfect little something for yourself or a loved one (it's not too early to start Christmas shopping). Or maybe you just want to own something hand made by a knitting/pooling celebrity ;)

To bid, leave a comment on this post with the amount, some method of contacting you (Rav name or email address), and the name of the scarf you are bidding on.

Don't forget that all donations $25 or over will receive a tax receipt that is valid in Canada and the US.

I'll close the auction at 8pm PDT Mon June 13th.

Thank you again for your generosity. One of these days, a cure for cancer will be found! I am sure of it. Have a good week and happy bidding!

reminder

Just a quick reminder that the WM auction ends tomorrow at 8pm PDT. The current high bid is $125. And the raffle also ends tomorrow at midnight PDT. The current fundraising total is $750. Hubby is going on his last big training ride tomorrow - 160km/100mi and it's supposed to get pretty hot. I hope he doesn't melt. Only 2 weeks left before the big day!!!

Today, I hung out with my spinning friend, Vicki and we spun a little. This is what I did:


The spinners who read this blog will notice that this flyer is not an Ashford one. More details in an upcoming post...

more prizes

I want to remind everyone that the Ride2Survive raffle and Wollmeise auction ends next Sat! Hubby has sent me some stats on the current donations. There are 3 entries in the sock/hat/pooling scarf raffle. There are 16 entries in the yarny raffle (and 13 prizes - good odds). Total raised is $80 from 3 donations. We need more! Don't wait - donate now.

For those of you in the US, I have found out some good news. The Canadian Cancer Society is a registered US charity (98-600124). So the tax receipt issued is valid in the US as well as in Canada.

Thanks to some very generous people, I have received additional prize donations.

Hilary (aka yarnpiggy) has donated the following prizes:

Fleece Artist Saldanha (mmmm.... lace)


Yarn Pirate Superwash Merino Sock


Koigu KFM


Thank you, Piggy!!! You are awesome.

And Lynne (aka sockladyspins) has donated a pair of "monster" socks (fits women's size 7-8 shoe). Thank you, Lynne!


These socks are going to be hard to let go (would it be wrong if I entered my own raffle to win these? ;) Lynne knits the most amazing fair isle socks. No two pairs are alike and each one is a work of art. If you click on the above picture, you'll see the details better. Go ahead and check out her blog or her Rav projects. And then go donate for a chance to win this lovely pair!

Ride2Survive Auction: Wollmeise Maharani OR Alisha's Bridal Bouquet

I'll be volunteering to help out the riders on the Ride2Survive again this June, and would also like to donate a hard-to-get skein of Wollmeise to help out Dotty's husband in his fundraising effort.

Here's the elevation route that the riders will be travelling — all in one day. That embedded photo? Yeah, that's how many riders get through the ride — with a little help from their friends.

The organizers selected this route because it isn't just long. As you can see, it's also incredibly difficult. But it's not nearly as hard as the journey that people with cancer have faced.

So the least I can do is donate a little bit of yarn, right?

Here are the photos of the yarn, and I do know that they're almost impossible to purchase because they were dyed in such limited quantities.

The winner of the auction will get to choose one of the skeins — either Alisha's Bridal Bouquet or Maharani. 

Leave your bid in the comments, so everyone can see what amount they need to beat. (If two people bid the same amount, we'll go by the timestamps to see who the earlier bidder is.)

We'll close the auction next weekend, Saturday, June 4, 2011, at 8 pm (Vancouver time) and announce the winning bidder.

If you're the winning bidder, you'll donate your final bid amount to Markus' donation page at the Canadian Cancer Society's website, and send me your mailing address. And then I'll pop this skein of yarn in the mail to you, along with a few surprise treats!

Oh yeah, and you will get a Canadian charitable contribution tax receipt from the Canadian Cancer Society. (But I think that the tax receipt is good only in Canada.)

ETA: I have been informed that the Canadian Cancer Society has a registered US charity number so US folks can use the receipt for tax purposes. If you don't see it printed on your receipt, let me know and I will forward the charity number to you.

Finally, don't forget to check out Dotty's separate yarn raffle. All of the prizes are awesome. (And if you want to donate a prize, just contact her: yarnfloozy on Ravelry.)

almost frog's hair

The week has been a blur - mostly lying in bed and then culminating with a trip to the hospital yesterday night. My cold wasn't a cold - it was a virus complete with aches, headache, fever, and chills but no other symptoms. I'm ok now but I learned the hard way what the symptoms are for dehydration. I think hubby got a little freaked out when he saw me fetchingly attired in a hospital gown with various tubes & wires hanging out of me.

Speaking of hospital gowns... The shade of blue that I was wearing can be found in my latest handspun (great segue, eh?):


This is 113g of Rambouillet from Two Sisters Stringworks (formerly known as Yummy Yarn), a local dyer. The LYS where I work sells her fiber. I spun the singles on my Traveller (hereby christened Clementine) and plied on Matilda (love my jumbo flyer!).


Unless I miscounted, that skein is about 728 yds so it's in the laceweight category. That's the thinnest yarn I've spun so far. Now that I've cracked the lace barrier, maybe I should try spinning frog's hair :)

the sicky

That's me today. My throat is sore, my nose is starting to run, and I feel like I could nap all day long. I'm in bed under a quilt with a chocolate bar, fish bits (prepared dried squid - it's an acquired taste), a bag of throat drops, some sock knitting, a box of tissues, and a cat between my ankles.


The weather's been really crappy the last few weeks so photo ops have been few & far between. I did manage to sneak outside with my latest pair of socks:


My first handspun! My first handspun & handknit socks!!!! I am over the moon. They are very firm & sturdy & a bit too thick to wear in shoes so they'll end up as house socks. I love them soooo much! Aren't they purty?

I am spinning like mad. I've spun and plied about half a pound of undyed merino for a shawl KAL. I have to spin the other half before I can start knitting. I bought some Rambouillet last week and I'm spinning that on the Traveller (still unnamed but I'm leaning towards Clementine). The new wheel has developed a clunk that I'm trying to troubleshoot & fix. Hubby doesn't think I should mess with it but then it doesn't bother him as much as it bothers me.

Writing this post has tired me out. I'm going to slouch down and fall asleep to Glee.