Here are the contestants, all nicely written down on slips of scrap paper.

Here are the stairs:

CHAOS!

Oh no, it’s blurry! Let’s restage that…

How authentic.

And the winner is…

Julie!

Thanks for everyone who participated in this contest. And thanks to Connie from Pick Up Sticks for providing the wonderful prize package! Julie has won:

• 2 skeins of delicious hand painted Apple Pie Yarn by Apple Laine in the “Pretty in Pink” colourway.
• A Sock Pattern by Northern Sunshine Designs
• A Pick Up Sticks project bag!

Yay!

• Rhonda knit one hat at first, and then four more hats for the ‘Circle of Love’ hat project. 5 entries!
• Kimberly knit a pair of pink mittens, a Clapotis and donated $25 to the CIBC run for the cure. 3 entries.
• Arlette knit an Odessa and a Montague. 2 entries.
• Batman knit a preemie cap and a basketweave scarf. 2 entries.
• Julie knit a Shedir. 1 entry.
• Lisa knit mittens. 1 entry.
• Liz knit a Shedir. 1 entry.
• Monica knit a hat. 1 entry.

This brings the final total (along with my 3 donations) to… 19. Hm. Did I miss something? I thought there were 21… Oh well, that’s 10011 in binary. Wow, 10011 entries!

Stay tuned; the winner will be announced within the next few days. Who will it be??? Place your bets.

This is a chunky version of Knitty’s Shedir. It’s “urban,” so I am calling it the “Oh no Shedi’in’t!”

Oh no Shedi’in’t, started November 29th, 2006, finished December 1st, 2006
Pattern: Shedir (PDF)
Yarn: Chunky cotton
Needles: Started on 7.5mm straights, then ripped apart and restarted with 6.5mm circulars
Dimensions: It’s a little too small for my head (oops), but it would certainly fit a preteen.
Pattern Notes: I cast on 32 stitches and followed the pattern but only did a single repeat. Once I got close to the top, I cut out all the WS rows.
Would I knit it again? It’s a nice pattern, but I’m not sure it works for any less than 64 stitches around. I want to do a couple more chunky hats like this, but the cotton I used wasn’t hugely stretchy and the cables don’t look as good as I hoped. Next time I’ll try with a non-cotton fibre, and it should work out perfectly.

• Julie has knit a Shedir, and it’s beautiful. She’s been having a bit of a hard time lately; head over there and give her an eHug. And while you’re at it, submit to next month’s Yarnival!, which she has so graciously agreed to host.
• Lisa has knit a cute li’l pair of mittens; the first pair goes to charity, the rest for her kids!

On a side note, I’ve got lots of knitting content to put up but I’ve also got lots of grad school applications that are demanding more of my time. I’d much rather blog, but unfortunately the admissions process is a cruel mistress who demands obedience. I’d make an allusion to The Borg, but then I would be even more of a nerd than I already am. Which is great if any of my readers are on the McGill, U of T or CMU admissions committees, but not so great otherwise. Geekiness is okay; Star Trek nerdiness less so. It’s a fine line.

It’s the 16th entry into the Pretty in Pink Contest! Monica has knit a hat to go into the hat box at her local hospital’s oncology center. Her hat is part superwash wool, part sock yarn, which makes me think that maybe all the wool I have in my stash could be used for this purpose instead of being forever hidden from the heads of cancer patients. I’m so afraid of making a hat that’s too scratchy… Maybe I’ll just buy some Rowan Calmer instead and play it safe. Only a week until the end of the contest! I think maybe 50 was too ambitious a goal, so I’ll be happy if we hit 20. Let’s go for 20! I have a week to knit a hat, maybe two, that means I need another two or three entries from you darlings and we’ll hit our (new) mark!

On a side note, do you notice anything that’s disappeared from the sidebar? I finished my aunt’s DNA scarf last night while watching Letterman! (I don’t usually watch, but I only get CBS and CBC and I wanted to cast off last night so I stayed up for about an hour longer than I usually do.) That’s right, my scarf and Kramer’s career, both finished at approximately the same time. It still needs to have some ends woven in and I put in a keyhole that I should reinforce with a bit of crochet, and then it needs to be blocked… Ok, so maybe my scarf won’t be finished for another week or so, depending on whether I’m EVER going to find something to use for a blocking board. We shall see. As soon as it’s reborn as an FO, my cherished knititionnaires, my beloved proletariknit, my precious digknitaries, you will be the first thing it sees.

On a side side note, my breakfast this morning was cinnamon toast. Here is my recipe for cinnamon toast:

Eve’s Delicious Low-Calorie Cinnamon Toast

2 slices of lightly-toasted bread
Butter
Brown sugar
Cinnamon

Spread butter onto the toast. If it’s too cold because you live in Canada or somewhere equally chilly, put it in the microwave on defrost for a few minutes. Sprinkle the brown sugar on the toast. Sprinkle the cinnamon on the toast. Put into the toaster oven for a few minutes. Pull it out of the toaster and arrange on a decorative plate. Munch.

Serves 1.

Now we just need 38 more to get to 50. I’ve been crazy bogged down with midterms and grant applications and grad school applications and GRE studying and general insanity, so I haven’t even had time to THINK about another hat. But don’t you worry my pretties, I’m starting today on a pretty little stockinette number using my new fantastic continental stylez, because I don’t have time to learn how to purl with the yarn in my left hand. THAT’S how crazy busy I am.

If you’re as busy as I am and don’t have time to knit, remember that I’ll be extending the Pretty In Pink deadline until I get 50 entries. But don’t let that lull you into a false sense of security! Get your entries in now!

Batman has knit an extremely small cap for a preemie. Don’t worry, I’m sure there are plenty babies the size of cats, otherwise it would be unfair to hold baby vs. cat fights. At the very least, they would not allow circle betting.

Arlette has knit a fantastic chemo cap of her own design, called Montague.

Kimberly has knit a darling pair of pink mittens. She’s also got a clapotis on the way!

That makes 4 entries into the contest, which is a 1 in 4 chance to win (for those of you who don’t like math). This means that everyone else should enter! Let’s make it interesting for these guys. Get clacking!

Liz put a personal touch into her Shedir Chemo Cap (I think I’m planning to knit this next); she donated the hat to her son’s nursery school teacher who is in treatment for breast cancer. She says, “It was a good feeling to donate it locally, and share my best wishes for her health and recovery.” So sweet.

So this means that with my additional (and pathetic in comparison) baby hat, that comes to three entries already out of a hopeful 50. Come on, knitters, get cracking!

A special thanks again to Connie of Pick Up Sticks who’s making all this possible with her delightful prize offering. Thank you thank you thank you!

Pink Baby Hat, modelled by my hand, started and finished Monday, September 25th, 2006
Pattern: Basic hat pattern knit in the round with ribbing at the bottom (which you can’t really see)
Yarn: A chenille baby yarn that’s oh so soft, I believe it’s by Bernat but I don’t have the ball band with me
Needles: 4.5 circs
Dimensions: 12 inches around, 6 inches tall. A bit big for a baby, but it will probably go to a small child of some kind, and that’s all I care about.
Would I knit it again? I may, but I’ll save the baby hat knitting until someone I know gets knocked up.

Pattern Notes: This particular hat will probably go to Kingston General Hospital. I was quite surprised how quick it went. I love quick knits! I’m glad that this didn’t take too long, because I was worried that I wouldn’t have time for my Christmas knitting if I was going to try for 3 extra Pretty in Pink projects. Looks like I may have time after all. See? Everyone can do it, no matter how busy they are! Y’all better sign up! PLUG PLUG PLUG