I'm Such a Lucky Gal

I'm a lucky gal, so very much so lately, and I'm gonna tell you why.

I won a little contest Kathy had about ten days ago. She challenged her readers to guess where she was going to go and knit on a Saturday afternoon, and she only gave one clue. I happened to be the lucky first reader to guess the answer (a Cubs game) and my lovely prize package arrived yesterday. A pretty notecard, a sock pattern, a Halloween pin for the Pumpkinknitter, and this beautiful ball of Regia in creams, greens, and orange, another perfect Pumpkin present. This is the first cotton sock yarn I've gotten, and I'm anxious to try it, especially with how hot it's been here. Thank you, Kathy, you are so generous!

Then this Monday I was totally surprised to become another winner! I was the first prize drawing winner for SYAC. Abigail had offered a copy of the Harlot's new book, Knitting Rules, but she already suspected (correctly) that I had already rushed out to buy it. (Abigail and I share many things in common, including being the Harlot's number one Arizona fans.) So she is sending me Last Minute Knitted Gifts instead. So neat, because I'd seen the book but hadn't taken the plunge yet. Well, see, I was spending the cash on sock yarn and other yarn last month, when I fell totally off the no-sock-yarn wagon while on vacation. And yeah, well, I did finally get Mason-Dixon Knitting, too, since the warshrag thing was getting hard to resist. But since I didn't buy any sock yarn at all for two months of SYAC, I still qualified for the final prize drawing. Woohoo! Abigail's knitalongs are soooo cool, I can't wait to see what she does next. (She's trying to persuade me into that sock cruise thing, too.) Thank you, Abigail, you are just too much fun!

I went through my stash the other day and made a list of all the yarn I now have and the projects I'm planning. It seems that the stash has grown considerably of late; not counting what's on the needles, I have enough yarn for at least 33 separate projects, and 13 of those are socks. Now if only I could figure out how to find more time for projects!

I am so lucky -- Blogger has been cooperating with me lately. You have no idea (well, maybe you do) of what it takes to get a chapter of LittleLace posted. I've had bad luck in the past with photos that won't post and whole drafts lost, as well as having Blogger die on me right in the middle of composing a post. The LittleLace chapters are so long, comparatively speaking, and are so picture heavy, that it becomes a challenge in itself. First I have the text all written out before I get on the computer (just in case Blogger crashes), then I load all the pictures, praying that they all upload successfully. Then I start typing like mad, hoping that my luck holds out. I cut and paste the pictures where they go, and try to proof-read. (Somehow, a mistake or two always slips through.) I preview it numerous times, and then tell it to publish, hoping that all the html is correct. There have been some really tense moments doing this. Once it's posted, I'm worn out -- who would know that blogging -- well, Blogger -- could be so stressful sometimes? But I am so enjoying doing this story, and I am so lucky to have so many readers who leave such enthusiastic comments! Thank you all, you also make me feel so lucky to have you for readers and friends!

Finally, now that Joe has recovered from the new church dedication, he has been practising making puff pastry. He's been doing rather well, too. And what do you do with puff pastry? You split it in half, stuff it with ice cream, and pour on the Sanders milk chocolate topping. Am I lucky, or what??