August 09, 2006
What If I Offered Champagne and Caviar and Hired Strippers?
I'm flabbergasted that two people are driving up from Portland for the Giveaway. For those of you unfamiliar with the Great Northwest, that’s about a 2.5- or 3-hour drive! I’ve tried to convince them that they could buy a pantload of quality yarn for what they’d spend in gas to get free, somewhat questionable yarn plus all-you-can-eat lemonade and cookies but, I’m secretly delighted to say, they are determined to schlep up nevertheless. True Dulaan devotees. Perhaps I’ll have to abandon my Nilla Wafer plan and go straight for the Double Stufs. (Or, as the title says, champagne, caviar and one or two Chippendales.)
That being said, I need more locals! Five intrepid souls have stepped into the breach (and two others have confessed that they are coming just to rubberneck); now I need twenty, thirty, forty more! Don’t let the Portlanders put you to shame, Seattleites! Did you see how much yarn I have to get rid of?
And to the jokesters who want to add yarn to the Giveaway? Yo’ mama.
The details again:
The Mossy Cottage Knits
First Come, First Served
1000-Skein Yarn Avalanche Giveaway
and Lemonade and Cookie Party!
When: Saturday, August 26
Where: Ryan’s house in North Seattle
For Directions: Email Ryan
Dear Reader Jennifer asked for the latest Dulaan number. I’ve been hesitant to post it because F.I.R.E. is still waiting for 3,145 sweaters to arrive from GuidePost Knit for Kids but, what the hey—let’s just do the math, shall we? Add the 3,145 to the 8,835 received from all of you and the grand total could possibly be:
11,980!!
That’s 260% of our goal of 4,518, people. And there may, in fact, be even more since F.I.R.E. said there were one or two other boxes that had not yet been counted.
A moment of silence, please, for this absolute miracle. And MaryB, I forgive you for predicting that we would get over 10,000 items this year and for being...for being rrr...for being rrii...okay, I can say it...for being right.
A couple of other notes:
- The items will start their journey to Mongolia on August 18.
- I have received the finished F.I.R.E. movie about Mongolia, Ulan Bataar and Dulaan, "One Steppe at a Time." I will be looking for opportunities to show it over the coming months. If you know of any good local venues, please let me know.
Posted by Ryan at August 9, 2006 02:50 PM
I wish I could come, but it's a hell of a drive from RI! I will alert all my Seattle buds, though! (yay, first post!)
Posted by: Angela on August 9, 2006 03:05 PMUm, you could show it at your house when you give away the Dulaan yarn.
Wow, almost 12,000 handknits. Won't it be great when they call you and say, "Stop sending stuff - the kids are so layered they can't walk anywhere, and it looks like a crayola factory exploded."
Wow! Hope the movie will have an east coast showing.
Posted by: Kat on August 9, 2006 03:10 PMI know I can find you a venue in n.w. Wisconsin. Complete with knitters. Rock on, Ryan!
Posted by: kmkat on August 9, 2006 03:36 PMWOW! Thanks for the updated total. I plan to start my Dulaan 2007 knitting in the fall when it will be cooler. I'm almost afraid to find out what Mary B.'s goal is for next year.
Posted by: Jennifer on August 9, 2006 03:39 PMMaybe you could do a Yarn Harlot style tour with the film? At the least, contact local, within reasonable distance, knitting guilds and offer to be the program at one of their meetings. Maybe contact other guilds (there's a list on the web somewhere)and offer to mail them the film for a program. Before I mailed it off, though, I'd get it copied and -- being me -- I'd mail the copy.
If you want to add me to the list of folks willing to take some of the yarn by mail, please do.
While nothing could be as pleasant as spending an afternoon with you and walking away with armloads of free yarn for Dulaan projects, BLING and I will be attending other matters. Those other matters may lead to increased stash space at Casa dePinkPurl, so keep me on the list for left overs.
Posted by: Elaine on August 9, 2006 04:16 PMMary B here to say a big "WOW".
I have no predictions (yet) for next year. We can just savor a moment of silence for all the good thoughts that went into each and every stitch of the 2006 contributions. Millions of stitches.
As for that DVD depicting the distribution from FIRE, we can show it at Ryan's on the 26th to everyone who comes for yarn, so if that doesn't bring 'em in, I don't know what will.
Can we get permission from FIRE to make copies and mail them all over, like our own private Netflix?
Mary B
Although my underpants and I would love to drive down to get yarn, just to out-do the Portlandites, a) I don't need more yarn and b) see a.
I could knit for Dulaan, my family, the entire homeless population of the Lower Mainland and make a cat toy for every cat I've ever met (and a collar for Frankie) and STILL have yarn left over when I died.
This means, of course, that it's time to go yarn shopping again ...
Posted by: Rabbitch on August 9, 2006 04:23 PMWoohooo... I guestimated while pointing out the first 2007 Duulan hat I knit to my friend. I said I thought this year you hit somewhere near 12K. She was duly impressed, and look how close I was! (provided those sweaters arrive in time! Will they count towards next year if not?)
I would love to come to the giveaway - but Washington DC area is far, far away from North Seattle, Washington! I would have been a rubbernecker anyway - I've only got 4 bags of donated wool, but that's more than I could knit or crochet in a year! :)
Posted by: kathleen on August 9, 2006 06:07 PMI would LOVE to come - but I live in Minnesota...my son is attending school there in Seattle though - he is a graphic designer and is looking for a job so if you have any help in that direction...anyway - maybe I can teach him how to knit and send him over? He probably wouldn't come but does love to wear what I make for him. I would have you send me yarn but I would have to "weigh" the cost of postage - compared to actual yarn in my area...
Posted by: Connie on August 9, 2006 06:39 PMI'd drive up too, but I tend to get speeding tickets driving through Oregon (they look for California plates, I swear!). Instead, I'll be rallying the troupes for surpassing next year's goal. And we can definitely talk about bringing the film to California...
Posted by: Nathania on August 9, 2006 07:01 PMI'm impressed! Wow! May Dulaan soon clothe every child in Mongolia! (I'd come to the party, but the drive from Pittsburgh, well...)
Posted by: Kristen on August 9, 2006 08:31 PMWow! I really wish I could come! I'm on the East side of WA and about 5 hours from you. Hope you end up with a great turn out!
Posted by: Amy on August 9, 2006 09:14 PMWow! Almost 12,000 knitted things! That's going to be a heck of a haul to Mongolia! Makes it hard to imagine what we should set for a goal next year!
I neglected to mention... I have a photo of Emily with a pair of Care Bear underwear on her head like a little toque....
Posted by: CarolineF on August 10, 2006 05:00 AMYAY- what a total ... on to Dulaan '007!
Posted by: Kary on August 10, 2006 05:37 AMDoes anyone know what the parcel post rate would be for this yarn? Would it really cost more than buying some locally?
I'd love to get a big box; I have a group of charity knitters who could be convinced to make a hat each (and we could watch a copy of the film!). I realize these might be expensive hats, shipping yarn to Virginia and then hats to Arizona, but it's the story, people! Being able to tell people the incredible story of Dulaan. We're warming children in Mongolia but we're also warming hearts around the globe. People smile and visibly relax when I tell them about the numbers and the donations and the naming of the baby alpaca and ... and... and...
(End of sermon. Sorry got a little carried away there.)
Posted by: daisy on August 10, 2006 07:28 AMRyan, I would love to get some yarn, but I think we are going to be on Lopez that weekend. If so, perhaps we can arrange another time for me to pick some up?
Do you know that you can get a lot (like 200) of those USPS boxes delivered to your house for free? Then you can stuff them as full as possible with yarn and the shipping is 8.10 or something like that. so folks could send you money in paypal for a box. sure seems like that would be cheaper than purchasing the yarn locally. if there's enough takers, we could do a box stuffing party or something. I'd be happy to help. I don't think we have any weekends away scheduled after august.
Posted by: Dorothy on August 10, 2006 10:21 AMYeah, it's a few hours from Portland, but it's a nice drive and it would be great to meet you and there's always something fun to do in Seattle. I'd come up from Camas (about 5 minutes closer than Portland), but Dr. John is playing at the Vancouver (WA) Wine & Jazz festival so we'll be making a day of it here. Got three ready for Dulaan 2007 so far!
Posted by: Janice on August 10, 2006 11:27 AMOooo... How about a showing at the Guild??? I can talk to the board and see if we can have a special date for this!!!
We have clothed Tuvalu! (plus a few to spare)
Posted by: Wren on August 10, 2006 07:32 PMI'm sorry but I'm already committed for that weekend - so couldn't join! It does sound fun though.
I will be coming through Seattle on a Saturday afternoon and have the time to stop at one yarn store. (I wish I had time for more than one) Which one would you, and your readers, recommend that I go see?
Posted by: Ruby on August 11, 2006 07:18 AM