August 28, 2006
I Can See the Light at the End of the Garage Tunnel!
My apologies for a lack of entry on Friday, Dear Readers. When I tried my usual 7am lurch out of bed, my back said with an Exorcist-type voice, “If you try to get out of bed, I will hurt you so much you will faint.” Huh.
Three days of anti-inflammatory medication and much fussing over by TMK who has Oh-So-Been-There, and I can now get up without first crawling around on the floor like a wolf-child until I find a place where I can pull myself up. Which explains why I played hooky from work Friday. I didn’t think crawling across the parking lot would have looked very managerial, and my employees would only have put up with having to wheel me around in my desk chair for so long, especially when I demanded to be taken to the bathroom, now, now, now!
Fortunately, I was well enough to be up and about for Giveaway Day. The good news: We emptied six honkin’ boxes! The bad news: Gold yarn—not so popular.
What an interesting mix of people and approaches we had at the Giveaway, from busy moms who only had time to for a drive-by grab, to more sedate types who happily helped themselves to a bag or two of yarn and settled in for a long afternoon of noshing, knitting and getting to know ya’, to a few who admitted that they only came by for the company and the noshing since bulky yarn makes them break out in hives. It was lovely. I had such a wonderful time.
Here, Giveaway guests help themselves to the yarn. Oddly, no one believed me when I said “Please pay the cashier on the way out.” I didn’t make a red cent on this entire deal, people! Apparently I’m losing my ability to run a good scam.
Here, MaryB, Elaine, Melinda, Leslie and TMK brave the sun.
Here, the knitters have wised up and moved the table into the shade where, granted, I should’ve put it in the first place. Notice all the bags of yarn destined to live elsewhere besides my garage! Hallelujah! Oh, and MaryB took advantage of this photo-op to practice for her audition for "America's Next Top Model."
And here, the finished Avalanche Vest!
I am astonished at how the vest looks because, frankly, it looked like crap a few days ago but with the armhole ribbing fixed, the ends woven in and the buttons attached, it looks quite acceptable, and it even got a nod or two from the Knitters of Great Experience who were at the Giveaway. Woot!
The pattern for the vest is 95% done. I’ll post it as soon as I can.
Thank you to everyone who came to the Giveaway and helped me "liberate" some of the yarn!
P.S. Kmkat, you asked for a larger version of the picture of the children in Mongolia wearing all the knitted items. This page shows larger versions of the photos.
Posted by Ryan at August 28, 2006 01:26 PMI'm the first to comment? Wahoooo! The vest looks WONDERFUL! The giveaway sounded so much fun.....wish I could have been there. Pity I'm only a gajillion miles away.As for the dodgy back......get well soon. I'm sending as many healing vibes as I can muster.
Posted by: Annette on August 28, 2006 02:41 PMThe day was beautiful, the yarn generous, the company superb - and I am going to make you pay for posting that awful picture of my biggest and worst ASSet.
Posted by: Elaine on August 28, 2006 03:55 PMElaine, blame it on the bench. Nobody's ASSets look good sitting on those hard, skinny things. Besides, you're in good company. One time Karen posted a picture of me in which my hair made me look very much like a chicken.
Posted by: Ryan on August 28, 2006 04:11 PMI don't know. I think my ASSets look pretty good in that picture! ;-) TMK
Posted by: The Mysterious K on August 28, 2006 04:34 PMSo did you manage to get rid of all of it? (No, I'm not asking for leftovers, tyvm.)
Posted by: Rabbitch on August 28, 2006 04:42 PMSo...I will knit/crochet in bulky gold! Bring it on! AND, I'll pay for shipping! When you've decided if/how you might ship some of the excess out: sfuss at verizon.net...lemme know!
Posted by: Sue on August 28, 2006 05:26 PMBut gold yarn is such a happy color! Witness your vest. AND it takes dyes so beautifully. It deepens reds and makes purples shine and greens awesome. C'mon, people!
Posted by: Norma on August 28, 2006 05:30 PMThanks again for a fun afternoon. I have already started knitting a hat out of a lovely red. And I will add a few small stripes of the not-so-popular gold (I confess -- I took just one skein of the unloved gold.. it will be a great accent color). Let me know when you are ready to sort and ship boxes -- I will be happy to help!
Posted by: Sandy on August 28, 2006 08:02 PMThe vest looks *great*. If that's a sample of the gold yarn that nobody wanted, I'll take some. I'll combine it with some purple I have and turn a few Mongolian kids into Huskies fans.
Posted by: Kirsten on August 29, 2006 07:18 AMUnfortunately, the vest is an example of the yellow yarn, not the gold. The gold is more mustard-y. It's actually a nice color; it's just that, for some reason, the gold box seemed to be the only one that got fuller instead of emptier during the day! Huh? How does that work?
Posted by: Ryan on August 29, 2006 08:29 AMTMK
You have room to talk, since your ASSets are completely hidden. heh.
A great time was had by all. Thanks Ryan!
Posted by: Bling!/Sez on August 29, 2006 09:22 AMGretchen called to say that she had gotten a garbage bag full for us to share. We haven't figured out when we will get together to share it, but Thanksgiving is always out there as a possibility. I thought we coudl meet in E-burg thsi Friday (UND vs CWU; football) but she is otehrwise engaged. I have no idea if she took any of the gold or not; depends on whether she was thinking "husky" or not.
Posted by: Nancy on August 29, 2006 10:20 AMGold sounds cool! If there is any yarn that needs a home, please let me know what postage will be--naoverland@rayfarisinc.com
Ryan, your vest looks great! And I loved the pictures of the kids in Mongolia wearing hats and sweaters. I'm jazzed more than ever to get my needles clicking.
I have some hats and stuff already done, is it too soon to start sending them to FIRE? Or should I wait and send them out later?
Posted by: Nancy O. on August 29, 2006 01:19 PMLooks like fun! I'll take some gold too, and whatever other colors you can stuff in a box and mail to me. As soon as you decide that you have draped the Pacific Northwest in as much bulky wool as it will handle. :-D I am a tad jealous that I didn't get to come, but 4000 miles for yarn is a little excessive, even for me.
Posted by: Carrie on August 29, 2006 01:37 PMThe vest is very nice. Maybe I'll get brave and attempt something besides a hat or scarf if you are mercifully detailed with your directions!
Let me know if you want me to knit up some gold vests, I'll pay the shipping. If after my third try my vest looks like a disaster I promise to frog and knit up hats and scarves!
I wouldn't have thought of moving the table to the shade before company came, either.
Hope your back stops acting up. Been there and it isn't fun. I've learned to always bend at the knees when picking up toddlers, heavy groceries and stubborn corgis!
The vest is really cute!
Aw,thanks, Ryan! What service! I remember those pictures now -- especially the *discussion* over the purple hat. Hope your back is feeling better -- I totally remember that hands-and-knees on the floor trying to stand up. No fun.
Posted by: kmkat on August 30, 2006 08:55 AM