Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!!

     I 've had my copy of Hana Hou for more than a week now.  But since I didn't have enough yardage in stash to immediately cast on I am now eagerly awaiting my mail carrier's knock on my front door.  Trying to be patient, I look through the pattern, letting my eyes feast on the beautiful photography.  I read the instructions over again, fingers itching to turn these words into knitted stitches.

     Is your yarn unskeined and wound up?  Have you been knitting gauge swatches?  Did you enter to win your copy of Hana Hou?

     Last night, promptly at 10 pm CST, I counted up the comments and plugged the numbers into our trusty RNG to choose our two winners for this loverly design.

     And our first winner is. . . . 

     

     D A Arlous (Sealed4Ever on Ravelry)!  Your Orchid Hana Hou will be the envy of Knitters & Fashionistas alike!!  Check your inbox, Denise.  I'll be gifting you your pattern later today!

     And since the beautiful Mel from Singlehanded Knits is so incredibly generous (really folks!), I clicked the "Generate" button again. . . 

     Beverly Davis (bdgrammy on Ravelry), get ready to wrap up in this gorgeous sweater!  I will be forwarding your information to Mel so she can get your pattern to you.

     

     I want to thank everyone who commented, took a look at Mel's latest design and (hopefully!) queued up a few of her patterns.

     Remember how I mentioned Mel's generosity?  She is kindly offering a $2 discount code for anyone who signs up for her newsletter here.  Trust me, you want to do this - even if you don't knit!  But hurry!!!  You must sign up today to take advantage of this nearly 30% discount!!

     While I'm envious of you who have your yarn at the ready, gauge swatches washed and blocked or are already working on your Hana Hou, I'll be busy today playing with a sweet love of a girl, Sophia. It looks like she is ready for a nap - let the snuggles begin!!

     That's definitely a loverly thing!

     

Knitters Are Loverly (Plus A Givaway!!) -

      I had originally planned a post on some of the reasons I think everyone should be Knitters, with an Exciting Giveaway at the end.  It ended up being about a page and a half.  And I was only about half done.  In the interest of getting to the Exciting Giveaway, I have decided to break up my original post into much smaller posts and summarize here.

1. Knitting is a form of Cognitive Anchoring that helps keep our minds focused while our hands are hands are engaged in automatic behavior. Plus, you can have a gorgeous cowl at the end of a week-long training seminar instead of a legal pad full of doodles that end up in the trash!
2. The fiber and color choices readily available to today's knitters are quite astounding (This ain't yer grandma's scratchy acrylic yarn, ya'll!)
3. Handknit anything > store-bought knits.  Every time  Everyday.
4. Knitters are Amazing, Caring People

     In fact, a group of Knitters is commonly called a Kindness of Knitters.  Aside from creating beautiful things for those they love, Knitters frequently donate their time and skills to many other groups like Halos of Hope, the Special Olympics and Project Linus, just to name a few.  The kindness of knitters extends beyond charitable acts & enters into the realm of "I'm giving this to you just because."

     Need an example?  Many of you know about my current sweater crush, Hana Hou.

     Fully intending to purchase the pattern for this gorgeous sweater, imagine my surprise on launch day when I opened Ravelry to find this:

     

     And to top it all off, when I thanked Mel (my sweet friend & designer of this gorgeousness!) and mentioned that I would give away the copy had I intended to purchase for myself, she generously offered to donate a second copy for me to give away!!

     What a Loverly Thing!!

     I have to tell you, this pattern is not just stitch directions, abbreviations & written instructions.  It contains detailed instructions, helpful tips & amazing photography by Nate Smith.

     Seriously.  I want to print this Look Book, have it bound and keep it on my coffee table.

     You want to win a copy so you can knit it immediately?  I thought you would!

     Here's what to do:

1. Go stash diving!  (This I-Must-Knit-Right-Now cardigan requires 1500 - 2180 yards of sport/5-ply yarn)  Tell me what is in your stash that is begging to be knit into Hana Hou?
2. No sport weight in your stash? Go shopping!  Let me know what you decided to make YOUR sweater with.
3. Go to the Pattern Page on Ravelry then come back and let me know what you like best about this sweater.  It's also a good time to take a look at Mel's other patterns and queue them up!

***PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR RAVELRY ID IN YOUR COMMENT!***

     After you've commented here for your chance to win, hop on over to this post from Mel's blog, Singlehanded Knits.  She wants to give every one of you a discount on Hana Hou!!

     Contest will close Tuesday, February 18th at 10pm CST.  Two (2) winners will be chosen by RNG and announced Wednesday, February 19th CST.

     Still on the fence?  Here's another look.

Whistle While You Work. . . Well, Not Really -

     It's the beginning of a new year, and like so many other households around the world, we've been cleaning out.

     Cleaning out closets & dresser drawers, passing down too-small items to the next Princess in line (this includes my niece, Princess M) or relegating worn-out ones to the rag bag.  We've cleaned out the play room, passed on & tossed out so many toys I was surprised to find there were any left to play with!  Unused furniture has gone out to the garage, outdated items in the pantry and freezers have been discarded.  We've even turned our Guest Room a place Princess #1 can call her own. (On a side note, you should go find me on IG just to see her reaction when we told her she could have her own room. . . Warning: there is much shrieking!)

     While I wish I could say that everyone cheerfully pitched in and never complained, valuable lessons were learned.  For example, it is so much better to put your clean clothes away in your drawers than for mommie to find them several weeks later in the stuffed toy bin (!).  And another is that while we may not like to get rid of unnecessary items in our lives, doing so makes more room for the things we love and enjoy the most.  And when we pass along those usable items to others, we bring joy into their lives as well.

     After it became clear that there was to be no more excuses, complaints or procrastination, my three beautiful Princesses accepted the inevitable. One afternoon as each was busy with her assigned task, I noticed there was such a peacefulness in the house.  Not silent.  Just peaceful.  As I walked down the hallway I realized they were each humming.  Not in the same room and not the same tune, but each were humming.  I am quite positive that all three would prefer to have been running around outside that crisp, blustery day.  Yet they each had learned one of life's most valuable lessons: contentment.

     Since that day, I've come to recognize the sound of contentment in my Beautiful Princesses' soft, wordless voices quietly humming while working on lessons or chores or a new crafting project.  This afternoon I even noticed it while walking the aisles of the grocery store.  I love this sound more than any other.  I know they are happy.  That makes me very happy.

     So whether you whistle or hum while you tackle a difficult task, contentment is a loverly thing!


     What do YOU do to stay cheerful when faced you are facing daunting situations?

An Introduction -

     One thing is for certain: a Blogger (note that capital B?) I am not.   The problem isn't finding the words to say, rather it's finding the time in which to say them.  There's always plenty of words in my head, but getting them out can be quite a chore.  I want it to be clear, concise and accurate.  I agonize over word choices, reading & rewriting nearly every sentence until it's perfect.  I am a bit of a grammar snob.  You know those grammar tests that were making their way around Facebook last year?  I answered each and every question correctly.  Improperly placed modifiers and commas cause me to (involuntarily) correct sentences aloud, much to the annoyance of those in the immediate vicinity.  Let's not even mention the oft confused your/you're and there/their/they're. . .   How can you be taken seriously in life if you cannot use second and third person pronouns and their contractions correctly?!?  (I am aware that "there" is a place and is NOT a personal pronoun or a contraction.  However, it IS one of those words that is frequently confused with a certain third person pronoun and its contraction.  Just to be clear, alright?)   I believe that an essential life skill is knowing how to diagram a sentence correctly, and that each home should have a copy of the Plain English Handbook sitting on the bookshelf.  You may thank fellow grammarians, Juanita Wigginton and Dayle Allen Shockley, for their influence on my appreciation for good writing.

I am also the wife of Prince Charming, who sometimes accuses me of being the Grammar Police. Because he is a Lover of Words & my Live Thesaurus, we get along just fine.  Together, we endeavor to pass the appreciation of words, books and punctuation on to our three Beautiful Princesses.  These four individuals make my world go 'round (sometimes spinning like a whirligig!)

In spite of the fact that all my text messages are grammatically correct and certain posts on social media make me want to pull out my hair, creativity is highly encouraged in our house.  We have our own way of saying things, a certain turn of phrase or made-up word, that others might not understand.  

"Loverly" is one of those words.  Princess #2 came up with it all on her own one day (while it is a favorite of mine, she's never watched My Fair Lady.)  

Loverly is how we describe the often indescribable beauties of life.  For example, a glorious sunset over the Gulf of Mexico is truly loverly.  Loverly can also describe the excitement of realizing one of our pet lizards is a She and not a He when one day there is a new addition to the habitat.  Loverly is the sense of accomplishment after taking on something really difficult and succeeding (Princess #3 ice skating all by herself was definitely loverly!)

Loverlies are the really good things in life.  Sometimes they take your breath away.  Sometimes they surprise you.  Sometimes they make you cry.  Loverlies are sights, sounds, smells, feelings.  So beautiful you never want to forget them.  

This blog will be my feeble attempt at sharing all the loverly things in my world with you.

Do you have loverlies in your life?  Tell me about them in the comment section below!