Randomly on a Thursday

1. No word yet on the sock. It could be that this story will end sadly, but not for lack of effort in the knitting community, and I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel great about us.

2. The bike rally leaves Sunday. I have just spent a few minutes quietly at my desk trying to work out if what I feel is excitement or terror.  It might be both.  The weather forecast for next week looks really dodgy. So far it’s calling for rain every day, and while I might be able to get my head around riding in the rain (not really – it sucks) I can’t tell you how opposed I am to camping in the rain, and actually, it’s the idea of doing both of those things for days on end that really makes me take a deep breath.

3. I am trying to change the forecast with my mind.

4. I might be making it worse.

5. I totally think I can finish these socks before I go.  I’m so totally in love with them that I have forgiven the toe all its transgressions.

starrycomingalong 2014-07-24

I ended up just changing the rate of decrease in them, and I think it’s actually pretty good.

6. I still have to plan my rally knitting. There isn’t much time to knit while we’re riding, but it makes me feel better to have it with me, and if it’s going to rain as much as they’re predicting, Jen and I could be spending our evenings huddled in our tent, knitting like mad.

7. Want some presents? Sure you do.

Gwen, over at Petitchoufleur Knits, has a digital and print copy of her clever (and versatile) patterns Oliver and Olivia going out to Abigail N.

olivia 2014-07-24 oliver 2014-07-24

It’s going to be a nice day for Sara N! She’s the lucky recipient of a gift from Helen, who has this beautiful yarn for her.

helensblues 2014-07-24

It’s two skeins of Terrra – Woad Light, and a co-coordinating skein of Knitpicks Stroll fingering – to use doubled with the Terra for a beautiful scarf.

Heather at Wolowik Ranch has an amazing roving that’s looking for a new home.

wolowikranch 2014-07-24

It’s 4oz of hand-dyed merino, and guess who’s going to love it? Mya MG!

Kim C is going to be delighted.  She’s the lucky winner of a gift from Janelle at the Eclectic Closet.

janellecowlhat 2014-07-24

It’s a beautiful kit for her Fossetta Hat and Cowl set. She’s including both patterns, and 4 skeins of Lang Yak Yarn.  Lucky Kim!

Three cheers for Jeffi at Shantiknits, (right here in Ontario) she’s got this gorgeous skein of hand-dyed sock yarn to give away.

shantiknits 2014-07-24

It’s right up my alley, but I’m thrilled to see it go to Margaret W.

A few last gifts (for today – there’s so much more coming) and these come from our good friend Lucy Neatby. Lucy’s offering up three digital copies of her book,   A Little Book of BIG Holes for Hand-knitters  (I LOVE this book.)

bigholebooks 2014-07-24

I hope it makes Nancy S, Charlotte D and Tara G very happy.

Lucy’s also giving away one more amazing prize.  A virtual library of ALL SIXTEEN of her DVDs. 

knittinggems 2014-07-24

I’m lucky enough to own almost all of them, and I swear that no matter how accomplished a knitter Donna W is, they’re going to learn a ton.

Finally, I want to tell you about an email that I got.  An incredibly generous knitter who would like to remain anonymous, has made an offer that just about broke my heart with its loveliness. Beginning tonight, at 7pm EST, she will match the first 10 donations made to my pledge page. (If you’ve lost track of where that is, it’s here.)

This would be a generous and staggering gift at any amount, but get this. She’s willing to match up to a total of (take a deep breath) $5000.

If you, or anyone you know was considering a donation, tonight at 7pm would be an amazing time to do it. Thanks so much for all that you do, and for all your donations, of any size.  I’m overwhelmed with the amazingness of all of this, and it will give me a reason to take heart while I ride in the rain.  It’s totally worth it. Thank you.

65 thoughts on “Randomly on a Thursday

  1. The key to knitting while camping in the rain is making sure you bring superwash yarn so that all the mud washes out later. (been there….) 🙂

  2. I promise that I am not camping anywhere while you are on your bike ride (it ALWAYS rains when I camp!). So, I too will send you dry thoughts.

  3. Not sure about your weather peeps, but I swear that if our folks aren’t hanging their head out the window they can’t forecast 5 minutes from now most days. Just sayin’ you might be drier than it looks now.

  4. “Hmmmph! Didn’t I warn you that those fancy, slutty blue and white socks would just break your cheatin’ heart someday? Don’t think I didn’t warn you! I bet they’ll felt up in your saddlebag in the rain!”
    …signed,
    The Heartbroken, Neglected Self-Striping Vanilla Socks

  5. Excited to send a Karma gift to Sara N!! It’s wonderful to be able to pass it forward as I won a Karma gift last year….knitters are amazing people and Steph, you are amazing for gathering more of us together than ever. Ride dry!!!

  6. Hey, wasn’t there some kind of an agreement not to knit in the tent due to, as I recall, a mattress which was somehow punctured by a dpn…? Perhaps I’m misremembering.

  7. Pingback: Randomly on a Thursday | Yarn Buyer

  8. hear in Ottawa/Orleans the long range weather doesn’t look that bad really and temps staying in the low 20’s
    now THAT COULD CHANGE this is Canada after all but really it looks better than what you heard
    hears to a good dry ride, no punctures (mattress or tyres) and peace in the saddle

  9. Oh, I really hope the sock ends up with a happy ending. Knitters have such an awesome network.
    Thanks for posting today, I needed something nice to read while tinking half a project.
    (Long time reader, first time commenter.)

  10. I assume EDT is meant (or just use ET to avoid confusion, since I don’t think there are any funny areas in the Eastern time zone, like Arizona is in the Mountain time zone).

  11. It’ll be better than you think! Worrying usually turns out to be something you didn’t need to worry about, such just worry a lot more and it will be fine!

  12. No. thank YOU. For riding the race and bringing awareness. Thanks to everyone who is donated gifts as well. Knitters Rock!!

  13. I remember once heading out on a canoe overnight in the rain. The thought of canoeing in the rain, portaging in the rain, and camping in the rain had me in tears. But it all turned out fine and I am glad I dried my tears, blew my nose and carried on. You will be too. Look at all of us who are cheering you on wildly fro the sidelines.

  14. Waiting till 7 p.m. to pledge again. This is great news, your generosity is being paid forward before you even begin your (hope not rainy) ride. .

  15. I was planning to donate to Jen and Pato, since they are a bith short to their respective goals. Would that count to be a part of your page, or should I donate to your page?

    • The link Steph posted goes to her page. So I guess it’s limited to that. I don’t think it matters, as all the money goes to the same place, although I too would like to see Jen and Pato make their goals.

    • Please correct me if I’m wrong, but on the first post that Steph did about the Rally this year, I believe that she included donations to the rest of the family as eligible for the Karmic Gifts drawing 🙂

  16. Have a great ride! Will be thinking about you and your team and will be sending good wishes for fabulous biking weather your way!

  17. I was just about to walk the dog. He’s cool with waiting 15 more minutes so we can double the donation. I KNEW there was a reason I put it off!

  18. We are all sending dry, pefect weather thoughts to the powers that be!

    The offer of a matching gift up to $5,000 is so amazing that it makes me misty-eyed!

  19. Yes, riding in the rain day after day is the pits. The year after I started riding to work we had rain every day in May. I was never dry. My shoes were never dry. My advice: if at all possible have dry wool socks every day. Dry biking shorts are probably not going to happen. If possible at the end of every day take a hot shower and get into dry clothes. Sensing a theme here? Get dry as often as you can! You can do this !

  20. Just wanted to say that the winner of the Shantiknits sock skein is a lucky person! I do not know Jeffi, but I live in the same area as she does and recently knit a pair of socks with her lovely yarn, purchased at my LYS, Docknits in Port Elgin. (Excited about this, too … I didn’t have a LYS until Docknits opened recently!)

  21. Hey, I don’t see Samantha on the Psyclopaths team page. I can get to her individual page from your links, but I don’t see her on the team page–is it just an IT thing? I imagine so…

    Go, Team Knitting, go!

  22. I notice that Jen and Pato haven’t met their fundraising goals. Perhaps we can get a shout out for them. I hope it isn’t like some other orgs where the rider is responsible for the difference if they don’t meet their fundraising goal. I donated a little to both, but there is more to go.

  23. Cool! I knew there was a reason I was waiting to donate. See ya at 7, well virtually anyway! (US EST at 4p my time). It’ll be interesting to see what flood your site gets!
    Those karma gifts just blow me away!

  24. Oh my gosh – what a wonderful gesture to match the donations! I wish I could do more. But I WILL wish you the very best of luck with your ride and will send good karma your way for great weather.
    And I LOVE those socks!

  25. Just pretend you are riding in the TdF this year as it has rained almost everyday of the event. Bonus you won’t have to ride in the Pyrenees or the Alps. 🙂
    Good Luck!

  26. sure do know about those squirrels, they just love throwing those walnuts at my car!! love those socks, we need to keep knitting, it will save your sanity

  27. Ugh, Steph, I am so bummed I missed the matching donation last night. I was out and about with the kids and lost track of time. 🙁 I’m so sorry. I was gonna leave a little bit for everyone, but then saw how big your team is, so instead I gave a donation for Jen just now. I hope you all have a fantastic start tomorrow! Go Psyclopaths!

  28. I second Janelle’s wish for all yer bums… Have a great ride (several!) and a wonderful time!
    I usually cry a few times during the rally, and I’m just sitting here reading! Will be thinking of you, admiring you, and cheering for you and the whole team!

  29. does anyone know how to “follow” the cyclists online?
    I can;t seem to get the route by going to the donations page…
    thank you!

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