Egg Hunt Anyone?

**THIS POST IS FROM 2018**

Yep! I'm back! And back with my Annual Egg Hunt. :)

It's my 7th Annual Easter Egg Hunt!

Like the past two years, I've split up the hunting into three different start times! :)

Here are the specifics:

I will be uploading pictures of brown eggs in wee hats onto my pattern pages on Ravelry the evening of Saturday, March 31 right before the first hunt. These pictures will have Ravelry shopping cart codes in them for prizes! Starting at 9pm PDT March 31, the codes will go live and you will be able to use them if you can find them! After the initial run of prizes has been used up, codes will go live again at 12 noon PDT Easter Sunday (4-1), and then again at 7pm PDT Easter Sunday afternoon (4-1). I've split them up so that there are more chances to win. Some of the codes are single use (so make sure you find them first!), and some of them are multiple use codes (IOW, more than one person can use the code, but a person can only use each code one time). I realize that this is an international community, and apologize for bad timing for some of you; that's why I've split everything up into 3 hunts. The codes will expire at 10am PDT Tuesday, April 3. There is nothing to stop you from getting more than one of the codes. For instance, you could snag both the Grand Prize and a free pattern!

Here's a list of prizes that will be available at each time that the codes go live! Beware! Codes and placement of pics will change!

One Grand Prize: a single use code (meaning it can be used only once and by the first person who types it into their Ravelry cart and completes their purchases) for $30 to my Ravelry pattern shop (this needs to be used all at once-in one purchase; you can't use it a little at a time)
 
Two First Prizes: a code (that can be used by the first two peeps to type it into their Ravelry shopping carts and complete their purchases) for $20 to my Ravelry pattern shop (this needs to be used all at once-in one purchase; you can't use it a little at a time)
 
Three Second Prizes: a code (that can be used by the first three peeps to type it into their Ravelry shopping carts and complete their purchases) for $10 to my Ravelry pattern shop (this needs to be used all at once-in one purchase; you can't use it a little at a time)

These next codes won't change, so although they'll be up for each hunt, and also move around from pattern to pattern, you can only use each of these one time per Ravelry user.

Free Pattern (one per user): a code for $6.50 to my Ravelry pattern shop, which will cover the price of most any of my small shawl patterns. In other words: use the code and get a free pattern or get $6.50 off a larger purchase; one use per person (this needs to be used all at once-in one purchase; you can't use it a little at a time). Note that this is a single use per customer coupon, so there is one free pattern per person across the 3 hunt times.

One Specific Free Pattern of my choice (one per user): a code for a specific free pattern from my Ravelry pattern shop. It will be the same pattern through all the hunts, and an unlimited number of people can use this coupon once. The location of the code will change, but the code will not change. Note that this is a single use per customer coupon, so this particular coupon can only be used pattern is free once per person across the 3 hunt times.

All Easter egg pics will be removed from my pattern pages at 6:30 am PDT on Monday, April 2.

I've made wee little egg hats and taken pictures, and now it's time for the count down!

the winner! and more club sign-ups

I am excited to announce that, as the 2nd commenter, Michelle is the winner of 3 Skeins or Less (from a random.org number generation)! Michelle - just pm me your snail mail address address on Ravelry and I will send the book off to you. Congratulations!

Also, today is the second round of sign-ups for my Pins & Lace Club! Hop on over to my site at 2 pm PST today; there aren't many spaces left! I hope you can join us for 2015. :)

this and that

We're rounding out the week with winner #6 from my give-away!

Mackenzie Snader! You are the sixth winner with this comment:

"Oh man, those look fabulous. I've been wondering what my next cast on should be!"

Please email me at romi(at)designsbyromi(dot)com! Congratulations!

(As I noted before...I will post the winners each day, and I will try to get in contact with each winner as best I can. If I cannot, and I don't hear anything within two weeks of my posting a winner's name, I will draw another name. As the list of winners progresses, it will be completely first come, first serve. In other words, if you are the third winner, but contact me first, you get first choice. :) As of right now: one eBook, the Penny Farthing Sock and Spark Lace are taken, but the other prizes are still there!) There are a couple of winners MIA at the moment, so if you know Nidhi or Judith, please let them know they won!

One of the fun things about this area is the number of antique stores. There's a very cool one in town, and it inhabits an old fashioned yellow house. I love going through there! Here's the latest treasure I've found.

It was marked as a picnic basket, but I don't think so! That fabric heart on top is cushioned underneath with foam and I'd say it's meant for sewing pins. And the whole inside of this old fruit basket is lined carefully with fabric.

On the top are leather hinges, and the heart handle looks hand finished.

I love it. :)

And on to my other great find! I bought these some months ago and have been using them ever since. Can you guess what they are?

No? Dryer balls made of locally raised wool! How cool is that??? I just happened to be at the lys at the exact right time when the lady who makes them brought them in. They are felted balls of wool from her sheep, and you can still feel a little lanolin in them. Apparently they fly out the door as soon as they come in and I can see why! No need for dryer sheets or fabric softener. There is no static and no harsh feeling to the fabric when your clothes come out of the dryer. These are the coolest thing ever!

Signing off now; please keep my poor iPhone in your thoughts. It's still packed in rice, and I'm not going to touch it until Monday (the first day of school!), at which time I may burn a few candles in offering to the iPhone gods. 

f-f-f-four for fore

It's time for winner #4 from my give-away!

tktl on Ravelry! You are the fourth winner!

Please email me at romi(at)designsbyromi(dot)com! Congratulations!

(As I noted before...I will post the winners each day, and I will try to get in contact with each winner as best I can. If I cannot, and I don't hear anything within two weeks of my posting a winner's name, I will draw another name. As the list of winners progresses, it will be completely first come, first serve. In other words, if you are the third winner, but contact me first, you get first choice. :) As of right now, the Penny Farthing Sock and Spark Lace are taken, but the other prizes are still there!)

So...today I took a day off to go kayaking with my three men up at Lake Tahoe. It was a gorgeous day, but I don't have any pictures. The reason for this will soon become apparent. First, I have to tell you: I don't really like water; I like land. As a kid, I took swimming lessons like crazy. I even used to work out swimming laps when I was in college. I have been snorkeling and even enjoyed it. It was warm and lovely. Mr. Romi loves boating and the water. My Bear has loved water since he came into this world. #1 Son took after me, so we gave him swimming lessons every summer until he loved the water too. I, however, am stubborn. I love to look at it and I love to drink it, but really I can do without it and not even miss it. Especially cold water. And it turns out that the water feels the same way about me. Either that, or I am extremely kayak impaired. Or possibly both.

I learned three important things today.

1. Double bagging an iPhone doesn't actually keep water out of the bag or the iPhone when you are completely submerged in said water.

2. I can still swim pretty well.

3. I continue not to like water very much.

But...now that the water has thrown down the gauntlet, I cannot but take it up with the intention of sticking my future kayak prowess back in Lake Tahoe's face. I am SO going to win this one. Yeah!

three and a flower

It's time for winner #3 from my give-away!

Judith! You are the third winner with this comment:

"I have not knitted one of your patterns as yet but use KC all the time since I had foot surgery in the spring of last year and took the time to learn the program on my new I-Pad. I love KC and travel with my patterns all the time. And now can enjoy Romi Knits."

Please email me at romi(at)designsbyromi(dot)com! Congratulations!

As I noted before...I will post the winners each day, and I will try to get in contact with each winner as best I can. If I cannot, and I don't hear anything within two weeks of my posting a winner's name, I will draw another name. As the list of winners progresses, it will be completely first come, first serve. In other words, if you are the third winner, but contact me first, you get first choice. :) As of right now, the Penny Farthing Sock is taken, but the other prizes are still there!

In other news...I've made my Cactus Flower pattern all pretty and updated everything on Ravelry!

As some of you may remember, it was the very first mystery shawl knit that I have ever designed. It was so much fun, and I want to thank all of you who participated! I've left the old clue files available in case anyone wants to look back on them at all.

Didn't she turn out pretty?

And I love love love all the different versions and colors that everyone used. If you have a moment, you really must go by and take a look at the project page. You won't regret it! It's inspiring. :)

too

It's time for another winner from my give-away!

Yarnologist! You are the second winner! Please email me at romi(at)designsbyromi(dot)com! Congratulations!

A little note here. As I post the winners each day, I will try to get in contact with each winner as best I can. If I cannot and I don't hear anything within two weeks of my posting a winner's name, I will draw another name. As the list of winners progresses, it will be completely first come, first serve. In other words, if you are the third winner, but contact me first, you get first choice. :)

Since I'm a computer volunteer for our home swim meets, I am always in the air conditioning. It can get a little chilly! So...this past weekend, I was working on my Carson Throw.

It's getting to the point where it's nice and warm on my lap! Perfect movie knitting in the evening. And perfect for loads of AC.

I love working on projects when I'm out in public because I always meet at least one other knitter or crafter! This time, I met the new coach of one of the participating teams. She was working on a pair of socks, though she didn't get much done at the meet. I had way more "waiting" time!

So - I know you are wondering.... My little experiment of that unstructured throw KAL based on changes posted on my blog? It did not work. For you or for me! So I am diligently working away, and when I'm finished, I'll put it all together in a pattern. Because I can tell I'm going to love this when it's finished (if I can wrest it from the rest of my family)!

monday's musing

Happy Monday everyone! I spent my weekend volunteering at our home pool swim meet, so I'm playing catch-up today.

Remember that little give-away you all commented on last week? Well, I will be listing a winner every day this week at the top of my blog post, along with the prizes still available! You may remember the rules: the first winner gets to choose whichever prize they wish, and then so on down through to the last winner who will get the prize not yet chosen by any of the first 5 winners. Although we didn't quite get my Cowl for Jeanne into #5 on the "Hot Right Now" Ravelry list, it stayed so far up there for so long and you all left such kind comments that I'm adding in that extra eBook or app anyway! So the prizes are: 2 Y4 eBook subscriptions (your choice of pdf or app), or one of those 4 skeins of yarn I showed. That means 6 winners! I have gone over to random.org and randomly generated my list, and I'll start off with the first one right now! :drumroll:

Nidhi! You are the first winner! Please email me at romi(at)designsbyromi(dot)com with your choice and your mailing address! Congratulations!

And also? I came across such a great quote for Monday...talk about making the most out of something that an ordinary person might see as a fault or hindrance.

"Luck is everything... My good luck in life was to be a really frightened person. I'm fortunate to be a coward, to have a low threshold of fear, because a hero couldn't make a good suspense film." - Alfred Hitchcock

So. Cool. It completely changes my perception of the things I see as my faults! I'm going through the (long) list of them right now, but in a totally different way. ;)

See you tomorrow!

give-away? give-away? why yes!

With the permission of the marvelous and talented Miss Babs, who provided yarn for Fiori Autunnali, I am giving away a skein of her gorgeous Wild Silk (100% tussah) in Roasted Pumpkin, the color used in the original shawl! Along with that skein of loveliness will go beads enough to complete the shawl. These are also the original beads used: size 6/0 Japanese seed beads in iris bronze (metallic).

This all goes along with my new Craftsy class, of course. :) And here again is the link to purchase that class for 25% off!

Here are the rules! Leave one comment here by midnight PDT, Saturday night July 27, 2013. Each comment will be an entry. If you would like to enter more than once, tweet, or post on facebook, plurk, or Ravelry (or other social media!) about the give-away and then post another comment here telling me what you did. If you tweet and facebook, for instance, that's two extra comments for two extra entries!

I will draw one winner from the list of comments, using random.org's random number generator. Ready? Set? Go!!!

wow

Wow, everyone! Almost 800 people participated in the Easter Egg Hunt!!! Thank you all so much for playing! I love that everyone had a good time. :)

I am tallying, counting and making sure I have everyone's extra entries (from tweeting, posting, etc) and then I will draw random winners and announce them tomorow. Stand by!

ready for some easter festivities?

Because this was so much fun last year, I am having :drumroll: The Second Annual Romi Easter Egg Hunt!

Here's how it will work....

I have uploaded 16 pictures of dyed eggs into 15 of my pattern pictures on my Ravelry designer page. You can access my pattern collection here. Click through my patterns and find those eggs! Once you have found them, email me at contest@designsbyromi.com with the pattern names where the eggs are hiding. Do not post the answers here! You have until midnight PDT on Monday, April 1.

Ready for the prize list?

One Grand Prize: If you find all 15 patterns with egg pics, you will be entered in a random drawing to win my next subscription shawl eBook plus a shawl pin.

Two Second Prizes: Find at least 11 of the patterns with eggs and you will be entered in a random drawing to win my next subscription shawl eBook.

Three Third Prizes: Find at least 7 of the patterns with eggs and you will be entered in a random drawing to win a free single pattern of your choice.

If you tweet or Facebook or post about my little egg hunt and let me know, I will add another entry for you in your category!

Are you ready? Let the hunt begin!!!

adorn it

I met Laura Nelkin at my very first TNNA. She was working for Schaefer Yarn, and we shared a room, sight unseen. I thought she was fabulous then, and I still do. So much positive energy in one small person! Since then, she's left Schaefer and has been on her own for some time now. And she's doing some very cool stuff! Her second serialized knitted bling eBook, Adorn Anew, updated today with the latest pattern, so I took some time going through the whole book again.

Super cool. I love how she has links to video tutorials.

She also mentioned a photo teaser of November's design in her Ravelry group, so you all need to see that one too, of course!

I also happen to have a couple of her kits: for the Mudra cuff

and necklace. They go hand in hand with the eBook.

And I have to tell you how very very cool they are. I know more and more shops are carrying them, so I'm betting that one near you will be soon if they aren't already. And as much as I want to hoard these (because they are so freakin' awesome!) I am going to give them away to two lucky commenters. This is probably more what Laura had in mind when she sent them, don't you think? ;) So, I will pick two lucky people who comment on this post (on my blog - please don't email me a comment as they get kind of lost). You all have until Friday, midnight PDT, October 5. So comment! :)

Lucky 13

Happy Friday the 13th! Perfect day to announce the winners of the Easter Egg Hunt, wouldn't you say?

1st prize (copy of the upcoming shawl eBook subscription plus a shawl pin): Michelle - MistySnow on Ravelry

2nd prize (copy of the upcoming shawl eBook): Sally - SallyGeorgia on Ravelry

3rd prize (your choice of single free Romi pattern): Shelley (I will email you since I wasn't sure you'd want your last name posted!)

Congratulations ladies! It will be a couple of months before you get your eBook subscriptions, but I promise I won't forget! Thank you ALL for playing! I had an absolute blast and I'm so happy to know that you all enjoyed the fun!

In other news, things are getting into more of a routine here. The boys are really enjoying the swim team, but they haven't started back to school yet. Who knew it would be so difficult and time consuming to get them transferred from California Virtual Academy to Nevada Virtual Academy? We thought it would be so much simpler to have them finish out the year in that school (same company, different state) rather than trying to enroll them in physical school. We were oh! so wrong! At least they have extra time during summer to catch up.

I took another trip to my local yarn shop to knit with the knitting therapy group (love it!). They were wonderful and welcoming, and I found out that all but one of them is from California, as well. Heehee. While I was there, I had to score a skein of yarn that I had been dreaming about ever since I saw it last week.

You've gotta love a store that uses purple bags.

Am I right?

It's Ella Rae MEGA, and I'm dreaming up a quick and fun "moose lace" project. It's a little cold around here lately, and I think I need a neck warmer.

I'm getting my April club packages together, and things look like they're coming together. :knockonwood: And the taxes are almost done! Woot for Mr. Romi!

I'm off to a "mini meet" at the pool this afternoon. Have a great weekend!

Hippety hop

Down the rabbit hole for me! Things still seem so surreal. I feel like I will wake up any moment now back in California! I feel a little like I am sleep walking. But back to reality now....

I wanted to thank you all for hunting my eggs! I had a terrific time hiding them, and I'm so glad that you all enjoyed the hunt! There were over 400 entries, so I am still going through everything and will post winners soon. The eggs were hidden in Erato, Cáliz, Maia, Taygete, Toque Yo, Calliope's Odyssey, Lisianthus, Kleio, Polyhymnia's Triangle, Madroña, and Fiori di Sole. And the 12th egg was, of course, on my blog. ;)

While you wait for that announcement, I thought I'd show you the first skein of yarn bought in my new state. Isn't it pretty?

MadelineTosh from The Pioneer Yarn Company in Minden. The photo above is in the shade. The photo below is in the direct afternoon sun.

I love the way this colorway, Dusk, changes in light. It may be my imagination - no, it's not really: the colors here look more vivid. There is something different about the light. I am seeing shades in yarns that weren't apparent before. It's wonderful. I love love love color. I've just been staring.

Well, back to work with me. I have more to do before hitting my pillow!

Play time!

I think it's time for some fun, don't you?

How about an Easter Egg Hunt???

Here's how it will work....

I have uploaded 11 pictures of dyed eggs into my pattern pictures on my Ravelry designer page. You can access my pattern collection here. Click through my patterns and find those eggs! Once you have found them, email me at egghunt@designsbyromi.com with the pattern names where the eggs are hiding. Do not post the answers here! You have until midnight PST on Monday, April 9. Oh wait! There are prizes too. :)

Prize 1: If you find all 11 egg pics, you will be entered to win my next subscription shawl eBook plus a shawl pin.

Prize 2: Find 7 and you will be entered to win my next subscription shawl eBook.

Prize 3: Find 3 and you will be entered to win a free single pattern of your choice.

If you tweet or Facebook or post about my little egg hunt and let me know, I will add another entry for you in your category.

Are you ready? Let the hunt begin!!!

My cheatin' heart

...is at it again. I had to cast on another Muse. That makes three I am working on at once. Plus my second Buttonwillow. This latest muse is all about elegant texture. And is fitting my mood of late.

The color is incredible. It's from Alisha Goes Around, but she told me once that the color name marked on the skein was incorrect. I have to find out from her again what it is because everyone who sees it wants to steal it!

Love the stitch definition.

It's going to be perfect to take to the swim meet this weekend.

Yep. Swim meet weekend and I will be trying something new! Tomorrow morning (October 15th) at 9 a.m., the rest of my Pins & Lace Club spots open up. I have everything all set up to take it live on my iPhone! How cool is that?! I have an ftp app. I'm hoping it works properly and I won't have to run to the nearest Starbucks. :)

But probably what you really want to see is...the winners! Right? The randomly chosen winners of the two digital copies of Bambeanies are Marlie and Megan, and the winner of the signed hard copy is Fara! Congratulations! Please email me with your contact info at romi(at)designsbyromi(dot)com.

Today was a very sad day at Chez Romi. We lost #1 Son's bunny a little over a week ago and then The Bear's bunny became ill a couple of days ago. We had to have him put down today. Pepper's eyes were swollen, and at first I was so hoping it was sunburn or allergy, or something of the sort. Those of you with bunnies are now saying to yourselves: "Oh, no. It's not sunburn!" No, it wasn't. Between the two of us, Mr. Romi and I determined it was Myxomatosis. We don't usually diagnose our critters, but I have to say the vet was really not qualified to look at a rabbit. Our bunny was presenting classic symptoms and the vet had absolutely no clue when she looked at him Tuesday. Lesson learned. If you are going to have rabbits, you need a vet who knows how to treat them. In the case of Myxomatosis, treatment is almost completely futile, and we didn't want our poor little bunny to go through the end stages of the disease. So now we are watching our little Diva bunny very very closely. If she gets through next week without swollen eyes, I think we will be ok. Fingers are crossed.

Spinning, knitting and musing

You've all waited to patiently! So here I am; back to tell you the name of the Muse and the winner of the orifice hook! (As an aside, can I just mention how much I love my MacBook Pro? Here I am, sitting on the couch watching Robin Hood - for the 20th time - with the boys, but I can be blogging and knitting at the same time! Multi-taskers R Us.) :)

The winner - from random.org - the 43rd commenter: Jasmin! Oh, Jasmin, you have won a copper orifice hook!

And the name of the first Muse?

Kleio! The muse of history.

I know. I chose the more difficult spelling. But there is already a pattern called Clio, and so I have named my muse after the Greek rather than Latin form of her name. I absolutely cannot wait for you to get your hands on her. I was told at my Saturday knitting group that she looks even better in person.

So. Guess what?! Remember when I found that Reeves castle wheel last weekend? And it was missing its distaff? And I was going to try to find it at phase 2 of the estate sale? Look!

I went back on Saturday morning and one of the daughters of the woman who had owned the wheels had found bobbins and set them aside for me! Also, a lazy Kate for the Elizabeth. Yay! And then, the search for the distaff began in earnest. At first when I looked at the collection of boxes, bags, and baskets filled with an old jumble of crafting tools and yarn, my heart fell. I saw nothing that looked like a distaff. But then I began going through one by one, and in the second box, I found a piece of distaff at the bottom. A few more and I found another piece and a lazy Kate that I believe was made to fit on the top. And then...in a box of grotty wool, I found the last piece, completely wrapped in flax. Joy! Here she is, all assembled.

And the odd little lazy Kate.

I am guessing this is how it is meant to be used.

Cool, eh? I can't wait to try it!

I also found a Schacht bobbin winder.

A small and light drop spindle.

And some hand carders and small niddy noddies.

I cannot believe my good fortune! I am absolutely thrilled, to put it mildly.

I also had a good mail day. The lovely ladies of Dye for Wool and Dye for Yarn sent me a stunning camel/silk mixture. Their colors are absolutely incredible. The only trouble is wanting one of each and not being able to choose! Their shops are like a candy store for lace lovers. Just wait until you see!

Isn't this interesting? It looks curly!

And now? I am knitting on Muse 2. I designed her while meditating. :)

She's going to be beautiful.

I'm back with a contest!

This could get to be a habit again. :)

So...about those spinning wheels I picked up last Saturday at an estate sale - before the swim meet. My IRL local friend Therese saw a listing for the sale and emailed a few of us who she knew would be interested in spinning wheels. This time, unlike the last estate sale (where some resellers bought every last bit of spinning equipment - except a squirrel cage swift that I snagged - in the first minute and were loading the last of it in their van as I walked up at 3 minutes after the hour), I was determined to be early and have a shot at the goodies. As I was locking up my car, my local spinning pusher teacher drove up with another friend and we all went up together. There were two wheels, and at first we were interested in the larger of the two, rather than the smaller castle.

But something about the smaller oak wheel was so appealing. It looked hand made and we turned it over to see if there was a signature. We didn't find one, but there were two extra whorls screwed in underneath.

Then I noticed the telltale metalwork.

I looked again, and sure enough! Rick Reeves.

Complete with orifice hook, but sadly, missing its distaff. And with only one bobbin. Did I mention that my husband is a woodworker? And he has a lathe. Hee. :)

The second wheel turned out to be an Ashford Elizabeth, again with only one bobbin. This, however, is a much easier problem to solve! A few bits were loose, but were easily screwed back in and tightened up.

I couldn't wait to start spinning a little. It's been so long! I didn't realize how much I had missed it until I had the roving running through my fingers again. It has such an amazingly relaxing effect.

There was no orifice hook, so - of course - I needed to make one. This is copper.

I'm hoping that the family will find some more bobbins and the missing distaff when they go through some of the other boxes. They took my phone number and I am keeping my fingers crossed!

Over the weekend, I finished up Muse #1! I had ripped her out completely and redone her in a much simpler construction that looked exactly the same. I do love simplifying. :)

I didn't have time to block her yesterday because I was playing in San Francisco with a few friends (more on that later) but - believe me - it was the first order of business today! She turned out to be a wonderfully generous size.

She is crescent shaped and lovely, and I am so thrilled with the gorgeous yarn from Sunshine Yarns!

(Why is it that no matter how many blocking tiles I have, there aren't enough? I did manage to have enough T-pins though.)

Are you ready for the contest?! There are nine muses, and so there are nine possible names for the loveliness above: Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia, or Urania. Which do you think she is? Leave me a comment with your guess by Friday, August 12, midnight PST. I will draw a winner randomly for an orifice hook like the copper one shown below!

Happy guessing! :D