Kindle Fire giveaway!

I love to do giveaways. I wish I could hand out cars and houses and dream vacations.

I could be Oprah for a living.

I'll settle for Yarnista. And I won't let that diminish my excitement about giving away a just-released Kindle Fire to one lucky member of our Sock Yarnista and Stash Menagerie clubs.

I thought fireworks were in order.

The Kindle Fire looks really sweet. I don't have one myself, because I'm giving it away to one of you. But I do have a traditional Kindle, and it's great.

The Fire is both an e-reader and a digital media player, plus it's web-enabled.

On to the drawing!

I had the names of our subscribers randomized. (Yes, I know that statistically, your chances of winning a random drawing using the Three Irish Girls-assigned number is exactly the same. This is just to make all of us feel like it's 100,000% random.)

I also smudged over the names here, because the world does not need to see the names of our customers. But if you were in the club in October, you were in the drawing. If you were in both clubs, you were in twice.

I then asked Random to choose one number.

Have I shown you the Fire packaging? It's perfect.

Small. Lightweight. But it protects nicely. I had to open the box to make sure it wasn't broken.

And because I am intractably curious.

See how I'm building suspense by not telling you who number 237 is? See that?

Such a novel idea.

I think I will tape up the packaging and then wrap it in some brown paper before I send this off to the winner. I don't need the entire world to see I'm shipping a Kindle Fire. (Yes, it's printed on the outside of the box.)

You know what? I do not like meatloaf.

I just got back from Disney World.

I fell and scraped my knee badly my last day there.

I think it might be infected, it hurts a lot.

I put some Neosporin on it.

Hopefully it will feel better.

I did not knit one single stitch the entire time I was gone. I fell into bed 19 seconds after arriving back any my hotel each evening.

We walked an average of 11 miles every day in the hot 85 degree sun.

It was an amazing time. My kids were the perfect ages. (9, 7, and 4.5)

I was SO glad to not to have a child in a stroller.

You can not bring a stroller into any attraction at Disney World. Not one. You have to park your stroller outside and then haul everything with you so no one takes it out of the stroller while it's sitting outside the attraction.

Disney World has a lot of good restaurants (particularly in the world showcase in Epcot and in their nicer hotels). I ate at many of them.

How am I doing? Are you feeling stalled yet?

I took my girls to eat dinner with the princesses inside Cinderella's castle. We met Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Ariel, Belle, and of course, Cinderella.

When Sleeping Beauty came to our table, she asked my four year old if she made a wish on her wishing star (they give you a wishing star when you receive your royal invitation).

(Here she is, intently writing her name, complete with tongue sticking out for extra concentration.)

She told Sleeping Beauty, "Yes, I did! I wished for a WHEEL BARROW!"

Sleeping Beauty laughed -- hard -- and said, "Well, I hope your wish for a wheel barrow comes true!"

I have no idea where that came from. We already own a wheel barrow, and she's never been overly attached to it. I asked her later why that was her wish, and she couldn't really give me a good answer, other than, "I just want one."

I could go on like this for two-three hours.  You know I could.

But the game must end eventually, and I'll put you out of your misery.

Number 237 corresponds with...

Congratulations, Deborah! You won! I will send this to you on Monday!

Thanks for being part of our club -- we appreciate it!

Off to figure out what else I can give away.

Anyone in need of any single socks? I have a Rubbermaid container full.

It's almost turkey day...

And because I'm at Disney World with my children right now, what better time to think about Thanksgiving centerpieces?

Is that normal?

We are having the best -- most exhausting -- time, and I know that as soon as I return, Thanksgiving preparations will be in full swing. I am hosting again this year, which means a house full of two horsedogs, seven adults, and seven kids under the age of nine.

Here's what I've accomplished so far:

1. Ordered the free range turkey from the local butcher.

2. That is all.

3. Nothing else.

I can say, however, that my dining room is in considerably better shape than it was last Thanksgiving.

All of this is gone:

And so is all of this:

That table and chairs are gone, too. Sadly, the light fixture will remain until after Thanksgiving, when an electrician can come install the new chandelier. I don't trust my electrical skills in this regard.

In fact, I don't trust my electrical skills at all, because I have no electrical skills, and it's unlikely that I will develop confidence in my electrical skills in the next two weeks.

But here are some things I can do:

1. Cook without poisoning people.

2. Set a table.

3. Ignore football.

4. Compile ideas for the above.

Like this, for example. Great, inexpensive place cards. I would have to use faux leaves from the craft store, as most of the leaves are gone in Northern Minnesota.

Source: newenglandfineliving.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

Here's a simple way to dress up your silverware. I have a million odds and ends of ribbon, and this is a good way to use up stash.

Source: mydesigndump.blogspot.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

Must. Find. A. Way. To. Make. A. Dessert. Table. Simple burlap linens. The key to any buffet table is making sure you have several heights on the table. You can use overturned boxes or buckets. You could stack books. It doesn't matter, because you're covering it up with the burlap.

Source: hwtm.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

I adore the blue plates here. Remember our discussion about blue and orange ?

I love the little berries tucked in between the plate and the charger.

Source: maillardvillemanor.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

White pumpkins are everywhere this year, have you noticed that? These are dressed up with white candles. This look is less traditional... more elegant.

Source: Uploaded by user via Yarnista on Pinterest

Love this idea for the kid's table. You could have the little circle cards all cut out and ready to go and have the kids work on coloring them while they're waiting for dinner.

Source: parents.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

You could pull this off with a permanent calligraphy pen. This is rustic, so it doesn't matter if it's perfect. Easy.

Source: conspicuousstyle.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

Another simple centerpiece idea -- just gourds, berries, and ribbon.

Source: bhg.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

You could use faux or real leaves here -- just make sure the branches are cut at slightly different heights.

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And I love this idea a lot. Jones Design Company has free printable cards that say "I am thankful for". You could have them out when guests are arriving and then hang them from a branch tree for others to see.

Source: jonesdesigncompany.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

All of this is making me hungry.

What are your favorite Thanksgiving traditions?

horse of a different color

That's me. Always. This is not to be confused with black sheep of the family, which I suppose is also a fitting title.

The stories I could tell you about my offbeat childhood antics would probably bore you to tears, so I'll spare you the misery. But they did involve:

1. Saying things like, "Mom, I really want to write a report. What would you like me to write a report on? Oh, the history of Denmark? OK."

2. Saying things like, "Mom, I really want to join a literary council at the library. Can you drive me?"

3. Saying things like, "Mom, look. I made myself a Creative License on our Apple II computer and had it laminated at the print shop a mile away. See? It has my name on it."

Yes. Weirdo. Me.

So it's not a surprise that the colorway Horse of a Different Color is a delicious green, one of my favorite colors.

And it would make sense that Follow the Yellow Brick Road might be the instructions you'd give a Horse of a Different Color.

Both of these shop exclusive colorways are available now at The Loopy Ewe. Get them before they're gone.

And if you'll permit me just a tiny bit of self indulgent mama-ing, here's Pippi Longstocking after a long (cold!) night Trick-or-Treating:

Super Girl has more energy than a nuclear reactor. Her meltdowns are slightly less catastrophic, and she's also much, much cuter.

And Gandalf the Wizard refused to be photographed. He actually held up his staff and said, "YOU SHALL NOT PASS."

I would expect nothing less.

That's all the news that's fit to print from my neck of the (great north) woods. How's the weather where you are?

can this sweater be saved?

One day, while drinking my grande salted caramel skim mocha, I received an email from one of my adorable customers.

She needed help. She knit her daughter a sweater.  It was adorable too.

Then she washed it. She washed it in Woolite. Bad things happened to the colors. Namely, the colors went where they weren't supposed to, and it was to the detriment of the adorable sweater.

Did you know that you should never wash your hand knits in Woolite?

It seems like you should, because the word wool is in the name. Do not be wooed by false nomenclature, my friends.

Woolite has something in it -- I'm not a professional chemist, nor do I play one on television -- so I can't pinpoint exactly what it is, but I've never had good results using it. And I have used everything.

Colors go where they shouldn't. Like on other colors. Like down the drain.  My guess is that Woolite is formulated to be colorfast with commercial vat dyes, which is what store-bought clothes are often dyed with. But with acid dyes? Just say no.

So this adorable customer asked what could be done, because the purple and yellow that had met each other at the party decided to make an unattractive brownish shade. I offered to try and overdye the sweater to make it pretty again.

There were several paths we could have taken, and I'm sure they all would have been lovely. But ultimately, this is where we ended up:

I used turquoise, violet, and fuchsia to create several shades that would work with what was already underneath.

This is not the sweater my adorable customer set out to make, but sometimes the unexpected adventures are more fun than the planned ones.

I hope she likes it as much as I do.

Ho, Ho, No. (color, demystified)

Read Part One of the Color, Demystified series here.

Read Part Two of the Color, Demystified series here.

I love reading your comments and questions on the topic of color via this blog, on Facebook, Twitter, and on my Pinterest pages. Keep 'em coming!

So far, we've talked about two complementary color pairings: blue and orange, and yellow and purple. Today, I want to talk about red and green.

Not this Red Green, of obnoxious PBS fame.

Did the Red Green Show air in your area? Boy Aaron likes to say, "If she can't find ya handsome, she should at least find ya handy," -- a nod to Red Green, who believed everything could be fixed with duct tape.

To many of you, a red and green color palette means one thing:

Source: potterybarn.com via Mallory on Pinterest

And while it's true that Christmas has long been associated with red and green, I'd like to talk about using these two colors together in a non-holiday context.

Let's return to the color wheel. I like this one because it shows some of the adjectives and feelings that are commonly associated (in Western cultures) with a given hue.

Red is the highest energy color in the spectrum. Red quickens your pulse. Red is energizing and motivating. It produces strong positive and negative emotions, because it's the one most deeply ingrained in the human psyche. It's also no accident that some major retailers use red in their stores -- it makes customers more likely to impulse buy.

Source: via Colette on Pinterest

Red can signify danger and bloodshed. But it's also the color our brains associate with life-sustaining ripe fruit.

People whose favorite color is red tend to be natural-born leaders. They are assertive, dramatic, exciting, and spontaneous.

Reds with orange and brown undertones are warm and sturdy, and produce feelings of loyalty.

Reds with pink undertones are more youthful and playful than true reds.

Deep reds, like burgundy, conjure feelings of luxury, maturity, and expense.

We'll talk more about lighter pinks another time, but keep in mind that pink is considered a light shade of the red family.

Green is not just red's opposite on the color wheel, it also has the opposite effect on the central nervous system.

Source: budgetbridesguide.com via Colette on Pinterest

Green is scientifically proven to reduce the production of stress hormones, and causes people to subconsciously breathe more slowly and deeply, which in turn oxygenates your blood and tissues more efficiently.

I've been saying this for years, but it bears repeating: green is a neutral color.

Green goes with everything.

All greens go together.

Van Gogh agrees with me, OK? Don't try to argue.

Another photographic example of my mantra, taken badly by me at the Chicago Art Institute. Green goes with everything. All greens go together.

You don't have to believe me, or Van Gogh, for that matter.

Mother Nature obviously thinks green is a neutral, because she pairs it with everything. Red flowers can have green stems and leaves without people thinking of Christmas or how garish the color combination is.

Notice, though, that in the case of mother nature, the greens are the backdrop, the place for your eyes to rest after taking in the vibrant reds. Red will always come forward in a palette.

So what does this mean to you, your knitting, and your home?

1. Wear green.

All of you. Now. Get some.

Especially if you have red hair.

I suppose you probably already know that you look good in green. But if you didn't, perhaps you should consider taking my word for it. Just this once.

Source: google.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

Source: christina-hendricks.celebscentral.net via Christy on Pinterest

And yes, this includes hair that is not naturally red. If you color your hair, you have to adjust your wardrobe and makeup palette accordingly.

There is a green for everyone. Everyone, no matter your hair, skin, or eye color, can wear it. If you think green is not your color, you just haven't found the right shade yet.

If you're unsure of where to start, I'm of the opinion that rich emerald green looks good on everyone.

2. Limit the use of emerald and scarlet if you don't want to conjure up mistletoe.

Instead, try different variations of these hues, like rusty red and teal.

Source: fabric.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

Or minty jade and claret.

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Or chartreuse and vermilion.

Source: google.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

Or olive and cherry.

Source: hgtv.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

Acid green, strawberry pink, and hints of berry red.

Source: tulapink.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

Teal and salmon:

Source: google.com.au via Yarnista on Pinterest

3. Watch the proportions.

As I've mentioned in my previous color theory posts, the amount of an accent color you add makes a difference.

In the case of this rug, the accent of red highlights the pattern without visually overwhelming it.

Source: garnethill.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

The pop of this red chair in an otherwise green bathroom makes the green look more vibrant.

Source: houzz.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

In the case of this bedroom, the spring green tempers the energy of the red.

Source: google.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

4. Add a third (or fourth) color to your palette. One small addition to a red/green palette helps break up the holiday feel and puts the focus back on the stars of the show.

In this case, a wheat shade offsets the blue/green and red beautifully.

Source: creaturecomfortsblog.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

I like the small bit of yellow added in this bouquet as well. It seems fresher and lighter.

Source: google.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

You can have a primary color palette without looking like you still dress in Garanimals.

Source: threeirishgirls.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

The merest hint of teal gives this one some wow factor.

Source: threeirishgirls.com via Beckie 'beckerella' on Pinterest

I love the addition of brown into a red and green palette.

Source: threeirishgirls.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

And for something slightly more unusual, consider black and yellow.

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Other colors I like paired with red and green:

Violet:

Source: weddings.theknot.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Orange:

Source: jessicatierney.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

And (surprise!) turquoise:

Source: ikea.com via Yarnista on Pinterest

So what have we learned?

A. Two out of three Yarnistas, Van Goghs, and Mothers Nature agree: Green goes with everything. All greens go together.

B. Red and green bring out the best in each other, mentally and physically.

C. Avoid using saturated emerald and deep scarlet if a holiday look isn't what you're going for.

D. If you're stuck, trying building in at least one more color into your palette.

For more information and inspiration, I've created a Pinterest board dedicated to red and green color palettes. You don't have to be a member to see it, so click here to check it out. If you'd like a Pinterest invite, use the contact form here, on the upper right, and I'll be happy to pass along an invitation.

What say you? Ready to tackle this color combination without the Ho, Ho, No?