Giveaway!

Hooray! I've got 100 followers! When I started this blog in April, I thought it would take at least a year to reach 100, but here I am. Thanks to all of you for reading and commenting, encouraging and sharing!

I mentioned awhile back that I had submitted an application to participate in a craft show, and that I'd been accepted. This was thrilling, indeed...that feeling of "They like me! They really LIKE me!" For some reason I thought it was a reasonable expectation to place on myself: sure, I can make 30 felt crowns, 20 knitted hats, and various other items to sell. In November. Forget the fact that I am a kindergarten teacher, chicken farmer, and the mother to 3 kids 5 and under. I so WANTED to do it! For the first time in 6 years, I am not pregnant, breastfeeding, or caring for a tiny baby...my youngest is 18 months old. Isn't it time for me to get going on the things I've wanted to do for so long?

Apparently not. After 2 weeks of stress, frustration, and resentment, I regretfully contacted the organizers and told them it just wasn't possible at this point in my life. When I jokingly mentioned that, if they had a blacklist, I prayed I wasn't on it so that I could apply again someday (like, when my kids are in their twenties), they assured me that they'd look forward to future applications from me. Hooray for mamas supporting mamas! If you're in the Ottawa area, don't miss this show! It's called Handmade Harvest, and takes place in Almonte on November 6.

My point is, by really listening to my inner voice (I think there might be two of them, as there was some serious internal arguing going on for awhile there), I've freed myself up to do knitting for the people I really care about! On my needles at the moment is a mitten for Margot; the challenge is NOT knitting a mitten. It's knitting the PAIR that always trips me up.

Fox-and-Geese-and-Fences Mittens for my husband: started in 2007.

So I'm not offering a pair of mittens, or you may never get them. I'm offering one of these:

A baby fairy!

This one I knit when Margot was having her surgery...the making of her kept my mind and hands busy, and each stitch was a prayer. So she'll be staying with us. Yours isn't on the needles yet, and she'll emerge organically as most of my knitting does...we'll just see what colour she turns out to be, and what her personality is as she unfurls! Perhaps an autumny fairy for your nature table!

To enter to win a one-of-a-kind baby fairy, please leave a comment below. If you're a follower, you can enter once daily until I randomly select the winner on Sunday, September 12th! If I knit away until then, she may just be ready to mail!