Intrigue! Espionage! Drama!

Last fall, I was blessed and lucky enough to be invited to design an exclusive pattern and class for the Madrona Winter Retreat.  It was one of those hurry-up-in-time-for-registration projects, so I had to bang out a representative sample for the design in time to post in the Madrona Catalog.  You might remember seeing it:

It's a sweet little mitten, with the promise of a matching beret (which I made later, when the time presented itself).  The mitten photo was posted on my blog, and in the Madrona catalog, with the hopes that potential students would say to themselves "Yes! I would like to make that little mitten, and the beret (which I cannot yet see!) to match!"

And all was well throughout the land.  I made the matching beret (twice, actually, if you want to know, because the first one just wasn't good enough).  Then last week, on the very day that I was going to photograph it for the Madrona catalog, guess what happened?

Sorting through the mail, I absent-mindedly flipped through the pages of a national yarn and knitting catalog I receive, and there it was:  A pattern for entrelac gauntlet mittens, with a matching beret!  Right there, in that catalog, whose circulation is about a billion knitters.  Would you believe it?  That Major Yarn Company and I had the exact same idea for a matching set of entrelac accessories!  Apparently on the exact same day!  That has to be the explanation, because I know that company well, and they have been very supportive of me and my work.  They are good people, some of whom even read my blog.  They would never, even by accident, filch a design from me, because that would be despicable.  Nope.  Coincidence, it is.

Well, what could I do?  It was obvious that I should go ahead and post my beret photos.  The Madrona catalog promised a beret.  I had created a beret.  And that had been my plan all along.

But I didn't.  I did something else instead.  Because I am an agile, creative, one-woman show, the Mary Scott Huff Hand Knitter machine kicked into overdrive and outsmarted the Big Fat Yarn Company.  I turned on a dime, and then changed gears, from Beret to Cloche:  

This looks great on everyone who tried it on at Knit Nite.  Four people asked me about it while I was out shopping.  You're gonna love it - I know, because I do.  The flower is actually a pin that you can wear on the hat, move to your coat lapel, or give to a friend.  Big Fun, Gentle Readers.

You can buy the kit for this (hat, mittens and pin set) two ways:

1.  Sign up for my class HERE and learn to make it (still some seats left)!
2.  Pick one up at the Abstract Fiber booth at the Madrona Retreat

Remember, it's an exclusive, so those are the only ways to get it for now.

I'm really happy I shifted gears.  I bet you will be, too.

I Made the English Teacher Choose

Okay, I'll admit it:  I'm totally overwhelmed.  Your contest entries were touching, profound, hilarious and heartbreaking.  They knocked my (handknit) socks off.  I laughed, I cried, I marveled at your genius.  I am totally unqualified to pick a winner from the 85 perfect slices of knitting pie that you posted. 

And thank goodness, I don't have to.

See, at my house, when there is a job that I just CAN'T do (pickle jar opening, toxic chemical management, disposal of anything the cat has dismembered) I call in the benchwarmer:  Rough, Tough, Mr. Huff.  And this time, he's actually more qualified for the job than I, having been licensed by the state we live in to teach writing to people.  Well, to teenagers, who I'm told are similar to people.  So without further ado, I'm handing the mike over to Phillip, the blog's reluctant hero:

"Hello...is this thing on? Testing one, two, three."

Let me first thank you all for your submissions. They truly are a joy to read, and provide a welcome respite from 180 "The Lottery" essays I've been reading (If I cause any Middle/High School flashbacks by mentioning Shirley Jackson's creepy "The Lottery", well, it's just one more service this English teacher provides).

My main criteria for determining the winner was a vivid story.  As you all now know, compressing the beginning, middle and end into six words is no mean feat, and everybody did a fantastic job.  I worked my way down to ten, and then re-read.  Drank whiskey.  Re-read some more.  Then I made my choice.

If it were up to me, I'd give all of you prizes, but The Mrs. says there is only one prize to award, no matter how many times I ask her (See how I put it all back on her?  It's a skill).

This memoir tells the most vivid story:  "Pattern chewed to poop. Dog lived." By Chris.

The image of that bad dog and his plight really resonated with me, which may or may not have been influenced by a certain husband who accidentally threw out some wool fleece a little while back.

I really enjoyed this opportunity to share all of your knitting memoirs.  And in the spirit of the contest, here's mine:

Six words speak volumes.  Thank you.

From Mary:  Congratulations to Chris, and to all of you who took the time to distill and share your pivotal experiences.  Gentle Readers, as ever, I am humble in your company.

6 Words, 1 Prize (With Yarn!)

Gentle Readers, A Benevolent Blog Angel, who prefers to remain anonymous, has gifted us with a prize!

This generous soul has donated a Flight Path Mystery KAL pattern and Kit (in the recipient's choice of colorway) to the winner of today's contest!

Here's what we'll do:  To enter the contest, post a comment to this post before 4PM PST tomorrow.  The comment should be exactly 6 words long, and should be a memoir of your best/worst/most memorable knitting experience/pattern/person.  Check out this link for inspiration on writing a 6-word memoir:  CLICK HERE! 

Tomorrow I'll choose the winner, and in the meantime, I can't wait to read your memoirs!