December 12, 2011

ho-freakin-ho (aka giveaway)

christmas is nigh. i'm finding i have this inexplicable urge to be nice to random people, which is scary, but works in your favor if you choose your words wisely. because it's time to lure y'all out of your non-commenting holes with a festive little giveaway.

the prize is...


a set containing one 100g hank of louhitar from louhittaren luola, and a pack of six stitch markers made by my own humble self.

louhittaren luola (knitlob's lair) is a brand of unique hard-to-get handdyed yarns that hails from oulu in northern finland (anything above and beyond helsinki is north by my standards). the yarn is 100% finnsheep wool that's been both raised, sheared and spun in the exotic, arctic domain that (supposedly) is finland. the tourist board says hi.

the 2-ply texture is sort of rustic but still soft enough to be worn against the skin. you'll get a good 240 meters out of this 100g sport-weight hank for any smallish project you might have. and as you can see, the color's freakin' gorgeous.


the self-made stitch markers combine silver-plated wire with all sorts of fancy shmancy beads. they fit needles up to size 6mm (US 10) and, incidentally, were made by me. did i mention i made them myself?


all this wrapped in a nice recycled packaging that makes for a lovely gift too. unless you're a selfish bastard and want to keep the prize to yourself.

the rules are simple. leave a comment stating why you need to win this set by 6 pm (CET) thursday, december 15. best comment/argument/death threat wins.

be sure to leave some contact info, which will be used for contact purposes only, not for any evil dr doofenschmirtz type of scheme. and as always, feel free to tell me how awesome i am.

the winner will be announced on december 16.

10 comments:

  1. Oops, crap. Sorry, I'm on a laptop that has an extremely sensitive touch pad. I deleted my first comment. It said this:

    Woot woot! The first to comment! Your giveaway set is absolutely GORGEOUS! I want your markers cause I always lose markers and with the fancy ones I'm more inclined to actually try to keep track of them. I NEED this yarn simply because I'm a yarn hoar. No other reason. Ok, that's a lie. I kinda want it solely so that I can have yarn that came from Finland. Back when I was an exchange student I went to a yarn shop in Helsinki (I think it was called Manita? Menita? I think it was close to a design museum. I could be lying, cause all I really remember is Cafe Esplanad and Stockmann) but the employees didn't know how to help someone that knew no Finnish (other than a few swear words at the time) and had no idea what they were doing. This set would make me feel better about wasting an opportunity of getting some exotic yarn.

    Yes...Finnish yarn would be considered highly exotic to me!

    PS: the email is: misocraftycrafts AT gmail DOT com

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  2. holy freakin' giveaway batman! i'm just squirming here 'cause i'm so excited about it! (not because i'm already on my second cup of coffee and it's not even 8am.. no not that at all).
    that yarn is gorgeous. i'm drooling! and of course i'd looove to win! and those stitch markers? woot woot! i'd love to have something handmade by the lovely YOU. it would bring us that much closer.. sort of.
    of course, i kinda know melissa too (just through the lovely blog world) so i'd be happy for her if she won.. but i totally know she'd be UBER happy for me if i won. just sayin'. haha. anyhow, thanks for the opportunity for such a lovely giveaway! you're tops.
    email: gunderson DOT rj AT gmail DOT com
    xo

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  3. Wow! I snuck over from nook to ogle this giveaway loveliness. Oh boy, that wool! And those stitch markers - they are exquisite. Did you make those? ;)
    email: rachel(at)housefullofjays(dot)com

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  4. I think Rebecca will regret having talked about this give-away on her blog, cause I;m pretty sure she'll be getting lots of competition!
    Now as to the question at hand...why do I need to win this? Cause I really, really, really, really want too? I would totally use it for my self, and I am admitting it, I mean who else can say they have a hat (or mitts or a cowl) made from wool from freaking Finland??? And that color is gorgeous.
    And the stitch-markers are adorable too. Waaaay better looking then my neon green plastic ones...but who made them again? Not sure I got that...

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  5. OK, here's the situation. I've locked myself in my bedroom for the last 2 months, knitting so many Christmas gifts that my hands are sore. Dresses, skirts, little sweaters and vests, a scarf, tons of hats, a few mittens, and so many of those little mochimochi snowmen that they're starting to dance in my dreams.

    And I am completely serious when I tell you that as SOON as Santa Claus comes shooting down our chimney, I am going to start knitting something for myself. And it's going to be lovely. And if it was made out of gorgeous purple louhitar yarn with handmade stitchmarkers... well, I won't kid you. You'd be able to hear my sigh of relief all the way from Washington.

    ;-) Thanks for the opportunity! I was sent over here by nook.

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  6. Wow! You're so generous! Your stitch markers are beautiful. What better way to make something by hand than with handmade tools? Sadly, my budget doesn't allow me to buy "unique hard-to-get handdyed yarns", so I'm just going to beg a little. Pick me! Pick me!
    babyzoe at hotmail dot com

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  7. Please pick me!!! What an amazing giveaway.. Finnish yarn would be wonderful to knit myself a little something after all the Christmas knitting I have been doing!!!! I love love love your stitch markers, they are gorgeous!!!!

    Thanks for a chance to win! - Leticia

    ljbcondon at yahoo dot com

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  8. I stumbled on you blog after checking out your plain and simple pullover mods. I didn't expect to find a give-a-way!

    I would love those stitch markers! I've been in the market for a set of hand made markers and those are exactly the style that I am looking for! The yarn looks amazing as well. I've been trying to branch out and buy more exotic yarns. The yarn would be perfect for a fingerless mitts pattern in my library for it.

    ravID: mayapof

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  9. I don't think I've ever had the pleasure of Finnish yarn. Seems happy. And you are right, the color is pretty stunning.

    Speaking of color, my comment:
    When I was a kid there was a private all-boys school that was down the block, and their colors were purple and orange, which, I guess I found pretty appealing.

    (I'm sure it had nothing to do with my neighbor, a high-school basketball player at said school, who always wore a letter jacket and looked pretty appealing himself.)

    My mom decided one year to have a friend from work make me a quilt in those colors and told her that I grooved on the combo because of the school and always talked about wanting to go there because I wanted a jacket like the (hot, hot, hot) neighbor. Her boss, an alumni of the school, overheard and flipped his lid because he thought that I - a preteen girl - was really going to overthrown the all-boy rule of the school and attempt to get in. She managed to convince him otherwise, and I guess he backed off his tirade, but she still laughs when she remembers how mad he got.

    Jesus that was long. Anyway, when I saw the purple yarn and the orange markers that's the first thing I though of. Then I giggled.

    (albeaton at aol dot com)

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  10. I just stumbled upon your blog and i have to say i have thoroughly enjoyed what i have read so far...I don't really NEED to win because like so many of us I already have more yarn than i really NEED ( is that even possible???)...BUT i always enter for shit$ & Giggles because i never win...so one of these days it's bound to happen right??? Plus... i dream of visiting Finland...so having yarn from dream destination is *almost* as exciting as actually visiting (thats what i keep telling myself anyway...)
    Cheers!

    jennlaughlin627ATyahooDOTcom

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