Purl and Ashford request a moment of your time

But first, a message from me. I left the house for a bike ride about two hours ago and came home to find that we've gone over $2,000 raised for the Make-A-Wish Foundation! Thank you to everyone who has donated!

And now I'll introduce the girls. For those of you who are new to my blog, Purl and Ashford are my three year old "kittens" who are my constant companions. Throughout this fundraising effort, they have been my support team, making sure my lap is warm while I spin the handspun prizes, inspecting the packages as the amazing prizes my friends have donated arrive at my house and celebrating with me as each donation comes in.

They wanted to say a few words. Ladies...

Hello Friends,

Three years ago, our wish came true when our mom adopted us in Oklahoma from the shelter. We have lots of warm places to sleep, more sparkle balls than you can imagine, yummy treats and an older sister who we absolutely adore. We know how awesome it is to have a wish come true.

We are so excited to have been a part of raising more than $2,000 that will help even more wishes come true. Thank you to everyone who has donated! If you haven't had a chance to give yet, please consider making a donation now. We're ready to celebrate your donation with kitty treats for everyone.

Purrs and headbutts,

Purl & Ashford

Thanks girls! To make a donation, click here, select Denver, Team Cupcake Mafia, and Lynn Zimmerman

Your Last Chance!

Help me help make the wishes of sick kids come true! I will be participating in the Denver Oyster Urban Adventure Race and my team is raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. To donate, click here, select Denver, Team Cupcake Mafia, and Lynn Zimmerman. (If you are outside the U.S., this site won't work for you. Send me an email at lynnazimmermanATmacDOTcom and we'll work something out so you can participate too!)

Today is the last day (by midnight MDT) to make a donation and be entered for a chance to win some incredible prizes! Click here to see the entire prize list.

And can you believe I have MORE new prizes to share?

First, a skein of handspun from a new fiber-loving friend named Mary. She just completed a Master Spinner program, so you know this is an amazing skein of yarn. It is 286 yards (121 grams) of handspun goodness. She was heading out of town and didn't have time to get a shot of the completed skein, but this is an in progress shot of this beautiful denim-colored yarn.

Sharon, who donated the beautiful batik project bag, just sent me an email wanting to donate another of her project bags! This one is a smaller tote. Perfect for a small project like a pair of socks. And it's just as cute as the other bag!

Again, to donate, click here, select Denver, Team Cupcake Mafia, and Lynn Zimmerman. (If you are outside the U.S., this site won't work for you. Send me an email at lynnazimmermanATmacDOTcom and we'll work something out so you can participate too!)

The Final Stretch!

Help me and Team Cupcake Mafia help make dreams of sick kids come true! To make your donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, click here, select Denver, Team Cupcake Mafia, Team Member Lynn Zimmerman.

We reached our goal of $1,500 today! But we're not stopping there. The more we raise the more we help make dreams come true. You still have until Saturday, July 31 to make a donation and be entered to win a fabulous prize!

Speaking of fabulous prizes, I have more to share.

Laura, of the Knitgirllls, dyed this gorgeous sock yarn.

So pretty!

And my Cupcake Mafia teammate and awesome little sister has donated two new prizes to the list of fabulous prizes!

First, this very cool Unoriginal Hat made out of navy blue Rowan Big Wool. I love this hat. She made another one in white that I've attempted to steal.

And this handmade project tote bag made out of some very cute bicycle fabric. I believe it's a cotton/linen fabric (Mary, correct me if I'm wrong)

There's only two days left to donate and be eligible for the prizes! I hope you'll consider supporting me. And if you've already donated, thank you and keep an eye on the blog for a list of winners by Aug. 15.

To make your donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, click here, select Denver, Team Cupcake Mafia, Team Member Lynn Zimmerman.

Three more days - Two more prizes!

Help me and Team Cupcake Mafia help make dreams come true! To make your donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, click here, select Denver, Team Cupcake Mafia, Team Member Lynn Zimmerman.

We're only 3 days away from the deadline (Saturday, July 31 at midnight MDT) to donate to be entered in the prize drawing for my fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I have two more prizes to share with you (and this isn't all of them. Check back tomorrow for two more prizes!).

First, another skein of my handspun! This is 492 yards of superwash BFL dyed by Spunky Eclectic. It's a beautiful combination of greens, blues and golds - like a Mallard Duck.

Second, my friend Megan donated a gorgeous skein of the highly coveted Wollmeise Lace-Garn in the Barista colorway. Amazing stuff!

You can check out all of the incredible prizes here.

To make your donation, click here, select Denver, Team Cupcake Mafia, Team Member Lynn Zimmerman.

Thank you!

I Can't Believe I'm Giving This Away

I have finished spinning two of the skeins of yarn for my giveaway. I'm very excited that this is helping raise money so some very deserving kids get to have their wishes come true by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. But as I finished one of the skeins, I realized how much I'm committed to blowing away our $1,500 goal.

I love this skein.



Photos do not do it justice. It is black BFL dyed by Gale's Art in my favorite colors...blue, purple, green and teal. It just glows! This will make a gorgeous shawl or super soft socks. At least I know where I can get more fiber in this colorway.

I also finished another skein from the South African Fine dyed by Spunky Eclectic. I think this would make a cute baby sweater. So soft and snuggly.



I also wanted to share with you the photos of the project bag Sharon donated for the prize drawing.



I love the fabric!



You can see the rest of the prizes by clicking here.

To donate, click here, then select Denver, Team Cupcake Mafia, and Team Member Lynn Zimmerman. Remember, for every $5 you donate by midnight on July 31, you'll receive one entry in the drawing for the awesome prizes, except for the hand knit socks. For the socks, donate $25 for your first entry, and then you'll receive an additional entry for every $5 after that.

Team Cupcake Mafia thanks you!



We did a recon mission for the race on Sunday and came across this incredible "yarn bombing" in downtown Denver. It was the perfect colorful background for a photo of a team of knitters.

One More Fabulous Prize!

I got a surprise in the mail today from Sarah from Perfect Day Yarns! She sent me a skein of her awesome Sonnet Sport Yarn (245yards/4oz) in the Midnight Iris colorway to add to the fundraiser. Thank you, Sarah! Absolutely gorgeous!



You can look through the last few posts to see the other fabulous prizes.

To donate, click here, select Denver, Team Cupcake Mafia, and Team Member Lynn Zimmerman.

Another Awesome Prize

Seriously. I know the coolest people in the world!

Amanda from Frog Creek Fibers has donated two skeins of her Sonsie base (8-ply 100% Superwash Merino) in this gorgeous Computer Blue colorway. Each skein is 100 grams/330 yards.



Once again, to donate, click here, then select Denver, Team Cupcake Mafia, and Team Member Lynn Zimmerman.

I discovered today that the site is only set up for donations from the U.S. If you're not in the U.S. and would like to donate, please contact me at lynnazimmermanATmacDOTcom and we'll work out an alternative way for you to make your donation.

Thank you!

Are You Tired of Me Yet?

I recently rekindled this blog to promote my fundraiser, and have realized how much I really enjoy blogging. I do a lot of writing professionally, which I love, but the blog gives me the opportunity to be a little more free with my writing. No promises, but I plan on blogging more often from now on, even after the fundraising is over. So stick with me!

I have a special "infomercial" edition of The Knit Girllls to share with you. Laura gives a few more details about her donation (she'll be giving several skeins of LaLaKnits yarn is special edition colorways!) and Leslie shows off the options you'll have if you're the lucky winner of socks handknit by her. I love these girls.



Inspired to donate now? Click here, select Denver, then Team Cupcake Mafia and Team member Lynn Zimmerman.

If that doesn't tempt you, I received another awesome prize donation! Melissa (aka Meliabella on Ravelry and Plurk), the owner of Keegan Lane Yarns has offered a 420 yd. skein of her hand dyed Toasty Sock in a color way of the winner's choice with a matching stitch marker. Here are some examples of her gorgeous yarn...





YUM!

Remember, for every $5 you donate, you get one entry into the drawing for all of the prizes except for the handknit socks. For the handknit socks, make a $25 donation and you'll receive one entry for that drawing (but 5 for the other prizes!), and then additional entries for both the socks and the rest of the prizes every $5 you donate. You can see the other prizes here and here. This weekend, I'm going to put all of this information on one page so it will be easy to find.

Again, thank you so much to everyone who has supported my efforts to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. This is the first time I've every done a fundraiser like this and I have been amazed by the generosity. I think I'm having as much fun doing the fundraising as I will competing in the Denver Oyster. Every dollar we raise helps make the dreams of sick kids come true!

That's What Friends Are For

I think it's pretty obvious that I love yarn and fiber and knitting and spinning and weaving. But something I have neglected to write as much about is one of the things I love the most about my hobby...the awesome people I've met who love yarn and fiber and knitting and spinning and weaving as much as I do. It has been incredible to me how many people from all over the world I have met and am now lucky enough to call my friends because of my hobby.

I started this crazy fundraising effort for the Make A Wish Foundation a couple of weeks ago and I have been overwhelmed (but not surprised) by the generosity of all of my friends. Something I really didn't expect was the offers to help entice others to give. The Knit Girllls, Laura and Leslie have mentioned my giveaway on their fantastic podcast (if you haven't checked them out - go now... this post will still be here when you get back) and I've had several generous offers of additions to the prize pool. I don't have photos of everything yet, but I'm so excited I have to share.

1. A hand sewn bag from Sharon, who I met at The Loopy Ewe Spring Fling. No photo yet, but I've seen some of the bags she's made and they are fantastic!

2. Hand-dyed sock yarn by Laura of the The Knit Girllls - again, no photo yet, but she's a talented dyer. You can see some of her yarn by clicking here) (Ravelry link)

3. A Piddleloop triangle project bag donated by Jen and her sister Wendy. I LOVE Piddleloop bags. They are so well made and they use gorgeous fabrics. I think the triangle bag is perfect for a small project and some lucky donor will get this fabulous bag! So cute!



4. Last, but not least is something that even the non-knitters should be excited about! Leslie of The Knit Girllls, has offered to donate one pair of handknit socks made specifically for the winner.  Choice of sock yarn (see the photos to follow. Since this is such a huge prize (for the non-knitters, knitting socks is not a quick endeavor) you will be entered in this drawing with a $25 minimum donation. Every $5 past $25 will get you additional entries in this drawing. Leslie will knit the socks according to your specifications...size, plain foot, plain or patterned cuff, etc.  These socks will be mailed priority to winner's home no later than 30 days after the drawing.

If you have never had the pleasure to wear handknit socks, you don't know what you are missing. This is your chance to have socks custom made to fit your feet in your choice of gorgeous yarn! Anyone out there with really big feet? Make a donation and let's try to give Leslie a challenge! Here are a couple of the yarn options. I'm working on a separate page for the fundraiser and will post all of the options there.

Perfect Day Yarns Free Verse Sock Yarn


Numma Numma Baby Boo


Thank you so much ladies for helping make my fundraiser a success! I hope this will help even more kids have their dreams come true.

And don't forget the handspun yarn I posted about in an earlier post!

Are you ready to donate? As a reminder, for all prizes except the handknit socks, you'll receive one entry in the drawing for every $5 you donate (i.e. make a $10 donation and you'll receive 2 entries). For the handknit socks, if you donate $25, you'll receive one entry for the socks an additional entry for every $5 over $25 (i.e make a $35 entry and you'll receive 3 entries for the socks).

To donate, click here. Select Denver, then Team Cupcake Mafia and Lynn Zimmerman.

Thanks again for your support!

A Quick Post

Please consider supporting my fundraising efforts for the Make-A-Wish Foundation! Click here to find out more.

When I took a weaving class earlier this year, I really didn't expect to enjoy it that much. But I'm hooked and fascinated by the fabric I'm creating. I made this incredible scarf in a day.





I made this out of Noro Sock Yarn. Either this scarf, or a very similar one will be a prize in my fundraiser.

I also finished a skein of handspun that has been on the wheel for awhile.



628 yards, Falklands Wool.

Prizes, Prizes, Prizes

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I am going to be competing in August in the Denver Oyster, an urban adventure race. Team Cupcake Mafia, which is made up of me, my little sis, Mary and my friend, Tali, will be running, biking and completing crazy tasks all over Denver while covering a distance of 20-30 miles.

One of the requirements of this race, is to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Our team is currently leading the fundraising at $780. Thank you to everyone who has made a donation so far! Our original goal was $800, but since we've done so well and there still is a month and a half before the race, we're going to be increasing our goal to $1,500. We want to do as much as we can to help this wonderful charity and we can do that with your help!

On top of helping make the dreams of sick children come true by donating, you will also have an opportunity to win some wonderful prizes. With every $5 you donate by July 31, you'll receive an entry in the drawing. I'm donating several skeins of my handspun yarn. There will be at least five skeins and if I can spin more during the month of July that will also go in the drawing!

I teased you before with these two skeins...



Sparkly 3-ply sock yarn and...



...unbelievably soft cashmere which is soon to be a super squishy laceweight yarn.

I'll also be spinning these gorgeous fibers:

First up is this lovely BFL fiber dyed by Gale's Art. It's going to become a 2-ply fingering weight yarn. Perfect for a lacy shawlette.



Next is a superwash BFL dyed by Spunky Eclectic. This one will be a 2-ply heavy fingering/sport weight. I think it would make a cozy pair of socks for a cold winter.



Finally, this is South African Fine wool. It's a new fiber to me, so I'm not sure how it will want to spin, but I think it would make a gorgeous sport weight yarn. It's pretty soft, so I think this could make an adorable Baby Surprise Jacket for the baby girl in your life



In addition, some of my generous blog readers have offered to donate some awesome prizes! I'll post those as soon as I have photos. Also, for you non-knitters, don't feel left out! The drawing will also include the chance to win a hand knit winter hat in the color of your choice. The drawing will be held and the winners posted on my blog by August 15.

Click here to make a donation. Select Denver, Team Cupcake Mafia and then Lynn Zimmerman. You can read more about Team Cupcake Mafia's fundraising efforts here.

Thanks again for your support!

Ashford is so excited about raising money she's showing off her rarely seen soft white underbelly and adorably irresistible orange chin.