Friday, September 2, 2011

Wrapping things up

1. I've sent an email to all of the prize winners to confirm addresses, so if your name is on the list of winners below, please check your email (there weren't any duplicate names, so if your name is on the list and you made a donation, that's you!). I've already heard back from a lot of you - thank you.

2. If you made a donation and did not receive a copy of the My Wish pattern, check your spam email box (especially if you have an AOL email address). If it's not there, please send me an email at lynnATlynnzimmDOTcom. I'll get your pattern sent out asap.

3. Thank you again to everyone who donated the amazing prizes. People gave because they believe in the work that Make A Wish does, but the possibility of also winning something - especially when the prizes are so incredible - sure makes this a lot more fun. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

4. And finally, thank you once again to everyone who made a donation. I really don't feel like I can say thank you enough. What an amazing two months. Together, we have made a huge difference in the lives of people who really need a bright spot. I hope to have an update from Make A Wish soon about the wishes we've helped them grant. I'll post them here when I do.

I still need to write up a recap of Team Cupcake Mafia's fun and wacky day at the Oyster and then I'll return to my blogging about the rest of my life - which of course includes lots of cute kitty photos. :) I hope you'll check in every once in a while and I definitely hope you'll be back next summer for another round of making wishes come true!

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Winners!

Congratulations to everyone who has won a prize! I wish I had a prize for everyone. I've listed the names of the prize winners in bold by each prize. If you won something, I will send you an email to confirm your address. I have started sending out the email messages tonight and will finish sending them out Thursday night.

Thanks to everyone who made a donation to Make-A-Wish, donated a prize and promoted the fundraiser on their podcast, blog and Ravelry. This has been an amazing summer and thanks to all of you, at least two seriously ill children will have their wishes granted soon!

So let's get this started...my assistant is ready!


1. Terri Soles An amazing and absolutely gorgeous My Wish Shawl kit with two skeins of Tempted Lil Luxe Grrl in Frigid and Moonlight hand-dyed by my wonderful friend Stacy (who lets me play with her dyes when I come to visit her!) This is the yarn and colorways used in the original My Wish Shawl. Lil Luxe Grrl is 80% SW Merino/10% Cashmere/10% Nylon.




2. Susan Pandorf A copy of the extremely talented Wendy Johnson's new book Wendy Knits Lace, personalized for the winner by Wendy.



3. Heather Nordquist Art Yarn handspun by one of our favorite Knit Girllls Laura.



4. Ulli Schober A project bag handmade by Denise (Deknits). (photo to come)

4. Loreen Vaughn A project bag handmade by Denise (Deknits).


5. Peggy Latham A project bag handmade by Sharon (SeashoreSharon).


6. Jessica Gutoski A project bag handmade by Sharon (SeashoreSharon).


7. Linda Sirbuly A project bag handmade by the Piddleloop Sewing Team, Jen and Wendy.



8. Kathleen Clemente 3,040 yards of a gorgeous, the photo doesn't do it justice, handpainted pale gray laceweight yarn donated by Rachel from Dyeabolical Yarns and Fibers.

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9. Robin Diebold Three colorful cotton dishcloths hand knit by Cathie in the Starburst pattern. Once you've used a hand knit dishcloth, you'll never want to use anything else.

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10. Heather Pacheco A skein of the super-popular self-striping two-stripe yarn in Sheena from Lisa aka Fibernymph on her Squoosh base (75/25 SW Merino/Nylon)



11. Crystal Baker Another skein of awesome self-striping two-stripe yarn in the Mint Chocolate Chip colorway from Fibernymph on her Squoosh base (75/25 SW Merino/Nylon).



12. Nora Maginnis A gorgeous skein of hand-dyed merino/tencel yarn from Heidi at Fibermorphosis.



13. Belinda Gritter A beautiful hand-knit shawlette by Bev (paletpc). It's the Maika pattern knit in Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight in The Incredible Shrinking Violet colorway.

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14. Deborah Palmer Another gorgeous hand-knit shawl by Bev. It's the Charlotte's Web Shawl pattern, knit in Koigu. It's absolutely stunning.

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15. Sharon Hepler A set of my very favorite stitch markers (RAINBOW!) in the whole wide world hand made by by dealer - um, I mean my friend and Rhinebeck roommate, Rose-Marie from Beagin Design.



16. Tina Robbins A set of my very favorite stitch markers (RAINBOW!) in the whole wide world hand made by by dealer - um, I mean my friend and Rhinebeck roommate, Rose-Marie from Beagin Design.



16. Martha Szescila A pattern of the donor's choice (valued up to $10) donated by Wendy from the Knit 1, ♡ too podcast.

17. Joan Gammill A skein of Wollmeise 80/20 in the Aquarius colorway, donated by Wendy's partner in crime on the Knit 1, ♡ too podcast, Sheila. Sheila's son had a wish granted several years ago by Make A Wish and she has offered to share her family's story with us in a future blog post.



18. Pat Ferguson A beautiful Summer Swatch Scarf hand knit by Chrystal. The scarf is knit in oh so soft Malabrigo Lace in the Cognac colorway.



19. Elisabeth Dalen Two skeins of Sock Hop Yarn from Crown Mountain Farms in the Free Bird colorway donated by Tonia.



20. Annelena Mattison A pattern of the donor's choice (up to a $10 value) donated by Erin from the MommyNeedsYarn videocast.

21. Ascension Olivas A skein of Wollmeise 100% SW Merino in the Maus Jung Colorway, donated by Diane from the Knitabulls Audio Podcast and Video podcast.




22. Becky Haagsma A gorgeous hand knit Little Shells shawl knitted in Sundara Silk Sport yarn, donated by Diane from the Knitabulls Audio Podcast and Video podcast.



23. Carin Boelman Megan has donated a 4 oz. bag of Hello Yarn Polwarth fiber in a gorgeous club colorway, Cauldron. You can see a photo of it by clicking here. Not a spinner? I'll work with the winner and spin the fiber into yarn.

24. Laura Linneman Megan has donated another 4 oz. bag of Hello Yarn Polwarth fiber in a gorgeous club colorway, Cauldron. You can see a photo of it by clicking here. Not a spinner? I'll work with the winner and spin the fiber into yarn.

25. My teammate and little sister (and mom to Hazel!) has donated a handmade clutch like this one pictured below. She will work with the winner to select the perfect fabric from her stash and if you'd like it to be a clutch or with a strap to make it a wristlet.



26. Veronica Karner My mom, who is the person who steered me down the crafty pathway, loves quilting as much as I love knitting, spinning and weaving. She donated this beautiful quilted table runner, which is a perfect accent for your summer table.



27. Martha Hulse I have had the pleasure this summer of taking a shawl class from Cheryl Oberle, who is a knitting designer and teacher. She also is a talented dyer. Cheryl has donated a signed copy of her book, Folk Shawls and two skeins of her 55/45 mohair/merino DK weight yarn in the Azurine colorway. Each skein is 490 yards so this is plenty of yarn to make one of the shawls from her book!

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28. Linda Ford Stephen (SOWaters on Ravelry) has donated a beautiful Lala's Simple Shawl that he made from Malabrigo Silky Merino in the Turquoise colorway. This shawl will be a perfect accessory for the winter (or if you work in an office as cold as mine - the perfect accessory for the summer!)



29. Sara Stewart Carin has generously donated the My Wish Shawl she test knit using her handspun and Wollmeise. Here is a photo of this gorgeous shawl.



My handspun

30. Cathie Jones Polwarth from Woolgatherings. This is the January 2011 club colorway.
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31. Patricia Hobbs Polwarth in the Fairplay Vineyards colorway dyed by Forest Fiberworks

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32. Renee Beard SW Merino dyed by PoppyFlowerFibers


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33. Mary Martz BFL dyed by Spunky Eclectic in Thermograph



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34. Stephanie Burke And for the Dr. Who fans, Oatmeal BFL from Southern Cross Fibre in Time Lord.
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Donations of $30 and up

1. Ruth Velasco-Schmitz Leslie from The Knit Girllls has once again offered to donate a pair of custom-fit hand knit socks in the pattern of the winner's choice from any skein of yarn in her Ravelry stash! If you've never worn a pair of hand knit socks, you don't know what you're missing, and if you've ever knit a pair of socks, you know what an incredible prize this is. Leslie will work with the winner to determine the pattern and the yarn.

2. Luise Erdmann 3 Skeins of Wollmeise donated by Leslie from The Knit Girllls.



The red skein is Granatapfel in the Twin base and the other two skeins are Orient (an exclusive club colorway!) and Cassis in the 100% SW base.

3. Susan Connelly A skein of Wollmeise Lacegarn and skein of 100% SW Merino sock yarn. Both are We're Different colorways - the red is WD Vamp and WD Wasserratz.



Congratulations to those who won these wonderful prizes and thank you again to everyone who made a donation. I can't wait until next year!

Monday, August 29, 2011

Crossing the Finish Line!



Team Cupcake Mafia crossed the finish line at the Denver Oyster on Saturday! And we were the top fundraiser - raising more than $8,100 for Make a Wish of Colorado! I spoke with the director of Make a Wish and she was beyond thrilled. She said that your donations would be enough to pay for TWO wishes. Incredible.

More than 350 individual donations were made throughout the fundraiser, which means I have a lot of work to do to make sure everyone who donated gets the appropriate amount of entries in the drawing for the amazing prizes. I have been working on a spreadsheet of the donors and I plan on finishing it tomorrow night (Tuesday). If I have time, I'll draw as soon as it's finished. If not, I'll draw on Wednesday. I want to get those awesome prizes out to their new homes!

Thank you again for all of your support. We honored all of the knitters who donated by putting a ball of yarn with knitting needles on the back of our team shirts. We couldn't have done it without you!

Once I get the drawing done, I'll also share some more photos of the race and a race report.


Thursday, August 25, 2011

Last Call!

Friday (8/26) at noon MDT is the deadline for making your donation to my fundraiser for Make A Wish of Colorado to receive the My Wish pattern and be eligible to win the amazing prizes. Your donations, which have topped $7,000 so far, will help make Laird and Jane's wishes come true.

If you live in the U.S., here's how to make a donation to Make-A-Wish of Colorado:

Click Here to visit the Denver Oyster donation site.
Select City: Denver
Select Team: Cupcake Mafia
Team Member: Lynn Zimmerman
Then, complete the rest of the form with your donation amount and contact information.
I will receive an email with your donation amount. With a $5 donation, you will receive the My Wish shawl pattern designed by Laura Linneman. I will email you the pattern and enter you in the drawing. For every $10 you donate, you will receive one entry in the prize drawing that will be held at the end of August.

If you live outside of the U.S., you can make your $5 donation for the My Wish pattern on Ravelry. If you would like to make a larger donation, please send me an email at LynnATlynnzimmDOTcom.

If the already amazing list of prizes hasn't convinced you to make a donation, here are a couple more.

My mom, who is the person who steered me down the crafty pathway, loves quilting as much as I love knitting, spinning and weaving. She donated this beautiful quilted table runner, which is a perfect accent for your summer table.



My teammate and little sister (and mom to Hazel!) has donated a handmade clutch like this one pictured below. She will work with the winner to select the perfect fabric from her stash and you can decide you'd like it to be a clutch or if you'd like her to add a strap to make it a wristlet.



For every $10 you donate, you'll win a chance to win one of these fantastic prizes.

Last week, I mentioned that there would be one more prize for those of you who had made donations of $30 or more. I'm posting this at the last minute and excuse the terrible iPhone photo, but one lucky person who has donated $30 or more will have a chance to win this skein of Wollmeise Lacegarn and skein of 100% SW Merino sock yarn. Both are We're Different colorways - the red is WD Vamp and WD Wasserratz.



Remember, for this prize, the 3 skeins of Wollmeise and the incredible handknit socks made by Leslie from The Knit Girllls, a $30 will get you one entry and every additional $10 will get you one additional entry. This drawing will be separate from the drawing with a $10 minimum, so you'll have more chances to win! If you've already made a donation and would like to donate more, your total donation will determine the number of entries you have.

I'm planning on doing the drawing on Aug. 28, but because of the number of donors, it may take me a little longer to get it done. I'll post updates here and in the The Knit Girllls group on Ravelry. The winners will be notified by email and their names will be posted on the blog.

And finally, I want to share one last story about the amazing work that Make a Wish does. Many of you know Sheila from the Knit 1, ♡ too podcast. Her almost 8 year old son, Zachary, has already faced a lifetime's worth of health challenges. As a newborn, he underwent open heart surgery, as a toddler he was diagnosed with liver cancer and received a liver transplant at three years old. Due to complications with that transplant he had additional surgeries immediately following the transplant and was placed on the transplant list again until the new liver healed enough to function. In July of 2004, he was granted his wish of a Castle Playground set with swings, slide, fireman's pole, climbing wall, and a draw bridge.





Since then, Zachary has been in and out of the hospital and has been to the doctors hundreds of times. In May of 2010, after a heart catheter, he was diagnosed with Hepato Pulmanary Syndrome - his body was not getting enough oxygen through it. The only cure would be another transplant. In July 2010, he was placed on the Transplant list and on October 25, he received his second liver transplant. He has been doing well, but he still faces some challenges. Despite all of his health issues, Sheila says Zachary doesn't act sick and plays in his castle almost every day. The castle has been a blessing for their entire family.



Thank you, Sheila for sharing your story. This is one of the many reasons why I'm so excited that we are making more wishes come true.

To those who have already made a donation: I am usually able to send out the patterns the day I receive your donation confirmation. If it has been longer than 24 hours since you made a donation and did not receive an email from me with the My Wish Shawl pattern attached, please forward your confirmation email to me at Lynn AT lynnzimm DOT com. If you have left me a comment on the blog regarding a missing pattern I can't respond directly back to you because of the way Blogger handles comments. I have responded in the comments. Thank you again for your donations!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Why we are doing this - Part 2

Jane is 7 years old with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Her wish is to go to Disney World because "it is so fun - it sounds so cool and awesome!" Jane also enjoys the color pink, Wii games, strawberries, all kinds of music, Selena Gomez, the Rockies and Chihuahuas. In her spare time she likes to goof around and go to dance class.

This is one of at least two wishes that your donations will help make come true. Together, we are helping create some amazing memories for a very special child and her family.

If you live in the U.S. here's how to make a donation to Make-A-Wish of Colorado:

Click Here to visit the Denver Oyster donation site.
Select City: Denver
Select Team: Cupcake Mafia
Team Member: Lynn Zimmerman
Then, complete the rest of the form with your donation amount and contact information.
I will receive an email with your donation amount. With a $5 donation, you will receive the My Wish shawl pattern designed by Laura Linneman. I will email you the pattern and enter you in the drawing. For every $10 you donate, you will receive one entry in the prize drawing that will be held at the end of August.

If you live outside of the U.S., you can make your $5 donation for the My Wish pattern on Ravelry. If you would like to make a larger donation, please send me an email at LynnATlynnzimmDOTcom.


To those who have already made a donation: I am usually able to send out the patterns the day I receive your donation confirmation. If it has been longer than 24 hours since you made a donation and did not receive an email from me with the My Wish Shawl pattern attached, please forward your confirmation email to me at Lynn AT lynnzimm DOT com. If you have left me a comment on the blog regarding a missing pattern I can't respond directly back to you because of the way Blogger handles comments. I have responded in the comments. Thank you again for your donations!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Why we are doing this

Laird is a 5 year old with Burkitt's Lymphoma. His wish is to go to Legoland because he loves legos (especially blue ones). He also is a big fan of the color green, chicken, tootsie pops, the Black-Eyed Peas, the Broncos, the "Chipmunks" movies and panda bears. In his spare time he likes to wrestle with his dad and push him in the pool.

This is one of the wishes that your donations will help make come true. Together, we are helping create some amazing memories for a very special child and his family.

If you live in the U.S. here's how to make a donation to Make-A-Wish of Colorado:

Click Here to visit the Denver Oyster donation site.
Select City: Denver
Select Team: Cupcake Mafia
Team Member: Lynn Zimmerman
Then, complete the rest of the form with your donation amount and contact information.
I will receive an email with your donation amount. With a $5 donation, you will receive the My Wish shawl pattern designed by Laura Linneman. I will email you the pattern and enter you in the drawing. For every $10 you donate, you will receive one entry in the prize drawing that will be held at the end of August.

If you live outside of the U.S., you can make your $5 donation for the My Wish pattern on Ravelry. If you would like to make a larger donation, please send me an email at LynnATlynnzimmDOTcom.


To those who have already made a donation: I am usually able to send out the patterns the day I receive your donation confirmation. If it has been longer than 24 hours since you made a donation and did not receive an email from me with the My Wish Shawl pattern attached, please forward your confirmation email to me at Lynn AT lynnzimm DOT com. If you have left me a comment on the blog regarding a missing pattern I can't respond directly back to you because of the way Blogger handles comments. I have responded in the comments. Thank you again for your donations!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Kicking it up a Notch

To those who have already made a donation: I am usually able to send out the patterns the day I receive your donation confirmation. If it has been longer than 24 hours since you made a donation and did not receive an email from me with the My Wish Shawl pattern attached, please forward your confirmation email to me at Lynn AT lynnzimm DOT com. If you have left me a comment on the blog regarding a missing pattern I can't respond directly back to you because of the way Blogger handles comments. I have responded in the comments. Thank you again for your donations!

Many of you have found out about this fundraiser through two of my favorite podcasters and wonderful friends, Leslie and Laura - aka The Knit Girllls. I know that Laura's amazing pattern and the opportunity to win a pair of socks hand knit by Leslie have been huge incentives to donate. As our fundraising total has gotten higher, Leslie approached me about making a last minute push, and it was an offer I couldn't resist. Feast your eyes upon these lovelies...



Yep. That's three skeins of Wollmeise! The red skein is Granatapfel in the Twin base and the other two skeins are Orient (an exclusive club colorway!) and Cassis in the 100% SW base.

Just in case you didn't get a good look at the first photo...



So, here's how this could be yours. It's the same criteria as entries for the socks handknit by Leslie. Anyone who makes a donation of $30 or more will have a chance to win this amazing set of three gorgeous skeins of yarn. Every additional $10 donation will get you one more entry ($30=1 entry, $40=2 entries, $50=3 entries and so on). This will be a separate drawing from the drawing for the other incredible prizes.

If you have already donated $30 or more, you're already entered for a chance to win the handknit socks and the Wollmeise. If you have already made a donation, any additional donations will be totaled together before the drawing.

One more beauty shot...



Once again, if you live in the U.S. here's how to make a donation to Make-A-Wish:

Click Here to visit the Denver Oyster donation site.
Select City: Denver
Select Team: Cupcake Mafia
Team Member: Lynn Zimmerman
Then, complete the rest of the form with your donation amount and contact information.
I will receive an email with your donation amount. With a $5 donation, you will receive the My Wish shawl pattern designed by Laura Linneman. I will email you the pattern and enter you in the drawing. For every $10 you donate, you will receive one entry in the prize drawing that will be held at the end of August.

If you live outside of the U.S., you can make your $5 donation for the My Wish pattern on Ravelry. If you would like to make a larger donation, please send me an email at LynnATlynnzimmDOTcom.

Check back later this week. I have another prize to share with you.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

$5,000...and still climbing

To those who have already made a donation: I send out the patterns the day I receive your donation confirmation. If you have made a donation and did not receive an email from me with the My Wish Shawl pattern attached, please forward your confirmation email to me at Lynn AT lynnzimm DOT com. Thank you again for your donations!


We did it...$5,000 raised for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Colorado. Thank you all for your support! But we still have 3 weeks of fundraising left until Team Cupcake Mafia hits the streets of Denver to race the Denver Oyster. How much more can we raise to help make wishes come true for kids with life-threatening illnesses?

Remember, for every $10 donation, you'll receive one entry into the drawing for the amazing prizes (see below for MORE amazing prizes!). If you donate $30 you'll receive one entry to win a pair of handknit socks made especially for you by one of my two favorite Knit Girllls, Leslie. You'll receive an additional entry for the socks for every $10 you donate past $30.

Once again, if you live in the U.S. here's how to make a donation to Make-A-Wish:

Click Here to visit the Denver Oyster donation site.
Select City: Denver
Select Team: Cupcake Mafia
Team Member: Lynn Zimmerman
Then, complete the rest of the form with your donation amount and contact information.
I will receive an email with your donation amount. With a $5 donation, you will receive the My Wish shawl pattern designed by Laura Linneman. I will email you the pattern and enter you in the drawing. For every $10 you donate, you will receive one entry in the prize drawing that will be held at the end of August.

If you live outside of the U.S., you can make your $5 donation for the My Wish pattern on Ravelry. If you would like to make a larger donation, please send me an email at LynnATlynnzimmDOTcom.

The prizes keep rolling in.

1. I have had the pleasure this summer of taking a shawl class from Cheryl Oberle, who is a knitting designer and teacher. She also is a talented dyer. Cheryl has donated a signed copy of her book, Folk Shawls and two skeins of her 55/45 mohair/merino DK weight yarn in the Azurine colorway. Each skein is 490 yards so this is plenty of yarn to make one of the shawls from her book!

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2. Stephen (SOWaters on Ravelry) has donated a beautiful Lala's Simple Shawl that he made from Malabrigo Silky Merino in the Turquoise colorway. This shawl will be a perfect accessory for the winter (or if you work in an office as cold as mine - the perfect accessory for the summer!)



I've also received photos of some of the fantastic project bags that have been donated.

Sharon has donated TWO of these adorable knitting sheep drawstring bags.



This is one of the two box bags that Denise has donated. I love the sock fabric. So perfect!



And Jen from Piddleloop dropped off this large wedge bag as she passed through Colorado this week. I love this bag size - it's my go-to project bag when I'm making a shawl. And I'm also a sucker for kitty fabric.



Thanks again to everyone who has made a donation - either a monetary donation or a prize, and to everyone who has spread the word about the fundraiser. The power of knitters is incredible!

Check back on Tuesday evening for another prize announcement!