Denver Oyster Make-A-Wish Foundation Fundraiser

What: On Aug. 21, I will be competing with my friend Tali and my little sis, Mary as Team Cupcake Mafia in the Denver Oyster, an urban adventure race. We will spend the day covering 40-60 miles and completing tasks that could range from something athletic like rappelling off a building or more skill based like pouring the perfect beer at a local brew pub. We'll have to be prepared for anything!

Why: One of the coolest part of the race is that they encourage their racers to give back to the community by supporting the Make-A-Wish Foundation. We were required as a team to raise $100, but we wanted to do more, so we set a goal of $800, but since we flew by that number early on in our fundraising, we've raised our goal to $1,500.

The Details: For every $5 you donate by July 31, you'll received an entry to win one of these fantastic prizes (except for the handknit socks...read more below for more details). Also, if you donate $50, we will put your name, or the name of your business on the back of our team t-shirt. If you donate $200, we'll put your logo on our shirt.

How you donate:
click here, then select Denver, Team Cupcake Mafia, and Team Member Lynn Zimmerman.
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.

Need more convincing? Here are the prizes:

Handspun - spun by me

1. Sparkly 3-ply sock yarn (407 yards, fingering weight, merino/sparkles, dyed by Enchanted Knoll Farms)

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2. Super-soft 2-ply Sportweight yarn (South African Fine, yardage TBD, Dyed by Spunky Eclectic)

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

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4. BFL fiber dyed by Gale's Art. It's a 2-ply fingering weight yarn. Perfect for a lacy shawlette.

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5. Superwash BFL dyed by Spunky Eclectic. This is 492 yards of super soft light fingering weight yarn.

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All of these will be spun by the time the prizes are awarded.

Prizes donated by my amazing friends:

6. A hand sewn bag from Sharon, who I met at The Loopy Ewe Spring Fling. Her bags are beautiful, and this lovely batik one could come home with you!
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A close up of the fabric
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7. Hand-dyed sock yarn by Laura of the The Knit Girllls - this is so pretty!

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8. 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!



9. 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.



10. Melissa, 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...





11. Sara of Perfect Day Yarns has donated a super squishy skein of her Sonnet Sport in Midnight Iris. My photography skills do not do this skein justice.

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12. Megan, a fellow Iowan, knitter and spinner has generously donated a skein of the coveted Wollmeise Lace-Garn in the Barista colorway. This is 1,740 yarns of gorgeous hard-to-get German yarny goodness.














13. 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.


14. Sharon, who donated the beautiful batik project bag, has donated 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!



More from me...

15. A winter hat knit from your choice of yarn from my stash (trust me, there is something for everyone in there). I will work with the winner to choose the yarn and the pattern. This will be completed and mailed within 30 days of the winner selecting the yarn and pattern.

Just an example of a hat that could be yours...

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16. A handwoven scarf made by me on my Schacht Flip rigid heddle loom from your choice of Wollmeise from my stash. For the non-yarny people, Wollmeise yarn is the creme de la creme of yarn. The yarn she dyes is rich with color and will make a breathtaking scarf.

This, perhaps?

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Or maybe red is more your color?
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And there's more where that came from.

17. My Cupcake Mafia teammate and awesome little sister Mary has donated this very cool Unoriginal Hat made out of navy blue Rowan Big Wool.

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18. And she also donated this fantastic tote bag made out of very fun bicycle fabric.

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And last, but not certainly not least...

19. 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.

Perfect Day Yarns Free Verse Sock Yarn


Numma Numma Baby Boo



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

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.