Contest Winners!

Hi there. Remember me? No? I totally forgive you. I hardly remember myself, I've been gone for so long. In my next post (which hopefully won't be, like, months from now) I'll tell you all about why I disappeared from blogland and why it's taken me so long to get back.

But first things first.

Right before pulling my little disappearing act, I ran a blog contest. I asked to hear about dates that were special to you. I was delighted with the response and loved hearing all the stories about special dates. There were birthdays, anniversaries, first kisses, first dates, several cancer-free days, and even some stories of heartbreak and tragedy. The very special common thread through all these stories was a beautiful perspective on life. The joyful times keep us going and are to be remembered and celebrated. Meanwhile, the hard times can bring strength, clarity and purpose, even if we don't see it immediately. Reading through the contest comments tells this story in a remarkable, collective voice. I found it very powerful.

It was, however, still a random-drawing contest with prizes to be given. And that means there are winners!

First place went to Ellen! She doesn't have a blog, but you can find her on Ravelry as eroomje.

Second place went to Diane!

Third place went to Dr. B!

And finally, there was a winner of the Grand Prize. To win the grand prize, your special date had to match the date I had in my mind. And the winner is Annie! She doesn't have a blog, but you can find her on Ravelry as QTKnits.

Annie gave April 10th as her date because that's the birthday of her twin daughters. That is the date I was thinking of because it's also my birthday. She was the only person to mention April 10th, so she wins the cashmere outright. However, I would like to give an honorable mention to Glitter, who said that the 10th of every month was special to her, especially July and September 10th. Since I asked for only one date and since she didn't mention April 10th specifically, the judges ruled against entering her into a drawing for the grand prize. Still, I feel she deserves some recognition for coming close.

Well that's it for now. I'll try to be back soon to get caught up on stuff that's been going on with me. I've done only a small amount of knitting in my blog absence, but I do have some pictures to share. And some stories to tell.

A note to the winners: I mailed your prize packages today, so you should have them by the end of the week.