In which the Narrator Announces a Winner, Names Honorable Mentions, Discovers that She Herself Is a Winner, Shares Some Recent Knitting—Both On-Road and Off—and Generally Attempts to Match the Titulary Excesses of Second-Rate Victorian Novelists

We had 41 entries in the Guess-Our-Mileage Contest, with guesses ranging from 759 to 2,200 miles. Melissa and I had an actual mileage of 1,732.2 miles, which makes Steffaroni our winner with a stunningly accurate guess of 1,735. She was off by less than three miles!

Other guesses coming within 20 miles of our actual mileage included
Sherri H. at 1,736
Karen (of Unknitted) at 1,725
Andrea at 1,734
Clarabelle (of clarastitchandtotalbitch) at 1,750

Steffaroni will be receiving her choice of two skeins of the hand-crafted Oregon yarn from the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center (you’ll need to tell me which ones you want!). And, as honorable mention prizes, I’ll be sending hand-knit dishcloths to Sherri H., Karen, Andrea, and Clarabelle. Look for an email from me asking for your mailing addresses!

I was delighted upon my return home to discover that I’d won some gorgeous HipKnits lace-weight cashmere in a draw over on Lin’s blog, Queen of the Froggers. Check this out:
cashmere
Not only did Lin send me this absolutely beautiful yarn, she also enclosed a hand-stitched sachet and a lovely enameled stitch marker. I feel thoroughly spoiled. I’m planning to order a pattern from Pink Lemon Twist for the yarn, either Scheherazade or Moon Dance. Opinions, anyone?

I got a bit of knitting done during our 1,732.2 mile sojourn, and now have photos to prove it. First, I worked up a “Don’t Mess with Texas” washcloth for one our hosts, LeeAnn (mother of the ever-dapper Dinsdale), who is a Texas native. We had to take this shot in a rather poorly lit motel room, so you may need to squint to see the design.
don't mess with Texas cloth
A much clearer picture—with the pattern—can be found here at Knitting Memories. (I knit a kitty cloth as well, pattern also from Knitting Memories, and several cloths from Leisure Arts’ Garden Dishcloths to Knit.)

I got to work on a scarf using a skein of Tallgrass Yarn (colorway “Phoenix”) from the Procrastiknitter.
red scarf
I’ll post another pic and pattern once I’ve finished it.

Finally, I made it a bit past Clue 1 on Mystery Shawl 3.
mystery shawl clue 1
I’m absolutely delighted with the way my not-as-directed fiber choice is working out. Hooray for knitting without a net!

I finished Clue 2 two nights ago. (Note that the color is the first photo is more accurate than the color in this photo.)
mystery shawl clue 2
Now I’m logging off so I can dig into Clue 3 while listening to the ballgame.

Congratulations to all the winners!