Yes, its time to announce the parliamentary victors, and give away some owlish prizes!
There are 57 owls in the parliament. I excluded myself and my knitting comrades (Hannah, Kate B and Melanie) from the fun; put the remaining 53 names in a ‘hat’, and selected one at random.
Congratulations, Elizabeth! You are officially the Parliament’s prime owl! You win 10 x 50g of New Lanark DK (more than a sweater’s worth . . perhaps two sweaters), a fabulous Owl tote bag from these Edinburgh designers (on whom I have a post coming shortly), and a large selection of the owl-themed goodies mentioned below (as befitting a prime owl).
I have really enjoyed the, um parliamentary process – – it was always thrilling for me when another photo turned up in my inbox and I’ve felt proud and humbled at the same time (if that’s possible) to see so many fabulous women wearing o w l s. What I’ve most enjoyed, though, is seeing how every knitter made the sweater somehow entirely hers — through yarn choice, customisation, personal style, or the sheer vim of her knitterly character. So here are some other prizes reflecting the parliament’s owlish variety and vim:
Most impressively owlish photo: There were a few candidates for this one, but the prize has to go to Stacey, who is perching on a branch in her photo.
Most original customised owls: This was a difficult decision to make, as there were so many amazing owlish transformations through the additions of steeks, button-bands and colour. In the end, though, I thought I’d give this prize to Suzanne, who customised her owls into a cardigan complete with stars and embroidered branches.
Early bird : This prize goes to Gabrielle, who knit the sweater in record time, and sent me her photograph on January 23rd.
Ma’s prize owl: For this category, I asked my mother (who is a great admirer of the parliament) to pick her favourite sweater. She selected Karen (USA) because “her sweater fits beautifully, and in the colours she chose, the owls really stand out.”
Congratulations, all of you! You all win 100g of New Lanark Donegal Tweed & Silk (tasty!), a selection of owl-themed goodies, and a wee project bag to store your owlish loot in — made by me.
The design of these project bags is based on one owned by my knitting comrade, Kate B, originally made by her mum. I’ve often noticed the bag and thought how satisfyingly neat and simple its design was — ideal for a couple of balls of yarn, some needles and notions. So using Kate’s prototype as a template (thanks, Kate!) I whipped up these babies! I am quite pleased with how they turned out and may post a tutorial about making them later . . .
. . . Anyway, on with the matter in hand. More prizes!
Is it just me, or are owls everywhere at the moment? I became quite excited when I discovered (thanks once again to Kate B) that owls had colonised the shelves of a prominent chain of UK stationers. I am such a sucker for this stuff! I just can’t help myself! Inevitably, I found myself with a small excess of owl-themed treats — stickers, badges, sticky-notes, tea towels, and pencils — to give away. I picked five of the remaining names from the hat and five happy owls have won a selection of these goodies. You are:
Rebecca (from Canada), Orianna, Jules, Fa-Linn, and Meghan (from Nottingham).
I will be in touch with the winning owls soon to confirm addresses, and suchlike. Meanwhile, things are busy and beelike here. More anon.
Thank you for sharing all the lovely o w l s out there, and for sharing your pattern with us! I am still wanting to knit the sweater but have put it on hold for now as I’ve not been able to find the needles needed anywhere locally as of yet. Will keep searching though. :)
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what a great website! my husband forwarded me your website. i’m a budding knitter from brooklyn, ny but will be moving to the UK this summer. what is the color of the lanark wool you gave? it’s a gorgeous colour! thanks again! jen
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OhmygodIwonsomething!!! Woooo!!! How excited am I?!
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Congratulations to the winners.
I can’t wait for the tutorial to starting those beautiful bags.
Teresa
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And me – I’d love a tutorial for those gorgeous project bags, too!
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That is some seriously brilliant owl paraphernalia! There really is an abundance of Owl stuff out there…. I bought a sweet little felted owl case for a friend when in Edinburgh ….from a shop I can’t remember the name of on Coburn street.
I’ll be adding a wee Owl to the collection this week…just cast off one for my daughter and it fits like a glove!
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well picked :-)
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Wow- what wonderful prizes! I’m looking forward to the bag tutorial, they look awesome!
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Oh, :-) how wonderful :) and what a lovely surprise!!! Thank you for sharing such a fantastic pattern, it was so, so fun to make. I absolutely adore my owls and have loved seeing all of the other owls in the parliament. And I am looking forward to your next design(s), too. Paper dolls? Bees? How delightful! :-)
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Sorry forgot to sign off as Gabriella (the early bird!) in New Zealand (where hopefully soon autumn will arrive and it will be cool enough to wear my owls!)
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Oh wow. Thank you so much. I have never ever jumped in boots and all to a brand new pattern but o w l s just had to be made straight away. I am thrilled my eagerness has paid off lol! THanks so much xx
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I am so excited! I love my owl sweater and will miss wearing it when the winter finally ends (ti will end, won’t it?)
I’m also looking forward to a tutorial for those bags – they’re fabulous and I have just the fabric to make them.
Thanks again!
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Congrats to all winners! I’ve loved scrolling through the parliament. :)
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I have very much enjoyed tracking the owls – a real international celebration and the perfect day to celebrate. Congratulations to all.
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tu wit tu whoooo (insert appropriate owl sound!!) I am thrilled to win something (how lovely!) but most of all to be part of the owl parliament… Thanks so much Kate for creating yet another link for knitters with such a whimsical, sweet un-cheesy design. I shall wear mine with pride as this long burning Australian summer ends.
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Congratulations – the parliament really is impressive. Oh, and n3ll3n? The ‘prominent chain of UK stationers’ sells through amazon – I’ve just ordered a pen and the fantastic badges. :)
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Oh, thanks for the link! My head is in paper-writing land, and not blog-surfing land, though you’d never tell from my comments here. :-/ *sigh* I now more than ever want yarn for my birthday.
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I won something?! Thank you so much. I had dared to hope that perhaps my additions to the theme might be recognized…but then I saw the competition! And it was entirely possible that departure from the original pattern was neither to be tolerated, nor rewarded. Many thanks again for providing an inspirational design and for giving us the parliament in which to show off our FOs. It has all been great fun.
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You can’t fool owls! http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/Owls/
I wish I could get to this “prominent chain of UK stationers” to get my hands on some of these cute owl-y things. :)
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Sasha, you can see all the fabulous owl sweaters here:
https://needled.wordpress.com/parliament/
I’ll definitely write up a tutorial for the bag.
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I am a huge owl lover as well. When I lived in Morocco I discovered that there they are considered bad luck, in fact to stare at someone intensely will garner you the prime insult of ‘Mooka’ (owl in the Moroccan dialect of Arabic). To me the owl will always be the king of the forest:)
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Hurrah for the owl themed joy – I have enjoyed seeing owls take over ravelry and pop up in the parliament. I am also finding a photo of my sister to send you re bees…
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That is some good loot! Any chance some of the winners would agree to share pictures or links to pictures of their owls? They sound wonderful, and I’d love to see them!
I would also *love* a tutorial for those bags! I keep thinking of making something like that but sewing just does *not* come to be like knitting does. I need some major hand-holding and instructions in order not to fling things around the room while I sew. But those look simple and practical and very cute!
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I would love a tutorial for the bag. I think that style is great for knit projects and such.
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