Friday, September 12, 2008

200th Post and Sock Contest II

Well, it's officially the 200th time I've given myself license to maunder and meander on, covering any and all topics of greater and lesser import. Ah, blogging...

So, going along with tradition, and because I had such a good time knitting the last pair for the very sweet and talented Miss Kim (you can check out the socks here), I'm again holding an Every Hundredth Post Sock Contest. The winner will, as last time, receive a pair of socks knit by me, in the color of their choice, of Koigu Premium Merino.

May I say, as I did last time, that hand-knit socks are really quite a divine experience, if you've never received a pair. If you have, you know what I'm talking about. You just can't beat the spongy comfort and cuddly feeling.

What do you have to do to win these socks? Simply post a comment here, before midnight of Tuesday September 16th, telling us about your favorite childhood toy. I will have a random drawing on September 17th and let you know then who the winner is.

Everyone's welcome to post a comment, don't be shy!

And if you like, check out my other blog, Just a Housewife for another contest...

53 comments:

Suzanne said...

Wow...that took forever. What's up with your blog?

Honey, go to my blog. You inspired me, but I have to delete because my sister will kill me if she sees it. Just take a peak before I do. Thank you. It mattered. I was able to come to terms with a whole hell of a lot of stuff. Thank you my dear friend.

XO

P.S. I want socks!!! I'm putting my name in the gene pool. Hope I win! ;)

Anonymous said...

Well, I have to comment because I just LOVE the socks you made for me- so comfy! Whoever wins this contest is definitely a lucky person.
My favorite childhood toy was a robot tape player named Casey that had digitized eyes and mouth that would move along with the music you were playing. He also came with a book and a tape of his story.

Sarah said...

I want socks. I can't seem to finish a whole pair for myself, despite my growing collection of sock yarn....

My favorite childhood toy has to be my teddy bear Felicia (for those of you who are from the Northeast and shopped at Filene's you may remember these huge bears they sold for several christmas's). I slept with her every night until she was replaced about 2.5 years ago. I couldn't fall asleep without her, and even had my parents mail her to me at college when I couldn't sleep.

Kris with a K said...

Although I am tempted to list my favorite childhood toy as either my Barbie Camper or Barbie Airplane (complete with 'stewardess service tray'!), I'd have to say my very favorite is a handsewn doll I named MaryJane. She is rather flat, and has 2 faces: a sad one, and on that side the apron on her skirt says "Don't be sad; flip my hair..." -- and when you flip her yellow yarn hair you see the happy face, and her apron on that side says "and I'll be glad!" She was 'well loved' and getting tattered, so when I was about 12 my grandmother carefully rebuilt her; she covered each fabric part painstakingly, tracing even the face and apron writing. I still have her.

just bob said...

I want the socks dammit and won't stop till I get them. Anyway, my favorite toy was my legos. I could build them into almost anything, and make all kinds of cool cars, planes, spaceships for my Star Wars action figures.

Leah said...

Oh, you guys, these are the greatest comments. I love hearing about your favorite toys. Keep 'em coming!

xo

Cece said...

I got my favorite toy when I was two. It was (is) a monkey. He has a removable fur coat and has white and read "PJ's" underneath. My sister Carol, aka yoyo, got it for me for Christmas. I was two so she was 13. I was and still am her favorite little sister. I named the monkey Teddy. I could not sleep at night without him. If he was lost, then no one slept until we found him. One day my nephew stole Teddy from me and he allowed his dog to chew off one of his ears. But my mom salvaged the ear and sewed it back on. I still have Teddy, and if I win the socks, I will blog about Teddy and post a picture of him on my blog. He is in impeccable shape. I think you would be very suprised at how good he looks considering I slept with the poor beast for about 10 years. Yes, that would put me at about 12 when I finally gave him up as a sleeping buddy. So that is my favorite childhood toy. Well deserving for a pair of hand made socks.

ikkinlala said...

I don't know if I can say I had one favourite childhood toy, but one of the ones I liked best was my hobby horse. My brother and I used to run around the kitchen pretending we were in a rodeo; I don't know quite where that came from because my family isn't from a rodeo background.

Suzanne said...

Okay, basically I think everyone else should win! Start knitting!!!!

My toy is sorta different. Every summer my dad would put up two saw horses, a big piece of plywood and lots of sand. My sisters and I would spend the entire summer creating a village! It was the most fun ever. It's why I became an architect. NOT!!! But, why in my heart, I'm still an architect. I would have definately been a city planner. I have it down to a science!

Love this post and love you.

XO

Anonymous said...

I think I have a couple of things that could be classes as a favourite toy. When I was born, my parents bought me a little blue bear that laid with me in my cot. They put the little hospital wrist band around its neck so it wouldn't get lost - I still have it to this day, but didn't dream of bringing it to Russia - who knows what nightmares he would've gone through!
The other toys that I liked were little toy cars and I amassed a huge collection of them. Funny how the memories stick, isn't it?

take care,
Peter x

Ally said...

Congratulations on your 200th post!!!

My favorite childhood toy was a shoe box of old dolls my mom bought at an estate sale. They came with many different swatches of material and pins and you could drape the fabric and design different "evening" dresses on them. Though the hair smelled funny and they were not jointed which made playing with them a challenge, I made and re=made their outfits for hours!

Suzanne said...

Hey smart ass! Yes, your comment killed me over at the Cafe. You're too funny. And honey, what are you doing roaming when you should be knitting. How are your going to pick one? No really. How? I can hardly wait for Christmas! Santa, PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZE. We have a new roof, You're safe. Throw it right through the new skylight.

;)

Suzanne said...

When I post here I see Philippe there. You're killin' me. You know that.

MamaMay said...

Thanks for the contest!

My fav childhood toy was marble works. Loved those things!

I am MamaMay on Ravelry. Contact me there if I win!

Unknown said...

My favorite childhood toy was a little doll my grandpa got for me at the dollar store, with a plastic head and a body filled with sand. I could carry it in the palm of my hand like a tailsman, or in my pocket to play with when my mother and I went on errands.

Abigail said...

What a fabby way to celebrate a milestone.


Put me in the contest please.

Wendy said...

Oh there are so many great toys from my childhood. But one that is coming to mind at the moment were ColorForms. Do you remember them? They were plastic stickers that you could put and re-put to create all sorts of scenes on the story board. We had some in my kindergarten classroom and I loved them so much that I begged my mom for some for my birthday.

Elaine said...

Oh wow - a chance to win handmade socks!

My favorite toy when I was growing up was Tinker Toys. I could use my imagination and build wonderful things.

Team Jolias said...

Socks please!
My favorite childhood toy was a pink toilet brush which I requested because I thought it would help to revive popped bubbles in the bubble bath. What a dreamer! One day, my mother asked me to choose a toy to take with me to the doctor's office--a long subway ride away. Not fully getting the concept, I chose my toilet brush and carried it on the train. I remember noticing my mother suppressing smiles the whole way, which I thought was weird. In case you are thinking of trying this, there isn't that much you can do with a toilet brush on a subway, surprisingly!

Unknown said...

Happy 200th

My favorite toy as a kid was my dollhouse. It was made of cardboard and all the furniture was plastic, but I loved moving things around and it was much more spacious than our apartment in which I shared a bedroom with my sister. Interestingly I didn't have any bathroom furniture and hence no bathroom which I never noticed as a deficiency until I bought my daughter a dollhouse and furniture.

Awesome Mom said...

Those are beautiful socks!!!

My favorite toy when I was a kid was my Pound Puppy. I slept with her under my head for years. She even went to college with me. I only stopped sleeping on her when I got married. I figured that my husband would think I was nuts if he found out that I slept with a stuffed animal. He does thing I am nuts but not because I sleep with a stuffed animal. Lol!

The Mistress said...

Could you knit me a sock puppet?

I can't enter the contest because I've been planning to eventually have a fave toy contest so I don't want to reveal it at the moment.

No wait. Instead of a sock puppet, could you knit me Johnny Depp?

The Mistress said...

p.s. Happy 200th!

Unknown said...

Fun contest. I had wooden building blocks when I was a kid - probably my favorite toy.

Georgi said...

Very cook contest, I have never recieved soemthing that was knit for me before (unless I mad eit myself).
My favorite childhood toy was Tiny Tears doll that cried real tears and peed. I received her for christmas when I was 4 years old and kept her forever.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Wow! That is such a generous prize. As a child and teenager I would get homemade socks from my great-aunt, and I loved them and would use them until there were only threads left. Since then - no more handmade socks... I would love to be entered!

My favourite childhood toy was a teddybear my grandmother gave me. I got it when I was 15 months, and took my first independent steps with it. Ever since then it would go everywhere with me, and it still does - almost 30 years later! :)

And happy 200th post!

Unknown said...

I likes some socks too!

My fav childhood toys were... My Barbies! I played with them everyday, made little pretend houses/room with Mom's towels (she was always hunting for handtowels and washcloths...little did she know!)

Happy 200th post!

Anonymous said...

Happy 200th!

Legos - hands down for the favorite toy!

Julia said...

Happy 200th!

My favourite toy was a doll I named Mandy. She had a soft body and a hard plastic head with eyes that blinked. My mom saved her after I grew out of playing with dolls and still has her to this day.

Me, Myself, and I said...

I had two favorite childhood toys. When I was two, I won a large stuffed bumble bee at the fair (so large that it was the same height as me in the photos). That thing was my favorite for years.

At some point, when I moved in with my dad, my mom wouldn't let me have my stuff, but I had my new Pound Puppy with me already. That thing was awesome. I tried to find a photo of one that looks like my Lazy Bones, but he's so beat up, I can't figure out which one looks like him! I used him as a pillow for years (only kicked him out of bed when I moved in with my partner, and he's now guarding my books in a very serious manner). Truthfully, it was time to put him up on a shelf. He's had his nose chewed off and reattached (which was interesting because there was barely a scrap of material left to sew it on with, and it's all plastic). He's been restuffed more times than I can count. He's now so threadbare, that I was already thinking I'd have to kick him out of bed. We slept together every night I was in my bed for about twenty years (once I hit about 13, he didn't go on sleepovers anymore). He went with me to New Zealand for a year, a college dorm, and who knows where else over the years. I love my Lazy Bones.

Me, Myself, and I said...

I had two favorite childhood toys. When I was two, I won a large stuffed bumble bee at the fair (so large that it was the same height as me in the photos). That thing was my favorite for years.

At some point, when I moved in with my dad, my mom wouldn't let me have my stuff, but I had my new Pound Puppy with me already. That thing was awesome. I tried to find a photo of one that looks like my Lazy Bones, but he's so beat up, I can't figure out which one looks like him! I used him as a pillow for years (only kicked him out of bed when I moved in with my partner, and he's now guarding my books in a very serious manner). Truthfully, it was time to put him up on a shelf. He's had his nose chewed off and reattached (which was interesting because there was barely a scrap of material left to sew it on with, and it's all plastic). He's been restuffed more times than I can count. He's now so threadbare, that I was already thinking I'd have to kick him out of bed to save him. We slept together every night I was in my bed for about twenty years (once I hit about 13, he didn't go on sleepovers anymore). He went with me to New Zealand for a year, a college dorm, and who knows where else over the years. I love my Lazy Bones.

Kristen said...

I'm really not sure what my FAVORITE toy was. I had one of those bouncy horses that was on a frame with springs and would bounce on that thing so hard it would move around the basement. I loved my stuffed animals but was very careful not to show "favoritism" They all slept at the foot of my bed. And I think I read the book The Swiss Family Robinson seven times as a child. I LOVED the story and was a bookworm kid.

Lizardknits said...

Congrats on your 200th post!
My favorite toy growing up was a Thumbelina Doll I named Kate. She had a knob in the middle of her back that you could wind up, and she'd "move like a real" baby. When I was learning to knit, I knit a blanket for Kate. She's still on a bookshelf in my bedroom.
I've knit socks for myself, but no one's ever knit a pair for me.

Ambermoggie, a fragrant soul said...

favourite toy was a ted my gran crocheted me to take into hospital. I took him for every op I had and every stay. He finally got lost on my way to school many years later

INNER VOICES said...

pink socks?!?

cthulhulovesme said...

I know this is going to sound weird, but my favorite childhood toy was a hammer-- a real, grownup hammer, not a plastic one. I used to have this fascination with rocks-- something of a junior geologist, I guess. I used to spend hours digging for rocks in our garden and around the neighborhood, then hours more breaking them apart with the hammer.

My second favorite childhood toy was clay I dug out of the ground while looking for rocks. ;)

Unknown said...

Happy 200th!

Favorite toy is easy - my trains.

Turtle said...

I love the name of yourblog, just stumbled through! Off to read more though! I never ever seem to have people knit for me...ok, one scarf that i can think of, lol!

Anonymous said...

I'm posting! I'm posting!

Please do not send me a knitted uterus...I've got so many of those things lying around.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and HAPPY 200TH POST!!! WHOO HOOO!

Too Little Time said...

I can't remember any favorite childhood toy. I had memories - like the corner of the basement that my mom set up so I could play house, with a sitting area, table, chairs, etc. I had a lot of fun in that corner:) K

Leah said...

Hi folks, I'll say it again--these are wonderful, wonderful comments. Some of them strangely moving. Isn't it amazing how well you can remember your favorite toy in all its well-loved glory?

The funniest has to be the pink toilet brush--Jolias, I never heard that story before!

And I also think the play environments that Suzanne and Too Little Time told us about are so cool.

My husband remembers that tape player named Casey.

And the box of funny-smelling dolls with scrap fabric and pins--I would have adored that as a chilld. And the sand-filled doll clutched like a "talisman." I loved every single one of these. And the dear teddy named Felicia and the monkey named Teddy. Thanks again for a wonderful read, you guys.

Just to remind you, the drawing itself is random just to make sure it's totally objective, LOL!!!

xoxo

Leah said...

p.s. And the flip doll! I had a flip doll when I was a wee lass! I LOVED it!!!

pps My favorite childhood toy was my Jane West doll. Lipstick and a shotgun, plus molded plastic jeans and a no-nonsense hairdo. Did anyone else have her as a child? I should start a fan club.

purple-power said...

I was also a builder - I loved Tinker Toys and blocks. I'm an engineer now (and I knit design is like engineering in my mind) so I have changed much.

Happy 200th!

katerina said...

A favorite childhood toy of mine was the big yellow metal tonka trucks that they don't make any more. I used to ride it down our driveway with my brothers! Ah those were the days!

Mr. Shife said...

My favorite childhood toy memory for a pair of socks? Alright that seems fair. Now if I only have memories of having a favorite toy. I knew I picked the wrong week to start huffing paint. Nothing really jumps out so I am just going to go with my Star Wars collection.

Katie O said...

My favorite toy was a little wind up "cassette" player. it had little tapes that you would put in and it it played stuff like hickory dickory dock, etc. I still have it and am trying to fix it now(I'm 29) ha ha :)

Anonymous said...

Hi, my favorite toy was a hand sewn Winnie-the-Pooh bear. My Grandmother bought the unfinished cut out pieces at a craft fair, I believe the fabric was an old terry robe of some sort, and the terry part was on the inside! She sewed it together and stuffed it with small pieces of cloth and nylons! He was very soft and squishy...I still have him in fact. :)

Tally Knits said...

Hippo and Baby Hippo, hands down. They are cheap orange (Hippo has a pink belly) stuffed hippos that were won at a fair. I still love them and they have a place on my bed. They are what spawned my love for hippopotamuses. Hippo, who I decided was a boy when I got him, has a pouch where Baby Hippo lives. Hippo now has a baseball-style raglan that I knit up for him last year.

Marilyn said...

Who wouldn't want a pair of handknit socks!! My favorite toy would have to be a 1960s Barbie. My mom used to crochet her clothes.

Suzanne said...

Wow. You are soooooooooooooo poooooooooooooopular! I'd stick wih the contest theme if I were you! One every week!!!

I don't feel so terrific tonight, so make me laugh. I'm peri-menopausal and have my period and cramps. This is a sick joke. Right? No, really? Right? How is this possible? List a thousand ways.

Of course I'm laughing!

XO ;)

Suzanne said...

What?!!!