Wednesday, November 4, 2009

It's contest time again!


Time for another quick and dirty survey, and hence another contest! It's going to be really quick and really dirty this time, so weigh in quickly for your chance at a Mahvelous Prize!

First, the question:

Do you prefer scarves with random stripes, like these:



Or those with reflected stripes, like these:



And now for rules and the prize:

To enter, simply comment on this post and tell me which you like best - easy peasey! At noon on Friday, I will pick a comment at random and that person will win... (dum dum dum dum duuuummmmm) A 1998 calendar!1

Wait, don't go! I may be shamelessly giving away ancient calendars but it's not as lame a prize as you may think! This is actually a vintage2 hand woven calendar made by the Sydney Weaver's Guild:



Yes, it's from 1998, but it's got handwoven swatches for each month! Actual bits of handwoven cloth, with a different thematically chosen structure and colour scheme for each month. Complete with drawdowns by Yrs Trly even, so you can weave them up yourself if you so desire. These are really nifty little swatch books and we sold hundreds of them all over the world back in the day.

But wait, there's more! Absolute proof that everything old is new again: the dates on the calendar are correct for 2009! I promise to get the calendar into the mail really really fast so that you can enjoy at least one month of accurate dates. Just disregard the "1998" on the cover and you'll be all set for the month of December - after that, it reverts back to being a swatch book.

Please be sure to include your email address in your comment so that I can contact you for your snail mail address. Do not include your snail mail address in your comment unless you like strange people appearing on your doorstep or junk mail in your mailbox!3

This time I really will only consider comments actually attached to this post and not email sent directly to me, as I'm going MAAAD this week trying to get ready for next weekend's market and won't have time to figure out how to merge the two lists. I'll also only consider comments that contain an email address since I want to put the calendar into the mail toot sweet (like on Saturday) so that there's really some hope of it arriving by Dec 1, so I want to be able to contact the lucky winner ASAP.

There, I think that's everything.

[Edit: Oops, not quite everything! You can put in your twitter user name instead of your email address if you prefer. Just so long as I can get 'hold of you really fast.

Oops: one more thing! Even if you'd rather not have the calendar - perhaps you're not a weaver yourself or maybe you've already got one? - I'd still like your input! Please chime in anyway and either say in your comment you'd rather forgo the prize or let me know on Friday if you happen to win. - J ]


1. I did say "really dirty"!

2. Is 11 years old vintage? I'd say so, for a calendar!

3. You might also like to hide your email address with an [at] instead of an @ and a [dot] rather than a . so that spammers do not sniff it out and start to use it. (e.g. jandawson[at]gmail[dot]com).

27 comments:

Restless Knitter said...

When you first talked about random versus reflected, I thought I would like reflected better. Seeing the scarves side by side though, I think I would prefer random. The reflected are still pretty, but random shakes things up a bit.

Susan said...

I prefer the reflected stripes best. They appeal to a more sedate personality type!

The random ones, particularly in bright colours attract another type. That's the beauty of weaving as you can make what you like!

With all your scarves, you have the bases covered!
Susan
Twitter: weeverwoman

barbara said...

First off - I don't want the prize, but thank you for the reminder that I have a 1998 and 1997 calendars from your Guild. This reminded me to take them out, and look through them again - a great weaving resource!

I like both the reflected and the random the same!!!! (No help at all). That is my opinion!!!!
Weaverly yours ...... Barbara

Anonymous said...

Random, absolutely, 100% every time. I knew even before I looked at the collages, because it's a thought I've already had several times when looking at your work. For me, they are more interesting, more complex, more visual texture (even if they are as smooooove as they come). And not necessarily only in the brighter colours! You get more varied juxtapositions of colour, so the colours all get to play with each other, so we see more of their character. The reflected ones - look a bit school scarf/banker scarf to me.
(chinnilass[at]yahoo[dot]com!)

Ron said...

Put me down for reflected stripes, but I reserve the right to change my mind in the future! :)

Michelle said...

Today I prefer the random. Tomorrow I might prefer the reflected. Either way, your scarves are mighty gorgeous!
(michelle(dot)myers(at)gmail(dot)com

Anonymous said...

Random 1st, Reflected 2nd.
I have that same calendar! Nice to 'know' someone that did the swatches. So this is just an opinion. Love them all really! Evelyn

Nicole said...

I'm a fan of the random! There's just something about the unexpected. :) (p.s. I'm nicolassa on Twitter.)

Marlana said...

I've been reading your blog for a long time but I've never commented. I think I prefer the reflected stripes but the random are pretty, too. I'm a new weaver and your blog has been so inspiring to me, I love your scarves!

Longarm Quilting by PattyAnne said...

Today, right now, at this very moment I THINK I prefer random!

Kathy said...

I like all your scarves but find the random designs more interesting. I'm with Restless knitter--random shakes things up a bit.

Holly said...

Random...expected the unexpected

GABY said...

Random!!they are absolutely gorgeous!and heck yes,i want the prize! :)

Unknown said...

Well, it's a toss-up. I love them all. I think the reflected ones are better for us structured folks and probably for guys in the right colors. But the random ones are delightful for fun.

No prize for me. I already have one -- YOU!

Love, Mom

Kelley said...

I love the random stripes. I'm a relatively new weaver and all of the stuff I've done so far has been very planned, not at all random (well, except the mistakes). I think the random stripes appeal to the part of me that's waiting for when I can just put something randomly on loom, weave, and have it look great.
Love your blog - it's really an inspiration to a new weaver!
I never use my twitter account -not sure why I have it - but the name is famcruisefun
Thanks!

Linda said...

I keep looking back and forth between the 2 pics, and the answer I keep coming up with is: I like them both, and it would really depend on my mood and what I was wearing that day which it would be. The random stripes are more interesting, but that sometimes would not work for a particular outfit. My 2 cents, anyway. ;) lafarrelly[at]peoplepc[dot]com

Ellie said...

Hmmmm, must decide, must decide. There's something about the reflected stripes that speaks to me. My eye is drawn to the repeating colors. Somehow creates an appealing complexity. Maybe I am a more orderly thinker than I thought! The playfulness of the random colors is very appealing. I could imagine some texture, shiny threads in the mix.
A little Yin a little Yang.

Tina said...

It's hard to choose when you show such beautiful pictures, but I'd say the scarves with reflected stripes, I think.
garnludd (at)hotmail etc

Nicole said...

It used to be I liked everything symmetrical. Getting older, I find I really am drawn to the random stripes. I would love the swatches as I am a new weaver! Nalmaraz

Life Looms Large said...

I realized over the winter that I'm really a fan of asymmetry, and that holds true here too. I like your random scarves better.

My email is in my profile....hopefully that works for you!

Sue

Janet said...

Thanks for all the comments and input on the random vs. reflected debate! I hope people will continue to weigh in even though the contest's over, 'cause the question itself never ends.

If you hadn't already guessed, I'm more of a random kinda gel myself (in, oh, so many ways!) but I do like to go planned and regular now and then just for a change of pace. Mostly to prove to myself that I can if I want to!

@Alison: Funny you should say that about the reflected stripes looking bankerish. Mom-Sue aka Ms. Corporate Lender (Ret)'s preference for the reflected stripes bears that out admirably! ;)

@Linda: I totally agree. I actually find that the reflected stripes call more attention to themselves because of the concentration of colour. Some outfits benefit from an eyecatching accessory and some need accessories that play more of a supporting role. (Ron and I decided that the random scarves are a constant function whereas the reflected are sine waves. ...Why yes, we ARE geeks as it so happens. ;) )

@Marlana: I'm so glad you decided to come out of the interweb woodwork and comment! It feels GRATE to know there are folks out there reading regularly and, even better, being inspired by Scarfaday! I love it when people comment, even if it's just to say, "Cooee, I'm here!"

That goes for everyone who commented, of course! Big thanks to you all for continuing to read and participate in my leetle blog. :)

@Mom-Sue: Awwww, Mommmmm, that's so sappy and embarrassing! And sweet. I <3 you too. (:

Susan R. said...

I'm WAY too late for this - catching up on blogs from long ago from so many - but I vote random! You have such an amazing eye for color, either one is gorgeous - is there a method to your (random) madness?

I need to be practicing more!

karin roepel said...

This very anal person, has never woven anythng that is not balanced to the thread.

Karin

Peg said...

Gee, am I sorry I missed THIS contest!!! Can a person purchase this calendar? I'd love to see the swatches & drafts!

Now for another question - when you prepare multi-color warps, do you have some efficient technique for changing color on the warping board, or are you just tying on new colors all the time? Thanks!

Janet said...

Peg: Yes, actually, why not? I've got a handful of these babies; would like to save a couple for future contests but could still sell half a dozen or so if people were interested. I'm pretty sure we sold them for $15+S&H back in 1998; I'd sell them for $10+S&H now if people wanted them. At a guess, I'd say S&H to the US would be another $10 or so - PattyAnne's went in a box but I don't have any more the right size so will have to get some padded mailers and then see what they'd cost to send that way. Will do that if there's interest.

As for my multi-colour warps: I wind all the colours at once, so no changing at the warping board required most of the time. If I'm doing a striped warp like Scarf 34, I usually cut and tie at the peg.

Peg said...

Janet -

Please email me at peg(at)secondwindjewelry(dot)com to discuss details about the calendar. I also have a few questions about your warping prep methods.

Thanks!

Peg

WildwoodLisa said...

So I am slow but my favorite is the random.