CONTESTS & GIVEAWAYS

I've never been all that crafty.  Strangely enough, I tend to supplement book giveaways with things like handmade gift bags and crocheted gnomes.  Go figure.

The winners of my Gnome Home contest to receive a gnome charm of their very own are Jeff P and Diedre D.  Watch your mailboxes in September, you lucky humans, you! Gnome charms are guaranteed to ward off any "live" gnomes lurking in the shadows who might be inclined to chomp on your feline friends...or you!

Here is a picture of one of the gnomes:

(Gnome received by winners may not be exactly as pictured...and may be full of the beans.)

I'll hold another contest when I crochet more gnomes, okay?  If anyone else knows how to crochet, the gnomes I made are sort of like:

http://bellasartes.blogspot.com/2007/08/simply-gnome-free-pattern.html

The pattern is way too clever to have been created by me so please abide by the requests and rules of the pattern-maker should you feel inspired to create your own gnome charm. 

And here is the Wiki page about the Japanese art of amigurumi, or crocheting small, cute stuffed toys (I am not joking), which this gnome is apparently representative of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amigurumi.