Second Annual NaBloPoMo Midway Contest!

Once again we find ourselves halfway through NaBloPoMo, and once again I think this is a great excuse to hold a contest!

Now, last year I held a contest, but I screwed up and made the prize something that proved impossible for me to actually create within a reasonable interval because the dang plant never bloomed, and then there was a drought, and then, and then, and then -- and the upshot is that Bethieee is still waiting for her prize.

Bethieee is patient and understanding, and even though this did not go the way I'd have preferred, as I've said elsewhere, I don't believe this counts as a complete failure until I actually die without doing it (perish the thought).  This is why I have the nerve to start another contest at this time.  I shall simply modify the model ever so slightly.

This year the prize will be something I can easily accomplish before the NaBlo is even over:  a simple scarf or kitchen towel crocheted by me in color(s) of the winner's choice.  (Yes, it was going to be a wool scarf, period, but then I realized that some people are allergic to wool and also that many members of the potential contestant pool live in warm climates and have no use for such things as long, cozy scarves.  So if you win, you can have either a wool or alternate fiber scarf or a probably cotton kitchen towel, your choice.)

So, now that you know what's at stake, let's get this game going already!

And the name of this year's game is...

...drumroll please...

...What the Heck Are We Looking At Here?  (Click to enlarge, if you think it will help.  Mwa ha ha.)

Well?   What the heck are we looking at here, hm?

Just as with last year's contest, the rules are simple:

1.  Submit your best, most descriptive guess by way of a comment on this post sometime before midnight at the International Date Line on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 (GMT-12).

3.  The person who most completely and accurately answers this question in the comments attached to this post before midnight at the International Date Line on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 (GMT-12) will be the winner.

4.  In the event of a tie, I shall personally write each of the tying entrants' names on a tiny piece of paper, crumple it up, and throw it with all the others into a big bowl.  I will then close my eyes, mix them up, and draw one.  If your name is on the piece I draw, you will be the winner!

5.  It pays to be partly right!  However, it also costs to be partly wrong.  If you look at how I chose a winner last year, you will see that I assigned points to each entry based on the number of correct details offered, and negative points based on the number of incorrect ones.

6.  Also, just like last year, if no one guesses correctly, I will simply choose the answer which most amuses me.  So even if you don't have the faintest clue, it is still in your interest to enter if you think you'd like me to crochet you a scarf or a kitchen towel.

7.  Finally, I don't care where you live!  If you think you want to post a guess and you live anywhere the U. S. Postal Service will send a package (and that's a lot of places), please go for it!  Also, you do not have to be a NaBloPoMo '07 participant yourself to play this game.

Barring catastrophe, the complete answer and the name of the lucky winner will be posted on this blog sometime on Thursday, November 22, 2007, which will indeed be Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.

Good luck, and may the person who would most like to own something crocheted by me win!

Comments

[laurie]

I feel like I'm playing, "I spy" with my son...

I spy a denim-clad knee, seated at a table that is a little too low. Really wishing I knew what that thing was on the table, though because I would really like to win that scarf.

[TheAmpuT]

That is one leg in black denim, near a craft table, that has something on it that I believe to be for jewelry making. If I had to make a guess, and I suppose I do LOL, I'd guess it to be some sort of wooden clamp for holding things that you are working on.
Now gimme a towel.

[elizabeth]

I am sorry, I tried to be here to comment everyday but I fell in a giant hole and lost my way for a bit. Okay the contest

1) On earth
2) in north america
3) Denim
4) Jeans
5) table
6) green
7) chipped
8) oxygen
9) gravity
10) table leg
My guess is ferry for the big points

[alphabitch]

well, I agree with the above, but I'm going to add more details because I'm cold and I want a cozy wool scarf: it's a leg, I'm guessing a right leg, in faded black denim; because of where the shadow hits, I can't tell exactly but I don't think there is a prosthesis under there but I could be wrong. I'm guessing the leg is yours, and that you took the picture yourself. And I'm sorry but I can't remember which one of your legs is organic. I'm not good at that whole right-left dichotomy thing even on people I have seen in person. A work table that is too low for some things but perhaps just right for others. You, if it is you, are sitting on a stool or a slightly higher-than-average chair. It looks like the table is constructed out of layers of plywood or fiberboard, so the edge is finished with that goopy black latexy stuff. Maybe it's an old door? Propped up on something like sawhorses constructed to hold it. The top is surfaced with something interesting. Is it a slice-proof layer of some sort? I know you said you didn't do any welding, so I'm not going to guess fireproof, but maybe it is. But there is a line to the left of the wooden thing that is either a deep scratch/slice, or a scrap of black nylon monofilament. Or it could be the whisker of a cat. The wooden thing is to hold things while you shape or pound on them. Or to hold them still whilst fastening something or twisting loops or something like that. You can clamp it horizontally to the edge of the table or vertically in a vise. You could also, if it's long enough, use it to push a hot oven rack in or pull it out, but it wouldn't be the optimal tool for the task.

[Danielle Wegman]

I too believe it to be a faded at the knee black denim clad right leg, seated on a stool (based on how the leg is bent. At a too low old work table, perhaps in an extra room, used for crafting your jewelry. And that the thing on the table is something that you use to make such things.

[Jen]

A right leg from midthigh to knee, wearing faded black denim, seated in front of a low wooden table. The top of the table is covered with vynil, the edges are taped with beige tape then painted over with black which is now chipping off. There is a diagonal (from the camera's perspective) cut in the table's black covering to the left of the knee. On the table is a wooden jig for cutting out chain links (you clamp it to the edge of the table, horizontally, put the coiled up spring of wire in the round part, and cut down the spring with the jewelry saw, the blade of which fits in the V shaped notch in the jig). There's brown carpet on the floor.

[Kay]

I believe it is the end of a gymnastics pommel horse, padded, covered with denim, and positioned low for added leverage when you choose to fling yourself across your living room and stick the one-legged landing. There is silver glitter embedded in the denim from a rather tragic blingifying accident where you, perhaps, should have Bedazzled instead of Glittered. This is what happens with Inadequate Crafting Supervision.

[Jana]

Your right leg--at least the thigh-ish bit--enclosed in your tupperware-like prosthesis, clad in back denim and covered with sawdust.

In front of you is a worn worktable with a wooden jiggy-thing lying (laying? I never can remember which) on it.

You have undoubtedly just been hard at work on jewelry orders for the holiday rush at the SaraArts Etsy store.

:)

[Sugared Harpy]

I'm going to submit my son's entry:

It's a jeans-covered knee. And it's looking at me.

[sognatrice]

Gah how I hate my internet provider! Just saw the contest, and I'll just say, since I'm no longer eligible anyway, that I love the description of the photo when I hover with my arrow :)

[Sara]

Aw, Sognatrice, I'm sorry you missed it, but I'm glad you got a laugh out of it anyway.

Competition this year has been quite stiff. It will take me some time to figure this out, because every single answer was at least partially correct. Yes, every single one!

So thanks, everyone, for playing, and tune in tomorrow, 11/22 (probably late in the day by my time, which is GMT -5), to find out who won!