"Recession Special" Swap Questionnaire

Sorry to be hibernating for so long! I'm joining a swap that will force me to post to my blog again -- it's a good thing.

Do you knit or crochet, or both? How long have you been at the craft?

Knit. I learned as a child and then took it up again when my son was a baby.

Do you spin?

Yes. I did it a lot in college and am just getting back to doing it again.

What yarns/fibers are your favorites?

Soft, natural fibers: alpaca, soft wools, silk, cashmere...

What yarns/fibers do you not like?

I really don't use synthetics or blends that include synthetics. I don't really work with anything lighter than dk weight. I'm not a sock knitter.

What yarns/fibers would you like to try but haven’t?

Lots of indie dyers/spinners. I think it's fun to try local yarns and/or favorites of my partner.

What are your favorite colors? Colors that you don’t like?

I like most colors. I especially like them in interesting combinations. I guess my favorites are red, burgundy, sage/avocado green, evergreen, teal, periwinkle blue, cobalt blue...

What are your favorite types of projects to knit/crochet?

I knit to relax and don't have a lot of time to do it, so I tend to stay with relatively short, simple projects. Hats, scarves, (I love) bags, capes & ponchos, some sweaters. I also love to felt.

What are you currently working on?

Just finished a vest for Warm Woolies and a baby sweater for a friend who just had a baby. Trying to finish the Hogwarts sweater for my very tall son.

What is your favorite FO? (Please post a picture if you have one.)

Since Ravelry (where I actually have pictures of my FOs), I think this child's Einstein sweater for Warm Woolies is my favorite. I used up lots and lots of bits of Mission Falls wool and it made a really colorful sweater. When my son was that age I think he would've really liked such a colorful sweater.

Are there any techniques that you want to learn?

Nothing that I can think of offhand.

Do you have a yarn winder and/or swift?

I got a yarn winder as a gift a few years ago. I found a swift for $1 at a church sale -- the ladies there didn't know what it was. I have to hold it together with a clamp, but it works just fine.

How do you store your needles/hooks?

I store like needles in some vintage needle holders. Then everything ends up in a large tupperware container.

Do you collect anything?

Cookbooks, vintage kitchen stuff, vintage linens (and of course, yarn, fiber, and fabric!).

Do you like sweets?

Dark chocolate and maple are my favorite sweets.

What are your favorite scents?

Green tea is my favorite. I also like light citrusy scents, herbals, and lavender.

Are you having a birthday during this swap?

Yes! The day after partners are assigned! (Sept. 11)

Do you have any online wish lists? (Amazon, Loopy Ewe, etc.) Please include a link for your pal.

Amazon wish list

Etsy favorites

What is your living situation (Are you married? Do you have kids, pets, or both?)

Husband, a mostly-grown-up kid and his girlfriend currently at home, 1 Golden Retriever, our six cats, and son's two cats.

Are you allergic to anything?

Nothing that applies to this swap.

Is there anything else that you would like your pal to know?

I love surprises!

Ruby Does It Again!

Miz Ruby Colorway (the nom de swap of my secret pal) has done it again! Last month she sent me the most amazing package... and this month's package was just as terrific. She obviously has been stalking me quite thoroughly, for everything is absolutely perfect.

Gorgeous yarns -- soft merinos in luscious colors, 4 skeins of Noro for felting, books & a magazine (I accidentally left two out of the photo), beautiful handmade goodies from Etsy shops (a lovely felted bag, entrelac scarf, collaged notecard), the cutest wine-cat poster, light-up needles... and on and on. Oh, and a sweet little felted bowl (did you make it?).

Thank you so much, Ruby. You're the best!

Ruby Goes Overboard

My spoiler from the Warm Ewe Up swap, Ruby Colorway,* sent me a note today suggesting that she might've gone overboard with my first swap package. Yep, she did. And I just love it all!

Her package contained several goodies from my various wish lists. But best of all, she bought lots of wonderful surprises based on what she's learned about me. And I love surprises!

First photo: all sorts of vintage goodies. Smart Knitting magazine from Summer 1947, The Budget Cook Book (ca. 1935), a cute notecard made with a vintage illustration, and a gorgeous selection of the softest silk ribbons I've ever felt...

Second photo: a vintage basket, reusable shopping bag from Whole Foods, and three skeins of Mulberry Merino in a beautiful dark blueberry and two skeins of Noro Cashmere Island in purples, pinks, and aqua.

Third photo: The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life (I've been wanting it for a while), striped ribbon, and two sets of handmade earrings (both of the sort that I'll wear a lot).

Thanks Ruby. What a wonderful treat to warm me up!


*best nom de knit ever!

My Secret Pal Revealed

After spending much of the summer receiving fabulous packages from my SP12 Secret Pal, her final package arrived on Saturday. Since it was such an insane day (5 buses totaling about 260 people in addition to the usual customers), it's taken me a little while to get a photo to share.

But take a look at the great loot! You can tell she had fun gathering goodies for me.

My Secret Pal, Lynda, drives a truck with her husband. She spends most of the time on the road. (What a great opportunity to knit, knit, knit!) I suspect she picked things up for me along the way. Isn't that wonderful?

I had a great time unpacking everything. She had wrapped all the goodies so it was like Christmas In a Box. She did a great job! The yarn is a gorgeous brick red. She suggests I use it to knit a Lucy Bag, a bag I've wanted to knit for a while. Sounds like a good idea!

I'm drinking tea from the big, gorgeous Starbucks mug right now. And look at all the other goodies: a handknit wine cozy, a cute sheep ornament, a candle holder and votives, lots of pretty little bits of paper..... thanks so much, Lynda. You've been a wonderful spoiler!

New on the Catwalk

Yesterday I received a very fun package for the "Golden Lovers" swap. Gorgeous yarn, lots fun little pampering items, knitting magazines, treats for Winston and the kitties.... and this fun shrug for Winston.

It's his first clothing item ever. And it's lovely -- a blue, cabled sweater to keep him warm this winter.

Now he loves the cold, and doesn't really need the extra warmth very often. But he likes to have long walks in the snow. We'll have to get him some insulated booties -- his feet are always the first things to get cold. But armed with those and this sweater -- he'll be Winston of the Arctic!

Happy Ice Cream Month!

I'm not sure that I ever need an excuse to enjoy ice cream, but here's one. July is Ice Cream Month... yay!

As part of the Knitter's Holiday swap (what a perfect holiday to celebrate), I just received this great ice cream themed package.

It came from a swapper in Vermont, so it was filled with all sorts of wonderful Vermont goodies -- Ben & Jerry's scoop, gift certificate, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough pencil, along with Vermont maple syrup and a bumper sticker from Gardener's Supply.

The yarn is gorgeous -- a green-tea colored skein of merino and some chocolate-colored alpaca. She also sent a wonderful little container to hold stitch markers (and some cute ones were included inside), napkins (in case of dribbles), and chocolate sauce.

Unlike most knitting swaps, Bob thought this one was a pretty good idea. :)

Angel for a Day

I've received so many wonderful, creative, generous swap packages over the last few years.... when I heard an angel was needed for The Big Bag Swap & KAL I figured I'd help out. When I found out it was Brenda who needed an angel, it seemed so appropriate that I would be doing this for her. See, Brenda has been my "spoiler" for two knitting swaps (one of which was The Big Bag).

This angel project was a bit bigger than a normal swap. That's because, in addition the normal goodies in the package, you needed to knit and then felt a large bag. A bit of work! But I love making bags, so it was lots of fun as well.

I wanted to make this as quickly as possible because I knew she'd already been waiting several months for her package. So I bought some brightly colored (her choice) yarn and JoAnn's and started knitting. The bag took a little over a week to complete -- drying it after felting took the longest in this humid summer weather.

In addition to the bag, I tucked a bunch of goodies that she specifically requested into the bag. I hope you enjoy it all Brenda!

The Summer of Yarn Love Begins

I'm participating in a bunch of knitting swaps this summer so I suspect I'll be blogging quite a bit about sent and received parcels. Yesterday it began...

The two big swaps I'm in are ongoing -- they each run about 3 months. Packages in the mail filled with yarn goodies arriving all summer... what could be better?

This is the package of goodies I received last night when I arrived home after a day on the road. I got it in my head that I wanted to find one or two nice wine shops north of Ann Arbor (Livingston & western Oakland counties, primarily) to carry our wines. We have lots of customers from Brighton, Howell... those areas, who have been repeatedly asking for a source of our wine near home. I visited 5 shops (several tasted all the wines I brought with me), got 4 orders, and two more who were very interested but not ready to write an order on the spot. Got home at close to 9 pm. Whew!

So this morning I'll be delivering wine orders... :)

Anyway, back to the package. It was waiting for me when I got home. What a wonderful package of goodies! Lamb's Pride worsted in a lovely rusty red-orange, Misti Alpaca (baby alpaca... yum!) in a gorgeous variegated green colorway, a smoothing skin scrub, an adorable notecard with cute little knitting on it, a tiny knitted sweater in beautiful colors (did my partner make that herself?), and truffles made with ice wine!

Ok, I'm going to be good and wait until Holly (my sister, the winemaker) comes home -- she's out of town right now -- to share my truffles. But it's gonna be difficult!

Thanks partner. Everything is perfect!

Edited to include two more treats. Out of sight, out of mind, eh? The Vogue-on-the-Go Bags II book -- great bags in there, I was reading it last night -- and a cute little bracelet too. Thanks again!

Starbucks and Yarn Swap

Yet another swap... but this time I'm workin' it. I'm one of the organizers (well, with the help of Miss Wartbobble, Headmistress of the Ravelry School of Swap).

Starbucks & Yarn is a nice small swap -- limited to 36 swappers. It involves, well, you can guess.... Starbucks and yarn. Wonderful combination! Oh, and something homemade. Either a coffee cup cozy, bag, or mug coaster.

Sign ups run through June 30 or until we reach 36 swappers. Come on down!

Edited 6/19 - We reached the 36 swappers in two days so we decided to make it a larger group. So there's still room!

SP12 Questionnaire

The big Secret Pal 12 swap is just beginning and will run through the end of September. The official start is June 15, but I received my partner's info this morning (my hostess is on the ball!). I guess I'd better fill out the questionnaire! My info isn't much different from last fall, when I participated in SP11. Just a few little things have changed...

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
Yummy, soft, natural fibers like alpaca, merino, cashmere, silk...

What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Anything synthetic, especially "novelty" yarns.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have some vintage needle holders and store needles by their material (bamboo, faux tortoiseshell/casein, etc). I just organized my circulars -- they're now in separate sleeves by size in a big looseleaf binder. Everything else is jumbled into a Rubbermaid container. So... some organization, some not so much...

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn?
I taught myself to knit as a child and then picked it up again as an adult when my son was a baby.

Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
Intermediate. I've made a few sweaters and lots of various bags, hats, etc. I've done entrelac, fair isle, but haven't done much lace (not particularly interested in anything that fine) or cableing/Aran.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
amazon - make sure you check the memos. The list is for me, my son, and my husband and we've memo'd in the name of the "wisher."
My Etsy favorites
My Swap-Bot profile (more info on me)

5. What's your favorite scent?
Green tea, lemon, lilac, lily of the valley

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Yes

Favorite candy? Dark chocolate (plain or with pretty much anything in it), maple

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
Lots of paper crafts/art, sewing, jewelry/beads, carving rubber stamps.

Do you spin? I did a bit of spinning in college and right after. Haven't done any since then. I'd like to get back into it some day -- I should probably take a class (I never really got past spinning a single strand).

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like pretty much anything. Yes, my computer can play MP3s.

9. What's your favorite color(s)?
I like almost all colors. My favorites are dark red, bright red, most greens (chartreuse, lime, teal, bottle green), and lots of various blues. I love interesting combinations of colors.

Any colors you just can't stand?
I'm least fond of kelly green, muddy yellows, and pastels.

10. What is your family situation?
Um, I have an interesting family situation right now. There's the actual "family" -- my husband and 19-year-old son. Then we've got my son's friend and his girlfriend living with us as well. All the teens (including my son) say they're moving closer to school before the next semester begins. We'll see... It'll be pretty quiet around here if that all happens!

Do you have any pets?
A Golden Retriever named Winston and four kitties, Little Bit, Violet, Charli, and Henry.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? Yes, all.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Probably bags.

13. What are you knitting right now?
I'm just finishing up an angel project (can't say more in case she reads this). I made a dish cloth for a friend last night. And I just ordered Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece to make my Mom a short sleeved sweater for her birthday next month.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
I love them!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
I tend to work much more on circulars than straights.

Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Bamboo, wood, and I love the vintage faux tortoiseshell plastic needles (they warm slightly in your hand).

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? Yes, both.

17. How old is your oldest UFO? From when my son was a baby. Eeek! I knit very slowly then, and he grew faster than I knit!

18. What is your favorite holiday?
I like pretty much all holidays, but am not terribly excited about any of them. I like seasons more than I like holidays.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Lots of various vintage kitchen stuff from the Depression era (bakelite, china, Fiestaware, kitchen linens), cookbooks, vintage sewing stuff (like buttons, trim, etc).

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on?
I'm lusting after the KnitPicks Harmony circular needles and will put them on my birthday list. I like surprises a lot!

What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
None. I often buy Vogue Knitting, knit.1, and Interweave Knits.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Cables/Aran. I need to take a class, I think.

22. Are you a sock knitter?
No. I'm one of the few people on earth, I think. I knit one pair. It was ok. I didn't fall in love with it.

What are your foot measurements?
Size 9 shoes. I like a loose ankle. I'd love a handknit pair of socks!

23. When is your birthday?
September 11. Not a particularly happy day.

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID? Yes, winemakerssister.

Journaling

I love the idea of journaling, but rarely get the time to do it. I guess this blog is one of the closest things I've got to it.

However, recently I participated in a journal swap and it forced me into doing it -- just the kind of kick in the pants I need! We were to produce 20 entries sometime during the months of February, March, and April. I ended up mostly do a journal about the art I was working on at the time. I wanted to illustrate it, and that gave me an easy way to get content for the illustrations -- I just added little examples of what I was working on into the journal.

Here are some of the pages.

I had a really good time doing it... although 20 entries is a lot of entries when you're not used to doing it! And I wanted to make each one quite different from the other.

The best part was the journal I received. My "upstream" partner created a really wonderful journal for me. Each entry was a letter to me... sometimes about her day, sometimes just thoughts, sometimes reminiscences. I received it after a long, nasty day, and it turned the day around. I sat down in a comfortable chair, sipped some of the tea she sent, and read and read.

I had an idea of reading one entry per day, but couldn't stop. What a wonderful treasure!

Big-Bag-in-the-Mail

Crossposted on winemakerssister and The Big Bag Swap/KAL.

So, is Brenda tired of me yet?

I'm certainly not tired of being "spoiled" by her!

For the second time this year, my name was assigned to Brenda for a swap. Aren't I lucky? First she sent me a box filled with goodies (including an adorable crocheted Cookie Monster) for the Hot Cocoa Swap. Today I received another box -- this time filled with a gorgeous Big Bag and more goodies.

The bag is knitted (and felted) in all sorts of shades of blue. Inside there's lots of tea, dark chocolate cocoa, a cute yellow mug, flowers, mini-Sharpies, and some wonderful yarn. The yarn feels lush.... two skeins of Elite Alpaca, a lovely "wasabi" colored blend of wool and silk, and a cute little variegated skein of cotton for dishcloths.

Thanks so much, Brenda...... again!

The Big Bag

I got word from my "spoilee" that she received my package for The Big Bag KAL & swap. So now I can post about it and not spoil any surprises!

I had a lot of fun with this bag. Of course, it's right up my alley -- a bag that's felted. One of my favorite things to knit.

The only problem I ran into was running out of yarn. I ran out of 3 out of the 4 yarns. I'm a loose knitter, and I'm sure that's part of it. But the yarn I used (Cascade 220) has 20 yards more per skein than the yarn in the pattern. So you'd think they'd even each other out.

Anyway, I was so low on the 3rd color (lime green) that I ended up adding a 5th color (yellow) so the bag would be tall enough. I think it worked out fine, but I'm glad I happened to have a color in my stash that looked good with the others.

My "spoilee" gave me lots of leeway with the color choices. She just said that she likes bright colors. I looked at her Ravelry profile and found that she had knitted with a lot of blue, so I decided to use blue as the base color. And... of course.... I love lime, navy, and aqua together!

One of the nice things about the pattern is that it narrows at the top a bit. This seems to take care of the problem with so many felted bags -- the top felts wider than the rest of the bag.

Spa-in-a-Box

I recently hosted a small swap on Swap-Bot. The theme was Calm & Comfort. Participants were to make up a small parcel filled with goodies that were calming and comforting.

It was interesting to try to figure out various goodies that were based on the theme. I basically ended up with a spa-in-a-box.... or basket, as is the case.

Included inside the basket are various "jams and jellies" (as Candace Olsen calls them) for the bath, soothing teas, a small dream journal, a hand-knit washcloth in natural cotton, and other goodies including a handmade eye pillow. I ended up making extra eye pillows to include in my Etsy shop.

The basket was fun, and I loved how it ended up!

Time for a Hint

Crossposted in winemakerssister and The Big Bag Knitalong & Swap.

I'm currently participating in The Big Bag Knitalong & Swap. All the participants are making a felted bag -- the pattern is by Maia Discoe and is available for free through Ravelry.

This is my first knitalong (KAL). The idea is to chat with the other participants and compare notes as you knit with the same pattern. But because it's also a swap (you'll eventually send your bag to the person you're spoiling in the swap), you sort of want to keep some things a secret...

So this is my first hint. The bag is made up of seemingly random stripes in four colors. Here are the first two.

It should be very interesting to see how everyone interpreted the pattern and their partner's favorite colors.

A Happy Scavenger.... Or Is It Scavengee?

Crossposted on winemakerssister and Scavenger Hunt Swap.

Ok, Scavenger Hunt swap spoiler -- show yourself!

I received a wonderful box filled with goodies from Norfolk VA today... but with no name attached. Everything is clever and fun and well thought out. I love it all!

Here's what I received:

Something round - 2 skeins of Manos color 106. My spoiler said they jumped into her basket. I can understand that -- they knew they were meant to come to my home and make me very, very happy...

Something with a "T" - a big, lovely lightweight tote, perfect for holding a larger knitting WIP, eh?

Something green - needle felting claw and mat cleaner. You're right spoiler, one can't have too many felting tools!

Something hard - "Mag Knit," a fun clasp that turns beads or I-cord into a necklace. Should be fun to play with!

Something local - a lovely light shawl pin made by a local artist and knitter.

Something funny - a wonderful, whimsical, giggle-inducing little felt pin entitled "Garden" from Keri Rounding's Etsy shop.

Spoiler's choice - The book, "Crazy Aunt Purl's Drunk, Divorced & Covered in Cat Hair." Ok, I'm a professional drunk (who's constantly covered in cat hair), so it's perfect for me! Sounds like a very fun read.

Thanks so much, my nameless spoiler.... it was very much worth waiting a few extra days!

Edited: It's Erin! Yay!

A Glimpse of Spring

Cross-posted on winemakerssister and Longing for Spring.

Yes, the ground is still covered in ice and snow. And it was 10 degrees F outside when I woke up yesterday. But today I got my first glimpse of spring.

My package arrived from my wonderful spoiler, Dotty. She was so great -- she really worked at getting to know me. And you can really tell from the package of Heather-friendly goodies!

The package included a "tour" of her garden (one of my favorite parts of the package!), two skeins of hand-dyed violet alpaca yarn, a skein of Heather-green Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, adorable Japanese fabric, gorgeous buttons, a Noni purse pattern (I think she read my mind about wanting to make a Noni purse), a beautiful scarf pattern, Blue Tower Columbine seeds (we both love blue flowers), a "WonderVase," and a gorgeous vintage embroidered runner. It's amazing how well she knows me!

Thank you so much, Dotty!

Questionnaire: The Big Bag KAL & Swap

My answers for The Big Bag KAL & Swap questionnaire:

Do you knit, crochet, or do both? For how long?
I knit (barely crochet enough to finish knitting projects). I taught myself to knit as a little girl, but only did a little knitting then. I started back up when Tommy was a baby (18 years ago), but really started with a passion about 5 or 6 years ago.

What other crafts do you do, if any?
Lots. I like to think of it as having a lot of interests... rather than being easily distracted. :) Take a look at my Flickr pages for examples. My other art/craft interests include charms and other jewelry, lots of paper arts, sewing....

What are your favorite colors?
I love lots of greens - chartreuse, sage, teal, evergreen - although I'm not a fan of Kelly green. I love red, dark red, and burgundy. I like lots of blues - periwinkle, Swedish blue, cobalt. I also love fresh combinations of colors like lime and bright blue or aqua, aqua and red, chocolate and cream/pink/blue/aqua, citrus colors....

Colors you loathe?
I really don't "loathe" any colors. My least favorite are muddy yellows and Kelly green. I'm not a huge pink fan, but it's fine in combination with other colors. And I'm not particularly crazy about pastels.

Favorite yarn brands?
I tend to use standard things like Lamb's Pride, Cascade 220, etc because they fit with a lot of the projects I do. I also like working with most Mission Falls yarns -- their colors are nicely sophisticated. I lust after the soft, luscious decadent stuff like alpaca, silk, and cashmere.

Fiber types? Yarn you can't stand?
I actively dislike eyelash yarn and other similar novelty yarns. I'm not a fan of acrylics and other synthetics. I'm not even particularly fond of natural/synthetic blends. I'm soooo much happier with natural fibers.

What is your favorite type of item to knit/crochet?
Bags. I also like hats, scarves, and an occasional sweater. I love felting.

What kind of needles do you like? (i.e. circular, straight, metal, bamboo, etc.)
I mostly use circulars. My favorite materials are casein (and the vintage mock tortoiseshell ones that are similar), bamboo, and wood.

Any knitting tools you lack but crave?
I got a winder for Christmas.... yay! I'm lusting after Knit Picks' Harmony circular set, but it's way too expensive for swapping. I'll put it on my birthday list.

Honestly, I'm pretty well set for knitting tools, but always like recommendations from other knitters.

Patterns you've been dying to get but haven't yet?
The Lucy Bag from Two Old Bags. Nothing else that I can think of at this moment. I love knitting books, but have quite a few...

Do you drink coffee, tea, cocoa? Flavors you love/hate?
All. I tend to drink decaf coffee -- caffeine seems to bother me. I don't really like chai tea or other sweet drinks (that doesn't include good hot chocolate).

Favorite sweets & snacks?
Dark chocolate or other good chocolate (not white! it's not chocolate!). Can be plain or with goodies mixed in like nuts, dried fruits, and other flavors. I also love maple.

Any pets, kids, spouses? Spouses that act like pets or kids? (j/k)
A Golden Retriever named Winston, 4 cats, a teenaged boy, and a husband.

Favorite things to knit/crochet for the above, if applicable?
I'm trying to finish a hat for the boy but am finding it boring. He also wants a "Mrs. Weasley" sweater... we'll see. :) He's very picky but would probably also like some fingerless gloves. Winston loves the cold and wouldn't appreciate a sweater. I have knitted a few catnip toys for the kittehs.

What kinds of books do you like to read? Favorite authors or genres?
Mysteries. I also like recommendations from others.

Do you collect anything? (besides yarn! LOL!)
Depression-era kitchen ware (Fiestaware, Hall china, cotton tablecloths, bakelite silverware, that sort of thing), Atomic era (1950s) barkcloth and china, cookbooks, fabric.

What, if any, are your non-craft related hobbies?
Gardening, cooking.

Scents you adore? Scents that make you gag?
My very favorite is green tea. I like clean, fresh scents. Very clear florals. Citrus. I'm less interested in heavily perfumed scents.

What is your idea of a relaxing time?
Knitting, watching movies, reading, gardening, art/crafts.

Oh yeah, are you on Ravelry and if so, care to share your Ravelry ID?
Yes. Winemakerssister.

The Big Bag Knitalong & Swap

What a fun idea -- a combination knitalong (KAL) and swap!

This knitalong is based on a free ravelry pattern, The Big Bag. It's a key-hole felted tote bag, perfect for a knitting project. The group is currently open -- sign-ups end March 7.

Once you receive your partner, you can start knitting. Of course, you want to make a bag in the colors your partner will love. And, of course, I signed up....

Scavenger Hunt Swap (Sent)

I sent my package for the Scavenger Hunt swap out relatively early -- my partner's birthday is on Valentine's Day and I wanted to get it to her during her birthday week. She received it, so it's safe to post it here (since it's no longer a secret).

We had a list of things to find for our knitting-themed scavenger hunt. One (or more) was supposed to be yarn. Almost everything (except "something funny" was specifically tailored to my partner's likes and dislikes.

Something local: My partner loves good chocolate (who doesn't?) so I sent two packages of Gilbert's dark chocolate drops. They make these drops specifically for the winery -- we serve them with tastings of our raspberry dessert wine. Gilbert's opened in Jackson in 1900.

Something hard: A jasmine candle in a glass holder. Jasmine is one of her favorite scents.

Something round: Handmade stitch markers that match the yarn I sent.

Something green: Two skeins of teal alpaca silk yarn. She, like me, tends to use more "basic" (and inexpensive) yarns like Cascade 220. But she expressed interest in lush, decadent yarns like alpaca, cashmere, and silk so I sent her some lovely soft decadent stuff. (Oh, and she loves green and jewel tone colors...)

Something T: She's a tea drinker (also like me) and especially likes green tea.

Something funny: This was the hardest category for me. I ended up making her some notecards that said "What If the Hokey Pokey Is What It's All About?"

Spoiler's choice: She likes bags so I sent her a morsbag that coordinates with the rest of the package of goodies.

That was a fun swap!