Package In, Package Out

I finished up my package for the Hot Cocoa swap last week and sent it off in the mail. It was very fun gathering all the bits and pieces to include.

Of course, the package had to include hot cocoa. I got some yummy cocoa at Whole Foods Market. And I included some gourmet marshmallows to make her cocoa extra special.

My partner is allergic to wool so I sent Mission Falls 1824 cotton in a range of bright, spring-y colors. She said on a questionnaire that she'd always wanted one of Elizabeth Zimmermann's books, so that went in as well. And a package of the hot cocoa stitch markers I developed for the swap.

The big part of the package (especially in terms of time) was a knitted stuffie to help her beat the winter blues. My partner has a daschund, so when I saw this pattern, I knew I had to knit it for her.

As my first knitted stuffie, it was maybe a bit overly ambitious. It took longer than I expected, but that was partly due to the fact that it's a pretty big dog (probably the size of a large daschund puppy) knitted on size 1 needles (what I needed to use to fit the gauge). But I was pleased with how it came out. I left it up to her to name the puppy... although someone suggested "Cocoa." Good idea!

My swap package from my partner came a day after I sent mine out. What an incredibly thoughtful and generous package! Thanks so much, Brenda.

Longing for Spring

Well, the Hot Cocoa Swap is winding down (although I'm still finishing my little knitted beastie for my partner).... so you know what that means? Time for another swap.

This swap is right up my alley. I'm a gardener, and at this time of the year I start longing for spring.

Interested in signing up? There are still openings. The sign up continues through February 14 or until there are 40 participants. Click here and follow the instructions.

And here are my answers to the questionnaire:

Do you knit or crochet? How long have you been at your craft?
I knit... and crochet just enough to finish my knitted items. I taught myself to knit when I was little. I knit a bit then set it down. I picked it up again when Tommy was a baby.

What are your favorite yarns/fibers?
I like natural fibers, especially those that are soft to the touch.

What are your least favorite yarns/fibers?
Novelty yarns (like eyelash), synthetics, blends with synthetics.

What are your favorite colors?
Red, dark red, any kind of green including teal (except kelly green -- not fond of it), most blues.

What are your least favorite colors?
Pastels, muddy yellow.

What ‘warm weather’ project are you looking forward to making this year?
I'm not sure. I guess I'm not thinking ahead that much right now.

What are you favorite scents? Least favorite?
My favorite scents are light, clean floral scents such as lily of the valley. My least favorite are heavy, perfumy ones. I love the scent of herbs, especially rosemary. And lemon.

What is your favorite flower?
That depends on my mood and the time of the year. I love all old-fashioned garden flowers.

What are you favorite spring time hobbies/activities?
Gardening. Art is my hobby year 'round....

Do you have a garden? If you do, tell us a little about it. Do you like to plant flowers or vegetables?
I have several gardens. There's sort of a cottage garden around the front of the house. Then there's an official garden in the back. It's planted with all sorts of vegetables, herbs, and flowers for cutting.

What are your favorite sweets?
Dark chocolate... really any good chocolate (except white, which we all know is not chocolate), maple.

Do you collect anything?
Yarn and fabric (don't we all?), cookbooks, vintage sewing goodies, vintage buttons, bakelite, retro (depression era, Eames era) kitchen stuff, Fiestaware and other depression-era china.

Do you have any allergies?
Smoke. Nothing else that will affect this swap.

Do you have any pets?
A Golden Retriever named Winston, four kitties.

Topic #4: My Most Memorable Vacation

Topic #4 for the Hot Cocoa Swap is "My Most Memorable Vacation."

I've got a recent one and one from my distant past...

....From the past:
The year after I graduated from college I worked two jobs (teaching and waitressing). I saved and saved and then spent more than a summer in England, Wales, and Scotland. The trip was based at the Scottish College of Textile for a few weeks for their summer semester. But I also lived in London for about a month and had two different rail passes that allowed me to travel all around the U.K. It was amazing.

....Pretty recently:
Last year we spent several weeks driving the entire length of Route 66. We drove from Michigan to the Art Institute of Chicago, where the Mother Road begins. We had all sorts of guidebooks spread around the car, and followed every piece of the Old Road we could find. The average speed limit was about 30 mph... for over 3,000 miles.

It was a wonderful trip, but we did it in two weeks (there along Route 66, then back home via Interstate highways) which is pretty much the minimum for over 6,000 miles. Someday I'd like to do it again and take 4 to 6 weeks.

Images: Road sign at beginning of Route 66 (across the street from the Art Institute of Chicago), Wigwam Motel (the 2nd one... in CA), end of the road (Santa Monica Pier).

Learning to knit

The current blogging topic for the Hot Cocoa Swap is this:

"What is the most 'random' memory you have from your childhood? I know it's not knitting content, but I love learning about the little quirks and interesting things about people!"

Honestly, I have a hard time thinking of random memories on demand -- it seems a bit contrary to the idea of random. However, when I think of knitting as a child, I have quite a few random memories.

My mother is left handed. Back when she was a child, that meant she wasn't taught to knit or crochet -- it was thought to be too difficult for her to adapt (too bad her mother didn't know Continental knitting -- it seems like it would be perfect for a left-hander). So she taught me how to sew and cook and other wonderful skills, but I had to teach myself to knit.

I can't remember exactly how old I was when I decided to learn. And I can't even remember how I obtained needles and yarn. It probably all started with a Girl Scout badge (I was on a mission to earn all of them).

I think I was about 8 or 9. And, of course, my first project was a scarf.

I can't remember all the details surrounding how I learned, but I can picture the progress of that scarf. It was an off-white (not a good choice!) so it was stained from my hands. The stitches were horribly uneven, but mostly very, very tight. The edge rambled back and forth -- the scarf ranged widely in width as I knitted more and more tightly. But I got it finished and was very proud of my accomplishment.

The strongest memory I have from that time is consciously forcing myself to learn to knit loosely. I had a devil of a time with that first scarf trying to fit the needle into the stitch....it was just so tight! On the second project, I forced myself to loosen each stitch as I made it, and realized how much easier it was to work with! Now, of course, I knit a little too loosely, and sometimes have had to go down 4 or 5 needle sizes to get my gauge (normally it's about 1-1/2 or 2 sizes...)!

The interesting thing about all this remembering, is that I taught my two nieces (ages 8 and 11) to knit this week. The 8-year-old is really the one who is most interested. She went through a little bit of instruction and has been knitting all week! Her older sister didn't want to miss out on it, but was less interested and paid less attention to the instruction. Next time I see her, I want to give her a refresher course so she can continue if she's interested.

Knitting in Winter

Here's the topic for week #2 of the Hot Cocoa Swap:

Now that we're in the thick of 'Winter'... has your knitting changed to match the season? Are you moving on from dishcloths, and tank tops to afghans, hats and mittens? Has your yarn changed from silk or cotton to wool, superwash or heavier cottons?

My knitting always tends to be a bit seasonal. It's not particularly comfortable to knit with hot wooly things in the middle of the summer, and I tend to want to do that in the winter...

However, I try to look ahead a little in my knitting. I'll probably slow down on the winter-related items soon. I don't want to get started on winter stuff if it starts getting too late to use it this year...

What am I currently knitting? I just finished this adorable felted bag for a swap partner (you make a bag and fill it with goodies for your partner), it's from the Vogue "On The Go" Felting book I received from my SP11 partner (thanks!). It's meant to be done in four different colors. But my partner really likes green so I thought I'd do it with two greens. I may make this again -- it's very cute and easy. And what's on the needles? [Not including old UFOs*].... the grown-up version of the Harry Potter baby hat I keep promising to Tommy (better get it done while the weather is still cold) and some quick wristlets/fingerless gloves for another swap package.

*UFO - unfinished object

Getting to know my fellow swappers

A little scavenger hunt to learn more about the other folks in the Hot Cocoa swap:

1. Who's favorite animal is an Otter? - Criquette
2. Name someone who prefers whipped cream with their hot cocoa - Bianca
3. Find 3 people who live outside of the United States – Alex E, Bianca, Jenn S
4. Name a fan of Harry Potter – Heather V
5. Name someone who crochets – Nicole D
6. Name someone who DOES NOT have a healthy supply of notions – Ashley R
7. Name someone who has NOT put up their questionnaire yet (just put a date with your answer in case they put it up after seeing their name listed somewhere ;-) ) – Heather A/Jan 5, 6 pm
8. Who likes to have Kahlua, Baileys, or Peppermint Schnapps in their cocoa? – Sarah P
9. Name someone who knits fingerless gloves as a 'quick knit' – Tanya M
10. Name someone who's looking forward to gardening this spring. – Rachel S
11. Who's favorite way to drink cocoa is with a gorgeous Frenchman, while overlooking the eiffel tower from a French Cafe? (I'm right there with you... well at the table next to yours!) – Kris L
12. Name someone who's favorite animal is NOT a dog or house cat – Beth S
13. Name someone who's favorite treat is NOT chocolate. – Carla S
14. Who plays Candyland - Well, Criquette is burnt out on Candyland. Does that count?
    
15. Name someone who DOESN'T get the winter blahs - Patti R
    

Hot Cocoa Swap Questionnaire

It's the perfect time of year for knitting and hot cocoa, so of course I joined the Hot Cocoa swap.

Here are my answers to the questionnaire:

Cocoa:
1. What is your favorite way to drink cocoa? Prepared with milk? Water? from home made recipe or store bought?, In a tea cup, or big mug?
I like any kind of good hot cocoa (surprise me!), served in a sturdy mug.

After reading other folks' answers, I now need to try cocoa with a dash of peppermint schnapps, butterscotch schnapps, or Bailey's! Yum

2. Marshmallows or whipped cream?
Homemade marshmallows are a great treat. Otherwise I tend to drink it plain (if you can call fabulous hot cocoa "plain").

Yarn/Knitting/Crochet:
1. What is your favorite type of yarn? In what colors?
Nothing lighter than DK weight. I'm just not a lace/sock sort of knitter. I've tried it -- it doesn't make me particularly happy. Natural fibers: wool, alpaca, llama, cashmere, bamboo, linen, silk, cotton. I like pretty much any colors, especially if they're treated in a sophisticated way. My favorite colors are dark red, almost all greens (except kelly, which I dislike), aqua, teal, nice browns... and I'm not really a pink sort of person.

2. Do you knit or crochet (or both)?
Knit only. I know basic crochet to do finishing on knitting.

3. What are your favorite type of needles, would you like to try something new?
I am very happy to try something new! My favorites are circulars (I have a set). In terms of materials, my favorites are bamboo, old faux tortoiseshell (casein) needles, bakelite, wood.

4. Do you have a healthy supply of notions?
Adequate.

5. What one thing do you keep thinking you need to buy for your knitting habit (outside of yarn)?
Hard question. I just got a yarn winder for Christmas. That was my big "need." I'll have to think about that...

6. What is your favorite 'quick knit/crochet' pattern (quick gratification)
There's a cute hat with pompoms in "Hot Knit Hats" -- I made 6 of them this fall/winter for gifts. I also like to do cotton dishcloths for a quicky project. I also love to do felted projects, but that takes more time.

Miscellaneous
1. What is your favorite thing to do in the Winter?
Sit in a comfy chair with a cup of tea, my knitting, and a good movie.

2. What is your favorite animal?
Hmmmmm, wooly mammoth, I guess.

3. Do you get the 'winter blahs'?
Not badly. I think most folks get them a bit. I love winter but do get tired of it around March or April.

4. What is your favorite way to beat the blahs?
Making art, knitting, reading, my computer.

5. What is the thing you are most looking forward to this spring?
My favorite day of the year is the first warm rain. I love to see everything go from brown to green in the matter of a few hours.

6. What are your favorite treats?
Dark chocolate.

7. What is your favorite board game?
Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit.

8. Do you have any children (furry or human)?
I have a teenaged son who is somewhat furry (Tommy), a Golden Retriever (Winston), and five cats (Little Bit, Violet, Charli, Henry, and Alex).

9. Do you have any allergies or special considerations you partner should know about?
Smoke. Nothing else related to this swap.