Swap!

I got a really super awesome package today in the mail from the best swap partner ever! Who also just so happens to be the best best friend ever. (Hey, what can I say? We were matched based on interests.)

I was absolutely floored by the magnificence that was my package. I mean, seriously, check this out:

AND -- get this -- that's not even all of the package. It's most of it. But the cookies (up at the top) are kind of obscured, and the dishcloths aren't in at all, and did I mention that we agreed to include each other's Christmas gifts in this package as well since neither of us had managed to get those in the mail yet? None of the Christmas stuff is included in the photo.
So, let's take a closer look. First, we have some nail files, cute notepads (the polka dot one is a magnetic pad, the others are sticky notes), a white gel pen (which I've actually been looking for and have been unable to find), some other cute little pens in a nice little plastic container and the cutest tiny highlighter, the perfect size for sticking in a knitting bag with your current charted project, also in the plastic container.

Then we have the knitting-related stuff: two hanks of Cascade alpaca laceweight which is just begging to be petted, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's "Things I Learned from Knitting" book and a "knit picker," which is basically a teensy latch hook useful in picking up snags and stuff and is pretty much the coolest thing I've ever seen. (Except maybe my Christmas gift yarn ... more on that later.)

And then there's the kitchen-related stuff: an awesome floral coffee mug with a cute little butterfly sitting on top of the handle, 3 handknitted dishcloths/scrubbers and cookies! Cookies that my husband foolishly thinks I'm going to share with him. Psh.

I failed to get photos of my Christmas gifts earlier, so those will come some other time. But she sent me some bath and body stuff (great smelling!) and awesome handspun alpaca that I love, love, love. Seriously. Love it so much.

Jess, you're awesome. I'm so lucky!

Hufflelove

I received a swap package today for the Winter 2011 Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup Hufflelove Exchange. :) It's just a mini-swap -- the only requirement (for regular participants) is a greeting card, and we weren't allowed to send anything other than the card, some stickers and a handmade bookmark.

My partner, SimplyMe5252 on Ravelry, made me this lovely bookmark:

 

And it came inside this fun card:

She even decorated the envelope in 'Puff colors! (Yes, I took a LOT of time blocking out the names and addresses, as I'm sure you can tell.)

I love it. I'm so happy about this little swap! And I kind of had a bad day today, so this really made my day.

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Big news in blogland: I have the Internet again! Oh poor blog how I have missed you! But I'm back now. Got lots of stuff to update now. I've finished some things and added others, including some gifts and commissions. Some of which have also been finished. And Jess's socks are looking so good on here that I'm really having to fight the urge to not cast on a pair of Clessidras. Especially after seeing a modified pair on LJ Knitting the other day done toe-up with a short-row heel, my preferred technique.

But all those updates are just going to have to wait. Right now I'm anxious to finish this and get back to knitting. I paused in the middle of knitting a practice Anemoi mitten (to see how I like the pattern) to write a quick post. Because I have a new favorite knitting technique: corrugated ribbing. Now, I'm normally not a fan of how corrugated ribbing looks. And because of that, I've never tried knitting it. But the Anemoi mittens call for corrugated ribbing, so I gave it a try. And I'm in love. The technique is just so neat. It's fun! I'm really getting into a rhythm with it. I think I prefer it to regular ribbing. I think I still like the solid-color ribbing better for most things...but it's not nearly as much fun, heh. Maybe I'll just start using corrugated ribbing exclusively. I don't HAVE to use two different colors. I can just use two strands of the same color.

Okay, yeah, it's settled. I'm a knit nerd.

The reason I'm trying out the Anemoi mitten pattern is for the mitten swap on LiveJournal (http://www.livejournal.com/community/mittenswap I believe...right Jess?) Jess is the moderator, and she's doing an awesome job! I mean, I'm telling you, my partner is absolutely perfect for me. She's like the perfect combination of me and Luke. I'm impressed with how well-matched we are. I know Jess (with Hope's help) worked really hard on the matches, and it shows. Everyone seems to be really happy and excited about the swap. It's going great.

Oh, one more bit of news. We're on Ravelry now. And we dragged Lynette in with us, too. You can find me on there as pixieaep.

Okay, back to Anemoi!

-Pixie

So I joined a sock kit swap over on livejournal. I convience Amie to join as well. We've already sent and recieved our kits. This is the kit I sent: http://community.livejournal.com/sock_kit_swap/10073.html. Which turns out I was paired with a local girl. So I got her to join the knitting group. And we are all set to get together and knit. This is the kit Amie sent: http://community.livejournal.com/sock_kit_swap/10971.html. The girl that Amie sent to also happen to be who sent to me. She is awesome. I love her. We've been emailing back and forth since we first got paired up. She is a total hoot. This is the kit she sent me: http://community.livejournal.com/sock_kit_swap/11618.html. Now right now we dont have pictures of the kit Amie got because her work computer is dumb and wont let her upload pictures. But this is the kit Amie got: http://community.livejournal.com/sock_kit_swap/9714.html

I've already started knitting with my yarn.


Its the waving lace sock pattern from interweave knits (featured on the front cover of the favorite socks book). I'm working it with the self dyed yarn that I got in my kit (which is 75%wool 25% silk and very nice to work with) and size 1 (2.25mm) needles.



this is another shot of my progress so far. These pictures are taken inside with very poor lighting and with my phone. The color is much nicer than this. But it was raining when I took the first picture and dark when I took the second. So no bright sunny yummy sock in progress shot. I was a bad knitting and failed to do a gauge swatch for these I just picked up needles I wanted to use, yarn I wanted to use and a pattern I thought would be nice. so this picture is really me seeing if they are a disaster before I start working on the heel. they aren't. So I'm happy.

Amie is coming to visit me. Her and Luke (her fiance') and our friend Lynette are driving down on the 15th. I'm so excited. We are going to venture to some of the local yarn shops. Maybe make a trip up to twisted sisters in williamsburg. Of course loads of beach time and playing with Nathan time (my friends adore him. they are like aunts to him and he is like a nephew to them). I'm super excited about their visit. We are even considering a yarn dying extravaganza. But the details haven't exactly been worked out yet.

Another thing me and Amie plan to do while she is down is work on our blog a little (putting up something in our info). And hopefully uploading some pictures so that you can see all the awesome stuff Amie has been knitting. She is a fo queen right now. Wiping out stuff like no ones business.

But I guess this is enough of an update for now. just figured since it had been almost a month I'd better post something.

~Rose

picture flood! (now that i can finally upload the pictures AND update, i'm making the most of it!)

I got my Favorite Color Swap package in the mail today, and I love it. It's so wonderful. My secret pal picked out the best stuff for me. :) I gave tons of information on my questionnaire because that's just how I am, and she did really well with picking out special stuff from what I said. She sent me candy (Reese's Pieces, Starburst and Milky Way...my 3 favorites...now to hide it from Luke, hehe), bath/body stuff (pear & white tea moisturizer and strawberry and green apple pie scented bath crystals), a green apple scented hand-poured candle, a magnetic notepad, 3 really cute post-it pads, really pretty stitch markers she made herself (which I can't wait to use, because...well...they're like jewelry for my knitting! and they're PRETTY!) and 2 skeins (218 yds) of the most gorgeous dusty rose elann baby cashmere yarn. It's so soft. And the color is perfect. I already have a project in mind for it. I think I'm going to use it to add color to the Estonian Garden lace stole I plan to make for myself to wear at my wedding. :) The color is exactly what I have in mind for the bridesmaids' dresses (and convinced Luke to go along with last night), and I was trying last night/this morning to figure out how I could incorporate some of that pink into my stole without having to buy a separate colorway of whatever yarn I decide to use. I swear, my secret pal must secretly know me or be psychic or something. I love everything she sent me. And it was all wrapped up with pretty pink, green and bright-striped tissue paper tied with purple ribbon. (My favorite colors for the swap were pink, purple and green.)

Okay, now pictures.

The tissue paper wrapping on all the goodies. (I was too excited to get a picture before I ripped the things open, so this'll have to do, hehe.):


All the package contents together:


The bath/body stuff (which I can't wait to try out):


The candle (which smells so good it's making me hungry):


The candy...mmm:


Cute notepads:


Handmade stitch markers:


Gorgeous yarn:


I'm so happy with this stuff and I'm glad I did the swap. If you're reading, Rhoda, thank you SO much! I love it, all of it!

I also have pictures of the package I sent off to my own secret pal. See?

This is how the box looked just before I taped it up. On top there's a mix cd (of music she likes of course) and a card. I didn't individually wrap everything because I didn't have any pretty tissue paper and the stuff was oddly-shaped and stuck in wherever I could fit it. Hehe.


Next layer: an assortment of various fabrics. Some scraps, some remnants, some large pieces; some from my stash, some purchased specifically with this in mind. She likes sewing and patchwork, and I tried to pick out an assortment of pretty prints and textures. There's some floral, some corduroy, some denim, some jersey-knit, some satin, some shimmery...like I said, it's an assortment.


Under that, there is more fabric tucked into the empty spaces, plus a bunch of smaller stuff. In the upper corner is a bar of Dove pink soap. (Her favorite color, obviously, is pink...and she also likes red and green.) tied together with a handknitted face cloth with an "M" imprinted on it. (Her name is Michelle.) Below that is Bath and Body Works stuff...which happens to be exactly like what I have, but it smells good and it was pink and it was cheap. (Going-out-of-business sale.) :) Tucked into the edge is a group of old magazines and leaflets that I didn't plan on using. In the center, on top of some of the rolled-up fabric, are 2 packages of pink and green beads. On the right is a knitted 100% alpaca eyemask filled with rice (so it can be chilled) and lavender (for its relaxing properties and because it's one of her favorite scents). And underneath that is a homemade Sculpey magnet depicting Kentucky (complete with white mark to show where I am) to add to her collection of magnets.


And finally, on the bottom, yarn. 3 skeins of Simply Soft in pink, green and cream, 2 balls of 100% wool from my stash, and 2 balls of Peaches & Creme, which she said she likes using.



And that's her package. :) I hope she likes it as well as I like mine.

And I ALSO have progress photos of Rogue, some of Mom's Perfect Sweater and a couple of swatches for the Estonian Garden stole. I swatched the 3 lace patterns with some spare Simply Soft last night, to get an idea of the difficulty level and how long it would take. It was relatively easy, I'm happy to report. Very happy, since I plan to make 1 modified Estonian Garden stole and 3 Lily of the Valley stoles (using the modified Lily of the Valley lace pattern from Estonian Garden) before my wedding.

I'll post the Perfect Sweater pictures later (they're on the other camera card) but here are the two swatch photos...




and a bunch of Rogue-in-progress photos:

~and more pictures...later, when I have more time~

Now...to knit some more, so I have more to post. Hehe.

-Pixie