Knit Picky: Three Reasons Why Swaps Are Totally Worth It

"properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit...
and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either."
~elizabeth zimmerman

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Three Reasons Why Swaps Are Totally Worth It

I am so ridiculously and thoughtlessly behind in posting these. I just have not had my act together outside of the work environment (there I am kicking some serious butt), and I didn't get these photographed until just a couple of days ago. I am so pathetic.

The worst part of all, of course, is that my swap pals were so sweetly generous (and, yes, I did thank them via email), and I haven't put their packages up to show you how kind they were!

1) From the International Notions Bag Exchange, organized by the sweet Patty (Midwest Knit Girl). My delightful pal, Sabrina (My Knitting Basket), sent me the following:

Uh, yeah, the picture would have worked if a certain fat cat hadn't gotten in the middle of things!

Here's a better one:

A much better picture, with the exception of Miss Minipaws covering up the adorable String Thing Geisha! You can see her in the previous picture. Sabrina made me a recycled notions bag out of denim and hemp (clever!), included incense (the little orange/yellow envelope), a braided bracelet, the String Thing (who is now attached to my knitting bag--I love her!), and a magnet from Toronto. Part of the swap is/was to include a magnet from where you live. Sabrina couldn't find a magnet for her actual town, but Toronto is just next door.

The other part of the package from her (yep, there's more), was this great crocheted market bag.

Here it is stuffed with a handful of grocery bags. I am trying to phase out the plastic bags, instead getting the reusable cloth kind from all the stores in California now making them available. So this turned out to be a perfect gift. I don't even remember saying on my blog that I was doing this as a baby step toward greener living, but I did see a couple of these bags on Sabrina's blog when I found out she was my pal (not an anonymous swap), and lo, I got one in my package. You have no idea how thrilled I was, or how much you can stuff in this little bag.

Thanks so much for the notions pack, Sabrina!

2) Also from Sabrina. Yep, we were also pals in her yarn 'n stuff exchange.

That darn cat is at it again, inspecting the goods. Sabrina sent me Werther's caramels (uh, they're open), the BEST smokehouse jalapeno almonds (mmmmmmm), a cute little basket that I'm going to put on my coffeetable (when I get one) to hold snall notions and things, a skein of Paton's Cha Cha, about 100 yds of citrusy merino yarn that she dyed herself (the colors are so fresh and summery!), some tags for attaching to handknit gifts, and a great little yarn scrapbook and little handmade envelopes for scraps that she hand-decorated for me! Whew! What a package! :)

3) My Hogwart's Sock Swap package. My pal Queue did Hogwart's proud!

Wow!! I saw this package on the blog and coveted it, but never in a million years did I think it would be winging its way to me. Queue made me some absolutely wonderful Gryffindor stripey socks (see picture below), with a great wrapper (soooo cute!), and she included yummmmmmy teas, delicious dark chocolate (I'm pacing myself; just a couple of little squares each night; sooo good), some bee-yoo-ti-ful stitch markers, size US2 Brittany birch, 5" dpns, and a gorgeous skein of sock yarn called, appropriately, 'Fawkes'.

This photo shows the needles, and a better picture of the Fawkes yarn, as well as a pink/brown (yay!) crocheted potholder and the yarns from Sabrina that were part of package #2 before they were commandeered by HRH Inari.

When I took the socks out of the wrapper The Boy said that there was no way they were handknit because they were 'just too perfect.' I'm not sure what this means about his estimation of my skills, but I have to agree. These socks are flawless! And I lurrrve the opposite toes/heels.

Queue, thank you SO much for a truly magical package. You can bet I'll be wearing my Gryffindor socks when we go to the movie on Saturday (The Boy works tomorrow night).

I have lots more photos of other things to post, but for now, I think this is plenty!

3 Comments:

I'm glad you liked what I've sent you, and that it all got to you in one peice! yay!

And your Gryffindor socks are magnificent! perfectly flawless! I envy the skills of the sock knitter who whipped those up!

By knitphomaniac, at 9:05 PM
Yay! Your Hogwarts package is great - so glad your pal come through for you. Those socks are cool!

Going to see OotP today - woot, woot!

By becky c., at 7:05 AM
I'm so glad you liked them! And I think I lied, I have knit socks for someone else before - but that was the husbeast and he could try them on from time to time (and yet I still messed one of them up big time).

Have fun seeing the movie - it's great! It's not the book, but I thought it was pretty true to it.

By Queue, at 3:28 AM

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