Have a Cuppa Swap

Last week I received the contents shown above as part of the first swap for 2011.  The name of the swap was Have A Cuppa.  We had to include a cup, yarn (of course), a beverage of our partner's liking (coffee/tea/cocoa) and a surprise item.  Heather did an AMAZING job!

The orange slices are one of my favorites and I have posted about them a gazillion times.  I love the project bag and the matching smaller bag.  The pair are perfect to take a project and all the necessary tools all in one matching manner.  The cup is fab!  I have already used some of the coffee in my espresso maker and then using the new cup I was ale to add my own froth and cinnamon and sugar.  Divine I tell you.  And the yarn....Malabrigo worsted in colorway Burgundy (41).  It was tossed into the knitting bag last night for the heck of it as I went to the CLACK meeting and before I knew it I was working on the Birthday Cowl.

It is not the first time I have received Malabrigo (Amy has sent me some too....); however, it is the first time that I ever cast on with it.  I didn't even have the hank wound into a cake.  I just opened it up and started casting on the required 99 stitches.  I love the way it feels so far and the color will look so rich with my black wool coat.  If the pattern is correct, I should be able to make it in a day and with one skein.  We shall see.

Scavenger Hunt Swap Q&A

• Do you knit or crochet? How long have you been at your craft? - Both.  I have been crocheting since I was ten (38 years) and knitting since I was twelve (36 years)
  
• Do you spin? What type of spinning do you do? - Not just yet; however, the gang at Upstairs Studio has been tempting and teasing and I may just have to give in.  The shop owner's husband made some that they sell for $12.00 each and that is a reasonable cost to get started.... I can blame this on Amy... :)
  
• Are there any other crafts that you participate in? - Interesting segue.  Yes, I have been known to work up counted cross stitch pieces at random times and I love to sew but haven't done so in about three years, so I am getting that "itch".
  
• What are your favorite yarns/fibers? - I love the way that superwash merino feels as I work with it but I also love thinks like sugar can and bamboo.  I love combinations like cashmere with cotton and silk with cotton.  The humidity here mandates that yarn have a certain breathing capacity, so I am always on the lookout for new yarns and love to experiment.  I still like the classics for shawls, scarves and mitts but sweaters need to go with the climate.
  
• What are your LEAST favorite yarns/fibers? - I don't really have a least favorite.  For whatever reason, I think that all yarn has a purpose and sometimes you just need to work with things like acrylic.  I'm weird like that but I know that a new mom could not handle a blanket that has to be hand-washed , especially if she is not a knitter.  Function will at times dictate the yarn I choose.
  
• Are there any types/brands of yarn that you are dying to work with but haven’t gotten a chance? - I've never used Madelinetosh, Cascade 220, Spud and Chloe and a host of indie yarns that I see my fellow knitters rave about.
  
• What are your favorite types of projects to knit/crochet? - Crochet usually is utilized for baby blankets these days because I love how quickly they work up and how warm they are.  Favorite knitting projects lately are shawls/shawlettes and socks; however I've been experimenting with a few cap patterns and may break out and knit up a slew of them.
  
• What are you currently working on? Anything you plan to start this autumn? - Currently I am working on the USS Migration socks for Lizzie at Upstairs Studio, the Green Gable for myself and the Red Hot for myself.  I have the Multnomah ready to cast on as well as a pair of fingerless mitts from the remaining Cathay skein.  I also have a test shawl for Lizzie waiting on me when I finish the socks.  I'm also making my mom a few cowls for Christmas and my dad a few hats for Christmas.
  
• Are their any knitting/crochet techniques that you would like to learn? - A few still elude me.  I have never done anything in entrelac or had the courage to steek.  I'm sure that there are more but these two haunt me a bit.
  
• Do you have a yarn winder and/or a swift? - Yarn winder, yes.  Swift, not yet but working on it.
  
• Where/how to you keep you needles/hooks? - I have a vintage Martha Washington sewing cabinet that houses all of my knitting and crochet needles/hooks as well as all my other supplies.  The two side pockets are perfect for the needles and yarns and the two drawers hold a myriad of things.  The top opens up and I have stitch holders and all sorts of goodies there.
  
• Do you collect anything? - Hull Pottery, Pocket Dragons, wind chimes and pint beer glasses.  More than enough things if you ask SF.
  
• What is your favorite type of music? Are you MP3 ready? - I don't have a favorite.  I love almost all forms of music and have a very eclectic assortment on all of my MP3 devices.  Absolutely ready!  I have three different iPods and a Sony Walkman MP3 player.
  
• Do you like sweets? What are your favorites? - YES!  Favorite hands down is chocolate.  I also love jelly bellies in most flavors and silly thing like Circus Peanuts, Orange Slices and Necco Wafers.  I don't like coconut or nuts all that much.
  
• What is your living situation like? Any pets? Children? - I have two grown daughters, Stephanie (27) and Megan (24), a son in law, Jack, a furry grand daughter, Nina (part chocolate lab and part Catahoula) and one grand daughter, Zoe who will be two on February 1, 2011.  I have two cats, Eraser who just turned eight (half Maine Coon and half American Bobtail) and Sassy who turned five in February (half Burmese and half Siamese).  I live with my partner, affectionately called SF in the blog world and her two French Bulldogs, Ambre and Frankie, who are both five.  We have a lovely home with a salt water pool and enjoy riding motorcycles when the weather permits and we love music and sports, especially the Lady Vols!
  
• Are you allergic to anything? - Artificial sweeteners but I don't think anyone will send me those.  Other than that nothing, except I hate the smell of cigarette smoke.  Don't mind cat or dog hairs at all.
  
• Do you have an online wish list (Amazon, Etsy, Loopy Ewe, etc.)? Please include links for your swap pal. - Not really but I should.  I see so many things that people love from Esty shops and I bookmark them but never create a wish list...
  
• Is there anything else that you would like your pal to know? - I'm an open book.  Just ask if you have a question that I didn't cover.  I like surprises from places where my spoiler lives.  It adds to the fun of the swap. 

And because Amy forgot, colors:  I have a long running love affair with blue (just not neon or baby shades) but I am using a lot more purple and have been looking at green.  I am a sucker for a good red and anything with the name Ruby in it.  I tend to avoid almost all shades or orange, unless they have a lot of blue undertones.  I avoid neon colors and pastels unless they are specifically requested by the person that they are for or unless it is a baby gift.  Otherwise, I'm game to try anything, especially if it has been hand dyed.

Random Thoughts

My dear friend Amy is a wonderful swap mistress and she has been hosting a few swaps that I have been participating in this summer, such as the "Pimp My Queue Swap" and now the "Summer Reading Swap".  I was the wonderful benefactor of the Random Number Generator for the current swap and I could not have been happier when Amy announced that my name had been chosen for her to spoil!

Seriously....I have received a few gifts from Amy in the past and they have all been WONDERFUL!  So when the contents of the last swap arrived yesterday I was giddy with excitement.  We have these wonderful community mailbox locations and there are two large capacity drawers for packages that will fit.  I was very surprised when I opened up the personal slot to see a key within.  Amy had advised that the package would go out either Tuesday or Thursday, so I knew it could be coming but I had no firm indication.  I was on the way to have a late lunch with Megan at The Hobbit so I could not open it until I got home.  Look at the contents!

I will post more details later this weekend....I have a wonderful note from Amy that I will share and you can read about the mitts here.

Amy is Wonderful and I'm sure her husband John agrees!

Summer Reading Swap Q&A

August Swap Q&A

Are you a knitter, crocheter, or both? - Both but I prefer knitting.
What type of projects are your favorite to knit/crochet? - Shawls/Shawlettes, hats and socks but I am making tanks and top down sweaters for myself this year
What are your favorite types of yarn? Any yarns that you don’t like? - With our humid weather, I prefer yarns with cotton, bamboo, linen or merino.  Of course when I knit for myself I have been known to grab cashmere and silk or yarns with one of these in the mix.  Don't like heavy wool or novelty stuff.
What are your favorite colors? Any colors that you don’t like to work with? - Most favorite color is blue - almost every shade except true baby blue.  I really love Robin's Egg blue at the moment with chocolate or green.  Other than that I love all colors.  I have to watch the oranges, as they tend to make me look pale and dead if they are too close to my face.  Do not care for neons or pastels too much unless the pastels are in a lace weight for a shawl.
What are your favorite types of novels? - Dystopian fiction, historical fiction, epic fantasy (Wheel of Time), pretty much anything.  Non-fiction is okay as long as it is not current politics. Cook books are great!
Who are some of your favorite authors? Favorite series? Favorite titles? - Robert Jordan (The Wheel of Time Series), anything by J.R.R. Tolkein, The Odessa File, Animal Farm, and Wind in the Willows.  I also love Katherine Forrest but that is a personal choice.
Are there any books that you’ve been dying to read but haven’t? Or do you have a wish list (e.g., Amazon) you can share? ( You can post a link here.) - Okay, don't laugh.  I have been wanting to read Tipping the Velvet and The Queen's Governess.  Other than that, anything is fair game EXCEPT vampires/gore/Christian fiction/sappy romance.
What are your favorite types of sweets? - Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.  But I also love Jelly Belies, Circus Peanuts, Cherry Sours and Orange Slices.  Don't like coconut or nut in my candy.
What are your favorite scents? - Lavender, patchouli, roses and vanilla
What is your living situation? - I live with the most wonderful partner I could have, her two French Bulldogs (Ambre and Frankie) and my two cats (Eraser and Sassy)
Do you have any allergies? - No sugar substitutes (aka artificial sweeteners).  I need real sugar.  Other than that I just can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke on stuff.

Is there anything else that your pal should know? - I'm pretty much an open book, hehe.  If my swap partner needs to know anything that my blog or my Ravelry page doesn't tell them, then please feel free to chat with me.  I love meeting new people!

Wonderful Wednesday

First....I blame Chuck on this strange addiction to 80's music this morning.  I was checking my FaceBook account this morning and he had "like" for "YOU".  I clicked it and it was Rick Astley.....one of my all time favorites for dance music from the 80's.  Sad but true, I even have several of his albums in my collection.  So now I am sitting here with Rhapsody playing his Platinum and Gold collection while I compose this post....

I signed up for the Organic Cotton Swap over on Ravelry with the Lion Brand Swaps. The  swap mistress, Kelli, paired me up with Donna.  I received the most wonderful package from her Monday in the mail.

Whew....picture heavy I know.  I was amazed by all the goodies packed into the box.  They were all wrapped up by the yummiest scarf of Pistachio and Strawberry.  I can't wait to be able to wear it, even though summer is in full swing here.  She had no way of knowing that the Shasta Daisy is one of my all time favorites.  My mother had beds of them all over our back yard in Memphis and they remind me of those days.  I will find a special spot in the landscaping for these.  Her husband makes wonderful items from wood and she sent me a wonderful tic-tac-toe game that he made.  She also sent me some wonderful note cards from Lion Brand.  Each one has a pattern associated with the picture on it as well.  Bonus for anyone I send them to that knits!  She sent me a book to read with Zoe and I was touched by that.  I can hardly wait till Christmas to read it to her.  Maybe I'll be able to pass on this crazy love for knitting and crocheting on to her since my own daughters don't seem too keen on it yet.  Of course, no swap is complete without receiving yarn.  She sent me three skeins of the Organic Cotton.  I wish I didn't have five projects already in progress.  I need to get on the sticks (hehe) and get at least three of them finished so I can start one with this wonderful yarn.  The post card was a treat too.  It is Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer....gotta love Missouri (the Show-Me State)!

Now, conversely, I am her partner so I cannot share what I am sending out in the mail today.  I promise to post some pictures as soon as I am certain that she has it safely in her possession....I love swaps!  And to this, I also have knitting to share but some of it is in the swap package so I still cannot share the FO's, le sigh.

Okay, back to work....and then to the Post Office.....

"...Monday, monday, can't trust that day..."

Well, it is Monday indeed.  Why is it that two days seem to blur by so much faster that the rest of the days seem to?  Perception is most likely the key to this age old question.  We tend to gear ourselves up for these two days of R&R and thus they fly by.  I guess as long as we work this will continue to be the Monday mantra.

So, Friday was a very long day working off so little sleep.  I was never so happy to get home and get into my comfy, go no where and see no one clothes.  SF had left-overs from a big lunch with co-workers, so I had left-overs too.  We settled down for our Friday night shows and had a really difficult time staying awake through "Medium".  Thankfully, we had no place to be Saturday, so we slept in.  Around here, sleeping in is 8:00 AM since we normally get up at 4:00 AM.  SF has been on a fried-egg sandwich kick and made us each one while we discussed the route for the motorcycle ride.  I normally have little input, as SF knows which routes she is more comfortable using.  Traffic in Houston and the metro are is so strange and there are places that are nor safe in a car let alone on a motorcycle.

We knew that we needed to go by two different dealerships to get the MVP membership card and then test ride a Street Glide.  She had previously tested out a Road Glide and wanted to "feel" the difference.  And, yes there is a different "feel" to each and every model.  Baggers are meant to be more comfortable for longer rides and then there are bikes for speed and others for show.  The Blue Flame is a combination of show, muscle and speed.  SF has been contemplating the fact that we may need a bagger in the future, the distant future, for longer trips, as the Blue Flame cannot really carry a load (over-night) stuff due to the fact that she was not designed to accommodate saddle bags.  Even when I do get my own, it will not have enough capacity to carry both of our gear unless it is only for one night away.  She was not pleased with the test ride.  Her overall thoughts on the bike were that it was too light and had no muscle.  She is very particular about what she wants and the Street Glide was not the answer.  Back to the test drives...

One of the other reasons for the planning of the route was to make certain that we ended up at Pappas BBQ for the all you can eat ribs at the location in The Woodlands.  It was worth the drive and a great Saturday afternoon lunch treat.  The route home was uneventful but we did make one wee tiny stop at Dairy Queen in Stafford.  I had a Raspberry Truffle Blizzard and SF had a Chocolate Covered Cherries Blizzard.  The perfect way to end a trip on the road!

We also managed to watch the San Antonio Silver Stars beat the LA Sparks.  It was great to see Chamique Holdsclaw and Michelle Snow playing with such talent.  And bonus for us, San Antonio is not that far away.  We are already discussing getting tickets and spending a weekend in San Antonio.  We really miss the Comets, especially since that is how we met in the first place.

Speaking of meeting.  Sunday, the 23rd, was the anniversary of my moving in with SF.  One year ago I left the apartment with a U-Haul loaded with all the belongings that SWCNLBN had "allowed" me to have in the apartment and started this new chapter in my life.  It has been a year of growing and learning.  We have seen so many things change for both if us and we are stronger now as a team than we were before we met.  She still doesn't always get my sense of humor and I don't always understand her moods but that is what makes each and every day new.

I also finished the Swap surprise.

I loved everything about this yarn and plan on getting some more to make my mother one.  She doesn't like wool and I think that this cotton is just the answer.  It will keep her warm on the bike behind my dad and warmer in the car when they have put the motorcycle in storage for the winter.

Okay, back to work.....is this day over yet?

All Things Local Swap - 2010

My dear friend Amy held a swap that I just couldn't say no to. It was All Things Local.  The rules were simple:

Swap package price limit is $30 - NOT including shipping.  Swap package must contain : one skein of yarn that local to you (this can be city or state. Etsy has a lot of great resources for shopping local!), one food item that is local to your city or state, one extra item that is local to you city or state (is your town famous for something?  Does your pal collect shot glasses or postcards? Have another idea for something handmade that is local, that you can send? The possibilities are endless.)

Amy and the other moderator, Karen,  did a great job pairing the participants.  It was a secret swap and that made it all the more fun.  We had to "stalk" our partner and then send the goodies.  They were to be delivered by Monday, May 3rd.  Life happens and several people posted that they were late, so I waited.

The picture below represent the contents of the package that Jessica sent me.  She did a great job!  The contents smelled good long before I got them all unwrapped.  The two pint glasses from Iron Hill Brewery will be a great addition to the collection that SF and I have been building since we first met.  Jessica had no way of knowing that we collected them because I forget to mention it in the answers to the "What do you collect" piece of the questionnaire every time.  The soap, "Hocus Pocus" from a local soap maker smells decadent and will bring a whole new meaning to date night.  The yarn is beyond words.  If you look at the picture on my flickr page you can get the details.  Knitting Nysssa is on Ravelry as well.  Now I will have to pet the yarn a while until it tells me what it wants to be.  I think lace but I'm not sure.  The colors just draw me in and I will let them speak to me some more.

Over all, I loved the whole swap.  Getting to see what items people included also helped me with ideas for future swaps contents.  Like a tee shirt from your state.  Heaven knows that there are plenty of shirts from Texas and about Texas.

My partner was Sharon in NJ.  This is what I sent to her from TX.  I got a lovely thank you card from her today as well.  I can't wait to see what the Mama Llama yarn decides to become.

All Things Local Swap Questions and Answers

1. Are you a knitter or crocheter? I knit much more than I crochet but I have been making dish cloths and a lot of the lace ones have been crochet….so, anything goes
2. What is/are your favorite projects to create? At the moment, I am all about speed, so I am making cowls and socks. I have a few tops for Spring and Summer that are in my queue, so I will be getting to them soon.
3. What is your favorite yarn type (wool, cotton, etc?) Any yarns you don’t like to work with? I have fallen in love with Shibui! I made a clapotis with it and I am just dying to use it for more projects.
4. What is your favorite color? least favorite? favorite would be blues but I am learning that I look good in greens that have a blue base, so I am adding them when I can… least favorite would be “neutrals” and all orange except the University of Tennessee orange…side note…I am not really fond of pink, unless it is for Breast Cancer.

1. What is your favorite thing about the city you live in? I live in Pearland which is a suburb of Houston. We are such a diverse culture that you can literally find any kind of food, drink or entertainment that you want within a few minutes of your location. We have some of the most amazing artists and yarn stores. We are close to the beach and a few hours drive from the Hill Country.
2. What is your favorite thing to do when you visit a new place for the first time? Snap! I love to visit the local farmer’s market (weather permitting) and then head to the local yarn stores. Time permitting, I find the local Harley Davidson dealer and get a dealer specific charm for my mom and a tee-shirt for myself and my significant other. And I make the rounds to the best eats as time allows.
3. Do you have any other hobbies, besides fiber craft? I have been sewing since I was in the fifth grade and love making things for my grand-daughter. Does cooking count? I dabble in photography and that’s about all.
4. Do you collect anything? I do. I collect Hull Pottery and Pocket Dragons. I also collect vintage sewing patterns (1940’s and 1950’s) and buttons.
5. Do you like sweets? YES! I just don’t like nuts, except almonds…and NO Coconut….
6. What are your favorite scents? Patchouli, Vanilla, Lavender and Rose
7. What is your living situation (married, kids?) Do you have any pets? I am living with the love of my life in her house in Pearland. We have her two French Bulldogs, Frankie and Ambre, and my two cats, Eraser and Sassy. Eraser is half Maine Coon and Half American Bobtail and Sassy is half Burmese and half Siamese. I have two daughters that are out on their own and a grand-daughter that just turned one.
8. Is there anything important your pal needs to know (pet allergies, food allergies, etc?) only allergic to artificial sweeteners…gotta have real sugar….other than that, I don’t care for cigarette smoke.

Side note….please don’t pair me up with some one allergic to cats … impossible to do anything without them involved!