Blissfully Overwhelmed!

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I participated in a February swap to help us crafty types get through what was (for my part of the world, anyway) a nasty, bitterly cold, snow-ridden month! A huge thank-you to Leah, who was our swap hostess.

My swap partner was Karin over at The Periwinkle Sheep. Karin also has a shop on etsy, which has some of the most beautifully hand-dyed yarns ever! I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Karin and had a wonderful time reading her blog. Today my swap package arrived, and I just about fainted when I opened it. Karin's generosity was truly amazing and I can't find the words to say how thankful and touched I am (and lucky)!

Here's what I saw when I opened the box:


One of the parameters of this swap was to choose 4 things from a list (all very thoughtful ideas, thanks to Leah). Well, I counted 5 just at a first glance, 3 of them being HUGE SKEINS OF YARN!









Here's a shot of the complete contents:


I was, and still am, flabbergasted by all the wonderful things:

a handmade project bag (which I've been wanting one like this for evah!)
lovely hand cream
2 boxes of tea
2 chocolate bars (super fancy ones!)
and 3 incredible skeins of yarn







Look at this chocolate! I'm a huge fan of dark chocolate. I love the amazing combinations going on here, too!









The purple and green yarns were hand-dyed by Karin, herself! They are each 400+ yards of yummy fingering weight yarn. They are super soft and I just adore the colors --- so vibrant and spring-like! Yay for spring!

The gray yarn is from an "almost local" (as Karin said) yarn place in New Hampshire. It's a lovely shade of gray and it's very soft and warm. Really nice stuff!











Can't wait to try the tea! I am so looking forward to that lemon lavender one, particularly!












And I am all about nice hand lotion. Seriously. My hands are a disaster in the winter. They get so bad, they crack and bleed. So this is greatly appreciated and needed! Also? Check out the fragrance: chocolate mint. Oh man. It smells like mint chocolate chip ice-cream.









Ok so I wouldn't be at all surprised if Karin all the way up in Albany heard me screaming from Claymont, DE when I saw this project bag. I have been wanting one of these cute, little, wristlet-type bags for forever. Every time I set myself to get one, they are either insanely expensive or sold out. This is so pretty, too. Colors, execution, shape, size --- it's all perfect. I lurve it.

SQUEE!


Thank you SO much, Karin, for your wonderful, generous gifts! I absolutely love everything!

A New Swap! Finally!

Since the Dishcloth Exchange appears to be dead, as well as Secret Pal, I have been jonesing for a decent swap!

I finally found a low-pressure, low-cost, mellow swap to participate in! Head over to the Our Yellow House blog if you're interested in participating too.

Welcome April

Happy April Fools' Day. Incidentally, I hate April Fools' Day. This is probably because I hate practical jokes and pranks. I think they are hurtful and mean-spirited. Remember the TV show Crank Yankers? Or the current MTV trash called Punk'd? God those shows make me want to tear my eyes out. I absolutely despise that kind of humor. I just do not see what is so hilarious or awesome about embarrassing people or making them seem gullible or stupid. Even worse is when the "joke" makes the person really upset or terrified. How is that even remotely funny? I hate anything that involves false pretense, even if it is in jest, or the end result is pleasant. Not that I don't like nice surprises; I just don't like being lied to, I guess.

Or maybe I'm just a curmudgeon?

So weigh-in yesterday was a success! I lost 2.2 pounds over the last week, which brings my grand total to 11 pounds. I did get my 10-pound ribbon, which was nice. Although the weigh-in lady gave it to me, so there wasn't any celebrating or "way-to-go" encouraging applause from my group or leader, which kind of sucks. But whatever. I finally feel like I am able to see the loss a little. Especially around my face. Eleven pounds really isn't a lot of weight, but it certainly is helping me continue forward.

I forgot to mention that I'll be headed to my friend Beth's on Saturday for a "Make a Ukrainian Egg" party. And I am totally looking forward to it. Check out the ones she made a couple of years ago. Aren't they amazing?? I can't wait. I'm not a religious person at all, so Easter is kind of a whatever holiday for me. But I do like being creative, so these decorative eggs are right up my alley!

I'm kind of hankerin' for a yarn/knitting swap. But it looks like the Dishcloth Exchange and Secret Pal are dead. I've heard of a coffee/yarn swap that's supposed to be good, but I haven't been able to find any current info about one. A group on Ravelry was doing a "cats & knitting" swap, which would be great for me. But I think I missed sign-ups (deadline was March 30) and I wasn't sure about what the actual parameters of the swap would be. I mean they did have a spending limit and a list of items that should be included, but I think some charity-type knitting for cats was involved, which I think is GREAT. However, they didn't say exactly what we'd be knitting. So going into that blind is what held me back from signing-up, I think. Maybe now that spring is here, the swaps will start up again.

Speaking of knitting, I just bought way too much sock yarn yesterday. Noro Kureyon Sock. It was 45% off at Little Knits, and I just could not resist that deal. This yarn is usually about $19 a skein and I got it for a little over $10. Granted, there are a few websites that sell it around $14-$15 a skein, but Little Knits had the best deal, the best color selection, and I got free shipping too, so I couldn't resist. I also got two US size 1 (2.25mm) 11" circular needles. I usually work on 5" DPNs (an invention of the gods) and Addi Turbo 12" circulars (another invention of the gods). But it's hard to get Addi Turbo in that US size 1, 2.25mm. They make them, but they are not readily available. Addi's standard size 1 needle is actually a 1.5 in the US (2.5 mm). So anyway these 11" true-size-1 needles were a welcome addition. They are some brand I never heard of (HiyaHiya), but they are almost half the price of Addi Turbos, so that's a plus. Also, this brand makes a 9" circular! I HAVE to try these, but they were sold out in the sizes I would want.

Now I just need to get rid of some of the crap I have. I'm just so freakin' lazy. I really should be taking pictures and de-stashing. Maybe this weekend? Uh-huh. Sure.

Whassa Goin' On?!

Ok, so first of all, what happened to the Dishcloth Swap? One day, I was told to "check back on May 1 for the next round's sign-up information." Then I didn't go check the blog for a few weeks and now suddenly, the entire blog is GONE. I e-mailed the moderator last week. No response. I hope nobody is sick, or worse. If anyone knows what the deal is, please fill me in. Even if it's because I totally suck at life and they all hate me personally, I still want to know.

I need a swap, people. I need the excuse of being a "spoiler" in order to justify buying shit. I love to buy stuff, seriously; even if it isn't for me. If it is, then rock on.

Which reminds me. I HAVE been knitting. I made a scarf for Todd (FINALLY) from some Lamb's Pride Worsted, which I doubled, in a pine green color. It looks really nice. I hope he likes it. Todd's not the gushy type about anything, short of like winning the 200-million-dollar PowerBall. So, he's not likely to get too thrilled over a scarf. I think when I showed it to him he mustered, "Very nice." But he was distracted by Samurai Warriors II on the Playstation II....Anyway, picture to come later.

About a week ago I cast on for the somewhat infamous pinwheel sweater in the adult size. This is a free pattern on Elann.com. Instead of using the Highland Wool that they recommend, I decided to try something different. I am using Lion Brand Cotton Ease. Oh, what nice yarn to work with. I am just about at the point where they tell you to make the arm holes. It's been going very well so far. My concern is this: I have fat arms. Like gross-fat, gelatinous arms. (Sorry for that visual.) So I'm trying to figure out NOW what I can do to make them wider. I'd hate to have to frog this thing back out to the armholes. Because, while it's not HARD to knit; it is A LOT of knitting. Again, pictures are forthcoming.

Ok here's one:





I got my invite to Ravelry back in October. And I think it's a fantastic resource. And recently, I've been really getting into all things Ravelry. I am seriously going to try to photograph and catalog all the yarn in my stash on Ravelry. Stop laughing. I am! Today I went through and added as many books as I could. I think I might try to finish the books part tonight. I'm pretty sure I am only missing a few and then there are some not in the Ravelry database. Although how THIS isn't in the Ravelry book database, is beyond me.

Friday is my birthday and I am taking off from work. This will be the first time in ages that I've taken off from work on my birthday. Todd, Nicole and I are hitting the first showing of Speed Racer that day! It's getting bad reviews so far, but whatever. I have really bizarre taste in movies. In fact, this weekend we got Dude, Where Is My Car? from Netflix. I thought it was great. SHIBBY!

Oh and Happy Cinco de Mayo.