Holy Shit.

I decided to walk down to the apartment office while Mosterette was napping to get some card thingy for our new washers and dryers in the community laundry room. I walked in and the awesome lady behind the desk asked me if I had a package. (apparently, between far-away relatives and obscene amounts of interwebs ordering, I get a lot of packages.) I said I didn't think I had a package, and she said, " (insert last my last name here), right?" "Uh, yeah..." "I'm pretty sure there's a box for you back here..." She wanders into the package closet, and comes out with a box for me! It's too small to be the box that my grandma sent me (full of YARN! More on that at another date, though), so it MUST be the box from my Favorite Color Swap pal! SQUEE! I rushed back to the apartment, and tried to calm my nerves enough to take a picture before tearing in to everything: The card was super cute, and had a great little message from Tami inside: After reading the card, I carefully took out the tissue paper and folded it up (yes, I'm one of those people. I save tissue paper and re-use it.), and this is what I saw: I immediately went for the roving, pulled it out, and fondled it a bit before moving on to the TON of other goodies. It's such awesome roving! I need to spin more... Oh, and I don't now if you guys can tell, but all the goodies were wrapped in this great stitched paper. I tried really hard to save it, but then I got all crazy and paper was a-flyin' in all directions. There was so much goodness in that box! It really made me smile. Here's the first round of goodies: From the bottom left: A bath puff, flower pen, reed diffuser (I've been lusting after one of these FOREVER. How'd you know, Tami?!), orange bell pepper cutting board, note cards (WOOT!), photo frame, yummy orange popsicle scented lotion, bath salts (with bergamot! One of my favorite scents!), and a little felt watering can and maracas for the Monsterette. (Which, by the way, she TOTALLY loves. anyone who knows my kid knows she loves to make "music".) Are you overwhelmed yet? Because at this point, I was! Can you believe there's more? Again, from the bottom left: Awesome stitch markers, star-shaped post-its, Cadbury dairy Milk chocolate bar (my all-time favorite chocolate. EVER. Oddly, one of the bars she sent didn't make it to the photo shoot. Hmm.), The awesome roving, SWTC Bamboo yarn (I've been wanting to try this stuff forever!), Panda Wool sock yarn (isn't is gorgeous?! I've been wanting to try this, too!), orange point protectors, and a Critter container that I've been lusting after for a while. The other thing that didn't make it into the photo (I was browsing though it while I ate my chocolate bar) was the Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave book. This ROCKS! This should definitely jump-start my sock knitting. I've been lusting after sock books for a while, but couldn't justify it, never knitting a pair of successful socks. Oh. My. God. Seriously, this was one awesome package. Tami, you totally rock! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Ummm...

I don't really know what to blog about today. I suppose I could mention that my downstream swap pal for FCS3 got her package, and wrote a great, heartfelt post about it. Or, I could blog about these cool needle felted sculptures that Erin found and shared with me... Oh! Maybe I could blog about the fact I've finally gotten motivated to pick up the needles again, and did a few rows on the Campfire Neckwarmer. Nah... Maybe I'll come up with something good for tomorrow.

Sock Knitting and Goodies

Now that the wedding shawl is done, I can finally start knitting what I want to knit! a few days ago, I cast on for the Aquaphobia socks with the rockin' yarn I got from Sarah at Perfect Day Yarns: I love this yarn! It's nice and soft and smooshy, and the colors are great. They work wonderfully in the pattern, too! The pattern itself is really nice. Not too hard, but definitely not boring. I picked it because I didn't want to do a plain stockinette sock, but didn't want something too complicated, either. I have a knitting plan, too, to avoid the dreaded Second Sock Syndrome (for my non-knitting readers, this is when you've knit one complete sock, and then lose interest before you have a pair). I split the skein into two even balls of yarn, and plan to knit the first one up to the heel, knit the second just past the heel, go back to the first and knit up to the toe, back to the second and complete the sock, and then knit the toe and finish the first sock. hopefully that'll help! Oh, I'm using the KnitPicks Harmony dpn's that I finally received, as well! I really like them, they're great to knit with. I've been taking extra care to make sure I don't break any- my big fear is stepping or sitting on one and it snapping. I picked up some roving while I was up in Durango: A little out of my color comfort zone, but for some reason, I really like the colors. something about the smoky, cloudy greys and the bright, citrusy green... The roving is a 100% new Merino pencil roving, made by Zitron. Soft and smooth, I'm excited to spin this up! Mostly, I love it because technically roving isn't yarn yet, so it doesn't break the yarn diet. Woo! I also got some pretty sock yarn for my FCS3 pal, but no pictures...Maybe a sneak peak later.

FCS3 Questionnaire

Favorite Color Swap Questionnaire 1. What are your top three favorite colors? I love pink, orange, and chocolate brown. For spring, though, I've been loving juicy, bright colors. 2. What crafts do you really enjoy? Knitting, crocheting, drop spinning (I'm new to this), cross stitch (but not the old lady stuff). I've also wanted to try embroidery, and have done a bit of needle felting, which is a blast! 3. What products do you really covet? See number eight. 4. What other activities do you enjoy besides your favorite crafty things? Reading, listening to music, playing video games and role-playing games ( the nerdy kind, wiht dice and books and character sheets. Like D&D.) 5. Is there anything you collect? Dice, yarn, stitch markers, earrings, and note cards. 6. What is your zodiac sign and/or Chinese zodiac symbol? I'm a Libra, born in the year of the rat. Please not rat stuff. 7.What are your favorite… …scents/smells? I like light, fruity scents, and soft floral scents. I love anything "tea" scented. Oh, and all of those fresh, clean scents. …types of music and/or bands? TOOL, Snow Patrol, Hayden, Nelly Furtado, Imogen Heap, Alison Kraus. I love a wide range of music, but lean more towards rock stuff. …authors? Neil Gaiman, Ayn Rand, Joyce Carol Oates, Terry Pratchett. …animals? Sheep and Llamas, obviously. I also have loved butterflies for a super long time. …places to shop? My LYS, Etsy, Target, Hobby Lobby, Michael's Arts & Crafts. …season? Hmmm. I love both spring and fall. …yarn/fabric/paper/other craft supplies? My favorite yarn is definitely Malabrigo. I love thick and thin yarns, and anything soft and cozy. I've wanted to try silk and bamboo. …candies or goodies? Anything gummy, milk chocolate (Cadbury dairy milk bars are my favorite), Bit o' Honey, caramel goodies. 8. Do you have any wish lists? I have Amazon here, and one here. this last one, though, isn't accurate as far as needles go. You can also look at my favorites on Etsy. 9. Are you allergic to anything? Well, please don't send any sulfa based medications. Other kinds are fine. 10. Do you have any pets? What are they? We have hermit crabs. Very low maintenance, and super hard to kill. 11. Please include anything else you would like your secret pal to know about you- anything that would be helpful in finding you little gifts that you will really enjoy. Also, if you have a Ravelry ID, please include it here. My ravelry user name is SavingNine. I am married, and have a two year old daughter. I keep my knitting needles in a homemade needle roll that I love. I have a knitting bag, and a mini project bag. I love amigurumi. Ask away, secret pal! I've been blogging forever, too, so my archives should be helpful. With a bit of digging, I'm sure you can find other swap goodies and questionnaires.

FCS3

Alright! I've been wanting to do another Favorite Color Swap for quite some time now, and it's finally here! I'm very excited. Last time around I had almost 100 participants- hopefully this time I can break 100! Go check it out and sign up. It'll make me happy, and it's a really fun swap! See you there!

It's Takes A Special Kind of Asshole...

...to steal toddler laundry. I'm still hopeful it was accidental and will be returned. Probably not, though, and I'm quite pissed about it. That's fucked up. Really, who does that?! Moving on, before I get too ranty... Life otherwise is going well. I've gotten some lovely fiber I ordered from Etsy- you can see it here. I haven't had time to take a picture yet, sorry! Spinning has been going well, I spun up the wee sample that Enchanted Knoll Farm sent along. It was some merino- definitely a different experience than what I've been spinning! fun, though. What the hell am I going to do with a few yards of yarn, though? another cell phone cozy, I guess, or a trim on something. We'll see. I've been resisting the temptation to cast on a new knitting or crochet project. I'd really like to, but I'm not. I have a ton of stuff on the needles- stuff that's been on the needles for too long! I'm trying to get that finished up before I start new things. I know I said this before, too, but I'm going to start blogging once a week about stuff on the needles, for some accountability! I'll try to keep my sidebar updated, too, for you non-raveling folks who care. (Do you care? Should I just take that part out?) Getting ready for a long overdue Favorite Color Swap, too! Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to open it up for sign-ups. Which leads me to a question! I'll make it a poll, because those are fun, but you can leave an opinion in the comments, too. I've been toying with the idea of asking for a $1 optional donation from swap participants. Now, I know this is a bit odd, but I work really hard on my swap! Last time there were over 140 people, and I take into consideration everyone's hobbies and locations to match them, as well as allergies, three different price ranges, and their shipping preferences. I take the time to make little color-coded cards, hand match them, and put all the information into a database. The money would go to extra packages (if they are needed- I've always had plenty of angels) and prizes. Everyone who donates get an extra entry for prize drawings per dollar. What do you think? If you think it's okay, what could I say that makes it seem like I'm not begging for moneys? Thanks in advance, yo!