My Secret Pal!!!

I had a package slip waiting for me when I got home on sunday. I picked my package up yesterday afternoon and look at all the good stuff!

My secret pal, DeDe, lives in New York, NY. She included a Central Park themed coffee mug and some yummy tea which will definitely be put to good use. I love NYC and can't wait to get back there sometime. Brett has never been so I really want to take him there one day. Maybe DeDe can show us around!

I'm not sure what the intended use is for the polk-a-dot bag but I think it will make a great case for my dpn's. And this chocolate .... mmmmmmmm .... you can't get much better than organic dark chocolate with cherries!

And what's in the pretty pink paper?

It's yarn! And gorgeous yarn too. It's so soft I can't stop petting it and I just love the colors. I've never seen anything like it. She included enough to knit myself a tank top and included a pattern as well. I've really been wanting to knit myself a tank top and I either blogged about that and she read it or she read my mind. Either way ... thanks DeDe! I can't wait to cast on. I love the pattern too in that it's not just a simple tank top. It's got the cross over thing going on up top which I absolutely love in a tank top. And the yarn is cotton too which is great for the Florida heat.

She also sent me a the book "Yarns to Dye for" which i'm really excited about. I've already flipped through and have my eye on several things I want to try out.

I took this pic outside and then did some color adjusting to get the color of the yarn to look like it actually does. In doing that it turned the grass in the background a brownish orange, which it is not. It's still bright green but if we don't get some rain with this heat wave it may end up looking like that for real. It was 98 degrees yesterday when I went to the post office!

This adorable little dragonfly pot has some yummy patchouli cream in it. Now again I wonder, did I blog about my love of dragonflies or did she guess this as well?

So i've done a little reading of DeDe's blog and she seems really cool. We have a lot of things in common too like running, good wine, good music and of course, knitting.

OLDEST YARN IN MY STASH

For Secret Pal 10 we were asked to blog about the oldest yarn in our stash. So here it goes ...

The oldest yarn in my stash is some that I inhereted from my mother-in-law. I don't know how old it is but I know it's older than anything else I have. First of all, I don't think i've ever seen a Red Heart label like this before. It looks old. It has an address for Coats & Clark (the manufacturer) in Norwalk, CT and I just looked at a more recent skein of the same brand that I bought for some Christmas ornaments a few years ago and it has an address for Coats & Clark in Greenville, SC. And I know i'm not up on my Red Heart yarn history but since when do they have dye lots? Is this something they used to do but don't anymore? I haven't bought any Red Heart in a long time (since becoming a bit of a yarn snob) but I do like to use it for certain craft projects and toys. The most interesting thing about this yarn is how soft it is. I've honestly never felt any Red Heart yarn that is this soft.

And as you can see here, Gizmo thinks it's pretty cozy. :)

Favorite Knitting Accessory

For Secret Pal 10 we were asked to blog about our favorite knitting accessory, so here it goes ...

First off, I don't have many knitting accessories to speak of. I have a cable needle that I still haven't used, a row counter that I still haven't used, and a retractible tape measure that hangs around the neck. One of these days I'm going to get a pair of those handy little folding scissors that also hangs around the neck. Until then I will borrow someone else's at SnB or use my big scissors while at home. That being said, my favorite knitting accessory has to be the retractible tape measure for two reasons.

1. I like to knit patterns that tell you to knit until item measures X number of inches versus having to count rows. The tape measure is right there for me when I need it.

2. It serves as a great distraction for the boys. When i'm knitting and they are trying to pull on my yarn all I have to do is hand them the tape measure and they are entertained for a good ten minutes, allowing me to finish the row i'm working on before stopping to attend to their needs.

SP10

See post below from February 26th for my SP questionnaire.

Craftiness

I finally finished the Christmas Scarf and sent it on it's way to PA. (nice shadow, huh?) And even though it hasn't arrived yet, I'm going to blow it's cover by posting it here. I just can't help myself. I've been working on that thing for about eight months. (obviously not very often in that time, otherwise it would have been done long before now.) I was so happy to finally finish it but almost sad to see it go. I used some gorgeous alpaca yarn that I got from elann. My only regret is that I didn't show it to Brett before I mailed it off. He saw it in progress but never got to wrap himself in the fuzzy softness that is alpaca. And since we live in Florida I doubt I will ever make him one. Oh well ...

Tiki helped model it for some pics before I left for the post office.

And now that i've finished the never-ending-scarf I'm on to my next project .... yoga socks. Even though I said I wasn't going to let myself start anything new until I finished the scarf, I veered from the plan a bit and started the yoga socks last week. And probably just for that reason, about two inches into the socks I realized two things ... 1.) the pattern is wrong and 2.) i picked up an extra stitch somewhere. So I frogged it (ripped it out for you non-knitters ... get it? rip-it, rip-it) and started over again. I made some adjustments to the pattern and started over again. I was able to make some progress last night and i'm now about three inches into it. I'm using some hand-dyed purple sock yarn I bought on eBay last year when I decided I wanted to learn how to knit socks.

This picture didn't turn out very well at all but it's what i've got for now. And to answer some questions, the questionnaire below is for a secret pal gift exchange for knitters, Secret Pal 10. You have to knit and you have to have a blog. How it works is that your secret pal looks on your blog for your questionnaire so they know what kind of things you like. Then when you receive your package(s) you post pictures on your blog so they know you got it. It lasts for three months and you may get small packages throughout or one big one at the end. Depends on your secret pal. You, in turn, do the same for your secret pal. And then everyone reveals themselves at the end. There is an associated blog and you can nominate your pal for being the best if you so desire. Pretty cool, huh? I thought so. I've seen stuff about it online for a while now and I recently met someone at a Stitch'N'Bitch, Lorena, who participated in Secret Pal 9 and enjoyed it so much that she's doing it again. And it just so happens that sign-ups are going on now so I thought I would join in. They send out secret pal info by March 15th but you have to post the questionnaire to your blog by the end of February. So that, my friends, is the reason you all got to read it. Now you can all say "ah, now I understand" and go about your day. :-)

Secret Pal 10 Questionnaire

Here is my questionnaire for my secret pal:

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I love anything soft, especially alpaca. I’m very entertained by self-striping and self-patterning sock yarn.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I made a rolling needle case for my straight needles. I would like a small case for my dpn’s that I can carry around in my knitting bag. My circulars are just sort of floating around, they don’t have a home.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I bought a couple of books and taught myself to knit about a year ago. Then I took a sock knitting class back in September. I would call my self an advanced beginner. I can knit a sock so I’m not totally a novice but I don’t know that I’d call myself intermediate quite yet.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yes I do. I have a Wists List on my blog. See it scrolling happily along to the right of this post?

5. What's your favorite scent?
Hmmm .. anything earthy. Love Jasmine and Nag Champa. Don’t like rose.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Absolutely. I love those dark chocolate bars with the fruit and nuts in them.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
Mostly just knitting these days but also tie-dye, sewing, making stepping stones for the yard, and I’m always trying to come up with my own new recipes for a cookbook I plan to write one day. I don’t spin but I plan to learn sometime after my kids get a little older.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s?
I love music. I’ve been getting into Jazz lately. I love music with good instrumentation like Sister Hazel, Dave Matthews Band, Lenny Kravitz, etc. I enjoy mainstream stuff but also like acoustic guitar, classical crossover, drum beats, middle eastern dance, bluegrass and pretty much anything I can groove to. And I always like female singers like Alanis, Tori, Jewel, Melissa, etc. Yes I can play MP3s on my computer, my stereo and in my car.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
Deep purples, blues and greens and earthy colors. I don’t like pastels or neon and I really don’t like yellow.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I live with my hubby, our two boys, Houston (2 yrs) and Brody (8 mos), four dogs and a cat.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I live in Florida so I don’t get to wear them often but I do enjoy fun scarves and hats. I would really like to knit myself a lace stole.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Socks, socks, baby hats for friends, socks, stuffed animals, and more socks.

13. What are you knitting right now?
Socks for one of my sons, yoga socks for me, and baby socks and hat set for a baby shower.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Most definitely do. And as for patterns, books, and needles (and even yarn as long as it hasn’t been used and frogged a bunch of times) I would prefer for them to be second-hand/used if possible. (browse this blog for recent posts about compacting if you are curious as to why)

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Don’t have a preference between circular and straight. I like bamboo but I’ve recently discovered that I prefer size one dpns in metal rather than bamboo … although it may just be that I don’t like the ones that I have with the yarn that I’m using.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Nope. Don’t even know what a swift is.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Hmmm … a baby blanket I started when I was pregnant with Houston who is now 2-1/2 years old. It’s a girly blanket as I was told I was having a girl. Houston, however, was born very much a boy. I planned to finish it for a baby shower gift at some point but that hasn’t happened yet.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Fourth of July. Fun, food and fireworks on or near the water surrounded by friends and family and no pressure to give the right gift. Of course I may be biased because it’s also the day before my birthday.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Refridgerator magnets and toothpick holders.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I really want the Sensational Knitted Socks book and Special Knits by Debbie Bliss. I don’t have a subscription to any knitting magazines but wouldn’t mind a subscription to Interweave Knits. I’d also like to try some Crystal Palace bamboo dpns and I’m always up for trying new sock yarn. I would really like to try some Summer Breaze Cool sock yarn by On Line, especially color #787 or #793. I would also like to try Jitterbug by Colinette.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I really want to learn all the ways to knit a sock … different heels, toe up, etc.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Yes. Not a very experienced one but a sock knitter none-the-less. My foot is 10 inches long, and 9 inches around the middle of my foot. I wear a size 8 shoe.

23. When is your birthday?
July 5th