crisis averted

i am pleased to report that my downstream swap pal did in fact get her package. and she liked it! yay!

that being said, i don't know if i will do more swaps. this is not because of the ladies involved (they were great) but because the mailing and worrying and finger crossing involved. i also don't think i can devote the proper time to really using the swaps to full advantage for making new pals and such. i am all about my 2 new pals, but i really only had the time to get to know 2 people out of the more than 50 people involved in this swap.

i'm lame.
i mean, i am this way about ravelry too. it is neat and all, but i log on maybe every 10 days. i'm even worse with my crochet me account.

all this being said... i have a "casual" swap to introduce soon. stay tuned.

and just to show i really am making progress on the holiday gifts....

my father's second sock! yes, that is a turned heel you see. very much so. it is just begging for a gusset. i plan to give it one tonight at my stitch'n'bitch.

mail call!

yesterday i was dashing out the door when i was stopped in my tracks--my Fall Into Autumn package arrived! i didn't have a set in stone schedule, so i opened it up on the spot. wow, talk about goodies.
my spoiler spoiled me a lot.

as you see from the picture....

• 5 (yes, 5!) dishcloths. including two diagonal garter stitch, and two picture ones (a bug and a bat) as well as a round one. i love round cloths! yay!
• a pattern book
• sock shaped point protectors. cutest thing in the world. we all know how i feel about socks.
• handmade vanilla oatmeal soap that smells amazing.
  
• size 7 bamboo needles (i have been using my 7 a lot lately. now i have bamboo and not just aluminium)
• a halloween kitty with googley eyes that came in her own halloween bag.
• pumpkin stationary.
• a batty halloween bracelet
• halloween buttons
• a skein of black Cotton Ease, which i have never tried but have been wanting to.
• and a pretty Monet print card.
  

the whole thing came packaged up dappled in halloween confetti. i point this out because this is the first time i ever successfully opened a package with confetti and didn't have it go all over the place. this is very good because i get cards from Certain Nameless Friends that contain confetti and i get fooled every time. confetti everywhere. i still find little teal sparkle dots from a birthday card i opened two years ago..... in a different apartment.

i'm not sure how that is possible.

thank you Donna! i love my package. i now have to chuckle because you said you were worried you couldn't surprise the yarn store gal. you did more than an admirable job. i love it. i hope your spoiler was as sweet to you as you were to me!

now i need to cool down my use of exclamation points a bit.

we all need a little support

thank you to all the concerned citizens of the Fall Into Autumn Swap. my pal's address was rescued from the abyss.

and another form of support....

Frederick's of Hollywood and Clothes Off Our Back just had the 4th Annual Lingerie Art Auction. there is an auction of celebrity designed corsets for charity pruposes. check them out here.

they are pretty cool.... for the most part. and some were designed by men. now, i was suspicious that these were (as most this "star" designed) not at all designed by the people who sponsored them. but some make a lot of sense with the celebrity. and then there are one's like what Jeremy Piven and Debra Messing designed.... not only do they look like the stars designed them--they look like they made them too. Jeremy Piven clearly loves a Beadazzler.

no really, go look. Bradly Whitford will surprise you.

day three

i have been trying for three days to retrieve my swap pal's lost email address. the hostesses are not getting back to me. this is very frustrating. technical difficulties stink.

i think i am going to have to reveal myself to my pal to ask for the address directly. i really didn't want to ruin the fun.

on a different note.... raw meat should never be a prop an art director can select for a knitted project photo shoot.

sad panda

i am a sad panda for two reasons.

1. the Fall Into Autumn Swap is about to end. i guess that isn't too sad because my package from my swap pal will show up any second, but still.... no more topics. no more covert blog messages. ah, well. fun while it lasts.

2. i am thisclose to failing at my swap. you see, my email seems to have had a meltdown and eaten two weeks worth of mail. this mail includes my hostess with her email address. my swap pal's email address and mailing address. and all other information related to retrieving said items. ugh!

i mean, i don't even have an email address to send a message to my pal and say "this is who i am. sorry i ruined the anonymity of our swap, but can you send me your address so i can send you a package?" boo. it isn't like i can leave that message in her blog comments and expect a reply!

and with that venting of frustration.... our last Topic of the Week...

How was your experience in the exchange? Did you enjoy the folks you met? Did you just love the cloth and goodies you received? Please share any thoughts, criticism, and things you loved!

i have had a good time. until now when i have messed myself up.

my swap pal is great. always staying in touch and leaving me fun comments. i also feel lucky to have been given someone to spoil me that one day i may be able to thank in person! i was so excited that she came to my LYS (even if i wasn't working that day). there is a coffee shop in the same building it, so next time she hits our nation's capital hopefully we can have a coffee and pet the pretty yarn together.

related to that, i am glad that the hostesses didn't try to match people up based on age or interests (other than needlework!) because i like meeting different sorts of people. i do that a lot in both of my jobs, and i enjoy it. i think you miss out on different points of view if you don't have friends of all ages and with differing interests.

as for the pal i am spoiling... we have not communicated much. i write her blog comments every week (she posts about once per week) but i have not heard anything back since the first week. that's fine. i think she is really busy from the sound of her posts, and she has other swaps going. i just hope she likes the things i picked for her! i went all autumn colors, so we shall see!

[somone is getting crazy with the exclamation points today. time to wrap up.]

my package has not arrived yet, so i will do a follow up on its awesomeness (which is almost assured) once i have it here.

good clean knitting fun

i have knit a few dish/face cloths in the last month, and i am ready to share them! we'll start with a belated birthday gift.

Mesh Garter Cloth
designed by kittything

knit in RYC Cotton Jeans (1 ball #360 "Canvas" 100% cotton) purchased at Knit+Stitch=Bliss on size US 7 Plymouth bamboo needles.

started: october 15, 2007
finished: october 16, 2007

this one is a present for one of my knitting pals. i can't reveal too much until i give it to said friend. i liked it. it was a fun quick knit, and the yarn is very pretty when knit up. it gets a little splitty when knit, but i like the look enough to forgive it.

it is very close to the end of the Fall Into Autumn Swap, and i have decided to finally reveal the cloths i knit for my buddy. she doesn't do a lot of pictures on her blog, so i want to have these in case she wants to take them for herself after she gets the package.

so our first friend is...

Traveling Vines Cloth
designed by smariek
available at smarieknits

knit in Karabella Windy (1 ball color #5 100% cotton) purchased at Knit+Stitch=Bliss on size US 8 needles.

started: september 11, 2007
finished: september 11, 2007

i love this yarn. it makes a super soft fabric, and it is really fun to knit. best of all, the colors are really amazing. i liked it so much that i knit a second cloth for my swap buddy out of it...

moving on to swap cloth number two...


Twin Leaf Lace Cloth
designed by smariek
available at smarieknits

knit in Karabella Windy (1 ball color #4 100% cotton) purchased at Knit+Stitch=Bliss on size US 8 needles.

started: september 12, 2007
finished: september 13, 2007

again. i loved knitting this one. it was lots of fun. enough said. let's move on to this week's Fall Into Autumn topic...

Now that it is getting cooler here, it makes me think of apple picking and hay rides. Are you the type that likes to go to participate in all the fall festivities like apple picking, pumpkins, decorating for the fall, hay rides, baking fall goodies, etc. or do you just sit and count the days till Thanksgiving/Christmas/Hanukkah?

i am hit or miss on my fall "participation". i enjoy eating apples and other fall foods like pumpkin treats, and i have been known to carve a mean jack'o'lantern every once in awhile.

i think if i had more "free" time, i might do more of the fall activities... who am i kidding? i would just knit and crochet more.

three things...

first, i turned the heel on the second southwestern sock yesterday, and i am part way up the leg. i only have about 30 more rounds before i bind off. woot!

second, i got an email last night around 11pm from one of my work pals at the store.... my Fall Into Autumn swap buddy stopped by over the weekend! and she just then told me! (hehe. thanks, D.!) i was opening the show, so i wasn't working. both good and bad--i'm a little excited still that we have an anonymous swap and i want to wait until after my package arrives to know who my buddy is. but at the same time, how cool would it be to get to meet your pal--especially in a yarn store.

well, swap buddy...
i hope you had a good time at the shop and that everyone was nice to you. the pal who emailed me is very sweet, so i'm sure it couldn't be bad! she also said you bought something, so i hope you are enjoying your goodies!

third, we have a new Fall Into Autumn topic of the week....

Are there any recipes you especially enjoy having in the Fall? Any foods that are seasonal that you especially enjoy?

for me, fall marks the return to real cooking and the beginning of holiday food planning.

a few weekends ago i did a big stock up on cooking. i go back to the things you make in the oven and freeze them because this is a very busy work season for me. fall means baked zitti, veg. lasagna, and homemade mac and cheese are back!

my mum and i also start to talk about the Christmas Eve dinner. this is our big special occasion for me, and my parents. we have dinner on the 24th before doing the big family gathering on the 25th. we use the crystal and make a several course meal. so planning it is a lot of fun, and we start early. in fact, mum and i talked about a new recipe while it was still september!

zoooom!

that is the sound of a drive by blogging. still really busy, but i cannot resist a quick little update. and i have to post my next Fall Into Autumn topic!

first!
thank you for all of the nice comments on my Log Cabin Sock. i have not been knitting long, but i try really hard to make my stuff look better than my duration of experience would suggest. i'm glad to see that is working!

i think my cables turn out pretty nice because i taught myself to cable early on in the adventure of learning to knit. since the first (unfinished still) cabled scarf, i have made fetching from knitty.com and the cabled neck tube from helloyarn. i say i don't like cables, but i really enjoy how they look. i just don't particularly like making them.

now.... ta-daaa! i finished the first sock sunday night. i'm pretty pleased with it. i did a few modifications to make it more to my liking, but overall i think it is a better pattern than people have been giving it credit for out in blogland. i have not cast on for the 2nd yet because... well...

zoooom!

Autumn has now officially begun here in the States!! What is your favorite thing about Autumn/Fall? Why?

my favourite thing about this time of year is the weather change. as much as i like summer, i prefer the cooler temperatures. i like to dress in layers, and i love to wear scarves and hats (both fashion accessories like silk scarves and newsboy caps as well as the warmer hand knit/crocheted varieties) with my outfits.

i also enjoy the look of fall--the leaves, fall flowers, and the quality of the sunshine. there is something about the angle of the sun once we reach fall that really appeals to me. it also seems to me like the wildlife gets more active during the fall. the squirrels and birds are out and about busying themselves with winter preparations after being less active in the summer heat.

fall is also exciting because it is the return of the live theatre season. i work a lot in the summer, but the new season beings to unroll beginning in september and it has a new energy that the last shows being dragged out in the summer lack. there is something about being in either a freezing (from AC) theatre or a sweltering theatre (lack of AC) that makes me long for the fall.

pants on fire

remember when i said little posting because i am busy? well, posting my topic of the week reply for the Fall Into Autumn swap means a chance for a cool prize. so i make exceptions.

a cool prize if worth the ten minutes of sleep i won't get.

When you knit or crochet dishcloths, washcloths or face cloths, what do you use? What size needle or hook? Wood? what type? Metal? Plastic? A specific Brand? Why do you love that needle or hook so much? Is there one you are dying to try? Is there a particular yarn you love and use all the time for cloths? What is so special about it?

I must be the least fussy needlework enthusiast in the world. i just use what i have on hand when it comes to needles and hooks. i have several sets of inexpensive crochet hooks (acrylic and metal) and i use those in an "H" or "I" typically.

for knitted cloths i use a handy interchangeable circular set in a size US 7 or 8. i also have cheap straights in those sizes that i am willing to use if i have my circulars in a project. i knit the two cloths for my pal on my stupid Susan Bates aluminum size 8 needles.

i like Peaches and Cream yarn for dish cloths. i only use Sugar and Cream if they have a color i Must Have. it just is too rough. peaches isn't a lot better, but it is enough better that i prefer it. since i work at my LYS, i'll buy fancy stuff for gifts and face cloths.

i am very excited about the cloths i knit for my pal. they were made with very yummy Karabella Windy. oooh. fancy. fancier than i would make for me!

now that i think about it, i knit a sweater for my friends' little boy out of Sweaterkits CottonLiscious , and i think i would like to try that for cloths. see how it holds up for the long haul. it is a lot like Mission Falls 1824 Cotton, and i really enjoyed working with it.

okay. done.

must. go. to. bed.

schlump + busy

when we last left our heroine, she was in a knitting schlump. that has improved somewhat because the Fall Into Autumn Swap has started, and that is exciting.

in fact i marched right out and bought the yarn i will make my pal's cloths from. yes, cloths. i decided i am making two for her. you see, i am very excited about the fact that my pal uses both face and dishcloths. i like face cloths too, so i am making her some. they can be fancier and use smooshier cotton. the smooshier cotton is the other motivating factor. my pal doesn't have a LYS so she doesn't get to pet the good yarn like i do because i work at my LYS.

aren't the colors great? the yarn is Karabella Windy. there is only a tiny ball of the butterscotch color because i knit the first cloth last night while talking to my friend B.

so all this talk of my new pal i get to spoil.... well, i am someone's new pal too. hi new friend! thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment. i'll try to keep the content coming!

i'm about to run headlong into a busy spell. i have a design run tonight, fittings for the next show all weekend, drawings for a show in december that need to be worked on this weekend and tech week staring me in the face. i also managed to commit to a few social obligations here and there.

but before i slunk off to my life of work work work, let's not leave the fun behind just yet. this week's topic on the swap blog....

Topic
Now that in some geographic locations the weather is starting to turn cooler, do you change the type of yarn(s) you knit/crochet with? If so, what do you now knit/crochet with instead and why? If not, why do you not switch and what do you knit/crochet with?

i knit or crochet whatever i want whenever i want. i crocheted a cotton shawl while it was snowing out and i also completed an afghan during july and august. i think i don't change with the seasons because i don't get overheated all that often, and when i do, i'm not going to knit anyway.

i guess i change the tiniest bit when the holidays are coming because i tend to make my heaviest items for gifts during the cold weather. but is tarted my holiday gifts in august, so that doesn't have a lot to do with temperature at time of creation.

i think it also makes a difference that i am an equal opportunity fiber enthusiast. i like my cotton as much as my wools, but i don't get to do as much wool as some. many of my projects are gifts, and the majority of my close friends and some family can't wear animal fibers. so i use a lot of cotton or the occasional acrylic.

my first swap!

i joined my first swap today. i'm starting small and doing a dishcloth swap. registration goes through September 8 over here. we get partners after that! weeeee!

now... my questionnaire.

1. Do you knit or crochet? How long have you been doing it? I do both. I have crocheted for about 5 years, and I have been knitting for a little more than 7 months.

2. Have you made dishcloths before? Do you use them yourself, give them as gifts, or both? i have made them before, and i mostly make them as gifts. those that i own and use are gifts from others to me!

3. What's your favorite cotton to make cloths from? What cotton would you like to try that you haven't before ? I like Peaches and Cream for dish cloths and softer things like Tahki Cotton Classic or Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille for face cloths. i'm not sure what i want to try next...

4. If you knit, do you prefer circular or straight needles? For all, do you prefer wooden, metal, or plastic needles? i knit on metal interchangeable circular needles and wooden double points. i crochet with metal, but i hate addi turbo crochet hooks.

5. What are your favorite colors? Any colors you don't like much? depends on the project.... i like greys, black, deep reds, raisin, and pinks for clothing and accessories. i love crazy colors for socks and wash cloths. not a big fan of blues or lighter purples, and i actively dislike pastels.

6. What do you like best about Autumn? the crisp air, the way it smells, and the leaves. i also like dressing in layers but not being snowed on! so it is the perfect time of year.

7. Pies: Pumpkin? Apple? Pecan? All of em? or No Thanks! hm. pumpkin or pecan. but only a little bit.

8. When you were a kid, were you the one who couldn't wait to get started with school, or the one who overslept on the 1st day? i always liked school, but i was usually nervous about starting up again.

9. Do you celebrate Halloween? (The real key here guys is especially knowing if you have an aversion to the holiday or little goodies/decorations associated with it, given the timeframe of the swap) i like halloween, but i don't really do anything with it. (costumes are my job, so why would i do one for "fun"?) i'm not a huge fan of seasonal decor, but i love skulls all year round.

10. If you had to choose just 3 edible 'goodies' to eat for a full year, what 3 would you choose? deluxe mixed nuts, sorbet, twix.

11. Do you have any pets? Kids? Husbands who seem like kids? ;) none of the above. but i want a kitty desperately. send me one?

12. If you were to describe a particular yarn that shares traits of your personality, what would it be and why? hand painted sock yarn--it is springy and bright. and it takes a long time to knit. =)

13. Do you use your cloths mostly for dishcloths, or as facecloths? i use the fancy ones for my face and more utilitarian ones for dishes.

14. Favorite Fall Holiday: Halloween or Thanksgiving and why? (Feel free to share another fall memory if you do not celebrate either of these holidays) i guess thanksgiving. because i get to take a break and see people i'm not around very often.

15. Do you have any allergies or aversions your pal should know about? i have a boatload of allergies, but here are the pertinent ones.... mohair, angora, bananas, cucumber, apple-flavoured candies. my skin is wacky, so the simpler the soap, the better.