02.12.06
Posted in Knitting Olympics, Knitty Secret Pal at 10:15 pm by Rachel
Guess what? I’m going to knit socks. For months I’ve been oscillating between turning my nose up at the sock knitting craze (why spend all that time on something so small and barely visible?) and nearly succumbing to the undeniable temptation (just look at the amazing colors available in all those sock yarns!). Well, my paper-thin wall of resistance was blown to shreds on Friday when I laid my eyes and hands upon this gorgeous stuff:
That is Sunshine Yarns “Gryffindor Stripe” self-striping sock yarn. Harry Potter socks of my very own are just a few tens of thousands of stitches away. (I will cast aside my suspicion that would more likely be sorted into Ravenclaw than Gryffindor; I am more nerd than hero.) I have gone from unsure about the whole sock thing to itching to cast on in the time it took me to open the surprise package that arrived on my doorstep Friday afternoon. (Laura, I know I was showing solidarity with you on the whole no-sock thing, but you can’t blame me for cracking in the face of gift yarn!)
You may all remember my secret pal, who spoiled me again and again and again and again last spring and summer. Well, she has struck once more. I have a birthday coming up this month, and the generous and wonderful Carry surprised me by marking the occasion with a completely unexpected box of treats. The only thing that could have been better is if she herself had arrived on my doorstep. Maybe next time. (Rhode Island really is a lovely spot for a lengthy vacation, Carry!)
Note the drifts of snow out the window. The only reason I won’t whine about the Nor’easter we got this weekend (and the attendant shoveling) is because we haven’t had a flake of snow since December; I don’t want to seem ungrateful for that and incite God to send a blizzard every weekend until May to put me in my place. Yes, my theology is highly questionable. But I’m getting way off track. (What? ME??)
What you’re seeing above are two skeins of Brown Sheep worsted weight wool in a wonderful ocean blue; the Yarn Harlot’s Secret Life of a Knitter; almond roca and a mint chocolate bar; piggy stitch markers (enlarged to the right, handmade by Carry herself); the aforementioned sock yarn; “Lucky,” the most recent CD by Melissa Ethridge; and a hilarious cat card. I know, I couldn’t believe her generosity either! There’s even more: I also received Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Knitting Without Tears, a classic that I wanted to add to my collection, but I couldn’t get it to fit into my tableau.
There is no question that the opening ceremonies of an Olympic event with 4000 participants from all over the world would provide enough knitting joy for one night. But add to that the unexpected receipt of several wonderful gifts, and you’d better believe I was on Knitting Cloud Nine the whole weekend. Thank you so much, Carry!
Speaking of the Knitting Olympics, I made good progress this weekend, though I’m going to frog some of it (I had decided to make Tubey with a tapered sleeve instead of a bell sleeve but didn’t like the way it came out, so I’m taking it out). I am very happy with how my colors are looking together (sleeve stripe detail to the left). I successfully employed a new provisional cast on and slightly less successfully tried for “jogless jog stripes” at the color changes. I think I’m where I should be at this point in the event. I’m liking the yarn, liking the pattern, and hating the fact that I have to go to work tomorrow instead of knitting all day. Harumph.
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08.21.05
Posted in Knitty Secret Pal, Works in Progress at 5:25 pm by Rachel
I’m back! We were on vacation in the Pacific Northwest for 10 days, took a red-eye back Thursday night, arrived home to cat puke, stinky trash, and spoiled milk, and have continued to sleep on a west-coast schedule for three days. With all that, I am only just getting up the energy to return to knitting and blogging. However, for those same reasons, I can make no promises about the quality of the content.
I hope to recount the trip at length over on Shiny Green Apple, my non-knitting blog, but here I will just focus on one of the highlights: I got to meet my secret pal on my trip! Carry (from over at Fairie Knits) and I met up at 10 a.m. last Sunday and proceeded to talk incessantly for three and a half hours before I even thought to check my watch. I was so disappointed to realize that I was supposed to be meeting Matt almost immediately to move on to our next scheduled activity. I managed to eke out a few more minutes with Carry before I gave into my guilt about keeping Matt waiting. We spent those minutes fondling the goods at a nearby yarn store. I did not give into my yarn cravings, but I did make an impulse buy of a Debbie Bliss book of baby knitting designs. There was no justification for this whatsoever, especially since a) I just got Adorable Knits for Tots from my secret pal (I am having a hard time learning to call her by her name) and want to knit several things from that, and b) I don’t know very many people who are currently reproducing. Ah well. Knitting-related purchases aren’t always rational.
The lady at the yarn store was nice enough to take our picture:
Carry brought me several little Seattle-made treats, which Matt and I enjoyed throughout the rest of our trip. Here are the remnants. Some of those are actually empty packaging and wrappers that I have tried to make look more, um, substantial:
It is completely ludicrous that Carry brought me gifts after showering me with loot for four months as my secret pal. It made my little tokens for her look even more pitiful. I brought her two skeins of ultra-bulky Rhode-Island grown wool that is so unprocessed that I don’t think it could ever be made into a knitted garment. But I thought something from my home state might be a good idea…well, maybe she can felt it or something. I also made a little felted basket that was much cuter in my mind, but since I had one day to figure out a pattern, make it, and felt it, I figure it could have come out much worse:
Matt found an alternate use for the item. His punishment for disrespecting my knitting handiwork is that I will publish this ridiculous photo of him on the internet:
Anyway, Carry and I got along so fabulously that I was quite sad to accept that we probably won’t see each other again for a good long time. However, we have certainly proven that we can keep up a very robust email correspondence, so we’ll continue that until our next chance to meet in person. And when Matt and I move to Seattle (something we keep considering with varying degrees of seriousness), she can be my new best friend!
There was basically no other knitting activity during our vacation. I got to work on Cozy quite a bit during the plane ride out, but that was it until I got home. I brought nine balls of cotton for Cozy, perhaps overestimating how much I would get done on the trip…I only used one. Still, it’s coming along slowly but surely:
I can’t believe I’m back to work tomorrow! I hate how vacation flies by. We met a very nice couple from Belfast on one leg of our trip and they were telling us all about the 6 weeks of vacation they get a year (plus additional personal days, increased vacation after several years at a job, etc.). They couldn’t even get their minds around the idea of 3 weeks of “holiday” a year. Americans get a lot of things right, but that is not one of them.
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08.04.05
Posted in Knitty Secret Pal at 10:43 pm by Rachel
That secret pal of mine, she’s really outdone herself. Please feast your eyes on the panoply of goodies that awaited me when I arrived home from work this afternoon:
But I don’t want you to ruin your eyesight squinting at the many marvels in this photo. That would be so rude of me! Allow me to take you on a detailed tour of the delights that sprang from the unassuming Amazon box on my doorstep. Do give in to the temptation to click any thumbnail for a larger image.
First, the most directly knitting-relevant items. Once again I am forced into conspiracy theories based on my secret pal’s uncanny ability to read my every thought. Recently I have been wanting to expand my collection of children’s patterns; she supplies me with Adorable Knits for Tots by Zoe Mellor. I have heard so much about Blue Sky Organic Cotton that not long ago I was thinking I really wanted to give it a try once my yarn diet is over (in 40 years). Ho ho, what’s this? A skein of Blue Sky Organic Cotton so soft that any who shun cotton would be forced to reconsider. It’s really fantastic. I can’t wait to knit with it. Finally, just today I was thinking that I needed to get myself some wool wash, and that I was foolish for not doing so when I was at the LYS recently when my mom was buying some. My secret pal knew about this before I did, because she tucked a bottle of Eucalan wool wash into my package. Unbelievable!
The next set of gifts is a series of wonderful items that recognize knitting for the addiction it is, including such gems as a “Don’t Knit and Drive” bumper sticker, a card outlining the signs of a knitting addiction, a “While You Were Knitting” phone message pad, and a small pin that says “Friends don’t let friends knit drunk,” which absolutely cracks me up. I believe at least some of the items can be found at Knitters Anonymous. I can’t wait to adorn my car/knitting bag/etc. with these very funny things.
Treats for me, my sweetie, and our kitties! The Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans — one box for Matt and one for me — are in honor of the new Harry Potter, and the freeze-dried salmon is for our undeserving whiny cats. This was explained to me in the card, but I have to admit that by the time I got to them when unpacking the box, I forgot they were for the cats. I was sort of like, “Huh, freeze-dried salmon snacks…sounds a little unusual, but I’ll try anything once. Maybe it’s a Pacific Northwest thing.” Thank god I saw the “Treats for cats” printed on the packaging before I popped one into my mouth. The cats, however, loved them. When I wouldn’t give them more than two each, much whining ensued. As for Bertie Botts, well, I have to say I don’t know that I can bring myself to eat a jelly bean that I think is buttered popcorn when it just might be snot. I’ve risked it enough times before to know that those gross flavors are not a joke!
Next up, a wonderful array of loose tea and some fun tea accessories. I adore tea. My whole family is very into tea, and it must be said that we can be kind of snobby about not using tea bags. The flavors are wonderful — the cinnamon tea instantly made me think of Christmas — and the “fill your own teabag” bags are a wonderful idea! I can’t wait to experiment with that a bit. I’m also a big fan of the tea infuser.
Way back when we first filled out our questionnaires, I indicated that lavender is one of my favorite scents. Even though that was something like 4 months ago, my secret pal remembered and gifted me with divine lavender lotion, bath salts, and these little lavender tablets that you can put in drawers, knitting bags, or yarn stashes to keep them smelling wonderful. Isn’t that a great idea? And apparently they’re all locally made (in Seattle).
The lavender items came in this cute little cloth drawstring bag. The really, really cool thing is that this bag came with an identification number, and if you go to wrapsacks.com and enter the number, it tells you the history of where the bag has been. The idea is that when you gift it to the next person, you enter your information, theirs, and what was given. Isn’t that neat? Anyway, my SP revealed herself to me by having me look up this bag and find her information there. What a great idea! So after much waiting and refraining from guessing, I have learned that my outstanding, generous, funny, interesting, dedicated SP is carrym from the Knitty boards and can be found expounding upon knitting and life over at Fairie Knits! Now I can stalk her on her blog. Excellent.
And so my Secret Pal is secret no more. But that’s okay! Because next week I get to meet her, and we’ve forged such a great relationship over email that I know our friendship will continue. And that is certainly the best possible outcome of an internet game like this, don’t you think?
Thank you for everything, Carry! You’ve set the secret pal standard so high that I think I may never participate again for fear of certain disappointment! I can’t wait to meet you.
I almost forgot…there was one more item in my package (aside from the tissue paper and the funny card about doing yoga with cats). The problem is, I failed to include it in the pictures because I sort of was doing something else to it:
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06.23.05
Posted in Knitty Secret Pal at 10:55 pm by Rachel
Here is the wonderful package I received from my secret pal:
In case you can’t see everything, she sent me a recent Knitter’s magazine (some great patterns!); the amazing Rogue Pullover pattern with all corrections, tips, and addenda; two skeins of Mission Falls Cotton (the first yarn I ever fell in love with, and I love it still); three skeins of Rowan Cotton Glace in a heavenly periwinkle; outrageously delicious Ghiradelli mint chocolate squares; a wooden cable needle (my collection of knitting tools has become much more robust since Knitty Secret Pal begain); the book At Knit’s End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much (I enjoyed the first few mediations over breakfast this morning); and the very best stitch markers in the whole wide world! Made by my SP herself! Those deserve their very own close up photo:
Aren’t those fantastic?? Good bye, old hair elastic stitch markers! With my Red Sox point protectors and stitch markers, do you think Johnny Damon would notice me if I brought my knitting to a game at Fenway?
My awesome secret pal also sent my husband and Barnes and Noble gift card for his birthday! Can you believe her generosity? He was just floored. AND she sent him an e-card today. Seriously, she’s showing me up in a big way.
I also just want to say publicly how much I’ve enjoyed getting to know her over email in the last month or so. She’s an incredibly cool woman with whom I have a lot in common, and I’m looking forward to getting to know her even better and eventually meeting her in a couple of months!
A giant cyber thank-you to you, Secret Pal!
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Posted in Knitty Secret Pal at 9:31 am by Rachel
I got another wonderful package from my secret pal last night. Highlights include gorgeous yarn, delicious chocolate, and the very best stitch markers anyone has ever had, ever, in the history of knitting. PLUS a special gift for my husband, who turns 30 today! (He was totally blown away.) And more! Like the pattern for the amazing Rogue Pullover that I have had my eye on for weeks! Seriously, SP, are you tracking my internet activity? I am forced to conclude that you are, because I don’t even remember mentioning it.
I had a class last night so I didn’t have an opportunity to take pictures yet, but I will do that tonight to showcase the terrific loot that my SP spoiled me with. Thanks, SP!
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05.25.05
Posted in Knitty Secret Pal, Yarn and Tools at 12:52 pm by Rachel
It was like Christmas morning at my house yesterday after I came home from work. I knew I would find my second Secret Pal package waiting for me, but I had no idea what I was in for. I’m still in utter shock. I mean, not only were the gifts outrageously generous, but it was like I’d gone and picked them all out myself! For a moment my mind got all kooky and I started thinking that perhaps my secret pal is myself in the future, sending gifts to the me of the past. Sounds like an interesting plot for a light science fiction story, doesn’t it? Anyway, my point is that the gifts were dead on. I think my secret pal is inside my head.
To start with, I opened the Fed Ex box and slid out…a bag. Like, a real bag. Not a plastic bag, or a paper bag, but a really nice black, zippered, handled bag that is so versatile that it could be used for anything (but guess what I’m going to use it for?).
I opened the bag and reached in. The first thing I touched was a HUGE skein of amazing, beautiful, subtly variegated blue/gray wool. From Italy. I am not making it up when I say I’ve really been wanting to work with yarn just like this for a while now.
Once I could finally tear my eyes and fingers away from the wool, I quickly became overwhelmed by the amazing array of goodies in the bag. First, a skein of eyelash yarn in blue and green. Super soft and fluffy. Seeing this right after the wool made me instantly think “kitty bed!” And what do you know? I pull out a copy of the pattern for a kitty bed. But there was also a pattern for the wonderful Booga Bag, which of course threw me into a fit of indecision. I think I’m going to go with the kitty bed this time, but I’m still wavering. The wool would work wonderfully with both patterns.
Know what else would work wonderfully with both patterns? The three sets of knitting needles my Secret Pal sent. Two sets of double-pointed (how did she know I really needed to increase my DPN collection?) and a set of circulars, all in bamboo — my favorite kind of needles! At this point I was truly beside myself.
But there’s more. A skein of Mission Falls 1824 cotton, which I adore (and am devastated that it’s discontinued). I immediately thought “baby hat.” Well, out of the bag comes the beautiful book Last Minute Knitted Gifts with a page bookmarked — a page with a pattern for a baby hat made with Mission Falls 1824 Cotton! Does anyone else find this eerie? (It goes without saying that there are many other fantastic patterns in that book, which has been on my wish list for a while.)
My readers must be thinking, there can’t be any more, can there? I mean, there just can’t possibly be any more.
Guess what folks, there’s more.
A set of darning needles, which will come in quite handy since the ones I have weren’t really meant for knitting projects.
Two chocolate bars from the same place as last time; I am salivating just typing about them.
A Dan Brown CD audio book — I have been dying to get an audio book to listen to while I knit! My mom has been doing this quite a bit recently and I have been thinking I need to follow her lead. My SP made that mighty easy!
I have been saving the best for last. I don’t know where my SP found such a perfect gift for me: RED SOX POINT PROTECTORS. Yes. Point protectors. Which I needed. But these are in the shape of red socks. As in, the World Champion Boston Red Sox. At this point I was completely delirious.
Secret Pal, thank you so, so much. You have no idea how much you absolutely made my week. All day today I’ve been thinking about your wonderful gifts and my fingers have just itched to get home to start playing with/eating/listening to my many new toys. I’m really floored by your generosity.
Here is one horribly crappy picture. I really need to take an individual picture of the point protectors, which must be seen by all and worshipped. Readers will also be seeing photos of these wonderful gifts being transformed into finished objects. (Oh, by the way SP, I’m just about ready to start using the Debbie Bliss alpaca silk for a project rather than just snuggling up to it in bed every night. Okay, I don’t really do that, but not because I don’t want to.)
Thank you a million times over!
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04.29.05
Posted in Knitty Secret Pal at 8:55 pm by Rachel
I arrived home today knowing I was in for a treat (my secret pal tipped me off — she has tracking information and saw that the package had been delivered), but I didn’t realize how much of a treat. The unassuming manilla envelope I found on my doorstep contained:
1) A funny card with a nice long message
2) Two delectable-looking chocolate bars from her (approximate) home city of Seattle (cool!) that I will devour the minute Passover is over
3) A fantastic book of knitting patterns for children — every pattern is adorable and classic and not at all cheesy (my typical complaint with kid pattern books). It has a sort of New England beachy theme, I’d say, which is perfect! I love it and want to knit about 20 things from it.
4) Two balls of Debbie Bliss alpaca silk. That’s what the label says, anyway. I actually have a hard time believing that it’s anything other than a cumulus cloud that has been spun into yarn and died a rich, luscious purple. This stuff is unbelievable. I am thrilled. She also very considerately included a scarf pattern I might want to use the yarn on. However, I think I shall just slowly accumulate a huge stash of this stuff and then sleep in a big pile of it.
I’m off to post on the Knittyboard secret pal thread, but in case my SP sees this first, thank you thank you thank you thank you! You have wonderful taste and I am blown away by your generosity.
By the way, I’m coming to Seattle in August…perhaps we could meet up if I guess your identity by then! (Or I’ll have to wander through the streets calling “Secret paaaaaal? Secret PAAAAAALLLLL!!!” until you are so mortified that you identify yourself so I’ll shut up.)
Here, by the way, is a more straightforward picture of my loot:
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04.04.05
Posted in Knitty Secret Pal at 1:20 pm by Rachel
Over on the Knittyboards, volunteer members periodically arrange “Secret Pal” exchanges, in which board members are assigned “pals” to send several small gifts to over the course of three months. This is the first time I have participated, and I’m very excited! In order to help participants tailor their gifts to their pals’ likes and dislikes, we all fill out extensive questionnaires. I’m jumping on Amy’s and Alesia’s bandwagon and posting mine here for the boundless interest of the knitblogging public.
KNITTING & FIBERS:
1. What is your current skill level? Intermediate (more or less, depending on the day)
2. What are your favorite fiber colors? Neutrals/earth tones; rich, muted colors.
3. Are there any fiber colors you absolutely do notlike? If so which? I do not care for variegated yarns (unless it’s very subtle), neon colors, or extremely bright colors.
4. What are your favorite fibers? Mostly “classics.” Naturals over acrylics, mostly, though of course there are exceptions. Super soft is always a bonus!
5. Do you have any unwelcome fibers (stuff you just don’t need more of or like)? Novelty yarn, yarn where two threads/colors/fibers are very obviously mixed together (like a tweed), very bulky yarn.
6. What is your Dream Yarn? Soft, strong, luxurious to touch. Nothing flashy or trendy.
7. How do you feel about novelty fibers (both the yarns and the items made with them)? Oops, should have read ahead before answering above. I am not interested in novelty fibers or items made from these fibers.
8. What is the next thing you want to learn (techniques, etc.) on the needles? I just finished my first cable sweater and would like to do more cabling. I also really want to make a man’s sweater.
9. What item(s) do you knit the most? Baby sweaters, but I really want to be doing more adult clothing.
WANTS & NOTS:
10. Allergies: Do you have any food, fiber, smoke, pet allergies your SP should be aware of? I can smell smoke in anything (that has been near smoke, that is) and can’t stand it. Other than that, just penicillin and shellfish, allergy-wise. But I sort of doubt that info will be particularly relevant.
11. Do you have an Amazon.com or knitpicks.com wishlist you’d like to share with your SP? http://tinyurl.com/6js4e (That link should work for my Amazon wish list.)
12. What is on your “cool stuff” wishlist (knitting or not)? Pretty, frivolous stitch markers; an under-bed storage something or other (my stash, while not comparable to lots of people’s, is growing rapidly), a small bag to carry individual projects on planes, etc., double-pointed needles in various sizes.
13. What about stuff you don’t need at all? Knitting-wise? Uhhh…my hobby only recently became a full-scale obsession, so there’s not much I’m maxed-out on yet.
14. Do you have hobbies other than knitting (tv, sports, collectibles, fave things)? The Boston Red Sox, photography, the Sims, my husband.
15. Books you would like (knitting or not): Many, many knitting books. I sort of want the Stitch and Bitch books, just because they seem to be instant “classics,” but I’m interested in a number of things. A stitch dictionary would be really cool. Or one of those books with small projects like “Weekend Knits” or “Last Minute Knitted Gifts” or what have you. Also magazines – I only subscribe to Interweave Knits.
16. For those of you who live outside the US, is there anything you’d like that you can’t get your hands on? N/A
17. In the event your SP lives outside the the US, is there a particular yarn, etc. you can’t find in the US? Hmm. I don’t know enough about yarn outside the US to answer this. I’d certainly be open to something I couldn’t get here! An issue of a knitting magazine not sold in the U.S. might be cool, too.
FAVORITES: Who/What is your favorite…
Chocolate: Any sampler box that comes with a map
Muppet: Rolf, the piano-playing dog (mostly because I love his “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” with John Denver on the “Christmas Together” album)
Flower: Blue hydrangea
Ice Cream flavor: Ben and Jerry’s sweet cream and cookies
Fragrance: Soapy clean; lavender
Shoes to wear: Well-worn sandals
Type of garden: Languid, overgrown, in full bloom
Animal: In person? My cat. As a zoo exhibit? Penguins.
Beverage: Cream soda
RORSCHACH, ETC:
19. If you were candy would you be sweet, sour, or cinnamon? Hmm. I’m trying to think of a candy that is mostly sweet but with a sour coating. Sour Patch Kids? Ech, not what I want associated with me. Okay, so let’s just say 75% sweet, 25% sour.
20. If you were a fruit which would you be? A green apple. Classic, tart, preppy.
21. Are you a Java Junkie? No. You should see me after one cup of coffee. And by that I mean, you really shouldn’t see me. It’s not fun.
22. Your birthday, in case it falls during the swap and your SP wants to send you a card: February 19. I don’t even think my half birthday will fall during the swap. Maybe my quarter birthday? Yes, I will be 27.25 on May 19. Woohoo!
23. Do you have a personal mantra? No, but I’m about to make one up for the purpose of this question. Wait, I take that back. I just googled “personal mantras” to borrow someone else’s, and apparently they’re supposed to be kept secret. So yes, I have one, but I’m not telling.
24. How do you really feel about socks? How do I really feel? I had no idea this was something people weren’t forthcoming about. I am generally in favor of socks, but I stick with the basic solids. Nothing too crazy. Although my first-ever knitting project was socks, I no longer have much interest in making them.
25. What is your shoe size? 7.5
26. What kind of music (and/or which artists) do you listen to when you are happy? I almost always listen to my complete music collection on shuffle on my iPod. Favorites include the Dixie Chicks, Crowded House, Lisa Loeb, Simon and Garfunkel, Moxy Fruvous, and cheesy Broadway musical soundtracks. I’m pretty flexible us long as it’s not uber-poppy or too loud and screamy.
27. Rate yourself on a girly/fruh fruh factor from 1 – 10: If 1 is Janeane Garofalo and 10 is Barbie, probably a 3.
28. What languages do you speak (besides English)? Fairly bad French and quickly diminishing American Sign Language.
29. If you could have any “super power,” what would it be? For practicality, teleportation. For luxury, the power to slow time (while still moving at a normal speed myself) – I’d like to make Saturday mornings last forever. But the good old classic – flying – is mighty, mighty tempting.
30. You’re given $10,000 for traveling. Where do you go and why? Australia/New Zealand. Because that’s where I really want to go but without free money it’s pretty much beyond my means right now. I am dying to see that part of the world (and I wanted to go before LOTR made New Zealand trendy).
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That is Sunshine Yarns “Gryffindor Stripe” self-striping sock yarn. Harry Potter socks of my very own are just a few tens of thousands of stitches away. (I will cast aside my suspicion that would more likely be sorted into Ravenclaw than Gryffindor; I am more nerd than hero.) I have gone from unsure about the whole sock thing to itching to cast on in the time it took me to open the surprise package that arrived on my doorstep Friday afternoon. (Laura, I know I was showing solidarity with you on the whole no-sock thing, but you can’t blame me for cracking in the face of gift yarn!)
Note the drifts of snow out the window. The only reason I won’t whine about the Nor’easter we got this weekend (and the attendant shoveling) is because we haven’t had a flake of snow since December; I don’t want to seem ungrateful for that and incite God to send a blizzard every weekend until May to put me in my place. Yes, my theology is highly questionable. But I’m getting way off track. (What? ME??)
What you’re seeing above are two skeins of Brown Sheep worsted weight wool in a wonderful ocean blue; the Yarn Harlot’s Secret Life of a Knitter; almond roca and a mint chocolate bar; piggy stitch markers (enlarged to the right, handmade by Carry herself); the aforementioned sock yarn; “Lucky,” the most recent CD by Melissa Ethridge; and a hilarious cat card. I know, I couldn’t believe her generosity either! There’s even more: I also received Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Knitting Without Tears, a classic that I wanted to add to my collection, but I couldn’t get it to fit into my tableau. 
Speaking of the Knitting Olympics, I made good progress this weekend, though I’m going to frog some of it (I had decided to make Tubey with a tapered sleeve instead of a bell sleeve but didn’t like the way it came out, so I’m taking it out). I am very happy with how my colors are looking together (sleeve stripe detail to the left). I successfully employed a new provisional cast on and slightly less successfully tried for “jogless jog stripes” at the color changes. I think I’m where I should be at this point in the event. I’m liking the yarn, liking the pattern, and hating the fact that I have to go to work tomorrow instead of knitting all day. Harumph.
