Yarn Crawl

SP14 Big Reveal!

Last night I cast on Sylvar, with my new Miss Babs yarn in the "Roasted Pumpkin" colorway...yum. Mojo is BACK.

Here are my long overdue pictures of my SP14 final package and big reveal - first, when I was opening the package last week, Jim took pictures of me with my old camera as it was sitting on the kitchen counter at the time, but because I had taken the card out of it they were stored on the camera itself. And...I hadn't been able to locate the cord for that camera for a really long time, I ended up ordering another one. It arrived yesterday so now I finally have my pictures.

In the meantime, I had taken backup pictures with my real camera (the Canon Digital Rebel DSLR) - they look a lot better, so I'll show those. The other photos fully reveal what I look like at the end of a long day without makeup and in very bad lighting. Jim thinks they are cute, though (bless that man's heart!) so I thought I'd share - they're in my photostream if you click into any of the other photos.

First, some yummy Ghirardelli chocolate squares and some other chocolate candies- my pal remembered that I like milk chocolate, not dark, and my peanut butter-chocolate love:

A full bag of Vickie Howell "Craft" (part milk fiber) yarn in a great teal color

Some gorgeous sock/scarf yarn from CraftsMeow (this will become significant later - also recall the other CraftsMeow yarn I received in the last package)

A cute insulated cooler bag - this will come in handy for my all-day-Saturday sewing classes - I was just saying I needed one of these bags!

A pair of Halloween socks

Some really cute kitty stitch markers (my pal must know my obsession with really cute stitch markers, and that I can never have too many of them) and Halloween pumpkin earrings

The last thing was something for my kitties - some "Whisker Lickin" treats - let me tell you, my cats LOVED these, and they are not usually up for treats (except for the "people food" variety like little bits of deli ham, salmon, or yogurt right out of the container I'm eating from).

Gilda and FatKat really appreciated these!

And now for the Big Reveal - my Secret Pal this round was Gwen of CraftsMeow!! Yes, she is the creator of all these great CraftsMeow yarns that she sent! Thanks again for everything, Gwen! You were a great pal!

SP 14 Questionnaire!

I have joined the latest round of Secret Pal and updated my questionnaire. As a side note, I'm not in a pissy mood anymore like I was yesterday morning. Jim and I had a nice evening yesterday and he mentioned that he does, in fact, want to go to Taliesin, just not this upcomng week because of holiday traffic patterns, particularly in that area of Wisconsin as it's not far from the Wisconsin Dells. Good point and understood!! I get ideas in my head sometimes and become very stubborn about wanting to do them NOW sometimes (well, let's be honest - all the time.) But I do get over it quickly. Anyhoo, probably TMI for my new SP - hi pal! It's ironic that this is my first day on vacation, and what do I do first? Oh, get my coffee and fire up the work laptop. A creature of habit, apparently.

Here's the SP 14 Questionnaire!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

My favorite yarn to knit with is merino wool, but I also like certain other cotton tencel blend yarns. Some specifics I love are any of the RYC Cashsoft and Cashcotton yarns, Cascade Pima Tencel and Classic Elite Premiere, Elann luxury superwash merino. I also love anything by Brooks Farm and Tess Designer Yarns. Historically I’ve liked worsted/aran weight yarn the best, but now I really like DK, sport weight and 4ply yarns. If you're on Ravelry, you'll see I have a shortage of these types of yarns. Oh, and I really really hate hemp and am not the biggest fan of linen, or anything unyielding that has a tendency to "split".

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

The Circular Solution for the non-Harmony set needles, and a divided plastic box for the hooks. I only use circulars and have tons of them.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I’ve been knitting since January 2005 and I’d say I’m probably advanced in that I’ve mastered the art of fitting myself and others, have made many different types of sweaters, and am not afraid to try new things.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Yes, my Amazon wish list is under rmartin_cpa at hotmail dot com (an email address I don’t use except for spam type/solicitation lists.)

5. What's your favorite scent?

Lemon and other citrus scents are my favorite, as well as seaside/outdoorsy scents. My latest fave is CK One Summer. Others I like, to give you an idea, are Lemon Sugar by Fresh, Issey Miyake, I Love Love. Light, citrusy, beachy – all good - not too sweet or floral.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

I do in fact have a sweet tooth. My favorites are milk chocolate and/or milk chocolate/caramel/peanut butter blends. I also love the Godiva Key Lime truffles (and any other kind of their milk chocolate truffles), which they only have certain times of the year. I am the kind of weirdo that can actually eat one piece of Godiva chocolate a day and make that box last for over a month - in fact, I have a half eaten box from a month ago on my coffee table now. I’m really not a fan of most dark chocolate despite its health benefits. I am pretty focused on my health and eating right/working out as it makes me feel good, but it doesn't put me off a little chocolate or wine.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

Knitting and apparel sewing (particularly dresses with knit fabrics) are my two passions. I've been getting into crochet more lately and have a broomstick lace project in process. I have a hairpin lace loom and some patterns for it but haven’t gotten to it yet.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I have an iPod and iTunes, so I should be able to play anything on there. I have very eclectic musical taste. If you look at my iPod, for example, it has Ingrid Michaelson, Frank Sinatra, classical music, 80s songs, 50s songs, and classic rock/metal. The only thing I really don’t like is most country music. I love audiobooks and have an audible.com membership.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I really like most colors – all shades of green (except mint), teal, red/orange (as well as red and orange separately), turquoise, plum, maroon, blue-violet, and chocolate brown are all colors I love. I tend to like warm and/or vibrant colors and really dislike pale pastels and light beige on me as they wash me out.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I have been married to the love of my life, Jim, since 2002 – as a point of trivia, our first date was on September 1 (1995) which is the same day in 1957 that my MIL and FIL were married. Clearly, it was meant to be! We have two sweet-sixteen-year old kitties, Gilda and FatKat.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Scarves – yes; Hats – yes; Mittens – no, but I like fingerless gloves (Fetching was one of my faves); Ponchos – no..

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

It’s all about the sweaters….

13. What are you knitting right now?

It changes from week to week – the best source is my Ravelry project list. I haven’t been too good about updating my project list in my right hand sidebar, but if my pal isn't on Ravelry, I can start updating the project list on the blog more consistently.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Sure! I love handmade socks even though I don't knit them myself! I wear a size 6.5 or 7 shoe.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I only use circulars – I have every possible material and size already though. I use all kinds except plastic – addi turbos, bamboos, rosewood, ebony – and I have the Knit Picks Harmony set. I do not yet have the Knit Picks metal needle set. For crochet hooks, I only like aluminum but I have every size of those too, though.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Yep, I have both.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

Mirepoix, from Fall 2007 Interweave - it's been hibernating since around October 2007.
I’m done with the sleeves, but need to finish the upper body and steek it.

18. What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe?

My favorite part about holidays is the potential for long knitting and sewing weekends! Every holiday’s good. I celebrate Christmas.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Cat figurines from various countries and other U.S. states that I've visited.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

Books are a great thing to get for me as I really, really appreciate them and I keep my Amazon wish list updated. I already have subscriptions to Interweave Knits, Rowan International, Vogue Knitting, and Cast On. The only one I don’t have that I like is Rebecca – I have a lot of the back issues but would love a subscription. I really am liking Knitscene and Knit.1 lately. I have a subcription to Burda World of Fashion, a sewing pattern magazine.

This wasn't part of the question, but I guess it falls under the “yarns” category as it is also fiber-related: I adore fabric, particularly knit fabric from gorgeousfabrics.com or ITY jersey from denverfabrics.com. My latest fabric website find is spandexworld.com, but I only buy either swimsuit fabric (though I’ve yet to attempt one) or ITY poly/spandex blends. You can see my acquisitions on my blog and Flickr account (rmartin_cpa) to see what I like. Emilio Pucci and Diane Von Furstenburg are my fabric/style inspirations.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

I’ve learned a lot of techniques, but haven’t necessarily made garments with them yet. I haven’t made an intarsia garment or sweaters utilizing slip stitch or brioche. I'll be picking up the Mirepoix Bodice again so will be getting some practice on steeks. Still planning to finish the Hourglass Jacket (my first crochet – broomstick lace – project.)

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I’m not. I would love to get a pair (especially a lace pattern) but don’t want to make them. My shoes range in size from 6 to 7 depending on the style, because my feet are a little wide across the toes. Mostly I wear a 7. I have never taken measurements, though – just ask me if you’d like me to!

23. When is your birthday?
February 19.

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
Yep. RobinM is my ID.

Well, there it is in all of its detailed glory. I look forward to getting to know both of my pals!

Wow! Just WOW!!!

I got my final SP13 package and was COMPLETELY blown away by it!! I am just flabbergasted and amazed and in awe. Wow. Just WOW!!

I put all of the pictures in one set out on Flickr called SP13 Big Reveal, but here are the best pictures of all the amazing things my pal got me. (More on who this amazing person is at the end, after I marvel at all the things she selected for me....)

Here I am sitting down with my Corona Light and very heavy priority mail box - right after putting on my "comfy pants" - strapping myself in for the ride:

LOVING the yarn she handspun for me - it is super smoothly spun (I don't know the spinning terminology - but she did a quality job) and a lovely colorway - it couldn't be a prettier set of colors.

Checking out the stitch markers she made for me - again LOVE - green is obviously my favorite color and they are just the perfect shade:

Next up - some really pretty dark forest green ITY jersey - 2 yards - LOVE!! (Seeing the theme here?)

You can see by the look on my face how excited I was about this next gift:

The Knit Picks binder!!! I had sooooo wanted one of these!! She even included the needle sizer and a pair of size 6 and 8 needle tips!!!

I think there's a picture of me as a kid at Christmas making this face while checking out my new toys:

Next up, some additional Cascade Pima Tencel for Sandrine!! She checked out how much I already had in my stash, and bought me the difference! The dyelot looks perfect too!

Again, looks like Christmas photos from my childhood:

and now for the BIG REVEAL - contained in the beautiful handmade card...

Reading the card....

Doing the happy dance, jumping up and down!!

My wonderful SP13 pal was the amazing, talented and incredibly generous SHELBY, the fabulous woman who STARTED the Secret Pal Exchange!! She picked ME of all people to spoil!! Can you believe that?? How lucky could I ever get? Thank you SOOOOOOO MUCH Shelby for being a wonderful pal and one who completely surprised, delighted and exceeded any expectations I might have had. So back to the title of this post - it takes a LOT to render me speechless - but Wow! Just WOW!

Fabulous SP13 Package!

Last night I got home and I was feeling a little blah. It was rainy and gloomy and I didn't feel like doing much. Well, I perked right up when I saw a package from my SP13! I had Jim take pictures as I opened the packages, so you can click into any of the pictures to see even more. There was weird lighting going on in my kitchen so I had to adjust the exposure on some of the photos but they still look a little funny and so NOT photogenic. But they show how excited I was to get everything!

Here's me, ready to cut into the box:

Peering in...

One of my favorite things in the package - 4 skeins of Cascade The Heathers in teal. I'm thinking this will be perfect for Vienne from French Girl Knits!

Digging into the box

opening up another gift (it just so happened that my outfit matched the tissue paper!)

A pretty teal beaded shawl pin!

making an excited, but not so photogenic, face while opening up the LOVELY knit fabric

This fabric is going to make a great dress!!

Some great Lush products - I've never tried these!

To top it off, a really cute card that says "Friendship" and looks handmade!

Here I am with it all - we didn't get a good picture of the yummy Bliss milk chocolate or the cute little cupcake. It is really cool and looks like it was felted and hand-sewn into the little rubber muffin cup. Jim says it is a pincushion, but I couldn't stick pins in it - it's too cute!

I really love everything and plan to make immediate use of it ALL! Thanks again SP!

SP 13 Questionnaire!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

My favorite yarns are merino wool and alpaca, but I also like bamboo. Specifics I like: anything by Brooks Farm, Tess Designer Yarns, Elann superwash merino, Knit Picks Andean Silk. I like worsted/aran weight yarn most, but also like DK weight. I’m almost exclusively a sweater knitter (like I might make one or two non-sweater projects a year, as compared to maybe 15-20 sweaters.)
I really don’t like knitting with cotton or acrylic very much.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

The Circular Solution for the needles, and a divided plastic box for the hooks. I only use circulars and have tons of them.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I’ve been knitting since January 2005 and I’d say I’m probably advanced in that I’ve mastered the art of fitting myself and others, have made many different types of sweaters, and am not afraid to try new things.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Yes, my Amazon wish list is under rmartin_cpa at hotmail dot com (an email address I don’t use except for spam type/solicitation lists.)

5. What's your favorite scent?

Lemon and other citrus scents are my favorite, as well as seaside/outdoorsy scents.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

I do in fact have a sweet tooth. My favorites are milk chocolate and/or milk chocolate/caramel/peanut butter blends.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

Knitting and apparel sewing are my two passions. I've dabbled in crochet and have a lot of patterns I like for it, but have never finished a project. I don't spin or really have any interest in it.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I have an iPod and iTunes, so I should be able to play anything on there. I have very eclectic musical taste. If you look at my iPod, for example, it has Ingrid Michaelson, Frank Sinatra, classical music, 80s songs, 50s songs, and classic rock/metal. The only thing I really don’t like is most country music. I LOVE audiobooks and have an audible.com membership.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I like most colors – all shades of green (except mint), teal, red/orange, turquoise, plum, and chocolate brown are all colors I love. I tend to like warm and/or vibrant colors and dislike pale pastels.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I have been married to the love of my life, Jim, since 2002 – as a point of trivia, our first date was on September 1 (1995) which is the same day in 1957 that my MIL and FIL were married. Clearly, it was meant to be! We have two sweet-sixteen-year old kitties, Gilda and FatKat.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Scarves – yes; Hats – yes; Mittens – no, but I like fingerless gloves (Fetching was one of my faves); Ponchos – no. I do like shorter capelets and shrugs.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

It’s all about the sweaters, baby.

13. What are you knitting right now?

It changes from week to week – the best source is my Ravelry project list or my WIP list in my right-hand sidebar (although I’ve been slacking on updating that lately.) All caution has been thrown to the winds now that I’m knitting exclusively from stash, and I may have six or seven projects going at once.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Sure! I love handmade socks, mitts, or hats!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I only use circulars – I have every possible material and size already though. I use all kinds – addi turbos, bamboos, rosewood, ebony. About the only thing I don’t like is plastic. For crochet hooks, I only like aluminum and plastic – hate bamboo for those as they seem to stick in the yarn too much. I have every size of those too, though.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Yep, I have both.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

Mirepoix, from Fall 2007 Interweave - it's been hibernating since around October 2007. I’m done with the sleeves, but now I need to rip back to the ribbing on the body and make that part longer, then reknit the fair isle section with a smaller needle as it was too big when I tried it on a few months ago.

18. What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe?

My favorite part about holidays is the potential for long knitting and sewing weekends! Every holiday’s good. I celebrate Christmas.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Cat figurines from various countries and other U.S. states that I've visited.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

Books are a great thing to get for me as I really, really appreciate them and I keep my Amazon wish list updated. I already have subscriptions to Interweave Knits, Interweave Crochet, Rowan International, Vogue Knitting, and Cast On. The only one I don’t have that I like is Rebecca – I have a lot of the back issues but would love a subscription.

This wasn't part of the question, but I guess it falls under the “yarns” category as it is also fiber-related: I adore fabric, particularly knit fabric from fabric.com or gorgeousfabrics.com.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

I’ve learned a lot of techniques, but haven’t necessarily made garments with them yet. I haven’t made an intarsia garment or sweaters utilizing slip stitch or brioche. I'll be picking up the Mirepoix Bodice again so will be getting some practice on steeks. Maybe someday I’ll make and finish a crochet project.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I’m not. I would love to get a pair (especially a lace pattern) but don’t want to make them. My shoes range in size from 6 to 7 depending on the style, because my feet are a little wide across the toes. I have never taken measurements, though – just ask me if you’d like me to!

23. When is your birthday?

February 19.

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?

Yep. RobinM is my ID.

SP13 Signups and Misc.

Secret Pal 13 signups opened up yesterday so I signed up again. I'm sitting out as a hostess this round (I seem to do that every other round or so) but I couldn't miss being a participant again. There are some important changes to the rules this time that I think will make the experience even better for everyone. First, there are now three options for the $ commitment over the 3 months: $30, $60 or $90. As I'm a sweater knitter, and I also always give lots of stuff from my stash above and beyond the $ commitment, I like the addition of the $90 group. I've never expected to get back more than the standard $60 in value and look at it more as an opportunity to get to know a new person/make a new friend, but it would be fun to get sweater-size quantities of yarn again (hi Kimberly!! loving the alpaca!) I guess I got super-spoiled this last round. I knit with all kinds of good stuff that I get a good deal on (I don't like "cheap" stuff, but I'm good at finding great values for my $) and if I get another sweater knitter as my pal, I can get one or two (maybe three, if Elann runs some good specials) sweater-size quantities of yarn out of that $90 by smart shopping.

Ok, that was all still the first change. The second change is "no more one big package at the end". This was the bane of my existence as a hostess, as you wouldn't know until the end if someone was going to "flake" or not on their commitment. So I think this will make for a better SP for everyone. If someone isn't sending out packages, they can be removed right away and another pal substituted.

I also like that they ask how often you blog in this round's signups. This will help to match people who blog all the time with others like themselves, wherever possible (sometimes it's not always possible because of other constraints like allergies and requests for same-country pals) and conversely match people who blog the minimum amount (once a week) with others who adhere to that schedule.

One other (minor) change is that the participant fee, instituted last time, has gone up to $5. This fee goes to an "angel fund" to take care of people who need angels (if they can't switch out pals - let's say the "flaking" or other legitimate life event preventing SP participation happens after the 2nd package and so there's no one really to substitute in.) If there's money left over, it gets donated to charity.

All of these things are discussed on the blog and in the rules when you sign up. Again, there is a limit of 300 participants this round, so if you're interested, go on over and sign up as soon as you can as the 300 spots usually fill up quickly.

Anyway, on to a new topic. The midterm last night was OK - 80% of it was multiple choice questions, which weren't super easy but I feel pretty confident about my answers. However, the essay? Was from hell. We had to draw something from some obscure slide three weeks ago (a multiple part diagram, that we hardly discussed in class - maybe we blew by it in two minutes) for two companies and compare the two. Um, no. I don't care how much I studied, I still wouldn't have been able to draw that stupid diagram. So I think I got partial credit as I wrote out an answer (a page long) that compared and contrasted two companies with opposite strategies - I picked the retail industry and used Nordstrom and Wal-Mart as examples of a differentiator and cost leadership strategy, respectively. I talked about where they provided value to customers but didn't actually *draw* the stupid value chain.

It was some kind of diagram (kind of like the happy-crap diagrams that consultants come in and show you when they're trying to get your company to engage them for some sort of supply-chain re-engineering - I've been on the receiving end of such pitches before) with a million different company functions/departments on it, and I couldn't remember which departments were on it (and truthfully? didn't care.) So I'm sure I'm getting dinged for not actually drawing the stupid thing. I figured if I tried to draw it and included things that obviously weren't on it, it would be even more obvious that I didn't know what the stupid thing looked like. I know no one else knew how to draw it either because there were a million people going up to the professor asking her what she was looking for with the question (I sit in the front row so I could hear them asking.) I knew what she wanted, I just knew I didn't have one piece of it, so I figured why ask? Maybe they thought they'd get some sort of clue from her, but that didn't happen. She pretty much just repeated the instructions, which were clearly written.

Anyway.....it's Thursday and I'm ready to be done with this week. My group for this class is starting to slack after I stepped back to let them step up, so I have to take control in that area again. I decided I don't think I'm going to participate in the graduation ceremony. All of my friends pretty much already graduated, and I don't really have any connection to the people who are still here, so I don't much see the point of driving an hour west to the main campus to participate in a ceremony that doesn't mean that much to me - the last night of class will say "You're DONE!" to me loud and clear!

Amazing SP Package!!

Late this afternoon, my final package was on my doorstep from my wonderful Secret Pal, Kimberly of somebunnyslove! Kimberly has been an outstanding pal and has had a perfect knack for coming up with things that are just right for me. I also love that she has sent me enough yarn to make TWO sweaters. Wow. But I'm getting ahead of myself!

First, here's the box, with all of its nicely wrapped package - the card said "open last" so I followed that direction.

Some beautiful Fleece Artist Blue-faced Leicester in the "Mermaid" colorway; enough for the Tempest cardigan from Knitty, as my pal so helpfully pointed out:

Next was "a bit of help"

which was a great lingerie bag for washing small items like lingerie and SOCKS (more later) as well as a great travel sewing kit:

Some great coffee syrup - it says on the bottle that you add it to milk - sounds like something that would keep me wired all night, listening to techno and sewing/knitting:

Next up, a beautiful Lantern Moon bag with THREE packages in it:

Here's the "lots of love in a small package" (also there were some very cute animal buttons in the package with the great Ravelry shirt, but they weren't coming out in the photos I was trying to take)

Here's "a little bit of sweetness" - some yummy Ghirardelli chocolate, which I love:

OK, here's where I was blown away - on the "package to open last." She made me these AMAZING SOCKS!!! They are beautiful, first of all - a gorgeous colorway and stitch pattern, and they FIT PERFECTLY. I put them on and haven't taken them off since.

I think this sums it all up!!!!

Christmas in September!!

Yesterday was a crappy, rainy day and Jim and I had to do some running around after work to bring him to the dentist (it was raining so I left work a little early so I could drive him, as he usually takes the bike everywhere). He has the same condition I do with the baby teeth - except he just had one like that - and in his case, as he had a normal sized baby tooth (so a normal sized space, as opposed to me with my big teeth from an early age) he doesn't have a big enough space to put an implant in.

Sooo, he has to get Invisilign braces to actually make the space larger to accomodate an implant after that. You knew our regular dentist would somehow manage to sign someone up for those Invisiligns. No, seriously - I was pretty skeptical but after they explained it to me, it made sense. We are all about doing the best thing for our teeth around here, I guess - and not taking any second-best steps. I think we are both petrified of bad teeth. Anyway, the Invisilign will have the additional benefit of straightening out his other teeth as well -undoing the effects of a hot-headed youth spent defending women's honor (LOL -it's actually the truth).

SO, back to why it turned out to be Christmas in September. We got home after dealing with the rain and the dentist and I had a box outside from my SP! Jim decided to take my pictures while I opened the packages (all individually wrapped - what a treat! - consistent with the theme of "treats") and so here they are. SP Godmother, can I just say that you did a FABULOUS job picking out my treats? I adore everything, and I've already sampled one of each of the two kinds of (amazing) cookies!! Wow.

Here's the pictures..in order - ignore my housebound, makeup-less, comfy-outfitted looks:

First, these great notecards - I love the colors (and that's true throughout)

Cute little paisley-print cocktail napkins in my favorite shade of green that say "Great Friends Drink Alike" (I think that was the quote)

a yummy lemon scented candle (explaining the "fragile" notes all over the package, as it was in a glass jar) - you know how much I love lemon scented things, and my Partylite consultant jokes around with me about being her #1 crack user (candle crack, that is)!

Two delicious bags of cookies, one in chocolate with peanut butter filling and one vanilla with raspberry filling - from Briarbrook Farm and Greenhouses in East Greenwich, Rhode Island...hmmm, a clue!

A delicious looking lemon cookie and lemonade mix from Del's, a local RI institution according to my SP -

A Ravelry bag in my favorite color again:

and a box of sweater patterns (not pictured separately - that picture must not have turned out - sorry!) which is perfect as my SP knows I'm all about the sweaters, all the time.

Here's an overall picture of the entire box of loot:

Thanks again, SP Godmother! I love everything!!

SP12 Questions

I hadn't yet gotten to last week's question of the week for SP12, so I'm going to do that one along with the question for this week.

Last week's question:

What is your favorite supper for a hot summer evening?
For added flavor, post a photo or recipe link.

I'm not much of a cook at this point (although I do bake) so I would say sushi from my favorite restaurant, Blu Coral, with a nice cold glass of champagne or viognier. Another thing I like is raw oysters, especially the ones from the east coast of the U.S. or northeastern Canada. I've learned to be able to identify the region they are from by their taste by doing samplers at Holy Mackerel (our favorite oyster spot) and I like those better than those from the west coast of the U.S. or elsewhere.

If we were at home, I'd probably say something simple like hot dogs on the grill with corn on the cob. I love Vienna hot dogs with poppy seed buns, with mustard and relish. Mmmm.

This week's question:

In many communities, "the fair" is a great place to visit and spend
time with your family. It's also where many have entered one product
or another (jams, cakes, even knitting)...

Have you ever entered your knitting (or anything else) in the fair?
Would you ever consider it?

I never have entered anything at a fair. It's not really a big thing around here in the metro Chicago area, so I probably wouldn't, either. I did enter a sewing contest at Patternreview.com - does that count? That's the only kind of knitting/sewing contest I've entered.

The spa day was great yesterday. I would like to go back there for pedicures as the girl there did an outstanding job. She was there the last time I went there as part of our outing four years ago and we remembered each other! It's really less than a half hour away, so I think I will schedule my next one there. The place I went the last few times offers the "cocktail of the month" with their pedicures, but they don't do nearly as nice of a job so it's not worth it. Last time it was just a pina colada from a premix and was kind of overly sweet and yucky, too. I think I'll separate my cocktailing from my pedicures from now on (LOL).

Yesterday, I also got the elastic sewn in on the Bounce skirt. I'll show pictures soon - I'd like to show them on the actual recipient, but I want to give it to her for Christmas so that won't happen. Her birthday is coming up next month though.

I just ordered Twilight from Amazon to start the series after hearing about how much everyone loves the new book, so I'll be joining the pack on that one. I figured I could read it a lot faster than if I listened to it on audio, and it was only $6 for the book on Amazon with the free 2-day shipping on my prime membership, so I just bought the actual book. Can't wait to start reading it!

Thanks, SP12! and Misc. Updates

The song is from the live acoustic album "Skin and Bones" by the Foo Fighters. To get the whole song (which I highly recommend) it seems you have to click the blue link below it to launch the Imeem site, then leave that in the background and come back to my blog in a new window. It's kind of a pain, but worth it. I have really been getting into them lately after checking out some of their songs that aren't played on the radio. Dave Grohl is sooo underrated. As much as I'm an 80s music girl, I'm probably even more a 90s grunge and alternative music girl. I love that stuff! Pearl Jam, etc..We'll play some of that maybe tomorrow and next week.

Anyway, cooling off...here I was in the pool yesterday afternoon. Yep, that's CDR on the deck chair! I am done with the first sleeve, and have half a sleeve left to go. About three more hours to go, according to my calculations after timing myself on cabled vs. non-cabled rounds (3 minutes for a non-cabled round, 5 for a cabled round.) As much as I love this sweater, I am ready to be done!

I'm going to Vogue Fabrics this morning, so I should have some yummy fabrics to show tomorrow, and maybe the split-neckline tee, as I got the missing skein I needed to finish that.

Now to the actual title of my post - a HUGE thank you to my Secret Pal!!

After unwrapping the outside packaging, I see the following (all wrapped in bright green, which I LOVE):

The card says:

so I follow the instructions and look in the cool project bag first.

It's a Ravelry pin (helpful for future meetups!), gel markers, and a great sheep-y tape measure from Lantern Moon, plus the cute bag itself!

Next, to the book I could see tempting me through the green tissue paper:

Knit so Fine, which I had been wanting sight-unseen for awhile! There are some great patterns in here, and I liked the whole beginning foreword section (which was pretty long) giving a thorough sales pitch on why one might want to knit with finer yarns (which, for purposes of this book are those that are knit at a gauge of 5.5 stitches to the inch or more.) I adore the way finer yarns look in a garment, and for the few sweaters I've bought since the beginning of my adventure with year (about 3.5 years now) they have all been fine gauged, so they didn't have to sell me too hard.

They made the good point that knitting with finer yarns is a better value, both from an actual yarn purchasing standpoint and a cost-per-hour standpoint, which I think is interesting. I will knit items that are 5.5 or 6 stitches to the inch (if they're not hemp or cotton) but for finer gauged items, I would LOVE to get a fine gauge knitting machine, probably a Silver Reed of some sort. Although if I get to the point that I want to with WIPs, it might not be so hard to knit on a finer gauged project if that was my "mindless" project, and I had another one at a heavier gauge with more details to pay attention to.

Anyway, the next PERFECT thing to accompany this book was something I could use immediately to start a project in the book:

This wonderfully soft and lovely Joseph Galler alpaca!! I had never heard of it before, but I have 1200 yards of it here, and I could make just about anything with that! Thank you, SP, for such a generous gift!!

Following instructions, I finally opened the card (by Kristin Nicholas) and thought it was so cute and perfect!!

It explained the "tale each item had to tell" (which I thought was a cute way of putting it) and I could tell from the way she writes that I really will enjoy getting to know her once her identity is revealed!!

So yay, I have a new friend! Thank you SO MUCH!! I love everything and can't wait to find out who you are!