I don’t participate in swaps much anymore. Back in the day I had a ball with them but after a while they became a chore so I stopped signing up for them. But when Lynne and Emily emailed me about joining the Trick or Treat Sock Swap I just had to say yes.

My package from my pal, Karen, arrived yesterday and I’m so glad I signed up for this one.

Everything was wrapped in festive orange and black and there were certainly a lot of treats crammed into that box.

There was candy. Mmm. Candy.

And seasonal candles. I love the pumpkin ones and the scented ones from Yankee Candle smell delicious. And the cutest little pumpkin dish.

There was also ShibuiKnits sock yarn in a beautiful shade of blue and, of course, socks for me.

Aren’t they fabulous? Totally Frankenstein, I’m thinking!

Thanks for a wonderful package, Karen. And thanks for talking me into joining this swap, Emily and Lynne!

Last week I joined a flickr group called A Day in the Life Of . . . it’s a place to post photos of your life on a particular day. Saturday was the most recent day to post and I want to show you the 5 photos I chose but first I need to take care of some housekeeping and show you my Sweet Swap Package from Elizabeth.

Luckily for me Elizabeth went on a trip to Hershey, PA right before she mailed me this package so it was extra sweet! There was candy and yarn and books and roving and lots and lots of wonderful treats. Thank you to Lynne for organizing the swap and thank you to Elizabeth for sending such a terrific and generous package!

The theme for this round of A Day in the Life Of . . . was green. I tried to incorporate green in all my photos as I spent the day . . .

gazing at the sky from underneath my scaevola plant

knitting in the adirondack chairs on my deck

attending a party, sitting on a deck and observing a very active hummingbird population

watching for bunnies in a beautifully green backyard

It was fun to carry the camera around and look for ways to document my day of green. I’m already looking forward to the next time.

I received my May Day Socks from Katie of Daily Thread on Monday and boy are they terrific!

The green is a lovely shade of sage and the pattern is Artichoke Socks from Soxie. They are so very delicate and pretty.

Katie also included some heirloom petunia seeds from her mother-in-law’s garden, a tube of Burt’s Bee’s Peppermint Foot Cream, and some dark chocolate covered cranberries. Mmmmm. Of course, I sure can use that foot cream this time of year!

Thanks for a beautiful pair of May Day socks, Katie! And thanks, Emily and Lynne, for organizing this sock swap!

Breaking News!

Okay, if you’re going to New Hampshire Sheep & Wool this weekend this announcement is for YOU. We are gathering for a picnic potluck at Noon on Saturday in the picnic grove. Everyone is welcome – please pass the word along!

Be there or be square!

All fixed now. Thanks, Missa!

Thank you all again for the get well wishes. I didn’t end up going to work yesterday but took another day of rest and recovery. I’m feeling better but I still sound a lot like Kathleen Turner. You know?

Anyway, you know what can make you feel great even when you feel bad? A swap package. And my Special Swap package arrived right on time.

The theme this time was “Spa” and my package was from the Special Swap organizer herself, Lynne. She put together an extraordinary package! Thanks you so much, Lynne. You really went over-the-top with this terrific box of treats.

There are the typical spa type things like soaps, a face mask and a loofah. But then there are really special things like a beautifully scented candle and chocolate strawberries and the most wonderful shea butter exfoliating salt scrub.

There was also a relaxation CD and some blue cheese stuffed olives and a knitting book. But the most wonderful part of this package was the kimono that Lynne herself sewed for me. It’s the brown floral fabric you see in the photo and it’s just beautiful. I’m going to get myself some brown yoga pants and wear it with my kimono and treat myself to a whole day of relaxing and pampering with all these goodies.

But not today. Today I am going to work. Really, I am this time.

I love me a good knitting swap and I have to say that participating in Lynne’s “Special Swap” has always netted me a good result. I have had wonderful experiences, first with Beth, then with Kat and now with Elizabeth.

Behold the yarn-y, snack-y, movie-y goodness.

The red yarn is Duets sock yarn and I absolutely love the way the tones of red in that ball – all wound up and ready to knit, too. And more yarn in green and yellow. Those popcorn containers are the cutest ever and there is also tea and snacks and the cutest little grow-your-own Christmas tree.

Thanks, Elizabeth, for a terrific package!

I went to a Garden Party
To reminisce with my old friends
A chance to share old memories
and play our songs again.

My Special Swap partner was Beth and she sent me a fabulous box of goodies so that I could throw my own garden party. It was a really clever idea and a great way of interpreting the “In the Garden” theme that Lynn selected for this round of Special Swap.

All the things I’d need for my party were provided. Notecards for inviting guests, gardening tools and seed packets, special hand soap for cleaning up, and a magazine with great herbal recipes. Like any great party, there was food – including cheese straws which were fabulous and are gone, gone, gone – and Paula Deen’s Chipotel Raspberry Sauce and salsa, too. There was also a very nice hostess gift – yarn! It’s a skein of Woolen Rabbit superwash merino in the colorway “Rosemary & Thyme.” It’s so soft and the colors are subtle and gorgeous and I love it so much!

When I got to the Garden Party
They all knew my name
But no one recognized me
I didn’t look the same.

Like any good swap partner, Beth has been reading my blog and she learned a thing or two about my love for martinis. Ahem. So she also included wonderful blue cheese stuffed olives and a fabulous martini hand towel along with two matching dish cloths and – get this – my very own martini cross stitch pattern designed by Beth’s daughter! Truly unique and I just love it.

But it’s all right now.
I learned my lesson well.
You see you can’t please everyone
So you got to please yourself.

Beth, you did a great job pleasing me with my Garden Party. Thanks so much!

The Bloomin’ Feet Swap ‘07, coordinated and supervised by the fabulous Amanda, has drawn to a conclusion. I sent a package off to Hillary and a package for me arrived last week. I was thrilled to discover Leah’s name on the return address label. Leah and I have read each other’s blogs for quite some time now and have become friends for the same reason many of us are friends – we love knitting. However, something happened in Leah’s life recently that served to truly bond us. This shared experience has certainly deepened our friendship, but you know what? Nothing says friendship like a pair of handknit socks.

Aren’t they wonderful? The colors – which Leah worried weren’t springy enough for a “bloomin” sock swap – are just so me. The pattern is lacy but not over done. The yarn is incredibly soft and they fit perfectly.

There were other goodies in the package like Green ‘n Black’s chocolate (my favorite) and some pretty flower candles and note paper and a Burt’s Bees sampler pack. Fabulous stuff, all of it.

When I emailed Leah to thank her she replied, “The socks in no way show you how much I appreciate your friendship. Just think of them giving you a hug from me each time you wear them.” It’s an absolutely perfect sentiment. Thank you, Leah. I’m looking forward to a lot of hugs from you.

I finished the socks for the Bloomin’ Feet Sock Swap at the end of last week and blocked them over the weekend. The pattern is the Merino Lace Socks from the Interweave Knits Favorite Socks book.

Aren’t they pretty? The yarn is Schaefer Anne, which I’ve knit with before for my Swallowtail Shawl, but this is the first time I’ve actually used it for socks. It’s very soft and very fine and has a nice halo from the mohair content. It sort of stripes but not really and the colors blend together in a lovely fashion.

I chose this particular pattern because of something very specific my sock pal said. I’m not going to give it away but, if the recipient is reading this post and remembers what she wrote in her questionnaire, well, this picture is a pretty big hint. As for the pattern, there were some details that were kind of wacky. Beth wrote about the heel issue and Anne clued me in that there was an error in the charts for the foot. But even more than that, I felt the directions were lacking a bit. I’ve knit plenty of socks on circular needles before and that’s a good thing because the pattern didn’t really provide great instructions on that technique, even though it was written for that method. I took good notes and moved forward because I liked the design so much but be warned, there are some glitches.

I made one of my standard sock labels – the name is blacked out so no hints there – and will be shipping them off with some other goodies today.

Hope you like them, sock pal!

You guys know all about Yarn Aboard 2 by now, right? It’s a really simple but fun swap. You get a package filled with goodies for you. You take out your stuff. You say thank you to the person who sent you stuff. You blog about the stuff. You put in stuff for someone else and you send it on to them. And then you’re done. Simple, right?

And yet, people signed up for this swap and are now blowing it off. One person hijacked two boxes. Someone else hijacked another. And then someone else received a package, got mad at Amanda, and then refused to send stuff to the next person on the list. Personalities aside, when you agree to participate in a swap, you agree to follow the rules. And the number one rule of this swap is that you send the package on to a new person.

Luckily for me, most people are following the rules just fine.

Look who made his way to my house from Portugal New Jersey. It’s the long lost explorer, Vasco De Gama.

He sure came crammed with goodies from Ina. Don’t you just love the lime green tissue paper?

Let’s see. There’s Fleece Artist Sock Yarn. I’ve only knit with this yarn once before and I loved the experience. I’m quite thrilled to have the chance to knit with it again. And Regia Silk. Silk Sock Yarn – woot! There’s candy and fruit crisps (which were absofreakinlutely delicious) and macadamia nuts and cappuccino espresso coffee beans. There’s also a very cool sock pattern.

Ina did a fabulous job stuffing this box with things I love. Thanks so much, Ina! I love it all!

And honestly, given the recent drama that has befallen the whole Yarn Aboard swap, well, I feel really really lucky to have my explorer arrive safely. Thanks, Amanda for organizing the swap and replacing packages and sending reminder emails and just generally being a terrific swap hostess. I had a blast!

My Toasty Toes socks arrived on Monday and my secret sock knitter was Julie. I think it’s very cool to have had my socks knit by someone that I’ve actually met and hung out with a number of times. If you’ve never visited her blog, you really should go check it out. Just don’t go over there when you’re hungry because Julie often talks about something yummy that she made for her family to eat.

As you can see, the socks are perfect.

The colors of the yarn are fabulous, the cables are intricate, and the fit is absolutely divine.

I would never knit socks this complex for myself and that makes them all the more special.

Julie went above and beyond the call of duty, though. Not only did I get perfectly fitting socks but I also got an adorable pincushion that she made, a handknit flower petal washcloth, and a skein of custom dyed yarn from Yarntini. Julie also included some tasty treats – homemade pralines (along with the recipe) and some mixed candy, which Dale has already claimed. There was also a very pretty pad of paper and matching pens.

Thanks for being so generous, Julie! And thanks for organizing a fabulous sock swap, Amanda. I feel so lucky to have been a part of this.