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.

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.