Tea Swap Package!

While I was in Vermont I received a lovely package from Victoria (raveling here) as part of the most recent Ravelry "Be Excellent" tea swap:
I know you want a close-up, so here's the yarn, which is Plymouth Happy Feet. When I opened the package I laughed out loud (lol!) because I bought the same yarn in the same color (on the left) in Vermont.
Victoria did a great job figuring me out - I love the mug (I've used it almost every day in the last two weeks, it's the perfect size), and I've tried (and very much enjoyed) two of the three teas so far, and there are some super cute felted polar bears in the Interweave Felts that I'm excited to make. Thanks, Victoria, I love my package!

Snobbery

I, my friends, am a yarn snob. I do not own acrylic. I have no fun fur. Novelty yarns of any stripe are thin in the stash. This, by the way, does not mean that I haven't used these things (aside from the acrylic), just that I've grown out of them. So, when I saw that Cindi was organizing a special swap for yarn snobs as part of the Cuppa Tea Ravelry group, I was really excited. And I was not disappointed:
This is the package I received from Vivian in Australia. Australia! I think this is my first international swap package, and it's really cool because everything is unique. The yarns are exquisite. Here's a close-up of the Live 2 Knit skein:
Vivian wrote that it was specially dyed, and it is just my colors. The yarn is Ginger and the colorway is Sea Glass, and it has 2% silver thread (hence the shine). It's really lovely, and definitely not getting hidden away as socks; I have to come up with the perfect project for it. The other yarn is 100% bamboo laceweight Xie from Southwest Trading Company, which I've never seen before (this particular yarn; the stash is hiding plenty of SWTC products). I suspect it will be quite soft and drapey but it's so tightly wound on the cone that it's tough to say. It looks really fine, but I think that's from being so tightly wound as well. They say it's for weaving but I suspect it will work for lace, and there is a lot of yardage, so we'll see!
There are also lovely stitch markers and great smelling soap. The tea is Australian and smells really good but I haven't tried it yet. I got the package on Friday and we had a really warm weekend so there wasn't any hot tea drinking. There was sunburn though, and knitting outside (new project!), so it was a fair trade. Thank you Vivian, I love my package!

Another swap package!

Ravelry tea swap package
Originally uploaded by Emily E.M.

I recently participated in a Ravelry tea swap (technically I'm still participating, since I have yet to send my package...but let's not talk about that). I received a lovely package yesterday from Cindi (ravelry: Cindiknits). She sent me two lovely shades of Zephyr - peacock (the greener one) and a beautiful blue. Both are plenty for a fairly large project, and she recommended the Print o' the Wave stole, which I have in my Ravelry queue. As some might recall I recently ripped out my first incarnation of that stole after deciding that yarn wasn't right for it, so this might be just the ticket. She also sent three types of tea. I've tried the vanilla rooibis (very good) and the Ceylon (very smooth) so far, and enjoyed both of them. The other is Georgia Peach Rooibis, which I'll probably try tomorrow. There is also scone mix, Cadbury's (gone), shortbread, and tea-flavored gum (which I'm quite intrigued by). AND, there is a notepad and some nifty tea bags with a holder. I have some similar bags for brewing loose leaf tea without a strainer, but they like to fall in the cup instead of sticking to the side as intended. These are brilliant because they have holes in the top that you put a stick through, and the stick then sits on the top of the mug. Excellent invention. I'm really happy with my package, thank you Cindi! Now to get back on the lace bandwagon again...

Tea Swap Package!

Today I received a lovely package from Wendy, my Knitters Tea Swap 4 pal: She really did a great job figuring out what to send me - I love everything in it, especially the yarn, which is just my colors! There was so much stuff in the box that I had a tough time getting a good photo - a cute sheep notepad, candle, a yarny nail file, a tape measure, and tea and chocolate galore! I haven't had much chai tea, so I'm excited about the tin of that, as well as the vanilla tea (one of my favorites) and the assam (another favorite). And how great is that card? I definitely do my level best to prevent the buying of acrylic by anyone, even those not really in my acquaintance but fortunate enough to be near me in the LYS. All in all Wendy did a great job spoiling me! Thank you Wendy!!! Here's a close-up of the yarn, which is from Storm Moon Knits. It's sockweight, but I'm thinking of a scarf, so that it lasts longer and more people get to see it. It fades from almost black to a lovely blue-turquoise, which is just perfect for me. It's actually less blue and more turquoise, but there were camera issues. Dark yarn is always a bit tough to photograph, especially without some good natural light, which we are generally lacking in Seattle, and which we are even more deficient of in my apartment...

Clog watch: Finished the first clog except for the outer sole. Hope to accomplish that this evening after washing the kitchen floor (Exciting!).

Excitement: While riding to work this morning I discovered that I can indeed ride my bike with no hands, which is very exciting for me. I've probably been able to do this for ages, but lacked the confidence. I've realized it's something you really need to go for - if you're wishy-washy it just doesn't work. And you have to moving with some speed. I know this is a bit silly but I was way too excited about it and thought I'd share...

Thank you for all of your comments on my mittens! I really appreciated every one of them, even though I can't figure out to make Blogger record email addresses so I can respond to you : )

Belated Tea Swap Post!

Friday I received this wonderful package from Amie, my Knitters Tea Swap pal!

Look at all the great loot she sent! There are two kinds of yarn, including one she spun (in a Mama-E colorway named Amie!) herself (the pink), and some Inspirations Yarn in the Espresso colorway. And, there were cute stitchmarkers (on the pink yarn), great cards, and a nifty purse that it took Dave, Heidi, and I to get properly assembled. Of course there was also tea - several black varieties including a Darjeeling that I'm particularly excited about and one fairly strong earthy smelling tea that frightens me a bit but which I will certainly try. And there was a book, by Edward Gorey, who I really like (how could she know?), and a striped bag full of saltwater taffy straight from Ocean City. I love saltwater taffy - it's almost gone already! Not easy to photograph, pardon the blurriness...Thank you Amie, I really love everything you sent, and it's been fun getting to know you! Sorry this post was a bit tardy but I had a friend in town for the weekend - more about that later!