The Travels of the Purloined Stash

Across the United States Across the sea to Ireland
Ireland to the UK

The UK back to Maine

GOT BOTTLE

It Came Today!

Stuffed Full!

Look At All The Goodies!

Thank you Cathy for a wonderful exchange. There is sock yarn (I've never knit socks but I plan to just to be able to say I knit socks), a book (can't wait to read it), markers, magnet, key chain, stitch markers, earrings, an angel dream pin, bath confetti, a tiny calculator (going into my knitting basket), a bookmark....and guess what, the earrings, and bookmark each have a tiny ball of yarn and knitting needles attached at the end, How Cool is that? My husband claimed the markers right away to use for labeling his iris when when he digs this fall. He thanks you too.

This was such a fun thing to do, just wish I could have stuffed more into the bottle I send Jeane.

Perhaps the "two bottle thing" is not a bad idea.

Thank you Cathy for spoiling me, it was great.

THANK YOU Vidgis

today, in the mail
i received my "BOTTLE" from Vidgid
the BOTTLE is from Norway
so the shape is a bit different than what i sent
HOWEVER, the contents make up
for the unusual shape
BLASTED Postal Service for spoiling all the fun
you can see the note she wrote on the top
Say Hello to Deb
Hugs Vig

inside the bottle i found
not in any specific order
a Beaded necklace - wearing it as i type
a mini sewing kit - for the work bag
2 skeins of Vidgis' Hand Dyed yarn
2 skeins of a blue (sock weight?) yarn
with a note that says to knit & purl
an embroidered angel
stitch markers
needle holders
a knitting pattern book for the home
has 5 patterns

i am sure i am forgetting something
but .. the brain is tired
THANK YOU AGAIN Vidgis
i will think of you as i use everything

Thank you to Delores. I got a sweet bottle swap bottle in my mailbox yesterday. I got knitpicks dye your own lace yarn. I got hand cream, a beautiful handmade bookmark, bookplates, and a brand new book. Knit Fast Die Young. Can't wait to start reading it. Thanks so much Delores, I love everything

Thank you Mary Lynn!

Mary Lynn spoiled me more than I deserved. I went for 'spunky' as my mood on the magnet...but I like that I could choose from 8 other moods in the future. The space travel bag is interesting...I had never seen these! The needle tube was something I had been looking at getting myself...Thank you!





Isn't this purse fabulous? I love the little ? made from the buttons...wow! What yarn did you add in with it? The tones are gorgeous.




How did you know I was looking at this specific yarn?! I am Thrilled! I'm baking a wedding cake right now, which gives me a perfect time to be reading this book while the cakes are baking.


Thank you Mary Lynn! You are the best!
dobarah

My Apron from Deb Brown and our mystery Yarn swap.
Okay, admittedly the pictures aren't great. It was hard to fit the whole thing in the picture, BUT, the apron itself is adorable. Thanks again Deb. I wore it yesterday. It's great and I love it.
Mary

Socks for Maisie Dobbs book

Since poor Maisie complained all the time about her feet being cold (and since socks are my favorite things to knit) I thought I would post my socks in progress. (Finally got the camera to work) This is from interweave favorite socks book. The pattern is the wandering leaves.
Colorway is copper, from the dyepot.
Mary A

Leaping Leprechauns arís (arís - Irish for again!)

Well, as you all know the stash did indeed arrive in London. For those curious cats who want to know how I got the stash away from HimsElf here's the low down.

I lured him with the offer of his very own Aran jumper. I helped him try it on: a few adjustments to size were required. I told him to hold still while I put the pins in place (thee hee, foolish Elf).

Here's the result - I pinned him to the fence and made away with the stash box. Those charity squares that Fia-Knit knit sure came in handy, just as well she hadn't posted them to Jane yet. But wait, I'm not totally heartless. As soon as the stash was safely at the post office I gave HimsElf his very own Aran picnic blanket so that he could soak up the sun.

And for me, well Fia-Knit gave me a plentiful supply of fishy treats...oh heaven! The stash... I believe Ripley has the full account of what happened to it in London but my money is on the Wombles!

Your feline friend, Bella.

Package received . . . bottle to be sent

Hello everyone!

I received from package from Dobarah . . . very cool stuff . . .


Carmel corn (microwave . . . it was delicious! LOL!!). Two skeins of Lion's Brand Suede, two books (one hardbound - Mistress of Dragons by Margaret Weis and one audio - A Death in Vienna by Daniel Silva). Two beautifully felted lovely bags. Handmade soap -- wonderfully smelling handmade soap, and Rasberry sunrise tea from Montana Tea & Spice Trading Co. It was a wonderful package which I have already made use of . . . Thanks so much!! Your package is on its way to you too!

I have packed my bottle and it will be mailed this Saturday. I have to go to my local post office to mail it and the first opportunity I will have is Saturday.

As a teaser, here is a pic . . .



In a couple of weeks, I will be having more time (hopefully) to read and knit. Currently, I am focused on some unfinished knitting projects AND I only have two more classes . . . TWO MORE -- this Saturday and next -- with the final, FINAL, forever FINAL paper due on Monday, July 2. My DD's keep asking if I am going to go for my Ph.D. They are very disappointed when I keep telling them no. It isn't that they want me to go back to school, it is that they want to call me "Dr. Mom."

Anyway, I wish you all a wonderful day. I hope my recipients enjoy their packages as much as I have enjoyed doing their packages!

Not One, but TWO Bottles in the Mail!

Today was the last day of school before summer vacation YIPEE! I stopped at the post office on my way home to mail a package and the postmistress (this is a very small town) said that they were just loving seeing the bottles that I was receiving. I thought at first she was talking about the bottle with the rose in it that I received last week, but on the way home it occurred to me that she had said 'bottles'. And sure enough, waiting for me on the dining room table were TWO bottles.

Now, Deb has denied that the flower in the bottle that I received last week was from her - but these two bottles clearly have her name and return address on them! So, I thought I would just leave everything in the bottles - you know, for a conversation piece? NOT!!! I quickly cut them open and look what was inside:

A cute notebook, a tiny key chain crayon notebook, note pad, little book of inspirational sayings, yummy Almond with oats soap ( I LOVE handmade soaps like this) Some Mellow Tangerine hand & body cream - smells great. AND - the most beautiful knitting needles and stitch markers. I think Deb made the stitch markers, and the needles look handmade too. I cannot wait to use them on a project - how cool it will be to knit with them! And the yarn cutter - I have been wanting one of these forever. This will be perfect to wear around my neck when I am knitting in the car. And the needle protectors are just beautiful too. Not finished yet! A Toddlers and Babies knitting book - love to knit for babies, and there are such cute patterns in it and .....a ball of Deb's own label hand dyed (in kool-aid of course) sock yarn. The color just happens to match the shirt I am wearing right now. I'll be taking this yarn with me on my trip next week - socks are the perfect traveling project.
Can you see the label - isn't it cute "Deb's Two Left Feet" Hand Dyed Sock Yarn. Thank you Deb - you are the BEST!!!!!

The bottle is on its way to someone who likes to knit socks. It shoud arrive within two days, but last time I sent one the two days turned into three, so lets just say it should arrive this week. Hope you will like whats inside. I forgot to add a note until after it was in the post so will have to correspond with you once you've opened the package.

Here's Your Bottle

Tomorrow I will be mailing this bottle to my pal, I hope it isn't a disappointment to you.

http://agardeningknitter.blogspot.com/

Jammies in a Bottle

well ...

since i have met Deb

i kinda guessed at the size she will need

i KNOW she loves flip-flops

we call them flip-flops where i come from

i was gonna make her a pair of fuzzy flip-flops

but i misplaced them

FOUND them

hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe

so, look out Deb

i was NOT Deb's partner

Deb & her Hubby have offered to let me stay with them

when i get to Atlanta

so, this is a PRE-Thank You Gift

haven't figured out what to send to Chuck yet

hhhmmmmmmm

they did have Men's jammies

me, i LOVE putting things in bottles

even tho i know that the recipient

will struggle to extracate the item

hehehehehehehehehehe

i am passing on the tradition

i have heard of others that are doing the same thing

too bad i can't send EVERYTHING that way

hahahahahahahahahahaha

besides

it makes the postal clerks' job more exciting when

they see a FUN item pass their way

and the carriers bust a gut

as they are getting ready to deliver it

one carrier told me he laughed for 3 days

after he delivered something to me

when i worked at the station the mail came thru

half the station saw what i was getting WAY

before i ever got to work

yeah ... i got teased about what i got

it made the swap so much MORE fun

it got to the point that workers got mad when a

box came ..

they still enjoyed watching me open the box of treasures

Honey, I'm home!!!!!

Helloooooo?

Have you missed me?


NO?



OK :-) But I'm here now, and it seems like your stuck with me....... Have had/am having a rough time. Hard to accept reality sometimes in life. Things are going better, and it is impossible to lie down and die, so I've been told....

Soooo. Instead of "dying", I've been "dyeing", and that really is a great difference I believe :-)

I've been documenting my yarn-dyeing again. Here's the first round. Thin wool/alpacca yarn, dyed with ONE package of Kool-Aid. Every thing done in the same way: using "water-boiler", blending in a large bowl, dip one end of the shein in this, and then press the whole shein in. An easy and effectiv method to dye on.

The first 3 sheins are Canadian Kool-Aid, the last 2 are American. The first 2 Canadian gave stronger and gave more color to the yarn. Not much difference in shein 3 and 4. And how on earth I got hold of Canadian Kool-Aid? Well, some secrets are allowed while doing business!!!

Thanks Penny!!

I gotta bottle!

When the mail got delivered at work today, Ashlee yelled, "Deb, there's a bottle in the mail," and came around the corner laughing. In her hands was a blue bottle. There happened to be a drug rep standing there and she was cracking up laughing and asking, "can you mail something like that?" I showed her the stamps and the mailing label and said, "Do you need to really ask that?" Don't it look neat?

Well I guess you wanna know what's in it? The bottle really isn't blue...lol. It's the coolest pair of jammies you every saw, then there is something that I haven't seen in a million years, well, maybe not that long, but it's an ink pen that is shaped like a syringe, since I work in a doctors office, it's really cool. The drug reps used to bring them to us years ago, but you never see them anymore, now I have one to put on my desk..lol. The shirt says Life is Good and has a pair of flip flops on it and the pants have flip flops all over them. I'll be lounging in them around the house, thank you very much! But, the coolest, was the earrings. They are flip flops too...lol. Just too cool. They are pink diamonds.....well a girl can dream can't she? They are not in the photo, as they are already in my ears.

So who do I thank for all this cool stuff.....Cathy Hannigan.......I guess since her name was on the return address label on the bottle...lol. I love ya Cathy!

Look What I Found in my Mailbox!

After an exhausting day at school, with 20 2nd graders, who are more than ready for summer - look what I found in my mailbos - A bottle with a rose in it! It looked so real, I wondered if it was.....


But this beautiful rose will last forever!
Hmmm - the postmark is Stone Mountain, GA. I have a very good friend in GA. But she is so sneaky, err, I mean clever, that I think this may be a trick! Anyway, to whoever sent me the rose in a bottle - thank you - It made my day!

July books

We have a small field this month, but some excellent choices. Each of these selections is widely available in North America and through Amazon.uk for our European and British members, and all have used copies available.

Two books are standalone titles, and both have recently won major awards. Another is the first of a relatively new series, and the Spencer books don't really need to be read in publication order. I have included published reviews of each title. The first two selections are easily available in multiple audio formats. The third is only available on cd, while the last, a paperback original, has not been recorded.

Unless we have a huge voter turnout this time and/or a close vote, we are only selecting for July.

Bad Business by Robert B Parker. Booklist Review: Parker, declared a Grand Master in 2002 by the Mystery Writers of America, delivers another combination of wry satire and sly action in his thirty-first mystery starring Spenser, the Boston private eye. This time he employs to devastating effect one of his signature devices--an observation on how someone dresses or walks into a room, or a few lines of dialogue between the victim and his hero--to fillet the greed and arrogance of corporate types. At novel's outset, Parker indulges in Keystone Kops comedy played out by private eyes. A distraught wife hires him to tail her husband. Surveillance turns complex and comic when Spenser finds that the husband is having his wife watched; an outside party is having both husband and wife watched; and Spenser himself is being tailed. Spenser is soon being watched by the Boston PD, since he is sitting in the lobby when the husband he's following is shot to death in his office. The action takes a more serious turn here, as Spenser is hired by the energy-selling corporation's CEO to investigate the murder. Of course, Spenser uncovers big-time corruption. Longtime love and psychologist Susan Silverman figures in as a commentator on the action. Spenser sidekick Hawk seems more like a vestigial remnant from other books than a realistic character here. Spenser swaggers a bit too much, and the dialogue can get one-two punch formulaic, but even so, Parker still runs at the front of the private-eye pack. Connie FletcherCopyright © American Library Association.

Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connolly, winner of 2006 Macavity and Shamus Awards, 2006 Edgar nominee. Booklist Starred Review* "Defending deadbeats is a way of life for Los Angeles attorney Michael "Mickey" Haller. Operating out of the back seat of his Lincoln Town Car (hence the moniker, "Lincoln Lawyer"), Haller takes on the case of Louis Ross Roulet, a rich, young Beverly Hills realtor accused of beating a prostitute. Roulet's guilt or innocence is of little concern to Haller, who sees him as nothing more than a "franchise," a client who can make him a lot of money over an extended period of time. But the deeper Haller digs, the more he suspects Roulet might have been framed. Links to a past case, which landed a client on Death Row, prompt the jaded lawyer to reassess his professional M.O. This is the first legal thriller for Connelly, author of the best-selling series featuring Los Angeles police detective Harry Bosch and winner of every major prize in crime fiction. It has all the right stuff: a sinuous plot, crisp dialogue, and a roster of reprehensible characters (including a marijuana- and crystal meth-dealing biker and an internet con artist who steals credit card numbers through a tsunami relief fund). As the trial progresses, Mickey ponders the words of his late lawyer father, who knew the most frightening client of all was an innocent man. "If . . . he goes to prison, it'll scar you for life." Allison Block"

Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Picard, 2007 Agatha Winner, Edgar nominee. Library Journal Review: Cold case, indeed: a blizzard with too many parallels to a long-ago storm shocks 33-year-old Abby Reynolds into unraveling the mystery behind a 17-year-old homicide. The unidentified young woman found bloodied and naked in the snow has literally haunted the small Kansas town ever since, her unmarked grave emitting a miraculous glow. The secret begins to peel away when Abby realizes that the stories told about that night don't quite ring true. As she asks the people she loves to return to that time in 1987, Abby fears the murderer might be staring her in the face. Pickard's careful plotting builds slowly toward a climax, with the weather contributing to a sense of foreboding. Using flashbacks and multiple viewpoints, she provides an absorbing tale of love and deceit. This very readable standalone suspense novel, the first by popular mystery series author Pickard (Jenny Cain, Marie Lightfoot), will appeal to those who relished Martha Grimes's Hotel Paradise. -Teresa L. Jacobsen, Solano Cty. Lib., CA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Whiskey on the Rocks: A Whiskey Mattimoe Mystery by Nina Wright. Publishers Weekly review: Set in the small resort town of Magnet Springs, Mich., Wright's diverting debut introduces Whiskey Mattimoe, a recently widowed 30-something real estate broker. Things are pretty slow in Magnet Springs, until an out-of-towner drops dead at a local massage parlor. Pricklier still, the mystery man's wife shows up in Magnet Springs to tie up loose ends—and is bludgeoned to death in the house she just happens to be renting from Whiskey. Throw in dognapping and art forgery, and it's quite a caper. Unfortunately, the denouement is so complicated and depends on so many coincidences that readers will need to take notes to keep track of all the details. Still, this is a fun read, and if Wright can simplify things a bit, she'll have a cozy series as satisfying as a fine single malt.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.

Keeping it in the family!

Hey Everyone! This photo if from last sunday. My two youngest grandsons came over to see their Papa and I helped them dye some yarn. Their other grandmother has shown them how to crochet, so they dyed yarn to crochet with. Justin(10) on the left and Cody(7) is on the right. Cody is the class clown as you can see by his face. He has to make a face all the time in front of the camera.

We all had a blast playing in kool-aid. Their other grandmother was there too watching the entire process, so she could dye her own.

Today, I dyed two hanks of lace weight almost 1900 yards of yarn. It took me awhile to play with the packages of kool-aid to get the color I wanted but I finally did. A beautiful peach to knit a lacey shawl with. The yarn is drying on the back porch now. I'll post photos of that once it is knitted. I also started a journal of the recipes of which combinations of flavors I use to get the unique colors. A very handy thing to keep for future reference.

Happy dyeing and knitting!

Spring Mystery Swap

Wow! Got a great package from Stephanie! She made be a beautiful pair of fingerless mitts! :-) She also sent Harry and David chocolates - flavored raspberries; monogram note cards, and a book by another of my favorite authors (Alexander McCall Smith) called the Sunday Philosophy Club. I've read several of his books from another series (The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency), but none of the Isabel Dalhousie mysteries. Can't wait to read this one. Thanks, Steph!!!!! GREAT JOB. :-)

Spring Mystery Swap Package Arrived

Look what Cindi sent me! Isn't this just the stuff? There are books, yummies (Earl Gray and lavender blended tea, good scents and a scarf she made me from the yarn I exchanged with her. Neat don't you think. Thank you Cindi for everyting, expecially the scarf. I know you had a hrd time finding a project for the yarn I sent you, it was a challenage and you passed.

Thank you Jane for putting the swap together and following it thoughout to make it a success. Now I will concentrate on the Bottle Swap, it's gonna be a fun one too.

Died in the Wool

(this is a sticky - please scroll down for new posts)

May is finished, and it's time to talk about a real mystery classic. I know that some of us felt that this selection was hard to get into, but things did pick up later in the story. It certainly gave us a picture of a sheep station in mid20th century New Zealand. Here are a couple of questions to get the discussion going--

What was the variety of sheep grown at Mount Moon? Although this wool is currently in favor, what was the opinion of it in 1939?

Who is knitting all the way through the book and what is she knitting?

Which WWII power seemed most feared by the folks in New Zealand? Any thoughts as to why?

Please post your comments here

Spring Swap

Cindi has been having blogger problems - so you can go here to see the great spring swap package she received from June.

REMINDER - World-wide Knit in Public Day - June 9

Just a reminder that this Saturday, June 9, is World-Wide Knit-in-Public Day. If you go to the WWKIP website, there is more information. Whether you sign up for an "official" WWKIP event or whether you and your knitting go somewhere public to knit, the goal is to do just that . . . grab your knitting and go somewhere in public and knit. How much fun is that!!! If you want to know where there are "official" sites, go to the website above, and search down the right hand banner for locations.

I'm going to be KIP in the morning from around 9:00 to Noon, at my college. I have two MBA tests to take starting at 1:00 p.m., so my time is limited.


And this is what I worked on:

New stash sock yarn

I plan on making lots of gifts of socks so this will be hopefully used.

Hello

Hi and Happy Sunday ...

It is hot here and I've been gathering things for the bottle swap! I am hoping to get it all together this coming week and sent off to my partner. I sure hope she likes what I send!

Well I enjoy reading what all of you have been up to....

Cathy in Ohio

Bottle Swap

My bottle is filled and ready to mail. I couldn't fit everything I wanted to into the bottle, but I'm sticking to the rules and only sending what would fit! Guess who it is going to?