This was in my mail box

This yarn was in my mailbox today. Apparently "Catie's Tornado Scarf" was a "winner" project for Virgin of Small Plains. I am very honored and rather surprised at all the feed back I got for my interpretation of the project. There is enough yarn to make two pairs of socks for gifts (or one for myself and one for a gift!). Thank you Jane!

I was totally overwhelmed by the Summer Swap that I received from Danielle today; take a look! Lots of knitting books, a ton of yarn, tote bags, office supplies, and candy. I am thrilled with everything! I can guarantee that everything will be put to good use. The yarn will be perfect for Christmas ornaments for our Church Bazaar and I can use everything else with my crafting and Girl Scouts. She also included a wonderful little Longaberger basket. What a perfect way to start the day....thank you, Danielle!

Chris

Summer Swap Package from Patty

Wow, the package I received from Patty was excellent! There was Mary Engelbreit sticky notes, two mini-scrapbooks, a coaster set where I can put my kids' pictures, a note set (as much as I use email, I really enjoy sending notes to people), a candle, a cute little light (which you can not really see in this pic), a 2008/2009 pocket calendar, two mysteries (one knitting based, one culinary based -- two of my most favorite venues) and two skeins of Baby Alpaca Worsted in a rosy pink (the pic below makes it look more of a bright pink; the yarn is more of a dusty rose pink).

Very cool. Thanks so much, Patty.

Danielle's Summer Swap items

Here are the lovely items that I recieved from Dawn in the summer swap!

When I posted before I forgot to mention the book and bookmark and the koolaid!

Summer swap.

I now have send my gift for my pal. There will be a lot of mystery in my packet.
It is possible to se at the picture below. I am so excited to see what my pal think.

And it is no mystery the packet have been nearly round the world.

MY PARROT FLEW THE COOP ALSO

I finished my project for the The Virgin of Small Plains. I knit a red parrot.
My parrot got away also and there wasn't a tornado here. We had very heavy winds the other day but not a tornado. I went looking for my parrot. I found him in the bushes but was unable to catch him and bring him home until it got dark when I found him sitting on the fence. See photos below for the story of finding my parrot.
Here he is hiding in the bushes.

I sneaked up on him when he was in full site.
I am getting close to him but he has that look on his face. She sees me and I've got to get out of here fast or she will take me home before I am ready.
Now it is dark and I am ready to go home. If I sit here my mom will find me. Oh there is my mom and I am ready to go home.
Yes this is exactly like it is on my blog. Sorry but I liked my story and didn't want to write another but I do have other stuff on my blog so feel free to check it out at http://pennypurlsandkittyknits.blogspot.com/.

I am going to mail out my whoduknit tag sale swap Monday. I hope my partner likes what I have managed to collect for her.

I am a swap junkie and I take swapping seriously!!!!!

Summer Garage Sale Swap

I think with my $0.20 item I picked up at Walmart today - I am just about ready to mail my box! And it is pretty full - I just hope that my swap partner enjoys some of the items in it!
Didnt find knitting needles or books or anything. Did find a small Longaberger basket for $0.50 tho! That is my best find for the box! Odds and ends of yarn...some holiday themed yarn. And some dyeable yarn....wonder who is going to get this box???

Didnt get much info about my partner from her blog so that is why I am hoping she likes some of the items in the box, since I couldnt find out much about her!

BOLO for a Costco sized diaper box!

danielle

Catie's Tornado Scarf

This is my project for Virgin of Small Plains, a "tornado" shaped scarf covered with flowers for Catie. It (hopefully) represents her miracle of the tornado dropping flowers (but oddly no smashed glass!)on her. Knit wider at the top, narrowing down to a "funnel" at the bottom with silk flowers sewn on. Hope it is OK to use mixed media! (Pictures click to get larger/more detail. More at my blog.)

Virgin Project

Here is my project for The Virgin of Small Plains. I think it would have been appreciated by the virgin, Sarah, and also by Mitch and Abby. Come to think of it, Mitch's mom and dad would have probably appreciated it too, had Sarah had one available.

I have knitted Sarah and Abby a small Condom Amulet. Beautiful to see, discrete for covering a personal package, and always handy around one's neck.

Photos

Here are two photos.

The first the baby blanket for the Virgin of the Small Plains....Sirdur Baby Snowflake yarn...garter stitch all the way thru. Feels really nice, and is pretty, but is a pain to work with. Dont think I will use it again.

And the 2d is the lovely prize I recieved from Vigdis....isnt that yarn scrumptious???? I think it is Christmas ribbon candy, peppermint flavored, my favorite. At first I thought it was peppermint salt water taffy, also a favorite of mine And she even picked out my favorite colors for the stitch markers - dark green!! Thank you!

WhoDuKnit Summer Swap..Thank you KyleAnn

Thank You KyleAnn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I received my package from you this week. I was saving it to open on Sunday. I wanted to start my week out on a good note, since work will be a mess this week with my assistant being off for vacation.
And, yes my week has started out great when I opened it. I did read on the blog that some one was getting some Noro Kuryeon from KyleAnn. I never thought it would be me! I never have that luck. Well guess what?! Yep I got the Noro Kuryeon. And it will join the Noro Kuryeon I have been stashing away slowly for a special project. I have a pattern from my Mom's stash that I have wanted to do for a long time. It is a shawl pattern dated back from 1952. Believe it or not, even though I live in Florida I get cold all the time. So hubby will be helping me with this.
I also got a book to make a entrelac bag, a calendar with knitting patterns, and a huge tote bag. Hubby says I can fill it with more yarn!! Thank you once again for my wonderful package. I guess I need to check out yard sales!

Kool-Aide Dyeing after the fact

I'll confess, I am not a fan of orange. Still, when it came to knitting a sock for Fawkes (the phoenix in HP) I decided to use my orange Kroy sock yarn.

Then I took a page from all you inspirational dyers...and this is what I came up with! I am much happier with the end results.

Speaking of Plains...

I didn't read this month's book, so I don't know the setting of the story, but we had a fire on our plains/prairie today. You could read/see it on my blog Artsy Math Teacher.

The Virgin of Small Plains Project

This is the red scrunchie that Rex bought for Sarah and then found on the ground when her body was discovered. It was knit from wool that was died in Cherry Red Kool-Aid from no particular pattern - just a long tube, sewed together with elastic running through it. The kool-aid represents the boiling vat of liquid that I'd like to throw the judge into!

My Maisie Dobbs Project July Reading

Here are a couple of photos of the cloche I had knit and then felted on Saturday at a friend's house. Do you think it needs a flower or somethng? In person you can see the glitz coming from the Eros I knit in with the hat. It is quite close to my head. It took a couple of days to dry as I had it on a styrofoam head. This is from the the book Knit it! Felt it!

I have finished reading the July book and would love to loan it out but I got it from the library. So I am lending it to a friend who is not in this group but lives a few streets away and now wants to read it.

Check out my new blog http://pennypurlsandkittyknits.blogspot.com/. Comments are greatly appreciated especially since it is so new (only three long chatterbox entries).

Bottle Swap and yarn :-)

Last week I recieved my "bottle"-swap from KyleAnn. Thank you so much :-) I have never seen the yarn before, and your patterns are awesome! And the Kool-Aid? Are you seeing my Happy-Dance? Or hearing my screams of joy? I simply love dyeing yarn! Thanks again!

By the way, if anyone wants to buy some dyed yarn, I have some sheins now..... And to those of you who have recieved some, please let me know what you think about it. I appreciate all opinions, I can't get better if I don't get critcs to move me on!!!

And : Has everyone recieved their sheins? I'm not sure, so please let me know! Anita, you'll have to wait! That lot you sent me needs some special treatment :-)

Wonderful Bottle from Linda

Linda in Indianapolis sent me the most wonderful bottle! I have spent most of the week with my daughter, who had surgery in a hospital about 2 hours away from us. I spent the entire time with her. DH called me one day to say that the mail carrier had gotten a little carried away with boxes. He didn't tell me one was a bottle. LOL

Imagine my joy when I got home to find this great bottle from Linda. The yarn is lovely - I'm wondering if you Kool-Aid dyed this? You included 2 packs of Kool-aid for me! :) Included were Skittles and blueberry tea (yum!), some stitch markers and a counter (I can really use these!!!), Sweet Pea body lotion from Bath & Body Works; some post-it arrows, which make great place markers!, and some herb seeds. I was just moaning to DH and DD that my herb garden desperately needs to be updated. Don't know how you knew, Linda!

Linda, this bottle is just perfect. Thank you SO much!!!!!!!

Mary Lynn's Maisie Dobb's Project

These are some of Mary Lynn's WIP's (unfinished projects) representing Maisie's unfinished business. How clever is that!

My Maisie Dobbs Project

After much debate with myself about what I would do as a project for Maisie Dobbs I finally made a choice. I had thought of doing vegetables since Maisie's dad was a costermonger but in the end I chose a felted cloche. It still has to be felted but I do have a photo of the cloche prefelted. It is knit with Plymouth Galaway in a blue I had in my stash. The blue is a bit deeper in color than the photo. The flecks are Plymouth Eros. The pattern called for the glitter Eros but I had the regular Eros in my stash from a shawl I knitted and I felt it would be just as nice. Also some of the blue in the Eros matched the blue of the Galaway.



Thank-you Janice for modeling it prefelted. It is from the book Knit It Felt It. I will upload a photo of the finished hat when I get it felted. That will depend on who I can get to felt it since I use a pay washer in my apt and only get about a 10 minute wash cycle for $1.50 with no water level adjustment so I have to do it with a full load.

Maisie Dobbs Project

My project is a very simple pair of socks, similar to the socks which the women would have knit during their spare time. Alas, the colors aren't from the period, but just as the women back then, I used what was available.