Off it goes...

My Ravelry Blog Swap box is off on its way to its destination:

Ravelry Blog Swap: Bonus

As promised, here's the bonus item from the Ravelry blog swap (seven parcels opened over seven days, my parcels gifted by Fiolinn in Norway). Remember back at the start when I mentioned that there was 'a roll of paper that looks suspiciously like it may contain some sort of knitting pattern'..? Well, here it is:


And inside was the pattern for Lori Law's Sleepy Hollow Socks, which I first discovered whilst reading the Yarn Harlot's post about her finished pair. What I really like about these socks is that although they look fantastic in a solid, the pattern still seems to show up in a more variegated yarn.

Now, I've only just started a pair of socks, so I shall be good and hold back for now, but perhaps I need a good rummage through the sock yarn boxes to see which yarn is calling out to be a pair of Sleepy Hollow Socks :)

---

Thanks to Fiolinn for a set of lovely surprises which have brightened up the last eight days (and will undoubtedly brighten up some more as I get to use them in a variety of creative endeavors. Thanks also to Eskimimi for organising the swap and to my exciting swap partner for being so fun to buy for - I'm planning to mail your box this weekend!

Ravelry Blog Swap: Day 7

Final parcel (almost - look out for one last bonus post tomorrow) from the Ravelry blog swap (seven parcels opened over seven days, my parcels gifted by Fiolinn in Norway):

And the label read:

Inside was a yummy Zauberball and a really wee lavender bag *sniff*:

Now this didn't photograph so well (not helped by the late hour at which the picture was taken) but it's a simpler colourway than the one used for my honeymoon socks, a dark aqua blue and black in long stretches. Not quite sure yet whether this is crying out to be socks or a shawl...

Thanks Fiolinn!

Ravelry Blog Swap: Day 6

Eek, we're already on parcel number six from the Ravelry blog swap (seven parcels opened over seven days, my parcels gifted by Fiolinn in Norway) - only one more left :(. Still, here's number six, all artfully wrapped:


And on the label...


And inside, the wrapping revealed:

Three goodies for embellishment: some pink organza ribbon, a large white button and some vintage white lacy ribbon/edging. I wonder what projects these will spawn...

Watch this space! Thanks Fiolinn :o)

Ravelry Blog Swap: Day 5

Here is parcel number five from the Ravelry blog swap (seven parcels opened over seven days, my parcels gifted by Fiolinn in Norway):

So well wrapped, I'm sure once I get the tape out for mine they will look nowhere near as artistic as these. Here's the reverse of the label:

And here's the treasure:

Nom, nom, nom! Thanks Fiolinn, I look forward to trying this :)

Ravelry Blog Swap: Day 4

Here is parcel number four from the Ravelry blog swap (seven parcels opened over seven days, my parcels gifted by Fiolinn in Norway). Unfortunately, this is one of a few parcels that wobbled around a bit in transit and so had escaped most of its wrapping. Still, here's the label...

And the contents:

Two skeins of 123 Luna Wool - a 100% wool worsted weight yarn - as Fiolinn says, ideal for felting. Now felting is one of those things on my knitting to-do list and I do have a few felted patterns in my queue/favourites, some of which could be achieved with one or both of these skeins:

• French Press Knit's  'French Press Felted Slippers'
• Jeri Riggs' 'Felted Fabulous Hat'
• ScullyKnits' 'Highland Wool Felted Bags'
• Liat Gat's 'Pentafold Felted Mobius Bowl'

Of these, the French Press Felted Slippers is easily a favourite - I've loved these slippers since I've seen them and I think the blue yarn would suit them perfectly.

I think I feel a project coming on... thanks for the prompting (and the yarn) Fiolinn!

Ravelry Blog Swap: Day 3

This is parcel number three from the Ravelry blog swap (seven parcels opened over seven days, my parcels gifted by Fiolinn in Norway). Unfortunately, this is one of a few parcels that wobbled around a bit in transit and, as a result, weren't quite so artfully wrapped as the others. But still, here's the label...

What a world of possibilities! So here's what was inside the parcel:

These are quite honestly the cutest little notebooks I have seen. I love the idea of a different notebook for each season, and they're just small enough that they could slip inside my bag and wait for inspiration to strike. The motifs are simple but evocative and well, I think they're lovely!

So, back to the label ideas for a moment... cat diary?? I wonder what this would involve:

5 am: Woke from my nap on a pile of clean washing I found hadn't been put away yet. I think I might be lonely, time to bang into the human bedroom door until it opens and I can 'creep' in to sleep under the bed. Ooops, woke the humans and now find myself all alone at the bottom of the stairs. Hmmm, I seem to remember there's a reasonable sofa near here somewhere.

8:30am: Time to tell the humans that breakfast should be ready.

9:30am: Naptime.

12pm: Oooh, the sun is coming through the curtains, I think I could sleep on that patch there - right where my friend Molly is sleeping, I'm sure she won't mind a bit...

6pm: The humans are home, time for tea.

7pm: The humans are cooking, time for an even better tea.

8pm: The humans are trying to relax, I shall hassle them for a space on the sofa to sleep on.

9pm: That human is trying to knit, I shall sleep on her pattern. I do like the sound of crinkly paper.

10pm: The humans are going to bed, time to make sure they've left me enough food to snack on. Perhaps they won't mind if I poke my nose around the door and try to make a bolt for that comfy space under the bed where I am 'NOT ALLOWED' to sleep.

12pm: Time for a quick jaunt outside to see if anyone's left any good meat in their rubbish bags. I'll bring home anything good and then leave it on the floor like it's suddenly lost all attraction... and then I'll go to find a nice pile of clean towels to nap on.

:)

Thanks Fiolinn!

Ravelry Blog Swap: Day 2

Here's parcel number two from the Ravelry blog swap (seven parcels opened over seven days, my parcels gifted by Fiolinn in Norway):

And the lovely label read:

So now I have a suspicion what this might contain, but I'm not big on speculating about presents - squishing and smelling aren't really for me - so I move on and open it.

A little organza bag containing 6 stunning stitch markers. I really love the detail on the beads used on these markers:

And now I just need to bring myself to:

1) Use them
2) NOT lose them

One day I will find the place where tape measures, little sets of scissors and stitch markers go to hide...

Thanks Fiolinn, two fantastic parcels so far!

Ravelry Blog Swap: Background/Day 1

I've posted a few times recently about a blog swap I'm participating in. In this swap, which was spawned on the Ravelry bloggers group, Eskimimi has matched up participants such that everyone will received a parcel from one person and will send a parcel to another different person. In each case, only the person sending the parcel knows about the partnership - the recipient doesn't know who is putting together their parcel and how they're getting on until the parcel itself arrives. All the parcels should contain seven mini parcels, one for each day of a week. The idea is that the parcels might provide a little bit of inspiration for us bloggers (as well as making us squee over exciting parcels). My parcel to be mailed is now almost done - everything I shopped for has arrived and I've got another evening or twos work on the item I'm handmaking - then I'll check I'm happy with it all, wrap everything up, stick a note inside and take it merrily to the post office. My recipient is in the UK so they should get it fairly swiftly after that.

So... on Tuesday evening I got home from work and sifted through the post. The knitting needles I needed for my handmade part of the swap are in an envelope which allows me to get started on that project later that evening. Also in the post is a "while you were out" card telling me that Parcel Force has tried to deliver something to me whilst I was out and so they've taken it to my nearest post office. I resolved to collect the item on the way to work the following day...

And so I do:


Here is my lovely box from Norway sat on some damp grass in Ryelands Park. Inside the box are seven tissue wrapped parcels, a little notelet, and a roll of paper that looks suspiciously like it may contain some sort of knitting pattern :)

So, here's parcel number one.

The label for this little parcel was pretty self explanatory:


And in all honesty, that photo probably tells you more than this one of the actual soap. This soap feels lovely and moist though, I look forward to it brightening up my bathroom very soon...


Thanks Fiolinn!

Exciting Post

Yesterday lunchtime, there was a knock on the door and I got excited. I'd ordered some new DPNs from p2tog.com so I could put the last bits together for the knitting bloggers swap I blogged about recently and she often hand delivers to me if she's passing through. So, I grab Hobnob's keys from the back door and open up, only to find... a postman holding a parcel!

Two exciting things to note here:

1) A parcel for me, woop! (More about this later...)

2) A parcel delivered by Royal Mail on a Sunday! This is truly bizarre. I'm not sure why I'm so excited about this except that it just breaks all the rules, everyone knows you don't get post on Sundays, but the man with my parcel was definitely a post man, he had a van and a uniform and a "while you were out" card in his hand just in case.

Right, back to the parcel... some time ago I signed up to participate in a four seasons Ravelry swap. Four parcels to be sent out over 2010, one for each season. I duly mailed my Spring one just in time and, well, that was it. Periodically I received a message assuring me my parcel would be mailed soon, but it's September now and nothing has happened yet.

BUT

At the start of the summer, group management was passed to a new member of the group who created a thread for folks to post updates about their current swap status. I sent a private message to the new coordinator telling her how things had panned out and she found me a swap angel - someone who sends out a parcel to someone who missed out to make them feel better and "restore their faith in other knitters" :)

Here is my amazing parcel from libs:

The parcel includes:

• Three different samples of fibre:
  
  
  Some green and some purple/pink/orange tencel, chosen because it's apparently great for the beginning spinner, and some merino fibre in a really lovely dark red colour. I think I may have to find some time for spinning soon!


• Some Lush goodies and a handmade washcloth/dishcloth:
  
  The Lush goodies are Porridge Soap and Space Girl bath ballistic.



• A couple of bars of Cadbury's Dairy Milk... nom nom nom.
  
  
  
  
• A pack of highlighters.
  
  
  
  
• And last, but not least, a lovely pair of fetching fingerless mitts:
  
  
  These might be just the thing for combatting the office air con (she says, rubbing her hands together for warmth - perhaps tomorrow would be a good day to start :)).

Thank you libs, you are amazing!

Lots of Post!

Today I've collected lots of post - yay!

I have:
A letter from Lada, my Russian penpal.
A booklet from Scripture Union about Spring Harvest.
Things That Make Us Smart mooched from Vivir (Finland)
And something else I've already forgotten!

Woo, post!

Much Post!!

Just collected 7 parcels from the porter's lodge!

My Snoopy watch has arrived and my two textbooks and then four BookMooch books.

It's here!

At the last possible moment before I head home for Christmas, my Sweeney Todd soundtrack has arrived. Hurrah for Play.com. I shall take it to Hobnob's with me when I leave in a moment.

Yay!

You learn something new...

Today I have discovered that Royal Mail actually do something similar to the General Delivery stuff that I'd read about in some US news articles: post restante (mobile letterbox).

So there you go. A free way to collect your mail when you've not got a permenant address.

Woo, birthday post!

I got my birthday post today! The lovely post people delivered me some socks, a notebook and letter paper made from elephant dung :)

Thank You Mr. Postman

A very quick arrival indeed - my watch is here!

I like it when the postman delivers things. I'm not entirely sure what they're all striking over at the moment (which is a bit slack really) but I like my post so I think they should make it all better soon please.

I haven't written any letters to the postman recently. Maybe I should.