My favorite knitting accessory....

My Secret Pal 10 host is running a contest this week where we have to discuss what our favorite knitting accessory is.

Mine?

Why, my brain, of course :D
Without it, I wouldn't find much joy in what I do with those needles!

Knitter's Treat Exchange questionnaire

Knitters Treat Exchange Questionnaire

1. What's your favourite type of yarn?

I am obsessed with Alpaca yarn :D Alpaca yarn is just...to die for! But I also love wool, cotton, silk, bamboo, even some acrylics if they're SUPER soft. I'm a VERY tactile person and can't handle anything that feels plasticy or rough. I have a fair amount of alpaca, wool, alpaca/wool, wool/cotton, cotton, alpaca/silk, and some soft acrylics like Simply Soft and some Patons.

2. What's your least favourite type of yarn?

I do NOT like anything "fun fur" ish or novelty yarnish. No rough wool or scratchy acrylics, please. Otherwise, I think I'm pretty easy to please :D

3. What's the first thing you do when you visit a new yarn shop?

Wander around touching every skein to see what feels good.

4. What other crafts do you do / would like to do?

Besides knitting, I am a spinner and I make jewelry from beads. I also sew and do general crafty stuff :) I want to re-learn tatting and crochet at some point, but I don't have time to do the stuff I do already!

5. What magazines do you currently subscribe to?

Martha Stewart Living, is all at the moment. All my other ones ran out and I haven't had the cash to re-subscribe! I used to subscribe to Spin Off, Interweave Knits, Better Homes & Gardens and PC Magazine :)

6. Put this type of magazine in order of preference:
Knitting (most preferred)
Home
Food
Other Craft
Garden
Crochet
Fashion
Celebrity Gossip (yuck)

7. What items do you like to knit / crochet?

Ohhh, just about anything :) I've knit hats, blankets, purses, scarves, lace, cables, fingerless mittens, wrist warmers...and I'm currenly learning socks :) I havne't done any clothes yet, but a tank top is on my list of soon!

8. Are you allergic to anything?

Just dust and gold :) Chocolate, depending on the brand (see question # 14 below).

9. What do you like to* smell of?

I love citrus-y cents a lot, as well as jasmine, vanilla, apple. I do not care for spicy scents and I have an aversion to the smell of coffee and tea. I know, I'm bizarre :P

My everday perfume is Body Shop Lemongrass Tea (no longer sold, but I stocked up on ebay when I heard they were stopping making it!) and my fancy perfume is Casmir (also not made anymore, but you can get it online...lol).

10. What's your favourite way to relax?

Knitting, spinning or a long hot bath with a good book. Also, popping a xanax helps on occasion :P

11. You're stood in front of a Victorian style sweetshop, an Italian cafe, an old fashioned bakery and a dainty tea room. Where do you go first?

Definately the old fashioned bakery!

12. What do you come out with?

Something light and flaky, like a palmier...or something with cinnamon, like a snickerdoodle :)

13. Where do you go next?

The victorian sweet shop, I guess, as I don't drink coffee or tea, lol.

14. Any other words of wisdom for your pal?

I don't drink coffee or tea and I am not a big fan of chocolate. Sorry, I know this makes things harder! Chocolate I do like: Dove milk chocolate and kit kats :) As far as candy goes, I prefer things like swedish fish or sweet tarts :)

Secret Pal 10 Questionnaire

Hi there, Secret Pal :)

I wanted to give you a link to my questionnaire that I filled out back on Feb 6th so you can find it easier :)

Please click HERE to be swept back in time and learn more about me!

I'm super excited to participate in this swap and thanks in advance for the great stuff I'm sure you'll be sending me :) I can't wait to meet you!!!

Amazing swap packages abound!

I have to say, my two replacement pals in the LiveJournal Secret Pal 3 have REALLY outdone themselves!

I got my third and final package today from iangelofmusici AKA Danielle :D As seems to be the theme with so many people in this swap, I was having a ROYALLY bad day. I mean, so bad I had to take anti-anxiety meds to get through it. And then, what should my lovely office postman bring, but a bright fun puffy package for none other than MOI!

YAY!

First of all, it was in a really fun puffy envelope with green and purple circles all over it. I am in love with the envelope and it will have to be re-purposed for something crafty and fabulous :)

Upon opening the envelope, what did I see right away? YARN!!!


But not just ANY ol' yarn. Yarn I've been wanting for months and months and months now. Amazingly soft, beautifully colored acrylic and alpaca yarn. Dreamy, take to bed with you yarn :D 2 skeins of Paton's Rumor in Fern Heather - YAY! I am just so unbelieveably excited to get some of this yarn!!! It shall become something this weekend!

After rejoicing about the yarn, I dug in and pulled out two exciting things!


A fraggle rock DVD and an ADORABLE sheep measuring tape!!! The DVD is just beyond beyond cool...it's amazing and fantabulous and just spiffy doodle all rolled into one! I've been secretly coveting other people's sheep tape measures when I see them online - I can't believe I have one now! The absolutely cutest thing is it's tail is where you pull the tape out! I just about squealed when I figured that out!!! Okay, maybe I'm easily amused. But I just adore both of these things!!!!

Next, I pulled out an envelope that was kind of bumpy and wriggly. Curious, I opened it to find an adorable rubber ducky card and some beautiful stitch markers!!! They're made out of what appears to be sparkly, glittery buttons and Gah! I am just in LOVE with them!!!!


The entire package was just delightful! Thank you so much, Danielle!!!! Besides being amazing for stepping in and taking over when my pal went MIA, you figured out exactly what I would love and gathered it all together in an adorable envelope. You're just plain amazing!


Thank you thank you thank you, I can't say it enough.

THANK YOU!!!!

A hat only a mother could love....

I knit a hat.

I didn't use a pattern, just made it up as I went along. My first hat.

I LOVE the yarn I used (Rowan Plaid in colorway "Spicy" - wool, alpaca and acrylic...softness!). I LOVE the end result hat. I am so FRIGGIN' proud of this hat!!! It's EXACTLY what I wanted it to be!

Unfortunately, when placed on my head, I look hideous :(

I shall wear it around the house, when no one else is around and love it anyway :D

Dishcloth

I forgot to post a picture of a dishcloth/washcloth I made for a friend of mine. I haven't seen her in over a year and I was missing her, so I made her a little present and sent it over as a surprise :)

Yes, it's a skull & crossbones. Trust me, she loved it :P

Recent gifties & yarn porn

I have been participating in a LiveJournal Secret Pal swap since November. My pal went MIA, so I ended up getting two replacement pals at the last minute. One of my replacement pals sent me a package last week and I just got around to posting the pictures of all the yumminess! It was such an amazing package, I HAD to post pictures so you all could see the fabulousness :D

First the yarn, which I am in LOVE with :D



This is a scrumptious skein of alpaca and silk in a rich dark brown color. I just sit and pet it and rub it against my cheek, lol. It's sports weight, so I don't know yet what I'll make out of it, but I'm quite content to keep it as a pet for the time being :D My pal said she loves alpaca as well, so it's just one big alpaca love-fest, it seems :D



This is a very scrumptious skein of mohair and wool. Now, I was SHOCKED when I pulled the label out of the center-pull ball, because as a general rule, I don't care for mohair...it's always itchy to me...but this! This is divine! I can rub it all over my arms, face, legs, and it just feels like softness and deliciousness :) I also love the natural creamy color of the skein! It's an all-around HUGE win, in my opinion!

And finally, the whole enchillada :D


As you can see, besides the yarn, she sent me oodles of goodies :D I got a HUGE bad of red swedish fish (my ALL TIME favorite candy!!!), the new Knitscene, which I had been eyeing, but hadn't purchased yet, an adorable brown soft, fuzzy flower, a really cute round card, a litle toy that I think is supposed to be for my son, but I'm gonna keep it (the green mushroom looking thing. It's one of those bug-eye things where you look into it and you see everything a gagillion times repeated!), some toy cars for my son that run on balloon/air power!, and a funny/funky orange and green plastic glass with a silly straw inside it :) I can't wait till warmer weather, I'll so be drinking on my patio out of the cup :D

All in all, an amazing, fun, exciting, thoughtful, interesting, delicious for all the senses, wonderful package! It's even more special to me because she was a last-minute replacement for my original pal who went MIA and dtale77 was SO on the mark with everything in my package :) I love and adore it all and I thank you, dtale77, from the bottom of my mushy little fraggle heart for such a great gift!

Then, I never posted a picture of the cotton yarn I received in my dishcloth swap package :)



The electric blue skein isn't a color I would normally go for, but when I saw it and felt it, it just screamed out in my hands to be a lace dishcloth...so that is what it shall become :) Then, I can give it away in a swap or something :D I really like the multi-colored cotton on the right! It's also something I would never buy, but I think it looks cute and fun and I bet it will knit up really interestingly....

And finally, just because I can...a picture from my mini vacation to Lake Tahoe this weekend :D


Sunrise on the mountains - view from our hotel room!