Swap Spoils and Other Pretties

I participated in a swap on the Rubberneckers forum on Ravelry. My swap spoiler, a blogless (afaik) Stanzi, was able to give me my presents in person because she was visiting her sister in Boston for a week!

Here we are at the Dogwood Cafe:



Stanzi looks awesome -- she looks like her! Me, well, I'm a little pasty and puffy looking, making me wonder if I ever look like that? Do I need to lay off the beer and ice cream? I think it's all in my smile -- sometimes a wide smile pushes my cheeks out and makes my eyes disappear. Yes, I've analyzed.

Here's some of the pretties Stanzi gave me:



Mmmmm. . . Sumdrama -- I mean, Sundara Yarns! The Rubberneckers refer to it as "Sumdrama" because of the drama that arises when some people get this yarn that other people think they're entitled to. It's exclusive, you know. This stuff IS gorgeous, and a color that could be in danger if ZMrK decided to pick up the needles.



Lovingly handmade project bag! I love that it's shaped like a ballerina slipper case (well, sort of) and it has a handle to slip over your wrist. I have no idea how to make this style project bag, but I like it.



Two Rubberneckers themed badges, and a cute sheepy zipper pull. Dollipede is something the mods threaten us with when we're bad (if you think that's freaky, don't ask about the Lotus Bewb). And WANK because so much of the drama the Rubberneckers watch is just WANK WANK WANK about [pick a subject: the disagree button, copyright, exclusive yarn, acrylic vs. wool, breastfeeding, politics, and Whatever Wank Hasn't Even Been Thought Of Yet.] If it exists, there will be wank about it.



Some amazingly soft fiber from Hudson Valley Fiber Farm. This stuff rocks. I'm tempted to keep it natural when I spin it, to have some beautiful off-white handspun fiber. I'll probably get dye-happy with it though.

Not pictured: homemade Buckeyes (they were eaten more of less that night), incredible Belgian Waffles from a shop in her hometown (they're awesome warmed and topped with ice cream), BEER from Cleveland! (Burning River!), some Columbus and Ohio related magnets and postcards, and something else that I can't recall right now because it was about two weeks ago. Amazing I remember the Buckeyes and waffles.

I put together a lovely package for my spoilee, Jennatonnix. I included some handmade stitch markers, which I was smart enough to photograph before shipping off:



I also sent her the purple blue and pink sock yarn, second from the left:



Okay. I have to tell you about this etsy seller, Sharing. Yes, that's her Etsy shop name. I ordered three skeins of sock yarn -- the two on the left, and the one on the far right. The second from the right skein, in the autumn colors? She sent that free. As a thank you. I'm not kidding. Oh, and the content? MERINO/CASHMERE.



The Neon Lights in the front came caked (which is good, because I plan on knitting up that stuff SOON). I tried to find a sock pattern called Angel, because I'd like to call them Neon Angels on the Road to Ruin (after the Runaways song of the same name). But, nope! So I may make monkeys.

Speaking of monkeys. . .

Well, he's not a monkey, but he does like yarn a little too much:



We came home from a hike on Friday night to that. Thankfully it only took about 15 minutes to rewind, and thankfully it doesn't appear he ate any, even though he did chew through a couple of spots.

Yarn needs to be locked up now.

Inspired by Stanzi's project bag, I made myself a project bag (to go with my many projects) with some fabric I had a small amount of:



In case you can't see that too well, yes, those are pink kittens:



I used the tutorial at this blog (which I've had bookmarked forever) and added the handle myself. My handle could use some improvement, which I'll work with on bags I make later (because I will).

Hope everyone is having a great summer!

He's Lucky He's Cute.

The other day, after putting on my makeup, I walked into the other room to see this:





Thankfully, the yarn isn't any sort of super-special yarn. It's some sort of acrylic/fake-mohair/blend that I purchased on eBay years ago when I was buying tons of yarn on eBay. I should make something with it, someday, but I'm not 100% certain how many yards I have. I'd say, not enough for a full scarf, but too much for just a hat. Maybe I'll make a neckwarmer and see what's left.

The night before Luciano did this, he got at my wheel and pulled off the unspun fiber hanging off it, running around with blue wool sticking out of his mouth. He did that again this morning. So, the wheel has to be kept in a room with the door shut (which it is anyway, from the days when Ellie used to chew on the band).

Otherwise, he's still a good kitten. Sure, he does try to climb up on us to get certain foods (peanut butter is a favorite of his -- who would have thought that?). The abundance of cat toys in the house really helps us out there, plus Ellie is the ultimate kitten toy.

It's all worth it for shots like this:



Although I think I prefer his "gangstah" pose:



On to knitting -- I do still knit, you know. I finished one of my floral lace anklets:





The Regia Silk is awesome. Have I mentioned that before? It's so soft and luxurious feeling. I want to wear them all the time, yet I'm afraid of wearing them out quickly. That's the rub with socks, I guess. I wore out many pairs this past winter, and can't knit fast enough to make more.

I haven't worked on the Lacy Waves Top since I posted my frustration on the lace insert. I should go ahead and finish it, then see what it looks like post-blocking, but I'm afraid it may fall victim to being the wrong yarn for this project. Le sigh.

I also haven't worked on the Swallowtail Shawl for a while, mostly because of the attention span involved and because of working on lace with a kitten around may be too distracting. I can't work lace at a knitting group -- I just can't talk or listen while doing it without screwing up.

Much of it may be put on the wayside for the South End Knitters' latest group project -- the Annual Knit-a-Thon to benefit the Pine Street Inn! You can learn about the Pine Street Inn's mission here. My page is still a work-in-progress, and I have yet to cast on for my first square, but I set up a page here. I've never done any charity knitting (mostly because I'm not the Fastest Knitter in the West, or the East, or the Northeast even), so I'm a bit nervous about getting anything done. At least I have until November to do it, and it would make a great commuting knitting project. I've been collecting as many afghan square patterns as I can, and one of my friends has a pretty one on her blog. She makes gorgeous patterns as well; I see a different sweater or tanktop on her every time I see her.

I'll leave you now with Ellie's centerfold shot: