Sunday 25 November 2012

The joy of swaps!

Well good afternoon to you! Thanks for popping in! Very little on the knitting front to share with you I'm afraid. There has been a lot of box packing going on, and not much else. I have knit a small amount of a sock, it's an easy pattern, so it's nice to relax and do a couple of rounds in the evening when we have had enough of parcel tape and packing paper! Florence, as you might expect, is still keeping an eye on proceedings for us.
 

 
yarn guarding (1)

 
 
I packed up my craft room yesterday. I won't show you any photos of exactly how many boxes there are - let's just say that the new craft room will be well insulated!!
 
 
I have been busy finishing off the bunting that my knitting club has been making at school. I managed to get a few parents involved too, and the corridors are now festooned! It certainly brightens up the place.


 
bunting
 
 
 
Our kitchen is rather steamed up at the moment - here's a clue as to why!
 

 
stir up Sunday (5)



Can you guess? No? Ok, here's another clue then!



stir up Sunday (6)



It's Stir up Sunday, the day when traditionally, Christmas puddings are made. We make one following Delia Smith's recipe, it's delicious. It has a couple more hours to steam today and will then be packed away until Christmas Day.
 
 
I have had two rather lovely parcels in the post this week. The first was from Judi - part of the ThreeBagsFull group swap on Ravelry. We had to choose a bag from Michele's shop for our partner, and then add a skein of yarn and some goodies. Judi chose me a really cute owl bag, and spoilt me with lots of lovely treats. Some sock yarn from SweetGeorgia Yarns, a bag packed full of miniskeins for my (rather neglected) sock yarn blanket, jars of rhubarb jam and apple butter made locally to Judi, white chocolate peppermint bark (delicious and sadly all gone!), chocolate covered pretzels (saved for Christmas!) and a handmade button. Thank you Judi!
 

 
ThreeBagsFull swap (1)



The second parcel was from Beki. She and I swapped parcels earlier in the year. I asked Beki if she could send me some of her lovely stitch markers that I wanted to give as part of another swap gift in exchange for some yarn.

 
 
Beki swap (2)
 


Well imagine my surprise when a rather large parcel arrived in the post. Not only had Beki sent me three pots of colour-coordinating stitch markers, but also lots of other lovely, lovely things. Three different braids of fibre that she picked out for me at local fibre festivals, some Corriedale and Targhee fleece to work with, along with some sachets of fleece scourer, a really cute knitting bag (made by Beki herself I think) and a cat tin with a couple of badges that really made me smile.

 
 
Beki swap (3)



There was an absolutely beautiful card too - from Linda Dufurrena photography. Scroll down the page and see if you can spot which photo made me go all gooey! I think that I am going to have to get some of these cards for myself.  It's called Take Love Where You Can Get It. Don't you think it's just a lovely photo?
 
 
Apologies if you have been experiencing difficulties accessing my blog. I was alerted by a couple of readers that their virus software advised them not to visit  because it was linked to another blog which might pass on a virus. I have removed all links to that blog and am happy to report that all seems to be well now.
 
 
Have a good week, whatever you are doing. xxx

10 comments:

snoopydogknits said...

What a lucky girl you've been! I just LOVE the cute little owl bag. Had they not have all been sold by the time I looked, I think I would have succumbed........once again!! ;-) Rosx

busybusybeejay said...

Wow!You ave had a great week giftwise and fancy finding time to make a xmas pudding in the midst of all that packing!

Helsie said...

All these great Christmas traditions are lost on me. They just don't seem to fit in our hot climate. It's my dream to have a cold Christmas one day. I'm sure I'd enjoy it more.
Cheers

Michele in Maine said...

So fun to be getting something delicious ready for the holidays!

You are so diligent about your packing; unpacking will be a breeze! Can't wait to see your new craft room all set up.

Anonymous said...

what lovely packages!! how fun to be involved in such wonderful swaps!!

love your student's bunting! it looks great in the hallway!

Anonymous said...

My goodness...what amazing parcels you've received! I need to up my game swapping wise! lol

I soaked my fruit to make Nigella's Christmas Cake last night, it takes 400ml of spirit, which you bring to the boil with the fruit, turn off the heat and let is soak overnight, well, the fruit is all plump and boozy now, rather like me on Saturday night!

Eugh packing just gives me the eeby jeebies! Hope everything gets sorted very soon
xx

WildflowerWool said...

What fun gifts! Enjoy!

Lyn said...

What lovely parcels to drop through the door! I love the bunting too! Xxx

Sue said...

What wonderful swap pressies you received. The owl bag does look wonderful. The bunting looks great in the school hallways, so bright and cheery. I visit a few blogs that tell me the same message so maybe I should write a list of them and contact them when it happens.

Lynne said...

What lovely swap parcels! The yarn is gorgeous, and the bunting looks very cheery in the corridor.