Konnichi wa!

Today I had the most wonderful surprise! My tea group on Ravelry held a Valentine's swap and today my box arrived from my swap partner. My box had traveled a long, long, loooong distance - it was from Japan!!!



It was packed to the brim with wonderful things! Here you can see two skeins of soft 100% wool lace weight yarn, a tin of tea, a box of "mochi" chocolates, and 3 exotic Kit Kat bars.

The tea is so lovely (well, Everything is so lovely!!). It is from a tea company I've never heard of before: Tea Pi O. Their website says that they want to present the "Soul of Japan" through their authentic teas. They also have an Haiku contest on their front webpage. I was tempted, but haven't tried it out yet. My swap partner also sent me a package of green tea "sticks". I haven't opened the package, so I am just imagining that these are pencils of tea with tiny steeping holes in one end for brewing in a tea mug. These will be fun for work!



It's wondrous really how everyday things are so unique and unusual in other countries. I would love to go to Japan, and not just for the Kit Kats, either!



Oh, these aren't the ordinary Kit Kat bars! One is an Apple Kit Kat, one is an orange fruit Kit Kat that looks like it has black sesame seeds in it, but they are probably the fruit's seeds - maybe passion fruit? ...and the 3rd is dark chocolate with something in it - it looks from the picture on the wrapping like it's either coffee with a dumpling in it or bean soup. Haha! I can't wait to figure these out! But I must wait because there were 3 miniature ones in mocha flavour and I ate them right up - One! Two! Three!

There are many other wonderful things in this box, including a beautifully wrapped box of "Mochi Chocolate" - silver rice paper, green paper ribbon, Japanese seals.... all so elegant... and on top of everything else: four (4!!) little charms for my cell phone: the Sanrio purple doggie, the Katamari Damacy prince, a chocolate covered donut, and (my favorite) the Little Burnt Bun!



There was a mystery in the box, too. Does anyone have an idea what this is:



Do I eat it as is, or does it need to be cooked or soaked or grated or dipped??? Well, even if I don't get an answer, I'm going to try it out very soon!

What a wonderful box! And on top of that, it's "Top Chef" night! and... it's snowing.....

Arigatou, Swap Friend!!!

that sceptre'd Isle...

So often, in my blog-rolling hours, I read people's writings about their lives and those far-away places take on a mythical quality. I have left this continent only thrice - two times to Canada and once to Mexico. For me, Norwegian winters, German forests, Welsh castles, and Brazilian universities are the Narnias that back my wardrobe's depths.

So, being an armchair traveler, I am particularly charmed by the tastes and samples of another country - yes, even another state - that come to me by way of swaps. Receiving gifts from another country is almost like walking down its streets and exporing its shops. I belong to a group on Ravelry that has had a swap going almost constantly since last September, and I've participated in all but one of them. Since this group specializes in not one, but two of my particular obsessions: needlecraft and tea, I've been constantly delighted by the sending off of parcels full of local Northeast specialties and receiving mysterious curiosities from far away.



Today, in the midst of my furiously fast knitting for the book sample, I heard the postman's heavy footsteps down the long porch and soon after found a large box on my doorstep - return address marked: London, UK. Organic Scottish Shortbread biscuits and a wide variety of fragrant teas were the perfect refreshments when I took my break and picked up my book for 15 minutes of relaxing reading - a Hammish MacBeth mystery by M.C. Beaton set in the foggy, cold highlands of Scotland.

Nestled in the bottom of the box, was a pretty yellow bag marked "I Knit London".



Inside: SIX skeins of Wensleydale Longwool, spun in Yorkshire England on Cross Lanes Farm. Sea green the colour of drifting sea fronds and Seafoam blue - my favorite colours... Already, I can envision these yarns made up into a sweater of vintage design. The green will be the cuffs and neckline, and the blue, the lace-and-cable body of the sweater. I have almost 1200 yards here. What a generous gift!

In the way of swap boxes, this one yielded up its treasures through a myriad of wrappings and packings. Amongst those folds were tucked some tiny pewter treasures - a colander, pepper mill, wine corkscrew, and a teapot - so cute!



When people are kind and giving in unexpected ways it heals the nicks and breaks and bruises that everyday life brings. An act of Grace goes out into the world in endless ripples and affects people in ways the originator could never imagine. I have been graced by kind swap people three times in recent weeks. Thank you for being agents of goodness in my life.

Fine & Noble

My friend from Norway, Ziarah, exchanged a swap-box with me this week. Isn't it wonderful to be able to sample the unique teas and yarns from a far-away place? Even though, on the map, we are so separated, Ziarah and I have several things in common and so picking out treats for each other was not hard at all!



The first thing you see is the Biscotti that she made! It is orange and almond flavoured and is soooooo good! I'm eating one a day but I have to put the box away afterwards because I just want to keep eating them!

The Fine and Noble tea is a Green Tea that I love - two boxes!! Ziarah had sent me some of this last year and I was almost addicted to it. These tea bags will make my work days happier.

You also see some metallic fibers - gold and copper - so unusual. I plan to pair this yarn with a lace-weight for shawl making. It will make a soft glow I think, don't you? It will be good for emboidery too.!

And the yarn! She sent me 3 skeins of Silk & Baby Alpaca yarn in - guess what - Green! A beautiful sweet green like a new tulip sprout. This is from a company called Alpaca Du and has cute little pictures of alpacas on the label. It is uniquely Norwegian!

This information is from Ziarah about the yarn company - I think this is really cute, and fitting:

The yarn brand is Du Store Alpakka, which means "You Big Alpaca" and it is used in Norwegian as an exclamative way of saying "Oh my!", or "Wow!" - Kinda like "Holy cow!" :)

I do say "Holy cow!" to this yarn - the silk and the softness of the baby alpaca makes it the smoothest stuff ever. I just hugged it for about an hour after I unwrapped it. The yarn company is very correct in saying Oh my! about their yarn!

The cool thing is that Ziarah and I emailed back and forth about a yarn that would be especially Norwegian before we swapped. I was sending her some Seacoast Handpaints - made here in my state, in soft pinks and tans as well as Manos silk and wool. I had read that Norway has some very wonderful yarns because they have ancient breeds of sheep there that are raised no where else, but Googling was failing me. She knew all the websites to suggest and pointed me to this alpaca which couldn't have been more perfect. I feel that I got something so special.

I am mulling this yarn around in my head, but I think....perhaps, this:



Thank you Ziarah soooooooo much for these gifts!

ETA: Included in this package was a knitting designer's book too! It got missed out of the photo because I started using it right away as soon as I unwrapped it! It has measurements and yarn requirements, pockets and note pages, graph paper for designs, and abreviations and chart information - everything I need in one place. It even has a guage-counter and needle sizer included! When I am at meetings at work, I'm always designing on the notepaper I'm supposed to be taking notes on. So this book is coming back and forth with me each day, and I'll start putting my drawings in their proper place. :D

the fiber fairy visits....

A little Fiber Fairy came to my house to play
She opened up the windows
and chased the gloom away...

In other words, I got some wonderful gifts in the post from a new Ravelry friend!



This tea set is from her personal collection of Lu-Ray California china. I found this info about the china on some internet sites:

"The Lu-Ray Pastel line was introduced in the fall of 1938 and it was continued with minor changes until 1962. The Lu-Ray name did come from the company’s lead salesman having recently visiting the Lu-Ray Caverns located in Lu-Ray, Virginia. The four original pastel colors were named Windsor Blue, Surf Green, Persian Cream, and Sharon Pink. The Persian Cream is actually a soft yellow color. Since Martha Stewart recently featured Lu-Ray in April of 1996 the demand for and value of Lu-Ray has skyrocketed up and the location of Lu-Ray has become nearly impossible."

I'm very honored to have a tea set in this wonderful Surf Green!

New yarn has also made its way into my cosy home by way of this gracious person... Here is Posh Yarns Eva - a cashmere and silk blend in sock weight.



These gorgeous greens remind me of the water lily leaves on a pond where I used to canoe - so serene, so deep and liquid. The yarn is both smooth and soft and you can't help but stroke it - the cat is very jealous! I love this yarn very much and will definitely make something fo me with it - a lace neck scarf or special stockings, I'm not sure.

These next two skeins were a totally unexpected bonus from her generous heart! They are from Hoobody fibers, a company I've never heard of, but I can tell you it is one of the very softest, most beautifully dyed, and smoothly spun yarns I've ever seen! If this yarn were available anywhere near me, my budget would be in constant danger!



This is a lace-weight yarn in the colours of waterlily blossoms! It is destined to be a lace shawl. I love it love it love it. In fact, I kept it right beside me, with the sock yarn, so that I could gaze happily at it every few minutes! Don't you love yarns from companies you've never had before? I just want to collect every yarn ever made. seriously.

A yarn habit like this needs serious and determined stash-busting, and so every chance I get I buy patterns, hoping they will bond with the yarns and make a nice FO family. My recent aquisitions are A Fine Fleece and Noro Joy .



Since I'm very interested (read that as obsessed) with vests right now, I think this may be my first project from A Fine Fleece:



Possibly. Maybe.

Argyley, or, What long winters are good for...

There is one reason I can think of to be glad that this winter is still pummelling us with cold and snow...it still gives us reasons to wear woolly goods! I've finally finished Argyley - in the middle of February.

This was meant to be a Christmas gift and now it will be a Valentine's gift... I'm not a slow knitter, not at all; it's just that the yards of K2P2 in fingering weight is rather..... arduous. And yet, its worth it for the fine, soft, perfectly drapey fabric that resulted. And seeing this argylle-like pattern slip off the needles was so gratifying.

Seacoast Handpainted yarns are a favorite and this skein just made them more so! Its huge yardage made just the right length for a scarf on size 4 needles. If I had made it a bit thinner, a larger needle would have been possible, but I wanted as fine a tension as I could manage. I found that to get the argyle diamonds I had to be very careful of my tension. One night I was quite tense and ill, and the very slightly tighter pattern that resulted created a flash of orange in the black like a lightening strike! As soon as I loosened back up to what had already been a relatively tight tension, the pseudo-argylle came back...



This scarf will wend its way to its recipient tomorrow, and while I don't wish anyone more winter than what we've already had, I do hope he has a chance to wear it before Spring!

I've also had a wonderful fibery gift arrive in the post! A friend from Ravelry sent me a box from England! Everything that was in it was the best possible choice for me - its like she read my mind. The yarn is space dyed Silk & Wool made in Wales - Its Fiberspates and the colourway is Spring Greens. I wish I had the power to describe how beautifully soft and smooth it is. I will just have to show a picture...



Along with the yarn were two packages of tea: Keemun and Jasmine Tea Balls. The Jasmine tea opens up in the teapot and blossoms with a spray of white flowers. This makes the tea-drinking as visually beautiful and it is soothing and tasty. Another friend had sent me a tea ball that will have a purple flower, so when I do try these, I'll post pictures of their pretty blooms!

But one thing in the box made me laugh out loud...the 40's postcard! You can see it on the right - the lady in the satin bathing suit... it says "Bile Beans for Inner Health and a Lovely Figure" lulz!

Spoiled (but not a brat)

Well, I have been spoiled! Canarysanctuary sent me a big package that arrived yesterday! I came home from work in the freezing rain, tired and (frankly) miserable from a tough day at this educational edifice and as I drove into the driveway I spied a package waiting demurely on the doorstep... How exciting!

The labels on it revealed that it was actually from another country. More excitement! Then I saw Canarysanctuary's name - how intriguing! What could she be sending me????
THIS:



See how many things? There were beautiful cards and vintage patterns and teas and yarns and a new knitting journal!! Now for the specifics..... These two skeins are Lorna's Laces in a bright Coral and soft Coral stripe - how cute is that?? These will be perfect for a summery seashell sock design I have in mind! And this seagreen yarn - Oh how I love that colour!!! - is a big skein of wool and ANGORA blend!! I have wanted a yarn like this all winter for a neck cowl - it's perfect.

Now the teas are sitting beside me on my desk right now! There are Twinings Darjeeling (which is in my tummy), Twinings Celebration (celebrating 300 years of expereince with an Assan and Kenyan blend!), Twinings Indian Spiced Chai, Stash Pumpkin Spice, Bigelow Apple Cider Tea, Madura Peppermint Cooler, and Teekanne Heibe Liebe Fruchtee mit Himbeer-Vanille (this has a picture of raspberries and Vanilla flowers on it)!!! Now, I must tell you that the Twinings that is exported to Canada and the European countries from England is not the same tea that is exported from Twinings of London to the US!! Twinings openly states that they don't send their high-quality teas and tea bags to the Americans because they don't believe we appreciate the finer teas (ahem). I am a member of a big online Tea newsgroup and when we once wrote to Twinings about this, they actually said this! So you can imagine how happy I am to get some samples of this elusive actual high quality Twinings tea to test out for myself. I can tell you that the Darjeeling was excellent - not astringent at all.

So there you have it, gentle readers. I am so very blessed by such generous and kind friends who gift me with treasures. It has made me very enthused to get deep into the knitting and designing in this new year!!

sad swap experience...

I had an experience with Ravelry last week that really threw me; upset my knitting equilibrium. I joined my second swap on the Tea group, and was assigned my partner. And someone was assigned to send a box to me. I had lots of fun shopping for my designated box recipient. This is the most fun part of a swap - spoiling your partner with special gifts that they wouldn't get for themselves. We're supposed to spend about $40...

I assumed that the person sending to me was going through a similar process.
This is what I received:


I was so hurt and started crying when I opened the box! For some reason, it seemed like I was unworthy of a "spoilage" swap box - that my swap sender had read my questionaire and decided "eh,". I couldn't get it out of my mind for days and even left the group that started the swap because I couldn't stand to see the wonderful swap boxes that other folks were getting - things like 2 skeins of silk lace weight yarn and Presentation Blossom teas!!

Several days have passed and I got a couple very nice messages from other people in the group. One person told me she had a similar experience a while ago and hadn't done any swaps since. I love to give gifts, (I'm going to be a swap angel for someone who didn't get their box in the last swap) so this will be hard for me, but I think I should not join any swaps again. I don't think I could go through this again...

meh, I shouldn't complain because I was thoroughly tea-and-knitting spoiled by my sister, my bf, and friends at Christmas time. Why do the assumptions of strangers affect us so much, when its those who are close to us who should matter most...

land o' snow

It's snowing! The first snow of the year and Mr. Newsy on TV said it may reach 3 or 4 inches today. But it will be gone by morning because its 50 degrees here.

I'm glad the streets will clear because my kitty is at the Vet's today for surgery on her oddly swollen mouth. She probably cut herself on some odd bit around the house and became infected. She is a cat with a mental disorder. She has Pica - the eating of non-edible things. Infants, Toddlers, and Animals get this disorder when they've gone through periods of starvation. Catherine was a feral cat and no matter how plump and secure she becomes in our cosy home she can't stop chewing on odd table legs and lapping up dust.



I'm anxiously awaiting a call from the Veterinary to find out how badly off she is/was and when I can bring her home. The good news is that I've put in to take tomorrow off and the next two days are Thanksgiving Holiday, and the next two are the weekend so I can stay home for five days to keep an eye on her and......knit!

Recently a knitting package came for me from another snowy land.... Norway! We had a tea and yarn secret swap on my Tea and Knitting group on Ravelry (Cup 'a Tea) and the marvelous Ziarah sent me this package:



Do you see what is there? Yes - its potatoes! Potatoes are my favorite food and I happened to make a joke of this on the swap questionaire, so Ziarah went to the local farmer's market and bought me some of the special Norwegian potatoes that are served for holidays, especially Christmas. They were small, and smooth and yellow and when cooked up they tasted so buttery! (yes I had them for supper with cottage cheese the very afternoon they arrived - I was so excited!) I would like to taste potatoes from all over the world! Wouldn't that be fun? Why doesn't anyone want to have a potato and yarn swap???

It arrives when you really need it!

Look what showed up on my doorstep today!!!



The first bundle that looks very much like the bundle of wool it is, is from Headwater Farm in Ontario. Look at this lovely yarn!



The dark green lace weight is called Ilga, the light green is a DK weight, and of course some self-striping sock yarn. The sock colours are really in autumn colours – I thought they were green and grey and gold from the monitor picture, but they are brown and orange!

But the un-spun batts! OMG! Look at these beautiful yarns of unspun wool for making the true traditional feather and fan shawls. There are some patterns for this traditional yarn in the book Folk Shawls. I tried to make one a year ago, but was using some big cone of some mystery yarn I got at the thrift shop and it didn’t look the way it was supposed to. Now I have the real thing – and in the incredible natural colours, too! That big batt of natural white? $3.50 Canadian for the whole batt! And I got 2 of them!

Canada, O Canada! How I love thee for thy incredible yarns!

Now the next one, is the mysterious much-anticipated package from Nadine, that traveled across the ocean! It is dated August 29 on the customs slip! Well 6 wks isn’t unexpected but when you are waiting for Nadine’s surprises...each week seems like a year!

OOOOOooooo on the customs slip it says something else, too! Schokolade! I think this is chocolate in German!



What beautiful things… now this is the sock yarn colour that I really love – a lovely soft blue in very gradual colour changes… And this chocolate! I am eating a Sarotti Stille Affel-Vanille feinste vollmilch schokolade right now this very minute. Mmmmm hmmmm mffffh…. (yum) Oh my, this is incredible! The apple is all spicy and melty in the middle of the chocolate. But look at these: tiny, tiny glass apple and pewter teapot! I will make them into stitch markers, which is what Nadine intended, I think.



But I can’t show the rest of the contents of the box or even what category it is in, because they are intended as Christmas presents for someone who might read it here…

Thank you Nad – this is a very inspiring box!

across the wide ocean!

Another mysterious box was waiting on my doorstep this afternoon - the one I have been waiting for, that my friend Nad in Germany sent so many weeks ago! How exciting! This box was nicely intact, no crushing, no big holes in the side...like a grand lady, it had been treated delicately during its long boat ride!

The Contents:



This is the marvelous sock yarn that creates its own pattern when its knit up: stripes, or fair isle, or subtle blending from one colour to another. Many of these skeins will make two long socks (or gloves) or even a short-sleeved blouse!

The green and yellow yarn in the upper right is a lace weight - and will be just right for the Swallowtail Shawl in this season's Interweave Knits; next to it, the light intense blue one, is Silk! Silk sock yarn! You can't imagine how soft it feels!

There is just so much! Tibet colour, Treking in a gorgeous hue, cotton-wool, skeins that are limited edition colours designed by Frederic Zwerger (the two in the front row leftm - you can only get these in Germany, they aren't exported), and all the other colours that I love so much: dark amd mellow greens, blacks and creams...and one that looks like Zebra (Opal makes a line with the colours of various wild animals that I've been absolutely craving: Owl, Zebra, Tiger, etc...).

I'm over the moon with all these yarns. They represent not only a paycheck's worth of premium yarn, but many many weeks of joyous, satisfying knitting!!

I'm in love with all of them.... and especially this one:



See the little chestnut on the label? That says that the yarn has been infused with Chestnut Oil, so that it is antiseptic and healing! Isn't that marvelous? I can't wait to make these socks!!

(You can see the swap box I sent Nad, here - http://nadsknittingblog.blogspot.com/ - by clicking on her August 2 archive. If you click on the photo, the image enlarges!)

Thank you, Nad, for the most wonderful swap box!

Yarny goodness

Yes! Today! The Yarn Swap Box is on its way to Germany! Many New England yarns, unique and handpainted, will find a new home with Nad and the colourful chickens.... here is just a little hint of the 7 lbs of yarny goodness now on an airplane across the seas:



I hope I get to see the wonderful things my swap friend will make with them!

Exciting news - I've mastered the "magic toe-up sock" method! I'm working on John's socks!

I've been spending a long time looking at still photos from Narnia so I can examine the knits in the movie. Lucy's little green/brown knitted cloche hat is what I really want to make - the one she wore on the train! Her coat was darling too. I read that the costumer researched the 40's to find typical patterns and also had vintage-looking materials woven in Australia especially for the costumes. The kid's clothes were made a little small or made to look altered from a larger or smaller size because in the war years new things weren't bought - but new things were made from old things. I remember (well, I wasn't there, but I remember hearing the story - you know what I mean) my Grandmother made a little baby dress for my mother out of her honeymoon suit, which was heavy brown velvet with handmade ecru lace, made in France. My mother had me wear this when I was a baby, too, and carefully laid it away for me. But it disappeared by the time I was old enough to look for it. Somewhere there's a photo....

Ah...the Ocean...

Life has been pretty good these last few days, especially this weekend. I saw The Pirates of the Caribbean last night and the ocean views just washed right into my heart! I LOVE the ocean! I want to marry the ocean!

I have Nadine's yarn swap box full to the brim but am waiting for one more thing to come in at the yarn store before I send it off.... its very intriguing and enticing-looking! I'll post a photo when I have everything wrapped up so it doesn't give the whole surprise away! Nad lives in Germany, so I don't know how long the actual posting will take, especially since its not going by owl, but by USPS....

in other knitting news, my office has been asked to knit hats and mittens for the poorer elementary schools in town and have them ready for fall. so I have organized a knitting group at work and we'll start next week. because of this, I've been sorting out my stash of yarns to find ones that would be good colours for kids and I've also put together a book of patterns for folks to use... people are work are excited and those who aren't knitting are contributing a skein of yarn! two months isn't very long, but we'll do our best! unfortunately...making something requires more effort than setting the yarn in a pile, pointing a needle at it and saying an incantation. I want to be the Hermione Grainger of knitting so I can do that!

must go make pancakes now....