Swappity Swap

I am a Cindy. Not incredibly unique among my generation, but I named my oldest Emily, so I guess I'm passing the popular name thing along quite nicely.

Anyhow, on Ravelry there is a group of us Cindy-knitters, and I am participating in the "Summer of the Cotton Cloth." This is a traveling swap of you-guessed-it, cotton cloths. We are given the name of the person we will be knitting for, and a little info about them. We knit them a cloth, include a skein or two of cotton yarn for them and some goodies to round out the love.

The swap is a traveling one, meaning it travels around the United States and Canada in a path known only to the moderator. I have been waiting since the beginning of the summer and it has been stuck on the east coast until recently when it has made its way to Texas and British Colombia. And guess what I got in the mail yesterday?

You guessed it, the little box. We have been using the same little box, and boy is it tired.

Mine came from Cindy in Canada, and she did a fabulous job of spoiling me! Two cloths, a purple one made from hemp and and white cotton one in a diamond pattern, both very lovely.

I was spoiled with three skeins of yarn, some chocolate with yummy nuts, smarties (Grace got those) two sets of stitch markers, a handmade soap, and an cold pack commemorating the upcoming Olympics in Vancouver. A lovely package worth waiting for!

Now it is my turn to send it on its way. I have enclosed some kona coffee, and my Cindy collects thimbles so I found three interesting ones at a local antique store, along with some art deco buttons. The cloth I knit from Meg from Ancient Pathways' hand dyed yarn and I am enclosing another skein of her cotton/tencel. My package is going to another state (I won't give away the secret) and I'm putting my goodies into the little box and marking the map to show where it has been and tucking in that too. Bye little box!

When is a pair not a pair?

I finished my Marlene socks. I actually finished them awhile ago, but just now am getting photos of them on the blog. They are the longest socks I have made, and took FOREVER. But I love them. They will be so nice this winter when it is cold and I'm wearing brown shoes. You can't wear wacky color socks all the time (well, you actually can, but sometimes I like to be a little more discreet).

Pattern: Marlene by Cookie A. (ravelry link)
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy, Color: Cocoa Kiss

My goal this year is to knit 12 pair of socks. This is actually the first pair I have completed. Pretty sad, huh?

I actually finished another "pair" but I don't think you could count it as a pair. On the left is some Lorna's Laces yarn knit into a plain ole' sock, a la Yarn Harlot Sock Recipe. On the right is a plain sock, knit from Kaffe Fasset's sock yarn. I made this one with an afterthought heel to better preserve the sand art look of the stripes. I had never done that before and really liked the effect. With any luck, I'll knit another two socks and then have three pair done.


I also wanted to blog about a swap I did with my Cindy Knitter group on Ravelry (yes, there are enough of us Cindys who knit to form an entire group). The rules were you were given the name of a Cindy and were supposed to spend around $30 and get them some yarn and some other goodies. We were given a deadline, and I mailed mine off to Elizabethtown, PA in time. And then I waited. And waited. And nothing. So I contacted the Cindy in charge and she called upon two "angels" who had signed up to rescue someone in the event someone flaked. So I got the above pictured lot of goodies from two different people! It ended up being way more than I would have gotten originally, so I went from feeling left out to guilty for getting too much. Then about a month later the original Cindy who had flaked sent me some stuff too. It was good stuff, but over a month late. So I ended up with 3 packages. So much for my first swap experience.


I'm starting a new lace project - this one is a little lace scarf I'm going to use in a gift exchange. This pattern has the two end pieces knit first and then they are grafted on to the center section. The ends went fine, but the center section is driving me crazy. I'm looking forward to blocking it to see how it is going to look. The yarn is Redfish Dyeworks 20/2 silk. Such a pretty color!