International Scarf Exchange

I received my scarf today. It was so exciting to come home and see the box on my porch. I took the package inside and calmly opened it so I wouldn't possibly cut the scarf while trying to get the tape off the box. Lyndsey-Jane wanted to make sure nothing fell out on the box's trip from the UK to the US. My scarf is a lace scarf made of 100% alpaca in a lovely purple (my favorite color) with red and blue highlights. There were also two boxes of chocolates in there. And I love chocolate.

Thanks so much Lyndsey-Jane for my beautiful scarf.

Many Red Scarves will be mailed in January

I've been working hard on scarves for the Red Scarf project. On Thursday I finished a crocheted scarf. It's the Windy City Chicago scarf from the little box of scarves.

Then I went to the Michaels yarn sale on Saturday afternoon and bought some Patons Shetland Chunky Tweed and Patons Classic Wool. While watching two movies and about 4 hours of Tivo I managed to get 3 scarves started.

And I have more red yarn to make more Red Scarves, one of which will be the Irish Hiking scarf using Patons Decor. I almost forgot, there's the Touch of Whimsy scarf which I work on at lunch time.

The Scarf is practically in the Mail

I'm mailing the scarf off to my secret pal tomorrow morning. The chill is already in the air where she lives and I wanted to get the scarf in the mail so it can keep her nice and toasty. I don't want the scarf to be lonely during the long trip (outside of the continental United States) so I picked up some other goodies.

At a local Sheep and Wool Festival I found tiny sheep figurines and some llama roving from a local artisan group. My secret pal not only knits she spins yarn. From reading her blog, she's tried many different fibers but I don't remember seeing llama.

Since I live in Michigan and my pal doesn't, I decided to include some Michigan items. So I picked up a 2007 calendar with picturesque scenes of Michigan, Cherry vinaigrette salad dressing (Michigan is known for cherries), foil wrapped milk chocolate cars (she has children and I live in the auto capital of the U.S.), chocolate covered Michigan cherries (who doesn't love chocolate), and fancy chocolate covered chunky pretzels (sweet and salty) from a local Michigan shop.

And while picking up the tissue paper (a blue, green, and yellow print) which coordinates well with the color of the scarf, I found some stretch gloves in green with cream trim and a matching pair in solid cream. Then in the next aisle, actually a few aisles away, I found some butterfly shaped post-it notes in green and blue. I didn't know if I could fit the scarf in the box with everything else. I couldn't so I had to get a bigger box. And soon it will be on its way to ------. Can't tell, it's still a secret.

I almost forgot. Here are the scarf details:

• Pattern: Farrow Rib Scarf from the little box of Scarves
• Yarn: Cascade 220 Quatro in colorway 9432, 100% Peruvian highland wool
• size 9 needles (I think)
  
• 4 skeins including the fringe, which I included in the package as an option
• Measurements: approx 7.5" x 102" (she did request LOOOONG)
  

My respirator has been unplugged

I have lost the battle in Sock Wars. I was taken out by assassin Mlle Udah who used a pair of pink and yellow socks to deal the fatal blow.

SABLE

I found some post-its at the CGOA convention which had SABLE written on them. SABLE stands for Stash Accumulated Beyond Life Expectancy. It is my goal and I think I'm on the road to achieving it. There are 8 shelving units in my basement for my yarn stash. Each has 5 shelves which are 36" wide. I began seriously organizing it a few weekends ago and was amazed at what was down there. Being the anal retentive person I am, I created a spreadsheet to keep track of it.

And since I know you want to know what I've got, I published it on Google Spreadsheets. There are tabs at the bottom for "Current" projects, items I have "Started & Stopped", projects for which I have all the "Materials Gathered", and the beginning of my "Stash". I put the link over in the sidebar to the right and I'll add it here for the sake of completeness.

My Own Little Yarn Store