Posted in knitting swaps

Wuv, Tru Wuv Mini Swap & Knitting Rock Stars

And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva…

Princess Bride Priest

~from The Princess Bride

We just finished the Wuv, Tru Wuv Mini Swap in my Ravelry group.  The rules were simple and fun:

  1. Be a member of the group.
  2. Send a small knit, crocheted, or sewn gift, a card and a small treat ($5.00 max) to your secret swap partner.
  3. Participate in the swap discussion at least once a week.
  4. When you receive your package, you must post your thanks as soon as possible and post a photo as quickly as you can.
  5.  You must stitch your project with love. 🙂  (My favorite rule!)

Well, I must say, this swap exceeded my expectations.  The participants were absolute rock stars! Lovely packages were sent and received, and the hand crafted items were just amazing – creative and beautifully made.  Just take a look!

I love the adorable sock monkey Carla made!  It’s just too cute and sweet, made in Gnome Acres yarn with a Gnome Acres button. Pattern is Jerry the Musical Monkey by Rebecca Danger.

Janie from Carla (2)

Torunn, whose knitting talents never cease to amaze me, sent this little guy, a voodoo doll named Valentine, all the way from Norway to her swap partner (SP).  Pattern is Voodoo You Love Me by Susan Claudino, and he’s knit in Knit Picks Stroll.  The cutest little voodoo doll ever!!!

Heather from Torunn (2)

Melanie made this lovely bag, a Valentine Pouch by Lion Brand Yarn, worked in Lion Brand LB Collection Superwash Merino, for her swap partner. Such beautiful knitting!

Melanies bag (2)

This heart made by Janie now makes its home in its new valentine-y environment. So sweet and quintessentially February 14!

Jen from Janie2

I was the fortunate recipient of this swap gift from my friend Stefanie.  The card and notebook are wonderfully hand stitched.  Love the initials stamped with bleach on the notebook!  I love this warm and red turban she made for me…stylin’! Pattern is Turban(d) by Amelie Bernier, knit in Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted Solid in Bold Red.  Also included was delicious chocolate!

Me from Steff

Half the fun of the swaps, of course, is preparing the gift for your SP.  I knit two dishcloths for Torunn, using the pattern From My Heart Washcloth by Tabitha’s Heart.   Some conversation hearts, a ceramic button from One of a Kind Buttons, a pretty card and a little Knit=Joy ribbon (thanks, Meg!), and we’re all set!  Made with love!

Torunn from me

I loved each and every swap package that was sent.  Each knitter put her own creative stamp on the theme.  Each crafted item was stitched with love.  It was truly a perfect Valentine’s Day swap.  I am very grateful to everyone for joining in wholeheartedly, and to my friend Jen for doing an amazing job of organizing these swaps.  The Wuv, Tru Wuv Mini Swap Collage:

Wuv Tru Wuv Collage
From top down, left to right: Dragon by Heather, Ear Bud Pouches by Alex, Egg to Owl by Diana, Pillowcases by Debby, Coffee Mug Rug by Becky, Cupig and Mug Hug by Susan, Sock Monkey by Carla, Tape Measure by Amber, Dishcloths by Debbie, Voodoo Doll by Torunn, Dishcloths by me, Turban by Stefanie, Cupig by Jen, Heart Garland by Missy, Heart by Janie, Valentine Pouch by Melanie.

Alex (alex and knits) and Stefanie (Wooly Cakes and Wooden Spoons) both wrote wonderful blog posts about their experiences with the Wuv Tru Wuv swap. They are both excellent writers as well as knitters; their posts may be found here: Alex’s V-Day Swap Update and Stefanie’s Wuv, Tru Wuv: A Valentine’s Day Mini Swap.  Thanks to both of them for sharing their knitting and writing talents!

And I leave you with this adorable mini dragon made by Heather.  Just perfect in pink!  And if you read Alex’s blog post linked above, you’ll read the sweetest story about Alex’s daughter’s reaction and this dragon’s new name, Pony Dragon. Adorbs!

Pattern, Little Dragon by Susan B. Anderson.

Alex from Heather2

Posted in knitting swaps

A Holly Jolly Mini Swap Wrap-up

Another fun swap is in the books!  An overview of the lovely and creative swap packages that jetted across the country in December:Holly Jolly

I love that our group is so enthusiastic about the mini swaps, and I’m very grateful to our amazing swap organizer, Jen.  A new swap is being organized right now.  Knitters, we love to have new group members and new swappers (swapees?).  If you’ve been thinking about it, come check it out here.  Hurry, though, sign-ups close January 4th!

Posted in knitting, Ravelry

Summer Spa Swap…in the Books

My Ravelry group just finished up our Summer Spa Swap. We each made a spa cloth and purchased a specialty soap for our swap partner, also known as our SP, and sent it along with a card.  Our swaps are pretty stress-free…just a small little something made with the SP in mind.  Along the way, we chat in the swap thread and post a picture along with our thanks when we’ve received our surprise in the mail.

I love the variety of colors that were used for the spa cloths, as well as the wonderful soaps that people were able to find for their SPs:

collage 3

A few of the pretties, up close:

Joanna made two lovely cloths for her SP. The one on top is Vintage Hankie Washcloth by Julie Tarsha. The other is my pattern, Fairy Godmother’s Spa Cloth.
Patricia found the perfect embellishment to send with her spa cloth…and I was the lucky recipient!
Lovely swap package sent by Melissa to Meg. Beautiful work by Melissa, and I love how Meg staged it! Aren’t those hydrangeas gorgeous?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many thanks to everyone who participated in our Summer Spa Swap.  Be on the lookout for our next swap!

The next big activity in the group will be the Passport Mitt knit-a-long, starting October 1.  More on that next month!

x0x0

knitequals joy

 

Posted in knitting

Summer Spa Swap

Kepanie, my friend who writes the Wooly Cakes and Wooden Spoons Blog, wrote this post about the Summer Spa Swap that is just now wrapping up in our Ravelry group. I was the lucky one who got Kepanie as my swap partner, and I loved hearing her take on the swap.  We have had such a good time, and I’m really looking forward to the next one! I hope you will take a look through her lovely blog.  (For some reason unknown to me, Kepanie’s slideshow of the swap package she sent to keatime doesn’t show up here, but I have added a couple below.  Follow the link at the bottom of the page to view the original post.)

photo and cloth by Kepanie
photo by Kepanie
photo and cloth by Kepanie – Hibiscus Dishcloth pattern by Whitney Webster
photo by Kepanie
photo by Kepanie