Friday, December 28, 2007

My package arrived!

Wow, overseas swaps are a great way to practice patience!! I would like to extend a great big thank you to Gill


What a lovely package and just in time for Christmas!
Absolutely love the coffee bean stitch markers :)Love from wintery London, Ontario,

Nat

Thursday, December 27, 2007

I OPENED MY COFFEE SWAP PACKAGE

On Christmas I opened my package from Allena. How lucky can a coffee knitter get? AND Allena was so patient while I waited for Christmas to open my package. Thank-you so much for Allena for being so patience. Here it is when I opened the box lid. One of the first items you can see is the Trekking XXL yarn which she was worried may not have enough blue in it for me. Well she needn't worry as it is just lovely and there is plenty of blue in it for moi! Again I must write I don't know what you are seeing color wise on your computer as my computer is wonky and I can't get it to show the colors correctly. I know what it looks like in my camera but sometimes even the camera and the computer colors don't jive.

You can also see the following yarn on the top of the box. It was hand dyed by Allena for me and the colors are wonderful. The colors I see when I look at it are aquas, greens and rusts. There are two skeins of it which is 100% Peruvian Wool and the color/dye lot is called Jelly Bean/2. Each skein is 220 yds and 100 grams to be knit on a size 7 - 8 US needle with a gauge of 5 stitches /inch. It is hand wash and dry flat. AND AND AND that is not the only yarn I received. I also received two skeins of Jane Ellison's Marisol Misty which is 100% baby llama. It is the deep blue tweed color despite the photo looking like a light blue. It is so so so soft!! I have been eyeing it since I took the Jane Ellison Workshop at Ram Wools this past fall. Of course, this being a coffee swap I also received coffee. HMMM HMMM The coffee she sent me was from a local roaster in her area and it is called Morning Buzz. It is beans which I can grind as needed.
I also received a very tall large mug which will be my new coffee mug now for morning coffee. I will let company use my previous favorite coffee mug. The mug came with a tin of coffee mints (red and white stripped candies) and a small packet of coffee). To go with the coffee I received treats. YUMMY Treats. Allena sent me almond butter crunch bars which are now gone, milk chocolate covered cappuccino beans which are almost gone, flavored Splenda which I have not only never seen but never heard of, and fudge covered graham cookies.
BUT that is not all I received in my package. I found in the box Gloves in a Bottle shielding lotion. It says it is like an invisible pair of gloves and skin care that works.
AND she didn't forget my Solara who also received treats. AGAIN, thank-you Allena. Will I join another Knitters Coffee Swap? You bet. I had so much fun shopping for my pal and receiving from my pal I will definitely join again if there is one.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Thank You, Diane!!


Look what I received in the mail this past week from Diane. What a great package! I have been surprised and spoiled. Thank you so much, Diane!!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Thank you Kitty!


Today I received my Coffee Swap 3 package from Kitty in Switzerland!!! I was so excited because I have been waiting to see what was coming!
In my package was: Scottish traditional hand baked shortbread, Highland Coffees "Costa Rica Tarrazu" coffee, a very awesome ceramic coffee mug made by Kitty's husband Joe , a bar of "Green & Black's Organic Milk Chocolate" and a bar of "Green & Black's Organic Maya Gold" (which OMG is awesome! It is described as "dark chocolate with orange & spices"...freakin' awesome!!
I also received two balls of "Lang's Soft Shetland Wool" one ball in green and the other ball in blue (very soft! I love wool!), a set of Vintage size 6 knitting needles (very cool, I will have to find more!)...
A Hello Kitty tin coin tube (goes quite well with my growing collection! Did you or Joe make the ceramic buttons inside Kitty?), 2 knitting related buttons and a Vintage coffee card (OMG Kitty has the coolest hand writing, I'm so very jealous!)
Thank you very much Kitty for my great swap package! It was great having you as a first time swap mate and learning so much about you and your lovely family!
**check out my blog for more pics!**


Thank you Corinne

The postoffice delievered my package to a vacationing neighbor in error. I received it last night. Thank you Corinne for being a wonderful partner.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Swap package arrived.......

Chrissie & I decided to send our packages later as she is in England for Christmas so when I got in from work yesterday there was a lovely surprise waiting for me.. my parcel from Chrissie.Wow what can I say, what a fab swap package, Chrissie really chose well, check out my blog for pics. There were 3 different types of yarn, one of which she had spun & dyed herself , how fab. Some circ knit pics, yipee!!! some bamboo needles, and best of all a knit pics case to store the knit pics in.. especially great as hubby has bought me the interchange knit pics set for Christmas....
Lovely hazelnut coffee, some dark chocolate which is my fav, some lush cookies and a cute coffee mug. Thanks so much Chrissie, it was all fab...You couldn't have chosen better, Hopefully Chrissie's parcel will be with her very soon, depending on royal mail that is!!!!
Angie

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Housekeeping ;D

Hello ~ its been a crazy week around here and its not over yet. There is still major cleanup for our backyard and our computer ~ its still running weird, but we are getting life back in order. I've spent the weekend doing some house cleaning and nethousekeeping to ensure my part of this swap ends properly. I believe I've made contact with all of you who have been trying to reach me. I'm really sorry that this ice storm made it impossible to reach me or be responded to ~ especially my dear partner, Elizabeth P. If you have been trying to reach me and still haven't heard from me, please email me at asimplifiedlife at hotmail dot com. Thx again for your patience.
Have a great week!

Mine made it too!

I knew my partner had mailed my package and it finally arrived on Wednesday(? I think it was Wednesday) I found it when I was leaving to go buy stamps, isn't that somewhat ironic? Anyway, it is a wonderful package. See?
100_0508
I will put a more complete description on my blog momentarily but suffice it to say that when Gill posted my package, we were in another holiday season. Check out the candy that she sent, they are little jack-o-lanterns! Very tasty little morsels they are too LOL Thank you Gill for a wonderful swap. I look forward to seeing what you do with your new laceweight yarn. Good luck in your new job.

Got my package!



I got my awesome package from Dorothy on Thursday but have been behind in posting! Thanks so much--such a great package full of yummy pumpkin yarn, a pound of delicious Sumatran beans, elegant notecards, and some yummy treats. As a super bonus, she crocheted me this beautiful scarf!!! I feel totally spoiled!! Thanks to Dorothy and everyone else for such a great swap!

Thursday, December 13, 2007

~ MIA status ~

Hello everyone,
just a quick note to update you all. First, my apologies if you have been waiting to hear from me ~ I've been sick for the past 2 weeks. Second, we have been w/o power for the past 4 days which has now been restored. However, we are under major cleanup with several trees down, freezing temps and snow storm on the forecast. Not to make any excuses, but I thought you all should know why I've been MIA. I will be going thru my emails and responding to all whom need to hear from me. Again, my apologies and thank you for your patience. Btw, we are doing fine but tired. ;D

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

package received


I've had my package for a while now, but life has prevented me from posting about it. Which doesn't mean that I wasn't happy with it! I'd been eagerly anticipating finding it on my return home and I wasn't disappointed, it was crammed full of goodies. My favourites were probably the yarn and knitting book (projects for two balls or less, which is great as I have a habit of buying one or two balls just because I like the colour/texture but not knowing what it's going to be for), and the coffee - French Vanilla, Pumpkin Spice and Caramel Apple. Unfortunately at the beginning of the week I developed a rotten cold and lost my sense of taste, I couldn't even smell that it was coffee, so I'm leaving them well alone now until my taste has properly returned and I can appreciate them! I did taste the French Vanilla which was lovely...
I'll post more details on my blog when I've dug my way out of the sea of tissues that we're living in right now, but just wanted to say thanks here to Cetta for such a lovely swap parcel and giving me another interesting blog to read regularly :-)

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Packaged received (very belatedly)

Ok, so I got my package from Meg more than a week ago (was it two weeks ago?) and I've been sorely remiss on thanking her publicly as well as posting to the blog.

Details can be found on my site, but the bottom line is that this packaged saved me from a coffee-free morning and a dessert-free dinner! Thanks MEG!!!! Heal up that ankle and get training for that marathon!

Happy holidays to everyone.

D.

Thanks Cheryl!

Thanks to Cheryl for the great box of goodies she sent from MA to TX! The yarn is Fleece Artist Somoko in Midnight and Interlacements Tiny Toes in Fireplace Embers - both very pretty! My favorite thing is the Knitpickers Yarn Traveler - perfect for carrying socks in progress - and in my favorite colors!

Hostess Updates

As a hostess, I'm not sure what is more fun, seeing all the great contest entries or seeing the packages roll in. Thanks for posting about all goodies. What lovely swappers you all are!

This is also the time when a couple of poor swappers start to wonder if they will ever get a package. Don't worry that it might be too soon to tell us. I promise you're not being a bother:-)
Since packages were supposed to be sent out by November 17th, you all should have gotten yours by now.

So, if you're still waiting, please e-mail your hostess so we can get things taken care of. It's helpful if you send us your partner's name, e-mail, blog and last contact. We'll try to get in contact with them to see what's up. If your partner did indeed flake on you, we'll get an angel set up for you. I'm hoping to get all swap business wrapped up before Christmas.

Peace,
Knittymama

Monday, December 10, 2007

Thank you Joy!

I received this package a few weeks back, but I had some technical difficulties getting a picture (read as: lost my camera battery charger....).

So here's my package!

Joy sent me a great package with biscotti, two kinds of coffee, a calendar, a felting guide and yarn and a great coffee mug! The card was really cute too! Thanks Joy, I love it! More details here.

Woo is me ...

I've been reading and seeing all the lovely exchanges and I'm feeling a lil bit ... oh woo is me ...

When is it safe to say your partner flaked on you?
Maybe when you haven't heard from her since she e-mailed you saying she "received the lovely package" and "yours is on its way" ...

My gut told me this one was ... Ceme somber ;o( Oh well, as I'm alwaying say, "snap outta it!" ('slap')

Keep the lovely pics coming.

Ceme

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Thank You Eva!

Hooray - The Deutsche Post came through! I finally received my swap package from Eva last Tuesday. I've been swamped w/school & Christmas knitting, so I haven't taken the time to upload pictures, etc.
Here's the loot:

Yummy coffee, hard candies, chocolate (my kids have absconded w/most of the chocolate), cool yarn, a calendar w/a photo of my favorite soccer player, Michael Ballack (he's German as well), and cute little coffee bean stitch markers. You can see them peeking out behind the colorful yarn. Here's a closer view:
Aren't they cute? They're already being used in a Christmas knitting project.
Danke schön! Eva!!!

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Thank you, Chelle!



I picked up a fantastic package from my shop partner, Chelle today. Apparently the package had been here since Monday, but I didn't get a notification of attempted delivery. Fortunately, Chelle had a tracking number and alerted me that the package was here. All ended well and I had my first cup of delicious coffee this afternoon with one of the roasts Chelle sent me. The package contents were wonderful, full of good smelling coffee, bath ball, and lotion, and beautiful yarn. More details are on my blog.

Thank you for the wonderful swap, Chelle!

Also, a big thank you to the organizers of this swap. It was one of my first swaps and I had a great time!

Thank you!

My package arrived today, thank you Cheryl for the all wonderful things! So tempted to try out the coffee or start a new project with the yarn. The yarn colours are called Lobster Mix and Chianti - very good names! Makes me a little hungry actually :-). ... I really need to finish this Christmas knitting soon.... more pictures and details on my blog.
Thanks Knittymama for hosting this swap.

Monday, December 3, 2007

Penny, my new BFF!

Penny, I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful package I got today! Can you guess what i'm drinking right now?? I'm going to post more details and pix on my blog. So I'll see you there!
You're the best THANK YOU!!

Jan, Thank you!

Oh my! That's what I said when I opened up my package. I was treated very well by Jan. She wrapped up everything in pretty tissue paper and ribbons. It made the package that much more special. Hmmm. Why didn't I take a picture then, huh? I was too excited! There was so many wonderful things in that box I really didn't think the box had a bottom. She picked out some delicious flavored coffee, Bourbon Pecan Torte, and my good 'ol standby Starbucks Caffe Verona. A box of truffles that I relished. I had major issues keeping control over that little box of chocolates. Who can resist handmade chocolate truffles? The box of cookies were so good and HUGE. They lasted a long while and were a great treat to enjoy. She even tucked a little coffee notebook in there. I love notebooks and boy did this come at a great time I was in need of one! The green travel mug is just the thing I had been wanting. It was filled with chocolate bars! Also good! I've already been using the mug. I love its big size. Now I don't have to cram in the coffee and worry about spills. This mug can take the perfect amount of coffee for me and now my clothing will be spared! The yarn was the exact perfect color. Red. I love red and the Art Yarns ultra merino. I am in bliss with this package. Thanks for a great swap Jan you're a great swap buddy!
*This package arrived early but due to my lost usb wire for my camera this picture was held hostage until I found the memory card reader this past weekend.*

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Thank you Candy

I would like to thank Candy for the great package she sent me. I have to take a photo and upload it on this swap page but I did not want to go one more day without saying a great big Mahalo to her. More to follow.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Thank you Susan!

I received the best package from Susan the other day! I feel so spoiled rotten, I just can't help but grin from ear-to-ear. This is just a sample of what I received. More details are on my blog.


My thanks to the swap organizers for running a great swap, and to Susan for being such a fabulous swap partner!