Spring Fling Swap package

I went to a medical examination in Portland for a worker's comp claim today and was cattle prodded in my hand to test for carpal tunnel (it really wasn't that bad and I don't have carpal tunnel, which is good news). I was exhausted as it took about away my morning and I didn't get home until almost 2 o'clock, 1 hour before I was to work. I checked the mail first thing and there in the package bin was my Spring Fling swap package from Tanja! I smelled the coffee beans as soon as I opened the bin!

Inside the box were carefully wrapped packages full of wonderful gifts! Here's picture of the contents all together.



Tanja put together a very thoughtful, fun, and uniquely individual to me package. The coffee was the house roast from Dana Street Roasting Company in Mountain View, California. I had a cup as soon as I finished my lunch and it was delicious!

Other treats included 2 dark chocolate bars, one flavored with orange and the other with hazelnuts and currants. The orange one is gone. I'm going to try and save the second one for later this week. I also received some salt water taffy from a local family business in Mountain View and a jar of pickled okra! I was so surprised and touched by the pickled okra - I had just written about having some a few weeks ago, and Tanja obviously read about how much I love it.

Tanja worked in the early morning hours to make me a beautiful quilted needle case and it was accompanied by a little knitted bag with stitch markers, and the needle pockets were filled with perfectly scented hand lotions made by ShiKai (cucumber melon and yuzu). There was also a pink bag that I can use for projects and the most beautiful plum-aqua sock yarn by Thank Ewe. It's so soft I might make a shawl from it instead of socks. It has enough yardage for a shawl!

Tanja and I corresponded about books throughout the swap and she sent me Krik!Krak! by Edwidge Danticat and Arranged Marriage by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Arranged Marriage was inside a beautiful book cover and I'm wondering if Tanja also made that. Both books will be on my bedside table for summer reading. They're both books of short stories and will be perfect for bedtime reading. I've been wanting to read Edwidge Danticat for some time because I've been reading the Madison Scott Bell trilogy about Haiti and this will be good followup. Plus, I read a great deal about Edwidge Danticat on Laila Lalami's blog, a blog where I collect many titles for my reading lists. (Speaking of which, Tanja, have you read Love and Other Dangerous Pursuits? I think you would like it).

I feel like I'm forgetting something important, but I loved the package. I had read Tanja's blog early in the swap when we were assigned to choose someone from the swap who liked coffee the same way we liked it. Many people chose Tanja. I would have too, but missed the deadline for some reason. Also, in reading Tanja's blog again, I've discovered she likes to make Turkish coffee. Once again, thank you so much for the wonderful swap, Tanja. You were an enjoyable swap pal throughout the swap.

I know I'm behind in posting. I've been struggling with tendinitis and I've been finishing up swaps. I completed my last one on Monday and I may take a break from swaps where I knit big projects for others, at least until my hands heal. I'm working on a shawl for mothers for Afghans for Afghans (see side bar) and need to complete a comfort shawl and a welcome-to-the-family shawl for my nephew's wife, not to mention the bajillion pairs of socks I somehow promised family members in a burst of optimistic enthusiasm (or mania depending on your point of view).

I'm off to drink another cup of Dana Street coffee!

Spring Fling Coffee & Yarn Swap questionnaire

Ah yes! Another coffee swap.

Coffee

1. What is your preference? Whole beans or ground?
Whole beans, please.

2. What kind of coffees do you enjoy? A rich, bold roast; a light, fresh one, or something in between? Leaded or non?

Rich and bold, medium-dark to dark. Definitely leaded.

3. If you were headed out right now to buy some coffee for the house, what would you be picking up?
Sisters Coffee Company, their Black Butte Gold house blend.

4. Do you drink for caffeine, pleasure, or both?
Both.

5. Do you enjoy flavored coffees? How about add-ins or flavored creamers?
I only use sugar and half and half. I'm not fond of add-in flavors or creamers, except chocolate.

6. A large, lovely mug or a small, dainty cup?
A large, lovely mug.

7. Describe your perfect cup - not JUST the coffee, but how you'd enjoy it!
My first cup in the morning is the best cup. I have the house to myself and I drink my coffee in my craft room/library. I read knitting magazines, books, knit, or just soak up the sun since it's the sunniest room in the house. I'm often accompanied by my cat Misha who likes to sit in my lap while I enjoy my coffee.

8. You're sitting down to enjoy a nice cup in the local coffee shop, knitting bag in hand, iPod all tuned up - or maybe you're there with a few friends for knit night! What treat do you pick up to enjoy with your coffee? A sweet, rich brownie, or something more healthy? How about a salty treat? What goes best with that great cup and company?

Pastries - scones, crisp cookies, bar cookie, fruit tarts. Chocolate.

Yarn

1. Do you knit or crochet?
I knit and am learning to crochet.

2. What are your favorite types of yarns to work with?
wool-silk blends, alpaca-silk blends, lace, sock yarn

3. What do you have on the needles (or hook!) right now?
Socks and scarf.

4. What are your favorite colors in yarns? What about those that you'd never find in your stash?

Favorites: Cool blues, greens, purples, orange-red, rose pink, crabapple pink, rust, brown.

You won't find yellow or neon colors in my stash.

5. What sort of needles or hooks do you enjoy using? Any you just detest?
I like sharp needles. I like Knit Pick round needles and Addi Turbo because they're smooth and don't catch my yarn as I knit with them. I also like Crystal Palace bamboo straight needles.

I'm not fond of Susan Bates needles.

6. Are there any particular notions you absolute do NOT need? Some of us swap a lot - are you sure that you have enough tape measures to last your lifetime? Enough stitch markers to mark every stitch of a 10 foot wide afghan?

No, I seem to need everything. I have a tendency to lose little things like stitch markers.

7. You walk into the yarn shop and have exactly and only enough money to purchase 2 skeins of yarn in their 2 for 20 special they have going..The choices are a soft, thick cotton/viscose blend in your favorite colors, slightly variegated..a beautiful sock yarn that's just squishy and sproingy in your hands.. a soft, worsted weight wool like malabrigo.. and a lovely bamboo blend with colors to just die for. Which do you walk out the door with?

I'm torn between the beautiful sock yarn and the Malabrigo. I almost always walk out the door with sock yarn.

Spring

1. We're starting sign-ups on the first day of Spring - is it already truly Spring-like where you are?

Yes! Finally! Lots of daffodils and crocus and trees are blossoming. Almost every shrub has leaves on it now.

2. What's your favorite spring flower? Do you have one?

Tulips in early spring, roses in late spring.

3. What do you most look forward to about springtime?

Light and color. I also look forward to seeing people in and around the neighborhood and smelling barbecue cooking on grills. I look forward to enjoying the back yard again and seeing our garden come alive.

4. They've predicted a gorgeous day tomorrow - Sunny and about 65 with a nice breeze - how do you spend your day?

A nice walk on the many walking trails in the city, a trip to local yarn stores and book store and a nice cup of coffee in the coffee shop with friends.

5. The day after, it's going to be cooler and pouring down rain - does that impact your mood? How do you spend that day? what helps cheer you up?

In the spring it does not affect me. I will often spend a day like that with a book or knitting.

Odds n Ends

1. Do you collect anything BESIDES yarn and needles?
Crafty coffee cups, wind chimes, ceramic things. Notebooks and journals. Pens.

2. Are you allergic to anything? SEAFOOD (No Tofutsies) and adult mohair. Kid mohair seems to not have the same effect. Cigarette smoke and perfume. Essential oils are okay.

3. Do you have pets?
Yes, 2 dogs, 3 cats.

4. Is this your first swap, or are you an old pro? What are the last 2 swaps you participated in?
I started participating in swaps in October 2007. The last 2 swaps I completed were the Scavenger Hunt Swap and Winter Doldrum Dish Cloth Swap.

5. List 3 of your favorite blogs - craft related or not - and tell us why you love them.

Knitspot I love Ann Hanson's designs and love to read about her creative process. I love her photography, too.

Works in Progress My friend Pam's blog. She's one of the most experienced knitters I know and I love to keep up with what she's doing.

The Adventures of Woolgirl and Abby Jen is a local blogger and I'm a member of her sock club. I like her contests.