A few little things

And it's not crochet! Last night at SnB I whipped up a little Butterfly Ring - I had grand visions of all the cool butterflies I would make with my leftover sock yarns.

I made one. It is a very quick project (like I said, I was at knitting - it took maybe 30 - 40 minutes?), but was a little fiddly - so many ends! I've given this to the Lorax and I don't know that I will make more - maybe when she's older.

I heard a quick piece on the radio today - I think it was a sound bite for an upcoming interview with Marc Cohen? - he mentioned the music you hear when you're around age 11 really sticks with you and has a lot of meaning for you. For me, that would be 1989. So I googled a bit to jog my memory. From PopCultureMadness.com - The 100 Most Requested Songs - That's about right. My musical loyalty still makes me play all of these. In the time just before Nirvana, when big hair bands were still big and 80s pop was still radical... (I have to go update my iTunes now)
1. Love Shack - B-52's
2. Funky Cold Medina - Tone Loc
3. Bust A Move - Young MC
4. Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Midler
5. Like A Prayer - Madonna
6. Joy and Pain - Rob Base & D.J. E-Z Rock
7. All I Want Is You - U2
8. Patience - Guns N Roses
9. She Drives Me Crazy - Fine Young Cannibals
10. Kiss - Art of Noise featuring Tom Jones
11. Lay Your Hands On Me - Bon Jovi
12. Put A Little Love In Your Heart - Annie Lennox and Al Green
13. Angel of Harlem - U2
14. Get On Your Feet - Gloria Estefan
15. My Perogative - Bobby Brown
16. The Best - Tina Turner
17. Paradise City - Guns N Roses
18. Wild Thing - Tone Loc
19. Every Little Step - Bobby Brown
20. I'll Be There For You - Bon Jovi
21. Another Day In Paradise - Phil Collins
22. Love In An Elevator - Aerosmith
23. Keep On Movin' - Soul II Soul
24. Don't Know Much - Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville
25. Eternal Flame - the Bangles
26. Express Yourself - Madonna
27. Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson
28. After All - Cher and Peter Cetera
29. Buffalo Stance - Nenah Cherry
30. Love Song - the Cure
31. So Alive - Love and Rockets
32. Back To Life - Soul II Soul
33. Listen To Her Heart - Roxette
34. Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) - Enya
35. I Feel The Earth Move - Martika
36. When I See You Smile - Bad English
37. Birthday Suit - Johnny Kemp
38. Heaven Help Me - Deon Estus and George Michael
39. The Look - Roxette
40. Baby, Don't Forget My Number - Milli Vanilli
41. Dr. Feelgood - Mötley Crüe
42. Heaven - Warrant
43. She Wants To Dance With Me - Rick Astley
44. Me, Myself and I - De la Soul
45. Walk The Dinosaur - Was (Not Was)
46. Once Bitten Twice Shy - Great White
47. I Won't Back Down - Tom Petty
48. On Our Own - Bobby Brown
49. A Little Respect - Erasure
50. You Got It (The Right Stuff) - New Kids On The Block
51. Me So Horny - 2 Live Crew
52. Soldier Of Love - Donny Osmond
53. We Didn't Start the Fire - Billy Joel
54. Hey Ladies - Beastie Boys
55. The Living Years - Mike and the Mechanics
56. Stand - R.E.M.
57. Trouble Me - 10,000 Maniacs
58. Your Mama Don't Dance - Poison
59. Close My Eyes Forever - Lita Ford with Ozzie Osbourne
60 Closer To Fine - Indigo Girls
61. With Every Beat of My Heart - Taylor Dayne
62. Angel Eyes - Jeff Healy Band
63. Blame It On The Rain - Milli Vanilli
64. End Of The Line - Traveling Wilburys
65. Two Hearts - Phil Collins
66. Don't Wanna To Lose You - Gloria Estefan
67. Right Here Waiting - Richard Marx
68. If I Could Turn Back Time - Cher
69. Anchorage - Michelle Shocked
70. Straight Up - Paula Abdul
71. I'll Be Loving You (Forever) - New Kids On The Block
72. Pop Song 89 - R.E.M.
73. Hangin' Tough - New Kids On The Block
74. Dear God - Midge Ure
75. What I Am - Edie Brickell and New Bohemians
76. Miss You Like Crazy - Natalie Cole
77. I Like It - Dino
78. Forever Your Girl - Paula Abdul
79. Cherish - Madonna
80. I'm That Type of Guy - LL Cool J
81. Cult of Personality - Living Colour
82. My Fantasy - Teddy Riley Featuring Guy
83. Electric Youth - Debbie Gibson
84. Veronica - Elvis Costello
85. Partyman - Prince
86. As Long As You Follow - Fleetwood Mac
87. Right Back Where We Started From - Sinaitta
88. Runnin' Down a Dream - Tom Petty
89. Mayor Of Simpleton - XTC
90. Lost In Your Eyes - Debbie Gibson
91. Fascination Street - The Cure
92. Nightrian - Guns N' Roses
93. Seventeen - Winger
94. Now You're In Heaven - Julian Lennon
95. Good Life - Inner City
96. You Got It - Roy Orbison
97. One - Metallica
98. 18 and Life - Skid Row
99. Pretending - Eric Clapton
100. I Want It All - Queen

Caution, I'm Crafty!

Seriously, I can't stop! A wee Safety Cone crocheted in leftover cotton.


To Infinity and Beyond? :)

I Can't Stop.

It's more practice, so that's good. Yesterday while the Lorax was splashing about in her kiddie pool, I whipped up a "10 minute Crochet Preemie Hat (in about 25 minutes).

I'm quite pleased, though I still can't get over the size of it. I had spotted on Facebook a "Call to Knitters" for purple hats to benefit a charity in Canada. (Here's a link - scroll down to July 1 for more info. Certainly there are places in need of baby hats here in the US as well, so I hope this is the first of many hats.

I've had my eye on a few crochet blogs lately - SarahLondon is great for color inspiration and when I read Attic24 I really feel like "I Can Do That!". Lucy, of Attic24, has a "Granny Stripe" blanket that I can't get out of my head. It looks straightforward enough once you get past the massive chain to start with, and she uses acrylic... we have a ton of blankets in this house, but only 2 that I have made. I have an awful lot of acrylic in my stash already, so I'm thinking about making a ridiculously bright and cheery version for the family room - think nearly neon blue ("Blue Mint"), green ("Limelight"), yellow ("Lemonade"), pink ("watermelon"), orange ("mango"), and white ("coconut") in between each color. I made up a little swatch last night to practice the technique and I am in love. I had grabbed the first few balls of cotton that were in reach and the result is this:

(That's with a border. Just to see, though there is plenty of time to think that through)

(And without the border, which right now I think I love just a little bit more).

There are almost 150 projects on Ravelry - so many great color combos!

Practice

Last week I spent a lot of time in the car traveling (and luckily not a whole lot stuck in traffic). My knitting projects at the moment were either too big or too complicated to bring along, especially when you take into account the Lorax in the backseat who frequently asks me to hand her things or give me things. I decided that I would work on my crochet skills. I settled on simple crochet dishcloths / washcloths - the same stitch over and over and over again (not all that different from my first knitting project really).

I made two "Everyday Dishcloths" from the book, Cozy Crochet. They are roughly 8x8 inches (my gauge changed halfway through - guess I relaxed my grip on the hook), organic cotton yarn, dyed by Misshawklet. They were great to practice on. And now I'm bored with that. So much for my grand plans to use up all that cotton. Two is a good start for now I guess.

I had another car trip on Sunday and was not feeling the dishcloth mojo, so I flipped through the "Cozy Crochet" book for another project that was equally simple, but maybe used a different stitch (I've got single crochet down! I think.) I settled on the "Cozy Kerchief" using Blue Sky Alpaca dyed cotton leftover from the Lorax's baby blanket. I had forgotten how much I love this yarn, must get more!! It's soft and squishy and was wonderful!!

Cute, right? Lightweight, seems to stay in place. I think this will get quite a bit of use!

Of course I had to try it on Jackson (the Lorax runs away. I make do with what I have.)

Plus he spent a good deal of time this morning barking at the vacuum cleaner. It's a little bit of payback.



Yes, my head is that big and my dog is that small.

Lil' ladybug

My needles suddenly feel free and empty - another project was finished last week! I made Ladybug from Petite Purls for a little lady born last Sunday. I could tell in the making of this sweater that it was going to be quite big for her, but I pushed ahead to finish it in time for our first meeting this weekend.

I really enjoyed knitting this - the red yarn is Berroco Comfort DK, the black is Sirdar Snuggly DK - so soft and squishy. I knit the smallest size (6-18months), but I do think that my petite Lorax (who is 2.5) could fit in it.

To make the spots you are instructed to knit bobbles. I have issues with bobbles, so I looked on ravelry and noticed that some knitters crocheted circles instead - great! - I started crocheting, but that too sort of drove me a bit nuts. I was flipping through a back issue of Interweave Knits and found a cardigan that had spots embroidered on to it. Brilliant! If I did it that way, the spot would be made and sewn on to the jacket at the same time. A quick online search also lead me to this knitty article that had pretty good instructions too.

Worked out great - so cute!!

Longest Project Title Yet

I mentioned previously that I was switching my SnB "Shawl-Along" project from the swirl shawl to Herbivore. Now I am pleased to report that my "Herbivore of Spring Flowers at Twilight" is finished! I even wore it a bit last night at SnB - between the AC and the lemonade, I needed it!

I really enjoyed this pattern - right when I just starting to think "Oh this is never going to end" and "I want this big enough but I don't want to run out of yarn", it was the right length to bind off. AND I didn't even use the whole skein - I still have about 100 yards left!


Before blocking, I rolled it up to put out of the way, and I just thought this looked like a little flower. How appropriate.


This pin heads make me think of Johnny-Five from the movie "Short Circuit" (Dude, the robot has his won webpage?!) or Wall-E.


Pinned out.


Not the best photo, but I'm feeling to lazy to edit it right now. Shows the large triangle section and the two smaller sections well enough.


How I will usually wear this shawl - I like the bandit-style. It stays put mostly, and isn't too heavy or bulky.

I'm super pleased with this project! I'm wondering about doing another one. With my needles "free" I can feel some start-itis setting in!

Happy things

Things that make me happy right now:
New Yarns!

Susan from Schaefer Yarn Company, in the "Laura Ingalls Wilder" colorway. This is likely going to become Storm Cloud Shawlette, Calais, or Traveling Woman. (Is this picture ugly-pretty? I was playing around with fabric and while I don't love it as a background for the yarn, it makes the some of the color in the yarn come out a bit more).


100g of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the Ysolda Red. Tricky to photograph - there are many subtleties to this colorway. I love it. It will likely become socks as I don't know if I can pull off a red shawl / wrap... but it would be stunning!


I finished a pink Milo for a baby girl who should be here any moment now. She's the intended recipient of the ladybug jacket I'm working on (all the knitting is done. Just have to make all the spots and sew them on, weave in ends) - but the jacket could fit the Lorax. So, this will fit her this fall - I used Cascade 220 and knit the newborn size, hoping for a 0-6 month size, following the example of another raveler. This was a really quick knit and fun - the pattern has sizing up through size 4, so I plan to make one for the Lorax as well.

I'm taking a break from my Swirl Shawl - it lost it's mojo. I am unsettled as to what I want to do with it. In the meantime, I have started a new shawl which has been graced with probably my longest project name ever: "Herbivore of Spring Flowers at Twilight"

Herbivore pattern and Indigo Moon superwash merino fingering yarn, colorway "Spring Flowers at Twilight" - I'm loving this yarn - I keep stopping to admire the colors that pop up on the needles.

I've also got a new project to start - a sample knit and it's hush-hush, but the yarn is luscious and the pattern is gorgeous!

Undone

Someone picked up a sweater for the Lorax at a recent school bazaar. The thought was lovely, but this sweater? So not for the Lorax, style-wise or size-wise.


She ran away from it, so I don't even have a real idea of what it would look like on her. But it's wide. And there's a bit of floofy collar.


If I could get it on me, it would be a elbow-length crop top.

Cotton yarn, obviously handknit. I set about to take it apart and find a way to reuse the yarn. This is the first time I have undone a sweater like this. I actually felt quite a bit of guilt in frogging this - some other knitter somewhere put in their time and energy to make a gift (which the owners ended up giving away). I think that in the end, the knitter would see it as for the best that another knitter got a hold of the sweater and was able to reuse the yarn. It was a great project to have around the Lorax - I could pick it up and put it down as needed. (Side note: I also feel bad when I see books at the consignment shop / used book store that have inscriptions "To Timmy on your 5th birthday - our pokey little puppy" or something like that. While I'm all for clearing out space and giving books I don't read to libraries / shops / etc. - if it's got an inscription, I can't get rid of it! You would think then that I would be sure to write an inscription in any books I give as gifts - and sad to say, I don't. I should work on that.)


So now I have this cotton to "upcycle". I am thinking about reusing it in a garment for the Lorax or even just washcloths.

Knitting In Advance

Last summer, I test and sample knit a sock for The Unique Sheep's Lord of the Strings club. Frequently, my test / sock knitting projects are done under a rather tight deadline (most recent record holder? A sock for Cookie A's new book in 5 days!) - but this project was for the June 2010 installment. And, since now we are in July of 2010, I can finally share!

Dunedain Socks by LoBug

This was my first time to knit such a large sock (on purpose!) - I knit the largest size, and two yarns are held together. Isn't that cable something? I worked really hard on that - learned a lot about cables and reading charts. Side note: If it wasn't for this project with the charts and cables and working my way through it with LoBug's help, I would not have tried to get the cookieA sock gig - something totally clicked with me on this project!

The color is best in the first picture (or even the ravelry link) - the yarns were very pretty.

As I knit the largest size (Size 11, the "Big Foot" option), obviously the socks didn't fit too well on my foot (I wear a US9, women's) or my sock blockers:


Check out LoBug's blog - she talks about this sock and her "LOTR Sock Pattern Booklet"!

Yarn, Sun & Kool Aid - a knitter's summer

Two weeks back a streak of hot weather and sunny days and leftover yarn from the blanket and a rediscovery of Kool-Aid / Weyler's in a cabinet make me want to try solar dyeing. My first experience with Kool-Aid Dyeing came out pretty well, though I still haven't worked up that yarn (or dyed the other skein).

I started with this:

Pretty, but I just didn't love that brown-gold section.


I started just before 10, and the grape smell was delicious (4 packets of Wylers that I bought at Big Y - I checked Big Y today and they don't have kool-aid packets.) This was on the front porch.


Around 12:30 I moved the bowl to the driveway - I think that temperature is acutally the temperature of the driveway, not the bowl - it was hard to hold it and get the focus on the camera and take the photo at the same time. Anyway, it was very warm.


Around 2:30, it clouded over and maybe 5 minutes later we had a HUGE thunderstorm with downpours.


Ta-dah! There is still a little hint of the brown-gold, but it doesn't bother me so much any more. I adore the shade of purple this came out. It might become a Sunday Market Shawl for around the house, or Koolhaas.

Hike in the Heat?

So, we're in the early stages of what's looking to be one serious heat wave this week. I'm not leaving my AC if I can help it, though I do love to spend time outside. This is pretty much the only "mountain" I can handle this week:

It's a Micro Mountain from the Knitting Mochimochi book. I used some "Connecticut" yarn (J.Knits Superwash Sock) that is leftover from the Scowl I knit for Sara. The white is NOT fingering weight, but I went ahead with it anyway and snapped the tip of a dpn in the process. Oh well. I've decided to name this little guy "Bluff Head" after a hiking spot near my parents home - Connecticut has some great places to hike, but mountains? They are micro in my opinion.

Random note about that photo? I went through all the coins in the house to find a Connecticut State Quarter - I couldn't find one in any of the loose change, but lucky us - my MIL had given us a nearly full State Quarter Folder - it's only missing one (Alabama? Arkansas? it's an A state and I'm too lazy right now to go double check.)

Bluff Head (the knit version) is entirely appropriate for Jackson:

Gosh, it seems like a long time since I did one of these. And since it has caught my eye on several other blogs I figure I would play along too.

1. What’s your staple meal (ie. what meal do you cook most often when you can’t be bothered to be adventurous)? I think that would have to be spaghetti and meatballs. It's done quickly, satisfies, and is relatively hard to screw up.

2. What do you want to be when you grow up? My dad has been asking me what my career plan is since I was 6 years old. Frequently. Lucky for me, he supported me in pretty much whatever answer I gave. I wanted to be a photographer for Life magazine and National Geographic. I've loved science for a very long time (I've got a chemistry background and am trying to return to those roots). I thought about being a teacher (and I did that). I wanted to be a mom (doing that now). I love that I'm building my knitting resume even though it's not a viable full-time gig, yet. I want to do something challenging and interesting.

3. What book are you reading at the moment (if any) I've just started reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo on the kindle. It's slow going, only because I tend to knit during times I would be reading.

4. How do you relax? I love to sit on the beach and feel the breeze and hear the waves. That doesn't happen too often, so I knit (duh), and I play with the Lorax at her kiddie pool or push her on the swingset.

5. What color are the interior walls of your home? Depends on the room - white, mauve-ish, pale pink, light apple green, tiffany blue, smoky purple, dapple grey and a stripe of dark apple green are found on the walls.

6. What is your guiltiest pleasure? High fructose corn syrup in candy - jelly beans, mike & ikes, gummy worms... As much as I try to resist the genentically modified food and over developed chickens and un-fair trade coffees and HFCS, I cannot resist a handful of wonka candy. That and the train wreck reality tv shows - Real Housewives, Wife Swap, Toddlers / Tiaras, Little Miss Perfect.

7. What time is bedtime and getting up time? I usually get up and go to bed around hubby's bedtime / wake up since he's the one to go out into the work world. That works out to be about 6:30am to get up and 10-ish p.m for bed. The Lorax is usually up by 6:45 or earlier, but is content to read in her room - she's up and out by 7. It's an early day, but I can no longer really sleep in like I did back in college. Now, sleeping in means waking up without an alarm clock - so, 7:15 - 7:30.

8. How long do you spend reading blogs (per day or per week)? At least 1 hour a day I think... maybe more since I can get them on my iphone... There are so many interesting things to read! I can't get enough!

Flower Girl

You know what's fun? Knitting for the wee ones. What's more fun? Seeing the knit item on the wee one.

Several friends of ours have had babies this year. This is one of the newest ones, E - she was born in early May and yesterday we all got together to just hang out. Times have changed since college, but it is really nice that we are all still friends and look forward to getting together. I knit up a little headband for E from knitwity.blogspot.com and did follow the directions as noted on the Ravelry page (Flower is done following the Pacifier Clip from Susan B. Anderson's Itty Bitty Nursery and an EZ "cast-on cast-off"). Quick, cute, and big impact. And, the mom told me today when I asked if I could use her photo on my blog / Rav "She usually doesn't like them but has had it on all day without any protests!" - Win!

This Moment.

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

– Amanda Blake Soule, Soulemama.com

Shawl Done!

Not this one. I finally added the little loop, soaked and blocked a shawl I shared earlier. A sample shawl for Schaefer Yarn.

Anne Shoulder Scarf (Ravelry link) in Schaefer Yarn Anne in the Irene Sendler colorway. Who was Irene Sendler? A memorable woman, that's for sure!

I am quite pleased with the end result - it was a quick knit, and Anne blocks beautifully. I would consider making this again, it shows off the variegated yarn nicely.

I had a treat arrive in the mail yesterday - a thank you for test knitting the Emma socks

LausengHaus Superwash Wool / Nylon Sock yarn (I adore this shade of blue-purple!) and stitchmarkers!

Wasn't that sweet? You can get your own at jlyarnworks.etsy.com.

Wordless Wednesday

Nicknames

When do kids get into "naming" things? The Lorax has a stuffed dalmation that she carries with her just about everywhere - his name is Puppy. She recently has rediscovered a Cabbage Patch Doll that is interactive. She keeps referring to the doll as "Girl" - we were trying to offer her suggestions and while she says "No" to each one, it's looking like "Patella" might stick.

This morning I was talking with hubs about doll names and I brought up the Ramona books - she had a doll named Chevrolet. I read all of those books many times over and still thinking about Ramona and Beezus gives me a chuckle. Did you know there is a movie coming out this year? I read in the paper that the director brought her 4th grade book report of "Beezus & Ramona" to the meeting with Beverly Cleary to show how much of a fan she is and will remain true to the books. Awesome.

And then, while checking blogs just now I see a post from flintknits.com - you know, the gal behind February Lady Sweater, Willie and the Wurstwarmer - she's got a new pattern, named in honor of another one of Ramona's pals, Ella Funt!!! So so cute!
(and I love when the universe shakes things together like that!!)

All Wound Up.

I think that's what I'm going to call my Swirl Shawl. The other night I was working on it and we had a heated, one-sided discussion. There was some cursing. Stitches were twisted and the yarn ball was had to be birthed out the center of the dpns. Let’s just say it was enough muttering for my husband to look up from the book / iphone game and ask what was going on over there on the other couch.

I am making progress - I'm taking my time, but each swirl isn't that bad. The first swirl is made with a knit-on cast on and I ended up with a rather loose swirl. Each subsequent swirl requires casting on new stitches and picking up stitches from the previous swirl. This is giving me a bit of trouble - I can't quite see how to do the knit-on cast-on and pick up the stitches in a way that keeps it right side up. So I decided that I would do a long tail cast on, knit/pick up stitches and just go from there. That helped with my speed a bit, but then I took a look at the line of swirls.

The first two (knit-on cast-on) are much looser than the long-tail ones. I think I like the tighter spirals. I think. And maybe it doesn't matter, because it is only the first row of spirals and there will be some blocking in the end. But then I also wonder if I am going to have enough yarn, given that the long-tail cast on leaves you with a long tail... I think between that and the heat it just got to me last night.

For times like that when I need a break, I have the Ladybug Jacket and that is going quite well.

Thirty-one is done! with a Blanket!

I had a birthday over the weekend - hello thirty-two! It was a good day, low-key in the morning and busy in the afternoon visiting with family on both sides (since it also was Father's Day). I have some new toys, new treats and new clothes... and most importantly I have my health, my family and my friends.

I am very excited to also have a rather large project finished. When my brother and sister-in-law told us they were engaged I knew right away I wanted to make them a blanket. I asked for their color preferences but didn't offer any pattern choices. I had hoped I would have it finished in time for their wedding, or Christmas 2009, or when they moved into their new house, or their house warming party... yeah, that didn't happen. But, one week before their first anniversary, it's done!!

It's the "Moderne Log Cabin" pattern from the first Mason-Dixon Knitting book. The yarn is Cascade 220 Superwash. I really did enjoy the pattern - it was not difficult, but it does take its toll on you - that's an awful lot of garter stitch - an as blankets grow, they get heavy, so I couldn't take it out to SnB. The end result is wonderful squishy goodness. And they both were quite pleased -

It fits! :) They are too cute. Much love and happiness for them for all the future years of their marriage!

Good Mail - part 2

It has been a long time since I've done a partner swap, but I decided to play along with the Chittery-Chattery-Swappery-Swappers group on Ravelry in the Scavenger Hunt partner swap. Isn't that a mouthful? :)

The guidelines: This will be a one-on-one partner swap (you’ll know who your partner is and be able to communicate with them about likes and dislikes), with each person creating a box of goodies for their partner. In addition...there will be a list of items to try and include in your box. For every item from the scavenger hunt list that you include, you’ll earn one point (items count only once). A single item may count for more than one item on the list. If the list includes “something soft, something your favorite color and something made locally” I could include locally dyed yarn that is purple.

I was partnered with Raveler Kataish (who is beyond cool and you should go check out her etsy shop and FYI, I've participated in her non-club before and it's worth it!).

My package came with directions on how to open it - so I did as instructed!



My own knit dachshund! (something with a tail, something that makes you feel young, fav animal, something she made, something homemade) A lovely skein of Oddish Creations Painted Toes in “Tree Fuzz” (LOVE that color) and Oxford Book Shop bag (reuseable bag from local store)


Mini Umbrella picks (something campy, something to be used at a summer party), Eco Friendly pencils (something up-cycled, something earthy, something green), Mug Sleeve (something good for the earth, something w/ rainbow colors), A Little Bit of Happy Mix CD (something musical), Magic Wipes (Something from dollar store, something faerie like, something used in home), Apple Crumble Kuchen (recipe, something that contains first initial), Selfportraits, Heart (something bumpy, something red), Nutrigrain bar (something made locally)


Stitchmarkers (something from a kid), feather (something from her yard, something that reminds of childhood home), Sheep bead (something smaller than a quarter, something made in the USA - by k2p2socks), Seashell (represents family, something to collect on vacation), Buttons (3 buttons), Mini Sticky notes (something yellow, something helpful), Maple candy (something sweet, something sticky, local candy), Lychee & Plum candy (something tasty, something citrusy)


Hand carved stamps! A dachshund (so cute!!) and the caffeine molecule!!!

There is also a zombie card (to help survive a zombie apocalypse) that arrived the other day and I forgot to put it with this pile of goodies!

Kata was a great partner - and she scored all 48 points! I think she enjoyed the package I sent her as well (I scored 44 points!).

Good times, good mail - it's been a while since such spoiling.