Progress Report

Well, first off, my original Valentine Swap partner officially flaked out on me (and after all that obsessive stalking of the mailman - ugh!). I should not have feared though, as the many participants in the swap quickly made donations towards a proper package, and my "secret" angel who shopped for me ended up being my knitting pal, Stacy. She was great! She actually spread out my gifties over 3 separate dates.

The first package arrived in the mail, and it held a skein of the softest sock yarn by Spunky Eclectic and a bag of Dove dark chocolates (yes, they were mine, all mine, and I didn't share). The next package was given to me at our first knitting night since her 2nd baby boy, Zane, was born in January. It was great to get to sit and knit for the first time in a few months, and even better was my 2nd package; Claudia Handpainted Fingering yarn in the most awesome spring colors, and a sock pattern that I can't wait to get started. My third and final package was delivered to me at home this past Saturday. It contained one of those soft and squishy lambs that they sell at Bath and Body Works (been wanting one of those since Christmas), and a skein of Dream in Color Smooshy in Good Luck Jade that I have been eyeballing for some time.

What could have been a very bad experience was made into something wonderful. All those people who gave donations to make sure I wasn't left out was amazing. Not only that, but a sweet, wonderful person on Ravelry sent me a package just because she felt bad that I and another girl had been waiting so long. She sent her hand-made stitch markers, a skein of sock yarn (boy, do these people know what to get me or what?), and a little box of black licorice. I have to admit, Courtney and Madison thought the licorice was chocolate (and I didn't tell them otherwise), so their expressions were pretty funny - needless to say, they were not a fan, but I had my fun =)

We went to Virginia for Easter to visit Jess and Jay (givers of THE YARN). While there, we saw this......

What is truly funny is the name of the vehicle. We've been calling my husband's car the "Hoopty" for a few years now. Little did we know, there was a real Hoopty (actually the VA Tech Hokie Hoopty) rolling around in Virginia. A trip there is not complete without a Hoopty sighting.

On the knitting front, I completed Courtney's Happy Feet socks, and here they are.
I have also completed 11 hats so far, probably that many more to go.

I have also started my niece Marie's birthday present. It is a neck pillow shaped like a dog. I'm calling him Mr. Woofy until she gives him a proper name.The yarn is a bit of a nightmare to crochet with, but I will not be beaten! I am also working on a pair of Embossed Leaves socks for ME!

I had declared 2008 the year of ME, but it is quickly becoming apparent that it in fact is not and will not be the year of me. I have 2 special birthdays coming up this year. Both my Mom and my Aunt Sharon will be turning 60 this year. I purchased the Vintage Sock kit for my Aunt's gift, and have a special pattern picked out for my Mom as well. In addition to those two, I am knitting Mr. Woofy, plus a pair of socks for Jessie's birthday, and Stacey just sent me a pattern for her make-up gift from last year. Fortunately, we hit a yarn store while in VA, and Jess picked out her yarn. Here's my total VA haul....The yarn in the center is for Jessie's socks, and the other two are for me! That's it for now. Gearing up for a very knitty day tomorrow - meeting with my Salem County friends during the day, then meeting up with Stacey to knit tomorrow night - yay! Pat and I will be assisting alpaca shearing on Saturday. The owners have sold the farm due to health reasons so this will be our last year doing this. They are really neat animals, though alot of work. Shearing alpacas is a more time intensive production than sheep, so it will be a long day - we probably won't be able to move on Sunday, wish us luck (will try to take pics with my crappy camera, which appears to be getting even crappier). Knit on people!