Zoë's Knitting Bag

Sigrid's Parcel

On Saturday a lovely parcel arrived from Sweden.  I arranged to swap directly with Sigrid as I did not receive her original email reply about the Yarn in a Tea Cup Swap and all the swap partner details had been sent to everyone so it was easier just to swap directly.  Sigrid thank you for your generous gift.  The wool is 100% Alpaca from Norway and it is so soft.  She sent me mauve, raspberry and black.  I think a lacy black scarf for work will be very nice and it will keep me warm in the winter months.  Also I received Swedish chocolate and biscuits - yummy - and some loose tea leaves with rose petals, orange and vanilla to drink from the pretty Scandinavian style mug.  Once again thank you, Sigrid.

I hope you have all received your parcels or have heard from your partners.  I would be delighted if the photos could be added to "The Yarn in a Tea Cup" group on Flickr so we can all have a little peek.  If anyone wishes I am more than happy to post the photos on your behalf, please just send them to me by email.

I am going to take a little blogging break from now until the beginning of September to enjoy the rest of the Summer (it's Jamie's last proper one at home before UNI), enjoy my time off work in a few weeks and GET SOME KNITTING DONE!  Oh by the way I got my results on Friday and passed my Certificate in Humanities with the Open University (that's 60 points towards a degree) but still not sure whether to pursue the studying at this stage.  It takes a lot of time and perseverance and I have really felt that the pressure has lifted this past month.  Enough of this, I'm off to have an old filling re-done this afternoon.  Oh joy!

Have lovely summer everyone.  I'll still be checking emails and Flickr.

Swap Joy

I received my parcel from Emily yesterday and what a lovely surprise. Emily sent items which were local to Vermont. The yarn is beautiful and is from Cherry Tree Hill (I've always coveted this yarn).  The colour is called Fall Foliage and with a name like this it couldn't fail to impress me.  I LOVE Autumn and always have.  There's something about the misty mornings and the smell of woodsmoke and bonfires in the air.  Emily also sent a pretty mug with a picture from Vermont and a gorgeous smelling lavender candle and some very tasty chocolates from Lake Champlain.  The chocolates were demolished this afternoon.  Thanks so much Emily - a great swap partner.

I've heard that Jennifer and Sigrid have got their parcels from me.  I hope we can all start adding the photos to the Yarn in a Tea Cup Swap group.  I'm off to do mine in just a moment but first a few photos from the garden this afternoon. Please move your mouse over the photo for the title.  Phew it's hot and we're promised a heatwave tomorrow!  I think I'll knit in the shade as I've so much to catch up with.  Have a great weekend everyone.

Do we have Summer, at last?

With the Summer finally arriving on the East Coast there was plenty of opportunity to get some photos to share with you from my part of the world.  On Saturday there were many swans at Rollesby Broad. (I need to practise for a wildlife photography competition I may enter soon).

Today the sunshine lured us to the sea at nearby Southwold.  The tide was in and the beach was packed.  I prefer the peace and quiet of the Winter months but it was good to see everyone enjoying themselves.  Toast with Marmite and a mug of tea from the only teastall were another reason to walk along the promenade - better than an icecream any day!!

Please don't foget that tomorrow is the last day for posting parcels for the Yarn in a Tea Cup Swap.  If anyone cannot make this deadline, please let me and/or your partner know.  Good luck and thanks for joining in.

Sunny Sunday

Today the sun is shining and I took some morning shots of various flowers, plants and things to share with you all.  There may even be some knitting to show later today.  School's out for summer and we have plenty of trips planned.  Tomorrow we will be going to the pictures to see Harry Potter.  In September, Atonement will be released with Keira Knightley in one of the lead roles - really looking forward to this.

Sorry, I have not posted all week - I really think I am struggling with new things to write about and work has been busy.  On the Yarn in a Tea Cup Swap front I have one little parcel ready to post tomorrow to Jennifer and if anyone has any news about the swap or photos of parcels please post on the Flickr group and/or email me.  I have not heard of any problems so  I assume everyone is in touch with their partners but please do not hesitate to contact me if you have not heard.  Also, just so you all know and to keep things "above board", Sigrid and I are swapping directly with each other as she is a very  busy lady and her original email reply did not reach me.  Sigrid I'm still working on your parcel!

More Flowers

I have set up a group for the Yarn in a Tea Cup swap over on Flickr and all swappies should have received their invitations to join.  I think we have 20 members at present so just a few more to join.  Please let me know if I have missed sending you an invite.  Vikkie has already received her swap parcel from Mental Rose and the contents look fantastic. The wool which I planned to send to Jennifer,arrived yesterday from Jamiesons of Shetland and, although lovely it may be a little bit too scratchy for her, so I need to re-think.

Sophie has been busy with her Latin American and Disco exams and school performances.  Jamie is away at the Latitude Festival with friends as a last get together before they all go their separate ways at the end of this summer.  Some to start work and others to go to Uni.  Thankfully the weather has been fairly good so no Glastonbury mud bath for them.

Once again I will leave you with some flower close up shots from the garden.  There are more over on my Flickr (please see the link in my sidebar).  Enjoy the rest of the weekend.  Still dry here on the coast!

Flowers

Thanks to everyone who left kind comments about my arm.  The swelling is going down but the bruise is spreading to above and below the elbow and is yellow, black and purple.  Would it make an interesting combination for hand painting one of your skeins Dave??? Maybe not.

There is knitting in progress and I hope to show a finished tea cosy in a few days time.  I am also working on a lace scarf/shawl designed by Sivia Harding but this may take some time.

On the Yarn in a Tea  Cup Swap, I have had progress reports from some of you and I have decided what to send my swap partner but am waiting for something to come in the post before I can parcel up the goods and send to Jennifer .  All photos and swap news will be gratefully received to be put on the blog.

On the weather front, we have been lucky with lots more sun and less showers although yesterday we had thunderstorms for short while.  I was able to get out in the garden and take a few close ups of some of our flowers.  The stunning Foxglove is a new variety, for us at least, and is called Milk Chocolate - not really appropriate as Digitalis is highly toxic if eaten.

Box of Delights

I hope you've all received your swap partner e mails today. I must admit it took me most of the morning to sort out and a great deal of cutting and pasting.  Hope there's no mistakes. I heard from Lucy Locket this morning so I know she has hers.  Please feel free to email with any questions and of course don't forget to send photos of the the parcels once received.  Last date for mailing is 31 July 2007.

Talking of swaps and swapping, I had the most wonderful surprise early this afternoon when the parcel man came knocking on the door and brought me a box of delights from Pam in America.  I "met" Pam through the One Skein Secret Pal exchange and we have kept  in touch ever since.  I asked her if she wouldn't mind sending me American Vogue as I had heard that there was an article on Roger Federer inside.  Pam has sent me this and more. The hand dyed Border Leicester (from North Carolina) skein will be a winter hat.  I love skeins. There are some beautifully knitted cotton dishcloths, local magazines and a newspaper which I will enjoy reading and many other lovely items.  Thanks so much Pam.  When are you going to get a blog?

July Garden

I couldn't miss the chance to get some snaps of the garden on this first day of July.  It is very warm but blustery and in between light showers I managed to capture a few flowers whilst the light was good.

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Kevin has been busy with his brickwork building a new wall and making two new gates.

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The swap matches have been done and are ready to go for tomorrow.

Swap Matching

There will be 32 of us taking part in the Yarn in a Tea Cup Swap, which is fantastic.  The deadline for return of questionnaires was midnight yesterday and today I need to get on with the matching.  It seems that most of us have similar tastes and prefer natural yarns and have a dislike of eyelash, fun fur and acrylic.  Some of you wish to swap with overseas participants and others prefer to swap with people in their home country which is fine.  I will do my best to oblige.  Our youngest swap member is 20 and the oldest is 62.  Swappers live in the UK, Australia, Norway, Sweden, Canada and the USA with the USA showing the greatest interest (thanks Dave).  Only a few of us have allergies and most of us want to knit socks with our yarn gift. 

So I will e mail you all tomorrow and then it's over to you to decide what to send from the answers given.  If you wish to make further contact with your partners please feel free to do so by blog commenting or emailing.  (Please note a few people do not have blogs but this is OK and I will try to make sure they are matched with partners who do have blogs).  Please let me know when and what you receive and I will be happy to show all photos on my blog as well as any you want to show on your own blogs.  Parcels must be sent by 31 July 2007 however, if anyone has a problem with this please let your partner know and drop me an email.

An important note from a Canadian swapper:

 

• If mailing from an International address, please remember to make a full listing of everything inside on the packing slip and mark it as gift. Canada Customs has been extremely picky lately. Some things have been marked questionable then turned around and sent back.

Thanks and good luck.  LET THE SWAP COMMENCE.

Friday Swap News

So far I've received 27 30 replies for the Yarn in  a Tea Cup Swap.  On Sunday I will go through all the replies with my DD Sophie and start matching swap partners.  At the risk of boring you all, the deadline for replies is midnight tomorrow for those of you who have not replied yet (PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE CHANGED YOUR MIND) and this will be final.  I will send swap partner details out on Monday and then the swap will commence.  Thank you once again - you all sound very keen and very nice people.

Sorry not many photos this week due to the continuous rain and I have been watching Wimbledon ready for my visit to the hallowed ground this coming Wednesday.