Recently in secret pal & RAOK goodness Category
Secret Goodies Arrive!
I received my first package of goodies from my marvelous secret pal! She and I have a lot in common, and we have wonderfully chatty e-mail letters. The bonus is she lives in North Carolina! I think she's on the opposite side of the state from where I'll settle. But there is always meeting half-way if she'd be up for it! (Hint, hint)
She loves to thread crochet and tells me she'd been inspired to dig through her stash of patterns. Her even stitches and perfectly formed double crochets just have me hypnotized! I've looked at her work over and over in a state of awe. I am truly a threadie nerd because I get a tingle and thrill just seeing excellent stitch work like that!
The nifty thing she made and sent was a beautiful tape measure crocheted in a lovely antique rose thread! It's so pretty! I had to give it special attention.
She knows I'm a tea lover, so she included some Scottish tea that she is fond of and wanted my opinion on taste. It's very flavorful and a hearty tea! I think it would make an excellent iced tea. It's a morning tea because of how strong it brews, and I love a strong, morning tea.
Thank You, Itsa Secret!
(-:You've made my day!:-)
My Secret Pal was...LaDonna (nanacarr)! She blessed me with a very huge reveal package loaded with all kinds of goodies! She made 3 cotton potholders/dishcloths, a lovely doily, two doily pattern books, 3 balls of DMC Traditions thread, 2 balls of Cebelia thread, 2 skeins of blue novelty yarn, 2 skeins of Microspun, a set of steel hooks, notecards, assorted candy, a tote bag, tuna treats for the kitties, and a kitty toy for them as well. Plus, two different scented body products, sheep notecards, and scented room spray!
All I can say is WOW! I am blown away! Thank you so much LaDonna! You've been a great pal and thank you so much for all of the e-cards, and the amazing reveal package!
Unbelievable Doys!
My Doily Swap partner this year shares a passion for PK doilies! We agreed to make each other a doily from PK's collection that we absolutely lust for, and I selected Doys from Victorian Spiral Doilies. My partner perfectly executed this challenging pattern with such grace and style that I think the doily actually glows! It is like she infused the doily with something special—radiance, charm, and elegance. I wish I could display it every day, but there is the feline factor that keeps my doilies in a draw until guests and special occassion presents themselves. The little beasties think a doily is a chew toy!
Not One, but Two!
Not only did my partner make Doys, she made a second super-secret doily, Pineapple Passion, also a PK design. It's in a lovely burgundy that matches what color scheme I have in my house. (This means I have burgundy colored window coverings in the dining room.)
She also included some goodies! I now have a pattern book of Elizabeth Hiddleston's designs, some DMC ecru thread, and some Turkish thread. And she included some very fine rayon thread that looks very shiny and soft. Plus, chocolate goodies! I love the Lindt chocolates!
Thank you so much my doily swap partner! I'm so thrilled to have been paired with you and to have received two extraordinary doilies from you!
My Secret Pal for the Spring Round at Crochetville is Ada (jadyn05)! Ada spoiled me with a crocheted sock monkey! I've decided to call my new girly monkey Lily. She is a deep purple color and will certainly keep the boy monkeys well-behaved!
Included in the goodies was some lovely balls of Valdani thread in the most wonderful, exquisite purple shades! I totally love it and will be deciding which PK doily pattern will be brought to life by the divine colors!
Ada included a ton of beads and beading supplies to get me started on making another lanyard! Two skeins of purple cotton yarn—I can probably make a halter top, and a skein of DMC baroque were the crochet goodies in addition to the Valdani thread. She crocheted two cat toys obviously filled with some catnip because the cats attacked them immediately! And yes, there are 6 cans of tuna in the picture! Ada sent a can of tuna to each of the babies! They are most pleased with being sent tuna! I have a new tote bag in which I can put pictures of the babies to proudly display my dedication to feline maintenance, and two note pads round out the additional items. Ada also included some coasters and dishcloths that she made in vibrant colors.
I couldn't resist taking some pictures of the beasties going nuts over the cat toys! Ming decided to be the first one to attack the tuna cans and catnip toy. Then she was joined by Teddy and Smee. Smee took the toy for himself and played with it. Mr. Doo decided he didn't care about the toys or cans of tuna, he wanted to play with the box that the tuna and toys came in!
Thank you so much Ada, for being my Secret Pal this round! It's been my pleasure to get to know you! I look forward to continuing our friendship, too!
Good Mail from my Unknown SP
I have been remiss in touting the goodness of my Unknown SP from Crochetville! She's been above par in sending me e-cards, wonderful e-mails, and has been a pleasure to get to "secretly" know! I adore that she has created a secret persona for herself of Melanie Rosenbaum (which apparently has something to do with the TV show Smallville).
She recently sent me a little handmade notecard with a crocheted bookmark inside. It's so delicate and finely stitched that I think of it as being from another time.
From Melanie I've learned about having a Dance Party! I think it is such a great idea that I've been holding it in my mind and I know I will eventually host one with my clients when it becomes evident that we need to DANCE!
I'm thrilled with being able to have a truly Unknown SP this round! Anna matched me up very well! I can hardly wait to find out who Melanie really is, because I'm sure there will even more we can talk about—as if thread crochet isn't enough to talk about already! LOL!
I am finally getting caught up on all sorts of things today! I'm long over due in thanking my SP9 Secret Pal Mistress Annie! She spoiled me extremely well! In her reveal package to me she sent enough skeins of Cascade 220 in a deep purple for me to make a sweater, and two balls of sock yarn so that Pooky might make me a pair of socks (hint, hint). Two Cadbury Caramello bars and a box of Twinings Tea to go with it all. Plus a bonus for Mr. Doo! He took immediate possession of the box the yarn came in and has claimed it as his very own sleeping quarters. Mr. Doo is quite pleased with himself for being in the box. I believe he thinks he is the perfect gift!
Thank you, Annie, for the fabulous reveal package! And for the wonderful blue Olympus crochet thread, too! Mr. Doo is currently sleeping in the box and I'm sure if he were to be awake he'd say thank you, too, for his new "bed"!
Thank you so much, Tiffany, for being my holiday swap partner this year!
I received my first package from my SP9 Secret Pal. My jaw dropped in awe when I unwrapped the 5 balls of blue Olympus size 40 thread. I had almost bought some blue Olympus thread just days before! It is just what I was needing because I don't have any blue colors and I want to make a blue doily.
I'm also thinking I will have to find a pattern that uses a 4.00mm hook because I want to try the wooden hook she sent to me. It feels so nice and light. Now, I do love my Clover Soft Touch hooks, but they do feel heavy after awhile.
Not photographed is the package of black licorice. I'm going to have to be careful how much I eat—recently started watching my calorie intake. I'm sure a few sticks won't hurt me. ;-)
Thank you so much Secret Pal! You somehow knew just what would make my day!
I've been so delayed in posting this, that I am thankful that Trish has been patient with me! My original swap partner for the C'Ville Doily Swap had some technical difficulties so Trish was re-assigned to me at the very end. She then made for me this very special Halloween themed doily!
I'm going to proudly display it each Halloween along with my other decorations as it is very spider-y looking!
Thank you Trish for making me a very special doily!
Earlier this week I received a reveal box from my Secret Pal, KnicKnac! She totally blew me away with gifts not only for me, but some golfer's accessories for Pooky, and crocheted cat toys stuffed with catnip for the beasties! Before I could open the box the beasties were sniffing the box and as soon as I opened it, Mr. Doo planted himself inside of the box and started digging to get at the cat toys!
Then once the toys were released from the box each kitty took to the toys with great wreckless abandon!
The sweater KnicKnac crocheted for me is adorned with adorable cat buttons, and the colors are a grape purple with black—total Shrone colors! It's a little on the large size but will make for a great around the house jacket to keep me warm and snug and comfortable during those soon-to-arrive winter days in which I can't feel my toes.
Not pictured is a bag filled with candy! The reason it isn't pictured is that Pooky broke into the chocolate. There is also a box of gummies which will be all for me since Pooky isn't a gummie candy person.
KnicKnac has been such a marvelous pal, even though I knew who she was. She pretended to be secret just the same, and she solicited information from Smee about a variety of things to make sure that what she sent would make everyone at the Shrone Home happy.
We've hit off so well that I asked KnicKnac if she'd like to become co-coordinator of the Secret Pal swap with me and Anna. She's agreed so for the 2007 season of SP there will be the three of us!
