I need to make this!

How easy would this be?

Calling All Swappers!

Welcome all Swappers!

We know it's only just the middle of summer, but we would like to call you to join us for a Christmas Around The World Knitters Swap. We would like to ask you to join us in this trip which is not only about Christmas, but as well about the Christmas customs around the world. The idea of the swap was born when Maryanne and me started to chat about our fascination with Christmas and how different it is celebrated in the US and in Europe. And since we were already organising our KAL, we thought that it would be fun to celebrate this lovely holiday with other Knitters. It's an international swap and open for all people who love to celebrate Christmas! There will be contests and quizzes, new friends to meet and spoil. So come and join us!

Signups are open, and they might be divided in two - we close them once 100 swappers have signed up, but if there are still many willing to sign up, we will reopen them for another 50 participants.

To sign in, please email Maryanne or me at the email addresses mentioned on the sidebar:

• your name and surname
  
• your email address
• address of your blog (it's highly encouraged to have one)
• your mailing address (postal address)
  
• and if you prefer a pal from Europe/States (because of the costs of shipping)

The Swap questionnaire will follow afterwards, and you should make sure that you publish it on your blog (if you don't have one, you might consider getting one, like that your swap partner can get to know you better and see what you're all about) by September.

This is not limited to a strict knitting swap, so you should as well consider treating your partner with something which will show your local Christmas tradition.
What you should send to your partner is:

• something to knit from (enough yarn for 1 skein/small project)
  
• something to knit with
• something handknitted by you
• something for the taste
• something for the soul
• something to hang on the Christmas Tree

Minimum spend is $20 (shipping not included) and we strongly encourage you to keep things hand made or used from your stash. Also, exchanging recipes is highly encouraged :) We know that Christmas is a very money consuming time, so let's keep it inexpensive but creative!

Packages shouldn't arrive later than 22nd of December, so please mind, if you're sending internationally, to allow enough time for the parcel to arrive. Also, please remember that Christmas is a busy time for the post offices, too, so send your parcels early enough.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays to all our lovely swap participants! Thanks so much to all of you for joining us in the swap and sharing your holiday spirit and traditions with all of us as we get ready for the Christmas season. We appreciate everyone joining us here for a fun swap and hope that you all have a very happy and safe holiday however you spend it and wherever you go :)

If any of you have not received a parcel from your secret pal, please send a note to Kasia or me and we will do what we can to make sure you get one. Please keep in mind that many people will not be reachable until after the New Year, so it may take us a while to get you connected with your pal. Also, Kasia is away from home until after January 8th or so, so if you choose to e-mail her, it may be difficult for her to help you as she may not have access to your pal's info. So please keep that in mind and be patient with us!

Thanks again to all of you for sharing your holiday with us and joining us in our first swap as hostesses! We enjoyed getting to know all of you and hope that you all have a very happy holiday season filled with lovely moments and wish you all the best for a fantastic and joyful New Year too!

Best wishes,
Maryanne

No package

I havent receved anything from my swap partner....
I hope I do soon.Kaisa sais she have sendt it-so I just have to keep my fingers crossed.

trying to reach my pal

Hello all! I'm trying to reach my pal and let her know that although i didn't receive her package that I appreciate their time and effort put into my gift. I"d love to get to know you if you want to reveal yourself.
Kim Cashin

oh no

Kris in NH:
Maybe your upstream is my downstream? We were emailing furiously back and forth until mid-December. Then she disappeared. No posts on her blog since 12/4, and no response to my emails. At first I thought she just hated my package (sob!) but now I'm really worried. :(

Re-located downstream pal Anu

Have you received the package from me yet? I hope so - please let me know when you do, OK? How's your readjustment to the states going?

Hope Everyone

Is Well. I just wanted to Let everyone know that I had a wonderful time in this swap... I am glad that my downstream Pal was happy with what she got... :) For my upstream Pal I sure hope you are OK I haven't heard from you in forever. I am looking FWD to another Swap if you have one Please do keep me in mind... :) I thank the Mods for all they have done to organize and keep the swap going.. Yall have a wonderful New Year.... and I hope to see yall in some swaps

No News from Swap Pal :(

Happy Groundhog Day here in the US!
Yes, can you believe it's February already? Now that it's almost Valentine's Day, I want to officially thank tour two hostesses for hosting this very fun swap. Although I haven't heard from my upstream pal since before Christmas or received a box from her, I pray that all is well in her life, and that you all have a great year. Enjoy Spring as it comes around the corner in a few weeks or months, depending where in the world you live. :)

Kris in NH

Thanks Maryanne and Kasia

I'd like to thank you both for hosting a great swap. Here's a little gift for all of the participants - the bag I knit to Cheryl:
Cheryl

Enjoy!

Jane

I recieved my Christmas package several days ago as I told you, and here is the picture! Finally! My camera has been dead for ages.

Again. Thank you so much for the gift :-)

Parcel received!

My parcel finally arrived!!!

My pal, Jennifer, mailed it from the US on December 14th, and instead of taking about two weeks (allowing a little extra for Christmas) it took about a month! My opinion is that the box arrived in Melbourne around Christmas/New Year and that it's been sitting in quarrantine waiting to be processed. I guess like many in Australia in January, they had lots of staff take their annual holidays *sigh*. I know it went to quarantine, because unfortunately they took out the pine sachet that Jennifer had included, but I still got to smell it when I opened the box.

Many thanks for my wonderful swap package Jennifer. Thanks for all the time and effort that went into putting it together for me. I love it. It was definitely worth the wait!

Check out my blog to see the fabulous riot of red/white goodies that Jennifer sent.

Thanks Kasia and Maryanne, I had tons of fun :o)

Danke Nicole!

Thanks to for a lovely package! I received it last week from Germany! See my blog for the details!

Jennifer

My package from Else

Else, thank you for all the surprises which are sending you.
I love the scarf our of the pink yarn, it will warm me on cold winterdays.
And also I love the 3 balls of red yarn. I think I use the yarn for my upcoming grandchild, if it will be a girl.
Also the package includes coffe, sweeties , a CD with Christmas songs from Norwegian artists and from Princess Märtha Louise.
Oncemore thank you and have a good time in 2008 and fun with your knitting and I hope I hear from you again.
Dorothea

It Came - Oh Joy! Oh Joy!

My Christmas Around The World Box Came At Last - And Look What's Inside!

Gosh, do I ever have a boxful of goodies to show you today. My upstream partner in the Christmas Around the World Exchange has spoiled me worse than rotten. I almost dis-integrated when I opened this big box from Karen.
Karen had sent me an e-mail saying the package was going to be late that she was working on something. Christmas came and went, then another note saying she waiting on something to dry but that it would be delivered before the end of the Twelve Days Of Christmas and that she thought I'd be pleased and think it was worth the wait. Well, I AM PLEASED and it was Worth the Wait. Karen you have been so generous with your giving and that in it's self means as much as the items in the box. Thank you for both, you kind and generous heart and the wonderful goodies you chose for me. This is what I had to wait for, do you think it was worth the wait?
I certainly think so. The bag is gorgeous and big and the fabric is nice and heavyweight, knitted with double strands throughout. It has a beautiful lace design all around the top of the bag and the color is perfect too. Thank you Karen for all the time you took to make something for me that you knew I'd enjoy. I stuck some items on top of my 'stuff', I'm already using the bag, to hold it open in order for you to see a bit of the lacy part. I'm sure it will get lots of wear. (That's Mr. Maestro peeping in the door.)
Before I got to the bag, which was laying flat on the very bottom of the bag, look at all the other things I pulled out. And just as dear as all the wonderful items, was a handwritten note attached to each one of them - so special.There was knitting stuff (something to knit from and something to knit with) food stuff (taste and smell), music (for the soul; listening and relaxing), and a sock ornament to knit and then hang on the tree (something for the Christmas Tree). All requirements met - thank you. The knitting stuff included, a pair of size 13 Harmony needles from Knit-Pick's to go with the set I already have and a set of Harmony DP's to knit socks with. These have to be some of the most beautiful needles made and I love knitting with them. There was also colored rubber bands in all sizes to use as stitch markers (how unique is that?), colorful coils to hold needs together and a bucket of Lorna's Laces shepherd sock yarns and a pattern to make the socks. There is also a pocket sized lighted magnifying glass which will probably go in the glove compartment for reading maps in the dark since I use a huge magnifier that attaches to my lamp for knitting.
For taste there was German Lebkuchen Honey Cookies with an aroma that hit my senses the moment I opened the box, homemade and recipe included, yum they are. There was also a mix for scones using white chocolate and raspberries, and a German Stollen with cranberries, Trades Joe's lemon pepper spice, and chocolates ; oh, there was also nice long cinnamon sticks to stir in my apple cider or coffee (try it, you'll like it).
As if this wasn't enough Karen sent a CD of Christmas music performed by the church choir of an Episcopal church near where she lives. The music is beautiful, I love listening to the choir. Then last (Ithink) but not least is a whole page of Christmas stamps. Why Christmas stamps you may ask, Well this year's Christmas stamp represents knitting and Karen had the idea that the stamps would look nice framed. I agree, and will frame them to go in my sewing room, yups my bathroom. I sew in the bathroom, a large room with good natural and electrical lighting. There is a place just above the table that holds my machine where I will hang this picture for my enjoyment.

Package arrived!

Just a quick one to let you know I have got my package now! Thank YOU!!! Pictures will be on my blog as soon as I get my camera loaded.



There was a beautiful cricheted angel in it, just wait and see :-)



Love Vigdis from Norway

Postie is my prince!

The postie knocked on my door today with a lovely package! He informed me that UK customs keep gift packages received in December, concentrating on smaller/business post from overseas! Anyway, imagine my delight when I opened the box to see festive wrapping tissue!

As I unwrapped each piece, on my bed, I had buterflies. It was so lovely to see these delights emerging! So, for better pictures see my blog. However there was pretty, pretty sock yarn, Brittany DPN's, a cute Noro handknit hat,chocolates, the cutest glass mug (and mulled wine spices!)santa drawstring bag and some really cute tree decorations. Thank you Kathy, you have really made my day!

Finally, I Can Thank Jana!

With no great thanks to Canada Post(not impressed!), I received this amazing package today. Thank you, thank you to Jana! I had to go to the post office to pick it up, so I decided to make it a true excursion and brought the parcel to a favourite coffee spot to open. Imagine my delight as I slowly opened piece after piece while sipping cafe latte. I'm in love with both the stationary and the cosmetic bag. The spiced tea smells gorgeous.

What makes the gift extra special is the fact that the stitch markers and the yarn come from her own White Oak Studio. This merino feels so luxurious that I can't wait to work it.

Lucky, lucky me to have such a great partner! This was a fun swap. Thanks everyone.

My lovely package ;)

Dear Heather,

thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your package arrived during our ice storm when I had no power. I actually jumped, shouted and cried for joy when I opened it. Thank you so much and for being patient for me to post about it. So without further ado here is my lovely package ~ btw, how did you know I wanted this particular Rowan magazine and Socks that Rock color? Did you peek at my letter to Santa?! ;D

~ some yarn to knit: Socks that rock in Ruby Slippers

~ something to knit with: Rowan #42 my wishlist item ;D

~ something knitted: Beautiful handbag made w/Tilli Tomas

This yarn is on my fav list when I saw it at our lys during a tour.

~ something for the soul: a donation to Heifer on my behalf

~ christmas ornament: a rabbit w/07 on it

~ some treats: Wildlife Coffee & delicious mints

Again thank you, I truly loved my package. ;D

~ Mail Call ~

Dear Partner Connie,

Again my apologies for the delay in sending your package but good news! Its on its way. I hope you enjoy the items I selected for you and can use the lovely knitted thing. ;D I really enjoyed this swap and I apologize to all of you for my not being able to participate as I'd like, but things are getting back to normal as long this current storm doesn't leave any damage. ;D

Happy New Year to you all!

Dawn ;)